Please Help

[mckeaney]

I was hoping for some help...I just bought a HP Desktop with the intention of transfering my 8mm tapes to DVD. I have a Dazzle cord and software. The procees works but the quality is not great. A buddy of mine has a Sony that is comparable in price and he doesn't have this problem...If anyone has any ideas or could direct me to a forum I would be greatful.

[Jason Dunn]

Could you be a bit more specific? Which Dazzle product do you have? What sort of quality issues are you having? Is the resolution too low?

Do you happen to have a digital camcorder? If so, there's likely an easier way to do what you want.

[mckeaney]

Jason,

I have Dazzle Digital Video Creator 80. The video on the computer seems to have a ditgital look...I'm new to this so forgive the laymans terms... I don't have a digital camera...i just have the 8mm analog. My buddy did the same thing and it worked...I don't know what cord or software he used...is there anything you can recomend???

[Jason Dunn]

Here's the problem:

"Maximum resolution: 320 x 240" (from the specs page)

Regular video is 720 x 480, so you can only capture less than HALF of what you need to - which isn't good. The unfortunate truth is that products in the sub-$100 range just don't do a very good job at capturing analogue video. :-(

I tried a whole bunch of different products, each more expensive than the last, and the only one I was happy with was the Pinnacle Studio Deluxe - it has a PCI card and a break-out box that you can plug all sorts of connectors into. But it's not exactly cheap...so depending on how many of these you want to do, it may be more economical to find a business in the area that will do it for you.

[mckeaney]

Thanks for the response...my last question is how would my buddy be able to do it w/ his Sony?....I don't think he has a top of the line software...I just bought the HP two days ago...is it worth returning?

[Jason Dunn]

Thanks for the response...my last question is how would my buddy be able to do it w/ his Sony?....I don't think he has a top of the line software...I just bought the HP two days ago...is it worth returning?

I'm confused - are you saying you bought an HP desktop computer and it came bundled with the Dazzle hardware? And that your friend who bought a Sony desktop computer, has a better video capture solution? If that's the case, I'm not sure what to suggest - I don't know what kind of video capture solution the Sony has, but odds are it captures at a higher resolution.

Is that enough of a reason to bring back your whole computer? Tough to say - it depends on how much you like the computer. :-)

[mckeaney]

Jason,

Thanks for your responses...you have been a big help...I think I may just buy the Pinnacle Studio Deluxe it seems to be @ 200$ its spec say Digital video capture resolution 720*576...I think that will fix my problem...I'm new at this and I would gladly take your opion about the purchase....thanks again.
Jim

[Jason Dunn]

I think I may just buy the Pinnacle Studio Deluxe it seems to be @ 200$ its spec say Digital video capture resolution 720*576...I think that will fix my problem...

I think it would be a good purchase - it's what I use and I'm quite pleased with it. 720 x 576 is PAL (are you in Europe?) but it will also do 720 x 480, which is NTSC (North America). Either way, this is a good tool to do what you want.