Looking for a good VHS to DVD USB converter

[Eddietom]

A lot of the ones on amazon have mixed reviews. Anyone here have experience with this? I have so many old VHS I'd like to convert to DVD. Anyone know of any good ones? One I found that looks good is called DVD Xpress DX2, I'll have to look more into it,I dont think its on amazon

[GoHawks]

A lot of the ones on amazon have mixed reviews. Anyone here have experience with this? I have so many old VHS I'd like to convert to DVD. Anyone know of any good ones? One I found that looks good is called DVD Xpress DX2, I'll have to look more into it,I dont think its on amazon

[Full disclosure:  I am not associated in any way with ADS Tech or any other video, computer or software company.]

I own the original DVD Xpress from ADS Tech, and I use it a lot.  When it works, it works great and is just about the simplest video recording hardware there is.  Notice I said "when it works".

The first unit I bought didn't work at all.  I returned it and got a replacement unit which works great when you first turn it on.  Some days it will work for hours on end with no problems; other days it will only work about 1/2 hour before screwing up.  However, you know right away when it does screw up (it stops recording, which you can see right on the monitor).  Unplugging it and letting it sit for a few minutes is all it usually takes to get it going again.  I assume it's some sort of overheating problem, but even blowing a fan across it doesn't seem to affect when it screws up.

A friend of mine bought the same model, and he also experiences problems with his unit, but not nearly as much as do I.

Assuming they've fixed the problem with the DX2 model, I would highly recommend it.  Even with the problems I have, I would still recommend the original model.  One more thing; my unit came with a stripped down version of Ulead DVD Movie Factory, which I do not use so I really can't say anything about it.  I use Ulead VideoStudio for video editing and Ulead DVD Workshop for DVD mastering and burning.  I do highly recommend both of those programs.

How much do I use it?  I have roughly 1500GB of video files (spread out over 8 hard drives) that I personally captured with either the DVD Xpress or the video capture card in my old computer.  Most of that is in VCD (352x240 MPEG-1) resolution, which consumes about 10MB/minute.

[Eddietom]

Thanks for the tips!

One thing I was wondering about this one, do the dvds you burn usually play on most DVD players? One some of the less well-received models on amazon, ppl were complaining that their dvds only played on the computer but not on their dvd players. I think even if that were the case, a multi-region player (I still have one for UK dvds) might play em.

[GoHawks]

Thanks for the tips!

You're quite welcome.

One thing I was wondering about this one, do the dvds you burn usually play on most DVD players? One some of the less well-received models on amazon, ppl were complaining that their dvds only played on the computer but not on their dvd players. I think even if that were the case, a multi-region player (I still have one for UK dvds) might play em.

There are several reasons why a given DVD will not play on a player.  Below I will list those that come to mind and what to do to ensure the discs will play:

1) Region:  I make my discs region-free, so they should play on any player.

2) Video type:  I live in the USA, so all of my discs are NTSC.  I don't know if they'll play on a PAL player, but I have had success mastering NTSC DVDs from PAL sources.  (The reverse, mastering a PAL from NTSC sources, should also work.)

3) Closing the disc:  I always finalize all of my discs, just to avoid this hassle.  Discs are cheap enough; there is no reason to leave the disc open.

4) DVD standards:  I always make my discs conform to the DVD standards*, even if it means reprocessing the source video files.  DVDs use MPEG-2; if your source is WMV or AVI (including DivX), you must convert.  (*OK, maybe I don't always, but the source video files I use do always conform to MPEG standards.)

5) Media:  Never use no-name "el-cheapo" media.  Always use high-quality name-brand media.  Find one that works for you, then continue to use it.  Personally, I always use Verbatim DVD+Rs.

I have never had anyone complain that a DVD I made for them did not work on their player.