EzCAP 116 USB 2.0 Video Capture Device. Convert Video+Audio from VHS, V8, Hi8, All Camcorders, Video Recorder, DVD player, Satellite TV, Freeview etc. Capture xbox360 & playstation3 in PAL 60 colour. Includes Arcsoft Showbiz 3.5 editing software. Output in 16:9 or 4:3. Upload videos direct to YouTube . Supports Windows XP/Vista + Windows 7 32/64.

This item was delivered very quickly. It was reasonably priced and simple to use. I use it wih my xbox to capture video to upload to Youtube and this makes the whole operation very easy.

After reading the huge hype on Ezcap's website and on Ezcap's forum I bought this 4 weeks ago for [...] thinking it would instantly solve all my problems of converting VHS tapes to DVD and having no voice sync problems.

But it didn't, I followed the instructions to letter and with the software supplied I recorded 1 hr of VHS tape many times to test it. Every time I saw the recordings on my hard drive it still had lots of voice sync problems.

Some times the voice and video was in sync at the start if the 1 hr recording but after 5-10 mins it slowly went out of sync and by the end of the recording it was very out of sync.

But most times the voice and video was out of sync from the start to the end of the 1 hr recording.

I then recorded the same 1 hr of tape with Magix Movie Edit Pro 15 many times to see if this would make any difference, it didn't, it gave me the same results as above.

I was gutted as the super hype promised so much but in the end Ezcap116 gave so little.

For me EZcap 116 was a total waste of money and it didn't live up to all the hype of where they implied - you can instantly plug this in to your PC and get perfect results every time -, It didn't do this.

It would have been better if I'd got an Easycap clone as it would have done the same job as EZcap116 but it would have been around 1/4 of the price.

Note
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Voice Sync problems are where the video of some one speaking
doesn't match the sound of their voice so it looks odd.

But seeing as Ezcap116 had now been used by me and thus I couldn't send it back for a full refund and if I sold it I'd make a loss, I decided to play around with the settings (in the supplied software and in Magix Movie Edit Pro 15) to see what could be improved.

In the end I managed to fix the voice sync problems but it took an awful lot of time and hard work to do this.

Now I don't have problems with that, but Ezcap116 wasn't as " easy " to use as all the hype said.

There are better and cheaper versions of Ezcap116 (made by other manufacturers) which do the same job but not with all the hype nor the expense.

If Ezcap116 had worked exactly as the hype said I would have praised it a huge amount and would have used it all the time.

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Good points
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Uses newer chips than Easycap.

Works with Windows up to Windows 7 64 bit.

Video and sound quality is as good as the original VHS tape.

Is small and very light.

For laptops and netbooks its perfect (as adding anything to them is always via USB socket).

Ezcap116 finally worked but you have to work very very hard to adjust the supplied software to get rid of the voice sync problems on VHS tape.

Ezcaps forum is ok for advise, but its not perfect.

Via the red and white sound leads and correct software EZcap116 can have an old record or cassett players plugged in to convert these in to MP3 files.

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Bad points
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Hugely over hyped.

Not as simple and not as "ez" to use as the manufacture claims.

Supplied software isn't that good nor is it very new, would have been better if they had supplied a full version of Magix Movie Edit pro 14 or 15 as that is much better software.

Looks Ugly (like 2 silver blobs joined side by side).

When in use the EZcap's body gets very hot, so the case should have been better thought out and designed for it to run cooler.

Expensive for what it is, would have better if it had been sold for half price as there are better and cheaper versions of Ezcap116 (made by other manufacturers) which do the same job but not with all the hype nor the expense.

Recording level is preset, so you can't alter it.

In general USB based video capture devices like EZcap116 are not as good as tv cards plugged in to the motherboard of your desktop (which do the same job as Ezcap 116).

When you're searching the VHS tape for your favourite clips, the display on Ezcap116's software locks up so you can't see the video clips winding forward or backward, thus you don't know where the clip is unless you stop the tape and play it every few seconds to find it, then restart it if its not there. This on 3-4 hr tape can take forever to do.

Instruction manual with Ezcap116 and supplied software doesn't tell you how to fix the voice sync problems. It doesn't give you the exact settings, It doesn't give you any hints on how to fix the voice sync problems.

Yet the EZcap116 is hyped to make VHS to DVD recordings easy, but its not.

Ezcap's support team at their head office never reply to your e-mails.

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Suggestions to Ezcap
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For Ezcap116 to really live up to their hype, Ezcap's on board computer chip will have to be re-programmed to analyse and adjust (in real time) every frame of a VHS tape as its being recorded so the chip syncs the audio so it matches the video.

That would produce a clone of the VHS tape and then Excap116 would live up to the hype and be " easy " to use.

Conclusion
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Since I figured out the voice sync settings, I decided to us these settings with my ancient tv card (which has a composite video input and plugs in to my motherboard), the sound lead from my VCR is plugged in to my PC's built in sound card.

This setup + Magix Movie Edit Pro 15 delivers perfect results 100% of the time, with none of Ezcaps problems.

I don't use EZcap116, so for me getting it was a waste of money, i just checked Amazon, new Ezcap116 with postage from Climax is now six pounds cheaper than it was when I bought it 4 weeks ago in August 2010.

I feel gutted that I fell for some thing which is over hyped and over priced.

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If you have 7 year old or newer desktop PC and want to convert VHS tapes to DVD save your money, buy a decent tv card for your PC + decent movie editing software and that will work much better than EZcap116.

If you have a laptop or netbook buy Ezcap116 and enjoy it but don't believe the hype and don't expect to get perfect VHS to DVD copies with no voice sync problems.

You will have to work very very hard with the supplied software for this to happen.

I wanted a product to capture my old vhs tapes to my computer so I could edit them.This product made
it so easy that I now do it for all my relatives.Amazingly simple to use and now find it a must have
piece of equipment.