ActionTec 1394 Firewire PCI Card

by Actiontec

Product Details

Product Manual [259kb PDF]

• Item Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B00005T3WK
• Item model number: PCI02013E-01
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: June 21, 2002

Product Description

Capture, Edit, and E-mail Digital Videos on your PC with the ActionTec Internal PCI 1394 FireWire Card. The 1394 FireWire Card provides 3 ports for connecting 1394, FireWireM, or i.LinkM Devices. With maximum data transfer rates of 400Mbps and support for up to 63 compatible devices, creating digital videos couldn't get much easier.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Everything you need for digital editing, December 11, 2002

By 

Steen Byskov (Washington, DC United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: ActionTec 1394 Firewire PCI Card (Personal Computers)

This package is GREAT. It includes the PCI card for the desktop, the Firewire cable to the camera (which cameras usually don't come with), and nice software package that allows you to all the most common types of editing (including the storyline functionality). It allows you to send the edited video back to your camera. Basically, it has everything it takes to do video editing with your IEEE 1394 ready camcorder! - I only just got it, and I have already had a lot of fun with it.

It took me about 2 hours to install the card, the driver, the software package, listen to the illustrated tutorial, and to get sufficiently familiar with the software that I could make a nice little edited video.

Caveats:
- Installing the PCI card requires opening your desktop, and if you have never seen the inside of your computer, you may want to consult with someone who has. Instructions are included, though, and it isn't rocket science.

- When you become a sophisticated video artist, you may want to upgrade the software, but the average user, the included software is absolutely fine.

- Make sure you check out the hardware and operating system (Windows 98 or higher) requirements. Also, you need some hard disk space to play with videos.

- Make sure your camera has the IEEE 1394 4 pin DV connection.

- They raised the price since I got it, but I still think it is a good deal.

Have fun with it!
Steen

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars good product, January 23, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: ActionTec 1394 Firewire PCI Card (Personal Computers)

I have never opened my computer before and was very nervous about doing so, but I found this product quite simple to install. It came with brief, easy to follow instructions, and hardware installation went smoothly. I am using this product with a Windows XP operating system. I didn't have to install the driver as Windows XP automatically detected the new hardware. It was not specified as being compatible with Windows XP, so I called the customer service office to make sure it was okay to install it in my system. Customer service was fast and friendly, with no waiting on the phone. The firewire cable is included in the package, as is some very basic movie editing software, which makes this an unbelievable deal that I couldn't find anywhere else. So far, everything is working great. I highly recommend this product if you're looking for a firewire card and cable.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Bad Quality Assurance, Worse Customer Support, March 28, 2003

By 

Jennifer L. Reynolds (Midvale, Utah USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: ActionTec 1394 Firewire PCI Card (Personal Computers)

The product I received was defective. E-mails to ActionTec regarding this issue were never answered. I attempted to resolve this issue over the phone and spoke with an apathetic customer service rep who *would not* answer any questions. He would only take down my contact information and promised that someone would contact me soon. They never have. If you enjoy gambling, it's hard to beat the price; but if you get a bad one, kiss your money goodbye.

!!!UPDATE!!!

After complaining to J&R Music World, a J&R rep called us and left a better phone number for ActionTec (see below). I called ActionTec and found out that a number of these FireWire cards have compatibility issues with video cards based on the NVidia chipset (which is what I have). That seems to be the determining factor on whether or not the card will work for you. I am now sending mine back for a newer replacement that is not supposed to have the same problems. If the service is prompt and the new product works, I may bump my rating up a bit higher (although not too high because of the hoops I had to jump through to get this far). If you are one of the poor buggers who could not obtain this information, here is the number that took me directly to a live tech. 800.797.7001. That guy was actually really good!

Best of luck.

***Update***

ActionTec sent me a new card that is working fine. I did have to pay my own shipping costs to send the defective one back to them which cost them a star (yeah, I'm sure they care). However, the turnaround time was acceptable and I'm happy to finally have a working card. I'm glad the headache is over.