Customer Reviews

Dazzle Multimedia DM-2200 Hollywood DV Bridge

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I've owned a Hollywood DV Bridge for more than a year, and also a Canopus ADVC100. The DV Bridge is adequate for importing analog video into Adobe Premiere. Just adequate. But having the benefit of owning both products, I have no hesitation about recommending the ADVC100 over the DV Bridge. The ADVC100 allows you to lock audio to video during capture, the image quality is superior to that captured with the DV Bridge, and I have yet to drop a frame during capture with the ADVC (even with older vhs tapes). The DV Bridge might look cool to some (I thought so when I bought mine), but it's simply not as functional as the ADVC100 because it tends to fall over when it has cables plugged into the front and back of the unit, whereas the ADVC100 is a nice looking box that sits flat and cables fit snugly. Snug cable fit is an issue with my DV Bridge because my S-Video cable fits somewhat loosely and works best if I wrap scotch tape around the unit and plug to improve the integrity of the S-video input connection. Finally, the ADVC100 has a built-in on-off switch while the DV Bridge does not. It's a small thing I suppose, but I'd rather not have to plug and unplug the DV Bridge's power supply from my power bar after each use. It can get dusty down under my desk sometimes. Since getting the ADVC100, my DV Bridge is officially retired. In my opinion, the Canopus product is superior to the DV Bridge in every way, and is the way to go for those interested in purchasing a product for capturing analog video.

Please, I beg you, do not buy this product.

The reason why? It was a waste of [X]. I had an analog camcorder and was looking for a way to get the video on my computer. I sure wasn't going to buy a USB capture device, so I figured a stand-alone Firewire (IEEE 1394) capture device would work good, and Dazzle was pretty much the only brand that made one. Or so I thought. What I didn't know was that just about EVERY DIGITAL CAMCORDER has an Analog to Digital converter (before you buy one, make sure it does- it should say it somewhere on the box or webpage, as it is a popular feature). So, for an extra hundred bucks, I could've bought a decent Digital Camcorder that, along with being able to digitally capture video without being hooked up to a computer, converts analog video to digital MUCH better than the Dazzle Hollywood DV-Bridge. If only I knew that today.

Why do I regret buying the DV-Bridge? I have had mine a little over a year, and it didn't always work the best. It makes it extremely hard to capture segments from my analog camcorder. It will often drop frames, making the video you are trying to capture worthless. When the Hollywood DV-Bridge drops a frame, that frame is a mess of colors and a loud noise will accompany it on the audio track.

When it is capturing regular, the video it captures is just OK quality- nothing spectacular. I also stopped trying to output video using the DV-Bridge, as it just doesn't work. The longest I was able to get it outputting without stopping or the picture becoming distorted was around 40 seconds. However, I tried outputting the same exact DV file using the same program to a Sony Digital-8 Camcorder, and it worked fine.

I would call Dazzle to complain or to see if maybe I got a defective product, but phone support is only free for 30 days- after that you have to pay [X]. The support it provides online is worthless and didn't help me at all.

So please, learn from me and absolutely do not buy this product, as paying [X]for peice of garbage that gives you a headache just isn't worth it.

I found it impossible to capture video with any software except the feature poor software that came with the device. Adobe Premiere? Can't capture. Adobe After Effects? Can't capture. Windows Video? Can't capture. NOTHING can capture from the device but that freebie software. I left tech support a question about this. It took FIVE WEEKS (yes - 5) to get an answer!

If you are happy with the included software, you're all set. If you want the "professional" results Dazzle brags about, forget it.

For the money, the Dazzle is not a bad purchase, depending on what your needs are. Although (as pointed out in another review) digital camcorders can work as analog-to-digital signal converters, that's not always the best solution, so you may need a standalone "bridge" or capture device for your analog footage.

Considering that pro analog capture cards can cost upwards of several thousand dollars, no one should expect the Dazzle to be much more than than it is: an [inexpensive], amateur-level capture device, that more or less does what it claims. I've used a Dazzle for a year and a half, and it's been fine as a capture device. Burning back to VHS has been often problematic, sometimes getting audio and video artifacting. However, I burn most of my stuff to DVD or VCD, so that's not an issue much of the time.

Don't slam the product before making a dollar-for-dollar comparison with other options, based on your needs. If it doesn't do what you want, don't get it, but for the price, it does a lot.

Top Five Reasons NOT to buy a Dazzle Product:

1 - Technical Support is non-existant.

2 - The video editing software sold with the bridge is buggy, and you need to immediately order an update CD from [website]. (The only way to discover that you need the update is by going to their web page after you start experiencing problems with the software that is supplied with the bridge.)

3 - Hollywood Video Editing Software (The updated "non-buggy" version) frequently locks-up for no apparent reason...but it does work better than the "buggy" version. My PC is a 1.8MHz P4 with 256 MB of RAM, 37 GB hard drive, and 32 bit video. My Windows-XP task monitor does not indicate that I am using up my system resources, however I need to save my storyboard everytime I make an edit because the software locks up with no warning.

4 - Audio/Video Output is poor. Audio playback is slightly faster than video, and by 20 minutes you will feel like you are watching an old Chinese Kung-fu movie. This is true when watching the video on the PC, or after it has been recorded to an external device.

5 - When you FINALLY get the software/hardware to output to a VCR, you will find that the picture is poor, and audio is plagued with occasional high-pitched "pops".

I have not attempted to burn a DVD yet, but I am prepared to be disappointed because nothing else has worked as advertised. (Oh, did I mention that the technical support is non-existant?) Dazzle does provide a users forum that you can subscribe to after you purchase their product. The advantage of the forum is that you will learn that you are not alone. The disadvantage of joining the forum is discovering that you are not alone, and there are few solutions to the many problems.

Based on a previous review, I was worried that the Dazzle wouldn't capture video unless you used the included software. After trying it myself, I have found that all I had to do is simply plug in the Dazzle and my VCR (Windows XP already had the necessary drivers). I was capturing video with Adobe Premiere (using the 1394 output) in less than five minutes (yes - 5)! I didn't install the included software.

The result was exceptional quality for the money.

Great simple solution. Under Mac Os X there is no need for drivers or any installed software. The hardware is derectly used by any video software incuding iMovie and Final Cut Pro. Video capture works fine and quality is at a "prosumer" level and good for the price.

The device I purchased is only capable of capturing about 1-2 minutes of video before it starts dropping frames from older tapes. The Dazzle forum is full of similar complaints. Dazzle has done nothing to rectify the problem, and they blame PC setup as the cause. I tried all of the tech suggestions for Win XP and the problem was not fixed. Some newer tapes captured with only minimal "choppiness" problems, but the majority of my tapes are older and caused the bridge to lose sync and produce a choppy, noisy, unwatchable DVD. After a month of troubleshooting, I replaced the Dazzle with a Canopus ADVC-100. The price is similar, but the results are far superior to the Dazzle bridge. No lost frames anymore, even from the older tapes, and the picture quality is superior to the Dazzle Hollywood DV Bridge. I just wish I would have done the research before I bought the Dazzle unit. The Canopus ADVC-100 is an outstanding performer, and it actually delivers what is promised from Canopus, unlike the false claims from Dazzle. If you are smart, you will steer clear of the Dazzle unit.

this is a great product in theory. i was only able to get it to capture a few minutes of video at a time before the product would shut down. goto dazzle website and read the pages! and pages! of customer complaints. be wary!

I've had mine for over a year. It works just fine. I've converted many VHS and VHS-C tapes to digital - the longest was a 55-minute company training video which I squeezed down to less than 600MB to fit on a CD-R so I could send it out for people to view on their PCs & laptops. (The video image was smaller and the sound not as HQ, but that was the trade-off I accepted for the given file size.) It takes beefy hardware to capture video without errors - and I suspect some people complaining don't have equipment that will handle the heavy demands required, especially a hard drive that does not perform thermal recalibrations periodically. On a suitably equipped system, the device seems to do exactly what it promises.

I gave it only four stars because the bundled software is only so-so. In my system the bundled software has a conflict between installed CODECs which causes the video and audio to go way out of synch. The tech support for the software was outrageously terrible and - predicatbly - they blamed the installed CODECs which work fine otherwise. So I threw the software away and used something else. It even worked with Windows XP Movie Maker.

The hardware works fine, though, in my experience.