TURTLE BEACH Video Advantage USB

by Turtle Beach

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B0007PO3II
• Item model number: 1125-01
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #103,271 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: February 4, 2005

Product Description

Video Advantage USB is a complete end-to-end solution for converting video from analog to digital format. Its combination of hardware and software tools allow you to transfer video from VCR and other analog sources to DVD, CD-RW and over the internet. The included software makes it easy to capture, edit and share your videos, while using an intuitive TimeLine or Storyboard -- select your favorite clips, then edit, add sound, titles and special effects to create a Hollywood-style movie. The compact, low-power design is easy to carry and eliminates bulky, inconvenient power adapters. Preserve your movies saved on VHS tapes in perfect digital format, then share with the world more simply than ever. Direct USB 2.0 connection to your PC or Laptop Multi-pin S-Video connector accepts composite video signals from analog VCRs or camcorders A/V inputs connect to analog VCR or camcorder to record audio from your video source PowerProducer Express transfers a movie or slideshow to CD or DVD and creates streaming video for the Web PowerDirector DE captures AVI or MPEG video, enhancing movies & slideshows with transitions, titles, effects, music and sound effects AudioSurgeon lets users record and edit their own sounds, view them as waveforms and change them visually Frame-accurate DV format video capture Supports NTSC and PAL

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Probably the best video capture device for your money!, August 9, 2005

By 

Microbiologist, RN, and perpetual student. "~BB" (Colorado, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: TURTLE BEACH Video Advantage USB (Personal Computers)

Ahhhhhh. Ok. Well, I used the ADS DVD Xpress, and BOOO, it had a frequent interval of skipped sound, the unit got super hot, and the software sucked.

Enter Turtle Beach. Their Video Capture unit doesn't use external power (it uses the USB cable for power), is smaller, cooler, captures video without a lag unlike the ADS, doesn't get hot, and is just better all around.

The bundled software isn't very good, according to MaximumPC and user reviews on tigerdirect.com, so I use Intervideo's WinDVR3... their WinDVD Creator works well also.

So, this is probably the best unit for your money. Stay away from ADS Xpress...I'm not sure about their higher end models, but the Xpress version is horrible!

~bB

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Consider Carefully Before You Buy, March 20, 2007

By 

John Sapovits (Cobleskill, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: TURTLE BEACH Video Advantage USB (Personal Computers)

I have several hundred movies I have taped over the years on VHS tapes and decided I wanted to transfer some of them to DVD before they started to deteriorate so I purchased the Turtle Beach Video Advantage USB.

The first consideration you should make in purchasing this device is whether your computer will be able to support the heavy demands of the Video Advantage USB (and transferring VHS to DVD in general). I had recently purchased an HP Pavilion Laptop with Intel Duo Core T7200 2.0 GHz processor, 2 GB RAM and an 80 GB 5400 RPM hard drive. The laptop has done admirably in the capture process even though my hard drive is below the recommended 7200 RPM. You may want to consider the advice in the users manual to purchase a separate hard drive dedicated to video capturing. The size of the captured files is quite large (up to 10 GB for a 2 hour movie) so make sure you have adequate hard drive space and the hard drive is not highly fragmented. I would not even consider running the Video Advantage USB on my older Dell Dimension with a P4 1.8 GHz processor and 1 GB RAM. Also beware -- Video Advantage USB does not "officially" work on Vista (although the Turtle Beach site has some sort of work around listed).

The actual Video Advantage USB has worked quite well -- I have experienced no dropped frames or sound. The mysterious "copyright error" others have mentioned has popped up but it has not caused problems (I notice it when I use the time limit function when capturing). I did have to buy an RCA adaptor ($2 to $3) as my VCR has only one audio output and the Video Advantage USB has two audio cables (they neglect to tell you this in the set-up instructions although it is on the Web site).

You also need to consider whether the provided editing software is adequate. AD Full Cap is not what I needed and doubt I will ever use -- it is more for professional grade movies as the files it creates are huge (64 GB for 1 hour). Of course I did not learn this until after I started my first movie. If you are transferring movies like I am then you will use Power Producer and Power Producer Express (both by Cyberlink). Let's just say I have had my share of headaches with them. One of my movies had sound almost inaudible after I burned it to DVD -- little did I know that the input for the sound was too low and was adjustable in the process of creating an MPEG file. Also I found cutting out commercials to be less than intuitive although I finally was able to do so with much effort.

Also this process can be quite time consuming (which is why I am glad I have the laptop to do it and can use my Dell for other things). The total time to transfer a two hour movie to standard quality file (MPEG) and burn to DVD is about 3.5 to 4 hours. Not that you need to be at your computer the entire time but your machine will be seriously tied up. Fortunately most of what I want to transfer is commercial free otherwise it would be even longer.

Overall I give the Video Advantage USB good marks but the software provided lower grades. I figure once I am further along the process of transferring from VHS to DVD everything should be smoother. You may want to consider simply purchasing a video capture device and editing software separately -- software that one person loves is another person's nightmare so you can see what you like before you buy. Most importantly make sure you have a computer with not only enough processing speed, power, and hard drive capacity/speed but also the ability to dedicate almost completely to this process.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars what a wonderfully ANNOYING product, April 4, 2006

By 

J. Antipolo (Florida) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: TURTLE BEACH Video Advantage USB (Personal Computers)

Do you like using hardware that isn't compatible with the software?
Do you enjoy pulling out your hair?
Is it about time you had a yelling fit?
Do you need a new prank to play on yourself?

If you answer yes to any of the above questions, then this product is for you! Yes, sirree, ladies and gentlemen. If you enjoy the frustrations involved in having a wonderful hardware product that doesn't work quite right with the software that comes with it, then I highly recommend this product.

On initial installation, everything works great. Even the software, although somewhat lagging, gave me satisfactory video and audio quality. The interface was very user friendly, and offered many options. I had no problems.

However, upon using it the second time, the product accuses me of copyright infringement, saying "that is a copyright movie, and will not be recorded." This was completely ridiculous considering I was trying to capture some simple analog video from a Hi8 camera -- the very same camera I used last time!

And that's not all, folks! There are even more ways you can shell out even more money to this company after paying for this product: they charge customer service over the phone. Quoting from their website: "Two Months Voice Support Package US$29.95 Please note that this service is for North American users only. The phone lines are open Monday to Friday, 1:00 PM - 10:00 PM CST."

If you want free customer service, you are stuck with the slow email response.

Imagine how much frustration you too can share when purchasing this product.