Plextor ConvertX Digital Video Converter (PX-M402U)

by Plextor

Product Details

• Item Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B0001CJF3A
• Item model number: PX-M402U
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (45 customer reviews)
• Amazon Bestsellers Rank

  #69 in	Electronics > Accessories & Supplies > Audio & Video Accessories > Video Converters
  #16 in	Electronics > Computers & Accessories > Internal Desktop Components > Video Capture Cards

• Date first available at Amazon.com: October 17, 2005

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

ConvertX PX-M402U from Plextor is the ultimate solution for converting video into the DivX, MPEG-4, MPEG-1/Video CD and MPEG-2/DVD formats. The PX-M402U captures DVD quality video from TVs, VCRs or camcorders; automatically converting your video while you record. InterVideo WinDVD Creator is supplied to edit your video and make interactive DVDs.

Convert analog video to digital video with real-time DivX and MPEG-4 converter

ConvertX makes it possible to quickly and easily convert home videos from fragile and bulky videotapes into crystal clear digital video on durable CDs or DVDs. It can also be used to create videos to store on your hard disk or trade over the Internet. Capture from multiple sources Optimized to work with Plextor CD and DVD burners, ConvertX captures video from camcorders, DVD players, VCRs and television. ConvertX automatically converts video into a digital format for editing, authoring, recording on media or sharing over the Internet.

Record longer than ever before
ConvertX offers the unique choice of three encoding formats: MPEG-1, for recording one hour of premier quality video on a VCD; MPEG-2, for up to two hours of high-quality video on a DVD; and for exceptional hard disk space-savings, MPEG-4. Capable of creating highly compressed video archives, MPEG-4 can be used to store 2 hours of video on a standard CD or 10 hours on a DVD.

A Hi-Speed USB 2.0 connection maximizes data throughput to the host computer, enabling high bit rate video capture using MPEG-2 compression.

Easy to install

Set up is as simple as taking ConvertX out of its box, plugging it into a computer and a camcorder or VCR, and loading the software. ConvertX features a variety of connections: RCA Composite Video Input, RCA Composite Audio Input and S-Video Input. Produce professional-looking, personalized CDs or DVDs ConvertX comes with a powerful and easy-to-use WinDVD Creator software from InterVideo with Dolby Digital and DivX encoding. The software guides you through each step for capturing and editing video, adding effects, and burning the finished product. One click is all it takes to pull in video from a camcorder or another analog source. You can create CDs or DVDs without spending all day learning complicated programs. WinDVD Creator's storyboard interface makes the entire DVD-making process as easy as moving pictures around on a computer screen. Create a CD or DVD in four easy steps: capture, edit, create and share.

It's easy to edit video footage with drag-and-drop editing, and you can switch between timeline and storyboard views. You'll have a variety of powerful, easy-to-use transitions and effects to make professional CDs and DVDs.

With the software's professional grade features, you can select recording quality, use a countdown recording timer and view real-time encoding playback. Editing controls include trimming, title insertion, MPEG cutter and combine/divide video file.

Product Description

ConvertX offers the unique choice of three encoding formats: MPEG-1, for recording one hour of premier quality video on a VCD; MPEG-2, for up to two hours of high quality video on a DVD; and, for exceptional hard disc space-savings, MPEG-4 can be used to

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

80 of 80 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars What an amazing find, October 12, 2004

By	slkx (Perth, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Plextor ConvertX Digital Video Converter (PX-M402U) (Electronics)

I blundered when I first stumbled into the video-capture market by buying a cheaper product without checking the specs. It could not capture beyond what appeared postcard-sized frames on playback. This item replaced that dud and oh what a difference -- in sound, picture quality, ease of use...

First: The bundled software -- OK this is great for capture, and utterly brilliant if you just want to copy directly from video tape to DVD disc without any editing. It's a breeze. I did it all the first time from set up to beginning the burn in three minutes!

Beyond that, re: editing and trimming, forget it, get another program for these functions. WinDVD creator was very basic (templates were too cartoony and few for my liking) and trimming was ridiculously time-consuming -- ie for a small top-and-tail trim it took 15 or more mins to re-save an hour's worth of previously captured video.

Other programs are better at this eg Ulead DVD MovieFactory where trimming time is tiny because any earlier cutting/editing is really actually only physically done when at the burning stage. (For the record: Of seven DVD editing programs I have tested in the past six months, Ulead had the most options for me with chapter creation etc, followed by Sony, then Roxio. WinDVD was pretty low in functionality and a severely limited choice of burn quality settings.)

The verdict: The Plextor unit itself is seriously, awesomely good although of course it depends on the quality of your initial tape/source, and the VCR etc playing it. It rates as the Best Buy for all products of this type.

Some things to note: I experienced a small problem in sound and vision dropping slightly out of sync on one dvd created; and on another it briefly happened and came back into sync again. I downloaded the patch at the official plextor site which fixed this immediately. Now it works perfectly.

Also, if you are in the Asia Pacific region, factor in the cost of a 9-volt AC power adaptor (these are usually no more than $20-25 in Aust) because it is not included.

Lastly -- an installation note. You have to go to the drivers folder, click on them and install manually. Directing the Windows XP "Found New Hardware" to the folder as you'd normally do does nothing as it's a self-extracting program.

33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars will work properly only if very high quality source video, June 19, 2005

By	A. Ramos (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Plextor ConvertX Digital Video Converter (PX-M402U) (Electronics)

I would only recommend this unit if you are planning
to convert high-quality tapes. For the average home
video that was produced with consumer-grade equipment
and has been stored for years, there are two serious
problems:

1. The horizontal sync is awful. I have done some
research and I believe this is the infamous Time Base
Correction problem. Straight vertical lines in the
footage will become slightly squiggly or crooked in
the capture. This is caused by old tapes physically
distorting or stretching, and it could be overcome by
TBC circuitry, which the unit lacks.

2. The software will not start capturing until after your
tape is rolling, and it will automatically stop capturing
when it hits a recording gap. This is fine if you're only
converting TV recordings which were recorded in one run,
with all commercials and everything. But it's really
unacceptable if you have camcorder footage which was
stopped and restarted multiple times when taped. You
have to sit by the computer and you will lose the first
few seconds of every shot, because you have to hit Play
in the VCR and you cannot hit Record on the PC until after
the input signal has stabilized. If you hit it too soon,
you are interrupted by a pop-up window that says no input
signal detected.

If you want maximum quality, I recommend picking up a used
Sony DV CAM like the TRV17 and using the Firewire passthrough
to capture from the analog input. The Sony analog-to-DV
capture is not aflicted by either of the problems mentioned
above. But you will not get real-time compression to DVD
format when you do that, unfortunately.

If one other option that you are considering is a combo
VCR-DVDR unit, beware my results with that were not any
better.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great video capture device, but WinDVD is lacking...., August 19, 2004

By	P. S. Waters "opinionated guy" (Raleigh, NC) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Plextor ConvertX Digital Video Converter (PX-M402U) (Electronics)

As far as the whole bundle goes, I am fairly well pleased. I haven't had any problems capturing good quality video or burning DVDs with the software. With the onboard hardware encoder, it's also a great solution for those without fast PCs!

The only complaint that I have is that WinDVD Creator is kinda lacking in the features department...But then again, you really wouldn't expect feature-rich software from an OEM bundle. So, I basically just use it to capture video, then use other software to author and burn the DVDs. Also, it's really kinda flaky (WinDVD Creator, that is), so you probably don't want to be doing anything else on the computer while you are capturing and saving your videos. I've had a few problems with WinDVD Creator locking up on me if I try to do something else (like surf the web).

All-in-all, I am very pleased with the PX-M402U. As far as the hardware goes, I haven't had any problems. I've converted some of my VHS to DVD now, and started recording some of my favorite shows to make DVDs (Good Eats, if you're that curious :) If I had the purchase to do over again, I would definitely pick the PX-M402U. The only exception being if I found a similar box that would capture digial audio.

One lesson learned, for those that are starting out with this device (and probably others). It would probably be better, when you save your video, to save as "Dolby Digital" instead of "MPEG Audio" (which is the default in WinDVD Creator). I have both analog and digital connected from my DVD Player to my receiver, so my first few DVDs play fine on my system. But my parents only have digital hooked up, not analog, and the same DVDs played on their system had no audio. Apparently "MPEG Audio" only plays via the analog ports on our DVD Players.