Dazzle DVD Recorder [OLD VERSION]

It works pretty much as advertized, although the bundled software is difficult and almost impossible to use. The dazzle works fine.

Easy to use and an extensive software suite provided. Digital recordings are far from perfect but considering they began as VHS the recordings are pretty darn good. Software loaded easily on my Windows XP Home machine and have no problems.

The Dazzle DVD Recorder hardware does a good job of converting analog video into a digital format. My wife leaves unrecorded sections of tape in between shots and these can make it difficult for a unit to frame properly. The Dazzle unit was able to synchronize quickly on the next section of recording although a few frames had to be removed. A previous unit was unable to resynchronize under these circumstances placing the top part of a scene on the bottom.

The bargain is in the software that comes with the unit. You get Pinnacle Studio 10.5 which provides a good set of video editing functions. There is a newer release of this software on the market but this version will help to give you a good finished video that can be placed on DVD. The software and drivers are designed for Windows XP. Before doing anything I recommend you go to their web site and download the latest driver for the Dazzle DVD Recorder and the Studio updates. You get version 10.5 of the software. You will need to download version 10.7, version 10.8, and Pixie5Updater. Version 10.8 gives you Vista compatability according to Pinnacle but I have not tried it.

Before installing Studio you should download a patch called Pixie5Updater. This solves a compatability problem with Internet Explorer 7. On some PCs Studio will halt installation midway if this patch is not installed first.

I have been using Pinnacle Studio 10 before buying the Dazzle unit and paid more for that software than for the Dazzle unit. That is why I consider it a bargain even though there is a newer version.

Bought it, spend HOURS on the phone with tech support and still can't get it to work. Waste of money

The box clearly says "Works with Windows Vista" and then gives you a URL to download the drivers for Vista. What it DOESNT say is that it only supports 32 bit versions of Windows Vista. THIS DOES NOT WORK WITH 64 BIT VERSIONS OF VISTA. don't waste your time and money like i just did.