VIDBOX USB 2.0 Video Conversion for PC For Windows 10, Windows 8

The quality of the ViidBox unit, and its corresponding software is very good. There’s a slight learning curve if you’re not familiar with video formats and video hardware and software. There are several types of negative reviews I have seen, but as near as I can tell, these negative reviews come from when one of several variables required to convert old technology to new formats fail. Some of these variables are as follows: #1. the quality of the mechanical camcorder or VCR, that you play the media, #2. how the media was recorded in the first place and at what quality speed or resolution, #3. the system specs of the PC or Mac computer capabilities that you are using to do the conversion. The VidBox does exactly what is intended to do. The accompanying software for the vid box is pretty straightforward, but it does take a little bit to figure out how to use it. My opinion is, is that one of the biggest failures people would have would pertain to the PC or Mac that they are using to do the conversion. In order to manipulate, the large volumes of data that are required. When converting video, you cannot use a sub standard PC with low memory and perhaps without a dedicated video card. If you do not have a capable PC to handle the volume and speed of data, you’re going to get a crappy result in the software of the vid box and it will not record smoothly. Another thing, camcorders from the 90s are very old! They don’t have the technology or even the mechanical ability as when they were first manufactured. You have to take that into account that the source video could be low quality. As well, an old VCR is not going to produce quality video output like we are used to at the present age.I used my Dell Precision Workstation laptop. With windows 10 professional versions. My laptop workstation has a high end dedicated video card and a lot of video memory as well as system memory. It has a fast i7 Intel processor as well. It’s a machine that is almost designed for this kind of data volumes and speeds. Let’s be honest, if you are using a PC that’s any older than 5 to 7 years old that is fir casual use or surfing the web you are definitely at a disadvantage when it comes to converting video so please keep that in mind, if you don’t have a very powerful PC or laptop or Mac, perhaps borrow someone’s Computer that does and when finished converting transfer all of your new converted files onto a quality USB flash drive or Mobile SSD drive This has been probably one of the most satisfying purchases I have made in a while, I had to borrow a super eight camcorder to play back super 8 tape video that I haven’t seen in 30 years! I am presently converting all this video and putting it onto my computer and making a copy to put on a flash drive to put in my lockbox. This is a wonderful tool. Once you figure out all the variables that apply to you and your equipment and your situation and what you want to do with the video, you will not be disappointed. Please try to be patient while figuring all the variables out. You will not be disappointed in the end. If anyone has any questions as to how I broke the learning curve on this, I’m more than happy to answer. All in all I highly recommend this product I fully admit I am biased towards it because it has been a vehicle to save a lifetime of memories.

I had over thirty VHS tapes I wanted to save in digital format but the best price I could find for someone else to convert them was about $14 each. I saw this on Amazon and decided to give it a try. It was super easy to set up, less than a minute to connect and maybe a couple of minutes to go through set up. The instructions for “Easy” mode are simple and straightforward and that’s what I used to capture my VHS tapes. The capture was in mpeg format and so I, using this program, converted each one to another format as well, just in case I needed the videos in a different format later. I thought it would be simpler to go ahead and complete the conversions right after I captured each video because conversion does take time and that way I wouldn’t have to worry about it later. The time spent on each VHS tape was the length of the VHS for capture plus or minus 30 minutes conversion time per video, depending on the length of the video. I captured and converted all my VHS tapes in one to two weeks. My friend wants to borrow it now to capture hers!This device also has a more sophisticated capture mode that will allow you to edit your tapes, add transitions, etc. I didn’t use that mode because I didn’t need it, but that looks like something I might use in the future and am glad to have the feature.This device has worked great for me. It was easy to set up and use, I’m happy to have preserved all my VHS tapes, and pleased at the overall price I paid to get the job done!

I'm impressed with this little device. I worked in broadcast television back when tape was still king, which left me very familiar with the peculiarities of videotape, both broadcast quality and VHS.Most of my VHS home movies are now over 25 years old, which is well past their prime. I've taken care of them, but I didn't know how much deterioration they've suffered (if any). I figured I had one shot at converting them, so I wanted to make it count: I wanted the highest quality conversion at the best price.The Vidbox was over twice the cost of the nearest device I considered, but I bought it with cautious optimism and I have to say I'm happy with the purchase.The Vidbox hardware is dead simple: the tiny box has an S-video input, composite video input, stereo audio RCA inputs, and a USB output. The S-video standard produces a slightly higher quality image than composite. My VCR doesn't support S-video output, so I was unable to test it at this level of quality.My tapes turned out to be in remarkably good condition and the Vidbox pretty much maintained this quality. The sharpness, color, saturation and audio levels of the encoded movies were good, especially considering I was limited to the composite video signal. Scenes with a lot of fast movement, such as quick camera pans or zooms, exhibit considerable blurring, but this is more an issue with the MPEG-2 codec than the device itself.I previously paid a professional video conversion service to convert two VHS tapes to DVD, and the difference in quality between those conversions and the movies produced by Vidbox is honestly negligible.The included video conversion software is also good and it's positively dummy-proof. I didn't bother using the installation disc and instead downloaded the software from the Vidbox website to ensure I had the most recent version. Install the application, authorize it with the key printed on the CD sleeve, then follow the simple 3-step process to start recording. Grandmothers could do this, seriously.That said, the software has room for improvement. The application window is not resizable, and the region which displays the video is tiny, roughly half the resolution of the source signal (I estimate 320 x 240 pixels). This is undesirable not only because it's inconveniently small, but it also produces a subtle psychological effect: my live VHS signal looked razor sharp in this tiny window, but noticeably less sharp when I played back the converted movies full-screen. It's just an illusion -- there's not actually any perceivable change in quality -- but it's jarring. Doubling the size of this region, or allowing the app to be maximized, would fix the problem.The software also doesn't support any degree of fine tuning. I'd like to be able to at least set the bit rate in order to improve quality, or choose a preferred codec. These options could easily be tucked away in an "Advanced Settings" menu.The application does support conversion to MP4, but it comes at a cost: Videos are always first encoded as MPEG-2, so converting to MP4 means a second round of encoding, which is a one-generation loss of quality (two generations from the original tape).I haven't used the burn-to-DVD functionality so I can't speak to its performance. DVDs are always encoded as MPEG-2, so there should be no additional generational loss there.PROSGood quality conversion; my new videos are basically as good as the source material.Incredibly easy to use, and the composite and USB cables are included.CONSSoftware is great for basic conversion, but lacks advanced settings for power users.TIPBe sure to adjust the tracking on your VCR for the best possible picture. Some later model VCRs do this automatically. This can help get rid of static that hovers near the top or bottom of the screen.Ultimately, I'm happy with the Vidbox. It does what it promises and I'm satisfied with the quality of my movies.