Never Miss a Deal.

First off, I could not get the device to work in Windows 10. I couldn't get the driver to install. I tried about a dozen different drivers I found on the internet, but no dice. I would love to hear if anyone can get it working in 10.

Installed it on a Windows 7 64 machine. The bundled driver installed fine, but the included BlazeHDAV capture software did not work for me. When I tried capturing video from a composite source, it would capture 2-3 seconds of video and then just stop. After playing with the settings and getting nowhere, I decided to try different software.

I downloaded the EZ Grabber software linked to on this page, but it crashed when I initiated a capture.

After trying a few other software suggestions I found online, the one that worked for me was WinAVI Video Capture. Link:

http://www.winavi.com/video-capture/

WinAVI automatically detected the video grabber device. The only error I had was something about being unable to record to the selected file path. I believe this is because the default recording folder didn't actually exist. I just changed it to save to the My Videos folder, and then it worked fine.

If this solution doesn't work for you, maybe a different driver or capture software will do the trick. Be prepared for the possibility of having to do some extensive Googling to get this thing to work. If you are willing to do that, this device is really a great deal once it works.

PROS: Cheap, simple to hook up, simple to operate once you get compatible software

CONS: May not work with included drivers and software depending on your OS

I wanted to digitize my old Hi8 analog tape videos and a large number of old VHS tapes, so I could edit them and burn them onto DVDs. After searching and reading about all the various options, components, software, etc I had no idea what would be best for me to buy. Then I thought to see if my trusty source for cables and other inexpensive items, Monoprice, had anything and found this little jewel at an incredible price.

I've used both the EZGRAB software that came with this, as well as the video editor from AVS4YOU that I already had, and both worked great. On my HI8 I used the RCA plugs for both video and audio, and from my VCR I used the S-Video and RCA audio plugs. Both the video and audio were at least as good as when played back from my HI8 camera and the VCR, and seemed to be sync'd up fine.

One thing I noticed when I used AVS4YOU is that I had a fairly high number of dropped frames (the EZGRAB doesn't show you any stats about dropped frames). After doing some research, I don't believe this had anything to do with this product. I think my old trusty XP PC is in need of an upgrade so I'll have the resources to capture without as many frame dropouts.

Once again Monoprice came through with a very solid product and the best price of anything out there that appeared to be able to do the same job.

From reading the reviews, I was not expecting this product to work on Windows 10, so I first downloaded
the "disc" from Monoprice website and installed it on to my old WinXP machine. None of the software
downloaded from the Monoprice website worked for me. Then I looked at the cardboard packaging once more
and realized it came with one of those tiny CDs and fold up documentation. The CD contains the driver
and BlazeVideo application. I installed this on my WinXP machine and it worked! I saw the input video
displayed in the application and the audio was coming through. Then I hit record ... my old WinXP machine
was simply not fast enough to handle this.

Then I tried the software on my Windows 10 machine. Despite the documentation saying that I could only
install it on only one machine, I was able to register the application again on my Windows 10 machine.
I saw the input video again, but this time no audio. So, I applied the Windows 7 audio fix mentioned
in the documentation and it fixed the audio. I hit the record button and it saved my audio/video into
ASF file. Not sure why the other reviewers are having trouble with Windows 10 - maybe Microsoft fixed
it with an update.

PROS: For the price, it works better than I expected (and it works on my Windows 10 machines).

CONS: CD and doc hidden in cardboard packaging - almost thought it didn't exist.

+ Puts a video file from VHS onto the PC that looks equal or better than when you play it to your TV (Depending on how good your TV is)
+ Several output settings to match input scan type with different reasons for capture. (Larger file for making a DVD of your home movies, smaller for sending email to the grand-kids.)
+ Also can do sound only with .wma or .mp3, but who would want to hook this to an old LP or cassette tape record and reuse those old - hmmm - wait a minute - ...

- When our video auto-switch changed sources from Xbox to cable to VHS, it drops the sync for a half a second and the EZ Grabber window appears to lock up. When I plugged this grabber dirrectly into the VHS or other sources this did not happen.
+ Right-click the display window and select another scan mode, then select the correct one again and it is very quickly back to normal. Auto-resync would have been nice, but at this price I can't dock more than half a star for that.

= Try a few output settings on a short test capture first to find what matches for your scan mode and the file size you need. If you want to plug this in and walk away for an hour then come back for you finished DVD you have the wrong attitude for this price range. It's easy with this to walk away while a 4 hour VHS tape plays and come back to a 4 hour video file. How you split and assemble, publish, and burn the result is not this tool's job.
+ As in the review title, this only comes with drivers and software to grab (capture) video (and/or audio) into a file, including 64bit and 32bit versions for Vista and XP.
= I am glad I did not have to pay extra for video editor and DVD authoring software, especially since it is often the "teaser versions" when they try to add stuff and keep cost low. Windows Vista Home Premium already has both and worked fine for me. Windows Home Basic has the editor but not the DVD Maker, but most DVD Burners (and many prebuilt systems that include them) come with their own. Check what you have. If you can do what you need starting with .mpg (Mpeg-4) or .avi or .wmv files this provides them for you. You can play with the "sample videos" in your "videos" folder to find out. If you can't, then get this anyway and look for good complete versions of DVD authoring software. You have more tapes to convert than you think, and having good software that makes the task a pleasure will pay you back well.
I'm getting several more for stocking stuffers.

From reading the reviews, I was not expecting this product to work on Windows 10, so I first downloaded the "disc" from Monoprice website and installed it on to my old WinXP machine. None of the software downloaded from the Monoprice website worked for me. Then I looked at the cardboard packaging once more and realized it came with one of those tiny CDs and fold up documentation. The CD contains the driver and BlazeVideo application. I installed this on my WinXP machine and it worked! I saw the input video displayed in the application and the audio was coming through. Then I hit record ... my old WinXP machine.was simply not fast enough to handle this.

Then I tried the software on my Windows 10 machine. Despite the documentation saying that I could only install it on only one machine, I was able to register the application again on my Windows 10 machine I saw the input video again, but this time no audio. So, I applied the Windows 7 audio fix mentioned in the documentation and it fixed the audio. I hit the record
button and it saved my audio/video into ASF file. I could use WinFF to convert this file to any format. Not sure why the other reviewers are having trouble with Windows 10 - maybe Microsoft fixed it with an update. It worked on another Windows 10 machine I tried it on.

PROS: For the price, it works better than I expected (and it works on my Windows 10 machines).

CONS: mini CD and doc hidden in cardboard packaging - almost thought it didn't exist.

worked exactly as i hoped it would. i use windows 7, and just a few clicks to install and i captured a whole box full of videos in a day. i simply plugged it in from my vcr to my computer, then hit the capture button. easier than i expected. better than the price of admission.

FYI....
Did not work after installing 3 times.......The 4th time I let windows installation wizard handle the installation and everything worked right away......

Was a bit uncertain if this would perform as described for a couple of reasons. First, Win 8.1 was not listed as a version of windows that it was compatible with and secondly I didn't expect much from a piece of equipment with such a low price. Well, it worked with Win 8.1 and it worked very well. If you are transferring video from VHS tapes to a PC make sure in the software to change the function of the only button on the device to capture video rather than a single image capture. Highly recommended.

PROS: Copied VHS tapes flawlessly

Very easy to use

CONS: None

Works great, wanted to use my security camera with my Computer and it works great. Long cables so you have some reach. Without the CD you are screwed for drivers however, So here is a link to the CD! http://www.filedropper.com/usbvid

PROS: Easy to use, fairly easy layout, connect, install, good to go

CONS: Without CD, screwed

I ordered this device to convert an old VHS tape that my father in law had of his father playing pool some years ago. The device was small and easy to setup and the software it came with did the job. There are different options and on the DVD setting for video capture it was just under 4.5 GBs for about 113 minutes of captured footage.

The only issue I had was Windows allowing me to save to the original folder the software was attempting to save my video captures to. If you have an issue where the captures aren't saving to the folder check the settings to make sure it isn't read only or you may have to create a new folder somewhere else on the hard drive so the program has rights to save to it. Once I got that working the software was very easy to use. It does save it in various formats so you may have to use a third party program to conver to a DVD. I used the Windows Live Movie Maker in Windows 7 and it worked like a charm to take the AVI and allow me to edit and then create the DVD from it.

Had an old Sony Cam with tapes I had never captured. Back before FIREWIRE which isn't even an option on my newest computer. Hooked this up to Camera and USB on new QuadCore laptop with CYBERLINK Power Director. The capture program that came with it worked but CYBERLINK caught it right into my editor. Had some 8-10 hours of stuff to grab and it did it FINE. Great investment..... NOW I have a TON of editing to do.... THANKS!

PROS: Simple to do once set up

CONS: Got a little off track when installing but worked out

All I wanted was a standard definition capture device with proper drivers for Windows 7 64bit. With the included drivers, the device installed with no problems. However, I would suggest using your own capture software like VirtualDub or AMCap, because the "Blaze" software is absolute crap. It recorded to a Windows Media 7 format with ASF extension and 22.05 kHz audio. Basically a video format that was deprecated years ago and an audio sample rate equivalent to half of FM radio. Thankfully, the included disc allows you to install the drivers only, which I highly suggest you do.

PROS: - Works with Windows 7 64bit

- Actually works with composite, S-Video, and audio inputs

CONS: - "Blaze" software is absolute garbage

Works great on Windows PC, but did not work on my Mac. I tried to find a driver online that would make it work, no luck.

Here is how to get it to work with Win 7 64 bit. I found this on Diamond's web site for the VC500. Apparently it's the same video grabber.
1. Right click on the driver setup.exe file.
2. Select "troubleshoot compatibility" option.
3. Let the wizard select the compatibility setting.
4. Install the driver (accept defaults and finish).
5. Save the recommended compatibility settings and exit the compatibility wizard.
6. Open Device Manager and locate the usb device. Update the driver automatically.

I hope this works for you. It worked for me.

PROS: Good price

CONS: Required some effort to get it to work with Windows 7 64 bit

TLDR

* it works

* VHS video quality is generally poor

* installs easy in windows

* grabber software is sub par



7/10 would recommended



PROS: VHS tapes are almost always 480p, so it ain't gonna look great. But really, it's better than I expected reading the other reviews here.



Install on windows 8 (and 7) was painless with drivers and included BlazeHD app.

CONS: Not thrilled with the BlazeHD app, though I am not too worried about only being able to write in .asf format - since Windows sees it as a .wmv file anyhow. I just don't like that it is kinda flaky when left unattended for too long.



I will try out: VirtualDub. Hopefully this is better...(?)

Overall a good product and CHEAP. Considering I bought a USED VCR for $100 to do the transfer this was really cheap for the actual converter. The Grabber did what I needed with some tinkering and trying out. I think if you were a real basic computer user it might be hard to figure out. However if you are actually capable of transferring, (hopefully) editing and cleaning up the video quality as much as possible, and ripping to DVD or other formats, you should be able to tinker enough to get this to work the way you want.

I also found that using Windows 7 Enterprise 32-bit that it works better if you right click and "Run as Administrator" If I just ran the Windows 7 compatibility tool and took the default setting it configured it as (believe it did XP compatibility) it would work but it would blue screen the system after quite some time of transferring (over 30 minutes in my case.)

PROS: 1. CHEAP.
2. Did transfers as good as the original VHS quality (with some tinkering)
3. Multiple options for encoding (MPEG, AVI, and tons more, read the specs)

CONS: 1. Some of the Codec's are better than others so you have to try them out to figure it out.
2. The software is quite limited in the specs you can set for the encoding
3. Instructions were not as clear as they should be.
4. Would not work, or blue screen my system until I figured out the fix (Run as Administrator)

The Blaze HDAV Grabber software is mediocre at best but does the very basic job needed.

Extremely disappointed that an updated driver is available but not provided and difficult to find.



MAC and Windows 8 Driver:

http://www.win-star.com/download/Drivers/CD_VR203M-B_V3.5_MAC+Arcsoft.rar



All driver options listed under "USB Video and Audio Capture":

http://www.win-star.com/eshop/article.php?id=41

PROS: It works.....if you get the right drivers.

CONS: Why did I have to hunt down the original manufacturers web site and test each driver to find the one that works with Windows 8?

Shouldn't this have been provided to me at time of purchase?

What a worthless piece of junk. My first impression of monoprice is very poor. Tried on 2 machines with Win 7 x64, and never got it working. I have worked in IT for 15 years so I know may way around a computer and generally how to get stuff working.



This will be my last monoprice purchase.

PROS: Has mass. LEDs light up when plugged into USB port

CONS: Doesn't do anything but have mass and have LEDs light up.

This is listed as a "video capture device". Not really. It ONLY works with the included software, so it can only be used to dub incoming video into the software. You'd think this means it works as a video capture device ought to, and you could run a camera into Skype or any other video software. You can't. The drivers only work with the supplied software - that's it. So if you want to dub home movies, I guess that'll work. If you want to have a better webcam for Skype or run a video webcast? Look elsewhere.

PROS: None

CONS: Very misleading description.

The video grabber worked great with my vcr I recorded a movie I have on vhs and it looks decent. I will be using it to record my 8mm home movies.

Works great on a PC - make sure you have plenty of free hardware resources for best quality.
Spent a lot of time trying to get it to work on Windows XP SP2 running in VMWare Fusion or Virtual Box on a MAC w/ no success. Have not tried w/ Boot Camp.
When they said to use on a PC with Windows XP SP2/Vista/Windows7 they meant it.

Great price.

great shipping, good seller, thanks

Used this to broadcast an s-video signal via ustream, and it worked fine.

I've seen other cap devices that looked like this that are essentially VC500 capture devices, they worked great, and I think this product use to be that same chipset. Now it is some "SMI Grabber 007"/SMIGRABBER3C, and I can't get it to work on Windows 7 x64 or Windows 8. Tried different ports, drivers on CD, updated driver from this site, even other drivers from online, etc. Nothing works to get it to work. Would like to return.

PROS: Cheap

CONS: Does not work, or works very irregularly (as in a slide show).

I've been using this grabber to convert some old home videos to DVD for my mother and brothers, great little device, can't go wrong for the price either!

monoprice.com is the place I go to I've always been pleased. I've only bought cables etc so I can't review them except to say prices are great and quality is very good. I trust them.

PROS: service and price

CONS: none

So glad I ordered this product. Was able to finally digitize my wedding videos that was recorded originally on VHS. Was much easier to use than I expected and the neat thing is that this product is so compact.

PROS: Very easy to use. Just install the CD and follow the instructions.
Worked just the way I expected it to.
User menu on the interface was simple and easy to understand.

CONS: Copy quality was not that good, but hey, we are talking about making a digital file from old VHS

Easy to install and works great! I would recomend tnhis product!

PROS: None

I am very happy with this product. It is very easy to use and does a great job converting camcorder tapes to digital recordings.

PROS: Easy to use. Plug and play. Great price.

Cheap, simple, workable. I wanted to watch SDTV on my monitor and it works fine for this purpose. I didn't bother using software, and downloaded FreeVCR instead. It had no problem capturing at 60 fps.

Microsoft automatically downloaded the video driver. The audio driver didn't work, but I have a sound card that can capture audio just fine. I just needed video, anyways.

Only con is that it came with female ends to hook up to a VCR. It would have been better with male ends, but that is a minor issue.

Worked as advertised!

PROS: The price, shipping and build quality

CONS: software could be better. When saving as MP4 it calls the file extension AVI. I was able to use VLC to migrate to MP4

I needed to copy an old videotape to my computer for archiving. A separate RCA cable is needed to connect to an old VCR. Once I connected that, I plugged in the USB, installed the software and was watching it on screen in minutes. The included capture software captured at a resolution good enough for an old VCR tape - probably not great for anything in HD. Capturing happens in real time - so if you want to copy a 3 hour video - it takes three hours (makes sense).

PROS: Simple, cheap, easy to use

CONS: Female connectors on adapter mean that (for me at least) I needed a male to male cable to connect a VCR or camcorder.

Can't go wrong with this product as long as you already have burning software

PROS: easy to set up. easy to use. simple capture user interface. low cost

CONS: no burning software

does not save in .vob format for dvd. forced me to use another capture program (Nero) which couldn't keep up with hdwr and was choppy. So far I cannot get DVD quality to work. AVI is simple and effective through.

PROS: Easy to use. software is simple

CONS: Need adapter phone plugs for connecting to VCR or DVD output.

great great !

Like everything else I have purchased on Monoprice this works as advertised and is very inexpensive compared to other gadgets that do the same thing.

PROS: works like a charm. If it plays on your tv you can put it on your computer.

CONS: nothing wrong with this little jewel.

For how inexpensive this little device is, it works really well. I used it to convert eight VHS tapes to DVD and everything worked like a charm. You plug in your VHS player output or any other av output into the grabber, plug it into your USB port and start up the included program. Then it basically turns your computer into a tv screen for the VHS player. You hit play on the VHS, hit record on the program and you're recording the VHS into a digital format of your choice.
My only quip is that you can't just leave it overnight because you have to be there to tell it to stop recording, but other than that, the grabber is fantastic.

If you want to transfer old VHS to DVD this is the product for you.

PROS: Easy to use, plug and play. Installed software and it was ready to go. Could not of been easier.

CONS: None

5/5

PROS: - Simple to use and great for getting stuff out of otherwise hard to get older / less managable media storage/device that can deal with RCA/S-Video cables.

CONS: - It not a bad point but keep in mind that the power/speed of your PC will play a major role in the over all experience &, at that price, forget about HD size recording... Any way, you REALY don't want those old VHS party recording to get any bigger then they should... -)

Works like it should

let me transfer my dad's old home movies on beta tapes over to the computer, where i can crop out all the boring crap and burn it to dvd! can't really comment on the picture quailty, as all i have to work with are the old beta tapes on an old beta player, but the video and audio feed i get work great.

did notice that i had to disconnect my external usb hard drive while using this, as the video became a little choppy. probably due to too much data transfer over the usb devices and my computer couldn't handle it or whatnot.

overall, a nifty little gadget to help you transfer the old analog stuff over to digital.

I recorded a movie to my pc and it worked great. The quality is only as good as the tape but now I can save my movies to PC then to DVD.

It works great. I am using this to convert my old vhs tape to dvd.

PROS: Its really good and affordable.

CONS: none

Quick shipping. Product works as described. Capture quality is great.

I just needed to convert my VHS tapes to digital video so I can edit them using my video editor, and make DVDs. Works great! I would definitely recommend this for simple operations like this. It's is not capable of enhancing much, just converting.

PROS: -Simple to use, simple to install.
-Video format is mainstream. A lot of other programs require you to use some weird format only convertible by their own program.
-Price

CONS: Program needs USB plugged in before you can use the hardware, so if you PC goes to sleep, shutting off the USB, be prepared to have to restart the program.

Very easy to use. It attaches to the cables on the VCR, and the other end goes in the USB port. The software in the box installed easily. You play the tape on the VCR, and the display is a window on the computer screen. You press a button on the cable cord when you see a scene you want to record and when to stop. The computer saves a .mpg file for each time you press the button. There is also window with sliders to adjust the brightness and contrast as the video stream is being downloaded. I am now trying different software packages to burn the .mpg files into DVDs. For Christmas, my wife is getting DVD of the VCR footage we took of our babies 15-18 years ago, most of which we have not seen in years.
Disadvantages: would prefer to have menu bars and not indescript buttons on the control panel. The settings and adjustment window can not be launched during recording, only during a stop.

I am very happy with my new device,It helped me update my video library by storing all my videos in my computer and also in my backup hard drive I would highly recommend this product,very easy to use.

Great product and easy to use. It was exactly what I was looking for. I had a few news stories with video of my son saved on my DVR and when I was moving AT&T of course messed everything up and I was going to end up loosing them when I moved. But I was easily able to take them off the U-Verse DVR and put them on my PC!!!!!

PROS: Works Great Easy and simple to use

CONS: When installing the software and drivers, it you read through the steps, not exact on which one, but for example you read step 3 which tells you to do one thing, then you read step 4 and it says before doing what you do in step 3 do step 4........seriously?!?!?!? Why didn't they just change the steps???? I just found that amusing and a little annoying, but other then that there was nothing wrong with this at all.
Also the disk with the install software is one of those min disks so if you don't have a dvd drive that actually comes out of your PC it won't work(example the Mac DVD drives you slide in the DVD...this won't work)

Great product. Great price! Thanks!

PROS: Works with windows 7 64 BIT. I saw reviews saying otherwise... this is simply not true. Works great!

This item makes MPG files from the video that you supply to it. I tried using Cucusoft to translate the MPG file into DVD format, then DVDshrink to make that fit on a DVD. The DVD will play on my computer, but won't play on either my DVD player or Blu-Ray player. I'm still not done experimenting with it, though. May be a procedural problem. But the MPGs that this thing produces seem to be good reproductions of the original.

PROS: Real easy to set up and use.

CONS: Still not able to make a DVD from a video cassette that will play on a standard DVD player.