If you’ve been wanting to edit your performance videos on a computer and don’t own a MiniDV camcorder, you may be interested in ADS Technologies’ DVD Xpress. This product competently accepts and converts video from camcorders, VCRs and televisions into digital files that may be stored on your PC's hard drive. And once the video is on your PC’s hard drive, it may be edited and burned onto a DVD disc, if you own a DVD burner, or converted into video that you may post on your web page.
The DVD Xpress is a decent product that works well and is easy to install because it’s an external device that doesn’t require you to open your PC. Of course, in addition to digitizing your performance and promotional magic videos, you may also use this product if you have home videos or old TV shows that you want to save and watch on your computer or burn onto a DVD disc.
If you already own a MiniDV camcorder, you won’t need the DVD Xpress. With a MiniDV camcorder, you can play your old videos on a VCR or old camcorder, and record them onto the DV camcorder, and then import the video into a properly equipped (“firewire”) PC. But if don’t already own a MiniDV camcorder, then the DVD Xpress, which costs about $100, may be worth a look.
The DVD Skinny
While the product's name, which sounds like a DVD disc burner, is misleading, it’s a decent video capture device that works well. It connects to a PC via its USB (USB-2) or Firewire ports and accepts composite and S-Video connections. The unit comes with cables to make connections to analog video equipment, but lacks S-Video cables.
Using the DVD Xpress, I captured good quality video with almost no dropped frames. The device makes the capture process easy by letting you follow a step-by-step wizard that walks you through the process. Technically, the DVD Xpress captures video in MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 (for VCD, SVCD or DVD) formats at up to 720 x 480 (720 x 576 PAL) from any analog (VHS or SVHS) or digital source. The capture software also offers adjustments for brightness, contrast, chroma, saturation and hue.
The system comes with software-Ulead's VideoStudio 7SE-a decent video-editing program. As you would expect, it's a stripped down version that offers only basic capabilities and encourages you to shell out some money to upgrade to Ulead's standard version. Using the software, I easily edited videos by adding transitions, superimposing audio, adding titles and more.
The documentation is well written and I found the device easy to install, configure and use. Another plus, if you have an older PC that lacks a firewire connection, the DVD Xpress may be a good alternative to a MiniDV camcorder, but you’ll still need a USB 2.0 port.
