Cube inside...
Capture the Moment With the Dazzle Digital Video Creator
Sheldon Leemon
03/01/99
Computer Shopper from ZDWire
Copyright (c) 1999 ZD Inc. All Rights Reserved.
It seems that every few months, video-capture devices get less expensive and easier to use. Dazzle Multimedia continues this trend with its Digital Video Creator (DVC), a small external device that captures high-quality MPEG -1 video for the impressively low list price of $249.
The DVC's all-external setup makes things easy for the novice: You simply plug the external box into your printer port, attach the AC power adapter, and plug in your camcorder or VCR. We experienced a slight problem with our initial attempt at installing the device. But when we unplugged everything and plugged it back in (as suggested in the instructions), it worked fine. The DVC comes with a full range of audio and video input and output connectors, including S-Video in and out, and a microphone input. It also has a pass-through connector for your printer or other parallel devices.
The main control software lets you access all of the DVC's basic functions from a single program--with a user interface that was so simple we never had to look at the manual. There are three buttons on the side of the live video preview window that let you capture a full-motion video clip, a still frame, or an audio track (no picture). Although the default settings work well for most purposes, a configuration screen allows the technically inclined to play with capture rates and image controls.
Once you've selected a capture mode, you simply use a set of VCR-style buttons to control recording and playback. After you've captured a clip, it's automatically saved to disk, and a thumbnail appears in the Media Manager album. From there, you can drag the clip to an edit module to perform basic modifications--trimming its size, splitting it into two separate clips, or joining two clips as one. Output buttons make it easy to e-mail the resulting clip or embed it in a Web page.
Although the built-in software provides good control over the basic functions, Dazzle Multimedia includes a fine collection of supplementary software, including Ulead Video Studio 3.0 for more complex video editing, Ulead PhotoExpress for advanced still-image editing, and Microsoft NetMeeting for videoconferencing. Add in high-end features such as real-time video preview, printer pass-through, and TV output, and you've got a capable video-capture solution at an attractive price. The Dazzle Digital Video Creator has a simple, all-external setup.
Dazzle Digital Video Creator
Dazzle Multimedia
510-360-2300
www.dazzle.com
Requires: 133MHz or faster Pentium-class processor; 16MB RAM (32MB recommended); 160MB hard drive space (plus an additional 10MB per minute of video); EPP/ECP parallel port; external video source (camcorder or VCR); Windows 95 or Windows 98
List Price: $249
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