Hi there!

I've been trying to deal with this for a while; I'd like a more or less all-purpose device for capturing video on my home computer (It's a laptop, if that's important). Meaning, I would like to be able to have a device (preferably an external box) that can easily be used to hook up- My camcorder (a fairly old one that uses DV tapes), A VCR (for recording old home movies), A playstation 2, and a DVD player (my sister's school video projects are all on dvd and I'd like to be able to easily capture some for her.)

I bought the most inexpensive video box I could find on ebay, but... well, it was not a good piece of hardware, I'll just say that much. It was an off-brand device, very cheap, didn't get sound, only recorded some flickering video. Not fun to use.

I'd like to know what brand I can rely on for a capture box, but one that still won't be too expensive. At Best Buy, the salesperson told me that pinnacle was the only one that nobody had any complaints about, but the only package for that was $150 and came with the pinnacle software, greenscreen and a microphone. I've tried pinnacle and don't like it.

(I plan to use Sony Vegas with this technology, perhaps occasionally put things together quickly on Windows Movie Maker still.)



Haha, that was far too long of a post for such a simple question.

In summary- What is the best quality, most reliable brand and model of capture box that won't cost too much?

Thanks much!

Unless you plan on exporting video back to an analog source like videotape, you could always try the regular version of Pinnacle Studio Moviebox.

Pinnacle Systems - Product summary - Studio MovieBox

It's only $99.99. I have the Moviebox Plus version, and not only does it work with Pinnacle Studio (and Studio Plus), it also works with Windows Movie Maker, and I imagine it will also work with Sony Vegas, too.

Ah. So it's reliable then?

Other question- I've looked up on ebay for that product, and they sell a lot of different models of the Pinnacle movie box. I'm guessing they're older designs. Are they the same product ultimately? What's the difference besides some shape and casing changes?

The earliest versions I know, back when versions 8 and 9 were out, they had two versions of the Moviebox device. There was Moviebox DV and Moviebox USB. Moviebox DV allowed capture of composite and S-video and DV. It connected to the computer via a Firewire port.



Moviebox USB was nearly the same, except it didn't have the DV/Firewire ports on it, and it connected via USB port.



In 2004, when Pinnacle Systems introduced Pinnacle Studio Plus 9, they came up with a newer, deluxe version of the Moviebox. It was a lot like Moviebox DV, complete with the Firewire port, except that it connected to the computer via USB-2.0.

In 2005, Pinnacle released Studio 10, and had two different Moviebox-style packages. The version that came with the regular version of Pinnacle Studio 10.0, it included a basic USB device that featured analog-in ports for composite and S-video (but no analog-out ports), as well as a Firewire in/out port on the device in the back. It was called Pinnacle USB-500.



The USB device that came with Pinnacle Studio Plus 10.0 was the 700-USB, and it was basically a re-labeling of the Moviebox Deluxe device from 2004.



Last year, when 10.5 became available for purchase, they released the current Moviebox and Moviebox Plus devices that are still available today, both USB-powered.

Dandeco, you are my hero! Thank you so very much! With all the scattered information and tons of technology available, it's great to be able to get some specific useful and in depth advice and information in one place.