DC10Plus - ME/2000/XP Users Look Elsewhere ....
Written: Jan 19 '02
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Easy to use software, Composite AV In and Out, Good VideoTape Quality
Cons: Only works 100% w/Win 98SE, Poor Tech Support, PCI card may not fit slot
The Bottom Line: It is a good overall composite video (not firewire) capture board for Windows 98SE users with good software. ME-2000-XP users will have hardware compatibility problems.
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| astridpeshek's Full Review: Pinnacle Systems Studio DC10plus PCI PC |
Well, this is what I came up with after reviewing the product and it's support (which is pretty poor considering how many individuals and television production studios use its software/hardware).
DV10 Plus is a good capture card and the basic software Pinnacle provides is excellent for the beginning user. HOWEVER, you need to be aware of 2 outstanding (and problematic) issues with the product:
1. The card itself is not physically made to standards, they're all a fraction off - you may have trouble getting it to fit into PCI slots. There is a difference between the card fitting "snug" in the PCI slot - and not at all. Sometimes loosening the screw on the metal bracket will give you some flexibility .... but normally it does not. The metal bracket's screw hole on the board needs to be drilled a hair back on the circuit board itself. This is a manufacturing defect. I had to send back 2 until I got one that fit somewhat okay into one of my 4 computers. This has been a major complaint on the Pinnacle help forum by users.
2. It only works 100% on a Windows 98 "SE" system (but not 98). Windows "ME" users will quickly discover that after installing the software and then the card - as soon as they restart their computer - they get DECODER CARD not found errors. The ME drivers are not completely compatible with Windows ME itself (it does not appear on Microsoft's ME hardware compatibility list - other higher priced Pinnacle cards do though). 2000 and XP users do not have drivers for it yet. There are no patches for this problem yet and Pinnacle has been promising 2000/XP drivers since late October of last year with none in sight as of yet. The latest version of the software (1.06) does not correct this problem either. ME users who have successfully installed DC10Plus - are few and lucky.
But, if you do get the card to slot in correctly and have 98SE with a good soundcard - Pinnacle has fixed the 2/4 Gig size problem with their latest software and I have yet to see any sound out of sync with video. Their editing software is a snap to use - but you cannot get a full screen preview on the computer. Their editing system is alot like Video Vegas 2 - and works great. Transitions and Titles are a snap. Overall, the picture quality is good enough for tape (which is what I use), but maybe not for DVD creation.
At any rate - it's better than any Dazzle Video product.
Although I cannot recommend it for ME, 2K, or XP users - it's a great deal for 98SE users.
As a last note - the vendors I purchased the DC10Plus board all mentioned that the DC10Plus is being phased out by Pinnacle, as indicated by the $99 USD pricetag. They were not optimistic about 2000 or XP compatibility. Their suggestion was the DV500PLUS card - which combined composite and firewire. But at a nearly $600 USD pricetag, for the home user, the DV500PLUS is out of reach for most consumers. You also have to BUY Pinnacle's outstanding Studio 7 software - it does not come with this card. You get the basic Pinnacle STUDIO video editing software, which should be fine for 90% of home users wanting to do home video editing.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 99
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Epinions.com ID:
astridpeshek
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Member: Astrid Peshek
Location: Ohio - United States
Reviews written: 7
Trusted by: 2 members
About Me:
Just because I'm a nerd with boobs doesn't mean I'm easy ....
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