Added Note: If you're interested in ANY Pinnacle Systems products, a review of their support forums will prove to be extremely enlightening, letting you know which products are prone to support problems, driver issues, etc.

Pinnacle Support URL
http://www.pinnaclesys.com/support/default.asp?Langue_ID=7

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When I think of this capture card, one question comes to mind. It's not "How good is this card", but "Is it worth the risk".

When I purchased the DC10+, I got a great deal -- less than $70 through Office Depot. I learned to use this product and began working on a project for work in less than 10 minutes. The final product was awesome. The add-ins were a definite plus.

For anyone using Windows ME, 98 or 95 (I'm not sure about Win 2K), this product is great for analog/composite video capture. However, if you use Windows XP or are planning to upgrade to Win XP, you'll definitely want to read further.

While I was pleased at first, I eventually became thoroughly disgusted with this product -- three reasons and an explanation:

1) Doesn't work with Win XP.
2) An upgrade to Studio 7 ($58) is required in order to allow you to use a beta driver.
3) Tech support is iffy.

The Win XP Issue

Many people who upgrade to a new MS operating system usually express disgust with Microsoft when certain things don't work. While many won't like what I'm about to say, it's the truth. COMPANIES HAVE FAIR WARNING AND ENOUGH ADVANCE NOTICE SO THAT THEIR PROGRAMMERS CAN DEVELOP DRIVERS FOR ANY NEW OPERATING SYSTEM. WinXP has been out for months and Pinnacle Systems still doesn't have drivers available.

Why Upgrade

I purchased the DC10+ one month before XP became available. When I learned that the DC10+ wasn't compatible with XP, I had a decision to make -- more system stability or video editing. Of course, stability won out.

I then learned that in order for my DC10+ to work with XP, I needed to buy an upgrade to Studio 7 -- $58. Most companies simply provide a new driver for their hardware, but Pinnacle requires its users, in this situation, to upgrade to a new product.


Iffy Support

I have called Pinnacle a few times since my initial purchase. Most of my interactions have been less pleasant than desired.

I called Pinnacle to express my displeasure about the upgrade issue, using as my basis for argument the fact that I had recently purchased the product. They had an "oh, well" kind of attitude.

I sent an e-mail to support regarding updated drivers and received no more information than what I found on the site -- even though I referenced the information I found on the site when I sent the e-mail.

I have since contacted them about other issues, only to experience the "oh, well", "too bad", non-sympathetic, non-caring attitude.

Conclusion

After reading this, the aforementioned operative question is (hopefully) more apparent. The product is, in and of itself, great. It's affordable and easy to use. If you're progressive and have a fully upgraded system, there are definitely some issues here that you'll definitely want to think about if you're considering this product.

Yeah. They'll eventually come up with drivers, but will it be for the DC10+? I suggest you ask them. My opinion? You may be better off looking at the Pinnacle System Studio 7 package that includes a PCI capture card.

What did I do? I bought a new video card that included analog video capture hardware.

Hope this helps.

Recommended: No

Amount Paid (US$): 64