LINX - It's CRASHTASTIC!
Written: Aug 23 '02
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Does capture some video, was uninstallable.
Cons: Extremely poor and unstable in XP. Audio syncronization problems.
The Bottom Line: If you enjoy struggling with bad hardware and even worse software, this is for video system for you.
|
|
|
| WRC123's Full Review: Pinnacle Linx (210100134) Video Capture |
I purchased the Pinnacle Linx USB for a few reasons. I wanted to get some videos I made onto my web site, and also record an old video over onto a CD as a backup. (Nova’s “BACK TO CHERNOBYL” tape.) Boy, was I in for an adventure.
Installation was a bit long, to say the least. I followed the instructions in the “manual” which was far shorter then this entire review. After 20 minutes, a reboot, and more installation files added after the reboot, it was finished installing the drivers and Pinnacle Studio SE.
After rebooting, what do I get? An uninvited reminder screen to register the software. WHAT NERVE! They put a line in my system startup parameters (get to this through msconfig.exe) and made sure the reminder started whenever the computer started. To me, that was totally uncalled for and rude. Killing the line using msconfig.exe quickly eliminated that annoyance.
The Pinnacle Studio SE that was bundled with the device was, to say the least, c**p. When you first install a program and you get C++ runtime errors, it’s never a good sign of things to come. This happened to me after the second time I installed it. The first time I got a generic “we’re sorry, this program has encountered an error…” from Windows XP. A few reboots, system restores via XP, and re-installations later, I finally got the program to actually load, and I actually saw a video and sound in the preview window. Joy. However, problems started when I began to actually digitize video. Now mind you, I was using a Dell Inspiron Notebook, with a 700mhz Pentium III, 256mb RAM, and a 20-gigabyte hard drive. Despite my system, I had problems digitizing the video. The biggest problem was the intermittent crashes. These were extremely severe crashes too, they brought Windows XP-Pro to its knees. The second problem was that the audio that was digitized was not synced with the video! Bill Curtis from the Nova special (the guy from “Investigative Reports with Bill Curtis”) sounded like he was in a Japanese horror movie that was (obviously) dubbed. This was a problem. If I –wanted- my video to look cheesy like that, it would have been excellent! However, that wasn’t what I was going for. Of course, about the time I noticed the problem was when Studio SE decided to crash. And when it crashed, boy, DID IT CRASH! The program hanged the system so badly that even Windows XP-Pro couldn’t stop it- after selecting “terminate process” and “end program” from XP’s task manager, the little monstrosity was still alive! I had to do a cold boot (remove system power) to kill it and get back to XP.
As a last-ditch attempt at what was becoming a futile endeavor, I went to Pinnacle’s web site. The offered a 2.4 megabyte patch for their DV studio software, which I suspected could be the culprit. Unfortunately, the file which was listed as 2.4 megabytes was actually over 10 megabytes. I really, really don’t like it when information is incorrect like that. I don’t have a xSL or cable connection, so I would need to go to Behrend College’s computer lab to grab a file that large. Would it have helped? Possibly, but I doubt it. I then checked for a solution to the audio problem on Pinnacle’s “help” site. After some navigation, I found a question that was posted regarding my odd audio problem. The solutions, of course, could have come from an 8-year-old with basic computer knowledge. Download the latest patch. Defrag your hard drive. Close other applications. Get new sound-card drivers. After more searching, I finally found specifics about my audio-syncing problem. Here’s what they said in one part:
“do not record any sections of static or breaks between video programs; such segments are inherently without sync, and will throw off the Pinnacle capture… the problem could be caused by the computer’s hardware and operating system settings.”
Oh GREAT! So now I just gotta make sure that I don’t have any little pauses in audio! Great, I can get that fast-talking guy from the early-90s “Micromachine” advertisements to do narrations. And yes, I forgot what a totally unreliable and unstable operating system XP-Pro is. Typical finger pointing- if the software’s c**p, blame the Operating system. I think they should have written this:
“Sorry, we released software that’s junk. It’s really Microsoft’s fault. Did you defrag your hard-drive yet?”
I swear, EVERY SINGLE PROBLEM THERE HAS “Defrag your hard drive” and “download latest drivers” and “It’s Microsoft’s fault!” as at least one of the solutions. Gotta love cop-out technical support. I continued to wrestle with this device for hours. I tried recording through Windows Movie Maker. That worked OK for awhile, and didn’t create the same audio-synchronization problem that Studio SE had. But, after a few minutes the video stream died. The same thing happened in Studio SE. In another attempt, Windows XP got the deadly XP-Blue-Screen, which is basically XP screaming “HEY! SOMETHING’S SERIOUSLY –expletive- HERE! I’M SHUTTING DOWN. SO SIT TIGHT, THIS IS GONNA TAKE A FEW MINUTES BECAUSE OF SOME –expletive- DRIVER THAT WAS JUNK.” After the BSOD in XP I came to the end of my rope. The unit’s going into the package and back to Circuit City.
If you’re looking for a video digitizing solution, this probably won’t be it. However, this has worked well for some people, and hey, more power to them. But, from the looks of reviews here and on Circuit City’s site, it looks like many other people are having severe problems with this unit. The competitors in the same price range, Hauppage WinTV, Dazzle, and ATI’s all-in-wonder TV card are also reported to have problems that are as bad- poor quality, freezes, and a general lack of reliability.
The truth is, if you want decent video, you’re going to have to spend at least $200 and get an internal card. If you’re looking to make the next “Blair Witch” prepare to spend at least $1000. It’s as simple as that.
Recommended:
No
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
WRC123
|
|
Location: North East, Pennsylvania
Reviews written: 120
Trusted by: 18 members
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.