Diamond Multimedia VC500 One Touch VHS to Digital File, DVD Converter with Easy to use Software, Convert, Edit and Save For Win7,8,10,11

I gave Tech Support one star, only because of the lousy instruction manual. I didn't ever try to contact them. This system is hard to figure out because after the install, you are on your own figuring out how to make DVDs. In this review I want to try to help with that, because its a great, inexpensive tool, that DOES WORK on Windows 10.I needed to transfer 8mm cassettes from analog format to my computer in a digital format, so I could put them on DVDs. I didn't care about doing any fancy editing. Just preservation.Install the software as instructed in the booklet. Go to the website listed in the inside front cover (6th dot down) or check for a sticker on the back of the box for the web address of the most recent drivers available. Make sure you download that latest one so you don't have any issues with Windows 10. Once it is installed it will put an icon on your computer desktop.You do not have to download the CyberLink Power Director to make DVD's, unless you want to edit them, and then you are on your own figuring that out. But, if you just want to do a simple capture and then burn it to a DVD all you need is the EZ Grabber.After the software is installed, your USB capture device should be plugged in to your computer and the blue light should come on. Double click the EZ Grabber icon on your desktop to open the software. Check your settings (the gear wheel on the upper right corner of the controler window). The first tab, Video Format, I left the default (first item in the drop down box). Next tab, Capture Button, I selected "Capture Video." Next tab, Snapshot, I chose "jpg" and I left the default for the file location. Last tab, Record, I chose DVD.I used the cables that came with my camcorder rather than the cords that came with the capture device. I connected the yellow connector cable from my camcorder with the yellow connector on the capture device. My camcorder only has two plugs, yellow and black, so I plugged the black one into the white connector of the capture device. One is for video and the other for audio. Make sure you press them all the way as far in as they will go together.In my computer settings I set my sleep settings to 2 hours so it wouldn't try to go to sleep during a transfer.I actually hadn't used my camcorder in a long long while and it was totally dead. So I had to plug it in and give it about 10 minutes to come to life. It acted a bit funky, but unplugging the power cord and plugging it back in again once or twice seemed to fix it. I powered it on, then I pressed the eject button to open the tape drawer. I inserted a tape and made sure to fully rewind the tape. When I was ready to make my recording, I pressed the record button on the capture device and then the play button on my camcorder. The blinking red light on the capture device tells you it is recording, plus you'll see your video playing on your computer screen.Now sit back, relax, and watch your movie. There is no way to rush this process, you just have to let the movie play. You will want to keep watch though that if your tape is full it won't all fit on one DVD. You'll want to stop your video around an hour and 45 minutes and finish it in another recording. Because a full 2-hour tape ends up being about 5.75 GB and a blank DVD is 4.7.Now, on your computer, open up your File Explorer file, and then your videos file. Look for the video file you just made. It should give you a thumbnail, or it might just show a logo with a lot of numbers for the file name. If you double click on it, it should start playing for you. I was connected to the Internet and was promted that I needed to download a free CODEC from the Microsoft Store in order to watch the video. I did, and in a second or two was able to watch my video file. I renamed my videos to "Home Movie 1" "Home Movie 2" etc. Now leave the File Explorer window open showing your new video.Place a blank DVD in the DVD drawer and close it. You might get a window that asks what you want to do with blank DVDs. I just open my File Explorer folder and leave the window open, showing the DVD. Then I drag my new video from the video folder to the DVD player. Right click your mouse on the DVD player and choose BURN. A window will pop up asking what kind of DVD you want to make, and you just want to make sure you mark "with a CD/DVD player." Be sure to name the file the same name as your video file name (otherwise the default will be today's date).The DVD should start burning after you click NEXT. It takes about 10 min for it to complete. Click FINISH when prompted, and then remove your DVD. Check to make sure it recorded by placing it in a DVD player in your house.Voila! You just converted 8mm analog to a neat little DVD. I don't know how many tapes you have. I have about 20 to do. At two hours each, I know what I'm doing this weekend. :P

Let me first say that I tried 'em all before this one: TOTMC, EZCAP, even the Elgato with limited (if any) results. The TOTMC was the best of those three, which actually would capture video and audio but the problem was the audio broke up a lot in the final MPEG2 using the given software (ShowBiz). Upon this, I decided it was the capture's fault and bought an EZCap (again supplied with ShowBiz). This one did the exact same thing, with even worse results. Then decided "oh, I'm not spending enough!" and sprung for the Elgato. Well, those drivers wouldn't even install on my system (Win7Pro, x64), so that was a true waste. After reading a ton of reviews, and even two pages stating 'it's YOUR fault frames are dropping and sound is cutting out, here's what YOU can do, it's NOT your capture device!' -- tried all of that and decided to try a new program (PowerDirector) with the TOTMC capture device. I got the best transfer with that program/device combo -- but now the problem was the audio was falling out of sync about 4 minutes into the captured MPEG2. Tried with an update of ShowBiz 5. Same deal. reviews. More experience accounts.I noticed that this little thing which was modestly priced was getting rave reviews pretty much across the board -- so as a last resort, before delving into a $200 capture "box" -- I decided, why not give this DIAMOND a go? The worst that can happen is I return it.Didn't happen. Doesn't have to happen.This thing captured the audio and video of my VHS tapes PERFECTLY with all the programs I used (though if you can shell out, I do recommend PowerDirector for its many features). Hands down. No issues. As simple as all the others promised.HINT: I took a cue from the reviews and downloaded the drivers from Diamond myself before actually plugging it in (and not letting Windows Update find them first -- besides "USB Composite Device" driver, which I think WU does find, though it could just as well have been in the install package on Diamond's website) DO NOT install the drivers from the software included in the box when you buy this. They are old and outdated.For those who are curious, I bought this to make DVD-resolution transfers of my VHS tapes that were either self-made, or things that are not on DVD yet. While this product (nor any video capture device) doesn't FIX your VHS tapes that do have damage, at least you get EXACTLY what you see and hear on the capture screen as it imports.Fantastic device.

In short, this is a good video capture device.It works OK with Widows 10 but only with the application that must be installed. The application is simplistic with few features and allows only 4 outdated video formats which adds extra difficulty in producing a final usable product. I was never able to get OBS Studio to recognize this device in Windows 10 after a lot of effort. The record button only works with the application but is handy because the controls on the application are small and difficult to navigate.This device was plug and play with Linux Mint 20.1 and instantly recognized by OBS Studio where I was able to crop the video flagging from my old Sony helical scan camcorder producing a finished MP4 product with little or no additional processing required which saved much time converting 20 hours of video. One linux quirk, take care to not remove this device unless the system is suspended or shut down otherwise it may crash requiring a restart.I bought a similar less expense capture device however it was unable sync the chroma from my 8mm Sony camcorder probably because the video from the smaller video head is less stable. After some sleuthing, it seems the cheaper devices use a different chipset. The VC 500 produced excellent video.Bottom line, 3 stars in Windows because of the dorky application but 5 stars with Linux so I give it 4 stars overall and switch to Linux, resistance is futile.