Are Dazzle devices locked in some way to Pinnacle software?

Hi,
Maybe it's an stupid question, but I'm a complete noob regarding video capturing from an analog device, being only experience with a DV camcorder.

My problem is the following: a friend of mine has recently bought a Dazzle DVC 120 unit, which obviously comes with Pinnacle Studio software. As he and me both hate that software (lots of issues...), I suggested him to try to use Sony Vegas, as it's powerful enough for the kind projects he's gonna do.

Well, the problem is that we are complete unable to capture video from that unit using software other than Pinnacle's shipped with the unit. We've tried Sony Vegas, Adobe Premiere Pro, Windows Movie Maker, VirtualDub, Roxio Easy Media Creator 7 Capture's utility... Neither work. In all cases we get an error message indicating that (in different ways) the driver is locked by any other software or else is not ready (which it is).

¿Does anybody know if there's any way to use Dazzle devices from usual video edition packages? We've started becoming crazy, as I can assure you I've tried all I know to make it work without success.

BTW, my system is a Pentium 4 3.2 with HT, and my friend's an AMD64 one, both running XP SP2.

Any ideas? If someone knows positively that the only software working is Pinnacle's then I'll suggest him to use only the capturing part of Studio and then to make the video editing process using any other software, but it's really a shame having to work this way...

Best regards,
Eduard

 

I just use Pinnacle because it's such a hassle to try other programs with it. I tried WME and it crashes. I think Dazzle made their products that way.

 

Yeah, I supposed so after some digging into the web. It's really a pity, as the Dazzle hardware seems to deliver a good quality, but Pinnacle software is just BS. Never seen a software so buggy and intrusive... Short time after installing it I had to disable DEP for it as every time I entered a folder contining AVI files it made the Explorer crash.

Cheers,
Eduard

 

I use the Dazzle 80 with Artech365's WinVDR software to capture.
I've also used WinDV with it. Unfortunately it's max resolution is 360x240, so I've purchased a Dazzle 90. It supports 720x480, but not sure if it will solve my particular problem. ( I have to capture in WMF ).
These are USB 2.0 devices, so I'm not sure they have any relevance, as I believe yours is an internal card.
For my professional ingest, I use a Canopus ADVC500, but the 300 is also excellent. Perfect lip sync and phenominal quality. It uses a firewire input to the puter. I've used the above software as well as Decryptor, and the Mainconcept Encoder to ingest. Flawless....
Regards,

 

Hi,
¿How do you use your Dazzle 80 with a software other than Pinnacle's? Is it maybe because you bought your device before Pinnacle purchased Dazzle? That would make sense, as surely before that the devices were open as all others are.

The 120 is a external device just as 90, but I don't think this has any relevance.

What I don't understand is why you need to capture the movie using WMF format. ¿Are you referring to Windows Metafile? If so, this is the strangest way to perform a capture I've ever seen...

Best regards,
Eduard

 

I bought the Dazzle 80, a week and a half ago from CompUSA store.
Google for WinVDR and check it yerself. It works. The trial is free.
Mainconcepts PVR v1.14 also works, but it doesn't do .wmv captures.
( My mistake in earlier message, I meant the .wmv format. )
I need the highest compression possible, because I use WinVDR as a logger for video that runs 24 hours a day.

These programs hook to the driver that is installed from the Dazzle CD.
The programs then allow you to choose the input source.
If I'm ingesting for quality, I'll use Mpeg2 from the Canopus ADVC500.
If I'm logging, which one machine does 24x7x365, I use the Dazzle and capture with WinVDR in .wmv.
Does Quicktime too, but haven't spearimented much with it.

Bought a Dazzle 90 yesterday from another CompUSA, it does 720x480, but haven't seen .wmv mentioned in the specs, other than as an export format. I may have to return it.
Regards,

 

Just a followup. The dazzle 90 does 720x480 in .wmv format, quite well in fact.

The Dazzle 120 has an Mpeg2 encoder built into the device. You therefore are restricted to using software that is strictly compatible with the Mpeg2 encoder stream.

MainConcepts PVR v1.1.4 should work. I haven't tested it with the 120.
But it works with my Canopus ADVC300 which is also Mpeg2 hardware bound.

WinVDR would not work, as it's encoding engines are software based.
WinDV should work, it does with my Canopus ADVC300.
The ADVC300 won't work with WinVDR.
(Are we having fun yet?)

Regards,

 

Thanks a lot.
I'll try ASAP if they work. The problem is that I'm afraid the problem is not due to any incompatibility, but to an intended behaviour from Pinnacle so you are restricted to use THEIR software only.

Just a shame...

Cheers,
Eduard

 

Windows movie Maker works great with my new Dazzle 90.. at least the 2.1 version that i have installed (with SP2).. I'd really like to get it to capture directly into premiere, but that may be wishful thinking.

AMD Opteron 165 (dual core), XP SP2, 2gb ram, etc etc