USB video capture in 2002: Dazzle DCS 200

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Published 2024-05-20
Testing a 22-year-old USB video capture device that outperforms many modern ones: the Dazzle DVD Creation Station 200. Despite being hampered by the limitations of USB 1.1, it still produces excellent-quality results from VHS and other analog video sources.

Time flow:
0:00 Introduction
1:38 Unboxing
2:50 Setup
4:10 First test
6:29 VHS capture
8:33 1985 TV recording
10:35 MacroVision & closed captioning
11:03 Output to VHS
12:04 Teardown
15:09 Drivers & Windows versions
15:34 Video8 capture
17:07 Updated features & PAL test
19:10 Output lag test
20:04 Conclusion
21:33 TV Guardian vs. QAF

#VHS #digitizing #RetroTech

All Comments (21)
  • @cocusar
    I have no idea how they have achieved that quality over usb 1.1. Just outstanding
  • @joshm264
    Please keep this video capture series going, lots of cool gems from the 2000s must be out there Also thank you for the immaculate pronunciation of the product key
  • @tristanraine
    I just love the way you record your videos, a lot of people use phone cameras and stuff now, but I love the minor artificating and fuzz of older camcorders and stuff. Never stop doing it, adds a unique vibe lost now.
  • @mazda9624
    My Jaw dropped at 5:49 when I saw just how good the video capture from this 22 year old device was. You'd think it wouldn't be THAT hard for a modern device to have similar results while keeping the price down, but Elgato would sure prove you wrong. I can't wait to see how the device from 1998 performs!
  • @divarin1
    The 1st of ARPIL :) (typo on the PCB). In the early 2000's I was working at a local TV station and there was one of these hooked up in the commercial editing station (where local commercials were edited). From the looks of it I assumed it was kind of junk compared to the rest of the equipment we were using, it was the only thing that looked like it was made for the home market. But I toyed around with it and was surprised to see it was much more capable than it appeared.
  • @greatquux
    Amazing quality from this thing. Loved the commercials from ‘85!
  • I used to capture VHS with virtualDub and Avisync plus audacity for the audio side of things. All freeware, old school stuff! I captured and enhanced seasons of rare AF tv shows and tv show specials then uploaded them onto torrent sites - those versions are now in some cases the only versions that currently exist as some were never released onto DVD. This was in 2009 on a Windows XP desktop I built with dual core CPU. I chose that AMD over an Intel quad core as it did what I needed it to do over the quad higher priced one by another brand. But my capture card only recorded as RAW .avi video files. a 45 minute episode took up approximately 180gb - in 2007 - 2009!! I did have a few 1TB hard drives back then - back before that was normal - of course, but still, the level this guy went to, to re create this with period hardware and software is just so sweet!!! Fun Fact - ALL of my band's song releases were edited on an XP version of freeware Audacity! Edited, mixed and mastered! I am about to capture some amazing home movie VHS tapes from a friend of mine whose Dad recorded these in his early 20s before my friend was born - I showed her a few of these tapes and I honestly can say, without hesitation, it is such enticing footage that begs you to want to see more! It will easily be a cash cow of YouTube content - but I wanna capture it the best I can - 50fps upscaled to at least 720i. One tape is damaged due to sticky tape syndrome - it still plays yet flickers, amazing it works at all tnh!! It has a weird 4th wall point in one scene! Real though!!!
  • @jricoc3475
    I can't even tell you how many Dazzle devices I've had run through my PC rigs of yore. I had a couple of the old parallel-port-based DVCs, a couple of (USB-based) DVC2s, and a couple of the PCI-based cards, which produced DVR-level captures. Absolutely stunning, for the time ( 20 aughts). So my SHVS VCR copies of Giants' Super Bowl victories in '87 and '91 have been preserved to mpeg2 files. My most ambitious project for the older DVCs was converting MTVs music videos to files. This was before YouTube existed; so there was no way to just "watch an old video". At the start of 2000, MTV (M2, actually) played all of the videos in their history to that point, sorted by song title. I made SVHS recordings onto giant stacks of VHS tapes. Still have them ... all the way to "Zoot Suit Riot". For weeks afterwards, I scanned through the tapes and used the Dazzle device(s) to make digital copies. This video really brought back some great memories. Not the least of which was seeing Chuck Scarborough(!) again ...
  • @uxwbill
    The performance of that thing is nothing short of amazing. That videotape from 1985 looked far better than it had any right to!
  • Hey VWestlife, I''ve been a fan since about 2009, love your videos and so happy to see you still upload quite regularly!
  • @VagueStarshape
    I don't know about you, but I'm ready to go all in on that '86 Tempo GL. Factory cassette player? Air conditioning? Insane. Sold.
  • @TonyW79SFV
    What's nice about this capture device is that it correctly preserves the interlaced video structure of analog video. The files would correctly output the correct interlace structure on analog CRT TVs as if it came from analog videotape. Newer capture devices modify that structure, or captures only the field from a frame, hence the captured video would no longer resemble what was on the analog video signal. Best bet is to use any Dazzle device or any DV or Digital8 device for analog capturing that can faithfully be reproduced on CRT screens, or recorded to analog videocassettes. 16:20 I've never seen that 8mm tape of the Sony Handy Guide to Handycam. I can see some of the shots were in Waikiki, Honolulu, Hawaii.
  • @themaritimegirl
    I thought it was difficult to digitize analog video over USB 2.0. Now I'm learning that they were doing it over USB 1.1, and it looks amazing, and there's not even any time base correction!! Simply amazing.
  • @geoffashden2
    Back in the day, I was a great fan of this device and remember coverting every episode of all seasons of Star Trek TNG which was no small task!
  • @xargos
    I ❤ the Ford Tempo. Loved seeing a good copy of that ad captured! Also this confirms my suspicions about the old Dazzle stuff being better than a lot of what people are using now.
  • @Raveheart
    It's impressive they managed to squeeze live video through USB 1.1. Here in Germany, back in 2002, Hauppauge was king because they were the first to figure out a convenient way to provide a good SCART input. I have had a PCI capture card, and remember recording music videos off analog TV alot. A few years later I switched to DVB-S and captured the digital data stream directly.
  • @chrislj2890
    The video from 1985 was a blast from the past, although it doesn't seem that long ago for me. That Ford Tempo looked like a brick on wheels, lol. Television was a lot more fun to watch back then.
  • @josephaltman460
    When I was a teen I had the parallel port version and really wanted the USB version but it was too expensive for me at the time. Love your videos!