Digital Home Thoughts: ADS Tech VideoMPX - Digital Video to Go

Product Category: Video Capture Device
Manufacturer: ADS Tech
Where to Buy: ADS Tech
Price: $79.99 USD
System Requirements: Microsoft® Windows® XP, USB 2.0 port, Pentium 4 2.4 GHz or better, 256mb RAM, Sound Card, CD-ROM + burner for creating VCD.

Pros:

• Save video as MPEG 1,DivX,Windows Media 9 or VCD;
  
• Video can be played back on PDA's, PC's and DVD players;
  
• Inexpensive and Easy to Use.

Cons:

• Some minor quirks in VideoStudio Software;
• Heavy system requirements for DivX codec.

Summary:
These days, most camcorders come equipped to talk to your PC over Firewire/USB. The transition from your vacation to your DVD player is almost transparent. However, for those with a library of video from the last few decades, digitizing your old footage is a bit more challenging.

For desktop users there are many PCI based video capture cards that accomplish this task. However, PCI based solutions require installation and do not work with laptops. As one of the many people whose desktop is gathering dust in a back office, I prefer to do most my work on my laptop and appreciate products that interface with Firewire and USB 2.0. The APS Tech Instant VideoMPX is one such product. It is an inexpensive external video/audio capture device which connects to Windows XP PC via USB 2.0. The device comes bundled with Ulead VideoStudio 8 SE VCD which allows you to save your video in a many different formats for playback on a variety of devices ranging from a computer, DVD player or even PDA.

Read on for the full review of the ADS Tech Instant Video MPX.