Internal Desktop Components Reviews

Band : Ion
Model : ION VCR2PC
Product Features :
- VHS tape playback
- RCA and USB outputs
- NTSC Version
- Auto tracking and tape playback
- LED backlit buttons

ION Audio VCR 2 PC USB VHS Video to Computer Converter
>> OK for VIDEO only don t buy if you need AUDIO too
First the PRO It rather easily transfer your VHS tapes to PC in MPEG format It s very simply to setup and use I installed it on Windows 7 64 bit Home Premium with the latest drivers off of Ion s website No problems installing the software and on first launch it recognized the unit and was ready to record The video quality is good You have to keep your expectations in check remember your source is old VHS video tape It s an analog low resolution format not even close to what you get out of a DVD In my opinion the transferred video is pretty accurate to the source VHS tape and you can tweak the color fidelity a bit to improve it as well

Now the CON The audio is horrible Horrible isn t a harsh enough word Even when a tape is not playing there are loud pops and crackle coming through the software The pops and crackle are NOT from the VHS tape The audio quality ruins the captured video Next are the audio sync issues If you digitize a tape containing 60 minutes of footage you ll notice that as time goes on the audio gets more and more out of sync with the video I digitized an old movie recorded years ago from TV and by the end of the movie the talking would occur a full 10 12 seconds BEFORE the matching video It s not slightly out of sync it s completely off and ruins the movie Finally it only records MONO audio I didn t notice this when I purchased the unit and wish I would have

Worse CON of all I contacted Ion s technical support for help with the noise issues primarily the popping and crackling that came through the device even when a tape wasn t in the unit Instead of helping me out with VCR2PC they sent instructions on reinstalling drivers for their Vinyl Turntable to PC product I have no clue why they did that On top of that the entire first half of the technical support email reply was an ad highlighting other ION products I don t understand that why try and sell me another product when I m having trouble with the quality of the unit I already purchased No thanks

A real live breathing human being doesn t read their technical support emails Either that or they re non English speaking I wrote a fairly detailed email about the issues I was experiencing what I had tried and asking for suggestions on what else I could do to improve the audio The reply had nothing to do with my questions or the product I was seeking help on

BOTTOM LINE If all you re after is digitizing short home movies with NO audio this product works great and is easy to use However if you re looking to digitize long tapes and need audio look elsewhere You ll regret buying this unit
>> Ion VCR 2 PC do not work at all
I feel ripped off by this VCR 2PC by Ion I watched the unboxing Ion VCR2PC on YouTube and followed the instillation instruction along with the packaged instruction The product didn t come with a remote control I was able to install driver on my PC with XP No problem with that When I tried to convert the VHS to my lap top I received a black screen with nothing saved I tried going to the web site and called 401 658 3743 and could not get through Even though I read all the warnings on various blogs against this product I still purchased it and wasted my money I don t have the heart to put this product on E Bay Such a disappointment I can t help but shake my head every time I look at it on my dresser DO NOT PURCHASE THIS PRODUCT PLEASE LISTEN TO THE BLOGS THAT WARN YOU ABOUT THIS PRODUCT YOU JUST MIGHT SAVE SOME MONEY
>> Sucess by trial and error
I had to use some creative methods to get the results I needed but the end result was well worth the effort Please read on to the end there are solutions

I had no problems installing the software I have a 3GB machine with Vista

I did encounter problems with the Nero program I had installed but it was having its own problems I had tried the latest Nero program and uninstalled it and went back to my old version when I did this my virus software deleted a couple of files and it began to cause lock up with other programs

I got the VHS2 PC and could not get it to record disks I got the Nero removal tool from Nero s website and the ION machine started working wonderfully

I did encounter the tracking problem mentioned However it did not seem to matter what type brand or if it was home made or commercial Even in a set of tapes that were a commercial series I found one would record with no tracking problem and the next wouldn t

I tried the tapes on various players and found some would play them and some wouldn t so I really don t blame the ION machine

I was able to record the tapes by plugging a VHS machine that would play the problem tapes into the Camera input RCA jacks and switching to camera input mode

You may say If I have to go through all that I don t want it Believe me the end result is worth the effort if you want to save the material

My one concern is There seems to be a Dooms Day Clock built into the machine It shows Time available to record There were 200 hours on the read out when I started but as I transfer each tape the clock shows less time to record Having over 800 VHS tapes that contain historical events each with 4 6 hours of material I am concerned

Over all the price was great the ease of use is great the results are as good as the conditon of the recording being copied and I would buy again