9 replies to this topic

[randomcoolzip]

I bought the $59.99 package "Roxio Easy VHS to DVD for Mac", which included the video/audio-to-USB converter device and the software CD.  The CD contained something called "Roxio Video Capture" which I installed.  It turned out I have Version 2.0.0.  I found that it would record a VHS tape for about 20 min, but then the video disappeared and I got a solid purple screen instead.

I tried to upgrade this software to Version 2.0.1, but the install failed without any indication of what went wrong.  Tantalizingly, the description of 2.0.1 said that it fixes the purple-screen problem.  Unfortunately I have been unable to find 2.0.1 on Roxio's site to download it.  So I'm stuck: software that doesn't work, an upgrade that won't install, and no way to download the new version.

I'm running a 2010 MacBook, with 2.26 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 4GB of RAM, and plenty of hard drive space.  OS X is at Version 10.6.8.

I am also very confused about Roxio's video-capture product line.  The thing I bought was a hardware/software combination-in-a-box called "Roxio Easy VHS to DVD for Mac", which contains a CD with something called "Roxio Video Capture".  I can't find any references to "Roxio Video Capture" on Roxio's WebSite.  But I do find references to a software-only package called "Easy VHS to DVD for Mac", which has a different, more primitive-looking user interface than "Roxio Video Capture".  I now have "Easy VHS to DVD for Mac" 1.0.5 and "Roxio Video Capture 2.0.0" installed.  What I don't understand is, which of these is the current product and which is a legacy product?

All in all, I am very unimpressed so far, to say the least.  Maybe Roxio should have stuck to burning CDs and DVDs, which they seem to understand pretty well.

[nolanscott]

Well, I purchased exactly the same base version which included the “Capture Device”
and the install disc with the “Easy VHS to DVD Capture.app”...
(The disc is called “Roxio Video Capture USB for Mac”)

After connecting the Capture Device with the VHS player to the mac
The software updated itself to version 1.0.5 (5435)...
This is the latest and most current version I am using...
Just checked for updates... “Your software is up to date”...

Not really sure where you got version 2.0.0 from...?

I am running version 1.0.5 with OSX 10.7 (Lion) in 32 bit kernel without any problems...

Regards
Nolan

[randomcoolzip]

nolanscott, on 23 December 2011 - 12:22 AM, said:

Well, I purchased exactly the same base version which included the “Capture Device”
and the install disc with the “Easy VHS to DVD Capture.app”...
(The disc is called “Roxio Video Capture USB for Mac”)

After connecting the Capture Device with the VHS player to the mac
The software updated itself to version 1.0.5 (5435)...
This is the latest and most current version I am using...
Just checked for updates... “Your software is up to date”...

Not really sure where you got version 2.0.0 from...?

I am running version 1.0.5 with OSX 10.7 (Lion) in 32 bit kernel without any problems...

Regards
Nolan

There are two different pieces of software involved here: one called "Easy VHS to DVD Capture.app", whose latest version is 1.0.5, and "Roxio Video Capture" whose latest version is 2.0.1.  They really are different - different user interface and everything.  The CD that came with my Capture Device had "Roxio Video Capture" at the 2.0.0 version level.  It didn't have the "Easy VHS to DVD Capture" software on it, as far as I can see.  Confused?  So am I.  In the course of trying to update "Roxio Video Capture" from Roxio's web site, I wound up downloading and installing the "Easy VHS to DVD Capture" software, 1.0.5, as well.  I tried that last night on a long VHS tape, and it didn't give me the purple-screen treatment, but I left it running overnight and in the morning it was back to the start-recording screen having not saved anything to disk.  Maybe I'm too stupid to use this software, despite being an IBM software engineer with 30 years' experience in the industry.

I'll try the Easy VHS to DVD Capture" software again today.  Maybe it prompted me to save the video last night but got tired of waiting for me to finish sleeping or something.

[tsantee]

The Easy VHS to DVD for Mac comes with two applications. There is the Easy VHS to DVD Capture application that controls the recording. There also is Toast 9 Basic which is used for authoring and burning video DVDs from the captured video. "Roxio Video Capture" is what Roxio's calls the recording device, not the application that controls it.

[randomcoolzip]

Hmm, my CD is different.  It does not have Toast 9 Basic on it, and it does have an application called "Roxio Video Capture".  The Getting Started Guide that came in the box refers to this Roxio Video Capture application.  I think they may have changed the product.

Anyway, I am able to make recordings now using the Easy VHS to DVD Capture application that I downloaded from roxio.com.  Still a few mysteries about the recordings I'm making with it, but I'm working on it.

[tsantee]

randomcoolzip, on 24 December 2011 - 06:14 AM, said:

Hmm, my CD is different.  It does not have Toast 9 Basic on it, and it does have an application called "Roxio Video Capture".  The Getting Started Guide that came in the box refers to this Roxio Video Capture application.  I think they may have changed the product.

Anyway, I am able to make recordings now using the Easy VHS to DVD Capture application that I downloaded from roxio.com.  Still a few mysteries about the recordings I'm making with it, but I'm working on it.

That's puzzling. Are you sure you have the Mac version and not the PC version? If you look at the product description on Roxio's site (click the System Requirement link) it says that it includes the capture application and Toast 9 Basic. Toast is what can make a DVD from the captured video. You mentioned paying $59 for it and that is the price of the PC version whereas the Mac version is $79. But maybe you got it at a discount.

[randomcoolzip]

tsantee, on 24 December 2011 - 08:50 AM, said:

That's puzzling. Are you sure you have the Mac version and not the PC version? If you look at the product description on Roxio's site (click the System Requirement link) it says that it includes the capture application and Toast 9 Basic. Toast is what can make a DVD from the captured video. You mentioned paying $59 for it and that is the price of the PC version whereas the Mac version is $79. But maybe you got it at a discount.

I bought it on Amazon.  It came in a sealed box labeled "Easy VHS to DVD for Mac".  It certainly looks like Mac materials - the CD opens to a window with a Mac-style view of the top folder, featuring a "Roxio Video Capture" icon with an arrow pointing to the Applications folder to encourage you to drag "Roxio Video Capture" to Applications to install it.

On the other hand, the CD envelope came with a CD key on it, which seems more like a PC/Windows thing.  So you may be right.  I may have gotten the PC version re-boxed as the Mac version.  That sort of indicates that some Mac software comes on the PC/Windows CD, which is a little odd.

I've had some luck capturing VHS tapes with "Easy VHs to DVD", but I find that if I don't have it "send" the captured video file to iMovie, I can't seem to load it into iMovie later.  I have iMovie 2009 and don't feel like shelling out more money for iLife 2011 to get a later version.

[tsantee]

randomcoolzip, on 26 December 2011 - 01:14 PM, said:

I bought it on Amazon.  It came in a sealed box labeled "Easy VHS to DVD for Mac".  It certainly looks like Mac materials - the CD opens to a window with a Mac-style view of the top folder, featuring a "Roxio Video Capture" icon with an arrow pointing to the Applications folder to encourage you to drag "Roxio Video Capture" to Applications to install it.

On the other hand, the CD envelope came with a CD key on it, which seems more like a PC/Windows thing.  So you may be right.  I may have gotten the PC version re-boxed as the Mac version.  That sort of indicates that some Mac software comes on the PC/Windows CD, which is a little odd.

I've had some luck capturing VHS tapes with "Easy VHs to DVD", but I find that if I don't have it "send" the captured video file to iMovie, I can't seem to load it into iMovie later.  I have iMovie 2009 and don't feel like shelling out more money for iLife 2011 to get a later version.

There is no registration code for the Easy VHS to DVD Capture application (which is how mine is named) because it is useless without the USB device. However, the Toast 9 Basic application does have a registration key. It sounds like your second disc is from the PC product (which Roxio no longer sells).

You are correct that you have to send to iMovie at the end of the capture or it cannot be done later with any of the software included with the device. If you have the full versions of Toast or Popcorn they can convert the mpeg 2 video file for use in iMovie at any time, but Toast 9 Basic doesn't include the convert features. There are other apps than can convert mpeg 2 video to h.264 for iMovie such as MPEG Streamclip (which is free but requires Apple's $20 Quicktime MPEG 2 Playback Component.

[randomcoolzip]

tsantee, on 26 December 2011 - 04:29 PM, said:

There is no registration code for the Easy VHS to DVD Capture application (which is how mine is named) because it is useless without the USB device. However, the Toast 9 Basic application does have a registration key. It sounds like your second disc is from the PC product (which Roxio no longer sells).

You are correct that you have to send to iMovie at the end of the capture or it cannot be done later with any of the software included with the device. If you have the full versions of Toast or Popcorn they can convert the mpeg 2 video file for use in iMovie at any time, but Toast 9 Basic doesn't include the convert features. There are other apps than can convert mpeg 2 video to h.264 for iMovie such as MPEG Streamclip (which is free but requires Apple's $20 Quicktime MPEG 2 Playback Component.

Ah, the mists are clearing.  Thanks for that information.  Streamclip + Quicktime MPEG2 sounds like it would complete what I have.  I already have Toast Basic from somewhere else.

[Chadd]

I had the same purple screen problem with Roxio Video Capture 2.0.0. Repeated attempts to upgrade to version 2.0.1 resulted in failed installations. I downloaded Easy VHS to DVD Capture version 1.0.5, which worked, but I missed being able to specify which hard drive to save video to. Roxio support suggested that I set up a new OSX user account in case my account registry files were corrupted, and to try to upgrade while logged in the new account. That alone didn't fix the upgrade failures, but then I tried reinstalling Roxio Video Capture from the installation disk. Then I was able to successfully upgrade to version 2.0.1. I deleted the new user account, and Roxio Video Capture 2.0.1 works fine in my original account, with no more purple screen bug. I don't know if the new user account was necessary. Just reinstalling from the disk may be enough.