ClearClick Video to Digital Converter 2.0 (Second Generation) - Record Video from VCR's, VHS Tapes, AV, RCA, Hi8, Camcorder, DVD, Gaming Systems (Bundle) [Requires Working VCR/Camcorder & Tapes]

Before buying this ClearClick Video to Digital Converter 2.0 I had used an older video capture device (made by Honestech), as well as a "generic" converter I bought on Amazon about a month ago for around $20. Both of the aforementioned items worked "just ok". The Honestech product was just too old and clunky; the newer capture device was OK, but took a lot of work to get it to work in the way of using a third-party capture program. I spent a number of weeks capturing and editing from my mini DV, Hi8, and standard 8 camcorders using a number of very highly rated free programs, including OBS Studio, MiniTool MovieMaker, etc. I was able to get them to work, and they seem to do a good job with the capture card I was using, but there seemed to be something missing in the way of detail in the picture quality. So, I tried one of the video capture services on Amazon that charges you $12 to convert a tape to MP4 format. I paid the $12, paid $8.40 to ship the mini DV via USPS, and included a check for $6 to get the company to ship back my tape to me. So all-in-all, it cost me $26 to "test" the quality of what a professional company can do vs what I could do using the previously mentioned capture programs. The programs allowed you to set FPS, sound quality in bits, bit capture rate of the video, etc., etc., etc. Countless possible combinations to try to find the "best" or even optimal capture quality for my tapes. I literally WASTED countless hours capturing and converting, using various FPS, quality/noise reduction algorithms, etc, etc., hence my desire to "test" a professional capture service to see how they would do. I eventually got a link to download my professionally captured video, and guess what: it was "marginally" better than what I had been doing on my own, testing many trial-and-error capture and conversion possibilities. So I decided to try the ClearClick device since it had a "Free Returns" policy. I figured, what do I have to lose. Well, long-story-short, as the saying goes, the ClearClick video capture did just as good, if not better than the professional service did for the $12 per tape. And, it is SUPER EASY TO USE!!!! It is saving me a lot of time because all I do is put the USB in, press play on the camcorder, and then after a second press Record on the ClearClick, and it captures perfectly in ready-to-go MP4 format. It also captures in 720x480, which is the mini DV standard, whereas the Amazon video capture service captures in 640x480, which is OK for Hi8 or below, but not for mini DV, which is the higher 720x480. But you have to use an S-Video cable (which I also got on Amazon specifically for this purpose; get the $20 Monster cable, not a generic $6 one since you're already spending money to capture and archive valuable memories). So ClearClick is as good as, or better than a professional video capture service. It's cheaper in the long run if you plan on doing at least a dozen or so tapes. And it's super easy to use. The only thing I would like, as others have mentioned, is the ability to set a SPECIFIC automatic record shutoff time for the recording to stop. I have 1 hour tapes that will sometimes run two to three minutes over, and two hour tapes that'll do the same thing. I do not want to set the time for 60 minutes or 120 minutes and have the last few minutes not captured. Nor do I want to use the "schedule recording function", as their technical support suggested to me when I inquired about a possible firmware update they could use to allow setting an exact record Stop function. I'd like to be able to set EXACTLY 64 minutes stop recording time, for instance. If they had this feature, I'd give it 6 stars if AMZN allowed. Nonetheless, the product rates a solid 5 stars and my highest recommendation. As far as the "bundle" software, which is VideoPad Video Editor: it is very good and easy to use, on a par with other products, I suppose. It doesn't capture, just edits and saves to MP4 in the same size or smaller file, whereas for some reason, the free products, like OBS, etc., end up saving an edited file in a larger size, even if all you did was delete/shorten the video...makes no sense whatsoever, since you're shortening a video and saving it in the same MP4 format at the same exact resolution and sampling rate. The 32 GB USB that comes with it is a SanDisk Ultra USB 3.0. Buy the ClearClick; you'll save a lot of time and will easily capture your old tapes.

I have a bunch of family videos on Hi-8 tapes and have been wanting to digitize them for some time. I tried one such device from Sharper Image but the sound was out of sync with the video, so I purchased the ClearClick box and find it far superior. Very easy to use, and the quality is outstanding. I see and hear virtually no degradation from the master tape to the digital file. It offers a stretched-out format to fill an entire 16:9 screen, but this distorts the image so I suggest sticking with the 4x3 aspect ratio option. It comes with a 32GB flash drive which is convenient and is plenty large to hold numerous videos. I literally have no complaints.

Had about 40 VHS tapes I wanted to convert and store before they deteriorated or no longer had a VCR that worked. Bought this in February 2021 and now have 3 left to go through. This unit clearly does the trick and saved me hundreds of dollars for a service. Nearly all tapes are now either on my PC, an external drive, or in cloud storage. Links can be sent from there to family members to enjoy. Several points to remember: you need a working VCR; this unit does not record to external drives other than specified thumb drives. This package provide a 32MB stick that worked fine but limited space; it will take a 128MB that should be adequate; every time the unit is unplugged, the recording date goes away. It has to be reset each time it is plugged in; the record button is a bit sensitive and may result in only snapshots without recording; if the button is hit correctly, there will be a running clock of recorded material showing; Each recording is initially assigned a random number; If you do not rename the files after recording, you could get lost with what you have; the storage process requires you to remove the thumb drive from the unit, plug it into your PC and copy/move the files from the thumbdrive to files on your PC. From there, copy files to wherever you wish. ( Of course, if the thumbdrive is large enough, that may be all the storage process you need ). I did not use any provided software. Overall, once you are aware of the finepoints, its quite easy and effective to use.