Features:

  • Bestselling all-in-one video converter software and hardware solution: U.S. consumer video editing category, NPD 2008 Report
  • All-in-one solution: Provides everything you need to easily convert your video to DVD, including USB 2.0 video capture device.
  • HD Editing: Capture and edit high-definition video from HDV camcorders. Supports up to 1920x1080 resolution.
  • Upload to YouTube: Uploading video to YouTube is easier than ever with a One-Click option.
  • DVD & Blu-ray Disc Creation: Burn your movies onto DVD, CD or Blu-ray Disc (requires Blu-ray writer); enhance menu pages with motion and music.
Honestech VHS to DVD 5.0 Deluxe

I installed this on a Desktop PC running Win 7 Pro 64bit. Cpu: AMD Phenom II X6 1090T. with 16GB RAM. Very happy with this purchase. I bought this in order to transfer VHS home videos to DVD's. Software installed w/o a hitch, and the results for the video/sound transfer was excellent without any degradations of the original source. The software installs Quicktime 7.0 on your system in the event you don't already have it. Once Quicktime from the disk is installed, there is an update available for download that installs the most current Version which at this time is Version 7.6. Insure you do the update before you continue your installation and setup. Once your software is fully installed then proceed to hookup the VIDBOX that comes with the software package using the USB cable provided to your PC and then connect either the provided S-Video or the RCA (composite) cables coming from your VCR to the VIDBOX.Installation and setup instructions are very clear and easy to follow. I utilized RCA cables for my VCR to VIDBOX connection, however I did not use the cables provided with the software, I instead used better quality cables that I already had on hand. I'm sure the ones provided will work just fine, it's just that I have never been a fan of the dime store quality cables that are normally thrown in free with hardware or software purchases. I have not tried converting any commercial VHS tapes or commercial music tapes as yet to DVD, however I am quite confident that the results will be just as flawless as my home videos conversions. One other feature this software provides is the option to convert your Video to the widescreen format, I did so and it works out great. I highly recommend this product.

Also works with my ROKU!

Yeah, VHS-to-DVD is fine, but how about digital source to digital file, right?! Plugs into my first-generation ROKU and records movies and TV shows directly from Netflix and HuluPlus to my computer. Also records Internet radio via the first-gen ROKU into WMA files, which are playable on my mp3 device. I record one-hour sessions to have great music from San Francisco's premier Internet Radio station, SOMA, which contains a couple dozen sub-channels divided into various genres. One-hour sessions are perfect for driving in my rural, relatively radio-less "neck of the woods." I use an FM transmitter to listen to my mp3 player over the car radio speakers. The only other place I listen to radio (besides indoors) is in my garden, where there is precious little apart from Mexican and religious radio stations that broadcast via the airwaves. I can haz me my wonderful high-technology! UPDATE 13 SEPTEMBER 2013 / CLARIFICATION -- I have two ROKUs, a first-generation ROKU XD/S 2100X version 3.1 build 1182 and a ROKU 3 4200R version 5.1 build 1177. I skipped the second-generation models. Roku's low prices ($60-$80-$100) make it reasonable to purchase newer models sporting advanced streaming features such as closed captioning on Netflix and certain of Roku's 750+ channels that aren't receivable on the first-gen model. My Honestech VHS-to-DVD is version 5.0.29 Deluxe, purchased away, way back on March 30, 2011. NOTE THAT BOTH THE ROKU 1 AND THE HONESTECH VHS-TO-DVD ARE LONG-AGO DATED PURCHASES. The specs of my 2011 Honestech device are compatible ONLY with my first-generation ROKU (explanation follows). Newer versions of the Honestech device may accommodate more advanced input ports (but don't hold me to it because I really don't know) but I cannot guarantee this is the case as I have no way of knowning. NOTE THAT ROKU 3 HAS ONLY ONE OUTPUT PORT - HDMI. By contrast, the first-gen ROKU sports HDMI plus ports for the red/white/yellow RCA audio-video cable, which is dirt cheap at any media electronics supplier (including Amazon sellers). You may have to adjust the Honestech settings (since you are recording directly from digital signal to digital file instead of analog VHS-to-DVD. I have universal digital media conversion software to turn my Honestech digital files into ISO files for DVD, but the Honestech software contains editing and conversion tools that do the same thing. It's just that I'm familiar with my original software and it allows me to mount multiple video files onto a single DVD, which is great for short videos like cartoons or music videos or home movies. The Honestech software probably allows one to achieve the same results but in all Honestechy (ha-ha), I don't know because I haven't used it for that purpose. I can only say that it certainly appears to me to be versatile editing software. If you intend to record audio only, the advanced editing screen in the Honestech software is easy as pie for that purpose. I advise making a few test files before you record something longer. You really do want to watch the color-coded sound levels to make sure they don't pop up into the red zone to avoid distortion. Incidentally, if you search online you can find good open-source freeware to convert the WMA (Windows Media Audio) files to mp3, although for many mp3 players the WMA files are playable as-is. I think the Honestech software may even support conversion to mp3. All-in-all, the little Altoids-sized Honestech box is a handy chunk of functional technology. With proper cables and conversion software, you can actually take a massive audio book like War and Peace and render it as a series of mp3 files to mount on your player and listen to at your liesure. No brick-and-mortar library is ever going to alot you enough time to listen to someone reading a Bible-length epic like that out loud. IF YOU HAVE A ROKU 3 with only the lone HDMI output, you can find useful signal conversion tools here at Amazon. For example, there is the Sewell 2 Port 1x2 Powered Hdmi Splitter V 1.3b 3D Certified-Up to 1080p. This will split and amplify your ROKU 3 HDMI outport into two HDMI feeds to deliver a duplicate stream to two devices (presumably TVs). Then we have the Etekcity® HDMI-to-AV Composite RCA CVBS Video + Audio Converter For TV PS3 VHS VCR DVD. This little box has an HDMI in-port with the familiar old red/white/yellow RCA audio-video out-ports. This would enable you to hook up a ROKU 3 to the corresponding in-ports on the 5.0 Deluxe Honestech box. Finally, there's the QuantumFx RF Modulator Audio/Video signal converter w/ S Video. This little inexpensive tower sports red/white/yellow RCA audio-video in-ports and converts the signal to port out to RF coaxial TV cable. If you have some old TVs (like the ones in my painting and glassworking studios), you can send a feed to them from either ROKU thus... From the first-gen ROKU: red-white-yellow RCA cable to the QuantumFx RF Modulator to coax. Fom the ROKU 3: HDMI out to Sewell HDMI splitter with one feed to the living room TV and the other through the Etekcity HDMI-to the red/white/yellow RCA audio-video out-ports and then either -A- to the Honestech VHS-to-DVD box (and then via USB into your computer) or -B- through the QuantumFx RF Modulator to coaxial TV cable. WHEW! Make that old tech rock till it croaks! All this by way of pointing out that you can make the Honestech work with ROKU one way or another. My Honestech 5.0 Deluxe device (and software) recommends these computer specs: * Operating System: Windows XP® Service Pack 2/3 Windows Vista® Windows® 7 * USB 2.0 Host Controller/Port * Processor: Intel® Pentium® IV 2.4 GHz, Pentium® D, Pentium® M 1.3 GHz, Pentium Core(tm) Duo, or AMD® Athlon® 64 processor (Intel® Pentium® IV 3 GHz with hyperthreading or dual core 1.3 GHz for HD editing)

Great program. EXCELLENT PRODUCT SUPPORT

Because I gave away my TV last summer, I couldn't watch any of the movies I'd bought on VHS tapes. This fabulous kit let me watch them. I expected my 9 year old desktop/doorstop computer (Pentium 4, 2.66 GHz), running Windows XP to crash constantly handling video. It only crashed twice in the last 10 times I used this software/hardware kit. After a few deaths of sound media (LP records, eight track tapes, cassettes, & maybe the CD), I refused to buy all my videos in DVD form again--it's my video, I paid for it, irrespective of the form factor. My doorstop computer does run slowly with this program in the "Advanced" mode, so while it works I use a laptop to do other tasks. The program told me it might take several hours to convert video and audio, and it does. A newer PC might help, though I think I may just start the computer on this task just before I quit for the night. Advanced mode does permit one to divide the VHS tapes into chapters and add a menu. The manual is for the most part decent. I did learn on my own, to have the DVD drive plugged into the USB port with a blank DVD inserted before starting the program. Product support is excellent, by both email and phone. Phone support is faster--I did not wait more than 2 minutes before talking to a knowledgeable tech. Strangely, Windows Media Player would play neither the DVDs I burned nor commercially produced DVDs. VLC DVD player played both with ease, though it took a while to find codecs (I think) for the commercial DVDs. I'd buy this product again, and I'd recommend it to a friend. I only wish it'd work on Mac computers, as I will need to replace my old PC pretty soon.

Read the system requirements carefully

This took a while before I felt that I could write a fair review. Almost every video conversion product that I looked at had about half good comments and half bad comments. So who do you believe? Which one do you buy? This product didn't work for me very well at first. The recorded image was jumpy and poor. After several messages back and forth with tech support, I was instructed to send the capture device (the Vidbox) to the company for evaluation. It was determined that the Vidbox was defective and I was sent a replacement at no charge. After receiving the replacement Vidbox whenever I tried to record anything over one hour in length, my computer crashed. It turned out that my computer (1.3Ghz AMD dual core processor) had the minimal ability to run the program. My solution was to buy a new computer with much more processing power (Intel G2030 3.0Ghz processor). The conversion program now works flawlessly. My advice is to read the system requirements carefully to make sure that the Honestech system will work on your machine. The system works easier than any other video conversion system that I tried. Documentation for the advanced mode of recording is a little weak. It needs to be improved. The Easy Wizard mode of recording is very easy. Tech support was very helpful and answered my questions very quickly. I would rate their tech support as tops.

Inexpensive, Simple, Easy and Great Results!

Wow. Thanks for the other reviews. This is the way to go. It came yesterday from Amazon and I plugged it in to my 2007 PC (Dell Optiplex, originally XP, now Win 7 with 4G memory) and burned DVDs of our 1986 Christmas VHS when I originally got the VCR as a gift. I was using DVD+R discs and it worked flawlessly. It is a bit grainy - yes, but it was shot with low light on Christmas eve and better in Christmas morning. The DVD played on my old DVD player that is 15 years old. Quality is more than acceptable unless you plan to copy commercial VHS/DVDs. After following the instructions exactly, I chose the Wizard and started the VHS and waited the 2 hours of tape to play out. Because it shows what you are watching on the PC, you do not need to use a TV as a monitor. Once the VHS is done it asks if you are ready to burn a DVD and you click yes. It took about 20-25 minutes for my PC to process the files it had captured, but it then burned the DVD. It then asked if you want to burn another. That is great since I had planned to make 2 extra copies for each of our two adult kids for Fathers Day. Each took another ~8 minutes for each extra burned DVD. Quality seems as good as the VHS was now 25 years later. I still have an additional 30+ VHS tapes to go and others as well. I am very pleased!

honestech

this thing is freakin awesome!!!! okay so i am computer stupid. not too great with technology. no time to read manuals and keep up--not that u get manuals anymore. received the product and it sat in the box for a month and a half. then figured i better try it out b4 it was too late to return it. had bought a dazzle from bestbuy a few years ago and that thing was too complicated for me and never did understand it and didnt always work right. honestech had great reviews and i was hoping i could figure it out. first installed software ok. but then it wanted a product code and i looked high and low and all over the box and product and couldnt get any number to work until i saw it on the outer envelope the dvd had been in. duhhhhh. thats what happens when your desk is a mess and you do one part one day and the other part later. i then plugged in cords and to my dismay my camcorder didnt have the ports for the yellow/white/red cord--yikes--stressing out. searched the house thinking it must have come with the camcorder something compatible. went to bestbuy thinking they would solve my dilemna but was told that it was old technology and i would have to contact sony and see if they even made the cord anymore (dv out). went home and thought how on earth did i use the dazzle thing--i must have a cord and searched again. yeah found it. plugged it all in and followed the quick step directions. and OMG it actually worked--in shock. it wouldnt burn a 2nd copy but i think the dvd discs i had are scratched or used by my older daughter so got out a new pack and no problems since. you can burn as many copies as you want after the original one is finished. the first time i left it over nite and came in to see a blue screen with no options & after sometime i figured to hit the escape button and it came up with the options again. anyway i love it -the reviews were right--if i can do it then most anyone can b/c i have a poor understanding of computers and dvd players etc. i guess without the cord i could have plugged it into a vcr and gone that route but that is way too much work for me. so now i am busy recording the 17 mini tapes i have from my camcorder and have finally found a product that is easy to use and i will finally have my stuff in order and one project done!!!!!! i did find a place that would do it for $9 a tape vs the usual $20 but this is so easy i can do it myself. love it.

Truly Great Product!

This product does everything it says it will. I am a professor who over the years amassed a huge collection of of material on VHS tape for use in my classes. My university no longer owns or maintains VHS players and all the new high tech equipment it has purchased is HD and Blue Ray. I thought all my collection was useless unless I decided to pack around an ancient VHS player and a box of cables. On Amazon, I found the Honestech VHS to DVD system. I had tried some other conversion hardware\software programs and simply couldn't get them to work. I decided to make one final effort and try the Honestech program. Am I glad I did! In three days I have burned more than 40 VHS tapes to DVD, more than 100 hours worth of material: VHS movies, camcorder tapes, still photography I had copied to VHS long ago. In a month I hope to have converted my entire library to DVD format. Everything copied perfectly. I have not yet found any VHS tape that Honestech VHS to DVD can't convert. When I complete this project, I plan to transfer all my old 33 phono records to DVD. Yes, this little wonder can also easily transfer audio. Not only does this system work flawlessly, it is also very user friendly and inexpensive. I am pleased to endorse this marvelous product. Missouri Prof

An Excellent & User-Friendly Product!

I used Honestech for the first time today and it worked like a charm. Reviews by other users on this site go into great detail as to it's workings, so there's no need for me to repeat. But, there are two things I experienced that I will share in case anyone encounters the same situation. Originally, I had the product connected to my XP desktop as this computer is rarely used. All went well until I hit "start," then the program exited itself with an error message. I contacted Honestech and they were extremely helpful. The technicians realized my problem was "htmpeg2enc.ax." Honestech said they couldn't fix the matter further without their technicians physically working on my computer. They offered me a refund, if I desired. For a while, I tried to troubleshoot. My first step was to google that code. It meant making a change in the registry and I wasn't up to the challenge. So, instead, I decided to use my main working computer which is a Win7 desktop. The software installed properly. Now I'm ready to put the software into action, but, when I hit play on my VCR, there was no video on my screen, though I know the VCR was playing. I remember reading not long ago that some USB items need to plug directly into the computer and not through a hub. This was not the case with my XP as it was plugged directly into the computer. But, with my Win7, the original setup had the VidBox plugged into a hub. After remembering about the hub, I plugged the VidBox directly into the computer and was able to get video viewing on my monitor. So, when you hook up everything, you'll want to keep the hub in mind. It may work for you, but if it doesn't, you'll know why. I have four minuses about this program. One, I wish it would burn audio from a DVD. Two, I wish during the VHS recording mode, the program had a "pause" button. Thus, allowing me to fast forward through commercials. Three, that the program would encode my VHS videos and send same to my harddrive; thus, allowing me to fast forward through commercials before burning as well as extract music to burn onto CDs. Four, I wish it would copy, clearly, more than an hour and ten minutes. I have many, and I mean MANY, VHS tapes of shows I've copied over the span of 25+ years. They all have six hours worth of video. It boggles my mind to think of the tons of DVDs I'll be burning to get it all copied. But, I will as I have old black & white movies that's hard to find or even see on TV, along with classic cartoons and comedy TV shows no longer aired. Outside of these four wishlist, I love the product. Enjoy!

My search is OVER!

I had been looking for something that would allow me to convert several VHS tapes(and by several, I mean about 50)into DVD format. I got this in the mail yesterday, and so far, I am beyond pleased with this product. First, I installed the program onto my computer which took about 5 minutes. I then hooked up my VCR to the "Vid-Box" with the RCA composite cables (Red, White, Yellow), both of which were provided. From there, I hooked up the USB cord coming from the vid-box to my computer and launched the program. I wanted to see what type of quality I would get if I just used the "Easy Wizard Mode" that has step by step on-screen instructions. So, I followed the steps (e.g. make sure all cables are plugged in, select the length of what you are planning to record, insert blank DVD into computer, find the scene on the VHS of where you want to begin recording-you are actually able to see it on your computer screen as if the VCR was connected to the TV instead), and then pushed the Start button. I sat back, relaxed, did some homework, finished making dinner, and presto, 1 hour and 49 minutes later it was done. The program then asked whether I wanted to "burn the video onto a disk" and I clicked yes. Again, presto, about 3 minutes later I had converted, and burned, my first VHS into DVD format. Then the real test, putting my newly created disk into the DVD player to see if it would work, and if it did work, see how it would look and sound. I put in the DVD, and hit play. Just like a DVD movie purchased from the store, my video started to play right away without any problems. The picture looks excellent, and sound is excellent as well-everything as far as picture and sound sync up well also. I could not have been any happier with this product. Even now, as I am writing this review, I am converting another VHS to DVD. I really like how it is so simple, as I was wrong in my assumption that the Easy Wizard Mode was going to provide terrible results. However, I haven't even had to go to the "Advanced Mode" screen to change any of the settings at all. I also like how this program provides me with the opportunity of not having to "baby-sit", you just push start and forget about it until it's done, or you can periodically bring up the window just to see its progress as the program shows the movie on a little screen, and also tells you how much recording has been completed. And I was actually going to take all of my VHS tapes to a "professional"!?!? Thank you Honestech and Amazon for saving me hundreds of dollars! Oh, and just in case you are wondering, my computer is about two years old, and I am running Windows 7, and I purchased a spindle of Philips DVD-R from Amazon (which I also reviewed), and they are working wonderfully with this program. If you have a lot of VHS movies that you want put on DVD, I highly recommend this product as it does everything that it states it will do (as far as converting VHS to DVD, I have yet to try the other features), and it is so simple that my nine year old daughter could do this by herself. Happy recording!

THIS WORKS!!!

I read reviews for everything I buy. So THANK YOU to the previous reviewers of the Honestech VHS to DVD 5.0 Deluxe. I am not computer savvy and I can operate this in the Easy Wizard mode with ease. It only took one try to figure it out. My husband had it hooked up improperly at first. But it was easy to figure out what the problem was. Depending on the quality of your VCR tape will affect the end result. There may be a way to adjust the end product in a different mode but I don't know how. I am happy as is so far. I had one old VCR movie that has never been issued on DVD and probably never will. It really is hokie, but I love it. While there are a few distortions in the copy, it is nothing serious. I also got a "Today's Deal" on the program, but I would have bought it at full price. I had it in my saved list for a while but while he was visiting, I had my very computer-savvy son (PHD in Computer Science) look at the description and check the connections on my TV and VCR to make sure I had what it took to hook up (my VCR is OLD) and he said no problem. Everything came in the box!!!!! Plus as an infomercial on TV says, "YOU JUST SET IT AND FORGET IT." I don't think I could be happier now that I have a way to preserve old VCR tapes. Plus, while the program is "cooking" you can work on other things on the computer or be on the internet. I am running the program now while writing this. If you are a perfectionist, but computer savvy, you may be able to figure out how to fine tune the recordings. If you're like me, it is simple and gets the job done. Plus, you can salvage old VCR tapes before the tape breaks or the machine eats them. I hope this helps if you are straddling the fence on purchasing the program. I have no regrets!

Full Reviews