HP DVD Movie Writer dc3000
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CNET Editors' Review
The good: Simple, self-contained video-to-DVD conversion; easy setup; comprehensive software bundle; fast movie burning.
The bad: Other drives offer better data read/write performance.
The bottom line: HP's innovative DVD Movie Writer dc3000 offers an easy route from VHS to DVD, and it's a decent burner to boot.
The dc3000 is larger than a typical external drive--about the size of a thick hardcover book--and it sports the same, metallic-blue plastic found on HP's Pavilion desktops, Photosmart printers, and other consumer products. The drive can sit horizontally or, using an included plastic stand, upright.
The dc3000 has connections galore: two USB 2.0 ports--one in back and one on the side--composite (RCA) stereo audio and video jacks, and an S-Video input. You can use the USB port on the side to connect other peripherals, such as digital cameras, but this pass-through port works only when the drive is on. HP includes a USB cable and composite AV cables for connecting a camcorder or a VCR, but there's no S-Video cable.
At a glance, the dc3000 looks like a fairly basic DVD burner that writes DVD+R at 4X and DVD+RW at 2.4X, but the integrated analog-to-digital converter makes it unique. It can capture analog video from VHS and other videotape formats (Hi8, Digital 8, Mini DVD, and BetaMax) and convert it to compressed MPEG-2 (720x480) video. It will also capture and burn up to two hours of video, but the software will reduce the quality of longer productions to fit them onto discs (you'll get the best quality with videos of one hour or less).
The large, task-based suite of included software makes it easy to create and play video, music, and data CDs and DVDs. With HP's Video Transfer Wizard, for instance, you connect your camcorder or VCR, type in a title, select a menu style, and take a walk--a long walk. It took about two and a half hours to create a test DVD+R with about one hour of video, but the test discs we burned played smoothly on PCs, Macs, and newer DVD players.
Movie write test (megabytes per second) (Longer bars indicate better performance)
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| Note: Compression rates vary depending on the drives' bundled software. |
Data write tests (megabytes per second) (Longer bars indicate better performance)
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Data read tests (MB/Sec) (Longer bars indicate better performance)
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| Note: Due to an error in our calculations, we originally published slightly innaccurate data-read results in this review. The scores have been corrected. |
The dc3000 is backed by a standard one-year warranty. HP provides a toll-free number for telephone support, which is free for the warranty period and $30 per incident afterward. Product support is also available online and via e-mail, and the printed and electronic documentation is thorough and straightforward. HP makes it particularly easy to check for firmware updates automatically within the MyDrive application.
User Reviews
See all user reviewsMost Helpful User Review
stars 25 of 25 users found this review helpful
"Don't waste your money or time" By mountain.drew
Pros HP support was decent
Cons same electronic failure on two separate units
Summary after only recording several videos the power connection failed. The first time this occurred the unit was still under warranty and HP replaced it. The exact same thing happened to the replacement unit after warranty and HP will not replace; the unit is junk. We use Monster surge protectors so ... Expand full review
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