Vista 101 - How to 2.0 your Old Home Videos

Hello World!
This is the first in a series of topics on certain 2.0 things that you can (with a little bit of help from yours truly) do on your own.

Now I know everyone has heard the rumors about Vista being difficult to work with, or maybe you have had the unfortunate luck of having a bad Vista experience. Fear not! I am here to help!

Before you go throwing out that cool software and hardware simply because you got tired trying to get it to work with Vista, allow me to provide some solace for your pain, and help you remedy the situation.

So my mother got this awesome Video editing tool as a Christmas gift. Well she is probably as tech savy as any of the families before the makeover, so of course it is my duty to get it working.

Now the Dazzle DVD Recorder Products DO NOT work with Vista out of the box as of the date of this article. This can be frustrating for many as there is no warning that the device won't work with Vista out of the box.

So the first thing you want to do when working with this item in Vista is download the proper software and drivers.
*DO NOT connect the device until you have installed the software!*

The software is available at Pinnacle Systems Product Support Page. Depending on what version of the software that is shipped with your product, you will need to download the appropriate software to get it to work.

You will also need to download the proper drivers from the site as well. Navigate to the Driver download page and scroll down to the table. Select the column that matches the product you have and the version of Vista you have installed.

Once you have downloaded the drivers and the updated software, then you should be able to use your new toy with no problems!
I currently have our old school camcorder connected to the Dazzle dongle because the tapes we have are those old school VHS-C tapes like the ones shown below.

If you have any questions or want further assistance, don't hesitate to ask!

Good Luck!
:wink:

-Lloyd E.

That's awesome, Lloyd! It looks like your Mom's been having some fun digitizing lately, too. (I will give you this: a blue suit definitely helps you make an entrance!)

You know if they make a version for Macs? I did find this how-to article on Dazzle for Mac, but it looks pretty old, and I'm not sure if they still make them or not. I've got a bunch of old videos from back in the day that'd be fun to watch again, too. And by "fun" I mean "mortifying."