Plextor's PX-M401U ConvertX
| Article Index |
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| Plextor's PX-M401U ConvertX |
| Software and Setup |
| Test Rig Specs |
| Capturing With The ConvertX |
| Final Thoughts and Conclusion |
Product: Plextor ConvertX (Digital Video Converter)
Provided By: Plextor
| Introduction: | |
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Plextor is a very well known company when it comes to their optical drives. If you need a top quality drive for burning CD or DVD media, Plextor is one of the leaders in the industry. In the past, I was very sceptical as their products have always been touted "Professional Quality" and also carry a "Professional" price. In truth, they are a bit more money, but from personal experience as of late, they are worth every penny. |
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Plextor has taken a bit of a break from the Optical market, and served up BensCustomCases with a new product; the ConvertX Digital Video Converter. This product takes a video source - either S-Video or RCA video, and converts it into an MPEG1, MPEG2, or MPEG4 format. It also captures the audio in MPEG3, LPCM, or Dolby Digital. I've tried several other video capture devices in the past, including an MSI TV@nywhere, ATi TVWonder, and an nVidia GeForce4 ViVo card from Gainward. Although I don't have side-by-side screenshots of these other products - the differences were so obvious that screenshots weren't required. Enough of the babbling introduction, let's get on with it! |
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System Requirements:
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Total Solution Features:
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| If you want to read the entire specifications, you can download the PDF file from Plextor here. | |
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What You Get: |
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| In the box you find the ConvertX unit, some cheap cables (S-Video, RCA Video, and Stereo RCA Audio), a power adapter (not pictured), a 4' USB cable (not pictured), a CD containing Intervideo's WinDVD Player, and WinDVD Creator, as well as a very detailed 63 page manual. Although, I'm a little disappointed with the cables, they do work fine, and are better than some companies cables that are 30gauge wire covered by 1/4" of insulation. If you are a video enthusiast, you'll want to snag a better set of cables however. | |
| The software that comes with the unit is quite good. I'm not too familiar with other video editing software suites, but this one definitely gets the job done. From initial capturing or importing media files, to editing, authoring, and burning, WinDVD Creator does it all. The manual answered most of my questions I had with the product, although I did have to place a call to Plextor's Toll-Free Tech Support line, and had my other question answered within 2 minutes. Very not bad. |
