I've never written an online review before. But my experience with this product was, and continues to be so unpleasant, I feel I owe it to potential unsuspecting buyers to share what has happened to me. I bought TWO of these packages at $59 each at Best Buy three weeks ago- as of right now I am THREE WEEKS into my failed attempts to making either system install or function in any way.
I bought TWO of these systems. One for an almost new HP Vista Home Premium 64 bit laptop as well as my very well maintained XP Pro 32 bit (service pack 3) desktop PC. I found it interesting that I had total failure in my attempts to install or use this packages on either computer - kind of taking any validity out of the argument, "well there is obviously just something wrong with your PC." But BOTH PCs?!
Of course the next argument would be that I'm just some clown that doesn't even know how to find the power cord on a computer. But in fact I am a sound engineer by profession and have been using all sorts of computer hardware and software since 1985, including Roxio and Sonic Solution's professional line of sound restoration tools (many costing in excess of $10,000) to remaster and preserve many famous early jazz music recordings for major record labels for re-release on compact disc.
That being said, I have never had so much trouble installing or using any computer hardware and software package- either professional or consumer grade in the nearly three decades I have been using this sort of equipment. This product is clearly being marketed to the average computer user (not rocket scientists) who just need a straight forward, no fuss method of transferring their old VHS libraries to a digital format, either DVD or hard drive. If a guy like me can't make it work, how is the "average" computer user supposed to use it?
ROXIO THECHNICAL SUPPORT TO THE RESCUE!
Obviously early on I decided to contact Roxio tech support to try to work out these problems. I very quickly discovered that the customer support phone lines were exclusively reserved for owners of their "flag ship" products, as they call them, NOT for us "EASY VHS" owners. NO, we would have to resort to the tech support email system or their user forums, unless we had a valid Visa or Mastercard ready to buy their premium phone support.
ROXIO EMAIL SUPPORT:
I have now contacted Roxio email tech support countless times. They would sometimes give me a bunch of Windows settings and parameters to check out to make sure all of my Vista files and so on were up to date- a reasonable strategy. Of course they always were. So this didn't solve anything.
But I also received some really insulting emails from Roxio customer support. I always spend a very long time trying to document exactly what my problems were and very accurately describe everything I have tried to resolve my issues. I was surprised, at least at first, when I would receive a generic form letter back with some trouble shooting tips I should attempt (things I clearly described in my emails that have already been tried). But I was furious when I would get these kind of generic trouble shooting emails FOR THE WRONG PRODUCT! How are they going to help make my product work when they won't even pay enough attention to what product it is that I am using?!
ROXIO USER FORUMS:
My only other recourse was to post my issues on the Roxio user forum. I only received one response. It appeared to be from the guy considered to be the forum's "technical guru". In short, the response said that the things I described simply do not happen on properly installed and well maintained Windows PCs. He suggested that I take a harsh look at my PC maintenance practices and be more careful of "the places I go to on the internet."
Having exhausted all other options, I actually took his advice which was to completely erase the contents of my (only 2 month old) Vista Home Premium 64 bit laptop and reformat the whole thing and do a clean install of windows.
After doing this, I went through the Roxio emails to confirm every single critical Windows software component and version that had to be installed as carefully as a NASA pre-launch check list. It should be noted that I did not install ANY software other than the Vista software - updated to its most current version.
Then I tried to install Roxio Easy VHS to DVD and it's updates and drivers. I was totally depressed to discover after the time and trouble I took to totally wipe clean and freshly install Windows Vista that it did nothing to solve any of the problems to installing EASY VHS to DVD.
No one seems to have any more advice to offer. I have now spent three weeks of my life trying to get a piece of software to work. Please note that this is just what I have gone through trying to install the FIRST of TWO of these systems that I bought! I have yet to even START trouble shooting the second one of these I bought for my XP pro computer! It won't work at all either.
I have been searching the internet trying to find answers that could make this product work, since the manufacturer, Roxio, can't get it to work and has no more useful suggestions.
Obviously I can not speak for anyone else's experience with this product but I think it is important to mention that I have noticed reviews of it starting to appear all over the internet. The vast majority of reviews I have found for Easy VHS to DVD are reporting identical experiences as mine. In those reviews, some customers are frustrated, other are very angry, and some reviewers on Amazon have actually reported that they have simply given up and thrown Roxio's Easy VHS to DVD in the trash.
After nearly three weeks of trying to install only the first of the two copies I bought, with no answers or resolutions from Roxio and a no returns policy on software form Best Buy, throwing EASY VHS to DVD in the trash (along with my $118) is starting to look like the only option left. I only wish I could get back the nearly three weeks of my life I wasted trying without success to make it work. "EASY" VHS to DVD?? Don't believe everything you read. Roxio Easy VHS to DVD - Roxio - Lp To Cd - Video Production - Vhs To Dvd'
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