DigitNow Werecord BR120 Video & Audio Grabber Box

Easy to use and the quality of the AVI files it produces are good. I recommend breaking up longer videos into short sections (no longer than about 20 minutes). This will make the file size more manageable. The hard part comes when you try to convert the files and share. I tried a few AVI to mp4 converters and nothing worked well. I uploaded the AVI files to YouTube, which works but results in moments in the videos that are "grayed out." I transferred the files to thumb drives to share with family members, and they had to find programs that would allow them to play AVI files. So I'm still working on the final step of my process, BUT the DigitNow Recorder did its job and I'm very happy to have digital files to work with instead of VHS tapes.

It works, however if you allow your tape to end before ending the recording on this device, then for some reason the audio goes out of sync with the video. Very annoying because it means I have to be hovering over it towards the end of the tape. Also for some reason the AVI files cannot be edited using Power Director (from Cyberlink). I can re-record it to another AVI file and then edit it, so there is a work around. I have no idea however if this is the BR120's fault or Cyberlink. But I do really like that this unit does NOT have to be plugged into a computer to work.

This product has a lot of potential. With a bit more development, it may still be a good product. Unfortunately, basic functionality is broken -- it's just not there yet. Setup was easy. Turn it on, plug a composite video source into it and push the record button. It writes the video in AVI format to an included 4Gb micro SD card (it will write to any card up to and including 32Gb). There's a built-in screen to watch and listen to the video being recorded. You can also use this to check the playback. Maximum resolution is VGA. It's not great, but it was sufficient for my needs. The real ugliness starts when you pop out the micro SD card and watch it anywhere else. There are video artifacts. There are video and audio skips in the playback. And all this gets worse if you try to stream the video. Nothing good is happening here. I tried converting the AVI file with ffmpeg. Millions of error message were produced and *hours* later the output wouldn't play at all. I spent a lot of time trying to make this work and it was all wasted. I tried looking for support (perhaps it just needs a firmware upgrade?). I couldn't find anything. A product that produces just barely watchable video isn't worth the trouble. Perhaps they can address these issues, but unless they do this product is a FAIL.

i give it 4 1/2 stars. it is really ez 2 use and it comes with everything you need. the $90 price tag was more than i would have liked 2 pay. this came in a nice box with everything needed to convert old media into digital format- a very ez way to get old vhs and high 8 tapes into the computer- so that you can make dvds or carry the footage on your phone or tablet.. my 20 year old sharp view cam was ez 2 hook up to this- . rca out from the camcorder plugged into the side of the box- when i hit play on the camcorder i could see what was on the tapes on the display screen of the video grabber box. just press the record button and it records on the included 2 GB micro sd card. (or put your own micro sd card in- up the 32 GB) if you have 2 hours of video tape to transfer it takes 2 hours to do it i think i was able to put at least 4 hours of my hi 8 video onto the included micro sd card. i used a free program called Handbrake to convert the large avi files into smaller mpeg 4 files_ i was able to upload all the old tapes onto google drive and share these 15-20 year old tapes/memories with my family.. BONUS- i discovered that i was able to hook it up to my dvd player and transfer dvd movies into digital format i could take with me on my tablets and cell phones. 1 of my dvd players had a hdmi cable on it and the video grabber wouldn't record it- i tried it on another dvd player with no hdmi cable on it and saw that the dvd movie was playing on the display screen of the video grabber- i hit record and it worked. this is really ez 2 use_ i am very tech challenged and was able to figure it out using the included instructions/diagrams. i wish it was a little less expensive- but i'm glad i bought it and i would recommend it to you for an ez way to transfer old media into digital format i've taken pics of what u get and some of the instruction book- so that you know what to expect_ i hope my experience helps u_i hope some of the info i've shared has been helpful 2 U_ thanks

I purchased this item after seeing the reviews. It worked exactly as it is mentioned. I converted an old VHS video approximately 2:00hr runtime taken in 1994. Though the transfer took a while by the simple click of the record button, it did a pretty good job. Two AVI files were created on the SD card, one 1.3GB and the other 486MB in size. Both played well without any lag or quality degradation on my PC with almost all popular players. I then joined the two files into one single AVI using some free software even though it took almost 2 Hrs to complete. Then I moved on to convert the AVIs to DVD using the free DVD flick encoder and it missed 95% of the videos which was showing grey or green screen. On examining the logs I found it was due to resource limitations. So I split the large AVIs to smaller chinks of around 400-500mb in size and re-encoded these split files. Everything went fine and I have a working DVD with the same quality as my VHS cassette which can play on any DVD player. I liked the unit as it is very easy to operate and reliable at the first try itself without any complications. Now I am confident and will go ahead with converting all my old cassettes one by one. I would have given 5 stars if the unit was little more intelligent to create multiple smaller files which will save some time for me from splitting the files again for conversion to DVD format. Thanks DigitNow

I had high hopes for this product based upon the write-up. My biggest let down was the documentation for it. Very little detailed info on many levels like supported formats, max size of micro-sd card allowed, moving between functions was not easy (for me). I am no computer wiz but I'm not completely illiterate either. Better user manual would help and maybe some on screen buttons would have helped to make it easier to navigate. I have never done well with 3 buttons doing 30 things depending on the order they were pushed. I believe there are less expensive and more user friendly options in the marketplace. Just sayin'

10X better than EL GATO which is about the most useless piece of VIDEO GRABBER I have ever bought.... be warned though, IRecord has a better product which records at a better resolution... but if you don't mind skimping on the resolution, than this device does its job. The USB exchange makes it easy to transfer content over to the computer. Records in AVI format, you need a software converter but hey, beats the hell out of buying overpriced content on ITunes.

I wanted to use this device as a way to keep my Hi-8mm cameras going after the death of tape. Too bad this doesn't record to a high enough codec. I wouldn't even put this footage on YouTube. Also, I would have loved some mounting options like 1/4-20 screws. Everything else about the recorder is great.