Forward Video Support & Counterfeits

[old_wrinkly]

Perhaps a foolish question, but does anyone know how to contact Forward Video support. I have tried to email them using the address on their site and it just gets bounced.

I have just bought an EasyCap adapter with First2Save on eBay who look genuine, spoke to them on their support phone so I know they exist and seem helpful, they even pointed me to this forum for help.

I've been trying to get the adapter working on my Vista laptop to transfer VHS from my VCR but get the usual :“no input signal or signal is unclear” error. Tried two sets of leads to connect the VCR Scart out to my TV AV3 input both of which checked out OK.

As using the correct leads seems to be the usual cure I was at a loss as to what do next, hence trying to contact Forward Video. Don't know of anyway to test the unit with what I have to hand.

Having spent best part of the today and yesterday trying to get it working I then came across the topic about counterfeits and I am now beginning to wonder if it a copy, so may never work, but how can I be sure. Don't want to speak to First2Save without being sure, well as sure as I can be.

There isn't any manufacturer info on the packaging which is just a blister pack.

Thanks

.

[jrrsteve]

Hi Wrink.

I seem to be in the same predicament. I purchased mine from BuyBigThing on Ebay and it also came bubble wrapped. Mine is receiving no picture or sound even though the software/drivers have installed correctly. I too am beginning to wonder about it being counterfeit. I have sent an email to BuyBigThing informing them of this and have asked for advice before I return it. I will keep you updated on the progress.

Steve

[old_wrinkly]

Hi Steve

Sorry to hear about your trouble.

I'm pleased to say that after explaining everything to First2Save, especially after pointing out that the Forward Video site lists the DC60 (which I assume you probably have) as withdrawn, they were more than happy to take the item back for a full refund. Really helpful and refunded within 48 hours receiving the item back.

I then purchased an Ezcap 116 from Climax Technology Ltd via Amazon and so far have to say that has worked just fine. It came in a box with the model number and date of manufacturer printed, just as it says on the Forward Video website.

I don't think First2Save would knowingly sell a counterfeit product, in fact from their response I would say just the opposite, but looking through eBay and some other sites most of the Easycap devices look to be old stock and are probably best avoided IMHO.

I personally think it's best to buy the latest model just to be sure. Climax Technology charged £20.94 including delivery which was about twice what I paid First2Save but I think it money well spent.

The only negative I can say is that in Vista there is no sound when capturing or playback in the preview window (bug in the software) but the sound is perfect when either the file is saved to the drive or written to DVD and played back. Not had any issues with lip synch even on a two and a half hour capture.

So far I have captured from my Canon MV530i camcorder, my old Philips VCR and my old Sony analogue camcorder and the results have all been the same.

On top of that Climax Technology responded quickly to a couple of queries I had.

Hope this helps.

[jrrsteve]

Thanks for the quick response.

I'm going to follow your advice. I paid £8.99 for mine so am not really bothered about £21 as it's still good value for money especially if it works out of the box. Hopefully I won't have too much trouble getting a refund.

Cheers, Steve

[old_wrinkly]

Steve

Hope you get on OK.

Having given the 116 such a glowing review I'm keeping my fingers crossed it will work the same for you, but you know what computers are like!

Anyway hope I've helped in some small way.

Cheers

Chris

[jrrsteve]

Hi Chris.

After contacting BuyBigThing and getting back a respones that had nothing to do with what I asked, I decided to have another go with EasyCap. This time I used a Scart with input/output switch. Lo and behold the device works perfectly!

Think I'll stick with it for the time being. Just having problems with the size of the files I'm saving! 1 minute = 288mb. But that's another story.

All the best,

Steve

[old_wrinkly]

Steve

Glad to hear you are making progress.

If you read through the forums you will see that not having the correct SCART i.e one that is input/output  is a well documented reason why people can't get it to work initially.

Having an input/output switch is the best option.

I have checked one of my captures which is 62 minutes long and a is 852 MB in MPEG format. This is standard video of course not HD.


Chris

[jrrsteve]

Hi Chris.

Could you please let me know what settings you are using as I'm still having no luck? I need to record 3hrs of VHS so approx 3gb would be fine.

Cheers, Steve

[old_wrinkly]

Hi Steve

Sorry for the delay in responding.

I haven't actually changed anything really, I'm capturing "out of the box" so to speak.

However, these are the only settings I can see when capturing from a device:

Frame Size 720x576

PAL_I

Frame Rate 25,000

Color Space YUY2

Hope this is of help.

Chris

[jrrsteve]

Hi Chris. Got things working spot on now  Managed to get my wifes 40th birthday party onto dvd. 32 minutes came out as 897mb mpeg file which was easy to work with. Thanks for all your help.

Steve

[old_wrinkly]

Steve

Glad to have been of some help, even if only in a small way.

Chris