If you're anything like us, then you'll have a couple of boxes somewhere in the house full of VHS recordings still waiting to be copied over to DVD. Video capture and edit boxes are nothing new but this device from KWorld is the smallest we've seen to date.
Twice the width of a USB memory stick and roughly the size of a USB TV tuner, the DVD Maker 2 is a simple but compact copying solution. One end has a standard USB port for connecting to your notebook or PC, while the other end has a Mini-USB port. This is attached to a cable that can be hooked up to your camcorder, video or even DVD player and offers video, S-Video and audio inputs.
The adapter itself simply consists of a button you press once you are ready to start copying and the process almost runs itself. You'll need to install drivers, which is a simple matter. Instead of running its own capture software, KWorld has teamed up with CyberLink, so you'll find PowerDirector 6 and PowerProducer 4 software bundled with the package.
One of the advantages of using this software is that it allows you to determine the size of the final footage, even allowing you to compress copies directly for your iPod, PSP or online using YouTube.
It is not the most the most sophisticated of capture devices and we found that sound and audio starts to split if you run it for over 30 minutes but for shorter clips it is more than fine on the average notebook or PC.
Our quick take
This isn't a device for making high-definition copies but as a quick and easy way of getting analogue data onto your PC for editing, the KWorld DVD Maker 2 works exceedingly well.
KWorld DVD Maker 2 video capture stick - 3.0 / 5
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To recap
As an entry-level device this has its charm, but if you have a large amount of video to copy it may be better investing in a more powerful device