Review on AVerMedia EZMaker 7 USB Video Capture Card: Convert RCA Composite, VHS to DVD with S-Video | Cyberlink Media Suite Software Included | Windows 10 Support (C039) by Sean Maile

The Aver EZmaker 7 was delivered this morning. After 6 hours of inactivity I was finally able to transfer one of my home videos to a file that I can read on my Windows 10 PC. I have the following problems: 1. The documentation that comes with this product is very limited, so it's better if you have a good idea of how your computer works. If you're lucky, the software will install correctly. This was not the case for me.2. Installing Aver EZmaker 7 Driver It didn't work the first time so I deleted everything and tried again, twice. I finally got it working by installing drives in safe mode. Not sure why it didn't install properly, but probably due to some kind of driver conflict. I've had problems with Windows 10 automatic updates before, so I'm hoping that the driver conflicts won't come back with the next update. The product comes with Cyberlink's "set" of software called Media Suite 10. Calling it a suite is something of a joke. There is no documentation included. I've searched and found some online but they don't match the software as many features are disabled. I also noticed that suite 10 is 6 years old (created in 2012). The current version seems to be 16 I think.4. After playing around with the software for a bit, I finally figured out how to "snap" a VHS tape and create a file on my PC. The problem is that the file type is .mpg which is not playable in any software i have except what comes in "suite". There doesn't seem to be an option to save as .mp4 or any other file type. So I had to use another program to convert it. There appears to be a Media Suite converter, but it is not included in the 'kit' that comes with this product. With "Lux" many functions are disabled, including the converter program. I thought the current "kit" could be bought for $64, but then there would be no guarantee it would work with this device.6. Also, every time I open the program, I get annoying pop-ups with ads to buy upgrades and/or additional software. I will be keeping the unit as I hope to be able to process all my VHS tapes before anything goes wrong. However, this is not an easy way to do this. I really don't need any of the fancy editing tools that seem to be included. Overall a very bad product, hence hardly 2 stars. Update: After using this device and software for the first time, the next use failed again. The program refused to recognize the Aver card. After spending a few more hours reinstalling and testing, I finally figured out how to get this device working on my Windows 10 PC. Your results may vary, but I'll list the steps here.1. When you're done, make sure you ejected the Aver card correctly using the Windows eject procedure. Don't just pull it out.2. I was having trouble getting Cyberlink to recognize my Aver card if I didn't follow the startup steps below: a. Turn off your computer b. Plug the Aver card into the PC and turn it back on. Make sure the device you are recording from is turned off! in. After turning on the computer, launch the Cyberlink Director software c. Only when the software is running and recognizes the device, switch on the recording device. Crazy that this POS is so bad, but it worked for me. Hope this helps someone else. Also, I'm reducing my rating to one star!