Review on 🎥 Effortless Video Conversion: VIDBOX Video Conversion for PC (2020) by Ananta Crowley

I'm impressed with this little device. I worked in television when tape was king, so I knew the characteristics of videotape, both broadcast quality and videocassette, very well. I took care of them, but I didn't know how badly (if at all) they were affected. I thought I only had one chance to convert them, so I wanted it to matter: I needed the highest quality conversion at the best price. The Vidbox was more than double the price of the next device I considered, but I bought it with cautious optimism. and I must say that I am satisfied with the purchase. The Vidbox hardware is very simple: the tiny box has an S-Video input, a composite video input, stereo RCA audio inputs, and a USB output. The S-Video standard offers slightly higher picture quality than the Composite standard. My VCR doesn't support S-Video output, so I couldn't test it in this quality. My tapes turned out to be in surprisingly good condition and Vidbox largely maintained that quality. The sharpness, color, saturation, and audio levels of the encoded movies were all good, especially since I was limited to composite video. Scenes with a lot of fast movement, like fast pans or zooms, show noticeable blur, but that's more a problem with the MPEG-2 codec than with the device itself. I previously paid for a professional video conversion service to convert two VHS tapes. to DVD, and the difference in quality between these conversions and movies from Vidbox is, to be honest, negligible. The supplied video conversion software is also well protected against manipulation. I didn't use the installation disc and instead downloaded the software from the Vidbox website to make sure I had the latest version. Install the app, authorize it with the key printed on the CD case, then follow the simple 3-step process to start burning. Grandmas could seriously do that. However, the software could be improved. The application window is not resized, and the area in which the video is displayed is tiny, about half the resolution of the original signal (320x240 pixels, I estimate). Not only is this undesirable because it's uncomfortably small, it also has a subtle psychological effect: my live VHS signal looked crisp in that tiny window, but noticeably less sharp when I played the converted movies fullscreen. It's just an illusion - there's really no noticeable change in quality - but it's annoying. Doubling the size of this area or maximizing the application will solve the problem. The software also does not support fine tuning. I'd like to at least be able to adjust the bitrate to improve quality or choose my preferred codec. These options can easily be hidden in the Advanced Settings menu. The app supports converting to MP4, but you have to pay for it: videos are always encoded as MPEG-2 first, so converting to MP4 means a second encoding cycle. , which represents a drop in quality per generation (two generations compared to the original tape). I haven't used the DVD burning feature, so I can't comment on its performance. DVDs are always encoded as MPEG-2, so there shouldn't be any additional generation loss. ADVANTAGES Good quality conversion; My new videos are basically as good as the original material. Incredibly easy to use and includes composite and USB cables. CONSSSoftware is great for basic conversion but lacks advanced settings for advanced users. NOTE Make sure you have set up tracking on your VCR. for the best picture. Some newer VCRs do this automatically. This can help eliminate static clinging to the top or bottom of the screen. Ultimately, I'm happy with Vidbox. It keeps what it promises and I am satisfied with the quality of my films.