Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

YOU'RE NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO'S BEEN CONFUSED BY THE CONTRADICTORY REVIEWS... AV Capture and processing hardware and software combinations are, evidently, very problematic. Some reviewers praise the quick install and immediate results, and some start blaming software issues, and then hardware issues. This was with all brands, not just Pinnacle. So maybe like you, I was totally confused. Who do I believe? RELYING ON SOMEONE'S KEY COMMENT... There was one reviewer who's comments I couldn't get out of my mind. He praised the Dazzle DVC-100 capture device by saying, and I'll paraphrase; ".....it's (Dazzle) the most robust device, and worth purchasing the package, if only for the device... just toss the software and use freeware..." I think that guy's review became my subliminal message that ultimately drove me back to Amazon and my "clicking on my Prime button to place my order!" WHAT ABOUT THAT "PATCH" FOR WIN 8.1 (?)... My Dazzle arrived this Saturday, December 6th, '14. which is important to know, because evidently the "patch" that many have complained about needing to download for Windows 8.1, well, it's evidently not needed anymore. I say that because after loading my software, doing a cold-reboot, and then trying to load the patch, I got an error message saying that the patch would not be compatible with my system software, or something along those lines. I bypassed the upload, and went directly to using the Capture Device and the stock software. BOTTOM LINE, IT DID WHAT I NEEDED, AND THE AUDIO WAS SYNCED WITH THE VIDEO... 1. I set up my Circa 1990's Kyocera/Sony Video8 tape camera-recorder-playback system. 2. Played back a Video8 tape (circa 1990's and monophonic audio) into the Dazzle capture device. 3. Started the software, which took a while to load for the first time. 4. Intuitively figured out that I was going to "Import" from the Capture device. 5. Started the playback and saw preview video in the program window; clicked on "Start Capture." 6. Let the program and the playback unit run for the next hour and a few minutes. 7. When the tape had played out, I clicked on "Stop Capture." 8. "Stop Capture" started an "auto save" to the default VIDEOS folder in Windows. 9. Once saved to the default folder, I did a copy and paste to my photo album. Bottom line, the copied tape came out great as an MPG, and I then used Window to burn that one hour file (a little over 3 gigs) onto a DVD disk. I WANTED TO QUICKLY AND EASILY ARCHIVE SOME OLD VIDEO TAPES, AND IT WORKED... Based on my expectations, this package did exactly what I wanted. I've since recorded to my computer from my Video8 and VHS systems. I'm not concerned about "producing" any videos right now. But if I do, I'll be able to pick from a number of programs. Had I used the editing function, and enjoyed the same success as with the basic function of transferring analog to digital files, I'd have given Pinnacle-Corel a 5 out of 5. Based on my early success, I'm comfortable giving the 4 out of 5 stars.