Diamond Multimedia GC1000 Mini Review

http://www.tools4movies.com/wp-conte...nail_image.png

A few days ago, a few tech websites posted articles about the GC1000, so I ordered one, and it came in yesterday.



The device itself is a little box that you can place between a video source and a TV, and using an USB connection, it enables you to record what is being displayed on TV.
It is advertised as a device that will let you share clips of your gaming achievements with friends, recording clips of XBOX360 games etc.


Full Details:

Capture & Edit Your Games from gaming consoles such as Xbox® 360 & PS3®, or VHS, DVD player, camcorder or satellite set top box. Share Your Recorded Gameplay Sessions on You TubeTM & Facebook®. Record & Play with No Delays
High Definition (HD) Video capture box with HDMI or Component (up to 1080i) input and output
Supports H.264 hardware compression
Supports HDMI, YPbPr, Composite and S-Video inputs from Blu-Ray DVD, Game Console and Set-top box, etc
LOOPTHROUGH video input and video output support giving zero-delay display on TV set
Includes DVC (Diamond Video Capture) software with direct upload to You Tube interface
Real-time HD Video Capture on PC or Laptop via USB 2.0
PIP/POP for Video Playback
Microsoft Windows XP, Vista & 7 Compatible

DIAMOND USB 20 GC1000 HD 1080 Game Console Video Capture Device|USB Video Capture

While I don't do much gaming these days, I do want to put up some new how-to videos on the website update I am working on, and figured with this device, I could eliminate the handheld camera recordings of how it works on a device, and just record the HDMI out that the majority of the tablets and devices I have, and use that directly, and of course, with the HDMI out on a laptop, I could record the functionality of DVD Catalyst 4 in a better way than using screen recording software.

At $140, being able to record HDMI sources seemed like a fair price, so I ordered one with a premium 1-day shipping, so that I could start doing video stuff this weekend.


Experiences:

In short, I'm disappointed.

The loop-through part using HDMI doesn't work correctly. I tried a variety of different HDMI cables, and made sure that a direct connection from device to TV would work fine, I tried different sources (XBOX360, Playbook, Xoom, Asus Laptop, Dish DVR, Droid X phone), and with all, I ended up with a blue hue over the TV display (the XBOX360 was yellowish).

The PC software, DMCAP, seems a bit clunky, and when you set it up to display the HDMI source, it remains black. selecting another video source, for testing I hooked up the component video from my Dish DVR, it works fine, but HDMI, nope.

Trying 3 different systems, a Windows 7 32bit laptop (Dell) and an XP 32bit laptop (Vaio UX) I did manage to record something using component, but on my development system (Asus) running Windows 7 64bit, no matter what I tried, I could not get the software to even find the USB device.

Support:

What can I say. I have known Diamond Multimedia since the very early days. Back when computers were still running MS Dos, I worked in computer stores selling (and owning) a lot of their products. 3D video cards such as the Monster 3D, the first Viper and Geforce video cards, Supra 56K Modems etc. Support back then was quite good, but maybe it is because I focus so much on support with my own company that I am disappointed with theirs.

After making sure that the problem was not on my end (using 3 different systems and a plethora of different cables and devices), I did something I rarely do. I called the support number.

After 20 minutes in the queue (not exaggerated), I finally got to talk to someone, but unfortunately this person was "just taking calls" and was not an actual technical support representative. My description was noted, and I was told I'd be called in about an hour.
4 hours later, I figured I might as well use their online support system to file a ticket, but that remains there, untouched.

http://www.tools4movies.com/wp-conte...ket-300x97.jpg


Of course, since it is the weekend (Mo-Fri support only), I can wait until Monday before I will get a response, but with Monday being Labor Day, it will likely be Tuesday.

Getting a non-functional product is one thing, but aside from the sales description, there is nothing on the website in regards of troubleshooting. On top of that, being told I'd get a return call in a reasonable amount of time that, a day later still hasn't happened, and a support ticket that remains untouched is not a correct way to assist customers with questions. I paid the premium for 1-day shipping in order to be able to use it this weekend, and am now forced to wait for 4 days after I received the product before I am able to use it.

Thankfully Amazon's return process is easy, so I'll be on my way to the store and see if I can find something similar that does work.