Oddity Archive: Episode 269.5 - Ben’s Junk: ClonerAlliance ViewLiteAV (Video Capture Device)

[@SpaceCop]

That Pepsi commercial clip comparison couldn't make the glitch any more clear. Crystal clear.

[@doogie812]

The 3:4 aspect ratio thing is a show stopper for me as well. Thanks.

[@OddityArchive]

Some other points: 1. This will accept flash drives of up to 512GB and external HD’s of up to 8TB. 2. All tests seen in this video were at the maximum video rate (8Mbps) and audio bitrate (320kbps). 3. The only video file option is mp4. The only audio file option is mp3. 4. The manual lists bits and bytes interchangeably. Ignore the manual on that front. 5. The “waveform” on the audio-only playback (on the monitor) bears little resemblance to what’s actually being played at a given moment. 6. Yes, the end credits music is from the ViewLite transfer-same clip as earlier in the video.

[@Larry]

Does ClonerAlliance do a version with SCART inputs perchance? That would help me out massively.

[@ccateni28]

If it does, I would be cautious on how it handles the signal. Those cheap scart adapters are terrible and the only good ones are the retrotink scart and ossc.

[@OddityArchive]

@Larry Bundy Jr As far as I know, they don't. Unless there's a version on Amazon UK that I'm not privy to.

[@patrickrwallace]

Great video - above and beyond for a Ben's Junk ep! Your honesty & comparison with the Pro is much appreciated, as someone who gets asked *a lot* about consumer analog capture devices I've never touched.

[@ScottSimpson]

I'd totally go for a premium version of this kind of thing if it had built-in TBC circuitry, a preamp with scopes to set levels, and confidence that it records interlaced. But I don't think such a box will ever exist. Thanks for doing the hard work on this one, Ben!

[@noneofyourbusiness4616]

Nice to see you go hard and heavy on this box.

[@RetroDakota]

I wonder... would Apple QuickTime be able to pick this device (along with the ClonerBox as well) up when connected via USB to your Mac? QuickTime has the ability to record from a lot of USB capture devices, mostly web cameras, but if a device meets a certain standard called "UVC", then it can also be used in QuickTime. The HDMI capture hardware I use present themselves to QuickTime as a "USB Camera/USB Audio Device" option in QuickTime's capture device list. The downside with the VCR part is since the HDMI dongles natively record in HD 720p/1080p, the VCR footage does get stretched out to 16:9 since it's passed through an AV-to-HDMI converter box before heading to the HDMI capture dongle itself. QuickTime offers no option to resize the video to 4:3, necessitating another video app (such as Final Cut Pro/Compressor) to properly resize the video back to 4:3. Once I get done adjusting and editing the raw transfers in FCP, I send it over to Compressor where I have a custom encoding profile setup that saves the final video in it's proper 4:3 aspect ratio. Given how the ViewLiteAV already stretches the video on it's LCD screen, I feel it's going to be the same way if it does work with QuickTime. As for Macs reading NTFS file systems, Macs should be able to read NTFS formatted drives natively. Macs just can't write to NTFS drives or USB sticks without third party software.

[@OddityArchive]

My 2017 MacBook Pro didn't recognize it in any way, shape or form.

[@RetroDakota]

@@OddityArchive That sucks. If only more companies who make capture devices would make them fit that "UVC" standard for universal compatibility between PC, Mac and Linux. Macs have been getting the shaft for years when it comes to analog video capture devices or USB TV tuners.

[@d3v1lsummoner]

No one can claim Ben has sold out and lost objectivity after this pretty scathing review.

[@hordakalpha]

Where the heck was Egah? In all seriousness after seeing the direct feed footage comparison, if I were shopping for one of those units I would choose the cloner pro, the other one looks too prone for glitches. For the amount of money you’d be expected to pay for that basic unit then it should be glitch free. I would never pay $100-some dollars for a unit that goofs up the digital recording so badly just because of a wrinkle in the original vhs being transferred from. I agree with the review.

[@SPINNINGMYWHEELS777]

@23:45 'no uncompressed options' completely unusable

[@lutello3012]

I don't think you mentioned video file options but I don't like the aspect ratio and other problems. I also want the interlacing preserved, bet it deinterlaces.

[@OddityArchive]

mp4 was the only option. The manual doesn't mention interlacing at all--for what it's worth, I didn't see any interlace artifacts. Updated the pinned comment.

[@philipcorner574]

Yes, I was interested in knowing about how it handles interlace. It is better (though not so convenient) to capture the video in its interlaced form so you can apply de-interlacing to it later on a computer. I believe Topaz AI has very good de-interlacing that can produce amazing results, at least on the DVD examples I've seen. Don't get me wrong, I've captured VHS through an HDMI output where the VCR did the de-interlacing and the results were very watchable, but as soon as I make a de-interlaced recording this way, I'm making a permanent decision on how that de-interlacing is carried out. But if I capture it interlaced, I can change how I perform de-interlacing at any time in the future:- Certainly the de-interlacing I did on video capture 15 years ago will look pretty bad today.

[@mariteaux]

That 320kbps max is such a dealbreaker. I hate it when people treat it as equivalent to an uncompressed or lossless format (not that you were of course, just that a lot of people do), because it still degrades the audio quality, but you also get basically none of the space savings of MP3 on top (something like 30% over FLAC, I believe?). It's the worst of all worlds, but I've bought so many records that come with 320kbps MP3s and so many devices will only transfer to 320kbps MP3. I do not get the appeal. It'd be far less work for the little CPU in these things to just dump straight PCM to the storage, I swear, and even FLAC encoders aren't particularly CPU heavy.

[@HappySnoutHour]

I remember when Ben used to sell battery powered catheters.

[@orihalcon8693]

Great honest review! Would you mind sharing your preferred S-Video/composite/component source capture chains for VHS are?

[@jamesslick4790]

This seems to be a cool little box for quickly digitizing old media. In the early days of digital TV, I put a Hauppauge "WinTV" device in my PC. It supported analog TV (NTSC) and digital (ATSC) over the air channels as well as composite and S video. Of course, you need to be ON the PC to use it. Having something like this device, you can take it to grandmas or Aunt Janes house and use their VCR without the need to drag all of the tapes home. As to the audio being limited to mp3, most people in the market for this is likely dubbing personal cassette, not someone digitizing 15ips Open Reel stuff. The open reel crowd likely HAS a dedicated digital recorder.

[@alfredoduran5149]

Hi, it's very nice to meet you through your videos, which I just discovered. You've mentioned several times that you have a preferred method for transferring home video VHS tapes to digital. I would be interested in knowing your preferred method. Please tell me about your preferred ways so that I can learn. Thank you very much in advance.

[@ThriftyAV]

I never would have thought of plugging things into every input and output, so that was a fun test. I remain envious of your PAL gear, as the only devices I have that play PAL are a couple of all region DVD players that scan convert to NTSC. Consequently, I could not test PAL capture. The most important thing I learned from you is how weak this device is with a less than ideal source signal. This is very important for folks digitizing old tapes, and it sucks that one frame with dropout can cause major glitches with both the video and the audio. And yes, they should have made 4:3 a menu item. Too bad they don't plan to have a firmware update. Good job with this review, Ben.

[@OddityArchive]

The PAL footage is from a hacked portable machine. Not sure if it's "pure" or not. I didn't try out the multi-system VHS for that reason.

[@ASMRPeople]

I won't use any capture device that doesn't capture in avi. I'll let my software render I just want to capture each frame as is. My 20+ year old canopus advc-300 is still my go to. Yeah firewire is a bit of pain, but zero loss video is what I need. My software can mp4 the raw video.

[@OddityArchive]

Is there anything that can capture Component or HDMI in .avi? I'd be all over that.

[@GabrielleCenter2000]

I haven't watch the channel for a while. ☺ the device sounds interesting.

[@JohnJones-oy3md]

ClonerAlliance: "Dude, we asked for an 'honest' review, not an HONEST review".

[@SPINNINGMYWHEELS777]

the AMSR crew will be saddened by your lack of audio during the unboxing. Is it the pop of the plastic they enjoy?

[@jamesslick4790]

I've seen the "TF" label (for "trans flash") near lots of Micro SD slots. I think a manufacturer has to pay a royalty or license fee to use the name "Micro SD". Some happy horseshit like that. P.S. The music on that silent movie sounds like me messing with my Mother's Kimball 702 back when I was about 10 Y.O .😜

[@tomrow32]

Does it support PAL60 video? Every CVBS-to-HDMI adapter I've come across starts glitching out and dropping the signal when I feed them PAL60 from my Wii and PS2.

[@OddityArchive]

Don’t have the means to try that.

[@MaxW-er1hm]

I've been given things fir review myself on Amazon. I was honest about what I thought of the items, but of course the first time I disliked one of their items they didn't send me anything else to review again after that LOL

[@Aeduo]

Bit of a strong hangup on the 4:3 thing. Also 720x480 isn't itself 4:3, it's always animorphic. It's I believe related to the theoretical analog bandwidth for composite video. Anyway, while it is definitely a technical flaw that it's not tagging the video correctly, this can be done third party losslessly with something like ffmpeg or handbrake where it just changes the flag in the file so any software which comes in contact with the video will know it's supposed to be animorphic 4:3. I'd still consider it as a definite ding to the device especially as they have no plans to fix it, but there are definite workarounds, if someone were to be stuck with one of these for some reason.

[@Capturing-Memories]

It's not a flaw, When the Rec.601 was drafted they just want to make sure they sample as higher as possible for each scan line, 704 was the choice based on other technical reasons, they added 8 blank pixels on each side to accommodate for sensor miss alignment of cameras and telecine machines used to convert film to TV, so 720 it is, A flag needs to accompany the digital files to display the pixels in their original non square shape.

[@Aeduo]

@@Capturing-Memories yeah the flaw is that it's not flagging the files correctly, not that it's recording 720 wide.

[@Capturing-Memories]

@@Aeduo This device is not flagging them correctly, I agree. Because it does not conform to the rec.601 standard, Never buy cheap chinese crap like this.

[@basshorseman998]

I enjoy your style of reviewing Ben, Thanks

[@SPINNINGMYWHEELS777]

was that a 5th gen ipod sighting?

[@OddityArchive]

Yes. In service since 2008.

[@SPINNINGMYWHEELS777]

Did it pass the Der Golum treatment??? 😅

[@OddityArchive]

I had my moments where I almost wished I could turn it to stone.

[@meta460085]

720x480 is an AR of 1.5:1 you can change the AR to 4:3 without re-encoding by flagging it as 4:3.

[@jasonhaman4670]

Regarding NTFS, I thought I was able to read NTFS drives on my Macbook a decade or so ago, but it's been the better part of a decade since I switched from Mac to Linux, so my memory's moldy. Linux definitely supports NTFS... may require installing a (free) support package on some distributions. I support a couple newer Macs at work; I'll have to try it out next week. On a tangent, Wasp Woman looks intriguing... and I'm a big Phantom of the Opera fan, but somehow I've failed at that and shamefully wasn't aware of that version, I must rectify that. Telesound 13 is always nice; I have it in the same 'singles' playlist as my favorite of yours, Pavanned 6.66.

[@netsurferx1]

To confirm and add: Macs do support NTFS, but as a Read-Only volume. Writing to NTFS volumes is not supported.

[@jasonhaman4670]

@@netsurferx1 Interesting and surprising, considering how long Linux has had read and write support for NTFS. But, for purposes of using the Cloner Alliance devices, you only need to read the flash drives written by it, so mission accomplished.

[@AdvancedGemini]

NTFS-3g (the older user-space NTFS support package for Linux) does claim to support MacOS, so you should be to get full NTFS read/write support if you’re willing to go through some extra hoops. I haven’t personally tested it though.

[@keithmartin9816]

Have you done a video about your preferences for video transfer/capture?

[@OddityArchive]

Not a complete one. The closest I've gotten in recent years is the Ben's Junk on the Hotronic AP41 Frame Sync/TBC.

[@SPINNINGMYWHEELS777]

@20:00 completely unusable

[@Parakinese]

I think Sergey should do the tele shopping blocks. 🐙🤪

[@imusingsocialistmedia3014]

Pretty good video, thank you.

[@soundminedd]

🎷🎺🎵(A) A s p e c t ... Find out what it means to... BEn😅 ❤❤❤

[@mightyfilm]

With a review like that, I'm sure they would have asked for you to give it back. XD I had a brief stint reviewing comics as a favor on a Muppet Blog and ALL I got out of it was a blurb on a Fraggle Rock omnibus... that I couldn't even afford to buy when it was in print.

[@Parakinese]

🥸❤️

[@leonjohnsonjr3331]

Cassette needs a head cleaner

[@OddityArchive]

Please rewatch from 19:55 to 21:49. I discuss it in detail. Also, multiple comments are not necessary.

[@yanikkunitsin1466]

"Exchanging hands" in this case is called barter and thus paid promotion by definition.

[@OddityArchive]

You act as if YT has any grounding in reality.

[@leonjohnsonjr3331]

Betamax needs head cleaning

[@justin43098]

I think you just had a poor attitude that day.

[@leonjohnsonjr3331]

Betamax needs head cleaning