Home > Consumer Reviews > HP DVD Movie Writer dc4000

If you are new to the DVD movie making process using a PC, like myself, the HP dc4000 is a godsend. As advertised, I was able to make a movie, albeit an unprofessional looking one, on the very first try.

This was my second attempt trying to convert my Sony Mini DV TRV-22 home movies to DVD. I initially bought a generic DVD-+RW recorded and used the USB out of the Sony to make a DVD. The quality was really bad. I did some research and it turns out that the data/signal coming out of the USB port is compressed and only suitable for VCD. The Sony does have a DV port, but my PC didn't have a DV (firewire?) input. Rather than waste more time buying additional hardware, I read a review for the dc3000 and went shopping.

For movies to be played back on a home system, HP recommends DVD+R discs. I burned my movies on DVD-R discs and they played fine on my really old DVD player (Onkyo DV-C601) with a single laser pickup and my newer JVC multi-player. From what I read online, 95% of all home DVD players should be able to play DVD-R?

Here are the pros and cons of the HP dc4000:

PRO: Easy to use and has good quality analog/digital converters (RCA style and S-Video input). Use S-Video if you have it.
PRO: Nice bundled software. I've only used Arcsoft's ShowBiz 2 for editing and burning, but I really like the product. Much better than the Sonic bundle offered with most other DVD burners.
PRO: Quite.
PRO: Works with both USB 1.1 and 2.0.

CON: The external case is painted silver and parts of it are missing some paint.
CON: Unit is heavy.
CON: Made in Malaysia.

The Pinnacle Systems video capture device I bought last year was totally useless from day one - a dead loss. This HP unit, once it was hooked up and the software loaded, worked from the start. Eureka! Of particular interest to people who, like me, have rare or unusual items on laserdisc that may never show up on DVD, is that it will indeed capture video from a laserdisc player. I used the S-video connection for the picture and RCA connectors for the audio. This is important to know because I called HP customer support before buying mine specifically to find this out. After talking to a couple of people in what I assume is some country in the far East, and being on hold for a total of about 25 minutes, I was told that the DC4000 wouldn't work on laserdisc transfers. But something about the way they explained it suggested to me that they weren't really sure, and I suspect that the info HP supplied them to parrot back to inquiring customers didn't address the question at all and they had to improvise their (wrong) answer. Way to go, HP! Anyway, for those who are interested in this application, I can tell you that it does work. I won't suggest that a transfer of a 2 hour film is going to look quite as good as the original laserdisc source, but it does look noticeably better than a VHS copy. Also I'd say that the DC4000 is particularly worthwhile for transferring old VHS tapes, as they tend to deteriorate a little more every year that you keep them, and the two or three that I've copied look reasonably close to the original source. As I understand it, commercially produced DVDs have dual layers for twice the data capacity, as opposed to the one recording surface that recordable DVDs have, which is why they never look as good as the professionally produced product. Nevertheless, this is a very cool item to have, and I'd say that the few discs I've produced so far look better than most homebrewed discs you'd get from eBay sellers or internet entrepreneurs.

I had previously tried the 3000 movie writer, but was unable to make it work. Alot of compatability issues with my Dell. I read that alot of others had the same trouble. Then the new 8x 4000 series had came out. So I took a chance it would be better, and it paid off!!! The NEWER writer is not only compatible!! but it works to my amazement!! HP should have done more testing before releasing the first version. Hopefully more people will be willing to try this newer version!!! I enjoy being able to transfer non copyrighted viedos to DVD!!! The quality is excellent!!! I hope more companies can follow in the footsteps of this wonderful product!!! (REMEMBER TO STAY AWAY FROM THE OLDER VERSIONS)

I was about to send my DC4000 and rate it as a piece of garbage. Software installed easily enough, very simple process to transfer tape to DVD, but when I played my first DVD the quality was terrible!!! Jerky, choppy, poor sound quality, mosaic like picture, yeck!

Turns out your PC needs to meet the minimum configuration. My 800Mhz PC just couldn't keep up. Installed the software on my 1.6MHz laptop, burned a DVD that looks as good as the tape!!

This is a great product. Caution- some sites say minimum PC speed is 800Mhz, this is wrong. HP site says 1.2Mhz. Also, make sure you are using USB2.0 interface and cables.

Love the product. If you are having issues, chances are it is with your system and not the DC4000.

This is my first DVD-WRiter and i love it. I don't have any trouble with the software and the driver. I use it with my laptop (512mB - 60gb HD). I only recommend a lot of free space in your hard disk. I like the software too.

Excellent product. I'm passing all my Tapes (VHS) to dvd with excelent quality. Everything was perfect since the first time i installed it.

I like this because i have 4 in 1:

1- DVD-Writer (DVD+R/RW - DVD-R/RW) for data porpuse / Backup
2- Capture Device (Audio-Video)
3- I convert my analog video to digital video (DVD-VCD)
4- CD-WRITER CD-R / RW

Good for HP !