I purchased an ADS Tech DVDXpressDX2 video capture device from CompUSA.
Resolution does not suffer when using S-Video and the video capture unit performs the encoding so the computer does not bear that load.

ADS support: 800-580-5180; Product info: 800-888-5244 / 562-926-1928 / questions

Installation

During installation of the software from CD I got the following error message:

When I ran the capture wizard, I just saw green vertical lines, regardless of whether the input came from S-Video or RCA. I visited the DVDXpressDX2 support site and noticed there was a newer driver, newer software and lots more documentation. I downloaded and installed all of it, then rebooted the computer. The software now worked, even though I still got the above error message when I installed the newer version.

Each time I installed the software I got the following message:

I clicked the Update Driver button, and I suppose the software fetched files from the Internet, because the error message went away.

Each time I run the Capture Wizard, it displays the following message for about 30 seconds, then shows the application, then this message reappears for another long while, before I can use it:

After installing the ADS software I noticed that none of the audio programs produced any sound. I discovered that the Wave volume control had been reset to zero:

Restoring the Wave volume to maximum solved the problem.

Problems

I attempted to contact the ADS Technologies support phone number several times. I heard a recording saying that their support staff was busy and to call back in half an hour. There was no option to leave a call back number or to wait on hold. My e-mail support request was unanswered. Eventually I was able to speak to a support staff member after calling numerous times.

I found that both the ULead VideoStudio 6 and the Capture Wizard worked fine, with the following caveats.

1. The resolution of the capture is always 1024x768 with the default (DVD/MP2) encoding, even if the original video signal is another resolution. The aspect ratio for all formats is always 4:3, so the captured stream has letterboxing when capturing from a camcorder or other video source with a 16:9 aspect ratio.
2. There is a delay of about half a second between movement and the time the captured video is displayed.
3. ULead VideoStudio sets the Wave volume to zero each time a capture is made. This is most annoying - I realize that this prevents feedback, but why not restore the volume after a capture? Also, some setups will not encounter feedback, and this 'feature' prevents other devices that generate Wave output to function while capture is active. The ADS Capture Wizard does not have this problem/feature.
4. The last five seconds of a capture are truncated; this can be quite disconcerting.
5. Audio dropouts happen frequently, and the image tears up sometimes.
6. Audo and video are sometimes out of sync by about 1/10 of a second.
7. The Video Capture application provided with Sony Video Vegas 8.0b does not work with the ADS DVD XPRESS DX2, although it recognized the device. Also, Skype cannot use the webcam as a video source. The support person I spoke with told me that although they were switching from bundling ULead VideoStudio 6 to ArcSoft, they had no intention of providing a driver that would work with other software. This means that the DVD XPRESS DX2 cannot be used as a webcam or with other video capture software. He suggested I consider their Pyro A/V Link product which does not have this limitation, but that product has a suggested list price of $200. This limitation is a software issue, and there is no reason to pay this much for this capability. Perhaps another video capture product is better suited for my needs.