I am looking for a vga box that supports all 3 systems and uses RF cables or s-video( I already have a system selector so one input is good enough). And has a minimal setup involved. I searched the net and ebay found a couple, but don't want to waste money before i consult the gurus of GAF. I also searched the forum, but most of the discussion is beyond me, not really an A/V nut. I just want to connect a few cables and go, and not worry about up scan, progressive, etc Any advice or recommendations will be greatly appreacited.
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Cheap and easy solution for connecting consoles to monitor
- Thread starter Slayven
- Start date
Uncle Dukey
Member
Closest thing to what you're looking for is this: http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-86-77-2-15-hori+upscan-70-5w4.html
But it's not cheap.
A cheaper option is a TV capture card, but that would involve some setup.
But it's not cheap.
A cheaper option is a TV capture card, but that would involve some setup.
Oracle Dragon
Member
1 - All of those "VGA boxes" that take any 480i signal and put it on a PC monitor are upscan converters. And they look BAD. Im not saying this because Im a videophile snob and my version of "bad" is "there is some slight artifacing in the....". I mean BAD. They will look LOADS better on your regular TV. If you have any choice in the matter at all, STAY AWAY from upscan converters.
However, maybe you don't have a choice. I didn't (at the time I had to get mine), so I know how that feels. This is the best one I could come up with: VIEWSONIC NEXTRVISION
2 - If you want to see HD content / Progressive Scan games on your PC monitor, you dont want an upscan converter. You want a VGA TRANSCODER. These are very nice, and are a VERY worthy purchase. However, not all games support them. Its a very safe buy for Xbox (99% of games will work), decent choice for Gamecube (most of the big titles will do progressive scan), and not so hot for PS2 (hardly any 480p games). If your game is 480i ONLY, it will simply display NOTHING on your PC monitor. I personally have the VDIGI ZD-23 and can tell you right now it was one of the best purchases I have ever made.
However, maybe you don't have a choice. I didn't (at the time I had to get mine), so I know how that feels. This is the best one I could come up with: VIEWSONIC NEXTRVISION
2 - If you want to see HD content / Progressive Scan games on your PC monitor, you dont want an upscan converter. You want a VGA TRANSCODER. These are very nice, and are a VERY worthy purchase. However, not all games support them. Its a very safe buy for Xbox (99% of games will work), decent choice for Gamecube (most of the big titles will do progressive scan), and not so hot for PS2 (hardly any 480p games). If your game is 480i ONLY, it will simply display NOTHING on your PC monitor. I personally have the VDIGI ZD-23 and can tell you right now it was one of the best purchases I have ever made.
A cheap, DScaler-compatible TV tuner card might be your best bet, although i'd suggest looking into a VGA transcoder, as suggested above. i've got Key Digital's X-Blaster, which works on any progressive scan device (consoles, DVD players, etc.) and converts the signal to VGA. The output is simply amazing, and it's much cheaper than buying an HDTV, and much more economical spacewise, although you're limited to progressive scan games and you'll need to buy a progressive scan cable for your console.
On a related note, does anyone have any experience using ATI's TV wonder series of cards with DScaler? They seem to be the most economical cards with TV tuners and capture capability, but i can't seem to find much feedback on using them with DScaler since they're not officially supported.
On a related note, does anyone have any experience using ATI's TV wonder series of cards with DScaler? They seem to be the most economical cards with TV tuners and capture capability, but i can't seem to find much feedback on using them with DScaler since they're not officially supported.
Oracle Dragon
Member
aoi tsuki said:
Just to touch on this, one of the reasons I went with the Vdigi, was that it COMES with the cables you need, even for digital audio, for Xbox. So if Xbox is what you want it for (although it will work with anything), you don't need to buy the Microsoft HD Pack; so it saves you $40 right there.