Product Description
This SuperaColorHD LCD TV Box is a state-of-the-art TV/Video to PC monitor converter box, up to 1920x1200 resolution. This LCD TV Box is a video hub which accepts all kinds of video inputs from PC, TV (cable or antenna), DVD/VCR/game console or any component with Component Video (YPbPr), S-video or RCA output. The LCD TV box then sends the video signal to your monitor. Any monitor with a VGA input. You choose which signal will show on your monitor with your fingertip by using the remote. Features: Provide high quality picture with sharp, smooth, and stable image output to VGA/SVGA/XGA/SXGA monitors Support following resolution modes: 640*480, 800*600, 1024*768, 1280*1024, 1920*1200 Compatible for multiple signal inputs: TV, Video (RCA), S-Video, Component Video,(YPbPr), PC Automatic source mode detection (NTSC/PAL for video, S-Video, Component Video (YPbPr)) TV Channel auto scanning and memorizing Special Design for 17/19/20/22 LCD monitor, support 4:3, 16:9, or 16:10 aspect ratio Edge-Preserving image interpolation 3D motion Adaptive De-Interlace Brightness/Contrast/Saturation/Color/Sharpness/Gamma adjustment Provide user-friendly OSD (on screen display) for function control using remote No software or driver required. No PC compatibility problem. Very compact design and easy installation -- no need to open PC case. English/French/Spanish/Traditional Chinese/Simplified Chinese language selection Full function remote control System Requirements: No specific PC system required. Actually NO PC is required at all. VESA compatible VGA monitor, such as LCD, TFT monitor, plasma display or projector which has a VGA input connector. Video output device (e.g. Cable TV, Antenna, VCR, V8, LD player, TV, game machine, etc.) Package Contents: geniatech SuperaColorHD LCD TV BOX User Manual Audio/Video Cable Power adapter (Switching, DC 7.5V 1A, 110-240V AC) 8PIN MINI DIN -DB15F VGA cable IR handset and batteries Warranty: One year standard manufacturer warranty.
I use this to display video from an NTSC VCR and a PAL VCR on a VGA monitor. It works with both NTSC and PAL. The video quality is acceptable, but it's noticeably worse than the video quality when displaying NTSC video on the Samsung T240HD monitor using that monitor's cable TV input. Note that it may require some adjustment of the color settings to get good quality results.
One problem is that the packaging claims that it's capable of adding pillarboxing to a 4:3 picture or letterboxing to a 16:9 picture, to display it on a 16:10 monitor without stretching. In fact, it cannot do either one of those things. This isn't a problem for some monitors because they can do those things themselves. (For example, the T240HD can pillarbox a 4:3 picture from the VGA input, but it cannot letterbox a 16:9 picture from the VGA input.) It's still dishonest for the packaging to claim this, though.
It does not include a closed-caption decoder.
It also seems that the composite input and the S-video input are not truly separate, because selecting the S-video input while the component input is connected to a signal will cause it to display the picture from the composite input in grayscale.
I haven't tried using the sound passthrough capability, because I don't need it.
It does not include a remote control, but strangely enough it does have a receiver for a remote control. This can be a minor annoyance because it will receive commands from remotes for some other devices.
I've owned it for about 3/4 of a year now, although I haven't used it too heavily since acquiring an LCD monitor which has an NTSC+ATSC cable TV input. I still use it to get a second NTSC input on the monitor, and for watching PAL VHS tapes.
One more thing: Amazon has the wrong product description for this item. The product description shown here is actually for the SuperaColorHD, which is mostly the same as this device, but which also includes (supposedly) an NTSC tuner (but not an ATSC tuner) and a remote control.
I bought this product for my 24" 1920 x 1200 resolution monitor. So far I've run XBOX 360, Wii, SNES, N64, and PSP through the component inputs and will try to explain each as I saw it. I can't honestly review the SVideo input option because I don't use this kind of input from any device.
Disclaimer: This is a review from someone who would rather play the game than keep hoping for something that retains perfect graphics. It works very well with the condition that you accept the fact that every one of these devices WILL have degredation of quality to some extent, I've been looking this information up for a long time trying to figure out how to play games on my monitor. It has active components that cannot perfectly combine a signal. And by the way, the active components are why it runs hot as another reviewer mentioned but it seems to be well ventilated.
The Wii showed up slightly brighter and showed the graphics slightly fuzzier but it's a Wii... you don't buy it for the graphics. That's not to say the graphics are just barely acceptable; they really aren't too bad at all. Adjusting your monitor's brightness and contrast settings will work much better than the device's own options. I've played Mario Kart, Super Mario Galaxy, and deBlob with it so far and never had to squint or slow down because of this device's graphics and that's all that I need. The major concern with this one is that things in the distance seemed to become indiscernible more quickly than they do on a TV and the background's motion blurring can become overwhelming and dizzying if the camera turns very quickly. I say this with deBlob in mind specifically where you roll around and the camera frantically tries to follow you.
As far as the XBOX 360 goes, I wouldn't recommend using this device because of the high quality graphics; that's where I draw the line on degrading graphics since that's what the 360 is all about. I don't really account this into my rating because the 360 already has a specific cable to connect it to a monitor. I've used that 360-only cable on quite a few games on the same monitor and the output is much much better with it. If anyone reads this for XBOX 360 alone, get that cable instead of this GameBox and you will be much happier with the results for a much cheaper price.
As far as the classic systems N64 and SNES, there's not much to degrade since the graphics were never amazing but I've played Starfox (SNES), Donkey Kong Country (SNES), Starfox 64, Gauntlet Legends, Diddy Kong Racing, Mario Kart, 1080, etc. and found no problems with the graphics. Most of these games involve quick motion at some points but the motion blurring has never affected the gameplay in any way. 1080 Snowboarding, for example has some blurring behind the character when you make quick turns but it doesn't get in the way of the action at all. That blurring may be more noticeable when trying to follow the path of a small object like a ball as another reviewer mentioned. The image does fill the screen when I believe it should be 4:3 but I don't notice the stretching much at all until there's a pan-around cinematic. It's roughly equivalent to the stretching by putting a 4:3 game system on a 16:9 TV (except widescreen monitors are 16:10 ratio). These old systems give much better results than the new generation systems that have amazing graphics to retain.
The PSP requires progressive scan to play games and amazingly, this device did accomplish this with some time playing with the menu though I doubt anyone is buying this to hook up a PSP. The output definitely didn't fill the screen, however, and it was slightly off center but the graphics were fine and it was still bigger than a PSP's screen. You may be able to get better results if you play with the options some more, it wasn't too important to me but I did try several games on it with good results.
Another confusing issue to me is the lack of an instruction booklet. If you're not familiar with video input/output types and options, I can see this device being a severe frustration. Knowledge like YPbPr meaning HD input and CVBS meaning composite video (AV) will help you navigate the menus much easier. To be honest, I didn't know all of the information though and got some things working with trial and error and patience with the slow menu controls.
If you get output from AV input and it's in black and white, try checking your video options and change it to CVBS instead of SVideo.
And finally, I have absolutely no idea what the volume controls do. I've pushed those over and over and as far as I can tell, they do absolutely nothing other than help you to work with menus when needed. This shouldn't be a major problem if your speakers already have their own volume control as my computer speakers did.
Overall, this GameBox works well if you just want to play your games on a monitor and don't mind a bit of graphics degredation. It works very well with my widescreen monitor. It's ideal for playing older game systems but is still very able to play the current generation of systems with more noticeable quality loss (for those who don't mind this). Expect to spend some time figuring the menus out and configuring it for your monitor, but this is really only a one time adjustment that isn't required every time you want to play a game.
Overall this product is easy to use. I have connected my dvd player, xbox 360, and ps2 to an av switch which is connected to the gamebox converter. Each device displays nicely on my 17" lcd monitor. Like me if you have multiple systems to connect I recommend an av switch that way you don't have to unplug and replug for each device. I wouldn't recommend connecting the sound through the device as it is very weak. Also it doesn't come with a remote as specified in the description. After tweaking the brightness and contrast settings I get a very clear picture.
I recommend using only the component cables for the best picture. For the price this product is great. Its perfect for those unused CRT or LCD monitors.
I am very happy with the HD Gamebox. I bought it in order to play ps2 games on a 19" lcd computer monitor. I can compare it with two other products that I also use: Gamebridge AVC-1400 and Neoya's X2VGA2.
Details of my setup: I use a slimline Playstation 2 (scph-77001), with Sony's "Playstation 3 Component AV Cables" (YPbPr component video, these work for ps2), with a Dell 19" LCD monitor at 1280x1024 resolution and I hook up the audio cables directly to a stereo hi-fi.
HD Gamebox: very crisp and clear images, games at 480i look exactly like s-video on a good modern TV (e.g. Gradius V), games at 480p look spectacular (e.g. Tekken 5).
Gamebridge: instead of hooking it up directly to the monitor (like the other products) this runs through Windows because it is mainly intended for recording gameplay. It cannot run 480p. At 480i the games look very blurry (e.g. Gradius V looks significantly blurred). You can use software manipulation to improve the image, but it will never be close to s-video on a TV.
X2VGA2: This cannot display 480i (it supports an ugly 480i so that you can find your way to the options screen in ps2 games to switch the game to 480p). Games that run on 480p look spectacular. Unfortunately there are only few ps2 games that support 480p.
Audio: I do not recommend streamlining the audio through any of the products, but instead hook it up to a stereo.
Conclusion: Until I got the gamebox I used the last two products (gamebridge for 480i, and x2vga2 for 480p). Now I only use the HD gamebox since it supports both, and I no longer feel the need to hook the ps2 up to a TV.
I agree with the previous review but I wouldn't say this product is simply a piece of junk. Pros and cons stated by previous reviews will not be repeated here, but I have a couple of points to add.
Pros:
(1) This converter does a good on progressive signals. Vivid color, sharp edges and fast response impressed me.
(2) De-interlacing does a good job on 2D images like characters and maps. Even small fonts are very clear and the edges are smooth. I was really impressed when I saw "PLAYSTATION" logo showing up on my monitor.
(3) It does has a "anti-aliasing" filter when displaying interlace signals.
Cons:
(1) De-interlacing has TERRIBLE ghost-image when displaying fast motion images. It is OK for RPG games and movies. Action games like Ratchet and Clank are still acceptable. But if you wanna play sports games like winning eleven, boy, the moving ball is like a moving line. Players have long "tails". It is painful. Solution: Progressive signals. For ps2, software like Xploder HDTV for Playstation2 might help. As long as the signal is progressive, there will be go ghost-image.
(2) When resolution of the box is set higher than 1280*1024, image will get noisy.
(3) The cable that is supposed to connect to PC VGA ports DOES NOT work on thinkpad laptop!! As long as I hook it up to my T60, T60 will shut itself down. I guess thinkpad has some sort of protection scheme and that cable violates that rule and T60 just refuse to take it. It does work on other laptop.
(4) Buttons are not very responsive.
Overall, I am OK with this product. I beat ratchet and clank on it with no complaints. Except the first title, R&C supports 480p so I am very satisfied with the image quality. But if you wanna play sports games, forget it. If it worked with thinkpad, I would definitely keep it...
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About Geniatech HD GameBox Video to VGA Converter/Switcher detail
- Brand: Geniatech
- Model: HD GameBox
Features
- Play Vdieo games on the monitor (PS2, XBox, Wii etc).
- Watch DVD/VCR etc on the monitor.
- Plug and Play, no software/driver needed.
- Support resolution up to 1920*1200
- Except using PC, you never need to turn on the PC for all the rest functions. Or you don't even need a PC!
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