Any Thoughts on VGA Transcoders

[Blaine]

A remix of an old question- X2VGA vs. V-Digi.

In the realm of vga transcoders, is one better than another? Are all of them junk compared to a good upscaler?

X2VGA:
http://www.x2vga.com/

V-Digi:
http://www.vdigi.com/index.php?option=cont...id=67&Itemid=28

Thanks for looking at my barely new question.

[Drewman21]

Not to hijack your thread but I was wondering the same thing.  The one that I was wondering if anyone had messed with was this one.

Mayflash

It has a few more input options and would work for what i'm looking to do.  Just wondered if anyone has it or something like it and had a review?
Thanks

[Knohbody]

Blaine: From what I understand, VGA transcoders don't upscale, they keep the output at the same resolution as the input.  Having dealt with a couple upscalers, admittedly of a lower quality, and having recently purchased a transcoder, I have to say the improvement is dramatic. I would definitely recommend a transcoder over an upscaler. As to which one to get, i haven't used either. I've seen reviews for both, and both are high quality. However, one thing to look for is 480i support.  The x2vga seems to support this, while the vdigi does not.  If you're planning on running your ps2 on this, or certain gamecube games, then go for the x2vga. Also from what i understand, the xbox dashboard (not certain if it's the 360 or the original) will only display in 480i.

Drewman21:  I bought the Mayflash "multi-purposed VGA box" on ebay a few weeks ago. I can't recommend it. It only supports 480i, and the connection through component cables just plain sucks. there's alot of color bleed on my lcd monitor, and while the crt monitor i tested it on was better, it was still there, and not the quality you'd expect from component output.  The box does have a variety of inputs, including a vga passthrough (which when used, had a lot of interference) 1 composite input, 1 component input, 1 set of audio rca jacks, 1 svideo input, and 1 headphone input. It also outputs to vga, composite, and component, and has a jack to plug in your computer speakers (1/4" mini stereo jack, same as input) I can't speak for any of the output options other than vga though. The box overall feels very cheap, and the inputs feel like they're moving when you plug anything into them.

However, I also managed to pick up a transcoder from the same company. The VGA001 is a lot sturdier, and a lot smaller than the vga box. Its about 1 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 1 inches. It only 1 set of component inputs, vga output, and vga input, and will switch from component to vga. The image quality is a hell of alot better, no color bleed, and everything is crisp and clear. It doesn't support 480i though.  It comes with a 2rca input to 2rca output + (1) 1/4" mini jack so you can hook your computer speakers up to the rca audio. On a side note, if you're ordering this one, keep in mind that there's an older one, the PC-029 which seems to be common on ebay, but which doesn't have a vga passthrough. Instead, it outputs to two vga monitors.

if you're looking for the vga001, it can be ordered via sewell direct here.