Review: XSELECT-D4 (An alternate perspective)

[Jeremy Pallant]

Written by Robert H. Burton: burtonrh@juno.com
(Reproduced with permission of the author)

A Review of the Xselect D4

I purchased the XSelect D4 in an attempt to address two problems with my home theater system. The center of my system is a Sony KL-6000 monitor. This is a widescreen monitor that preceded the current Grand Wega series. It is a rear projection monitor using liquid crystal display technology just like the Grand Wega. My monitor has a 37 inch diagonal screen. It has no progressive scan input, but will accept a VGA input as well as Svideo and standard video line signal. It is connected to an RCA DTC 100 HDTV receiver and a Daewoo DVD player with a VGA output. I recently purchased a Philips DVD recorder which has a progressive scan output. While I can play DVD�s from it on the Daewoo and get a progressive scan picture that way, that will work only on DVD-R discs that have been finalized. I was not able to watch rewritable discs from the Philips in progressive scan. I had been looking for a progressive scan to VGA converter to go between the Philips and the Sony monitor. I had considered the Audio Authority, Key Digital, and Viewsonic N6. An additional issue was the color settings for the Sony could be adjusted on the VGA inputs only by turning off the monitor, going into the service menu, making the correction, and then turning off the monitor and then back on. As the lamp assembly on the monitor deteriorates with frequent on and off, this was not a good thing to do very often. The Viewsonic did have some control of color settings, but only on the progressive scan input. Besides, there were not many positive reviews of the Viewsonic. Then I found a review of the Xselect D4. It seemed to offer all I was looking for. It accepted several progressive scan inputs along with a VGA input. In addition, there was a menu for color settings for all the inputs, including VGA. It was also priced competitively with the other options.

So I ordered one, from Hong Kong. I was surprised how quickly the package arrived four days after I placed the order. As reviews indicated, everything is on the box and instruction manual is in an oriental language. The on screen menu and controls on the unit itself are in English. I had difficulty getting it to work at first. I hooked my HDTV receiver to the VGA input, and from there to my monitor. While the lamp on the unit itself indicated a signal, the monitor read �beyond scan range�. I tried an number of things and nothing worked until I also hooked the progressive scan out from the Philips DVD recorder. Then the image from the DVD appeared, as well as the menu when requested. I could then reprogram the other input to receive VGA. Initially, the on screen menu would not appear except on inputs that were receiving signals for which they had been preset to receive. I later found that this could be corrected by going to the menu and turning on the feature that read �option�.

As to the performance of this unit, I must say that signals received from the progressive scan inputs are very good. An added bonus is the ability to adjust the color settings. The one problem, as indicated in another review, is that image size and centering can not be adjusted on this unit. The appropriate settings on my monitor are not able to fully compensate for this, leaving a black border around the picture. But, as I said, the picture is excellent. I am able to record HDTV content, howbeit from an S-Video out on my receiver, and record a DVD with a very good picture. I figure this is about as good a recording of HDTV as is currently possible with home equipment.

The use of the VGA input is another matter. While the images from my receiver do fill the screen fully (in contrast to the black border I can not eliminate from the DVD recorder) and color settings can be adjusted, I have not been able to get a picture as pleasing as I do without the Xselect D4 in the loop. A part of this may be that the resolution is limited to 480 x 640. My monitor is a 480 progressive monitor, but its native horizontal resolution is greater than 640, so something must be lost in the loop. Also, the brightness and contrast of the original image is affected in some way. With some extra switches and cables, I have set it up so that I can switch the Xselect D4 in and out of the loop. I may keep fiddling with the color settings to see if I can improve the picture, but I suspect that the Xselect will not be able to meet my hopes in this respect.

As I took a risk in buying this from Hong Kong, I imagine that this is an item I will not be able to return. I think it will be useful in playing back recorded DVDs. Given that, it is kind of fun to fiddle with it and try to figure out the various functions on the menu. I mentioned that the �option� item can be turned on to allow the menu to appear on all the inputs even when there is not a signal. If this ever gets back to Micomsoft, I would suggest that they ship it with this feature on. It would have saved me some anguish when I first set it up. Another feature I have figured out is the �Demo� function. Following �Demo� is a �Dem� setting for each of the inputs, The menu displays three digits followed by S for the �Dem� settings. I discovered that the �S� stands for seconds. The number of seconds for each input can be adjusted with the remote. When �Demo� is turned on from the menu, it will alternate between each of the inputs that have been programmed, remaining at each of the inputs for the number of seconds that were selected. The value of this feature is another manner, but it was fun to play with it and try to figure out what it was for.

So, in summary, the Xselect D4 did not meet all that I had hoped for. It does very well converting a progressive scan signal to VGA. While it does not completely fill the screen, the abilities to control the color settings and to select between program sources are desirable features. Even though I have not actually used the Audio Authority or Viewsonic units, I would prefer the Xselect D4 to what I know about them. I could wish for better performance when using the VGA input. Had it done that, I would have been very well pleased.

[Jopapa]

Something you could do to avoid having to pass the VGA signals through the XSelect is to get a VGA switchbox. I'm sure you could get a good quality unit somewhere that'd have minimal signal loss. I was planning on doing that myself, but haven't found anything yet.

BTW how do you like the VGA output on your Daewoo DVD player? I've been eyeballing those for a while now.

[Jeremy Pallant]

BTW how do you like the VGA output on your Daewoo DVD player? I've been eyeballing those for a while now.

Actually, you're asking the wrong person. If you re-read the very top of the review, you'll see that I didn't write it, but that I posted it here with the permission of the author. Actually, it was at his request.

[Jopapa]

BTW how do you like the VGA output on your Daewoo DVD player? I've been eyeballing those for a while now.

Actually, you're asking the wrong person. If you re-read the very top of the review, you'll see that I didn't write it, but that I posted it here with the permission of the author. Actually, it was at his request.

Oh yeah. Now I feel silly  :blink: