Adaptec Gamebridge 1400 (play console games on your PC!) - Now $10 at Fry's - review!

Thanks OP, I just ordered the TV Tuner version. I figure since I'm buying a new notebook soon, and since I don't have a VCR to record TV up in my dorm room, I should get some good use out of this. Hopefully I'll also be able to get some good use out of this on my Xbox 360 on Windows Media Center Edition as well. Thanks!
 
Orderd the Tuner version yesterday too. Got a shipped email today. The lag sounds like it could be bad, but I'm sure I'll find uses for this.

MjC
 
So it sounds like there *IS* lag with this? I've been really suspicious of USB based video inputs, and I've been searching for something for a LOOOOONG time to play games on/through my computer.

Also, no OS X support is disapoining (wonder if there's any open source solution?) I've been looking at ElGato's newer EyeTV products which have a Game Mode that's supposed to eliminate lag...but I think it just reduces the lag too, and probably still has some :(
 
I had a winfast 2000 xp or some such which was a pci tv tuner and it was alright and came with a remote and stuff but games were kinda dark and blurry and fuzzy, I hope this is better (also I had to reformat my computer and never got it working again)
 
from the review this really doesn't seem any more special than any other tv tuner. they threw the word "game" in to try to capture a certain audience that had never thought to hook up their consoles to a regular PC tv tuner. The price sounds reasonable though, and the fact that this tuner is reviewed by lag-minded people probably makes it a safer bet than other TV tuners; although I will say I have no noticeable lag problems with my fairly generic (Aver) TV tuner I bought for cheap like 5 years ago. Problems I have had with the tuner came down to software and were fixed by finding better software. I'd recommend mine but they don't even make 'em anymore.
 
[quote name='dnguyen800']I bought it for $18 at Fry's a few weeks ago. It's not bad, but I was expecting more. There is some barely noticeable lag, but it was fine for most games, just don't play any games that require precise timing. My complaint with this Gamebridge is that 60fps games run like 25fps games, that's how fast this adapter can capture video. Playing Burnout Revenge on the XBOX with this was not a pretty sight at all.

It's useful if you want to use your laptop to play console games and don't want to buy a TV. I wouldn't play any 60fps or fast-paced games on it, it really ruins the experience. RPGS would be fine though.[/quote]

Damn it! Can anyone else confirm the lag? I was going to get it so that I could hook up my old xbox to the PC and me and my sis can play Halo 2 and Counterstrike, but if there's lag, ugh...
 
When using this will you still be able to use your original Xbox or PS2 controller that's hooked up onto the console system, or do you have to buy another controller specifically for the PC to able to play games? Thanks in advance.
 
[quote name='Ma12kez']When using this will you still be able to use your original Xbox or PS2 controller that's hooked up onto the console system, or do you have to buy another controller specifically for the PC to able to play games? Thanks in advance.[/QUOTE]
why would you have to? it just passes the video from your console (or whatever input) into you pc.... that's it.nothing else
 
[quote name='ashram']why would you have to? it just passes the video from your console (or whatever input) into you pc.... that's it.nothing else[/quote]
Oh alright I was just wondering, but thanks for the clarification. I might have to pick this up then.
 
Did anybody else that ordered the TV Tuner version get two confirmation emails? I got two, and sent them an email to make sure I didn't get charged twice. This is my first order from outpost.com, so I don't know if they send two emails. They both had the same order number, so I figure I should be ok in not getting charged twice, but you never know.
 
How's the video quality? The only other tv tuner I've tried had on-screen text (RPGs) so blurry I gave up and went back to the TV. I'm wondering if this is any different.
 
[quote name='MakenshiKale']How's the video quality? The only other tv tuner I've tried had on-screen text (RPGs) so blurry I gave up and went back to the TV. I'm wondering if this is any different.[/quote]

Video quality is great, but not like high res. Likely you won't get the same HQ from current gen stuff especially if you use component, but for PS1 and earlier I don't think you will notice any difference. Its not dim or w/ rolling pixels (for me at least) like you get if using a cheap video cable, or like it was previously on my PC with my VIVO card. No blurries, I was able to read onscreen text just fine - if you check out the screenshot I took.

Also, if I wasn't clear in my review - I didn't notice any lag, the game play is in real time. Every so often, there is just a momentary chop like momentary, but it plays way better than modern PC games for me, if that's clear.

Yes its not the greatest thing in the world, but for a $70 adapter, $15 is nothing to me and its way better than I expected.
 
Ok. So I want one of these. Now decided on the 15.00 or 25.00 one. I have Dish Network and would love to have the TV tuner one if it would work with my Dish. Anyone could be so kind and explain if by any chance it could work?
 
if your using it for strictly dish network, get the cheap one and use the s-video or composite inputs.....then just use the dish remote.....


mine should arrive today... can't wait to fire it up!
 
This is a good deal.
But there is no reason to play game on a video capture card, ony if you have to.
Probably any tube tv can give you a better picture that this thing.
 
[quote name='TimTucker']Order came today -- was surprised at just how tiny these things are![/QUOTE]

Wow! Shipping that fast? o_O;

What did you choose? I just ordered yesterday and took ground/whatever is the cheapest.
 
Ordered this last night around 10PM. I was antsy. Somehow, the box was laying on my front door when I got home. Holy crap that was fast.

Anyway, I've played around with it for about an hour and I'm pretty disappointed, really.

I'll start with the positives. The picture is pretty good and the software is very easy to use. No complaints there. You couldn't make an easier way to record gameplay or convert VHS stuff. The image is not as good as if it were on a TV, but then again I have some nice looking TVs.

Now for the negatives.

I was under the impression this thing could present/display/show games running at 60fps. No, not record, but play them at 60fps. Big, massive, sweaty wrong. It records it 30fps. It plays at 30fps. Nothing more, nothing less. HUGE disappointment since this is something that really matters to me and I'm very suprised that no one else caught this.

The other big thing is lag. It ain't huge, but it's there. As far as I know, the video is right on, but the audio is the culprit. Guitar Hero is doable if you are able to mentally anticipate the notes while listening to a soundtrack that is slightly off. Essentially, you have to play everything before you're supposed to or you end up being late. I haven't gotten around to trying anything but Guitar Hero, but I'd imagine any other game would be fine.

It's worth the price of admission, but my God, are you people blind?! Why did NO ONE mention the low framerate?!?! It wouldn't matter on games without 60fps, but the ones that run that fast will suffer tremendously.

At this point, I'm seriously considering returning it.

EDIT: Crap, I was wrong. Someone did point it out.

[quote name='dnguyen800']I bought it for $18 at Fry's a few weeks ago. It's not bad, but I was expecting more. There is some barely noticeable lag, but it was fine for most games, just don't play any games that require precise timing. My complaint with this Gamebridge is that 60fps games run like 25fps games, that's how fast this adapter can capture video. Playing Burnout Revenge on the XBOX with this was not a pretty sight at all.

It's useful if you want to use your laptop to play console games and don't want to buy a TV. I wouldn't play any 60fps or fast-paced games on it, it really ruins the experience. RPGS would be fine though.[/quote]Really wish I would have seen that post now.
 
If I can figure out how to eliminate the audio lag, I'll be okay with it. Any suggestions? The gamebridge will work with any program that accepts video input from devices. So far, I've tried the included software (perfect... except for audio lag), VirtualDub (pretty much the same), and DScaler (jittery, weird, and still laggy). I'm googling other programs and seeing what happens.

EDIT: I lied. I want to improve the quality of the video, too. I'm sure there's some program out there with a filter or algorithm that can do this.
 
[quote name='Z-Saber']If I can figure out how to eliminate the audio lag, I'll be okay with it. Any suggestions? The gamebridge will work with any program that accepts video input from devices. So far, I've tried the included software (perfect... except for audio lag), VirtualDub (pretty much the same), and DScaler (jittery, weird, and still laggy). I'm googling other programs and seeing what happens.

EDIT: I lied. I want to improve the quality of the video, too. I'm sure there's some program out there with a filter or algorithm that can do this.[/quote]

Tried Svideo yet? I have no video lag on my system through component but, the sound lags a little for me.

But, when I hooked up my xbox through Svideo, the picture looked better and there was no sound lag.
 
[quote name='Jr7891']Tried Svideo yet? I have no video lag on my system through component but, the sound lags a little for me.

But, when I hooked up my xbox through Svideo, the picture looked better and there was no sound lag.[/quote]I've tried both. S-video does indeed look better, but doesn't improve the lag at all for me.
 
I've been looking for something to cheaply take in-game screenshots for my job, and I think this'll work. Thanks for the post and review OP, along with everyone else who posted their feelings on it in here. ^_^
 
[quote name='Z-Saber']I've tried both. S-video does indeed look better, but doesn't improve the lag at all for me.[/QUOTE]

Here's a suggestion to try for audio lag -- instead of plugging the audio into the unit, use an adapter and plug it directly into your sound card's line-in jack.
 
[quote name='NightNinja7']Wow! Shipping that fast? o_O;

What did you choose? I just ordered yesterday and took ground/whatever is the cheapest.[/QUOTE]

I went with the standard ground shipping, but also ordered a bunch of items that were < $1. Apparently it was enough stuff that they decided to send via DHL.
 
Mine arrive today...Uhh what a disspointment...I got this so i can record my matches on Street Fighter for the 360...Its practically unplayable...

I haven't tried the older consoles & the tv turner yet...Hopefully the quality isn't too bad or this is a waste of $35...
 
Well I had hoped to do a review myself, but the delivery requires a signiture so I will not get it to at least tomorrow. We will see if they will accept me signing the sticker or not.
 
[quote name='TimTucker']Here's a suggestion to try for audio lag -- instead of plugging the audio into the unit, use an adapter and plug it directly into your sound card's line-in jack.[/quote]That's a pretty good idea. I'll try that after I'm done with this paper. I actually have the appropriate adapters and whatnot out in my car.
 
[quote name='TimTucker']Here's a suggestion to try for audio lag -- instead of plugging the audio into the unit, use an adapter and plug it directly into your sound card's line-in jack.[/quote]

Thats a great idea. I am now using the component inputs with the coupler that came with the VGA kit for 360. No sound lag, and a good picture.
 
[quote name='Jr7891']Thats a great idea. I am now using the component inputs with the coupler that came with the VGA kit for 360. No sound lag, and a good picture.[/quote]It's composite, not component.

Anyway, HOLY CRAP! Excellent idea! Works perfectly!

Thanks for the tip. :applause:
 
Yes great idea to use Svid and my onboard Sound Card. But like Z-Saber I am thinking there has to be some tweek we can do to this thing or some other player program that can make better use of this. God I wish I could program something myself to make this thing work better for video above 30fps.
 
With the included InterVideo program, you can't record sound using the direct input method. Just tried it and it didn't work. It still plays through the speakers while recording or not, but it dosn't actually record any audio.

Sucks, because that means you can't record with synched audio. :bomb:

Seriously, there's gotta be a better program somewhere. What programs do people normally use to record video/webcams?
 
[quote name='Z-Saber']With the included InterVideo program, you can't record sound using the direct input method. Just tried it and it didn't work. It still plays through the speakers while recording or not, but it dosn't actually record any audio.

Sucks, because that means you can't record with synched audio. :bomb:

Seriously, there's gotta be a better program somewhere. What programs do people normally use to record video/webcams?[/quote]

Dscaler
 
Just curious...for people who ordered this, dont you guys never used a Tv card before?
From size of it, it must suck... a good video capture card need hardware decoding/encoding ability, and this one apparently does not have.
For the software decoding/encoding method, it heavily depends on how fast your pc is.
If you get a good pc, try dscaler, which may give you a better fps.
 
I just got mine today. There IS lag, about as much as a good DLP. Meaning, you might not even notice if you're playing a regular game, but anything music based or with judgement rings, and you're screwed. But really, with all the hops required to go from game to screen, it's amazing that there's as little lag as there is.

Just to be clear, the lag I'm referring to is visual. Audio lag is much worse (although there are workarounds, as mentioned earlier), but the slight video lag is unavoidable. I definitely missed every judgement ring.
 
Well, I got mine in today and so far I'm fairly happy.

I wanted a tuner for the PC and considering the fact that this was external, came with a remote and all of that I thought I'd give it a try.

It has met my expectations, I played some MVC2 on my dreamcast and it was quite playable. I surfed around watching TV as well and didn't really experience any problems (only signfigant lag seemed to come when I was changing channels or doing something else on the PC). I didn't try recording though but this wasn't the main reason I got it. I'm sure there are better (and more expensive options) but considering the price and ease of use I'm happy with it. I imagine I will use it to play Dreamcast and/or N64 on my PC and perhaps occasionally watch some TV or may be even try recording.
 
got mine, thought it was broken. i bought this primarily for my laptop, and all i got were clicks and pops. had to push the input cable in a bit more and i have video...with clicks and pops. tried it on my pc and it worked, a little laggy, but it worked. so off to check what's up with the laptop to get this working....
 
Interesting. My video doesn't lag at all. It was definitely the audio, and since I have it directly plugged into the PC now, I don't have any audio lag.

Also, I did try DScaler, but everything was... jittery? Stuttery? I'm not a big video nut, but everything else I tried was much smoother. DScaler looked pretty good with a still scene, but motion was horrible.
 
[quote name='Z-Saber']Interesting. My video doesn't lag at all. It was definitely the audio, and since I have it directly plugged into the PC now, I don't have any audio lag.

Also, I did try DScaler, but everything was... jittery? Stuttery? I'm not a big video nut, but everything else I tried was much smoother. DScaler looked pretty good with a still scene, but motion was horrible.[/quote]

Setting Dscaler correctly might be quite a bitch.
especially your cpu is not strong
 
It might help for people to list what their PC hardware is, and which model Gamebridge they bought and if they are or aren't getting lag. Maybe things like chipset and CPU power can affect lag? Anyway I'm leary about this (I want a decent image and NO lag, and OS X support), but for $15 + shipping I guess it would be stupid not to try it!

EDIT: I just ordered the cheap, no-tuner model. I'll post how it goes.

Also, if anyone knows how to use this with OS X, let us know! Sounds like a bunch of us would like to do that!
 
I don't play too many games through mine (use it more for just quick TV windows on my PC, or as a display for a VCR) but I'm surprised about the audio sync issues people are seeing. I've never noticed it before... must be somewhat driver/system related... I have a Pentium D 830 with Asus P5WD2 mobo, ATI video...
 
I don't understand the complaints about the 30fps issue. NTSC standard is ~60Hz, interlaced, which gives an effective 30fps. If you play a console on a regular analog, or SDTV digital, TV, that's what you get as well. That's the signal coming from the console, if you're using a composite or s-video cable, or an RF adapter, 30fps, even if the console is running the game at 60fps. The limitation isn't the Gamebridge, it's the NTSC signal. For 60FPS, you'd need a VGA adapter/converter, or a progressive scan upconverter. For anything over 30fps (480p, 720p, 1080i, or 1080p), you need a component, DVI or HDMI connection anyway. I guess they could have designed the Gamebridge to do 480p deinterlacing, like a progressive scan DVD player, or 1080i upconversion, like some of the newer DVD players...

I'm also curious to know what kind of PCs people are running with this. I have an Athlon 64 3000+, 1GB of RAM, nForce 3-250 chipset, a Geforce 6800GT video card and a Sound Blaster Audigy 2 sound card. Also, earlier Pentium 4 chipsets only supported USB 1.1, which will be a big performance hit vs. USB 2.0, so I would be sure that I had it connected to a USB 2.0 port/hub. That's one of the frustrations of PC gaming, there are so many different variables.
 
[quote name='Puppy']It might help for people to list what their PC hardware is, and which model Gamebridge they bought and if they are or aren't getting lag.[/quote]

1.7 GHz Pentium M with 512 MB RAM
GameBridge AVC-1400 (no TV Tuner)

I said earlier that I had no lag issues, but here's the list of games I've played with this device since getting it back in April (all on a slim PS2):

- Viewtiful Joe
- Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy
- Mega Man: Anniversary Collection
- The Mark of Kri
- Yu Yu Hakusho: Dark Tournament
- Sonic Mega Collection Plus
- Wild Arms 2
- Grand Theft Auto: London, 1969
- Tenchu: Stealth Assassins
- Grand Theft Auto 2
- Street Fighter: Anniversary Collection
- Eternal Ring

Yu Yu Hakusho: Dark Tournament and Eternal Ring were the only ones with controls that felt somewhat sluggish, which I attributed to the games themselves, but upon retrospect could have been lag-related. Still, neither were unplayable in my opinion. As you can see though, I also haven't tried any reflex-intensive games like Guitar Hero or Shadow Hearts either, as they sound like the major 'lag' culprits at the moment...

(And for the perceptive, most of the games I take on the road were scored from sales reported by fellow CAGs. Gotta play 'em sometime!)
 
Thanks for that list! Geez, if Megaman, Street Fighter, and Vietiful Joe don't have lag, you'd think anything would work fine! You can't get much better control and more demanding than those games.

A lot of those games are ones I'll be trying to play with it too (I'm playing through Mega Man anniversary collection right now).

I've just got a 2.4GHz/533MHz Pentium 4 though. I'll post back when I've tried it. I could never get myself to risk full price for something like this before, because when I last tried this back in '99 or 2000, the video from my Playstation 1 looked terrible.
 
[quote name='msu89dawgs']I don't understand the complaints about the 30fps issue. NTSC standard is ~60Hz, interlaced, which gives an effective 30fps. If you play a console on a regular analog, or SDTV digital, TV, that's what you get as well.[/quote]I've heard that argument over and over again, and while it is technically effectively 30fps, it looks like 60fps. Whereas a game running 30fps is effectively 15fps, it appears to be 30fps.

Play Guitar Hero, Gitaroo-Man, Tekken 5, any of the Xbox Dead or Alive games and you'll see 60fps, unless I'm making up frames in my mind. Play any of the Silent Hill games (especially the first one) and you'll see less than 60fps.

I still don't understand how technical jargon > what my eyes see.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
bread's done
Back
Top