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

Hey all, I have a problem and I can't seem to find the answer to it.

So, I bought the 1410 (adaptor + cable) and it works fine on my friend's desktop gaming rig. However, when I try to use it on my brand new Gateway Tablet Notebook with 1.8 Ghz dual core processors and 1 gig of ram and an ATI catalyst 256MB video card, I get terrible video lag and sound lag, and my laptop slows down ridiculously (mouse pointer lagging on the screen). So... help?
 
Well uh.. whats the specs of your friend's gaming pc?

I bought the TV Tuner one, and it arrived today :)
I tried it and played Radiata Stories, worked fine. I didn't sense really any lag when I played except when I use an FAQ while playing >_>;

Overall, my specs aren't that high, but I have an Athlon 64 3000+ and a Radeon 9100 (yeah it sucks, but it was like ten bucks on Black Friday).
 
P4 3.2Ghz, 1G of Ram, Radeon X700 PCIe Card, Shitty on board Realtek Sound Card. Running XP HE, SP2. I have one of those Duel Core Hyper Threading blah blah blah ones.

Anyways Playing Dragons Quest 8 right now and it does look a little grainy and I hate how I can get it to lose those boarders but over all I dont see any lag. Looks ok except its way smaller than my screen. I have a 20" LG LCD hooked up through DVI. Its got to be the DVI I guess.

Over all though well worth 23$ shipped.
 
[quote name='NightNinja7']Well uh.. whats the specs of your friend's gaming pc?

I bought the TV Tuner one, and it arrived today :)
I tried it and played Radiata Stories, worked fine. I didn't sense really any lag when I played except when I use an FAQ while playing >_>;

Overall, my specs aren't that high, but I have an Athlon 64 3000+ and a Radeon 9100 (yeah it sucks, but it was like ten bucks on Black Friday).[/quote]

Well, he has about 2G of RAM, lot of processing power, XP and such. Just saying that I don't think my system should be bumming out on this...

Also, when I reinstalled the gamebridge, it said I had -0.9 GHz of processing. Just wondering if anyone has run into the problems I've been having.
 
is it limited to the software it comes with or can I "capture" vdeo by using the windows media video editor thingy or another video caprture program?

if so I'll order right away. Always wanted an affordable input.
 
Relent I tried it and got video easy but audio didnt work right away but then I changed audio input to my on board card and it worked. So yes you can but I had to fiddle with my settings. But you wouldnt want to play games through that, I am guessing you want to record stuff though.
 
[quote name='BREVITY']Relent I tried it and got video easy but audio didnt work right away but then I changed audio input to my on board card and it worked. So yes you can but I had to fiddle with my settings. But you wouldnt want to play games through that, I am guessing you want to record stuff though.[/QUOTE]


yeah, it's mainly for recording. I need this thing for some video presentations at the club I run at my university focusing on games as art. I'll order one now. Thanks for the response.
 
What I am wondering is could you use the 1410 software or settings or something to get the Mpeg 2 video recording? (For the 1400 owners like me)
 
Are there any other programs that I could try out to play games on? The intervideo program seems to use about 50% of my CPU power and use 60,000K mem usage. Any tips or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
 
Try dscaler, I don't know if it will work or if its been mentioned yet, but I use it with my ATI TV Wonder and it's awesome. It'll even upconvert your video which seems to improve the clarity of the picture quite a bit.
 
[quote name='gofishn']Try dscaler, I don't know if it will work or if its been mentioned yet, but I use it with my ATI TV Wonder and it's awesome. It'll even upconvert your video which seems to improve the clarity of the picture quite a bit.[/quote]Can you give me any hints on how to set it up right? I couldn't get it to work without massive stuttering. No other program did that at all, but admitedly DScaler had the best visual quality, yet worst motion quality.
 
Ok, so I'm going to try dscaler in a sec. However, I got it to work really well when I told Windows Movie Maker to import video from the GameBridge (So well that I was able to play Guilty Gear XX at about 90%) so... the software must be my prob.

I'll try dscaler and see if that works. As I can't play full screen in movie maker, anymore suggestions are still welcome.
 
[quote name='Z-Saber']Can you give me any hints on how to set it up right? I couldn't get it to work without massive stuttering. No other program did that at all, but admitedly DScaler had the best visual quality, yet worst motion quality.[/QUOTE]

Hmmm, try switching to different deinterlacing modes, I've found that some are faster than others.
 
[quote name='gofishn']Hmmm, try switching to different deinterlacing modes, I've found that some are faster than others.[/quote]I tried every mode and didn't notice a difference with any of them.
 
[quote name='megabadd']Hey all, I have a problem and I can't seem to find the answer to it.

So, I bought the 1410 (adaptor + cable) and it works fine on my friend's desktop gaming rig. However, when I try to use it on my brand new Gateway Tablet Notebook with 1.8 Ghz dual core processors and 1 gig of ram and an ATI catalyst 256MB video card, I get terrible video lag and sound lag, and my laptop slows down ridiculously (mouse pointer lagging on the screen). So... help?[/QUOTE]

Sounds like driver issues... upgrade everything to the latest you can, be sure you're running the latest DirectX, motherboard chipset drivers, sound/video, etc.
 
Came this afternoon (ordered 2nd day air on the 12th) and I've got to say I'm impressed! It's definately the best bang for your buck. Although my purposes was to use this for video reviews on my blog with youtube quality, and it definately delivers. I can't complain for $20.

Didn't notice an incredible amount of lag. I recorded at the best quality, and then downsized the file using Windows Movie Maker to a 35mb file (originally 255mb for a 7min vid). I recorded myself playing Shadows of the Colossus on the PS2. You can check out the test video on my blog here. I'm really impressed, and I cannot wait to use it in the future. Heck, I might just use it to play my games on my monitor!

Note: I later realized I had my PS2 set on 16:9 in both the console settings and game settings, so the reason it doesn't fill up the whole pane may be because of that and not the product itself.
 
Thanks for recommending dscaler, it worked great! I couldn't get InterVideo to work, but dscaler was perfect. Also, I found out when playing GG#Slash, that if you set the deinterlacer to do odd or even lines, it played silky smooth with no audio or video lag for me. I think I might go buy an S-video cord so the picture quality is better (my only caveat). Thanks again guys!
 
Brianmoy, when does the sale end? The Wilsonville Fry's is 70 miles away and I may only drive up there in the next weekend at the earliest.

I currently have a DELL 2405FPW that I use for both PC and gaming use. The component input is great but the widescreen fill mode is not really 16:9 (more like 16:10 for a typical PC widescreen display). The Gamebridge unit is great for gaming on another PC.
 
Hey guys. I got my Gamebridge 1410 today, and I'm quite impressed, except for the fact that if I make the game play in full screen mode, it's VERY jerky and stuttery. If I play in a smaller window, it runs fine.

My system is:

XPS M1710, 2.0Ghz Core Duo, 2GB DDR2-667, Geforce 7900 GTX 512MB.

Is there an alternative program JUST to play games on? I downloaded DScaler (if that was even an option?) and it gives me an overlay error when I try running it.

Any help appreciated. Thanks.

Also, the sound in Kingdom Hearts 2, for example, is a little...well....funny. It's kind of "wobbly" at times, i.e. the sound goes out of tune a little.
 
[quote name='WilliamG']
Is there an alternative program JUST to play games on? I downloaded DScaler (if that was even an option?) and it gives me an overlay error when I try running it.

Any help appreciated. Thanks.

Also, the sound in Kingdom Hearts 2, for example, is a little...well....funny. It's kind of "wobbly" at times, i.e. the sound goes out of tune a little.[/QUOTE]

since my laptop is all screwed up (possible bad cache on the board or processor) i took miine into work, looking for apps that will work for it....

1 app, called "got all media", a media center type deal, seems to work well, but i only have poor antenna reception and nothing else to test it out on....

here's the link
http://www.gallm.com/

as for wobbly sound.... try pushing the breakout cable into the bridge a bit more..... mine was a REAL tight fit....

i know this is a long shot, but has anyone tried this with windows media center? waiting for my laptop to be repaired to try it.
 
I bought the TV Tuner version for $25.

So far, I've only used the television feature and the recording of it. It works so AWESOME. I'm loving this shit! :)

Time to record from old VHS tapes. Yessss!
 
If anyone figures out a way to use this with a mac, please PM me details. I only have a G4 PowerBook and I've been wanting to hook up my PS2 to it at work for ages now... as I have a super awesome flat screen monitor...

Thanks!
 
[quote name='Asgardian']If anyone figures out a way to use this with a mac, please PM me details. I only have a G4 PowerBook and I've been wanting to hook up my PS2 to it at work for ages now... as I have a super awesome flat screen monitor...

Thanks![/QUOTE]
is it a newer mac? bootcamp maybe?

in all honesty, googling the net, all i can find are basic reviews or sales sites for this.... nothing else....
 
[quote name='megabadd']Thanks for recommending dscaler, it worked great! I couldn't get InterVideo to work, but dscaler was perfect. Also, I found out when playing GG#Slash, that if you set the deinterlacer to do odd or even lines, it played silky smooth with no audio or video lag for me. I think I might go buy an S-video cord so the picture quality is better (my only caveat). Thanks again guys![/quote]Tell me every single insignificant setting you have. NOW.
 
[quote name='eau']Is it still on sale at Fry's? It's still $14.99 online though.[/quote]

According to the ad I saw, the price was subject to change after tuesday. Which I guess isn't necessarily saying the sale is over afer that day, but I dunno. Just give Frys a quick call.

---

I'll have to try this DScaler program. I tried using VideoLAN, but unless I have the settings wrong, I couldn't figure out how to set it up, although it did recognise GameBridge as an input source. I didn't think of it, but should try hooking up my console thru the cables in my VIVO card using their software to see if there's any difference in quality.

Please note that I know there's lots of ways to get video input to your PC (VGA box, VIVO card, etc.) so I didn't post mainly because of that but because of how much the markdown in price on it is. The cheapest video to PC adapter I'd seen otherwise was a VGA box at $50 or so - which is too much for me.

I hooked up my Saturn to play on my PC which I thought was cool - hooray Nights and Magic Knight RayEarth! :) But I'll likely just hook up some of my cart systems like the SNES and Genesis to it as the carts are taking up way too much space in front of my TV. And current gen stuff I'd rather play on a big TV at a distance anyways.

To me this isn't a replacement for playing on TV, but just something I can feel cool about to mess with. :D
 
[quote name='Z-Saber']Tell me every single insignificant setting you have. NOW.[/quote]

Went out and bought an S-video cable - it's absolutely perfect now. I played Gitaroo Man and completed the stage almost perfectly and practiced some harder strings in Slash. This thing + Dscaler =
 
I ended up scrapping my other way of using Dscaler, and just have these settings now:

Video Input:

--S-Video

Video Format:

--NTSC

Deinterlace:

--Automatic Format Detect - Checked

--Fall Back To Video On Bad Pulldown - Checked

--JudderTerminator (tm) - Checked

--Video (TomsMoComp)

Video Method Settings For Video (TomsMoComp):

--Search Effort - 3

--Use Strange Bob - Leave Unchecked

Filters:

--Gamma - Checked

--Sharpness - Checked

--Noise Reduction (Gradual) - Checked

Filter Settings:

Gamma Filter:

--Black Level - 0
--Gamma - 1300
--Gamma Filter - Checked
--Use Stored Gamma Table - Leave Unchecked
--White Level - 240

Sharpness Filter:

--Fast Memory Access - Checked
--Sharpness - 78
--Sharpness Filter - Checked

Gradual Noise Filter:

--Fast Memory Access - Checked
--Gradual Noise Filter - Checked
--Noise Reduction - 35

Aspect Ratio:

--16:9 Anamorphic

Aspect Ratio Of Displayed Screen:

--1.78 HDTV Displays

Credit goes to- http://deinterlace.sourceforge.net/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=6242&highlight=ps2&sid=47ff0816964f699b876257733a43a4d5
 
Which version of Dscaler are you using? I see 5.008 is out there.
I have not tried it but with all these setting I would think the lag would be worse due to changes being made to the video comming in.
 
one question. It seems like the quality while playing is fine and not as pixelated. But how is the playing while recording? or when it records, does it go to the poorer resolution? Or is the pixelated look only the video [mpeg] file that comes out? Thanks.

EDIT: oh yeah, can u still play on your tv while it is recording? or no? Thanks again.
 
[quote name='xspeedracerx']How well does that work?[/quote]
It works really well. The image quality is really high now. I get the best possible pic and a smooth frame rate - I couldn't be happier. I'll try and put up a screenshot eventually.

I am currently using 4.1.1.5 and the lag isn't bad at all. Dscaler uses about 50Megs and about 30%-40% of system RAM.

Like I say, I've been playing GG##Slash and it's great - I wouldn't mind playing against friends etc.

EDIT: If I had to say anything, then yes it was a smidgin' less responsive after all those changes (though really, the 'lag' could just be in my head), but the visual quality went up so much that it more than makes up for it.
 
[quote name='halu102']one question. It seems like the quality while playing is fine and not as pixelated. But how is the playing while recording? or when it records, does it go to the poorer resolution? Or is the pixelated look only the video [mpeg] file that comes out? Thanks.

EDIT: oh yeah, can u still play on your tv while it is recording? or no? Thanks again.[/quote]

I haven't tried playing while recording, but I can try it eventually. I hear ppl don't notice a drop in quality or speed.
 
There's no real difference when recording using DScaler, at least not for me. However, sound is barely there in the recorded video. Lots of popping sounds and fuzz sounds too. Can anyone help me with this?
 
[quote name='DeskLaser']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![/QUOTE]

It appears that Media Center doesn't recognize the device with the included software. And there's no driver available on their website. If anyone knows how to get MCE to recognize this thing as a TV tuner, I'd love to know.

MjC
 
megabadd, I will try all of those settings tomorrow. The first set of settings you posted didn't help me one bit and in fact made it much worse. Hopefully, this new, more descriptive post will help.
 
With th posted settings mine looks nice and bright and good... till I move then its all stuttery. Thats the best word I can use for it. I might have gummed up some other setting. Also I dont see Pixel Width.
 
[quote name='BREVITY']With th posted settings mine looks nice and bright and good... till I move then its all stuttery. Thats the best word I can use for it. I might have gummed up some other setting. Also I dont see Pixel Width.[/quote]

Yeah, sorry, I couldn't find that either.

Perhaps try changing the hardware from best picture to the judder control and using a less intensive deinterlacer than the Tom one. I know the one I recommended really taxes most machines.
 
Question: Will this thing let you use progressive scan with s-video (or do you need component to use that?), and will it let 16:9 games look right on a widescreen moniter? I have a widescreen moniter and a half dead TV, and was thinking of getting this thing to play on till it's TV replacing time, but it'd be really cool if it would let me say, set some GC/PS2 games on 16:9 and show up right, or if it let me set my Xbox on widescreen and show up the way it's suppose to. But yeah, widescreen and progressive scan...?
 
So, with the quality of this, would I be able to record some Halo 2 footage and not suck while I am playing online?
[quote name='Justin42']Supposedly the 1400 (no tuner) only records MPEG-1, the 1410 (with tuner) records MPEG-2 (much better quality, required for DVD). So it's not just a "tuner/no tuner" difference...[/quote]
Can anyone confirm that the $15 version records at MPEG-2? That's the version I want to get, but only if it can.
 
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