any VGA box reccomendations?

T

toolpenguin

CAG Veteran
iI am looking to hook my consoles up to my lcd computer monitor, does anyone have reccomedations for the best ones? I am especially looking for one that i don't have to do a lot of messing around when i switch between playing a console game and using the computer, one with DVI output to my monitor would be awesome.
 
If you are just going to hook up component video output to your monitor, then the VDigi Enhanced VD-Z3 will work great. It can be used with any component video output, so it is not limited to just being used with an Xbox. Read TeamXbox's VDigi Enhanced VD-Z3 review for some detailed info about this unit.

If you want a more complete solution, then I would suggest using a Pelican System Selector Pro and a ViewSonic NextVision N6. I have a small bedroom with my computer and 21" NEC CRT monitor in it, and I use this combo of equipment to have my 3 consoles (Xbox, PS2, & Gamecube; all with component outputs), region-free progressive scan DVD player (with component output), progressive scan DVD recorder (also with component output), Super VHS VCR (s-video output), and finally Dreamcast (again, s-video output; I have the VGA box for this, but not all games can support VGA output, so that is why it is connected by s-video as well) attached and viewable. The progressive scan output on the screen is incredible, especially close up. You'd swear that you were looking at a HiRes video or a computer game. Normal output (like from the TV tuner or s-video) has to be line-doubled, but it looks better than normal TV whether you sit close to the screen or far away. There are no artifacts during fast motions and no pixelation. The NextVision N6 even supports up to 1280x1024 resolution, so you should be able to use this with your LCD monitor at it's native resolution.

Now for the downsides of my combo. First is price, it's going to cost you about $250 (includes shipping). I did some price finding, and you can get the NextVision N6 from Ebuyer for $165.95 (includes shipping, to my state at least :) might be a little more or less for you) and the silver-colored System Selector Pro from Video Game Deals for $80.98 (includes flat-rate shipping) or the black-colored System Selector Pro from eCost for $72.94 (includes free ground shipping and eCost's usual $4.95 processing fee). I used these three companies because they were the lowest prices out of all the listings in the price searches from companies I have purchased from before and had good experiences. You can definitely find them for less online, but as always, buyer beware. Also, this does not include B&M stores which may have sales on this equipment. Second is the connection to the monitor, it is VGA only, not DVI. But then again, I don't know of any computer monitors that are DVI only, so this is really not an issue. Last downside would be the number of certain inputs on the System Selector Pro. There are only 3 optical digital audio inputs, NO coaxial digital audio inputs, and only 3 network inputs. The number of optical digital audio inputs is not an issue for me now, but when the next gen consoles come out, I'm going to have come up with a solution as I will need more inputs. The network ports are switched, in other words, if you turn off the System Selector Pro or change to another piece of equipment, the port is turned off. Not a good thing if you want to have multiple pieces of equipment connected to the internet at the same time, such as your Xbox and Tivo. So another piece of equipment you might need to buy is a network hub. Network hubs are relatively cheap now, about $20 for a 5-port version. Other than these mentioned problems, which are minor at worst, I am very happy with my setup.
 
I highly recommend the Vdigi Vd-Z3. I own it, and I use it for my Xbox, PS2, and Comcast HDTV Tuner. It is absolutely the best value of anything at about $70 shipped. It has VGA pass through, but DVI adapters are easy to find. I absolutely love this thing, you can use your Xbox in true HD. I watch TV with it through my Comcast HDTV tuner, HDTV channels look awesome, though the converter will not work with a 480i signal, the tuner converts anything into 480p.

Why pay double when this solution does the job extremely well? Also, their customer service is excellent, probably better than their English is (which isn't THAT bad). I was shocked at how well they treat the customer, especially for a Hong Kong company.

And ketwyld, will that System Selector Pro work without distortion in 1080i? I have the non-pro that Gamestop sells and it simply can't handle it. I'm also looking really hard for either a VGA switchbox or a KVM that won't have any distortion at 1280x1024, I have the old version of the VD-Z3 with the VGA passthrough that isn't very good.
 
THIS THREAD NEEDS TO BE MADE INTO A STICKY!!! :D

[quote name='dafoomie']And ketwyld, will that System Selector Pro work without distortion in 1080i? I have the non-pro that Gamestop sells and it simply can't handle it. I'm also looking really hard for either a VGA switchbox or a KVM that won't have any distortion at 1280x1024, I have the old version of the VD-Z3 with the VGA passthrough that isn't very good.[/quote]

I'm not sure about 1080i, because I do not have any 1080i Xbox games that I could test with. I have played Soul Calibur 2 at 720p and it was distortion free. If you know of any 1080i Xbox games, let me know and I will get it, test my setup with it, and post the results here.

As for a KVM, I have a 4-port Belkin that supports video resolutions of up to 1920x1440 @ 65Hz. You can pick up a 2-port model on J&R's website for less than $30 shipped now.

And yes, you're solution is the best for your needs. Like I said at the beginning of my post, if all you need is to hook up ONLY component video output to your monitor, then the VDigi Enhanced VD-Z3 is all you need. I do not have HDTV cable and I wanted to have a seperate tuner from my VCR & DVD recorder, so I could watch TV when I was recording something else. I also needed the S-video input that the NextVision N6 provides. My needs required something more comprehensive and thus more expensive.
 
I bought the VD-Z3 a few months ago. Its been the best gaming purchase Ive made in years. Games are beautiful. So much so that there are some games I just cant play on the tv anymore (DOAU) It may seem like a bit of money and their whole paypal offshore to china thing doesnt inspire confidence. But I can say for a fact, they are top notch and you wont be disappointed.

ps. Thanks for the comcast HDTV tip Dafoomie. I cant believe I didnt think about doing that myself.
 
[quote name='supadupacheap']I bought the VD-Z3 a few months ago. Its been the best gaming purchase Ive made in years. Games are beautiful. So much so that there are some games I just cant play on the tv anymore (DOAU) It may seem like a bit of money and their whole paypal offshore to china thing doesnt inspire confidence. But I can say for a fact, they are top notch and you wont be disappointed.

ps. Thanks for the comcast HDTV tip Dafoomie. I cant believe I didnt think about doing that myself.[/quote]
About the Comcast tuner, you need to adjust a setting so that it converts 480i signals into 480p. Its a simple thing to do, but its required for it to work.

I have the old version of the VD-Z3, so whether you have the somewhat new enhanced version or the old one, it'll work either way.
 
I'm all right dealing with the inside of my computer, but I'm a n00b when it comes to accessorizing it. I'm planning on getting a nice LCD monitor, and hooking up some of my systems to it (via the method you guys mentioned). For a while it won't be hooked up to my computer. How the hell am I going to get sound? Is there anyway to hook up my nice speaker set through one of these selector devices, or VGA converters?
 
[quote name='RNEMESiS42']How the hell am I going to get sound? Is there anyway to hook up my nice speaker set through one of these selector devices, or VGA converters?[/quote]

I have the stereo audio output from the NextVision N6, the stereo audio & digital optical audio outputs from the System Selector Pro, and the digital coax audio output from my region-free DVD player all connected to my audio system receiver. Then I just change to whatever input on the receiver to listen to the corresponding source.

What type of speaker set are we talking about? If the speaker set has RCA stereo audio inputs at the least, then yes you can hookup your speakers to any of the devices we mentioned.
 
[quote name='ketwyld']THIS THREAD NEEDS TO BE MADE INTO A STICKY!!! :D

[quote name='dafoomie']And ketwyld, will that System Selector Pro work without distortion in 1080i? I have the non-pro that Gamestop sells and it simply can't handle it. I'm also looking really hard for either a VGA switchbox or a KVM that won't have any distortion at 1280x1024, I have the old version of the VD-Z3 with the VGA passthrough that isn't very good.[/quote]

I'm not sure about 1080i, because I do not have any 1080i Xbox games that I could test with. I have played Soul Calibur 2 at 720p and it was distortion free. If you know of any 1080i Xbox games, let me know and I will get it, test my setup with it, and post the results here.

As for a KVM, I have a 4-port Belkin that supports video resolutions of up to 1920x1440 @ 65Hz. You can pick up a 2-port model on J&R's website for less than $30 shipped now.

And yes, you're solution is the best for your needs. Like I said at the beginning of my post, if all you need is to hook up ONLY component video output to your monitor, then the VDigi Enhanced VD-Z3 is all you need. I do not have HDTV cable and I wanted to have a seperate tuner from my VCR & DVD recorder, so I could watch TV when I was recording something else. I also needed the S-video input that the NextVision N6 provides. My needs required something more comprehensive and thus more expensive.[/quote]


You can see what xbox games support what resolution.

Here: http://www.hdtvarcade.com/xboxlist.htm

You haven't lived untill you see Atari Anthology in 1080i.

Also I have the X2vga+ and I've found 2 xbox games that won't load on the screen. Ininja was the first and I forget what was the second. Has anyone else found a game that won't work on your vga box ? I know a buch of DC games didn't use to work the the VGA box.
 
[quote name='KingDox'][quote name='ketwyld']THIS THREAD NEEDS TO BE MADE INTO A STICKY!!! :D

[quote name='dafoomie']And ketwyld, will that System Selector Pro work without distortion in 1080i? I have the non-pro that Gamestop sells and it simply can't handle it. I'm also looking really hard for either a VGA switchbox or a KVM that won't have any distortion at 1280x1024, I have the old version of the VD-Z3 with the VGA passthrough that isn't very good.[/quote]

I'm not sure about 1080i, because I do not have any 1080i Xbox games that I could test with. I have played Soul Calibur 2 at 720p and it was distortion free. If you know of any 1080i Xbox games, let me know and I will get it, test my setup with it, and post the results here.

As for a KVM, I have a 4-port Belkin that supports video resolutions of up to 1920x1440 @ 65Hz. You can pick up a 2-port model on J&R's website for less than $30 shipped now.

And yes, you're solution is the best for your needs. Like I said at the beginning of my post, if all you need is to hook up ONLY component video output to your monitor, then the VDigi Enhanced VD-Z3 is all you need. I do not have HDTV cable and I wanted to have a seperate tuner from my VCR & DVD recorder, so I could watch TV when I was recording something else. I also needed the S-video input that the NextVision N6 provides. My needs required something more comprehensive and thus more expensive.[/quote]


You can see what xbox games support what resolution.

Here: http://www.hdtvarcade.com/xboxlist.htm

You haven't lived untill you see Atari Anthology in 1080i.

Also I have the X2vga+ and I've found 2 xbox games that won't load on the screen. Ininja was the first and I forget what was the second. Has anyone else found a game that won't work on your vga box ? I know a buch of DC games didn't use to work the the VGA box.[/quote]
I Ninja doesn't support progressive scan... Has to support progressive scan (480p) or higher in order to work.

Some of the games on that list are listed as not supporting it, but I know some of those do.
 
[quote name='ketwyld'][quote name='RNEMESiS42']How the hell am I going to get sound? Is there anyway to hook up my nice speaker set through one of these selector devices, or VGA converters?[/quote]

I have the stereo audio output from the NextVision N6, the stereo audio & digital optical audio outputs from the System Selector Pro, and the digital coax audio output from my region-free DVD player all connected to my audio system receiver. Then I just change to whatever input on the receiver to listen to the corresponding source.

What type of speaker set are we talking about? If the speaker set has RCA stereo audio inputs at the least, then yes you can hookup your speakers to any of the devices we mentioned.[/quote]
All right, thanks. I looked at the simple VGA converter, and it looks like the only output on it is the VGA part. I wouldn't be able to hook up my speakers to this? (My speakers have RCA inputs, like you said)
 
[quote name='RNEMESiS42']I looked at the simple VGA converter, and it looks like the only output on it is the VGA part. I wouldn't be able to hook up my speakers to this? (My speakers have RCA inputs, like you said)[/quote]

Ah, ok, I understand what you were asking a little better now. No, the VDigi Enhanced VD-Z3 does not have an audio input/output. The component output hookup cable for your console does (you know, the expensive AV hookups you have to buy that don't come with the console :D ). You didn't say what console you are going to be hooking up, but all of the first-party component output hookups for consoles have stereo RCA output connectors on them. So those stereo RCA outputs would be connected directly to your speaker set. If you are going to be hooking up an Xbox to the VDigi Enhanced VD-Z3, then you should purchase the $59.90 VDigi Enhanced VD-Z3 that comes bundled with an Xbox component cable that has the digital optical output (It only costs $3 more than the normal cable, it has the stereo RCA outputs too, and if you ever plan on getting a 5.1 audio receiver then you have the option to use the digital optical output).
 
[quote name='RNEMESiS42'][quote name='ketwyld'][quote name='RNEMESiS42']How the hell am I going to get sound? Is there anyway to hook up my nice speaker set through one of these selector devices, or VGA converters?[/quote]

I have the stereo audio output from the NextVision N6, the stereo audio & digital optical audio outputs from the System Selector Pro, and the digital coax audio output from my region-free DVD player all connected to my audio system receiver. Then I just change to whatever input on the receiver to listen to the corresponding source.

What type of speaker set are we talking about? If the speaker set has RCA stereo audio inputs at the least, then yes you can hookup your speakers to any of the devices we mentioned.[/quote]
All right, thanks. I looked at the simple VGA converter, and it looks like the only output on it is the VGA part. I wouldn't be able to hook up my speakers to this? (My speakers have RCA inputs, like you said)[/quote]
Are you referring to the VD-Z3?

Its a very simple answer. There are no audio outputs because there are no audio inputs. You use the audio cables from your Xbox to hook up to your system. They bundle either a regular component cable with stereo audio, and one with optical. Or you can just use the Xbox High Def Pack from MS.
 
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