Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)~ INTRODUCTION ~
I got this product to be able to watch video from my computer on my tv. After a bunch of research, this product seemed to get the best reviews, esp for the price, and overall I agree. Once I finally put it together and tried to use it, I found a few nuisances that you should be aware of, especially if you are a NTSC (e.g., U.S.A. users).
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~ PRODUCT DETAILS ~
First off, just to be clear, the item that shipped is a Manhattan PC TV Converter Model #150095 (UPC 766623150095)
The product is shipped decently packaged but there's nothing in there that can't handle a little rough and tumble anyway. It includes:
- the converter, which is just slightly larger than a cigarette pack
- 1 yellow video rca cable
- 1 usb power cord
- 1 vga cord
- 1 instruction manual, which is alright. It's not 100% clear on everything but the essentials are there.
- Note: there is NO S-video cable provided.
On one of the short end of the converter, there is a VGA-in port.
On the other short end, there is the plug for the USB power cable plus a pair of jumper switches labeled 1 & 2.
On one long end, there are all the output ports. You have one each of video out, s-video out, and VGA-out.
On the opposite long end, there are buttons to adjust settings for the converter. There are buttons for "LEFT", "RIGHT", "DOWN", "UP", "MENU", and "ZOOM".
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~ SETUP NOTES ~
I recommend that the first thing to do is to check that the jumpers are set for your needs (noted very simply in the instruction manual). If you are an NTSC (e.g., U.S.A.) user, be sure that both jumpers 1 & 2 are both down.
Next, plugging in the wires is pretty straightforward. The long side contains all the output ports and the single vga end is the input. I don't think it matters but I plugged in the black vga head to the converter and the blue end to the computer.
Once it's all in, turn on your components and check that it works. It didn't take me long to get up and running but be sure that the jumpers are set properly.
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~ IMAGE QUALITY ~
The image quality isn't too bad but it seems that it might depend partly on your computer and the TV.
Please note that it is UN-LIKELY that you will be able to do things like edit documents or surf the web unless you drop the resolution from your computer quite a bit. At 1024x768 (the setting I have on my computer), the image projected onto the TV is too unclear with the text way too small for you to be able to do any kind of reading. If you really want to use your TV for reading such find details, then it's more likely you'll need to buy a TV that can take regular VGA signals without conversion.
You can play around with image quality with the on-screen preferences but it doesn't seem to improve the quality too much. The menu that comes up provides options to adjust horizontal/vertical size, brightness, contrast, hue, saturation, sharpness, and onscreen display background. In reality playing with these won't affect image quality clarity too much and it's difficult to know where along a 0% - 100% scale that you are adjusting a setting since there is no bar to indicate that for each of the settings. For example, I can't tell whether I've hit 30% or 80% saturation. I just have to guess where along that scale I am at.
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Reminder of the most important point...
!!!! For NTSC (U.S.A. users), be sure that the jumpers 1 & 2 are both down. My converter came set by the factory with both jumpers up, which won't work on US TV's. !!!!
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Recommendation: This product works for my goal of watching videos/movies on my TV. Just be sure to check your setup before thinking it won't work. I got a few scrambled screens before I finally got the thing to show up properly but since then, the product works like a charm. Don't expect perfect image quality. I'd estimate the quality compared to my computer monitor is probably around 75%. The conversion from regular VGA to a TV is not an easy or perfect conversion. Nonetheless, if you just want something that simply works, this will do and as such I can recommend this product.
Price paid: ~$45 + shipping
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