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May 31st, 2010, 20:18 Posted By: bandit
XCM USB Vbox2 Advanced
Manufacturer: XCM
Site: Buy from Play-Asia / Buy from ConsoleSource / Buy from GoldenShop / Buy from Amazon.com
Price: $85.00
3x RCA RGB Component Video Splitter
Site: Buy from Amazon.com
3 RCA RGB Component Video Cable
Site: Buy from Amazon.com (3.3ft Monster Cable) / Buy from Amazon.com (6ft Generic)
 
Overview : Enable video game play on your laptop, netbook and desktop.
Fully Compatible with Xbox 360™, Wii™, PS3™/PS2™, PSP 2000/3000 series™, Xbox™ GameCube™ or any device with component output. You can record gameplay, movie or take a screenshot of the gameplay to the hard drive so you can edit, use it as a wallpaper or record your gameplay for analysis. Compatible with Windows 7, Windows Vista and Windows XP.
Feature :- Crystal Clear Picture Screen.
- Supports USB 2.0. Plug and play. Does not require any configuration
- Supports Streaming Video. Can be stored in multiple formats including: (MPEG-1/MPEG-2/MPEG-4/AVI/VCD/DVD/SVCD)
- Supports multiple picture file formats such as JPEG and GIF.
- Supports multiple input formats such as (NTSC/PAL/SECAM)
- Auto playback allows you to store in game action to your PC/laptop)
- Display settings can be adjusted such as Brightness/Contrast/Image Sharpness/Fullness/Color
- Supports Windows 7, Windows Vista and Windows XP operating systems
Quality/Usability : Whether you're a game reviewer or a gamer who just wants to record their gameplay to show off to friends, post on the web or even capture the greatest moments, you would need to point your camera at your TV or connect your consoles to a capture video card on your computer. XCM has released the Vbox2 Advanced. This is an updated version of XCM V-box for the Wii. The Vbox2 Advanced works not only for the Wii but for Xbox 360, PS3, PS2, PSP 2000/3000, Original Xbox and GameCube.
The Vbox2 Advanced comes in a well built, white shell and a fairly small adapter. The USB cord is approximately 3 feet long. In order for this to work and to set it up, your computer needs to be near the consoles or you can use a laptop/netbook. This will not work on MAC's as the software works only on Windows Vista, XP and Windows 7. The driver and software can be downloaded at here. Some other system requirements are support for Direct X9.0 or higher version of AGP video card, Pentium 4 1.8GHz or higher, Centrino 1.4 GHz or higher, 256MB RAM, USB 2.0, Harddrive space (200MB for software, 1GB or more for recording space depending on length of record and file format.
Installation is very easy. Its like any other computer program. Simply download the driver from the link above and save it to you desktop. Once downloaded, extract the file. Double click on the file named "Vbox2 Advanced DRIVER.exe". Follow the prompts and at the end, it will require to restart your computer. Once your computer has rebooted from the restart, now its time to install the software. Double click on the file named "Vbox2 Advanced.msi" which is in the same folder as the driver. Follow the prompts and at the end, it will require you to restart your computer again. Once the computer has rebooted and the installation has been installed, there will now be a new icon on your desktop.
The first time you plug in the Vbox2 Advanced to the USB port on your computer, it will pop up with a message showing "Found New Hardware - USB 28165 device" and than "Found New Hardware - Your new hardware is installed and ready to use". Typical for any USB device being used for the first time. Now that the device has been found and ready to use, you can double click on the new Vbox2 Advanced icon. Double clicking on the icon will load up the software and will display the Vbox2 Advanced splash screen and sound clip. MOST IMPORTANTLY: Before disconnecting your console from your TV, be sure to set the consoles resolution to 480i/576i or 480p/576p. This is the only way the Vbox2 will recognize the signal from the console. If you dont and you just plug the cables to the Vbox2 Advanced, you'll get nothing but static or black screen.
Once you have set the correct resolution on the console, you can unplug the component cable from your TV and plug it into the Vbox2 Advanced. To display your console on the software, you will need to click on the camcorder icon (Switch to Media Viewer Mode) under viewer. A new set of toolbar icons will show underneath. Under "Select" click on "Device Options". This will show a window with "Video Format...", "Video Setting...", "Video Source", "Audio Format..." and "Audio Capture Pin...". Select "Video Source", it will show another window with "PAL", "NTSC", "480i/576i" and "480p/576p". From here, you will select the resolution of your console.
There are so many things you can do such as record your gameplay, take snapshots of your gameplay, play in full screen. You can even save a profile with your settings.
Videos below is to show you how to set up the Vbox2 Advanced with many consoles:
Microsoft Xbox 360
Videos below is the captured recording and snapshot directly from the Vbox2:
The quality is OK but not the best. 480p/576p produced some pixelated sections and a line down the sides that moved downwards (visible in picture). It may not be visible in the YouTube video but when watching in full screen on my 24" widescreen HD monitor, I can see it. There was no washout of colors and no lag.
If you're using a laptop, netbook or even a small monitor, you can hook this up to your TV by purchasing a RCA RGB Component Video Splitter and RCA RGB Component Cable. This will not only display on your computer but on your TV as well. No longer do you need to squint or sit up close. But you will need to have your TV and computer near each other unless you're willing to spend extra money to have extension cables.
To set this up, simply take the Component Video Splitter (red, green and blue) and plug it to the TV. Take the one end of the RGB Component Cable and plug into one of the RGB slots on the splitter and the other end of the cable and plug it into the Vbox2 Advanced. With the component cable from the console, insert the RGB into the remaining slots on the splitter and take the red/white cables and plug that into the Vbox2 Advanced. This will transmit video to both your computer and TV and sound will be coming from your computer speakers.
Conclusion : Overall, the XCM Vbox2 Advanced did what it was suppose to do but fell short of quality for me. Maybe it was my video card on my Dell Inspiron 530? From what I was told from one of our YouTube subscribers (pro6seller) was that you can enhance the quality to 720p by using Sony Vegas. I haven't tried it myself but it would of been nice to atleast be able to record in 720p out the box rather than record at 480p/576 and than use another program to increase the resolution.
If your monitor on your computer, laptop or netbook is too small to play on, you can still play on your regular TV. Simply purchase this 3 RGB/RCA Component Video Splitter ($3.14+$2.98 shipping) and 6ft Component Cable ($4.80+$2.98 shipping).
*UPDATE*: After posting this review and XCM reading it, they decided to include their own component splitter. All XCM Vbox2 Advanced will come with XCM Component Splitter for FREE.
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