Customer Reviews

Cables To Go 40971 Impact Acoustics TV to PC Converter

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Pros: Out of the box worked fine, although with a blurry image. The manual recommends adjusting the display settings to get a clearer image, but BEWARE!!!!! (see below)

Cons: Aside from the menu button also functioning as the power switch, the unit's light weight puts it at the mercy of it's connecting cables. The menu is graphically driven: IF you change the setting and it's incompatible with your display, YOU ARE OUT OF LUCK! Your display will say "out of range", and since the options menu needs a working monitor to display itself, NO MENU. There is no way to reset factory settings.

Summary: It does what it says. The image quality wasn't the best, (but I wasn't using S-video input) and as stated above DO NOT change the Display menu until you are SURE your monitor is compatible. Impact Acoustics techs say there is NO WAY to reset the unit to factory specs, and without a monitor, you are flying blind in Menu-ville. You have been warned! I have to ship mine back and swap it for a new unit.

I purchased three of these for work purposes. We needed to convert S-Video to VGA on medical equipment. In all three cases, the S-Video connector quickly failed and it was the classic issues of having the cable exactly in the right place before a signal could be generated. Also - the only way to switch signals and modify features was to use on-screen commands.... which required you to hook it up to a monitor. - if you are having issues (because of a defective S-Video port, for example) and are trying to trouble shoot video display - the on-screen controls are a serious handicap. None of the three purchased are in use.

Pros: Hook up was easy enough - came with the standard cables (though, I needed an S-video cable - it usually produces better video output than composite). Supports a lot of the standard VGA resolutions up to 1050. Also acts as a switch box (switch between PC and TV with the press of a button - pretty cool). It works for my needs.

Cons: No remote. No reset button (though it does automatically switch back to a working resolution if you, by chance, choose a res. not suitable for your display/monitor's capabilities - just let it sit for 10 seconds or so).

Conclusion: Video a bit blurry up close, but at a distance, can't tell the difference - I currently have an LCD wide-screen and the converter actually makes the video full-screen (has small artifacts on the side of the image, but overall not a problem). Will play with the settings a bit more to adjust, but overall, it does what I need it to do :)

Hint to manufacturer: adding a "video resizing" feature would help clear the picture more (option to change from 100% to 85% zoom - yes, it wouldn't fill the whole screen, but it would produce better overall images)

I haven't tried the others out there yet (not many available to choose from), but so far so good.

Excelent product.Key feature is that computer need not be on to convert video to vga mode.Compact works well.

I got one of these and only used it all of maybe 10 times if that before it fried on me. Unfortunately, because I didn't use it much, it took over a year before I noticed it suddenly died. Now it's out of warranty and I'm out of luck. These don't last very long at all. If only I was a daily user, maybe it would have been replace under warranty. Note I didn't get it via Amazon.com but I'm talking about the exact same model as shown here.

The converter works well. The instruction booklet is easy to understand. The Picture is great on my monitor from a satellite receiver. I would like it to be a bit less expensive.