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Product Description
This unit converts VGA or Component Video and Audio to HDMI. It allows for connection of Desktop or Notebook PC to a flat panel TV. It also allows for connecting equipment with component output (such as PS2, STB, DVD etc) to PC monitor that has only HDMI or DVI inputs.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
169 of 174 people found the following review helpful
By M. Downes
Amazon Verified Purchase
We just dumped satellite and went pc to tv to save money. At first we tried a vga to component converter, which was good, but it didn't make use of our tv's high-def so the picture was a bit fuzzy. Then I saw this converter and at the price, just had to try it. The difference was night and day. We now have access to our tv's native widescreen resolution, and the HD picture quality is as crisp as on the laptop screen. I wish we had tried this first!
We have a Philips 42PFL5332D 42" plasma and a 2006 Dell laptop running XP. Our connection is vga to hdmi (this is the connection needed for HD quality). It took literally a minute to get the picture up, and it appeared at the right resolution without us needing to do a thing.
The sound was a different matter, due to our inexperience. With our old converter we ran a stereo cable out of the laptop headphone port to the audio-in on the tv. We left that as it was and got no sound. We unplugged it and got sound - from the laptop's speakers. I'm ashamed to say it took me half an hour to figure out that we had to use the audio cable that came with this converter, connected between the laptop headphone port and the converter itself so it could feed the sound through the HDMI cable to the tv. Hey, live and learn, right?
As other reviewers have helpfully noted, this converter comes with everything you need except an HDMI cable. So I also ordered an HDMI (2 meter) 6 foot cable HQ 1080P 1.3b, and it works fine with our setup.
There are just two small negatives that led to me giving it only 4 stars. First, as others have said, it doesn't have an on/off switch, which seems an incredible oversight. And that leads to the second negative: this converter runs hot. To allow a little airflow underneath it I put it on top of the two small plastic endcaps that came with the HDMI cable. We'll see if the heat this thing produces impacts its performance in future, but for now, we're very impressed with it.
We have a Philips 42PFL5332D 42" plasma and a 2006 Dell laptop running XP. Our connection is vga to hdmi (this is the connection needed for HD quality). It took literally a minute to get the picture up, and it appeared at the right resolution without us needing to do a thing.
The sound was a different matter, due to our inexperience. With our old converter we ran a stereo cable out of the laptop headphone port to the audio-in on the tv. We left that as it was and got no sound. We unplugged it and got sound - from the laptop's speakers. I'm ashamed to say it took me half an hour to figure out that we had to use the audio cable that came with this converter, connected between the laptop headphone port and the converter itself so it could feed the sound through the HDMI cable to the tv. Hey, live and learn, right?
As other reviewers have helpfully noted, this converter comes with everything you need except an HDMI cable. So I also ordered an HDMI (2 meter) 6 foot cable HQ 1080P 1.3b, and it works fine with our setup.
There are just two small negatives that led to me giving it only 4 stars. First, as others have said, it doesn't have an on/off switch, which seems an incredible oversight. And that leads to the second negative: this converter runs hot. To allow a little airflow underneath it I put it on top of the two small plastic endcaps that came with the HDMI cable. We'll see if the heat this thing produces impacts its performance in future, but for now, we're very impressed with it.
47 of 50 people found the following review helpful
By M. Koch
Amazon Verified Purchase
I wanted to connect our PC, which has only VGA out, to the LCD TV (720P), which doesn't have VGA input, only coaxial, component or HDMI. My IT co-worker recommended going VGA to HDMI rather than VGA to component because analog to analog conversion is more "messy" and requires a higher end device to work well. I took his advice and after some research, I decided on this unit over cheaper alternatives because of the auto-upscale function (to 720P, which matches our TV), and the price is very affordable. (A note: since I purchased this a month ago from CE Compass, the price has dropped by $10. Wished I had waited just a little - but the new price makes this a even better value.)
My setup: PC(VGA) to VGA Splitter (w/ amplifier) to converter to TV(HDMI), plus audio from PC to the converter - this way I won't have to connect and reconnect the PC's VGA output all the time. (I also have audio going from the PC to the stereo system directly for watching movies.) As soon as we have the unit connected and the resolution on the PC changed, it started to work with no problem at all. Video quality is great and everything we have played fit the TV screen perfectly, always making maximum use of the screen. Some videos are darker on the TV than the monitor, which could be caused by the VGA splitter, but it can easily be fixed by adjusting the TV's brightness level.
The only con, if you can call it that, is the lack of an on/off button. There is no reason the unit should be drawing power even when not in use (light is on and body feels warm to touch). I may get a plug-in switch so I can turn it off individually from the surge protector.
With this converter my family is able to enjoy streaming movies, TV shows and sports on the TV without buying a new computer with HDMI output. The video quality on the TV looks amazing when playing HD content, and with non-HD resolution videos it sometimes look better on TV, probably thanks to the auto-scaling.
Update 7/4/2012:
Two years later with daily use the unit is still working well. We started Netflix a few months ago so it gets even more use now. I found a surge protector that has a master port so when the device plugged into that port is turned off the rest of the ports will power off as well. Since we now use an older PC for streaming to the TV only, we are able to turn off the power on the converter whenever we shut down the PC - problem solved (i.e. the lack of an on/off switch).
My setup: PC(VGA) to VGA Splitter (w/ amplifier) to converter to TV(HDMI), plus audio from PC to the converter - this way I won't have to connect and reconnect the PC's VGA output all the time. (I also have audio going from the PC to the stereo system directly for watching movies.) As soon as we have the unit connected and the resolution on the PC changed, it started to work with no problem at all. Video quality is great and everything we have played fit the TV screen perfectly, always making maximum use of the screen. Some videos are darker on the TV than the monitor, which could be caused by the VGA splitter, but it can easily be fixed by adjusting the TV's brightness level.
The only con, if you can call it that, is the lack of an on/off button. There is no reason the unit should be drawing power even when not in use (light is on and body feels warm to touch). I may get a plug-in switch so I can turn it off individually from the surge protector.
With this converter my family is able to enjoy streaming movies, TV shows and sports on the TV without buying a new computer with HDMI output. The video quality on the TV looks amazing when playing HD content, and with non-HD resolution videos it sometimes look better on TV, probably thanks to the auto-scaling.
Update 7/4/2012:
Two years later with daily use the unit is still working well. We started Netflix a few months ago so it gets even more use now. I found a surge protector that has a master port so when the device plugged into that port is turned off the rest of the ports will power off as well. Since we now use an older PC for streaming to the TV only, we are able to turn off the power on the converter whenever we shut down the PC - problem solved (i.e. the lack of an on/off switch).
35 of 38 people found the following review helpful
Amazon Verified Purchase
This gadget is just what we wanted. It conveys good picture & sound from my laptop to a Big Flat Screen.
All cables (except HDMI) are included; worked the first time.
All cables (except HDMI) are included; worked the first time.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars
Does not work at all.
This white box comes with a 5V power supply. It appears that you plug in your 3 component cables and the audio into the mini plug and it should work. Read more
Published 9 days ago by Jay B. Sigel
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great projector for the price
If your needing a projector for the basic movie, powerpoint this works great. Just make sure it's a smaller area and not super bright. These are great bang for the buck projectors!
Published 10 days ago by Ryan Leafgreen
1.0 out of 5 stars
does not work
I have not been able to make this work; unfortunately, I lost my paperwork and have not been able to return it
Published 17 days ago by Don Montgomery
1.0 out of 5 stars
Generic say it all
Got this item for the price, but is money sent to the trash. Have sent it to repair twice, since I do not have time to send it back, very bad quality. Read more
Published 20 days ago by Jose Luis Uribe
5.0 out of 5 stars
what the doctor orderd
waited for some thing like this for a while noe its here. worked right out the box, had for yr now and no problems
Published 26 days ago by orcrest
1.0 out of 5 stars
Flimsy Construction, Flimsy Picture
This may possibly be the cheapest built thing that I ever bought on Amazon. But to make things even worse, the picture quality is unbelievably horrible. Read more
Published 1 month ago by ifitaintbrokeitwillbe
1.0 out of 5 stars
Shipping different boxes? mine didnt workj for the PS2 at all
SO the thing I got doesn't look like the pictures, it has no buttons as described, it states flat out in the "manual" that it doesn't upscale, and it completely fails to show an... Read more
Published 1 month ago by J
1.0 out of 5 stars
Does not work connecting laptop to TV using HDMI
It does not work. If you want to connect your computer to your TV this will not do it. Connect VGA cable from laptop to Video Box. Connect HDMI cable from Video Box to TV. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Jonathan Steinbach
1.0 out of 5 stars
Didn't serve my needs.
It gives me hdmi connectivity but doesn't upconvert as others have mentioned. My PS2 still looks all pixellated and for some reason it only shows up in black and white with almost... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Ben Gunn
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good no frills converter
Had two buttons to select the right options (resolution, and vga vs RCA). It does its job. I do find that sometimes sound conversion (input from head-phone style jack to... Read more
Published 1 month ago by David
