Customer Reviews

Viewsonic Viewbox Tv Tuner Box For Monitors (Vb50Hrtv)

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Looking to send your teenager away for college, but don't feel like parting with the 27" television? This is a perfect solution if they already have a computer.

For comparison purposes, the other alternative is to purchase a TV tuner card for the computer. However, this substantialy degrades the picture quality and performance of the machine. With the ViewSonic box, your monitor becomes your television, even with the computer turned off.

Overall, this is an inexpensive solution that makes sense. Why haul two large pieces of electronic equipment, when this box combines the two? Now they can save their money, and buy a VGA flat panel monitor, or DVD player!

I decided to try the ViewSonic ViewBox after buying a ATI TV tuner card and being dissatistfied with the picture quality. I have also seen other peoples TV tuner cards and the poor quality pictures that they provide. TV tuner cards also have a very loud "static" noise that occurs as you switch between channels. The ViewSonic TV tuner switches between channels quietly, which is very nice.

The box is a very small and sleek unit. It is about nine inches long, 6 inches wide, and less than 2 inches thick. It takes about 3 minutes to hook up to your computer. It hooks directly inbetween your computer monitor and your computer tower. A VGA cable is included, so all you have to do is run your monitor cable to the back of the ViewSonic box to the RGB output, attach the VGA cable that is provided to the RGB input of the ViewSonic box, then to where you normally attach your monitor cable on your computer. Plug in the audio output from your computer, screw on your cable TV coaxial line, plug in the power supply for the ViewSonic tuner and you are ready to go. It couldn't be simpler.

You are also provided with an audio output jack if you want to use different speakers (other than your computer monitor's - if that is the case). There are the standard video and left and right channel RCA jacks to plug in a VCR, and one S-video input to run the signal from a DVD player, Playstation, or X-box to your computer monitor.

This is the perfect component to take that smaller computer monitor that is now collecting dust in the corner of a closet, that you just don't want to throw away and use it as a monitor for the kid's Playstation, X-box, or as a regular TV. The unit has nice sound and comes with a remote for changing channels on the TV tuner and for changing inputs.

You have 4 resolution choices for the TV tuner and other outputs: 640 X 480; 800 X 600; 852 X 480; and 1024 X 768. The TV picture on 1024 X 768 resolution looks as good as my regular TV picture.

I am very pleased with this purchase and think that it is the ideal solution for college students that already have a computer and do not have the space or the money to buy a TV but want to have a TV in their dorm room.

The ViewSonic ViewBox VB50HRTV TV Tuner Box is a very good product at a great price. In my system, a Daewoo 9000 DVD player is connected to the VGA input and a Panasonic S-VHS vcr is connected via S-video. Cable tv is also connected to it. The VGA output of the Viewsonic goes to a 17" computer monitor.
The Viewsonic acts as a line doubler/scaler for vcr and cable signals and passes through the DaewooVGA progressive scan signal without being able to alter it. The picture quality from the Daewoo has a 3D look to it on my computer monitor. The remote controls resolution, refresh rate, and picture controls for the video and cable inputs only.
One drawback is the use of a stereo mini-plug for the VGA input's audio. The S-video/composite input uses a much better set of RCA input jacks for audio. The audio output is a stereo mini-jack which can connected to headphones or to a receiver.
Highly recommended - especially in a bedroom, den, or small office video system.

I got this product today and had it up and working inside 10 minutes. Just connect the cables (which are all nicely included), put the batteries (also included) in the remote, and turn it on. It was seriously that simple.

Pros:
- The picture quality is amazing at 1024 x 768. Just like a regular television.
- Menus are easy to navigate and simple to bring up with the remote.
- Setup is quick and simple.
- All the cables you need are included.
- Even comes with batteries (AAA) for the remote.
- Good instructions with lots of pictures in the manual.
- Channel, Volume and Input buttons on the main box pretty make using the box easy even without the remote.

Cons:
- Channel and volume buttons are awkwardly located at the top of the remote.
- Can only get to the Menu (for controlling brightness, resolution, etc.) using the remote.
- Can't record video to your PC with this.

The last con really isn't a con since it's part of the product design. But I think more than a couple people might be confused and buy this with the intention of recording TV or VCR tapes into digital MPEGs on their computer. You can't do that with this box.

Overall it's an awesome device. Good picture quality. Easy setup. All parts included. Can't beat that.

For the first two years of my college life I had to endure watching TV and playing TV games on my 14 inch TV through an RF-input. I had considered getting a PC TV-card but using 320x240 non-native resolution for an LCD screen meant everything was blurred or jaggy.

Compared to the rival product "XGA theater," by Advanced Media Products the ViewBox is both cheaper and has a better quality. It syncs well with LCDs, unlike other products which cannot handle low frequency sync. Sharpness is unmatched, but the colors may need adjustment depending on the monitor you use.

The lack of component I/O sound output is dissapointing, but those who use this product will mostlikely use PC speakers along with their PC monitors. There exists, however, component I/O input which you can use for your VHS/DVD/game systems.

This product is not for people who wish to import video into their PC, but for people who wish to experience high quality video in environments where purchasing/setting up a decent TV monitor is not an option. My remaining 1.5 years of college seem much lively with this new gadget.

This is a great product to have if you want a TV, but don't have space for one. I live in a college apartment, so my TV is downstairs and sometimes it is in use when I want to use it. With this I can watch TV in my room.

I have not had any problems with this. Installation is easy, you just plug every connector into the labeled slot. Unfortunatly There are alot of wires: speaker wires to and from the box, computer video to and from the box, power, and cable/Antena line.
There are also input jacks for S-Video and RCA (i.e. Composite- the three color cables used by video games and DVD players).

The reception is great. I didn't notice any difference between the ViewSonic and my TV. I use a LCD screen, so I do not know if CRT monitors are any different. I did notice a slight degrading in the video quality when using the RCA jacks for my video game console. But it is only slight and not worth bothering about. The tuner can shown in pixel resolution of up to 1024 X 768, which is the standard for monitors nowadays. Most other types of tuners cannot handle high resolutions, the USB tuner I used to have would slow the system down and get chopping signals, even at low resolutions of 320 X 200.

One plus is that the tuner can be used even if the computer is not on, or even hooked up to it. I really like this feature because I do not always have my computer on, and it would be a nusicance to have to turn it on ever time I wanted to watch TV.

Because the TV tuner does not connect to the computer directly, such as ones where you have to install it into a PCI slot or connect via USB, there is no software to install and you do not have to open the computer to set it up.

The only down side to the ViewSonic is that it cannot show both TV input and computer input at the same time, when the ViewSonic is on, it shows the TV, other wise the Computer signal just passes through with the ViewSonic on standby. This does not bother me, since the majority of computer programs I use, like MS Word and Explorer, take up the entire screen, so I wouldn't be able to see the TV window anyway. For people with slower computers, it is actually better this way, because TV tuners that plug into a PCI slot or USB port can slow the system down and disrupt the TV stream.

I would highly recomend this product over any other type of TV-tuners for computers.

I ordered the Viewsonic Viewbox for use in a dorm/apartment setting, and I couldn't be happier with it. Tv and videogames look great on my 17'' computer monitor, and the remote is really handy for navigating in and among all inputs. For reference have tried the playstation 2, w/games and dvds, n64, and super nintendo, all with s-video, and genesis games with composite video.

An added bonus that I was hoping for and got was the ability to use this tuner without being connected to an actual computer. The specs are unclear as they indicate "connect to you computer with and RGB passthrough cable." So now, yes, the tuner can work alone simply connected only to a computer monitor. This will be useful to me once I get a new monitor and/or would like to use my present monitor in the living room for movies and tv w/o having to lug my tower around as well.

Hope I could help.

The ViewSonic Viewbox is a TV tuner, that meaning it lets you use your monitor just like it was a TV. There are many TV tuners, some a lot cheaper, but the image quality they produce is horrible. The ViewBox gives beautiful, sharp image.

Its about 9 inches wide, 6 inches long, and about an inch and a half tall. Its black in color. It has all of the different kinds hookups, so you can hook up your Cable, VCR, DVD player, video game system, etc.

The remote is average. It has all the buttons of a regular remote and more.

The image quality is very sharp. Its like taking a really big TV, and crunching it down into a nice, smooth and sharp image. However, you will have to do some tuning to get the image to look the way you want. The image may appear muddy or blurry when you first turn it on. This can be fixed really fast by changing the Picture Options though.

Oh yeah, I wouldn't get this unless you have a decently sized monitor. Atleast 800x600.

A benefit of this is you can watch the show up close, without hurting your eyes. Unlike TVs, you can sit as close as you want and not worry about hurting your vision.

The sound is just as good. However, make sure your speakers will work with this! I had to buy new speakers because mine wouldn't work.

What I really like is how easily you can switch between TV and computer mode. Lets say your watching your favorite show, and a boring commercial comes on. You can just hit a button (on both the remote and the box), and the view switches right to your PC. Play a game or something, hit that button, and your right back to your show.

So, the pros of this product are: small, affordable, cost less than a TV, good image quality and sound, ease of use, and you can watch the show close without damaging your eyes.

And the cons: Only average remote, you cannot work on your PC while watching TV at the same time

Viewsonic has always been known for their quality products. Personally, I've owned several Viewsonic products, and I've been pleased with everyone of them.

The VB50HRTV is basically a VGA-adapter/TV-tuner that directly connects to the monitor. In essence, it turns your monitor into a TV!

PROS:
- GREAT picture quality compared to many TV tuners. Most TV tuners nowadays have horrible picture quality.
- Doesn't need computer to be on to use.
- High Resolution Display (1024x768 24-bit).

CONS:
- Cheap look. It doesn't look ugly... but could be better.
- Horrible remote. This has got to be the worst remote ever invented. The buttons stick, the remote looks like a brick, and there are no lights telling whether it's working or not.
- Indirect connection to monitor leads to degradation of signal. If you interconnect monitor to VB50HRTV to computer, the signal will blur drastically. You're better off directly connecting inputs.

Although it has some flaws, I don't regret buying it. It works great, but those few CONS would prevent me from giving it 5 stars.

I bought this from Amazon about 9 months ago. I am quite happy with it and use it whenever I'm on the computer. Picture quality is great. There is a vertical line of static fuzz along the left side, but that was fixed by recentering the picture. Sound is great on speakers, but on headphones I have sometimes noticed a slight buzzing noise. The memory for channel labels gets a little funky when you label lots of channels. You will eventually notice old labels getting corrupted as you add new ones. This can be fixed by filling in every single character of every label, explicitly entering spaces at the end. The remote works perfectly. I would definitely buy another one if I needed it - I'm just pointing out those flaws I've noticed.

The resolution is adjustable with a maximum of 1024x768. This resolution makes a slightly better picture IMO than you can get from 640x480 or 800x600 devices. The difference however isn't as significant as you might think because the source signal is still just low-res television. But more pixels means the device can do a more accurate job of rendering the TV signal to your monitor. The refresh rate can be either 60Hz or 75Hz. Unfortunately, 75Hz isn't really useful because it makes the picture stuttery and unpleasant. This happens because the source signal is 60Hz, so every few frames you get a repeated frame. This looks especially bad when looking at news/stock tickers or video games. 60Hz works great. I would have liked a 120Hz mode for those monitors that can handle it - That would display perfectly while greatly reducing the flicker of 60Hz. I'd also have liked a picture-in-picture mode, but I can live without it. I've come to take this device for granted, which indicates how well I like it.

UPDATE: Wow, I wrote this a long time ago. But I just noticed this in my review history so I'll do an update.
This device lasted about 2 years before it somehow got it's brains scrambled and died. The first symptoms I noticed were that the volume setting no longer had an upper limit - it would increase way beyond the correct boundaries. Some various other weirdness also emerged, but I don't remember the specifics anymore. Bottom line, the control logic of this device gradually went haywire and it eventually became unusable. I've decided not to change the review score, I'll keep it at 4 out of 5 though 3/5 might be more appropriate given the limited lifespan it had.
I did have it stationed above an old audio amplifier, so it probably ran warmer than most units will and that likely contributed to it's demise. It was always at low volume though and the heat didn't seem severe. I noticed the unit contains cheap capacitors, but I didn't try replacing them so I don't know if they were the failure point.