Written by Brakken
September 2008
Introduction
Welcome to my review of Team Xtender’s XCM 1080p Mega Cool VGA box. Team Xtender has been around for a
long time in the console modification scene as they have released numerous amounts of products such as
replacement cases, controller shells and other unique video gaming console related products. All of
which I’ve reviewed have been solid products with barely and defects. So I was happy when I received
their high end version of their component video to VGA converter.
The XCM 1080p Mega Cool VGA box allows you to hook up a video gaming console, such as a Playstation 3,
XBOX 360 or Nintendo Wii (basically, anything that uses component video cables) to any device that takes
VGA input. So in a nutshell you hook up your video gaming console to the XCM 1080p Mega Cool VGA box and
then you can play your games on your computer monitor. Whether it is an older CRT or newer flat screen
you can supposedly enjoy your gaming experience on a crystal clear display.
Features
Supports 480i, 576i 480p,576p, 720p, 1080i, and 1080p
Supports SDTV, HDTV, XGA, SXGA, and UXGA video formats.
Works on both PAL & NTSC systems.
Easy Plug and play installation.
Works on LCD TFT monitors
Video output: VGA
Automatic video source mode detection (film/graphic)
Motion-adaptive interfiled de-interlacing
Uses the power from your USB port , no extra power supply needed!
Supports PC video display resolutions up to UXGA (1600 x 1200 @ 75 Hz) or HD TV (up to 1920 x 1080)
Display pictures from your console (Game Cube™, Playstation 2™, Xbox™, PSP Slim™, Wii™ , Xbox 360™, Playstation 3™) on your PC monitor (up to 1600 x 1200) or HDTV (up to 1920 x 1080)
Connect any compatible YPbPr(component video) device to your VGA monitor via Integrated YPbPr to RGBHV converter.
Applications: TFT LCD monitor, CRT monitor, Set-top box, Display projector
As you can see the VGA box supports every single High Resolution video format and will work in both PAL
(European) and NTSC (American/Japanese) regions. The plug and play installation also helps and the choice
to use a USB cord to power the unit is unique and very useful as most modern video gaming consoles or
computers have a spare USB port to use. Overall it has some very impressive features.
Contents
XCM 1080p Mega Cool VGA Box
USB Power Cable
Instructional Paper
Installation
To use the device you’ll have to use component cables. Those are the Red, Green and Blue cables that you
can purchase for your video game systems. All you need to do is plug them into their respective slots,
plug in the audio cables if you’re going to be using the VGA box’s stereo output and plug in the USB power
cable.
The USB power cable has three male ends on it – two “A”’s and one “Mini-B” plug. The “A” is the normal
sized USB plug most people are used to and the Mini-B is the one found on the Sony PSP Slim (yes, you can
use this with your Sony PSP Slim).
Once you have the video, audio and power hooked up next you can hook the VGA BOX up to your computer
monitor using its VGA cable. After that you’re good to go. The installation was pretty simple and very
painless.
Usage
Using the XCM 1080p Mega Cool VGA box is also very painless. There is a small back lit button on the unit
with four buttons surrounding it. If you press the button in the middle you can toggle between outputting
the component signal and outputting the VGA signal. Yes, that means you can output the VGA signal coming
from your computer to a component television. Although, that’s a cool feature it’s not the main use of the
device.
The other four buttons labeled A, B, C and D controls the output resolution and the refresh rate. Please
refer to the image of the instruction manual to see which combinations the XCM 1080p Mega Cool VGA box
supports. Although, the device lets you toggle between the various resolutions there is no way to tell
which one you’re currently set at unless the monitor you’re using displays what resolution and refresh
rate it’s currently running at. Some newer monitors will tell you what resolution and some tell you the
refresh rate you’re using, but most of them don’t so there is no way to tell what you’re running at.
So how does it look? It looks freaking amazing! I tested out a XBOX 360, Nintendo Wii, XBOX™ and
Playstation 2 and the picture quality was out of this world. Even more impressive was the XCM 1080p
Mega Cool VGA box’s ability to upgrade the video signal to higher resolutions. You’d think switching
from you’re old PS2’s™ old 620x480 resolution to 1080p (1920x1080) would make it look distorted or
blurry, but it didn’t. The video signal retained its original quality and the result was stunning imagery.
What even impressed me more was the fact when using the XCM 1080p Mega Cool VGA box with the Nintendo Wii
you could get rid of the nasty jagged polygon edges that bother a lot of people. Yeah, once you upgrade
the 480i resolution to a higher one the jaggies (as they call them) disappear leaving you with a crystal
clear picture.
Testing Displays
I wanted to test the XCM 1080p Mega Cool VGA box on various displays and ended up hooking it up to a normal
CRT monitor, a LCD monitor and a HDTV. The CRT monitor displays 480i, 480p and 720p just fine, but couldn't
display 1080i or 1080p as it was cropped off the screen.
The HDTV had no issues displaying at any resolution. However, it is kind of pointless to use the VGA input
on a HDTV as they already have Component and HDMi inputs. Although, when using 480p and the Nintendo Wii
the "jaggies" vanished whereas when using the component connection they were still there and the display
when enlarged by the television looked aweful compared to the XCM 1080p Mega Cool VGA box's 1080p upscanning.
So I guess there is one advantage of using the XCM 1080p Mega Cool VGA box on a HDTV with VGA input - the
Nintendo Wii.
Wii 480p (CRT) |
Wii 480p (CRT) |
Wii 1080p (CRT) |
XBOX360 480p (CRT) |
XBOX360 720p (CRT) |
XBOX360 1080p (HDTV) |
Wii 480p (LCD) |
Wii 480p (LCD) |
Wii 480p (LCD) |
Conclusion
If you're going to have your video game console close to your computer you might want to invest in one of
these units. Combining it with a KVM switch or a monitor that supports more then one input source makes life
a lot easier when performing coding tasks on your console. You don't need to get up once you have it all setup.
Just toggle a few buttons and you're good to go. You can't beat the quality for the price either.
Overall, the XCM 1080p Mega Cool VGA box works as it’s advertised to and is the best VGA box I’ve used to
date. With its support for many signal formats, it’s ability to output up to 1080p and its uniquely USB
power source I’d say this one great product. It’s very useful especially if you have any of your video
gaming consoles close to your computer or just want to play your Sony PSP Slim and see it crystal clear.
It even beats some HDTV’s in quality as some of them have issues upgrading the component input by itself.
Plus, the XCM 1080p Mega Cool VGA box just looks damn cool.
Positives
Works Flawlessly
Image is 100% Crystal Clear
Design of the Unit Kicks Ass
Negatives
Male/Male Stereo Audio Cable Not Included
No Resolution or Refresh Rate Display
Links
Team Xtender's Website
eXtreme-Mods.com - Official USA Distributor
-=[ XCM 1080p Mega Cool VGA Box Review Discussion Thread ]=-
Product(s) were received from the website above. ISO-420 will always link back to whomever sent the
product(s) *respect*, but please remember that the reviews are independently written by our staff
and are not subject to alteration by whomever supplies us with the review product(s).
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