I broke down and bought one of these VD-Z3 last Friday. to my amazement, it arrived here this friday. 1 week to Canada from Hong Kong....wild
Anyways, I've only tried a couple of games so far, and I really need to try something in 720p to have a final opinion, but after playing with it the last 24 hrs here's my take
I bought my xbox about 1 month ago....while waiting for the damn mod chip to arrive....still not here.....I went looking for a way to solve my only gripe with the xbox.
I love my Xbox........but......Right out of the box, using the included composite connectors on a tv, the xbox looks like crap. Fuzzy, blurry, and washed out colors. I'm sorry, but it does. Even on a good Sony TV ( non hdtv). So I 1st went out and got the s-video and tried that. definite improvement, sharper image, colors better with less bleeding etc. Still wasn't happy because i was used to looking at PC games that have a nice high res image which the xbox out of the box does not have.
Before I get into this. My somewhat old PC is a PIII 1.0 gig, 512 ram, GF3 Ti 200. Hardly cutting edge, and in fact will be upgraded within the month. My point? I'm not trying to compare a 733, 64 meg machine to a p4 3.0 gig.....before someone says that.
I got the VD-Z3 hoping that the new higer res, sharper image would finally please me. Afterall, this is the "xbox", the "most powerful gaming system ever" right. It does indeed make things sharper, and since the main tv in the house is not always available, this way I can play xbox whenever, and to me that alone is worth it. But, if your hoping this little device is going to display pc like graphics on your monitor......your wrong. It is just a little clearer, so textures seem much sharper, but you still have the jaggies problem that you see on your tv.
Hooking it up, is a joke. Doesn't get any easier then this folks. Those that said the x2vga was easier?
?? come on...really. Default settings did work with my Viewsonic 19" PF790, and an older Gateway 17"as well. But, the 480i mode DOES NOT seem to work with these monitors. the PF790 just shuts down, and gives a black screen. The Gateway is so messed up looking....forget it. I found a way around this, just take the green cable and plug it into my video card's tv in, and you can see the dashboard perfectly, albeit, in b/w though. I like how the VD-Z3 has the built in switch to allow you to switch from your PC to Xbox with ease....very cool, and does not need an extra selector box like the x2vga does. also makes it very easy to compare the same game on both platforms and switch back and forth to compare screens. I did this with KOTR and just a bit of advice....if your happy with KOTR on your Xbox....do not look at it on a pc because you'll be ashamed of the xbox. Even at the pc's lowest res, 800x600, it still looks twice as good easily. Switching back and forth on the same monitor....the difference is substantial.
Image is clear, sharp, every bit as good and as nice as it should be. But, a low res game is a low res game no matter how you look at it. Can't wait to try some 720p games though. I think it'll rock with this adapter. I envy you hdtv owners! able to play higher res games on a big screen from your couch........droool.
I took some screens, comparing both svideo on tv to the vd z3, I'll post later. Overall, very happy I got the VD-Z3 so far. But, to be honest, i was hoping for a little more jaw dropping increase in picture quality as all the reviews i was reading made it seem like it was a day and night difference. The future use of this thing is a real plus as well.
on a side note, Vdigi's guys seem really friendly to deal with. Although, I wonder, if something went wrong, how hard would it be to get it dealt with as their site is quite limited, and they are in hong Kong
Sorry for the long read.
The End
Author
Topic: Vd-z3 Or X2vga? (Read 166 times)