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Cheaper Component to S-Video Converter

103K views 693 replies 78 participants last post by  kjbawc 
#1 ·
 http://www.svideo.com/appletv2tv.html


For those of you who are boxed in by forced 16:9 letterboxing from your STB via s-video. It looks like converters will become more reasonable very soon.


The converter in the link above was originally selling for $99 but it looks like the price was recently increased - probably because of demand. The converter is often discussed in Apple TV forums. This device may breath new life into DVD recorders that lack component inputs for those that want to record full widescreen 16:9 via s-video from a component source.


I'm guessing in a few months after the dust settles the price will start to come down.
 
#333 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by pacofortacos /forum/post/19953736


Sure thing. I do like what it does though. I think the picture is superior using the fury 3 vs. straight component - at the same resolution.



It's interesting that you say the PQ is superior thru the F3 vs.straight Component. When i was reading user reviews at MP's website(there were literally hundreds of them)there were a number of people who said the same thing. I didn't know how that could be possible. Still don't.
G.
 
#335 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by jjeff /forum/post/19956146


Hundreds of reviews for the Fury but only 3
for the Lenkeng(MP) converter


Maybe people are ashamed to admit that they bought one(Lenkeng)



There were sooo many reviews i couldn't possibly read them all. I actually "read" maybe 20-30 reviews,the rest i scrolled through,looking at the "star"ratings. As i scrolled thru them,slowly enough to see the ratings,i could see that nearly all of them were 9/10-10/10 stars. There were a few that only gave 4-5/10 and those were people who were mad about not getting a power supply with the converter(i read each of those reviews)not about PQ. One person even wrote that

after getting a power supply from RS,that he was "more than pleased with the PQ".

My personal experience with this converter,so far as iv'e tested it, perfectly reflects the reviews and star ratings i saw on MP's website. For the past year i have been on/off looking at a variety of HDMI>Component converters. This is the best one iv'e found.Iv'e found more expensive ones,but not better ones(according to the converter specs.and user reviews.) G.
 
#337 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by pacofortacos /forum/post/19956555


It might be that you feed the fury 3 a hdmi signal vs. a component signal. The output with the fury 3 is very close to a pure hdmi signal - I'm not sure I could see a difference between the two, even when going to 1080P on the hdmi.



I have absolutely no idea why.Where is Bill Nye the science guy when we need him? He can explain anything! G.
 
#339 ·
Once again your user opinion reflects the user reviews i read on MP's website(and a few others).I can't remember the last time i saw basically unanimously good reviews of a product,any product, as i have seen with this converter(9/10-10/10 stars). It's a fine converter and i'm glad i have one.

I guess that since you and i are the only ones to comment on this converter,we must be the only ones who recognize the value of this product and appreciate high quality
G.
 
#340 ·
I came into a bit of cash so decided to take another look into a better component > s-video converter than the MonoPrice model. There was one available Ambery SDV2 on fleabay with a claim by the seller that it was only used once for a project. I got it for $107 including shipping.


Presuming it works of course, I'll post back with a comparison between the MP and Ambery converters. Perhaps I will even record the same video with both and post them up on the web somewhere.


So what's these HDFury devices about.....this thread is about Composite to S-Vid converters, no? Aren't HDFury about converting HDMI to Component?
 
#341 ·
Yes it did get a little OT didn't it
Probably best to start a HDMI to Component thread for future such talks.

I'll be interested to see your PQ comparisons between the two component to S-video converters. I returned my MP converter because it was noticeably poorer in PQ than my Sima CT-2. While my Sima doesn't convert component to S-video my main reason for the MP converter would have been for CP removal and in that respect I'll continue using my Sima, I was hoping for a PQ improvement not a decrease.
 
#342 ·
Thanks jjeff.


I was balking at paying over $200 for a better converter but at $107 I figured it was worth a spin. I'm surprised nobody has tried to fill the gap between the cheap and high quality converters with a device at about $100-120.


I'm curious as to how much better the PQ when using the Ambery converter is going to be. It turns out that we are archiving more material than we thought we would, so it's worth spending a bit more to see if we can raise the PQ by a significant amount.


I'm hoping to get PQ almost as good as that obtained by my old setup in the UK (SkyHD satellite box which had an internal converter and a SCART 576i analog output which was piped straight into my Pioneer DVDR).
 
#344 ·

Thanks jjeff.


I was balking at paying over $200 for a better converter but at $107 I figured it was worth a spin. I'm surprised nobody has tried to fill the gap between the cheap and high quality converters with a device at about $100-120.



Loobster,i think if you do a search for Component video>s-video converters you'll find that the $200-$300 converters are roughly what these converters actually cost.Converters have never been cheap. The Lenkeng converter is just a super cheap(POS)junk converter that doesn't reflect the cost of a GOOD converter because it's not a good converter.If you dig a little deeper in your search,you'll find that a really high quality converter can go as high as $800-$900 and will have a bunch of bells and whistles that the $200-$300 converters don't have.Some will allow the you to select whatever aspect ratio you want,and have color adjustments,among other things.IIRC,i saw one Component>s-video converter selling for $1200!,but boy-o-boy,the adjustments you can make in your video settings is out of this world!! Id'e love to find one of these high priced converters used for,let's say $200-$350,id'e jump on it in a NY minute. The rage for the Lenkeng converter is based on price,not performance.IMO,In the performance department,the Lenkeng is a dud.Good luck with your Ambrey converter,it should have much better PQ than your Lenkeng. G.
 
#343 ·
There is another converter (and more) that works well BUT it needs a computer (just for the software, the HD PVR is external) to work - the Hauppauge HD PVR will also convert component to composite (not s-video).

But you can capture any component signal and store it on a hard drive or divert the composite signal to a DVDR.
 
#345 ·
[QUOTE=Loobster;20108705 So what's these HDFury devices about.....this thread is about Composite to S-Vid converters, no? Aren't HDFury about converting HDMI to Component?


Strictly speaking,this is the "Cheaper Component>s-video converter"thread.So,strictly speaking,the ONLY converter that "should"be talked about is the Lenkeng converter,but why start multiple threads about diff.converters? There seems to be only a small number of us that need/use these converters and IMO this one thread is enough to cover diff. types of converters.

No need to have multiple threads...just my opinion. G.


PS:Maybe the name of this thread could be changed to the video converter thread? and would cover ALL types of video converters.
 
#348 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Loobster /forum/post/20125242


Ok, well this is crap.


I connected the Ambery converter the same as the MonoPrice one (component in, s-video out) and it's most definitely WORSE than the MP!



Anyone any ideas why that would be? Have I bought a dud?

Loobster,first,check your in/outputs,make sure they are correct.2nd.,check to make sure that the NTSC/PAL switch is in the NTSC position.3rd.,switch out the s-video/Component cable your using for another one...the cable could be bad. If none of these work,then consider that the unit may be defective.AFAIK, Only one other person has ever reported on the Ambrey,and that poster reported that he liked the unit. G.


PS:s-video cables are more prone to "going bad"than other types of cables,mainly because one of the "pins"can be damaged w/o you knowing it.
 
#349 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Loobster /forum/post/20125242


Ok, well this is crap.


I connected the Ambery converter the same as the MonoPrice one (component in, s-video out) and it's most definitely WORSE than the MP!



Anyone any ideas why that would be? Have I bought a dud?

When you say "worse" what do you mean? resolution, contrast ratio or black level, color....

I find it hard to believe a device like this would go gradually bad, I mean I'd think it would either work from the beginning or not but I'd check the cabling as Greaser said. Didn't kjbawc have a Ambery?
 
#352 ·
Does anyone know if the Loobster has any "EFFECTIVE" legal recourse if he was scammed by a dirty rotten liar on e-bay? I never bought anything from that site. It seems strange to me that the asking price was only $107.00 inc. shipping for this unit.Whenever iv'e seen them for re-sale,it's always been on Amazons' site,and the "used"price usually runs pretty close to the "new"unit price,which is $209.00. Hmmmm. G.
 
#353 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by greaser /forum/post/20126020


Does anyone know if the Loobster has any "EFFECTIVE" legal recourse if he was scammed by a dirty rotten liar on e-bay? I never bought anything from that site. It seems strange to me that the asking price was only $107.00 inc. shipping for this unit.Whenever iv'e seen them for re-sale,it's always been on Amazons' site,and the "used"price usually runs pretty close to the "new"unit price,which is $209.00. Hmmmm. G.

Depends on how he paid, and if he knows the real name/address of the seller and can send the cops to visit.
 
#354 ·
Well I doubt it's the S-Video cable, I tried two when I first set up the MP unit, with the same results.


The output from the Ambery just looks blocky. Text looks terrible and is very hard to read. By comparison, the MP output is softer as others have noted, but the picture is smoother overall and much more viewable.


Maybe I will give the composite output a spin after work tomorrow, but I can't say I'm hopeful.


Thanks for the input, everyone.
 
#355 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Loobster /forum/post/20126351


Well I doubt it's the S-Video cable, I tried two when I first set up the MP unit, with the same results.


The output from the Ambery just looks blocky. Text looks terrible and is very hard to read. By comparison, the MP output is softer as others have noted, but the picture is smoother overall and much more viewable.


Maybe I will give the composite output a spin after work tomorrow, but I can't say I'm hopeful.


Thanks for the input, everyone.


Loobster,before you give up,you may want to call Ambrey,tell them what you see thru the converter,and maybe you can have it repaired and still spend less(incl.sales price+the repair price) than if you bought it "new"
You won't know unless you try!!
G.

PS:If you have it repaired,then that will make the $$$you've already spent "good".


I think you got a bum deal,but if the seller only said he/she used it once,and nothing else,then he/she really didn't commit fraud(i don't think)since he made no comment about PQ. The unit is probably defective,so he/she pawned it off on whomever he/she could.Sorry to hear it. G.
 
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