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[AZ Greg]

Product Description

Turn your PC or notebook into a gaming and entertainment center. Play console games in real time through your computer, plus record your best moves.
GameBridge TV: Watch and record TV shows in full screen on your computer.

System Environment

PCs or notebooks

Benefits

Connect video game consoles to your PC or notebook

* Play video game consoles on your computer in real time; maximize your gaming
environment and save space
* Record game play and share your best moves and high scores with others
* Enhance the graphics quality of your video console games

Convert home videos (VHS, Hi8) to DVD

GameBridge TV: Watch and record TV shows

* For little investment, you can convert your computer to a full-screen TV

Key Differentiators

The only device that gives you complete gaming control through your computer, plus allows you to watch and record live TV

* Improves the graphics of your games up to 1024 x768 resolution in 32-bit color.
* Small lightweight device the size of a credit card
* Compatible with PS2, Xbox , Xbox 360 and GameCube
* World's smallest TV tuner
* Powered by USB 2.0 bus port
* Capture video format in MPEG-1 and MPEG-2
* One device that connects video game consoles to a PC, converts home videos to DVD and enables watching & recording TV shows

Data Transfer Rate

USB 2.0 speed up to 480Mb/s

External Connectors

1 external USB 2.0 connector

1 external input for TV source (antenna, cable, or settop box)

GameBridge TV: 1 external audio/video connector

Price

GameBridge: $69.99
GameBridge TV: $99.99

Taken from: http://hardware.teamxbox.com/reviews/general/45/Adaptec-GameBridgeTV-AVC1410/p1/

Given a 9.



I'm not quite sure I understand this product. I have a notebook so I'm not able to take advantage of VGA cables. I also don't have a HD TV. So will this product let me play my 360 on my notebook at HD resolutions?

 

[Amir0x]

I'm not quite sure I understand this product. I have a notebook so I'm not able to take advantage of VGA cables. I also don't have a HD TV. So will this product let me play my 360 on my notebook at HD resolutions?

It says on the package "For PS2, Xbox and Gamecube"

 

[Jonnyram]

I'd like to see example stills taken with the device, but the site only has a couple of movies. Looks like a good deal.

 

[Stinkles]

According to its specs, you can indeed play a 360 at 1024 x 768, which is HD-ey, and if the no lag claim holds true, this is a nifty gadget. Esp., since it includes a TV tuner. I might try it.

I bet the scaler is ass though.

 

[Blimblim]

I'm not quite sure I understand this product. I have a notebook so I'm not able to take advantage of VGA cables. I also don't have a HD TV. So will this product let me play my 360 on my notebook at HD resolutions?

It's just a video capture device that sends the signal to the PC via the USB port, and then the PC does the deinterlacing and scaling. You won't get anything more than what 480i can output.

 

[AZ Greg]

It says on the package "For PS2, Xbox and Gamecube"

It's weird that it doesn't mention 360 on the case, but it does mention it in the review and in the prodcut details given by the company.

 

[AZ Greg]

It's just a video capture device that sends the signal to the PC via the USB port, and then the PC does the deinterlacing and scaling. You won't get anything more than what 480i can output.

The company seems to be advertising it as a device that lets you play games on your desktop or notebook with better picture quality and no lag. If it was just 480i (Same as SD I believe) why would they be advertising it the way they are? Sorry if I'm missing something I don't know too much about this.

Also, thanks everyone for the replies.

 

[Danydrunk]

Hey, now that we are talking about vga and gamecube. I did a search and found some discussions on vga cables for the gamecube. I found to that where reccomended, I went to their respective sites, and they seem to not be taking any orders no more.......Is there any store that still sells a good vga cable for my gamecube ? (other than ebay) Ive been looking for one, but had no luck. Also someone review this product that might be the answer to my problem, I might get it if its any good.

 

[JoshuaJSlone]

I'd like to see example stills taken with the device, but the site only has a couple of movies. Looks like a good deal.

http://hardware.teamxbox.com/screenshots/screen/42635/Adaptec-GameBridgeTV-AVC1410/
I believe that's actually a shot from the MPEG-2 recording they made using the device, so I guess viewing it directly would be slightly better.

The company seems to be advertising it as a device that lets you play games on your desktop or notebook with better picture quality and no lag. If it was just 480i (Same as SD I believe) why would they be advertising it the way they are?

Because they want us to spend money on their device.

 

[Danj]

The company seems to be advertising it as a device that lets you play games on your desktop or notebook with better picture quality and no lag. If it was just 480i (Same as SD I believe) why would they be advertising it the way they are? Sorry if I'm missing something I don't know too much about this.

The actual input to the device is 480i, your computer scales it up to 1024x768. Since your computer can do stuff like anti-aliasing and filtering and all that jazz, it should look a good bit better than it would on a normal SDTV, but it's still not HD.

Basically, this device is just a normal USB 2.0 video capture/TV tuner, but for some reason they decided to aim it at the console gaming market.

 

[Yusaku]

The company seems to be advertising it as a device that lets you play games on your desktop or notebook with better picture quality and no lag. If it was just 480i (Same as SD I believe) why would they be advertising it the way they are? Sorry if I'm missing something I don't know too much about this.

Also, thanks everyone for the replies.

You can't make something from nothing. You could display a 480i image at 1600x1200 and you're still not going to get any more resolution or picture quality, it's just a blown up image.

 

[Blimblim]

The company seems to be advertising it as a device that lets you play games on your desktop or notebook with better picture quality and no lag. If it was just 480i (Same as SD I believe) why would they be advertising it the way they are? Sorry if I'm missing something I don't know too much about this.

Also, thanks everyone for the replies.

Well considering it has only composite and s-video inputs...

 

[Keio]

I like this idea. However, are there any component capture units for USB 2.0/FireWire so I could get HD (720p) on my computer screen?

I've been thinking of either buying a HDTV OR an Intel iMac 20" with all kinds of delicious extras. With the latter option, I'd like to be able to play X360 games on the 20" widescreen.

I'm already gaming on a high-end Sony 32" widescreen SDTV, so I'm not too temped to upgrade my whole tv set, especially as dvd picture is great on my SDTV without scaling...

 

[Blimblim]

I like this idea. However, are there any component capture units for USB 2.0/FireWire so I could get HD (720p) on my computer screen?

I've been thinking of either buying a HDTV OR an Intel iMac 20" with all kinds of delicious extras. With the latter option, I'd like to be able to play X360 games on the 20" widescreen.

I'm already gaming on a high-end Sony 32" widescreen SDTV, so I'm not too temped to upgrade my whole tv set, especially as dvd picture is great on my SDTV without scaling...

Do you have $2500 to spend?

 

[Keio]

Do you have $2500 to spend?

Ouch.

Thanks for the quick reply.

 

[Animal]

I almost bought this thing before christmas to hook up my ps2 through usb2 on my laptop.
Backed out cauz no lag is just impossible and I was given a television for my room anyways

 

[mosaic]

Friend of mine owns this, says the no lag claim is indeed true. In fact, you can probably find his impressions in one of the many TV capture threads that have cropped up in the off-topic forum. Just search for Gamebridge and I'm sure you'll find Atari2600's comments.

I own a similar product, the WinFast TV USB II Deluxe, and am pretty satisfied with it. Input is limited to Composite and S-Video, but the graphics look sharp and there isn't any lag whatsoever. Video capture is gorgeous, although screens look better when taken with Dscaler as opposed to the included software (has some motion blur). Atari2600 tells me screens taken with the Gamebridge don't suffer motion blur, so that's a plus.

These USB 2.0 boxes are pretty good for the $100 cost. It'd be nice if they took component HD inputs, but then, products that do that cost upwards of $600... so....

 

[Azure Dream]

This is... a capture card. Not a new concept, just a different packaging. All well, at least it doesn't have a stupidly-long lag like some do, and maybe it'll alleviate some of the issues I was going to have trying to capture on my Sony Giga Pocket. This does at least take S-Video, right?

 

[Apharmd Battler]

Isn't there an HD version planned? I'll just stick with my cheapy $15 Hauppage video capture card and DScaler freeware.

 

[Atari2600]

I've got it and it works great. My only complaint is that it doesn't seem to support widescreen (or at least I can't figure out how to do it). The interface is simple, the picture quality is great, and as advertised, it doesn't have any lag. I tried out several usb solutions prior to this one, and I'm happy I finally found one that works.

If you do get one, be aware there is a 1400 and a 1410. They are the same price, but the 1410 includes a TV tuner, so it's worth picking up. Fry's had both for the same price, so I guess they hadn't gotten around to marking down the 1400 yet, cause you'd be lame if you bought that and not the 1410.

 

[Blimblim]

Isn't there an HD version planned? I'll just stick with my cheapy $15 Hauppage video capture card and DScaler freeware.

Don't count on seeing a real HD capture system at a consumer price level anytime soon. First because the hardware requirements are nasty (either uncompressed and requires a killer bandwidth, or compressed and requires a killer compression hardware), and second because the movie studios/tv channels won't let this happen without a fight.

 

[MoxManiac]

I've got it and it works great. My only complaint is that it doesn't seem to support widescreen (or at least I can't figure out how to do it). The interface is simple, the picture quality is great, and as advertised, it doesn't have any lag. I tried out several usb solutions prior to this one, and I'm happy I finally found one that works.

How does the quality compare to a 480i signal to a standard def TV through component?

 

[Danydrunk]

Can somebody please help me with my question....

"Hey, now that we are talking about vga and gamecube. I did a search and found some discussions on vga cables for the gamecube. I found to that where reccomended, I went to their respective sites, and they seem to not be taking any orders no more.......Is there any store that still sells a good vga cable for my gamecube ? (other than ebay) Ive been looking for one, but had no luck. Also someone review this product that might be the answer to my problem, I might get it if its any good."

 

[Atari2600]

How does the quality compare to a 480i signal to a standard def TV through component?

I think it looks better. I have been very pleased with the image quality, and there are a fair amount of things (contrast, sharpness, and so on) that you can tweak. I wish there were more options for presentation (like widescreen) and capturing (more than three settings for quality), but like I said, as long as I spent looking for a good soultion, I'm pleased to have something that works well.

 

[monchi-kun]

the only thing that sucks is that widescreen games don't seem to display properly...unless i'm missing something. otherwise it's an awesome device ($69.99 at Frys). Gonna go through SotC and record all the glrious Colossi slaying and make a .... MONTAGE!!!!

 

[Pimpbaa]

The actual input to the device is 480i, your computer scales it up to 1024x768. Since your computer can do stuff like anti-aliasing and filtering and all that jazz, it should look a good bit better than it would on a normal SDTV, but it's still not HD.

Um, computers can only apply anti-aliasing on graphics it is rendering, not video simply being passed through to the overlay.

 

[Joe]

anyone notice come dopeyfish on caesar's xbl friends list during the video?

quality is pretty good btw.

 

[Version 3.0]

Um, computers can only apply anti-aliasing on graphics it is rendering, not video simply being passed through to the overlay.

That's not entirely true. It just has a different name. When applying anti-aliasing to a video stream, it's referred to as "blurring".

 

[monchi-kun]

i compared the quality of the Gamebridge to running my PS2 straight into the S-Video jack of my Dell 2005 fpw monitor and the Gamebridge looks better....canyone care to explain why?

 

[Blimblim]

i compared the quality of the Gamebridge to running my PS2 straight into the S-Video jack of my Dell 2005 fpw monitor and the Gamebridge looks better....canyone care to explain why?

It just means that the software deinterlacer/scaler of the Gamebridge is better than the one in your monitor, which doesn't surprise me one bit.