Impact
Site Admin Joined: 01 May 2004 Posts: 3257 Location: Pinecrest, FL	Posted: Sun Aug 22, 2004 1:16 pm    Post subject: Neoya X2VGA+ Review   The people at Neoya, Inc. were nice enough to send us their new product, the X2VGA+. With very few other products in it's class, the X2VGA+ steps into the hole and comes away a winner. As soon as you open the box, you notice the X2VGA+ looks much like the X-box. While relatively small, the X2VGA+ is a powerful piece of equipment. Acording to Neoya, Inc. : "The X2VGA+ High Definition VGA Pack by Neoya unleashes the full video performance of the Xbox. With the X2VGA+ and a standard VGA monitor, users can play their favorite Xbox games at 480p, 720p, or 1080i resolutions - over double that of standard TV! The X2VGA+ makes Xbox games come alive, delivering the sharpest, most realistic visuals available. The X2VGA+ provides both stereo audio and digital audio output. Furthermore, the exceptional 480i EasyView feature and composite video makes it easy for users to fully enjoy the mind-blowing audio and visual effects of the Xbox." - Neoya, Inc. Quote: The X2VGA+. Let's see how it stands up to Neoya's claims. Thinking Neoya's claims were a bit far fetched, I was quite excited to get the X2VGA+ plugged in and going for myself. The setup was very simple. All of the ports on the X2VGA are clearly marked and there is a quick reference guide in the manual. Quote: A quick reference guide for your X2VGA+. To start, I plugged the X2VGA+ into my X-box, and a 17" Viewsonic monitor into the X2VGA+. I immediately turned on FIFA Soccer 2003 and pressed the power button on the X2VGA+. My monitor turned on, but things were a bit fuzzy. The game wasn't unplayable, but it wasn't pleasant to watch. I grabbed the manual and sure enough, it states right away that if you don't set a few settings on your X-box console, it will be fuzzy. The X2VGA+ allows you to play X-box at 480p, 720p, and 1080i resolutions, but the X-box defaults to 480i. Making the fuzzyness go away was as easy as setting up the X2VGA+ (all steps written in the manual). Turn on your X-box with no game disc. When the X-box logo and menu come up (these will be fuzzy), go to 'Settings' and then 'Video'. You then need to tell the X-box to allow you to use 480p, 720p, and 1080i resolutions (switch each to 'yes'). Quote: FIFA Soccer 2003 before changing the resolutions (extremely burry). Quote: You can see the X-box screen (480i) doesn't fit on the monitor. You need to edit the video settings to fix this. After setting the X-box to allow use of the resolutions, I started FIFA Soccer 2003 back up. Instantly, some of the most beautiful X-box graphics came on the screen. It is hard for me to convey to you how stunned I was. Compared to playing X-box on my TV, the X2VGA+ and a 17" monitor was tremendously better. Unfortunately, as most of you know, it is rather difficult to take pictures of graphics on screen, but I did my best. Quote: FIFA Soccer 2003 after changing the resolution settings. Great picture quality (photos don't do them justice). Until now, I had only used a portion of the X2VGA+ (the main portion, but still only one function). The X2VGA+ also gives the option of sending audio out to either a Stereo port, or a Digital out (for 5.1 systems). I tested the stereo port and found no problems. While I wasn't able to test the 5.1 Digital Out (no 5.1 that uses Digital), the stereo out worked great for FIFA Soccer 2003. While I didn't lose much playing Soccer in two-channel, you can bet when Doom 3 comes to X-box, you will be glad you have that Digital out port. This brings me to the last function of the X2VGA+, the throughput capabilities. Instead of having to unplug your monitor from your computer to put it into the X2VGA+ every time you want to play X-box, you are able to use a patch cable. You can connect the VGA and audio ports on your computer to the X2VGA+. This will allow you to set up the cords once, and just hit the X2VGA+ power button when you want to play X-box. You are able to switch between X-box and your computer without having to swap cords. Overall Rating :: 9.5/10 - The X2VGA+ is a great product. Again, I would like to thank Neoya, Inc. for allowing us to review it. Sporting a crisp, clear version of the X-box your used to seeing, 5.1 digital out, and throughput capabilities, the X2VGA+ far surpassed my expectations. The X2VGA+ was docked .5 points because it didn't come with VGA and audio patch cables. For more information, or to purchase the X2VGA+, check out www.Neoya.com All images copyright of their respective owners. [page] Screenshots: Here are some more shots of the X2VGA+ in action. Other tested games included SSX Tricky and Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3. The graphics came out very clean. There is very little to complain about here! Now if only we had a 60 inch big screen computer monitor...
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