190 dollars is a lot of money, so I'd expect this to work flawlessly. If i have to jump through any additional hoops to make something look decent, then it's not a 190 dollar product, full stop.
I'd bet raising the brightness won't even fix the black levels. The detail is likely already lost, so you'll just end up with the same crushed blacks, but they'll be grey instead. Thanks for the objective review MVG.
I was thinking the same, if some details that were dark before became plain black, you cannot do anything anymore. Unfortunate especially to that price point. Should be a no worries solution that just works out of the box in an standard setup.
wish he showed that, what it looked like with adjusted brightness contrast.. Sounds like adjusting settings that come with every display it would fix it maybe? We never get to see.
@@zignitzyou would be correct if the overall signal was darkened, but it's just crushing dark colors. So raising the brightness will make your blacks gray and all of your colors washed out.
Some of those games look so dark that you might as well just turn off the screen and save yourself the $189.99 so you can emulate the XBHD experience for free.
It looks like they are incorrectly converting limited range YPbPr to full range without applying full luma correction curves. Or they have incorrectly flagged their HDMI output stream as full range when it's intended to be limited.
Yeah this was my thoughts as well. Turning up brightness on your tv will only help so much. But it looks like it has a fundamental flaw with black levels that needs to be corrected with a firmware update possibly. Really needs to be corrected for the price they are asking. Looks like one of those $30.00 cheap hyperkin cables.
If you transmit full range but the display expects limited range you should see both crushed blacks and crushed whites. If you transmit limited range but the display expects full range you should get both greyish blacks and greyish whites. What I see here is that everything is simply too dark, so I don't think a simple limited vs. full range mixup can explain these results.
That was my first thought as well but that doesn't quite explain it either I think. If it was (just) a luma range crushing issue you would see the whites crushed as well. This is probably something else, or a combination of problems.
It's a great idea on paper; a no fuss solution for LAN setups that's easily portable to move from event to event for fast and easy multiplayer gaming. However with the price tag and poor video output, you could buy cheaper and better solutions for 4 different Xboxes and still have money left over for pizza.
@@JessicaFEREM You have to specify IP settings for each machine and you have collisions, so switch definitely plays better, you can get one for 10 bucks. So, IMO the ports don't add any value. The only thing I though would be good is the HDMI but the implementation they are using completely ruins the picture. It is like they didn't see what kind of quality stuff what out there before they built it. This could have all been solved during prototype phase. Lastly, the audio jack, pennies, even with the optical. The price tag just blows my mind once I saw how well it "works". Like, wow. I had an original modded Xbox that had 720 HDMI mod and it looks really good, the problem has been solved, don't know what this product is supposed to do in a mature market.
@@JessicaFEREM : A hub should work, but a switch will usually be better. Hubs were always a cost optimization, switches always a performance optimization.
@@absalomdraconis you literally cannot buy a ethernet hub. you have to get a switch. ethernet hubs do not exist, and the ones that do are a scam that *do not* work
HDMI protocol defines 2 options for dynamic range and black levels: * Limited dynamic range (normal black levels, 16-235) - designed for consumer TVs, used as default in DVD, Blu-ray, game consoles etc. * Full dynamic range (low black levels, 0-255) - designed for PC monitors. EON XBHD is probably using the wrong full one, but it should be using limited dynamic range. There is sometimes an option available in TV settings to switch between the two modes, if it's supposed to be used as a PC monitor. You can try setting TV to PC mode and see if it helps. It's should be an easy fix for EON XBHD developers to set it to limited dynamic range for HDMI out.
The problem is that the signal mismatches with its content. Normally HDMI handshake handles this situation automatically and your tv, or any devices in between, will / should recognize and honor it. Fun fact, Mike Chi himself - the creator of Retrotink - told me in an email that supporting the limited color space was more error prone than supporting the full color space by default, based on his practical experience.
I was thinking that too at first, as it's a very common error with HDMI, but something doesn't check out about this theory: If the range was too wide, not just blacks would be crushed, but bright pastel colors would too. This isn't the case here; everything is just consistently too dark. My bet is on some kind of black level adjustment in the capture part of the device. In any case, I'm pretty optimistic that this could be fixed with a firmware update.
If they're charging $189.99 just for a device that can enable hdmi on an old console, the consumer has every right to nit-pick at clear faults. Glad you were honest about your thoughts on this; glad there are other cheaper & better options out there
This looks like a really classic problem of a video signal being incorrectly interpreted on input as “legal” video range and displayed as full range. Likely something in a hardware chip they used, which may or may not be correctable. This issue would clip image detail in the low end dark areas and the high brightness areas that adjusting the monitor wouldn’t fully rectify. There are a number of articles on video legal ranges than can explain it better than I can.
"My cheapo N642HDMI has similar issues darkening the image. However, it was only $10." I'm accepting issues like that for a ten-buck device, as you're getting what you're paying for. But at $190, this is a rip off
Quick note regarding compability, PAL models do NOT support HD (720p/1080i) out of the box. The MS dashboard doesn't support it for Pal regions. You will need to use a modded Xbox and either the Enigma Video Switcher application (or the other alternatives), or flash a NTSC bios. Could be good to know assuming they fix the issues down the line. :)
I used Enigmah on my PAL xbox. Must be 20 years ago now. I'm sure I got it all modded before Halo 2 (2004) as I recall there was a French leak of Halo 2 shortly before release and I almost went for it - but didn't! I used the xbox with a LG TV with component sockets. I think some xbox games were 720p, but most were 480p. Even 480p was far better than 480i and composite. I did try a Frosty cable at some point for VGA output, but that made the picture too dark. Similar to what's happening with this EON gizmo actually.
Once I saw the price they were demanding for this product, I knew it was only bound to disappoint. If you really want a quality external HDMI adapter for the OG Xbox, go for the XEDUSA, the Chimeric Systems, or the Electron Shepherd Xbox2HDMI adapters. I've used all three of these in the past and can absolutely recommend any of them. The Electron Shepherd is the best if you're on a tighter budget.
@@ehsanghazavi470electron Sheppard < xedusa < chimeric. I own a xedusa and I can say for sure that as of right now it has close to or maybe worse than the same brightness issue as this HDMI adapter. It’s much cheaper so the brightness becomes less problematic but it’s still there.
@@Sun-ut9gr currently the chimeric store is closed until further notice because of personal issues and even when the store open as normal they take many breaks throughout the year so you can’t always just pop in and buy one. My personal recommendation would be the electron shepherd. It’s $42 and has been tested live by retrorgb. If you have a scaler like the OSSC or the retrotink 5X, retro gaming cables UK sells a SCART cable that carry’s component video only for $26. I use this solution with an OSSC before I bough the xedusa and it’s also great.
Something you didn't mention in the video is that the greyscale is WAY off. I watched this video via a Roku hooked up to an ISF calibrated display, and you can clearly see the original has correct neutral greyscale balance on parts of the image that are supposed to be grey, and the device's output has a blue-green tint added to the same parts of the image. So it isn't just brightness. And it's not just a little off, it's WAY off, because it's very clearly noticeable to the naked eye.
I wrote this on Macho Nacho/Tito’s review and I’ll say it here. I understand the HDMI features, but the network/switch/hub features really aren’t solving a problem in my opinion. An unmanaged switch can easily be found second hand either for free or for under $5 and is a snap to set up.
Love the honest review... hopefully a FW update is possible. I'm assuming since this is plug and play though it's just converting the analog signals. I'd hope there is some kind of "gain" to adjust internally during the A/D conversion
I love how everyone is pretending that the entire retro gaming community hasn't rejected this. You haven't yet found a dishonest review of this, have you. Come on now.
It's nice for sure. Too bad this is probably due to his ignorance about HDMI black-levels. Somewhere in his chain is a mismatch between the full and limited RGB range.
@@AllahDoesNotExist Because most people in the whole world are driven by social contract. Especially in the world we live in nowadays, feelings are usually more important than pure truth.
Very often. You're watching the wrong channels, apparently. I haven't yet seen a positive review. Most reviews of this have been honest. It's being rejected by the entire retro gaming community, just saying. 🤷♂️ What dishonest review did you see? Smells a bit like a straw man.
Like the rest of the comments pointed out, it looks like the device outputs in the hdmi limited color range. Increasing brightess will not fix it as it will just crush the bright area's instead. You need to set your tv / monitor / capture card to that range and it should work fine. That being said for a device in this price range I would at least expect to be able to choose between them.
The thing is, the bright parts of the image are noticeably darker than the output from the Xbox HDMI output, so it's like instead of outputting 16-235 it's like they're outputting 0-219 and then flagging the output as Limited so the blacks get crushed and the whites underexposed.
It's not a user issue, other reviewers have pointed out the same issues. One even took the device apart and it's some pretty shoddy work for a $200 device.
it looks like a 0-255 to 16-235 issue. I'm surprised, as you'd think they would have used test patterns to verify correct output before finalizing to production. (Although, the 240p test suite doesn't appear to be available for xbox...?)
4:59 - Naw man, you're spot on. That clip from Halo is nearly unplayable. It's crazy dark and there's no way I'd enjoy squinting through that. Thanks for an honest review! They absolutely need to go back and fix this.
The brightness level and the amount of noise on the eon adapter is completely unacceptable, imo. I've heard good things about the $42 XBox2HDMI adapter from Electron Shepard, might be a good alternative.
This really looks like a RGB color range mismatch (Full/Limited RGB). In that case it cuts off at a specific darkness level and anything below shows black. Like if Full RGB is output from the device and Limited RGB is being captured, but as you said you and others tried capture settings out... Thinking the adapter somehow messes this stuff up internally. Really sad to see that stuff like this goes into production unnoticed.
As an owner of a Chimeric Systems HDMI Adapter, this was quite the surprise. I appreciate the honest review. I paid $60 and love my adapter. So $130 more for the convivence of not needing a small switch to LAN was going to be hard to justify regardless.
Boosting the brightness could "solve" the visual problem at first. But as the RGB signal is limited to 255 steps per color, there are for sure some colors with a value > 0 that are completely vanished. Just as an example, let's say they kill all values < 50, you can boost/shift the colors higher again, but the dark details are gone forever. Dark colors in the mentioned Doom 3 might be lost what's a killer for the authentic reproduction. Nothing I would like to use by myself.
Excellent review, bud! Once my soldering workshop is back up, I'm probably just gonna go with the MakeMhz HDMI option, since that seems to be the one you're still recommending.
I have the Xbox2HDMI adapter by Electron Shephard and the picture quality isn't bad. I didn't test a lot of my games on it but the ones I did play looked pretty good.
I just use a good component cable. I believe it is the monster cable. It will need to have good shielding or you will get interference. If you don’t have this input then get a component to hdmi converter. Best video option besides the ms av pack.
@@ThunderTHR I would pick a low cost one but you can get some expensive ones that can do additional processing. It just depends on your budget. The portta component to hdmi is around $20 and seems to be the top pick online at that price point.
I wish you'd shown some footage of the device with some post (or current while filmed) brightness adjustment to show whether that would be a legitimate fix, because that isn't always the case when levels get manipulated like this. I would never spend $200 on something like this regardless, but it's bizarre a company would try to put out a "premium" product without (what I can only assume) proper test and compare alternatives because this isn't an issue that should've been hard to miss otherwise. Eon isn't a new company either, I've heard about them for years with decent to good feedback for their GC HD adapter.
It doesnt really matter, If you're gonna spend 200 dollars on something like this, it should work flawlessly, without having to play with your tv settings lol
I remember when this was announced, it seemed so cool, it's a mighty shame. Major props for not being afraid to point this stuff even though they sent it to you, have a feeling they won't send you anything else though...
I'm curious, since the blacks are completely crushed, wouldn't that part of the signal be completely lost? as in, if you raised the brightness, you'd just get gray everywhere? Definitely unacceptable for 190 dollars, hopefully it can be fixed by a firmware update.
Most devices adhere to the standard Limited RGB (16 - 235 range per color channel), which matches typical TV configurations. However, it appears the EON XBHD might be outputting Full RGB (0 - 255 range per color channel), causing the issue you're observing. Pay attention to brighter areas; they also seem slightly elevated, indicating a potential RGB range mismatch.
Agreed. Especially considering this is a solution for just one console. Spend a little bit more on an OSSC or retrotink5x and you get something that does the job right and works on countless consoles.
I don't think you are being "nitpicky" at all. Any HDMI option should, at the very least, retain the image quality completely and upscale it properly, *especially* for $190. Otherwise, what's the point?
Did you reach out to see if they could fix this with a software update? I hope this can be remedied with a software update, 'cause you're right - literally can't play games in the dark.
I don't own an OG xbox and most likely never will but this was such a refreshing video lol. Not only lots of testing and video evidence, but unapologetically honest and straight to the point. Only thing I would have liked to know is whether the 3 ethernet ports (integrated switch?) work correctly.
Especially on older early 2010s LCD TVs. Older TVs for 720p content over component is underrated. Those 1080p TVs were made for the Xbox 360 and PS3 era and it shows.
That brightness issue is the same issue that those crappy pound hdmi adapters (and the multiple clones) have. I'll stick to Electron Shepherd's HDMI2Xbox adapter, its awesome and doesn't have this issue.
I wonder how it compares to some of the cheaper cables. I have the Hyperkin one lying around somewhere, and I don't remember it making anything darker. Seems like I am safe in sticking with that until I am ready to commit myself to the XboxHDMI.
They should be able to fix that in a firmware update. If you can update it yourself or if you have to send it back I don't know. You should ask them about it.
In regards to the OutRun 2006 footage, I noticed that while yes the black levels are excessive, the brightest parts of the screen i.e. the clouds, have the opposite problem and are overly bright on the HDMI side whereas the clouds look more natural and detailed on the EON side
Based on your conclusion at the end, it sounds like there is a deeper problem. But just to make sure, did you check the HDMI range (limited vs full)? The symptons sure sound like there may be a mismatch here. Maybe you did check for this. If so, perhaps you could include that little detail in your review so people know. Shame if this is how they're releasing it.
I got the Xedusa+ from Beharbros a few months back. Yeah, it's also a bit dark, but at almost a third of the price it was an easier buy. Honestly looks more acceptable than the Eon XBHD too.
Lol, they stuck a chinese yPbPr to HDMI converter + an ethernet switch inside a box and call it a day!, oh, and forgot to properly set the jumper to "limited" color range XD
Thanks for always being honest and not sugarcoatting your reviews or selling out. Still trying to find a legit make MHz HDMI kit since they are on backorder. For $190 USD I think this kit is a pass for now. Hopefully someone will bring it a quality HDMI solution soon
There's MVG who is very honest and then there's Adam Koralic who just shills for every product he gets and deflects any and all criticism in his comment section.
Thanks for the side-by-sides. The crushed black details are very noticeable. The white balance seems off too. Pure whites appear to be a light blue. For $189.99 USD, I'd expect much better.
Video output was calibrated on a brighter game and/or test monitors brightness turned up. It's an easy oversight to have happen when bench testing hardware configuration. Manual settings adjustment is an easy workaround until the hardware is updated. It's a small inconvenience to deal with having the integrated ethernet switch.
Adam Koralik just released his review calling this the best plug and play solution and giving it his recommendation!!! HAHA!!! I'd expect nothing less from that shill. I don't think EON has ever not made a trash product. And that price!!! Good Gawd!!! You should open it up and take some pics. I'll bet it's full of terrible soldering and even glue holding things together, LOL!
This right here. Everything I saw screamed a full RGB signal on a limited RGB capture. EDIT: Then I went back and wait he has it connected to a PC monitor, which should look great with a full RGB source. Sorry bro have to remove my 'like'.
Kinda what I was thinking too, it reminds me of setting "full RGB" in nvidia control panel on a display that isn't made for it. I have an old Sanyo TV that crushes dark colors when set to full RGB but looks correct with "limited RGB"
@@kloroformdeven PC monitors can include the option to change between limited and full range RGB and most non-PC HDMI sources default to sending limited RGB. So, if he has the monitor set up to work with most other HDMI sources (which would make sense), then sending full range RGB woods crush the blacks.
@@derrinruschell8538 I've never seen or heard of a PC monitor so incompetently setup from factory to do something so stupid. If he set it that way, it would make sense. But I feel like he'd know what he did. But then there's the capture card results. Yeah he could have changed that too, but man there's no detail at all in the blacks of the video. Without the raw output it's not conclusive, but this is one of the tubers I feel like has been around the block and knows the things, and we'll get an update if it's a config issue. My guess now after stewing a bit: XBOX sends "full RGB" video, doohickey converts to digital and assumes limited RBG and chops off the high and low range, then outputs "full RGB" cuz more contrast = more better. The whole device can be recreated for $40 in a shoe box, without resorting to sketchy China sites. $10 each for a network switch, component to HDMI, HDMI splitter, and RCA to Toslink.
After their work with their gamecube HDMI adapters, i thought this would be amazing. An HDMI adapter that also functions as a system link adapter? Incredible idea! Its just a shame that it flopped so hard. I hope they do a MK-II to rectify these issues, because this feels like a great product that just needs a second chance.
Their Gamecube adapter only looks as good as it does because it uses the exact same open source GC Video software that's available on many similar Gamecube HDMI adapters like the Prism and Carby. A bulk of the work was already done for them.
Generally speaking, when I set up video splitting, converting, or adapting older consoles, if the (aforementioned) device I use isn't externally powered, you are losing at LEAST 30-50% brightness. Component cables that get converted/split in any way need it, much like most other analog signals. It has always been a consistent problem and one I consulted even with the broadcasters for events like SGDQ/AGDQ. I figured a device like this may be gaining power elsewhere, but maybe not in this case. Real shame, seems like that'd be all it takes to clean it up. May even just be as simple as the difference of full vs. limited color range.
This is definitely a case of black crush caused by mismatched black levels - your display (or capture card) and the device have to be using the same black level range otherwise you'll get this sort of problem.
Thought of this as well, could it be that the adapter is reporting the signal to be Full RGB when it's actually processing Limited RGB or viceversa? That would still be a major design flaw that not every display would be able to adapt to so the disappointment still applies.
@@GraveUypo That's not how it works; Depending on the setting being mismatched, you either have crushed blacks or crushed whites, not both at the same time.
This Xbox adapter is so expensive and redundant! Who needs multiple HDMI and Ethernet ports, you’re just better off buying a smaller HDMI adapter for original Xbox that’s way cheaper!
They had no one else work to use/clone from so they just stuffed their adapter full of redundant features that they feel justifys the same $200 price as all of their previous adapters.
@@ians_parks it’s not worth making a third party peripheral, if you can’t keep the price down with competitors. I would rather go with RCA connectors with sixth generation consoles, since you’re not going to get much resolution anyways, and I already have HDMI ports already used for modern consoles and a blu ray player!
@@Markimark151 Eon gives every RUclipsr and their grandmother free review units hoping they'll shill their overpriced adapters. So unaware consumers think Eon's devices are the best/only option available. They put more time and energy into marketing then they do actually designing good products.
@@ians_parks thanks to reviewers like MVG for being critical of the adapter, because he’s not shilling for a free review unit! I’m glad the MVG tested the product and doesn’t recommend the adapter!
It doesn’t look any better than the 40$ Pound Cable. The Eon GCHD was praised. No clue what’s happened here. Edit; found out they stole their work on the GCHD. How sad. Don’t buy from EON.
Not technically stolen. Their GCHD just banked off the work of others by using their already open source software and selling their own adapter that uses it for $200. Like they needed to recoup costs from the R&D they never actually had to do. Meanwhile their competitors all sold theirs for less than half of what Eon asked for and they all had better build quality.
@@VilifiedOnethere is the Insurrection Industries Carby adapter which uses to same GCVideo software as the GCHD and is better built AND cheaper but it’s hasn’t got an Analog port on it, it’s just HDMI which if you’re just looking for a HDMI solution and not wanting to mod your console or hook it up to an upscaler, then that’s actually a pretty good option
I agree for $190 I'd expect top notch performance. I am liking my harsbro HDMI dongle it seems to work really well and I think it would have also been a more apples to apples comparison.
The idea is smart but there's something wrong with the gamma and if you have to fiddle with tv settings then its not plug and play. I hope it can be fixed with a software update but as is its not worth it imo. Great review MVG keep it up!
I have a feeling that the issue at hand is that the video signal being so dark is because of the low voltage levels it's having to work with trying to power all of the stuff included. Darkened visuals is not worth the extra outputs.
I just want a upscaling converter to plug into the back of my og xbox if possible i have a hdmi converter but still think upscaling would be a bit better.
Does exactly the same thing as PS2 HDMI cable upscalers. Darkens the image to the point that you can't see the other up-scaling flaws. Also, adjusting brightness, contrast and gamma through TV settings doesn't resolve the issue either. It will brighten the darker areas, but it won't bring back the missing details.
Thanks for telling us how it is like you always do, MVG. The nitpicks are warranted for the steep price. With a little more time in the oven and some cost reduction it looks like it will be a solid product for the XBOX.
from an amateur's electronics point of view, this is most likely caused by the fact the device uses power supplied through the hdmi and ethernet port. in order for the upscaling circuit to work, something else (output strength/brightness) must be sacrificed in order for the device to work efficiently, economically and for UX. if an external supply was used, this could probably pretty easily fixed.
Looks like something is wrong with the gamma or HDMI/RGB levels (Full/Limited). Perhaps a mismatch between what the Xbox outputs and what the EON expects the data signal to be.
Ill say this for anyone who needs to hear it, if you want something like this just get a retro tink. I don’t know off the dome what the price difference is, but 190 for what is essentially a POUND cable is ridiculous
In the end I don't really see the point of an HDMI mod or adapter if with a good set of cables and a Retrotink 5X you can get an indistinguishable quality... with the advantage of not needing to mod + being able to use the Retrotink 5X with any analog video game console.
Thank you so much for your honesty. Really appreciate it as I was looking into this adapter. For that kind of money, I'd expect it to be pretty damn flawless. Hoping the company really does some kind of adjustment.
As if pretty much every review of this isn't negative... Who actually reviewed it positively? It's a scavenger hunt, yet MVG gets waves of praise for saying the same thing everyone else is. 😂
To me the picture looks like the rgb range or black level are wrong. Might need to manually set one or the other, this happens on older devices if monitor is set to automatic black levels it doesnt sync correctly for some reason.
For $190, that's really unfortunate and never should've gotten past their internal testing. It's probably something silly like a resistor value that's off, possibly darkening the input signal before it gets converted to HDMI. Even if they could adjust for it in firmware, it still seems really expensive for what it does. Looks pretty neat though.
What im getting from your comparisons is that the video signal is coming out at full levels where it should be video, i suppose because they expected the hdmi and the tv to properly set the black levels which they are not doing, i think a firmware patch its an easy solution, nothing really bad with the product is happenning here.
unacceptable thank you for being real about your review.
Refund, refund, refund
Thank you dear friend MVG for your honesty!
Exactly. very rare to see this today. since all these types of youtubers only care about money
We don't see many youtubers like this these days.
@@chandlerbing7570that's a consequence of the means of production we live in. Is not an individual fault. Is late capitalism's fault
190 dollars is a lot of money, so I'd expect this to work flawlessly. If i have to jump through any additional hoops to make something look decent, then it's not a 190 dollar product, full stop.
$199.99
It's $200?? FOR THIS??
Retro Tink will get you so much farther!
I think this had real potential. If they managed to correct the brightness issues I’d buy it.
@@beardalaxy
This clearly is a ripp-off in its state. For this price, totally unaceptable.
I'd bet raising the brightness won't even fix the black levels. The detail is likely already lost, so you'll just end up with the same crushed blacks, but they'll be grey instead. Thanks for the objective review MVG.
I was thinking the same, if some details that were dark before became plain black, you cannot do anything anymore. Unfortunate especially to that price point. Should be a no worries solution that just works out of the box in an standard setup.
Also, raising the TV's brightness on something like an OLED is annoying when you have already spent so much time tuning it to your preference.
wish he showed that, what it looked like with adjusted brightness contrast.. Sounds like adjusting settings that come with every display it would fix it maybe? We never get to see.
Gamma scaling won’t necessarily lose detail but it really depends on how compressed the signal is
@@zignitzyou would be correct if the overall signal was darkened, but it's just crushing dark colors. So raising the brightness will make your blacks gray and all of your colors washed out.
Respect for getting a product from the company and giving an honest review. There's not enough of that on RUclips.
jackfrags, ign, or other annoying influencers just lick the products arse
I agree way too many shills on RUclips just wanting views.
Of course, people gotta make a living. He does make a living elsewhere. Is not individuals fault but the brutal late capitalism
Not nearly enough
All the reviews I’ve seen on this mention the same thing. The days of shilling for products are gone.
Some of those games look so dark that you might as well just turn off the screen and save yourself the $189.99 so you can emulate the XBHD experience for free.
😂😂
Or blindfold yourself for that matter.
Sick burn, bro
Or you could turn down the brightness and contrast too
How
It looks like they are incorrectly converting limited range YPbPr to full range without applying full luma correction curves. Or they have incorrectly flagged their HDMI output stream as full range when it's intended to be limited.
Yeah this was my thoughts as well. Turning up brightness on your tv will only help so much. But it looks like it has a fundamental flaw with black levels that needs to be corrected with a firmware update possibly. Really needs to be corrected for the price they are asking. Looks like one of those $30.00 cheap hyperkin cables.
yep exactly most likely an easy fix
They are probably using an fpga and paid for an IP core that they dont know how to modify.
If you transmit full range but the display expects limited range you should see both crushed blacks and crushed whites. If you transmit limited range but the display expects full range you should get both greyish blacks and greyish whites. What I see here is that everything is simply too dark, so I don't think a simple limited vs. full range mixup can explain these results.
That was my first thought as well but that doesn't quite explain it either I think. If it was (just) a luma range crushing issue you would see the whites crushed as well. This is probably something else, or a combination of problems.
It's a great idea on paper; a no fuss solution for LAN setups that's easily portable to move from event to event for fast and easy multiplayer gaming. However with the price tag and poor video output, you could buy cheaper and better solutions for 4 different Xboxes and still have money left over for pizza.
Especially considering the og Xbox doesn't even require a full router. A hub works just fine.
@@huuuuuumpy it's a switch, hubs don't really work iirc
@@JessicaFEREM You have to specify IP settings for each machine and you have collisions, so switch definitely plays better, you can get one for 10 bucks. So, IMO the ports don't add any value. The only thing I though would be good is the HDMI but the implementation they are using completely ruins the picture. It is like they didn't see what kind of quality stuff what out there before they built it. This could have all been solved during prototype phase. Lastly, the audio jack, pennies, even with the optical. The price tag just blows my mind once I saw how well it "works". Like, wow. I had an original modded Xbox that had 720 HDMI mod and it looks really good, the problem has been solved, don't know what this product is supposed to do in a mature market.
@@JessicaFEREM : A hub should work, but a switch will usually be better. Hubs were always a cost optimization, switches always a performance optimization.
@@absalomdraconis you literally cannot buy a ethernet hub. you have to get a switch.
ethernet hubs do not exist, and the ones that do are a scam that *do not* work
HDMI protocol defines 2 options for dynamic range and black levels:
* Limited dynamic range (normal black levels, 16-235) - designed for consumer TVs, used as default in DVD, Blu-ray, game consoles etc.
* Full dynamic range (low black levels, 0-255) - designed for PC monitors.
EON XBHD is probably using the wrong full one, but it should be using limited dynamic range. There is sometimes an option available in TV settings to switch between the two modes, if it's supposed to be used as a PC monitor.
You can try setting TV to PC mode and see if it helps.
It's should be an easy fix for EON XBHD developers to set it to limited dynamic range for HDMI out.
He is clearly using a PC monitor in the indirect capture of Silent Hill 2.
The problem is that the signal mismatches with its content. Normally HDMI handshake handles this situation automatically and your tv, or any devices in between, will / should recognize and honor it.
Fun fact, Mike Chi himself - the creator of Retrotink - told me in an email that supporting the limited color space was more error prone than supporting the full color space by default, based on his practical experience.
For $190 it shouldn’t have been released in the current state that it is.
I was thinking that too at first, as it's a very common error with HDMI, but something doesn't check out about this theory: If the range was too wide, not just blacks would be crushed, but bright pastel colors would too. This isn't the case here; everything is just consistently too dark.
My bet is on some kind of black level adjustment in the capture part of the device. In any case, I'm pretty optimistic that this could be fixed with a firmware update.
@@RottenMuLoTi have my doubts if there is a handshake of it... I think tjr auto setting in devices just sets limited :)
If they're charging $189.99 just for a device that can enable hdmi on an old console, the consumer has every right to nit-pick at clear faults. Glad you were honest about your thoughts on this; glad there are other cheaper & better options out there
Yup, above 50$ I expect nothing but high end end in this sector. For 200 bucks I almost get the FPGA extensions to play Xbox for real premium devices.
This looks like a really classic problem of a video signal being incorrectly interpreted on input as “legal” video range and displayed as full range. Likely something in a hardware chip they used, which may or may not be correctable.
This issue would clip image detail in the low end dark areas and the high brightness areas that adjusting the monitor wouldn’t fully rectify.
There are a number of articles on video legal ranges than can explain it better than I can.
My cheap-o N64 to HDMI has similar issues with darkening the image. However, it was only $10. You'd think for $190 the EON XBHD would do a better job.
Wii HDMI adapters also commonly have this issue
@@ragulianexcept for electron Sheppard Wii2HDMI and Mayflash Wii2HDMI. Those work 100%
Correct, forget about playing Ocarina of time cause in some dungeons, you cant see a thing
"My cheapo N642HDMI has similar issues darkening the image. However, it was only $10." I'm accepting issues like that for a ten-buck device, as you're getting what you're paying for. But at
$190, this is a rip off
But that's what EON is all about, charge an arm and a leg for mid at best solutions.
Quick note regarding compability, PAL models do NOT support HD (720p/1080i) out of the box. The MS dashboard doesn't support it for Pal regions. You will need to use a modded Xbox and either the Enigma Video Switcher application (or the other alternatives), or flash a NTSC bios.
Could be good to know assuming they fix the issues down the line. :)
I used Enigmah on my PAL xbox. Must be 20 years ago now. I'm sure I got it all modded before Halo 2 (2004) as I recall there was a French leak of Halo 2 shortly before release and I almost went for it - but didn't! I used the xbox with a LG TV with component sockets. I think some xbox games were 720p, but most were 480p. Even 480p was far better than 480i and composite. I did try a Frosty cable at some point for VGA output, but that made the picture too dark. Similar to what's happening with this EON gizmo actually.
Once I saw the price they were demanding for this product, I knew it was only bound to disappoint.
If you really want a quality external HDMI adapter for the OG Xbox, go for the XEDUSA, the Chimeric Systems, or the Electron Shepherd Xbox2HDMI adapters. I've used all three of these in the past and can absolutely recommend any of them. The Electron Shepherd is the best if you're on a tighter budget.
What's the cheapest out of these 3?
@@ehsanghazavi470 Electron Shepherd, sells for about $41.99 USD on their website.
@@ehsanghazavi470electron Sheppard < xedusa < chimeric. I own a xedusa and I can say for sure that as of right now it has close to or maybe worse than the same brightness issue as this HDMI adapter. It’s much cheaper so the brightness becomes less problematic but it’s still there.
I can vouch for the Chimeric adapter myself, but they're not easy to get a hold of afaik
@@Sun-ut9gr currently the chimeric store is closed until further notice because of personal issues and even when the store open as normal they take many breaks throughout the year so you can’t always just pop in and buy one. My personal recommendation would be the electron shepherd. It’s $42 and has been tested live by retrorgb. If you have a scaler like the OSSC or the retrotink 5X, retro gaming cables UK sells a SCART cable that carry’s component video only for $26. I use this solution with an OSSC before I bough the xedusa and it’s also great.
I'd love to have you review our Xbox2HDMI like Bob has from RetroRGB! It'd be a great honor!
Something you didn't mention in the video is that the greyscale is WAY off. I watched this video via a Roku hooked up to an ISF calibrated display, and you can clearly see the original has correct neutral greyscale balance on parts of the image that are supposed to be grey, and the device's output has a blue-green tint added to the same parts of the image. So it isn't just brightness. And it's not just a little off, it's WAY off, because it's very clearly noticeable to the naked eye.
ElectronShepard's Xbox2HDMI seems like the best solution for this kind of device. It's a shame Eon dropped the ball so badly here.
That's the one I use.
Yeah I use that too, it's very good.
The Xbox2HDMI is awesome. I love mine and it's only $40.
I've tried almost all of the Xbox HDMI solutions, and the Electron Shepherd adapter is easily the best and just as good as component cables.
Yep, I have the V2 version. Has MVG reviewed it yet?
I wrote this on Macho Nacho/Tito’s review and I’ll say it here.
I understand the HDMI features, but the network/switch/hub features really aren’t solving a problem in my opinion. An unmanaged switch can easily be found second hand either for free or for under $5 and is a snap to set up.
Love the honest review... hopefully a FW update is possible. I'm assuming since this is plug and play though it's just converting the analog signals. I'd hope there is some kind of "gain" to adjust internally during the A/D conversion
I love how everyone is pretending that the entire retro gaming community hasn't rejected this. You haven't yet found a dishonest review of this, have you. Come on now.
How often do you see a youtuber being brutally honest about a product they received for free? Respect.
It's nice for sure. Too bad this is probably due to his ignorance about HDMI black-levels. Somewhere in his chain is a mismatch between the full and limited RGB range.
Well he's not sponsored, so why lie.
@@AllahDoesNotExist Because most people in the whole world are driven by social contract. Especially in the world we live in nowadays, feelings are usually more important than pure truth.
Often. This doesn’t happen nearly as much as it used to.
Very often. You're watching the wrong channels, apparently. I haven't yet seen a positive review. Most reviews of this have been honest. It's being rejected by the entire retro gaming community, just saying. 🤷♂️ What dishonest review did you see? Smells a bit like a straw man.
Like the rest of the comments pointed out, it looks like the device outputs in the hdmi limited color range. Increasing brightess will not fix it as it will just crush the bright area's instead.
You need to set your tv / monitor / capture card to that range and it should work fine.
That being said for a device in this price range I would at least expect to be able to choose between them.
The thing is, the bright parts of the image are noticeably darker than the output from the Xbox HDMI output, so it's like instead of outputting 16-235 it's like they're outputting 0-219 and then flagging the output as Limited so the blacks get crushed and the whites underexposed.
It's not a user issue, other reviewers have pointed out the same issues. One even took the device apart and it's some pretty shoddy work for a $200 device.
it looks like a 0-255 to 16-235 issue.
I'm surprised, as you'd think they would have used test patterns to verify correct output before finalizing to production. (Although, the 240p test suite doesn't appear to be available for xbox...?)
Or maybe not even test patterns. Just play any damn game with it and you'd see the problem immediately.
4:59 - Naw man, you're spot on. That clip from Halo is nearly unplayable. It's crazy dark and there's no way I'd enjoy squinting through that. Thanks for an honest review! They absolutely need to go back and fix this.
The brightness level and the amount of noise on the eon adapter is completely unacceptable, imo. I've heard good things about the $42 XBox2HDMI adapter from Electron Shepard, might be a good alternative.
I can second the xbox2hdmi. Beats the hell out of composite video
Completely agree, XBOX2HDMI is fantastic for the price. It may not be the most "pure", but it's plenty good enough for me.
xbox2hdmi also has surround sound built into the hdmi
This really looks like a RGB color range mismatch (Full/Limited RGB).
In that case it cuts off at a specific darkness level and anything below shows black.
Like if Full RGB is output from the device and Limited RGB is being captured, but as you said you and others tried capture settings out...
Thinking the adapter somehow messes this stuff up internally.
Really sad to see that stuff like this goes into production unnoticed.
Thank you for making this. People out here like Adam koralik giving endless praise to this stuff..
He's a shill.
Both you and MachoNacho posted the review at the same time. Great review, nice that we have an objective standpoint from your side! Thanks!
The device with its features looks cool.
But for almost 200 bucks I expect the picture quality to be superb.
EON should have reversed engineered the Mclassic tech and including the option to clean up the image.
As an owner of a Chimeric Systems HDMI Adapter, this was quite the surprise. I appreciate the honest review. I paid $60 and love my adapter. So $130 more for the convivence of not needing a small switch to LAN was going to be hard to justify regardless.
Boosting the brightness could "solve" the visual problem at first. But as the RGB signal is limited to 255 steps per color, there are for sure some colors with a value > 0 that are completely vanished. Just as an example, let's say they kill all values < 50, you can boost/shift the colors higher again, but the dark details are gone forever. Dark colors in the mentioned Doom 3 might be lost what's a killer for the authentic reproduction. Nothing I would like to use by myself.
Excellent review, bud! Once my soldering workshop is back up, I'm probably just gonna go with the MakeMhz HDMI option, since that seems to be the one you're still recommending.
Could it be fixed via firmware update?
Edit: seems like “limited” VS “full” range issue
Macho nacho came to the same conclusion its definitely not a bad unit its a design flaw. Thank you for being honest and covering it correctly.
I have the Xbox2HDMI adapter by Electron Shephard and the picture quality isn't bad. I didn't test a lot of my games on it but the ones I did play looked pretty good.
I just use a good component cable. I believe it is the monster cable. It will need to have good shielding or you will get interference. If you don’t have this input then get a component to hdmi converter. Best video option besides the ms av pack.
Any Component to HDMI converters that you could recommend?
@@ThunderTHR I would pick a low cost one but you can get some expensive ones that can do additional processing. It just depends on your budget. The portta component to hdmi is around $20 and seems to be the top pick online at that price point.
I wish you'd shown some footage of the device with some post (or current while filmed) brightness adjustment to show whether that would be a legitimate fix, because that isn't always the case when levels get manipulated like this.
I would never spend $200 on something like this regardless, but it's bizarre a company would try to put out a "premium" product without (what I can only assume) proper test and compare alternatives because this isn't an issue that should've been hard to miss otherwise. Eon isn't a new company either, I've heard about them for years with decent to good feedback for their GC HD adapter.
It doesnt really matter, If you're gonna spend 200 dollars on something like this, it should work flawlessly, without having to play with your tv settings lol
I remember when this was announced, it seemed so cool, it's a mighty shame.
Major props for not being afraid to point this stuff even though they sent it to you, have a feeling they won't send you anything else though...
I'm curious, since the blacks are completely crushed, wouldn't that part of the signal be completely lost? as in, if you raised the brightness, you'd just get gray everywhere? Definitely unacceptable for 190 dollars, hopefully it can be fixed by a firmware update.
Just came here after Macho Nacho. Seems like you both agree that it is a tad bit darker than what it should be
Most devices adhere to the standard Limited RGB (16 - 235 range per color channel), which matches typical TV configurations.
However, it appears the EON XBHD might be outputting Full RGB (0 - 255 range per color channel), causing the issue you're observing.
Pay attention to brighter areas; they also seem slightly elevated, indicating a potential RGB range mismatch.
It always digs in my brain in any OG xbox video.. what if MS filled up those blank ram pads and came with 128mb ram? vs. the 64mb it came with.
The moment when MVG shows his hole portfolio of Xboxes 😂👍
Ended up re-selling mine... Thanks for the review
Besides the levels problem, Wi-Fi and VGA options would have been good to justify the price.
Agreed. Especially considering this is a solution for just one console. Spend a little bit more on an OSSC or retrotink5x and you get something that does the job right and works on countless consoles.
I don't think you are being "nitpicky" at all. Any HDMI option should, at the very least, retain the image quality completely and upscale it properly, *especially* for $190. Otherwise, what's the point?
Did you reach out to see if they could fix this with a software update? I hope this can be remedied with a software update, 'cause you're right - literally can't play games in the dark.
I don't own an OG xbox and most likely never will but this was such a refreshing video lol. Not only lots of testing and video evidence, but unapologetically honest and straight to the point. Only thing I would have liked to know is whether the 3 ethernet ports (integrated switch?) work correctly.
It's a shame hidef component is disappearing from not only TVs, but home theater receivers. Component looks fantastic via my older Onkyo.
Especially on older early 2010s LCD TVs. Older TVs for 720p content over component is underrated. Those 1080p TVs were made for the Xbox 360 and PS3 era and it shows.
Big help dude! I've been looking forward to getting this product but now I'm gonna hold off. You saved me time and money sir and I thank you.
That brightness issue is the same issue that those crappy pound hdmi adapters (and the multiple clones) have. I'll stick to Electron Shepherd's HDMI2Xbox adapter, its awesome and doesn't have this issue.
appreciate the honest review mvg
I wonder how it compares to some of the cheaper cables. I have the Hyperkin one lying around somewhere, and I don't remember it making anything darker. Seems like I am safe in sticking with that until I am ready to commit myself to the XboxHDMI.
They should be able to fix that in a firmware update. If you can update it yourself or if you have to send it back I don't know. You should ask them about it.
Saw "og Xbox hd" and immediately thought there was a new hard drive solution.... bummer lol
In regards to the OutRun 2006 footage, I noticed that while yes the black levels are excessive, the brightest parts of the screen i.e. the clouds, have the opposite problem and are overly bright on the HDMI side whereas the clouds look more natural and detailed on the EON side
Based on your conclusion at the end, it sounds like there is a deeper problem. But just to make sure, did you check the HDMI range (limited vs full)? The symptons sure sound like there may be a mismatch here. Maybe you did check for this. If so, perhaps you could include that little detail in your review so people know. Shame if this is how they're releasing it.
This should have been covered in the video if it was checked. I.E. explain whether forcing limited helps or not.
I got the Xedusa+ from Beharbros a few months back. Yeah, it's also a bit dark, but at almost a third of the price it was an easier buy. Honestly looks more acceptable than the Eon XBHD too.
Lol, they stuck a chinese yPbPr to HDMI converter + an ethernet switch inside a box and call it a day!, oh, and forgot to properly set the jumper to "limited" color range XD
I had someone say this EON product was better than those converters lol they said input lag this and that and that it justifies the price lol
Thanks for always being honest and not sugarcoatting your reviews or selling out. Still trying to find a legit make MHz HDMI kit since they are on backorder. For $190 USD I think this kit is a pass for now. Hopefully someone will bring it a quality HDMI solution soon
There's MVG who is very honest and then there's Adam Koralic who just shills for every product he gets and deflects any and all criticism in his comment section.
you're not nitpicky for pointing out that the device doesn't work properly. i'm glad that proper standards are applied in evaluating things.
Don't think of this as darker, think of this as grittier. The Xbox is now all grown up!
Thanks for the side-by-sides. The crushed black details are very noticeable. The white balance seems off too. Pure whites appear to be a light blue. For $189.99 USD, I'd expect much better.
Legendary words
Video output was calibrated on a brighter game and/or test monitors brightness turned up.
It's an easy oversight to have happen when bench testing hardware configuration.
Manual settings adjustment is an easy workaround until the hardware is updated. It's a small inconvenience to deal with having the integrated ethernet switch.
Adam Koralik just released his review calling this the best plug and play solution and giving it his recommendation!!! HAHA!!! I'd expect nothing less from that shill. I don't think EON has ever not made a trash product. And that price!!! Good Gawd!!! You should open it up and take some pics. I'll bet it's full of terrible soldering and even glue holding things together, LOL!
I guess the eon xbox shirt justified the review. I would buy that over the product lol
Bro got a free t shirt and folded
He's also deflecting every criticism in the comments of the video lol
Why would you even need that when the series x’s backwards compatibility is just fine..
Is it possible there’s a mismatch between Standard vs Extended range RGB?
This right here. Everything I saw screamed a full RGB signal on a limited RGB capture.
EDIT: Then I went back and wait he has it connected to a PC monitor, which should look great with a full RGB source. Sorry bro have to remove my 'like'.
Kinda what I was thinking too, it reminds me of setting "full RGB" in nvidia control panel on a display that isn't made for it. I have an old Sanyo TV that crushes dark colors when set to full RGB but looks correct with "limited RGB"
its not
@@kloroformdeven PC monitors can include the option to change between limited and full range RGB and most non-PC HDMI sources default to sending limited RGB. So, if he has the monitor set up to work with most other HDMI sources (which would make sense), then sending full range RGB woods crush the blacks.
@@derrinruschell8538 I've never seen or heard of a PC monitor so incompetently setup from factory to do something so stupid.
If he set it that way, it would make sense. But I feel like he'd know what he did.
But then there's the capture card results. Yeah he could have changed that too, but man there's no detail at all in the blacks of the video. Without the raw output it's not conclusive, but this is one of the tubers I feel like has been around the block and knows the things, and we'll get an update if it's a config issue.
My guess now after stewing a bit: XBOX sends "full RGB" video, doohickey converts to digital and assumes limited RBG and chops off the high and low range, then outputs "full RGB" cuz more contrast = more better.
The whole device can be recreated for $40 in a shoe box, without resorting to sketchy China sites. $10 each for a network switch, component to HDMI, HDMI splitter, and RCA to Toslink.
You are definitely the audience for a $190 USD HDMI adaptor for the OG Xbox. For that price, we want perfection. Great review.
After their work with their gamecube HDMI adapters, i thought this would be amazing. An HDMI adapter that also functions as a system link adapter? Incredible idea! Its just a shame that it flopped so hard.
I hope they do a MK-II to rectify these issues, because this feels like a great product that just needs a second chance.
Their Gamecube adapter only looks as good as it does because it uses the exact same open source GC Video software that's available on many similar Gamecube HDMI adapters like the Prism and Carby. A bulk of the work was already done for them.
Generally speaking, when I set up video splitting, converting, or adapting older consoles, if the (aforementioned) device I use isn't externally powered, you are losing at LEAST 30-50% brightness. Component cables that get converted/split in any way need it, much like most other analog signals. It has always been a consistent problem and one I consulted even with the broadcasters for events like SGDQ/AGDQ. I figured a device like this may be gaining power elsewhere, but maybe not in this case. Real shame, seems like that'd be all it takes to clean it up. May even just be as simple as the difference of full vs. limited color range.
This is definitely a case of black crush caused by mismatched black levels - your display (or capture card) and the device have to be using the same black level range otherwise you'll get this sort of problem.
Thought of this as well, could it be that the adapter is reporting the signal to be Full RGB when it's actually processing Limited RGB or viceversa?
That would still be a major design flaw that not every display would be able to adapt to so the disappointment still applies.
it's not black levels. if it was, there would be white crushing too. it's just a fucked up offset gamma curve conversion
@@GraveUypo That's not how it works; Depending on the setting being mismatched, you either have crushed blacks or crushed whites, not both at the same time.
its not that
This Xbox adapter is so expensive and redundant! Who needs multiple HDMI and Ethernet ports, you’re just better off buying a smaller HDMI adapter for original Xbox that’s way cheaper!
They had no one else work to use/clone from so they just stuffed their adapter full of redundant features that they feel justifys the same $200 price as all of their previous adapters.
@@ians_parks it’s not worth making a third party peripheral, if you can’t keep the price down with competitors. I would rather go with RCA connectors with sixth generation consoles, since you’re not going to get much resolution anyways, and I already have HDMI ports already used for modern consoles and a blu ray player!
@@Markimark151 Eon gives every RUclipsr and their grandmother free review units hoping they'll shill their overpriced adapters. So unaware consumers think Eon's devices are the best/only option available. They put more time and energy into marketing then they do actually designing good products.
@@ians_parks thanks to reviewers like MVG for being critical of the adapter, because he’s not shilling for a free review unit! I’m glad the MVG tested the product and doesn’t recommend the adapter!
It's rare to get a "free" device sent and give a brutal review about it, but glad you did, I'll pass and look elsewhere foe what I need
It doesn’t look any better than the 40$ Pound Cable. The Eon GCHD was praised. No clue what’s happened here.
Edit; found out they stole their work on the GCHD. How sad. Don’t buy from EON.
Not technically stolen. Their GCHD just banked off the work of others by using their already open source software and selling their own adapter that uses it for $200. Like they needed to recoup costs from the R&D they never actually had to do. Meanwhile their competitors all sold theirs for less than half of what Eon asked for and they all had better build quality.
Thank you very much for the sincerity in the review is appreciated even more knowing that the product was ceded by the brand
Eon just releases overpriced products.
@@VilifiedOnethere is the Insurrection Industries Carby adapter which uses to same GCVideo software as the GCHD and is better built AND cheaper but it’s hasn’t got an Analog port on it, it’s just HDMI which if you’re just looking for a HDMI solution and not wanting to mod your console or hook it up to an upscaler, then that’s actually a pretty good option
If it didn’t have the brightness issue it wouldn’t be overpriced at all. These are niche products made in small volumes.
I agree for $190 I'd expect top notch performance.
I am liking my harsbro HDMI dongle it seems to work really well and I think it would have also been a more apples to apples comparison.
That's surprising. All of EON's GameCube and N64 HD adapters are excellent
I feel like I've had the brightness issue with every Xbox HDMI adapter I've tried out. Might be time to go the hardware mod route.
first
Good job
U a legend
You sir, have win the Internet!
Homie a legend
What are your thoughts on the xbox2hdmi made by Electron shepherd? Have you tried it?
Classic EON, all of their products are garbage
They are?
My EON GC HD adapter kicks ass
@@RhythmGrizz It's an overpriced implementation of GCVideo.
@wa27 I may be misremembering, but I believe the EON GCHD came out first. Cause I think I got it in like 2018
The idea is smart but there's something wrong with the gamma and if you have to fiddle with tv settings then its not plug and play. I hope it can be fixed with a software update but as is its not worth it imo. Great review MVG keep it up!
I have a feeling that the issue at hand is that the video signal being so dark is because of the low voltage levels it's having to work with trying to power all of the stuff included.
Darkened visuals is not worth the extra outputs.
Sounds like a classic rec 601 vs rec 709 mismatch from the upscaler (or just limited vs full range signal mismatch?).
I just want a upscaling converter to plug into the back of my og xbox if possible i have a hdmi converter but still think upscaling would be a bit better.
You're spot on with the criticisms MVG, especially at the price point this is offered for.
Does exactly the same thing as PS2 HDMI cable upscalers. Darkens the image to the point that you can't see the other up-scaling flaws.
Also, adjusting brightness, contrast and gamma through TV settings doesn't resolve the issue either. It will brighten the darker areas, but it won't bring back the missing details.
Thanks for telling us how it is like you always do, MVG. The nitpicks are warranted for the steep price. With a little more time in the oven and some cost reduction it looks like it will be a solid product for the XBOX.
from an amateur's electronics point of view, this is most likely caused by the fact the device uses power supplied through the hdmi and ethernet port. in order for the upscaling circuit to work, something else (output strength/brightness) must be sacrificed in order for the device to work efficiently, economically and for UX. if an external supply was used, this could probably pretty easily fixed.
Looks like something is wrong with the gamma or HDMI/RGB levels (Full/Limited). Perhaps a mismatch between what the Xbox outputs and what the EON expects the data signal to be.
What surprises me the most, is that there is a significant market for upscales that more continue to come to market.
Ill say this for anyone who needs to hear it, if you want something like this just get a retro tink. I don’t know off the dome what the price difference is, but 190 for what is essentially a POUND cable is ridiculous
In the end I don't really see the point of an HDMI mod or adapter if with a good set of cables and a Retrotink 5X you can get an indistinguishable quality... with the advantage of not needing to mod + being able to use the Retrotink 5X with any analog video game console.
Wow, my £20 homebrew component cable is looking pretty good all of a sudden.
Thank you so much for your honesty. Really appreciate it as I was looking into this adapter. For that kind of money, I'd expect it to be pretty damn flawless. Hoping the company really does some kind of adjustment.
As if pretty much every review of this isn't negative... Who actually reviewed it positively? It's a scavenger hunt, yet MVG gets waves of praise for saying the same thing everyone else is. 😂
I'm glad you do all this research for us dude you've enlightened me for years, so to you, sir, I thank you
To me the picture looks like the rgb range or black level are wrong. Might need to manually set one or the other, this happens on older devices if monitor is set to automatic black levels it doesnt sync correctly for some reason.
For $190, that's really unfortunate and never should've gotten past their internal testing. It's probably something silly like a resistor value that's off, possibly darkening the input signal before it gets converted to HDMI. Even if they could adjust for it in firmware, it still seems really expensive for what it does. Looks pretty neat though.
What im getting from your comparisons is that the video signal is coming out at full levels where it should be video, i suppose because they expected the hdmi and the tv to properly set the black levels which they are not doing, i think a firmware patch its an easy solution, nothing really bad with the product is happenning here.