On forums on many sites one topic that has been touched on is how do people connect their Xbox to their PC monitor?
Such devices do exist and are finally becoming more readily available for Xbox users. Logic 3 are now presenting their VGA Box which cannot only take Xbox signals and convert to a PC monitor, but other consoles, video players and regular TV signals.
Connection to your PC monitor is very simple. Using a pass-through method, a cable from your monitor which would usually plug straight into your Graphics Card now goes into your VGA Box. Then you are given another cable to go from the VGA Box to your PC meaning you have the VGA Box controlling your video inputs and no more crouching down under your desk swapping wires in a dark area and banging your head on the way back up to your comfy chair.
With the pass-through comes the first problem with this device. The picture quality on your monitor for your PC Input becomes blurry and text especially is difficult to read. This is a big problem for the device as the whole point is to be able to control video inputs from the device. You will instead likely ignore the bypass function and have to go down behind your PC and swap wires again.
The device though does have some nice features. You can have 4 composite video connections all plugged in to the VGA Box with a stereo cable for that device. On the front of the unit is a button to toggle the video input you want to use so it is quite possible to have your Xbox, TV, PC, DVD Player and VHS player plugged into the unit all at once and toggle through them to display on your PC monitor.
Here comes the second problem. Some PC monitors have quite a dark picture and you have to tweak your software settings to up the brightness and gamma settings. By using this device however you do not have the luxury for altering the inputs for the four composite devices meaning a dark display is presented on screen. Also the nature of the connections is a problem. Composite is a very raw signal not providing the quality S-Video or a RGB Scart can produce. This means colours can bleed into one another and there isn’t much sharpness in the picture quality.
The device does have some good ideas in particular the video/audio input switcher between so many devices all at once, but the picture quality and bad PC pass-through display makes this unit only a good idea if you are a student where you are in a small room and certainly doesn’t have room for a large screen TV and you want to be able to view your electrical entertainment items through your PC to save a lot of space.
Conclusion
Although good on paper, the unit does offer some nice ideas but display quality is quite poor certainly for the PC connection which will put many people off. Instead I would recommend a direct connection from your Xbox to your PC maintaining the RGB signal which this device doesn’t do.
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Logic 3 LG1700 VGA Box
Pros
- Connect an Xbox or PS2 to your computer monitor
Cons
- Poor quality output
- Does not support RGB
Hi James,
I wanted to get one of these to connect my PS2/DVD player to a TFT screen. I wanted to know if I can do this without the presence of a PC?
I really only need 1 composite video connection. Do you know of any similar and possibly cheaper products that I can purchase from?
What about the Logic SVGAs?
Yes you don’t need a PC, all you need is the monitor.
To be honest I wrote this review a couple of years ago so quite a bit has changed since, but I am sure if you look around you will find alternatives.
I haven’t had any experience with the SVGA versions by Logic3, but again I am sure a search will find a couple of reviews for you.
I wish you luck :)
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so will a digital tv box be better on my tv or my pc monitor because a monitor has a better resoloshon
A PC monitor is much higher resolution that a TV, which actually shows off all the bad aspects of a low resolution video like digital TV.
So Digital TV would be best shown through a TV.
I have acquired a second-hand one of these boxes, but without power supply. Can anyone tell me what voltage and ampage it uses?
I have searched the internet somewhat, but still can’t find the required info, can anyone help?
PSU is 9v @ 1 Amp
If you look on the back of the unit, next to the power inlet socket, it says 5V DC.
James you are quite right and technology has moved on but I take note that you advice looking at some reviews.
We are now in the throws of the Digital TV change over which means that if you do not already have a digital TV you will at least need a set top box.
The digital TV roll out in the UK has surprised a good many people as it has been discovered that instead of opting for a £20 set top box consumers in the roll out ares have purchased new flat screen TV’s. Rushing out to buy a new TV in an economy which is stuck in reverse seems, on the face of it very odd. However when you consider the ever increasing price of electricity and the fact that the old analogue set of 32in consumes 500 watts as opposed to its modern equivelent of 150 watts there are economies to be made – as well as saving the environment – long live Digital.