An important notice: those white boxes are made by numerous Chinese manufacturers and come with a multitude of different conversion chips inside. VWestlife have one of the "older" ones with better chipset thus it can provide such nice quality, a lot of the modern ones that you can buy today are much cost-cutted and have miserable image quality. The worst part - they are absolutely indistinguishable by their appearance
@vwestlife Жыл бұрын
Same thing with the "EasyCap" USB video capture devices -- there are four or five different chipsets in them, and some of them have a fake S-Video input that just combines the luma and chroma together, and/or mono audio even though there are separate left and right audio inputs.
@greatquux Жыл бұрын
Ah makes sense why two of the recent ones I bought to play my N64 both were washed out and dim when comparing on the same TV but using composite inputs.
@GammaMAXXdotcom Жыл бұрын
That’s very important information to me, because I’m looking for better equipment to redigitze my analog tapes with. I’m used to using the method seen in this video (As recommended by Alec from Technology Connections) as I sometimes use the separate units individually for other purposes. I’m sure a lot of people would love to know where you can still buy a high quality (or at least generally decent) analog composite to HDMI box, and an HDMI capture device, both of which actually support 59.94. That’s a video somebody needs to make! My existing digitizations have excessive judder with NTSC tapes, with a frame being duplicated on average every four or five frames. It’s actually difficult to tell it’s even supposed to be 60fps. If somebody can find a reliable source of currently produced hardware to serve this purpose that doesn’t cost a fortune or isn’t just second hand thousand(s) dollar professional grade equipment, that would be great to know.
@und4287 Жыл бұрын
@@vwestlife IIRC the mono audio easycaps also have some kind of sample-rate? limit
@maxmustardman298 Жыл бұрын
Too bad the majority of how to convert vhs tapes channels fail to mention that, or just dont know
@kijar Жыл бұрын
This channel is home.
@stacy3 Жыл бұрын
yes
@SRQmoviemaker Жыл бұрын
This channel as well as @TechnologyConnections and @CathodeRayDude have been my favorite "new finds" been binging through all 3 channels since finding them.
@stacy3 Жыл бұрын
@@SRQmoviemaker i agree with you mate
@AstonGryffynn Жыл бұрын
This is my internet safe space.
@thedocak753210 ай бұрын
This is the only part of the internet to be consistently sane from the beginning
@thiekus Жыл бұрын
Pro tip: you can open command prompt/cmd directly on current directory of explorer by selecting top address bar right after location, then edit and type "cmd" on address bar and press enter. This very handy as you don't need change directory by manually "cd" to target directory.
@mycosys Жыл бұрын
Someone doest use power toys.
@rvnx Жыл бұрын
You can also press shift and right click anywhere in the folder, then select "open command prompt (or powershell) window here"
@tm36105 Жыл бұрын
@@rvnx This is the way.
@leonidas14775 Жыл бұрын
Wow! that's really helpful
@tumblingdown8612 Жыл бұрын
holy crap
@EdgardoDC Жыл бұрын
I would suggest using OBS studio for capturing the image and set the image to a 4:3 aspect ratio. You can fix the source aspect ratio before capturing as well 👀
@ran2wild370 Жыл бұрын
The advantage of this white box is hardware acceleration and real time converting.
@katrinabryce Жыл бұрын
@@ran2wild370 You would use OBS as a replacement for the Windows Camera App, not as a replacement for the conversion box.
@Pesthauch666 Жыл бұрын
btw. OBS does this also with ffmpeg working in the background, like many video conversion and player software, that very often are just fancy frontends for ffmpeg.
@mycosys Жыл бұрын
the problem with 'fixing' the file just about any other way is you lose resolution. What it seems ffmpeg did is tag the output file as anamorphic 4:3 rather than re-encode it (hence the speed). So you need a player that can stretch the pixels but you retain the most source quality
@ccllvn Жыл бұрын
this, avoid using this hard command line crap
@vwestlife Жыл бұрын
If the video has playback problems at 720p60, try switching to 480p, or watch it on Odysee instead: odysee.com/@VWestlife:3/cheap-composite-video-to-hdmi-converter:b
@Scyth3934 Жыл бұрын
What was that clip at the end of the video from? 😂
@vwestlife Жыл бұрын
@@Scyth3934 The EP tape that I showed earlier in the video.
@BG101UK Жыл бұрын
I'm glad you brought this up! IMHO It would be better if KZfaq actually still offered 30fps *without* hobbling the resolution! I honestly don't see any benefit with 60fps on the majority of content I watch anyway, so the extra bandwidth/CPU/RAM usage is just a waste really, especially on a bog-standard LCD display.
@snap_oversteer Жыл бұрын
Seems to work fine for me with forced H264 codec.
@prodeusunity7393 Жыл бұрын
@@snap_oversteer yes, youtube still offers 720p and higher in 30FPS but only in H264, this is evident using YT-DLP and using ehanced-h264ify
@RyansColoradoRailProductions Жыл бұрын
I have used a website for converting old stretched 4:3 baseball games back to their original aspect ratio, but the max file size was 100mb. Thanks for suggesting a few alternatives so I won’t have to split the video into multiple parts anymore!
@parkerlreed Жыл бұрын
ffmpeg is your friend.
@willthor6639 Жыл бұрын
@@parkerlreed been using it for YEARS
@Pesthauch666 Жыл бұрын
@@willthor6639 To be fair ffmpeg is used in most video and audio conversion and player software anyway, so most people might have used it without even noticing. Some tools are just fancy frontends with ffmpeg doing the actual work when pressing the "encode" button. I personally prefer to use it straight from the terminal without any GUI since i feel I have to maximal control about what's going on this way without some software using weird parameters, filters or options.
@dh2032 Жыл бұрын
@@Pesthauch666 yes it's background task, app, but user interface or lack of one?
@sbrazenor2 Жыл бұрын
They probably use ffmpeg on their end to convert it. You can use applications to pipe into it on Linux, and it's the backend of a lot of things. I also recommend Handbrake, which is a GUI application for the same kind of thing.
@jcxtra Жыл бұрын
A quick shortcut in VLC to change aspect ratios - just press the 'a' key (I remember it by 'a' for 'aspect ratio') and it will cycle through the most common types. Very useful if you want to fix an aspect ratio and you don't know which one is right and/or if you're full screen and don't want to search through the menus. There's also 'd' for de-interlace too. :)
@CT-vm4gf Жыл бұрын
Shortcuts are awesome.
@SRQmoviemaker Жыл бұрын
It's bad I love shortcuts but my lazy ass never looks em up but when I come across stuff like this it's in memory forever lol
@awesomeferret Жыл бұрын
Wow, that's way better quality than I was expecting. I didn't know composite video could look that good.
@fartking2845 Жыл бұрын
Super VHS was near DVD quality. 420p I believe?
@bzuidgeest Жыл бұрын
@@fartking2845 420 lines yes, but that is mostly useless if you are going to put it through as a composite signal. Also a interlaced signal. TV of the time could not handle progressive signals. Also the color signal i thought was not changed between vhs and svhs leading to it barely being better. Certainly dvd could do much better, but as always that depended on the quality of the mastering job.
@fartking2845 Жыл бұрын
@@bzuidgeest Thank you for clearing that up. I always assumed it was progressive and not interlaced.
@brantisonfire Жыл бұрын
@@bzuidgeest I think they increased the luminance but not the chroma from VHS to SVHS so the colors are still a little washed out.
@emmettturner9452 Жыл бұрын
The chip it uses is intended to handle scaling and analog input for an LCD TV. They just take the output and route it to an HDMI transmitter instead. That’s why it works with Macrovision protection and why it doesn’t properly support 240p (no off-the-shelf TV image processors do).
@DreQueary Жыл бұрын
Ffmpeg is one of the greatest pieces of software ever. Trimming video or changing formats without losing quality or re-encoding. It can also make videos network optimize, again without re-encoding.
@Aeduo Жыл бұрын
People will spend money and more effort with stringing together janky commercial solutions and get worse results and spend more time. Something like handbrake is ffmpeg based and should also be more GUII-user friendly.
@mycosys Жыл бұрын
@@Aeduo Handbrake was SO cool when it landed back in the day, so the easiest way to transcode your..... linux isos.
@connorm955 Жыл бұрын
@@Aeduo Handbrake is great. I use it to fix 4:3 videos that people added black bars to.
@kaitlyn__L Жыл бұрын
Turning videos DASH friendly, or undoing that and having a normal file again, are two underrated use of FFmpeg
@rzeka Жыл бұрын
ffmpeg and ImageMagick should just come preinstalled on every computer.
@ThisDoesNotCompute Жыл бұрын
I have an almost identical converter called the Sewell Manta -- the only difference is that it has a VGA input instead of composite. It also always outputs the image as 16:9, though it seems to have somewhat decent support for input resolutions (at least, among the common ones).
@WindmillGS Жыл бұрын
I've had a couple of these converters and inverted audio channels seems to be a standard issue for them. I think it falls into the "you get what you paid for" category and isn't that big of a deal as long as you keep it in mind in the future. (Sticker label as a reminder helps a lot)
@SRQmoviemaker Жыл бұрын
I've had 3 converters like that, easy fix with the lablemaker.
@okaro6595 Жыл бұрын
I once had a DVR that reversed the channels. Becaue it used SCART it was harder to fix. I had to modify the cable
@damustermann Жыл бұрын
Good that in the instructional video they talk about the importance of having the car on an even and flat ground. Of course, while standing on a sloped driveway. I just love this channel and your choice of media.
@AndrewGray1987 Жыл бұрын
The performance of those $10 composite to HDMI adapters is higher than most (consumer) dedicated composite capture devices. Technology Connections actually made a video about it a few years ago.
@wilkes85 Жыл бұрын
I have the HDMI to composite one and use it on a CRT. With the resolution and aspect ratio set properly in Windows, the picture is so clear I can actually read all the text!
@nudebaboon4874 Жыл бұрын
I bought one and had to stop using it, as on switch on it would let out a loud shriek that would've damaged the speakers if the volume hadn't been so low. Can your HDMI to composite work without a computer, and what is the make and model number? Thanks.
@AMDRADEONRUBY Жыл бұрын
Nice a new video just on time before bed about an RCA to HDMI Kevin you rock and love your videos always watching them
@kbhasi Жыл бұрын
Oh my. When I saw the thumbnail for this video in my KZfaq subscription feed, I was immediately reminded of a HDMI to composite A/V adaptor I have that uses the same shell and was likely made by the same ODM. I bought one to use with the in-flight entertainment systems on older Singapore Airlines aircraft that had composite A/V inputs next to each screen. They had since refurbished their aircraft during the pandemic and upgraded to newer systems, so I never had a chance to use the adaptor in practice, but I did test it at home and it did work if I set the display output resolution to somewhere around 800×480 or 1024×576.
@marknouws4409 Жыл бұрын
The absolute timing on this video! I spent hours messing about with one a few hours ago and then i start youtube to find this 😂😂
@heavymetalnewsdesk4 ай бұрын
When you hooked the camera directly into it, that told the story. That's excellent video quality, and much better than what you see on most people's KZfaq channel, in fact, what I saw on my tv was exactly what I see with my camera plugged directly into my tv
@OrielFilms Жыл бұрын
I've used a few different composite video converters over the years and I've never been a fan of them. Either the image is blurry, washed out or over exposed, they crop the image in too much or have that aspect ratio issue. At the moment I'm capturing and archiving all my old VHS tapes using an HDMI VCR (Panasonic DMR-EZ45V) going into my HDMI capture card using OBS. I've found this to have the results I like the best. There was a big audio drift issue that I believe was a windows issue that I had to sort out and now longer (6hr+) tapes dont drift noticeably. Love videos like this ^_^
@ghostcruncher1043 Жыл бұрын
I have one of these things, and when paired with a cheap HDMI capture device, the results are pretty good! Beats any AV capture devices!
@heavymetalnewsdesk4 ай бұрын
I was curious about this very thing and today I ordered an HDMI capture device and one of these mystery boxes, but my mystery box has an s video port and an aspect ratio switch. I have several high quality old school cameras that output a composite signal, and a composite video switcher, it has 5 inputs. I'm setting up a video studio using this equipment because I don't believe in buying a whole gaggle of new cameras. What matters is what's in the shot, not how large the resolution is. And I watched several reviews of analog USB capture devices, and the results were mostly very poor in comparison to this type of setup. Generally, with one of the direct AV to USB devices you have to spend $200 to get 480p, at 15fps, and like this, using the a/v HDMI, into an HDMI capture device you can get a much higher resolution at 30fps for around $20
@hueckelaromat Жыл бұрын
Thanks for this excellent video! Again something learned while having a laugh during the video. The use of the advertising videos is great and helps lighten up the topic while not making the video bloated. I love it!
@shimtest Жыл бұрын
the white box might be a mystery, but taking care of my 80s VW Jetta is no mystery now
@vwestlife Жыл бұрын
*1997
@AmirZaimMohdZaini Жыл бұрын
This RCA to HDMI usually works better than connecting the RCA cable directly onto its port inside LCD TVs. Images usually clears a little bit, however still have some blurry effects.
@pdrg Жыл бұрын
If it helps, there are lots of transcoding programmes that are basically front ends for ffmpeg, they write the command strings for you then ffmpeg does the heavy lifting. This is thanks to the mysterious "GPL" part of the file name GNU Public License and the beautiful open source community
@xmdslipkfanx Жыл бұрын
I bought one years ago to hook up my SNES to a tv without composite. Worked great. Still got it!
@Aeduo Жыл бұрын
That input latency had to be rough to deal with.
@xmdslipkfanx Жыл бұрын
@@Aeduo there wasn’t any🤷🏽♂️
@Aeduo Жыл бұрын
@@xmdslipkfanx that would be pretty nice. The input latency might've been coming from his capture device and/or the software he was using to monitor it.
@MassobliterationАй бұрын
@@xmdslipkfanx Same, i dont notice any added latency with the HDMI2AV adapter, its not worse than using my LCD to play emulators.
@bzuidgeest Жыл бұрын
The aspect ratio change is lossless because the only thing ffmpeg does is change a flag on the file about the aspect ratio. A flag not every player might obey. Your mileage may vary. If you choose to reencode the actual stream, it will most certainly not be lossless.
@vasopel Жыл бұрын
mkvtoolnix can also to that "change a flag on the file" lossless thing ;-)
@TheOriginalCollectorA1303 Жыл бұрын
Considering the price, it’s not bad at all! Certainly not ideal for high quality archival type backups, but it’s still good for testing and to easily set something up. It would be nice if it also had S-Video, but it still works well. It won’t achieve the same look as composite on a CRT, but then again it isn’t designed with things like that in mind. Great review!
@redpheonix1000 Жыл бұрын
13:00 The NSYNC running gag kills me every time
@Grinder2112 Жыл бұрын
I'm thankful you were only trapped in that well for about 30 seconds. Well done on not letting it distract you from the typic at hand.
@zangl29559 ай бұрын
I love the little bits of humor peppered in there.
@dashcamandy2242 Жыл бұрын
9:45 - That's pretty impressive for a CATV recording in EP mode. 13:04 - Here We Go, Tearin' Up My Heart again. I Drive Myself Crazy, No Strings Attached, This I Promise You. Do Your Thing until The Game Is Over (or until you Pop). I blew a subwoofer in my car once, playing "Space Cowboy (Yippie-Yi-Yay)." Volkswagen: "Hey, we got rid of the transmission dipstick. And, to make the oil dipstick easier to locate, we made it the _same color as everyone else's transmission dipstick_ for the ultimate Fahrvergnügen."
@stereophonicstuff Жыл бұрын
I'm sure the analog video transfer purists are going to bemoan doing things this way, but I've been interested in going this route for quick down and dirty analog video transfers, ever since Technology Connections did his video on using one of these--and showing how good the results ended up being for so little time and money invested. I'm really impressed with the quality and results, especially considering how long the deinterlacing (to 60p) and upscaling (to either 720p or 1080p) process takes using other methods like QTGMC or Video Enhance AI. Is using something like this HDMI converter the right way to do things? Absolutely not, but the results more than make up for it when time is limited or the material being captured doesn't warrant going all out (like old VHS tapes of TV commercials).
@Eyetrauma Жыл бұрын
I'd give up all my modern advances to live in the world of a 1997 Jetta instructional video.
@phalxor Жыл бұрын
this is very comprehensive and I appreciate it I just wish you had included some test patterns or maybe throw a pixelated video game in the mix to see the before and after. converting a signal where the source is a vhs video it's hard to expect it to look much worse
@mycosys Жыл бұрын
The biggest issue with these sort of things for me is that you can buy a decent 15 year old Home theatre amp with HDMI 1.4 & decent deinterlacing DSP and multiple input switching and composite/svideo out and component in etc for like 80USD. And then you have a home theatre amp with audio DSP too.
@CrashCarson14 Жыл бұрын
Yep and those would have proper chips and audio sync too
@Aeduo Жыл бұрын
Not very compact nor convenient though. :p
@MonkeyPunchZPoker Жыл бұрын
I got a pre-HDMI Panasonic reciever for like $30 at a pawn shop, for the price I figured why not just in case. My $40 all in one chinese amp (had bluetooth and an SPDIF input) I was using as for my desktop died so I decided to give the massive Panasonic a try before spending any mroe money, and wow everthing sound so much better. It's a little ridiculous becaues my Sony bookshelves barely fit on my desk and the reciever is on a table next to my desk but I can't imagine a desktop system sounding any better.
@mycosys Жыл бұрын
@@Aeduo Compared to what? I already had a mass loaded ATX studio PC and several portable racks full of studio/synth gear. And a full ATX gaming PC and turntable etc, 55" 12bit IPS etc. Yeah, if for some reason you need your entire capture and gaming rig in your laptop bag its probably not the solution. If you already have some sort of desktop/lounge setup its not hard to find space for. Makes a good monitor stand at worst lol. I used to VJ with a Full Tower EATX system and use the top drive bays as a handle to shove my arm in XD to me it seems.... fine? lmao
@mycosys Жыл бұрын
@@CrashCarson14 I have some reasonably high end studio gear an im pretty sure i dont have a better DAC, let alone DAC-Amp, 24/192 Burrr Brown DACs, near flat from 5Hz to 100kHz, Farrouja DCDi deinterlacer/upscaler, lossless 10 channel audio etc. My only regret is pulling the trigger when ebay had a free shipping sale (shipping 20lb amps is normally impractical) rather than waiting for something with a phono preamp and 6 channel analog in. But... not much
@ihartmacz Жыл бұрын
I would be really happy if these had S-Video. There is a composite NTSC PAL converter that shares the same design. I have a feeling that these are all made by the same company, or at least, come off of the same assembly line. They cheap and cheerful, and they do the job.
@GamesFromSpace Жыл бұрын
I think a lot of the SCART ones support s-video with a cheap passthrough adaptor.
@SexycuteStudios Жыл бұрын
You can buy ones that include S-video. At my work, we use 32 of them because it is much cheaper to convert the signal of a specialized several-thousand dollar computer with S-video output, over to HDMI so that a 200 dollar 40" TV can display the signal, than to replace the computers.
@uxwbill Жыл бұрын
I've had occasion to use one of these and came to a similar conclusion -- it's not bad at all. VHS on a huge screen doesn't look majestic, but it's better than nothing. Unfortunately, those that go in the other direction don't perform nearly as well. I'd hazard a guess that the conversion chip is from Macrosilicon.
@devjock Жыл бұрын
With stuck heatsinks, if it's a silicone like thermal transfer material, it's usually possible to "cut" it using some strong fishing line, used like a cheese cutter / rope saw. Depending on how tough the "glue" is, use a few bits of wood instead of wrapping the fishing line around your fingers.
@Goodvibes-un9qk Жыл бұрын
I really enjoyed the video. Just wanted to suggest an alternative to ffmpeg for this sort of capture, cause I've used a very similar device to record gameplay from older consoles. If you record using Open Broadcaster Software you could apply the aspect ratio correction before the file is even written, as well as potentially get some more fine grained control over the bitrate of the captured footage (depending on the device drivers). Thanks for the informative video!
@mycosys Жыл бұрын
Thats basically using ffmpeg as the capture software, which is what he probably should have done with whatever frontend. You can just tell ffmpeg to input a device rather than a file
@caeserromero3013 Жыл бұрын
I used one of these recently. I needed to convert old NTSC VHS tape to PAL DVD. I had a PAL/NTSC compatible VHS player, but when I connected it to my capture card, it was only recording black and white. I had a convertor box which would make the signal colour but it only had scart input and HDMI output, and my capture card only had composite input. I knew my dad had one of these boxes so I borrowed it and it bridged the gap between HDMI and composite and enabled me to back up those old NTSC VHS tapes in colour to MP4, which I then converted to DVD and burned successfully. Convoluted way of doing it, but given the format constraints I was working to, it got the job done.
@FrancisLitanofficialJAPINOY Жыл бұрын
IF PAL DVD, cannot play to NTSC only DVD players if NTSC DVD, works fine with both PAL and NTSC DVD Players.
@electronicwaves Жыл бұрын
Great video as always! One thing that helps a lot in the analog to digital conversion is a TBC (time base corrector). Full frame stand alone TBC is becoming more and more difficult to find and ridiculously expensive but one could get away either with a high end VHS device that includes a digital TBC, or a DVD recorder that has TBC: There were selected models like Panasonic DMR-ES10 and Panasonic DMR-ES15 that had line TBC and the best thing is that you can use those as passthrough, no need to burn VHS to DVD!
@mw01908 Жыл бұрын
I have one of these, and I bought a blackmagic pro intensity card, but I could never get windows to see the card. I'm looking for another way to capture the HDMI stream from the panasonic. What would you recommend?
@electronicwaves Жыл бұрын
@@mw01908 If I understood correct, you have Panasonic DVD recorder that has both TBC and HDMI output. Then you should consider yourself lucky! I have no experience with blackmagic pro intensity card, but I have bought 2 relatively cheap HDMI to USB adapters from aliexpress. The first one is based on the low end IC that doesn't support 1080 60fps and also has limited color capabilities. So I ordered another one based on the MS2130 IC that is supposed to support true 1080p 60fps and USB 3.0 speeds. Unfortunately, I didn't have the time to test it thoroughly but some test captures show a noticeable difference compared to the cheaper adapter. Btw these adapters don't need any drivers installation, they are automatically recognized from the OS, plug and play. I used OBS to capture from both devices.
@BubbaBigDude Жыл бұрын
Yay Callie popping the hood on the Jetta again! LOL 😅
@andreasu.3546 Жыл бұрын
So much gold in that VW Jetta video.
@agy234 Жыл бұрын
Walmart has these under their ONN brand, they’re not bad quality. USB-mini b for power is my only complaint
@KRAFTWERK2K6 Жыл бұрын
there are Adapters for Mini USB Male to USB-C female.
@oscodains Жыл бұрын
They do have problems overheating it seems fme, so long-term use (for a TV) is not advised.
@Markimark151 Жыл бұрын
I bought a similar AV to HDMI adapter few months ago, because I just want to be able to play older video game consoles and VHS tapes on an HDMI only computer monitor, I mostly recommend it for playback purposes, not for recording and digitization since there’s better capture devices. But for HDMI input-only displays, and it’s simple hook up, I say it’s great for a cheap price and if you got lots of LCD monitors, because they’re easy to plug in for analog video!
@clayerik Жыл бұрын
Please name some devices what's better for capturing.
@Markimark151 Жыл бұрын
@@clayerik the PCI capture card or the AVer media A/V adapters they capture better analog video with S-video and A/V to the computer.
@HIDLad001 Жыл бұрын
I have used the reverse version (HDMI2AV) in the past, and it works all right.
@KRAFTWERK2K6 Жыл бұрын
I have something like that but something that converts HDMI to SD. It even has a PAL / NTSC switch and it actually works quite well for the few times i actually need something like that. I once even got a dedicated PAL / NTSC converter in such a little box too and that thing actually disappointed me a lot as the PAL signal had some really nasty artifacts from the format conversion, resulting in a pretty uneven framerate conversion that even has some nasty ghosting here and there. SO yeah these little boxes are sometimes hit or miss.
@zekester2097 Жыл бұрын
Can confirm that the PAL converter is very noisy. I've used many of these "Mini" adapters that you can find on ebay (and I think walmart?). I primarily use their composite to VGA adapter, so I can use older game consoles on a VGA/DVI only monitor.
@esological Жыл бұрын
i fkn love this channel man
@TheRealAstroChicken Жыл бұрын
Dude, I bought one or two of these from Amazon last year! They were cheap and I loved the idea. I can't remember if I tried them yet.
@ct1660 Жыл бұрын
On the HDMI to composite adapters, they don't require that Mini-USB connector as the power it needs to operate was supplied via HDMI (despite having the port), yet the composite to HDMI adapters require it. I came across a lot of these of either type, including one that can do BOTH. I've seen other variants which is more streamlined (I use one of those to connect to my HDMI-only TV to my A/V switch box). I've seen them sold at Micro-Center for around $14.
@Aeduo Жыл бұрын
Pretty good guide. Would be neat if it had a native format 480i/240p or at least 480p mode, though.
@mchenrynick Жыл бұрын
I use Freemake for changing aspect radio of videos. After selecting the target video type, select the screen size to change it to (e.g. 640x480 for your 4:3 video) and make sure the STRETCH option is selected. The converted video will now be the correct size by default.
@EffendiChung Жыл бұрын
I bought 4 of these from a supplier, same brand and supposedly same batch. The audio on these are reversed in 2, and normal on the others. Opening it, it comes with 3 visually different boards. They do last, however, been using them for 10+ years and are still kicking.
@analogvideochannel4612 Жыл бұрын
I wish these boxes had a way to output the direct 480i or 576i resolution and some configuration rather than being forced to one of two setting sthat both upscale, deinterlace and crop off the edges as the actual analog to digital part in many of them seem to do a much better job than the av->usb2 dongles you get these days. Those often output in the original resolution losslessly but the analog to digital part in them is usually crap and with no sort of buffering. I've generally landed on passing the video using various dvd-recorders from the mid 2000s when capturing vhs, as some of them (but far from all) had some excellent hardware in them built to handle videotape input well.
@TheUmart Жыл бұрын
That NSYNC gag was insane :)
@hugheyball9905 Жыл бұрын
Thanks for the video. Tip: Use "Handbrake" as an encoding solution, it's free and easy to operate.
@Ale.K7 Жыл бұрын
Every single generic (both cheap and better quality/higher price but still generic) miniplug to RCA cable that I bought in the last several years has the channels reversed (red as left and white/black as right, one even has "L" and "R" stamped and is still backwards). Interesting to see that they're reversing them on other stuff too.
@dennisthebrony2022 Жыл бұрын
I was thinking about getting one of these for capturing video from my Wii and VHS VCR to my MacBook Air M1, using an HDMI Capture card!!! Thanks for sharing this video!!!
@RickyVinnie Жыл бұрын
im happy you made this video vwestlife i was wondering about this item, and you always provide so much info
@wellivea1 Жыл бұрын
The best thing would be a capture/conversion card that captures video at whatever aspect ratio, resolution and framerate is put into it. Letting a cheap low-power black (or white) box deinterlace and upscale a signal for you rather than doing it yourself *will* be significantly worse in terms of detail preservation. Also, you can use any directshow software with those capture cards (virtualdub being the most common), I don't know why you would use the built-in windows software which will re-encode it to what is likely a pretty bit-starved and inefficient encode.
@HelloKittyFanMan Жыл бұрын
"And if you're wondering if the audio and video are in sych..." * Shows NSync disc, haha, nice!
@scottlafleur4148 Жыл бұрын
I have the HDMI to composite version of this box and it's works great. Audio channels are correct. I use it to record from Chromecast to DVD recorder for commercial skipping in apps that have ads.
@scorbiot Жыл бұрын
If you're afraid of command line, I recommend FFmpeg Batch AV Converter. It's not much more than an FFmpeg GUI, but you don't really need much more.
@50shadesofbeige88 Жыл бұрын
Ah yes... a nice nightcap and VWestlife.
@mIRChele Жыл бұрын
I've used something that looks like it but actually converted hdmi to composite and not vice-versa, because I was using it on an old TV. It even runs without external power, taking all it needs through hdmi. By disassembling it I discovered that the chip used also supports rgb. Unfortunately, these manufacture doesn't seem to care about doing a SCART version with rgb support, I think the video quality would be
@PaleozoicPCs Жыл бұрын
I use one of these (looks like the exact same animal, bought it off Amazon for $9 a couple years ago) for connecting 80's-vintage home computers and my homebrew video experiments to an LCD monitor when I'm too lazy to drag out a CRT, and I can't complain about it. It does a perfectly readable job converting 12mhz monochrome video that's generated straight off of 7400 series logic with very ad-hoc termination, and it also handles non-interlaced (The 240p not-according-to-Hoyle NTSC that was used by most home computers and video game consoles from the 1970's through the mid-1990's) video better than the integrated composite inputs on the cheapo 8" LCD monitor I keep on my bench. (It seems to be a common problem with cheap LCD TVs and monitors that they don't like non-interlaced video and give you a kind of line-flickery comb distortion.) Also occasionally used it with one of those cheap USB3 HDMI capture devices to capture stuff with OBS and, likewise, the results were perfectly acceptable considering how cheap the whole mess is.
@trueKorvus Жыл бұрын
8:45 "The engine oil dipstick is marked in red for easy identification. And if you look for a dipstick to check the automatic transmission fluid level, well you're not going to find one..." ...Now basically the only new principle involved is that instead of power being generated by the relative motion of conductors and fluxes, it is produced by the modial interaction of magneto-reluctance and capacitive diractance... IT'S THE 'ROCKWELL RETRO ENCABULATOR' GUY!
@BenHelweg Жыл бұрын
The jetta audio and music is so good.
@HelloKittyFanMan Жыл бұрын
Just $6-10 for this piece of technology? Wow, that's amazing!
@DJAllOut Жыл бұрын
There's an easier way to change the aspect ratio of a video. Use a program called avidemux, keep the video and audio set to "copy," set the output format as the same as the input (ex: mp4) then go to Configure, and the option to force the aspect ratio is right there. No re-encoding or command line stuff needed.
@mycosys Жыл бұрын
Thats another GUI for ffmpeg. Its exactly what he did without the point and click. Personally i would have probably use Handbrake as the forntend, but ive transcoded stuff on a server without the gui many times before downloading it.
@deathstrike Жыл бұрын
These "el cheapos" weren't even meant for working with video. They were primarily built for "upscaling" classic gaming consoles who had composite output (RCA) to something that a modern television could basically work with. It works ok with say NES/SNES/Genesis/GameCube/N64. Basically anything with Composite. The earlier HDMI enabled televisions had a full suite of inputs in the back for just this kind of work (HDMI/YPbPr/VGA/SVideo/Composite). Now these cheapie tvs are lucky to have more than two HDMI inputs and little to nothing else. I have an older Sanyo 19in HDMI with the full input suite I use as a test monitor. If you can find one of these, even though the picture isn't fabulous, I highly recommend them for testing, as opposed to these crappy upconverters.
@andrewmorgan6734 Жыл бұрын
Some of those Chinese converter boxes have a switch choose 16:9 between 4:3 aspect ratios. If you want a higher quality converter with other analog inputs like component, S-Video, or SCART a XRGB Framemeister, OSSC 1.6, or Retrotink 5X Pro. All these options are quite expensive and come with long list of advanced options and have little or no input lag. These scalers and converters were created with gaming in mind. Other KZfaq channels have covered scalers pretty well when it comes to gaming and video capturing/editing.
@8bitwiz_ Жыл бұрын
I have a device in the same plastic shell, only it's black. But on the inside, it's completely different. I haven't had a chance to use it since finding it in a thrift store bin, so I don't know how well it works, but it looks like the chip dates that I can see are from 2017. (Your chips might be from 2013!) It has a brand name, I guess... the plastic case says "GANA MINI AV2HDMI UP Scaler 1080P", but there is no identifying text on the circuit board. I would expect similar aspect ratio problems, but hopefully they got the audio channels right! (I will be sure to check.)
@raygunpyle Жыл бұрын
I have the VGA version of this white box. I got this in order to play SNES/other composite video on my flat screen CRT monitor. A few years back, a family friend retired and was cleaning out their office and they had it sitting in storage brand new in box.....They said "Do you want it?" You better believe I said yes! It works, but you can still tell you have a composite signal....still not bad overall. It works for my purpose.....I want to test my L/R audio channels now for reverse signals....LOL
@j.w.techchannel Жыл бұрын
Very informative video, I enjoyed it. I also have a converter box like this, except it's for SCART input. It was a similar price as the one in this video and also does the job alright, although the picture is slightly darker than it should be. Can't complain though.
@Skawo Жыл бұрын
All of these mini converter boxes in this style seem to do a good enough job now. Tested an AV to RF one and an HDMI to Composite one - both do the job fairly well. But, yeah, the 4:3 thing is a bummer. Supposedly there WERE versions of this out there that had a 4:3 / 16:9 switch, but seem to have gone out of production. Wonder if there's a pin on that HDMI output chip you could wire a switch to restore this functionality. Another problem with this thing is that it does not support the PAL60 format at all.
@notanimposter Жыл бұрын
ffmpeg is probably my favorite program. If you have some audio or video, and you want something done to it, ffmpeg can probably do it 3 different ways. I even used to use ffmpeg to stream my desktop AND a webcam to Twitch before I got OBS! I've been really impressed by all these no-name Aliexpress boxes in recent years. They used to all be really crappy, but I guess HDMI devices are pretty easy to make these days. I got a 1080p capture device for $60 a couple years ago and it works basically perfect. I bet you can get a 4K one now for even less.
@Roblecop Жыл бұрын
That guy in the TV show busking playing "La Campanella" and he just gets reduced to "Street Performer" lol I haven't heard many "Street performers" play Paganini so cleanly.
@velvetpilot2008 Жыл бұрын
I bought one of these for my SEGA Dreamcast but it looked awful on a 23.5" 1080p computer monitor. Then I bought a Kaiko all in one VGA cable and used that instead. HUGE difference even if it was only 640 x 480p. Then down the road I got a VGA-2-HDMI box and it still looks pretty sharp on a 43" 1080p TV. But I guess you have to work with what's available. I could have dealt with it if it were Master System or Genesis. Maybe.
@SPINNINGMYWHEELS777 Жыл бұрын
VLC got it right years ago. And Quicktime Pro 7 - in terms of lightness and ease of use with pro features.
@idletime11 ай бұрын
G'afternoon Wes 🤠 . I had to put 1 of these between my Sony VCR & my 56" Visio TV to scale the signal from 480 to 720/1080 so the TV would recognize jt & it worked great 🤠 .
@lawrence.porter Жыл бұрын
If it’s stretched out using 4:3 ratio then all you do is change the ratio on whatever monitor you’re playing back on. That’s why the option is there.
@mercuryoak2 Жыл бұрын
This looks similar to what I have at home but I got it from Best buy. It was called vid box . The one I have has S-Video and RCA analog and then you can use it to exported through USB into the software that they give you. The only thing I didn't test with it yet is if I could do recording from a VHS tape that was pre-recorded and it has the copyright on it. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have an issue with the type of VCR that I have at home. The only downside is you can't do it through HDMI unless you have a special adapter otherwise it does the job.
@poorman-trending Жыл бұрын
Sometimes it can be more about how long it will work for rather than if it will work at all.
@wisteela Жыл бұрын
I got given one of these, and I've used it with my 1998 Sony Handycam to connect to my TV. Works really well, but much better in 720 otherwise it's too sharp/harsh. Switching mode whilst powered with a signal doesn't seem to work. Thanks for the heads up on the reversed audio channels, and I must get a Y splitter. On mine it says on the top Mini AV2HDMI UP Scaler 1080P. 4:3 ratio is handled by the TV.
@Monacomaverick Жыл бұрын
I can smell the carpet glue from that Jetta..
@PatrickCraig-lh5is Жыл бұрын
Came to watch video about an A/V converter, left with an inexplicable desire to purchase a 1997 VW Jetta...
@djjohnnymusic Жыл бұрын
I've got one similar that converts HDMI to RCA. I've got it set up on an older TV in the shed that only has RCA inputs. It means I can plug in my Chromecast and stream to it. It's not the greatest picture quality, but it's good enough for the shed.
@willissudweeks1050 Жыл бұрын
If that’s a nice older tv it’s probably worth more than a lot of flat screens
@JPX64Channel Жыл бұрын
looks really good!! the advantage is that you don't need to de-interlace it and you automatically get a 60p or 50p video feed, big disadvantage is needing a separate (and expensive) hdmi capture card...another disadvantage, not useful with playing with video game consoles in your flatscreen
@ruikazane5123 Жыл бұрын
I don't even have HDMI but I watched this one. Unfortunately, the latency is too high to use it with a PS2 and play some games using a modern monitor. For those video transcoding jobs we preferred Handbrake, you can select multiple codecs, custom resolutions (with or without following an aspect ratio) and compression levels to suit. Also doesn't show some scary things on a command prompt!
@methanial73 Жыл бұрын
I use one of these for some of my older video equipment for the newer TV. Works fine, the aspect ratio on the tv is adjustable too.
@SAPopeOnARope Жыл бұрын
That rocket ship on the cleaner tape looked rather phallic
@VinsPol247 Жыл бұрын
Nice to learn more about ffmpeg uses. That was cool.
@devmas Жыл бұрын
Back in 2014, I bought the Playstation 3D Display to replace my old composite-only CRT, and finally enter the HD era. As the PS 3D Display has no composite inputs, for a while I used this exact converter as my way of watching TV through my cable box and playing old video games (it could handle 16 KHz signals!)... The forced 16:9 was annoying, and the lag made games annoying to play, but it served me very well, especially for the affordable price. I barely need it for anything nowadays, but I also replaced it with a RetroTink, which fixes all the aforementioned problems (though at a much higher price).
@mrnmrn1 Жыл бұрын
I was lucky enough to buy a Sony HDD-DVD recorder two years ago for $50 with HDMI output. It also has S-Video input, video noise reduction which is adjustable separately for luma and chroma, adjustable brightness, contrast, saturation, hue and sharpness, plus a built in Time Base Corrector of some kind, so even damaged tapes can be captured with a relatively steady image. I only use it to capture through its HDMI output with a $22 Aliexpress USB3.0 HDMI capture device.
@mikefellhauer3350 Жыл бұрын
There's also the opposite version available for going from HDMI to composite, and the switch on that unit switches between NTSC and PAL.
@andygozzo72 Жыл бұрын
yeah, i have a feeling i may have one somewhere, got it several years ago but never tried it just stuck it out of the way...now dunno where it is!
@meandmyEV Жыл бұрын
Do you think the couple from the Jetta video are an item? I think I am falling in love with the woman. 😂 Great video as always!
@LSSTmusic Жыл бұрын
god I'm drunk and eating street corn Cheetos right now but i love this channel and he sounds he is like DingDongVG's dad i swear to god