Pound Cables: Are They Worth It?

Рет қаралды 516

Game Escape

4 жыл бұрын

I recently picked up a set of cheap pound cables for the Xbox, PS2, and Saturn, and I was surprised with what I found.

Пікірлер: 9

@arioca 4 жыл бұрын

From what I remember hearing, the main issue with these Pound cables is the added input lag caused by the upscaling. Awesome arcade stick!

@GameEscape 4 жыл бұрын

For me, the input lag is not so bad. I think it depends on your personal sensitivities and recent experience. If you used these coming from a CRT or a Framemeister, yeah, then the input lag would likely be noticeable. But if not, it could be tolerable, depending on how sensitive you are to it. For me, it is good enough to be playable.

@videogameobsession 4 жыл бұрын

They sent me their HDMI cables for the SNES, PS2, Xbox, and PS1 for review. The main deal breaker for me was the input latency. It seemed to be about 8 frames old lag, which is VERY noticeable. The other stuff I could live with, but wasn't ideal (ghosting, inaccurate colors, oversaturated color, crushed black levels (especially on the PS2 and Xbox), and a 16:9 default aspect ratio. This will be a problem for non HDTVs, such as PC displays. I had a problem with it on my PlayStation 24" Display, with no way to force it to 4:3. Instead of these I'd highly recommend getting either the $50 RAD2X HDMI cables. The difference here is that the person making it is not using the same generic encoder/upscalers being use by all of those cheap HDMI cables. He's tweaked the contrast/colors/tint to perfection, and it's line doubling as opposed to upscaling. So you are doubling 240p signals to 480p. There is zero added in input lag using that method. It also outputs at the correct aspect ratio. A smoothing option is included, but only recommended for some early polygon style games. The other item I'd recommend is a RetroTINK-2X Pro. It's also by the same person as the RAD2X HDMI cables, but the TINK is a tiny $100 convertor box where you can input any composite/svideo/component (from worse to better A/V quality) output. The benefit to this is that you can use this for many consoles. It's also an excellent solution for the N64 (with a cheap svideo cable), a nice alternative to the expensive, and hard to mod Ultra HDMI internal mod. It's of course not AS good, but it's still pretty good, the smoothing option button is present here, and does help with the N64 jaggies. It's like turning on Bob Deinterlacing, if you are familiar with that. If you really want to make your systems look excellent on the Retro-TINK-2X Pro, you could also add in some HD Retrovision YPbPr component cables for your systems. Then you'd be tapping into the pure RGB signal for those consoles (I bought cables for my GEN, NEO•GEO, SNES, PS1, SAT, and Jaguar). Oh, and the RetroTINK-2X Pro also has an option to turn on scanlines. Those used to gaming on CRTs may want that option. There is of course other options, but they can get pricey.

@GameEscape 4 жыл бұрын

I may decide to go with the RAD2x for the Saturn if I can find one, as it would still be a single cable solution, which is important to me. Beyond that, I am not really inclined to go down the rabbit hole of sinking money into multiple high end cables for the different systems or jumping to the super pricey upscalers. I think certain corners of the YT community have conditioned viewers to believe that only the highest end custom mods/devices/cables offer the "authentic" or "truly accurate" experience of playing these consoles. To me, the best and most authentic experience is using a CRT. But since I don't want the hassle and clutter of using my CRTs, solutions like the Pound cables are good enough to enjoy the games in my collection in reasonable quality. And as long as the games are playable and enjoyable, that is what is most important to me.

@videogameobsession 4 жыл бұрын

I agree about the CRT. I still game on my Wega CRT, but it's a smaller screen and not ideal when we have several friends over. Instead we game on the larger HDTV in the living room. As far as the latency on the Pound/etc HDMI cables, it's a deal breaker for me. Some people might think it's OK, but give Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! or Battletoads a try on a system with 7 frames of lag (200ms+) and you will quickly see how much it can ruin your gaming experience! I personally don't mind spending a bit more on something I use all the time. I also highly recommend FPGA consoles such as the AVS, Mega Sg, and Super Nt.

@Gamingwithgleez 4 жыл бұрын

Great review. I have the Hyperkin cable for the PS1/PS2. It seems to give similar results. Soft and saturated image. I also have to change my monitor's aspect ratio to get it out of wide screen which sucks. Good video as always man.

@GameEscape 4 жыл бұрын

Thanks! It is interesting, for me, these do not default to widescreen. All provide a 4:3 aspect ratio without needing to go into the TV options.

@Kyle-pj2vc Жыл бұрын

I haven't noticed any lag, and retro gamers seem to shame you for buying anything but a frameister, OSSC, or retrotink device. Not everyone wants to constantly be unplugging and replugging in cables and spend 120-150+ on a device that's slightly crisper on anti aliasing. Pound cables is still a huge jump over composite. I like these devices, I pick em up used around 15-20 and forget about it. Quick, dirty, and clean solution.