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 | | From: | Rex the Strange | | Subject: | Video Systems Converter | | Date: | 14 Jan 2005 09:13:56 -0800 |
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 | I've been looking at different video systems converters and have been
learning a lot. For example, that cheap piece of crap I bought from
Hong Kong doesn't do anything like a real/adequate job of converting
PAL to NTSC.
I have come across the following and I was wondering if anyone has any
experience/thoughts on these products:
1 - Tenlabs Converters (http://www.tenlab.com/Products.htm). Very
expensive and probably geared toward professionals. Their $799 TR-21
seems to have the same capabilites as...
2 - A-Neutronics Converter
(http://www.a-neutronics.com/Standards%20Converter.htm). Looks like it
has the same (or close enough) capability as the Tenlabs (except it's
2MB video memory instead of 4MB) but is a fraction of the price, at
$129. What's the catch?
3 - AED International Converter
(http://www.voltageconverters.com/video_converters.html). Doesn't
output to NTSC 4.43 like the other two, but has more video memory. At
$179 it's fifty bucks more expensive than A-Neutronics but still
infinitely cheaper than Tenlabs.
So what's the deal here? Are 2 and 3 intrinsically inferior to 1 -
will they not do the job adequately, like my cheap Hong Kong converter
or is Tenlabs just a premium brand with a premium price?
All advice welcome. Tia.
Roger L. Main
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| | From: | Mike S. | | Subject: | Re: Video Systems Converter | | Date: | Fri, 14 Jan 2005 21:02:12 +0000 (UTC) |
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In article <1105722835.985649.163170@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com>,
Rex the Strange wrote:
>I've been looking at different video systems converters and have been
>learning a lot. For example, that cheap piece of crap I bought from
>Hong Kong doesn't do anything like a real/adequate job of converting
>PAL to NTSC.
>
>I have come across the following and I was wondering if anyone has any
>experience/thoughts on these products:
>
>2 - A-Neutronics Converter
>(http://www.a-neutronics.com/Standards%20Converter.htm). Looks like it
>has the same (or close enough) capability as the Tenlabs (except it's
>2MB video memory instead of 4MB) but is a fraction of the price, at
>$129. What's the catch?
I have reached the conclusion that none of the inexpensive converters will
give you studio quality. By inexpensive I mean less than a few THOUSAND
dollars.
It was pointed out to me that many televised events, like sports, intended
for worldwide broadcast, are covered simultaneously by NTSC and PAL cameras
rather than bothering with converters ... that must say something if it's
worth the extra bother even when you have expensive converters available.
The A-Neutronics converter is a private labelled version of the Shinybow
SB-3690 from Hong Kong. It does the job, but the video shimmers (especially
with horizontal movement in the image content) and has poor contrast and
color saturation. It's sitting on the shelf now as I ultimately got a
higher quality multistandard DVD player and am using that instead. (Wanna
buy it?) Is it watchable? Certainly. It depends how much quality you
demand, I guess.
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