MadCatz Universal Console Cable 6015: Puts An End To "Octopus Cable Syndrome"
Written: Nov 19 '04
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Eliminates the need for tons of cables, great to use as a replacement set.
Cons: None!
The Bottom Line: MadCatz Universal Console Cable; a great investment for hard core gamers!
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| Freak369's Full Review: Madcatz Universal Console AV / S-Video Cable MCC60... |
No one likes to have to deal with switching cables, rerouting wires and playing the guessing game in regards to hooking up video game equipment. I’m somewhat of an old school video game junkie that takes a lot of pride in owning the original Nintendo system, PS1, PS2, Sega Genesis, Dreamcast, GameBoy Color, GameBoy Advance and NeoGeo. With all this video game equipment comes a potential headache when you want to switch from one system to another. I started looking for some type of a universal cable that I could use to minimize the amount of frustration that accompanied having a lot of different games for different systems [barring the handheld ones of course]. I picked the MadCatz Universal Console cable because it allowed me to have the PS1 and PS2 connected at the same time and eliminated the somewhat dangerous event of having to climb behind the entertainment unit in my bedroom to switch the cables. So far this has proved to be a most worth while purchase and I am sure that when I get my new X Box and hook it up it will be an even more precious piece of audio / video equipment.
The Specifics
As I mentioned, I am using this cable, at the present moment that is, to have my Playstation 1 and Playstation 2 connected to my television at the same time so I don’t have to switch the cables. Per the manufactures insert in the package this is capable of handling Playstation 1 [the original version], PS1, PS2, X Box, Game Cube and Nintendo 64. Since I am only using this for the Playstation varieties I can’t comment on how well this works with the other gaming systems that MadCatz claims this cable will work with however I will update this when I get the X Box and hook it up. There is a six foot cord from end to end so there’s more than enough wiring to work with when hooking up the systems. I have my consoles set up on a large entertainment unit and have never had any trouble with there not being enough slack on the cable or when I move the units around to clean. The really nice thing about this is that there is an auxiliary port mid way though the cable so it can be used with older televisions that use the RF connectors. I plan on picking up another one of these cables for my youngest sons room since his television requires this type of connection. He only has Playstation 1 in there but he’s getting ready to inherit a PS2 when I purchase a new one at the beginning of the year.
Price
I picked this up at my local game store for $9.99 and consider it well worth the money. I am sure that if I shopped around I could have found it for a few dollars less but now that I’ve had this for a while and it gets used every single time I turn on one of the systems, I can’t really complain about the price of it. You can find cheaper cables from other companies but you won’t get the quality picture or connect that you get from the MadCatz universal cable. When I started looking online for these to get a price for them I found that most sites were selling these, new, for about $13.00 give or take a dollar or two. If you are going to order these online make sure you are going to be getting new cables; if you are wondering why I say that you get new ones it’s pretty simple – you never know what type of stress was the cable was put under by the former owner and some sites won’t give you a return, refund or exchange on used items.
Picture Quality
I wasn’t really concerned with the overall quality of the picture since most of the games that I play aren’t heavy on graphical content. My normal video game fodder for the Playstation system consist of the Spyro The Dragon games, Crash Bash, Croc, Toy Story I and II – well, you get the idea. It isn’t until I got the hankering to play Metal Gear Solid and Sons of Liberty that I started to worry about if these cables would give me the same picture quality as the original cables. I popped in the disc and fired up all the necessary audio and video components [stereo, auxiliary speakers etc] and was really surprised that the video quality was the same as with the original cable. The connector ends fit securely into the game units so you don’t have to worry about them wiggling around and creating distortion on the screen. That was one of my biggest complaints about a cheap cable that I bought when I couldn’t find a cord for my Dreamcast – and it went in the garbage about three hours after I bought it. Ever try to play Crazy Taxi when you have snow showing up on the screen at intermittent periods and the only thing that fixes it is wiggling the cord? Not fun, not fun at all. With this cord I’ve never had any problems with them coming loose or needing any type of adjustment.
Warranty
This comes with a five year warranty against defects and workmanship. Make sure that you hang on to your receipt and proof of purchase [the paper insert card with the UPC code] in case you need to send it back to MadCatz for a replacement. Most of the time items like this will show any defects almost immediately I which case you should be able to return them to the store where you purchased it for an exchange. If you purchased it online you might have some trouble exchanging it if the site has strict rules about refunds or returns. You’ll need to contact MadCatz to get an RMA [return merchandise authorization] number and make sure you write that on the outside of the box, you’ll be given instructions on what information you need to provide [name, address, phone number etc] so they can process your exchange quickly. Make sure you write the RMA number on the sheet with your information too, this will help speed things up and ensure that you get the correct replacement cable.
Things To Know
• If you are going to try and track this down, the easiest way is to reference the MadCatz part number – 6015. You can do searches on Google or Alta Vista with the string “madcatz, 6015” to get the best results for your query. There are a lot of different MadCatz adaptor, universal and replacement cables on the market so make sure you are ordering the right set.
• For more information about this and other MadCatz items, visit their official website at www.madcatz.com. The site does have a lot of their current products listed however the older ones that are no longer being manufactured aren’t featured on the site even though a lot of other sites are still selling them. Need to call them? Do it here: [800] 659-2287
The Bottom Line
If you are plagued with an octopus of wires, are missing cables or just want to be able to play more than one system without taking your life in your hands switching cables then this is definitely worth checking out. For the price you can’t go wrong, even if you have to pay a few bucks more than the $9.99 I invested into it, the time and frustration you’ll save in the long run will more than make up for it. I’ve always trusted MadCatz for third party video game supplies and this product exceeded my initial expectations; the audio and video quality is exceptional, it has the RF port and allows you to have more than one video game system connected and ready to go at the flick of a power switch. If you are looking for a replacement cable and have more than one video game system this is also a great pick!
As always, thanks for the visit …
~^V^~ Freak ~^V^~
© 2004 Freak369
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Recommended:
Yes
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