An IM? On TV? I . . .Uh . . . I Can’t Handle That
Written: Nov 26 '01 (Updated Nov 26 '01)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Affordable, TV-out Is Awesome, Crisp, Clear Picture
Cons: Terrible Software and Manual, Shady Manufacturer (VideoExcel, not VisionTek)
The Bottom Line: For serious computer gamers or Divx-DVD-rip collectors, the accelerated picture and TV-out is probably worth the loot.
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| Sneil_IV's Full Review: VisionTek Xtasy 5332 Graphics card |
College kids are poor; this fact is pretty much accepted as gospel and in most cases damn accurate. I, for the most part, am no exception to the rule; while I do have a job and live comfortably, I don’t have the money to drop on DVDs. Naturally, I do as most college kids do: take it to Kazaa. Of course, gig after gig of Divx downloads later, I’m presented with another problem: watching these bootleg DVD rips on my monitor isn’t the most comfortable of experiences, and when you’re watchin’ with a hunny . . . well, even the most durable of laps can’t sustain a 2-hour sittin’. Sure, I tried tilting my monitor and sitting across the room, or angling the futon and moving furniture, but nothing quite did the job. And audio? Don’t get me started. If I used my computer speakers, the sound was muffled and projected from an odd angle. If I hooked the computer up to my stereo speakers, then the audio and picture are coming from 90 degrees apart.
This may all sound like whiny bizitching, but I assure you, it was bedlam.
So that’s where my life was one fateful day when I strolled into my boy’s room to find him watching “Full Metal Jacket” on his TV. I watched for a bit and then, having never seen the movie, asked,
“Can I borrow this DVD when you’re done?”
“It’s not a DVD; it’s a Divx rip. I can send it to you,” was his calm reply. I was dumbfounded. A Divx . . . on TV?
“How are you watching it on TV?” I desperately inquired. He then went on to tell me about his new “All-In-Wonder” video card, which boasted all sorts of video ins and outs. I was ecstatic. Immediately, I dashed back to my room and started furiously surfing around different computer-parts websites. I soon found a video card that would meet my needs, and took my quest to the one place I always count on: eBay. Sure enough, I found my card for a cool $55. Two days later the auction concluded, and I was the proud owner of an Nvidia GeForce2 mx200 64mb video card w/ TV-out feature, as well as one serious string of nerd-lingo. I got ‘er in the mail a week later.
The card itself was pretty beefy; on the side it sported a monitor output, as well as an S-video and RCA video output, and on the underside was a monstrous fan that could probably cool not just the card but also the rest of my room. Installation was a breeze; unscrew one lil’ screw from m’old board, yank ‘er out, and slide the new board right on in. Since my ghetto TV (see review) doesn’t have S-video ins, I opted for the RCA connection. Upon rebooting my computer I was prompted to drop in the software CD, which loaded a few basic drivers and then rebooted my computer.
Let me tell you, when the computer had finished rebooting, I was amazed. My 1024 x 768 screen, which had previously been just about as big as my card could go, was now crammed into a corner of my monitor, with icons roughly a nanometer across. I could now set my monitor at 1280 x 1024, which was inexplicably what it was set at now. After resizing the screen and making some adjustments, I was back in 1024 mode and ready to take it to the tube.
A half an hour later, I was still ready to take it to the tube, though the trash seemed like a more appealing option. I’ve since been told that video cards are notorious for being afflicted with terrible software and instruction manuals, and this was certainly no exception. I had no idea how to get the picture to my TV. I tried everything. I searched every inch of that useless CD. I flipped through the useless manual a million times. I tried contacting the board’s manufacturer, some shady company called VideoExcel, but they offered neither contact info nor a website. Even 15 minutes of Google couldn’t hook me up with those VideoExcel commies. Things seemed hopeless.
Then my boy stopped in and found the settings – buried wayyyyy back (control panel, display, settings, advanced, output, TV) in a route I never would’ve found on my own. With that found, things were remarkably easy: I chose TV at 800x600 resolution, and it popped up on the TV. There is some option that allows for “Twin View”, on both my monitor and TV, but it just crashed the system when I tried it. Doesn’t matter; there are no advantages really to having it on both. On the TV things looked decent; text was all but impossible to read, but movies looked amazingly crisp – arguably just as good as DVDs do, considering the RCA connection. I’m confident that with an S-video hook up the picture would be that much better, as well.
I’m not much of a gamer, but when I ran ol’ skool Action Quake II on the new card, it looked sharper and significantly faster than before.
So was it worth the loot? I’d certainly say so. Now whenever I want a new DVD, I can usually snag the rip in under ˝ on Kazaa or FTP searching. Immoral? I’m poor, and I don’t think the DVD industry really has anything to worry about. Plus, they can rest comfortable knowing that my thievery comes with some embarrassment – the other day, while finally watching “Full Metal Jacket” with the guys in m’room, a lady friend dropped me a particularly affectionate IM, even concluding it with a gushy ::mwah::! I scrambled to minimize it, but alas, the message had been seen by all, and ridicule continued for the rest of the movie. Maybe the TV output wasn’t such a great idea after all . . .
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 65
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Epinions.com ID:
Sneil_IV
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Member: Neil Janowitz
Location: Rochester, NY
Reviews written: 93
Trusted by: 192 members
About Me:
Holy halibut, weekly humor columns at www.neiljanowitz.com . Join the mailing list, son.
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