Almost all Xbox games take advantage of progressive scan and HDTV display modes. DVDs all look better when played through a progressive scan DVD player. Even some GameCube and PS2 games support these special display modes. Normally to view these you have to have an HDTV which can cost a lot of money, but now with the VDigi VD-Z3 adapter you can hook your game systems and DVD player into your computer monitor and get HDTV quality visuals at a fraction of the price.
VD-Z3 Features
When you buy the ZD-Z3 you’ll find the following things in the box:
- The VD-Z3 component -> VGA transducer unit.
- An Xbox component cable.
- An audio “Y” cable.
- Power adapter.
- Instruction manual.
Buy the VD-Z3 at the official VDigi website. The price is $59.90 plus shipping and right now you can only buy it from VDigi.
Click here to see the VD-Z3 in action:
Gallery #1.
Gallery #2.
What It Is
The VD-Z3 adapter is a little device that allows you to hook your Xbox, GameCube, PS2, or progressive scan DVD player into your computer monitor. This lets you take advantage of the higher end video modes that can’t be displayed on a normal TV. Basically, standard televisions are only capable of displaying images in 480i mode. Computer monitors, on the other hand, can display images in higher end modes such as 480p, 720p, and 1080i. In order to use a game system or DVD player on your monitor, however, you have to have an adapter that converts the signal coming from your Xbox, GameCube, PS2, or DVD player into one that your monitor can display. For a more detailed description of this, check out our X2VGA+ review. The bottom line is that you can get HDTV quality visuals without having to pay a lot of money for an HDTV.
Setup
Setting up your VD-Z3 is fairly simple process no matter what you decide to hook up to it. The VD-Z3 itself has component video inputs as well as a VGA input and a VGA output. When you buy the VD-Z3 it comes with component cables for the Xbox, so if that is all you plan on using you are halfway home. If you want to use your DVD player, GameCube, or PS2, you need to get component cables for them which are sold separately. Once you have to right cables, setup goes like this: You hook the component cables into the red, blue, and green jacks on the VD-Z3. For the sound, you have a couple of options. You can hook it into a stereo system like normal with the red and white audio cables, or you can use a “Y” adapter (included with the VD-Z3) to hook the sound through your PC speakers. Then you hook up a VGA cable from the VGA out port to your monitor and you can also hook up another VGA cable from your PC to the VGA in port so you can have everything hooked up at the same time. Finally, you plug in the VD-Z3 power adapter and you are good to go. Pretty simple, huh? The included instruction manual covers all of this very clearly, so setting everything up is a piece of cake.
Click here to see how to hook up the VD-Z3.
