Neoya X2VGA+ Review

Neoya X2VGA+ Review
Posted :: Aug 22, 2004 by Impact

The people at Neoya, Inc. were nice enough to send us their new product, the X2VGA+. With very few other products in it's class, the X2VGA+ steps into the hole and comes away a winner. As soon as you open the box, you notice the X2VGA+ looks much like the X-box. While relatively small, the X2VGA+ is a powerful piece of equipment.

Acording to Neoya, Inc. :
"The X2VGA+ High Definition VGA Pack by Neoya unleashes the full video performance of the Xbox. With the X2VGA+ and a standard VGA monitor, users can play their favorite Xbox games at 480p, 720p, or 1080i resolutions - over double that of standard TV! The X2VGA+ makes Xbox games come alive, delivering the sharpest, most realistic visuals available. The X2VGA+ provides both stereo audio and digital audio output. Furthermore, the exceptional 480i EasyView feature and composite video makes it easy for users to fully enjoy the mind-blowing audio and visual effects of the Xbox."
- Neoya, Inc.

The X2VGA+. Let's see how it stands up to Neoya's claims.

Thinking Neoya's claims were a bit far fetched, I was quite excited to get the X2VGA+ plugged in and going for myself. The setup was very simple. All of the ports on the X2VGA are clearly marked and there is a quick reference guide in the manual.

A quick reference guide for your X2VGA+.

To start, I plugged the X2VGA+ into my X-box, and a 17" Viewsonic monitor into the X2VGA+. I immediately turned on FIFA Soccer 2003 and pressed the power button on the X2VGA+. My monitor turned on, but things were a bit fuzzy. The game wasn't unplayable, but it wasn't pleasant to watch. I grabbed the manual and sure enough, it states right away that if you don't set a few settings on your X-box console, it will be fuzzy. The X2VGA+ allows you to play X-box at 480p, 720p, and 1080i resolutions, but the X-box defaults to 480i.

Making the fuzzyness go away was as easy as setting up the X2VGA+ (all steps written in the manual). Turn on your X-box with no game disc. When the X-box logo and menu come up (these will be fuzzy), go to 'Settings' and then 'Video'. You then need to tell the X-box to allow you to use 480p, 720p, and 1080i resolutions (switch each to 'yes').

FIFA Soccer 2003 before changing the resolutions (extremely burry).

You can see the X-box screen (480i) doesn't fit on the monitor. You need to edit the video settings to fix this.

After setting the X-box to allow use of the resolutions, I started FIFA Soccer 2003 back up. Instantly, some of the most beautiful X-box graphics came on the screen. It is hard for me to convey to you how stunned I was. Compared to playing X-box on my TV, the X2VGA+ and a 17" monitor was tremendously better. Unfortunately, as most of you know, it is rather difficult to take pictures of graphics on screen, but I did my best.

FIFA Soccer 2003 after changing the resolution settings. Great picture quality (photos don't do them justice).

Until now, I had only used a portion of the X2VGA+ (the main portion, but still only one function). The X2VGA+ also gives the option of sending audio out to either a Stereo port, or a Digital out (for 5.1 systems). I tested the stereo port and found no problems. While I wasn't able to test the 5.1 Digital Out (no 5.1 that uses Digital), the stereo out worked great for FIFA Soccer 2003. While I didn't lose much playing Soccer in two-channel, you can bet when Doom 3 comes to X-box, you will be glad you have that Digital out port.

This brings me to the last function of the X2VGA+, the throughput capabilities. Instead of having to unplug your monitor from your computer to put it into the X2VGA+ every time you want to play X-box, you are able to use a patch cable. You can connect the VGA and audio ports on your computer to the X2VGA+. This will allow you to set up the cords once, and just hit the X2VGA+ power button when you want to play X-box. You are able to switch between X-box and your computer without having to swap cords.

Overall Rating :: 9.5/10
- The X2VGA+ is a great product. Again, I would like to thank Neoya, Inc. for allowing us to review it. Sporting a crisp, clear version of the X-box your used to seeing, 5.1 digital out, and throughput capabilities, the X2VGA+ far surpassed my expectations. The X2VGA+ was docked .5 points because it didn't come with VGA and audio patch cables.

For more information, or to purchase the X2VGA+, check out http://www.Neoya.com
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