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Customers most agreed on the following attributes:
from Omaha, NE on 10/7/2008
I use the converter for gaming and watching shows. The color was very off and the text font sucked. I believe its not worth a [$] dollars. Ima keep on fiddling with it for a couple of days.
I want to watch video on a TV, not a computer screen. Real easy to hook-up, but you must change your monitor output to match TV, 32bit to 16bit and drop resolution to lowest setting. Once I did this, it worked great. Except for vague instructons, am happy w/item for ITV(internet TV). I may dump the Dish soon. Free TV again!!
from Queens, NY on 9/30/2008
I really don't know what all the complaints are about. I've used this product with 3 laptops and atleast a dozen TV's ranging from 19" CRT tv's to 60" hdtv's and have NEVER had any problems.
I set the device as a second monitor on my Laptop and there was never a problem.
These people may be having some problems because their laptop can not produce the power necessary for this device from the USB port, but I have never experienced any problems.
I never bothered to use the Remote Control so I have no comments on that but all in all I am happy with this prodcut and rely on it almost daily.
It'really fantastic to have images of the PC on the TV. but the information "never" stated that's just picture, that's pretty good, but no sound and that's called, misleading.
I could never get the product to work. Tried it on several inputs on my HDTV, returned the device and got a new one, tried lots of different cables and connections, played around with all the settings on my video card- nothing.... finally I'm going to take it back. The closest I got to making it work was a brief fuzzy picture of my computer monitor when I hit the reset button on the device.
from Englewood, FL on 9/11/2008
This product has absolutely no problems. The main thing to know about installing this is that you need to switch the display your laptop is using by holding the FN key and pressing the function key that corresponds to the display function. This product will not work if you just plug it in. YOU NEED TO TELL YOUR LAPTOP TO USE A DIFFERENT DISPLAY.
One problem you might find is that the video quality is horrible. That has nothing to do with the quality of the product. This reason is because composite (yellow) and s-video can only handle 240 lines of resolution. So what is happening is you are taking the 480 line resolution coming from the VGA port and it is compressed down to 240 lines. The result is a horrible picture. Also, if you have a large TV the picture is even worse.
This product does exactly what it is supposed to do. If you want a better picture, you are better off using the VGA, DVI, or HDMI port already present on your TV (using the proper adapters). That way you will be able to see your desktop in a good resolution at good quality. Now if you don't have any of those connections, you will have to use this product.
Everyone that could not make this device work should crawl back into their caves. Including that so called computer tech. I tried this device with about 13 different systems and tvs and it worked every time. As a hint, you should tell your computer to transmit out of the vga port. This is usually done through the settings on your video card. For most this would be done by right clicking the desktop and going into properties, video settings and somewhere in their you should be able to activate it. It is good for gaming, I do not recommend it for reading, the text is pretty bad.
from Shreveport, LA on 8/10/2008
I don't even know why Radioshack is selling this product.
The device worked on an Mac Book Pro. I had an older TV with S-video and once I selected mirror monitors in my preference folder I was able to see my desktop on the TV and watch videos. Text is not very clear, however, my use is for viewing movies and I'm satisfied with the performance.
The people who could not get this to work ether work for a compedider or have not idea how plug and play works.
As soon as i hooked it all up and turned my computer(you should hook up fist THEN turn on computer) it work perfectly. Not only did my lap top automaticly send seignal to the TV screen after a few minets i was able to turn the TV signal on and off with a few hot key. This works great don't lisen to the losers who can't figure it out them must not know what there doing, and make it not work by over thinking it.
from oklahoma city ok on 6/19/2008
this is a worthless piece of junk [...]
Primary use for this product was going to be for gaming. What a JOKE! When I first purchased this product (about 6 months ago) I connected it to a six year old Dell laptop which had extremely limited hardware for gaming purposes. When I first hooked up the device it took me about two hours to get it to work. After I finished playing my game I shut everything down and placed the product back in the box and it remained there until June 15, 2008. The reason, I purchased a NEW $1,200.00 Dell XPS specifically designed for extreme gaming. I fired up my new laptop, hooked up the Gigaware Converter and ZIPPO, NOTHING, I couldn't get it to work. For two hours, I tried everything, all the different video and audio hookup configurations but came up empty.
Radio Shack should be ashamed to sell such a worthless product. It's like buying worthless products which were sold during the 1920's and 1930's. I am going to try to take it back to Radio Shack for a refund, but I'm not going to hold my breath, since I bought it so long ago.
TO EVERYONE CONSIDERING BUYING THIS PRODUCT: Do NOT waste your money or time.
There is no separate 'monitor' hook up on my laptop to insert the second prong of the CNVTR Scan device. Maybe that's why I couldn't get it to work. The online User's Guide is the same stupid one-pager included with the product. Maybe the battery was dead, but the remote control did not work.
I was in a jam and could not hook up my laptop to the projector. I bought this device and it worked within literally a minute. I haven't yet tried all of its capabilities, but it's worked like a charm for me. I run a theatre, so reliability was key.
from Omaha, Nebraska on 5/13/2008
Trying to get this thing to work was an exercise in pure frustration. My TV has an unused S-Video port. I therefore decided that would be the best option for me. Wrong. I couldn't get so much as a menu to come up. After trying numerous settings, I could make nothing happen with S-video. So I tried both component video and composite video. Almost the same result. I couldn't get my computer screen to come up on the TV. The closest I came was with the composite video. I did manage to get the NTSC menu to come up, but it was barely readable. I selected the settings I wanted from it, but when I exited the menu, I could get no computer screen on the TV. I tested my VGA card to make sure it was in working order by plugging a monitor into it. No problem. The desktop came up. However, as soon as I pugged the TV converter back in, I had more of the same frustrating result. The only option I didn't try was RGB because no RGB cable was included and I didn't have one handy. I tried for hours, but could get nothing to work. There were almost no instructions -- just a piece of paper with basic steps and very little explanation.
Am I a techno dim-wit who simply can't figure these things out? Not really. I'm a computer networking engineer and programmer with over ten years experience in the field. With persistence I can almost always make computer technology work. Not this time. This VGA to TV converter might work on some systems, but I could not get it to work on mine, and I'm 100 percent certain my graphics card is working correctly. From the other reviews, we can see I'm not the only person who couldn't get this thing to work. I'm returning it to Radio Shack tomorrow and will try something else.
IT WAS GREAT JUST DIDNT LIKE THAT THE TEXT CANT BE READ IF ITS SMALL IT WAS EASY TO INSTALL IF ANYONE ELSE SAYS THEY CANT GET IT TO WORK THEY ARE [*] BECAUSE MY LITTLE SISTER (12) COULD DO IT AND SHE DID TRY ON HER COMPUTER!
from dalvenyger, hawaii on 5/12/2008
THIS THING BEARLY WORKS AT 800x600 RESOLUTION!!! DO NOT BUY THIS PRODUCT. DO NOT!!!
I don't even know why Radioshack is selling this product. I know quality of text will not be that good because of tv's resolution but When you watch a video, after 5 minutes, screen is starting to shake. They have an option called "Flicker" to reduce shaking. It doesn't even do anything. Even if it does (%1 or %2 the most) I didn't feel it. I got it on sale. Even if they pay me to use that torturing machine I wouldn't use it.
Hard to understand...no manual - just corny illustration. No tech support - simply, "bring it in to have us look at it" by RadioShack. You can see your monitor on the screen when you first power up (for 1 second) or when you hold Reset. It's junk! Don't buy it.
from Rochester, NY on 4/24/2008
We mainly use this converter to plug a Lenovo R61 to our 15 year-old video equipment. As said, the video quality is superb, but the text, smaller than about 14 point is rubbish. Overall, for broadcasting videos to Twelve Corners Middle School, it's good.
does what it says...but laptop screen blacks out when converting video feed....text too small and blury on tv screen ....not worth the money...
Folks, the other reviews say it all....it works, it's cheap, and it's a stop gap until more computers and laptops will carry HDMI outputs (which they will) and until we see the full convergence between PC and TV. I got it on sale for 70 clams...plugged it in...sat back and enjoyed Netflix online on my Panasonic HD 42". ALSO...you can watch LOST and other TV shows in pretty good quality (close to 720p). Again, the text sucks but that's okay. I'm holding on to this baby until the Smithsonian gives me a call! :)
My wife and I purchased this device for watching Netflix Online movies on our TV at home which is 35 inches diagonal Non-HD.
It works well, though you will need to purchase the wiring for the sound, which we found in store for $6.99.
If you're wanting to use this for browsing, I don't recommend it. Text is distorted and most laptops don't reduce to 640x480 resolution anymore to make it really work for a TV.
It COULD also be used for powerpoint presentations, just don't make your text too small.
It's awesome, and easy to install. Like any product though if you connect it to a large screen the desktop can appear a little distorted, but watching videos and games shows up great, i watch a lot of movies on mine and the quality is fine. People who have install issues cant follow simple directions. 5/5
didn't work at all.. there was no transmission of signals.... remote never worked
Do not purchase this item it is a huge waste of time. [...] It took my a while to even figure out why it was not displaying on the screen, a troubleshoot would have made a lot of sense.
I wish I had read the reviews before I purchased. The only image I received is of the desktop after I reset the product.
Don't use it iny more
bad Quality, Hard to get the computer to get connected.
If you whant to use your tv as a monitor mite as well get a new tv with vga input built in, or a computer with s-video output.
from Southern NJ on 1/21/2008
There is not a user's manual, just a user's guide, which is almost like a quick install guide. The downside is that there is not a troubleshooting guide, which could prove to be very useful to less technically savvy individuals.
I found the setup to be very easy. I used it on 2 different laptops for viewing internet streaming movie rentals on my TV. For this purpose it worked great. If you want to use this to simply view your desktop on your TV, I don't think you will be happy with the results. Desktop text is too small and displays blurry on your TV.
If you hook up this device and do not get video, try lowering the resolution on your desktop. I had to do this on my wife's laptop in order to get a picture on my TV.
This product does not work with HDTVs, only standard. As a result, no matter which resolution you select on your PC, the display will be a blurry 480i. This is fine for pictures, movies and games, but nothing else. Normal size text is unreadable, and most apps are unusable unless the tools have freakishly large icons. To achieve these results, there are much cheaper and easier-to-install solutions.
Wish I would of read the comments before I bought this "door stop." Waste of time. Now I have to take this "door stop" back.
I use it for duplicating the PC image to my TV, as i did no thave option to bring any international chennel to my apt via dish due to reception direction of Dish.
its actually great for watching movies.etc from your computer...but one bad thing is..it made my monitor a little blurry..but it wasnt that bad..
Tried every possible way to connect my laptop to tv, but 99.99999999% of the time it doesn't work. the 1 or 2 times it actually somewhat responded, the tv showed the desktop but everything was pink. this is a piece of [*]. there's no way to find help online. radio shack should be ashamed to sell something like this, especially at [$] bux.
I wish I could say how I used this product but all I got out of it was some very colorful lines on three different TV sets that are less than two years old.
from Battle Ground, WA on 12/24/2007
Firt, the users guide is ver poorly written and incomplete. The should also be a trouble shooting section. I hooked up everything perfectly and it still wouldn't send a signal to the TV. I went back to[...] and asked for help and they really didn't have any.
Installation was easy: just follow instructions. Can use to display images from laptop. Quality of image rather inferior to the one from laptop especially for someone used to > 1024x768 16 color display. Somewhat better on movies than on digital pictures/images. Terrible on text, small icons etc. For professional use one would have to have a real laptop projector. Was somewhat easier to use with an older laptop where one toggles between displays and things worked like a charm. The only caveat was to use with a supernew laptop where no explicit toggling is used: actually, we are still working on it :-)
This doesn't work and with 10 of the 11 reviews stating this,[...]. I am very proficient at electronic equipment and I could not get it to work at all. The box looked like it had already been opened and some of the cables look like they had been re-wrapped. So, I would say someone put it back on the shelf after it was returned by someone else. Bought it in Midland, TX.
from stockton,ca on 12/3/2007
this is some great device.it allow me to view movies from my pc to my tv.nd make online gaming more better coz bigger view.
I used it (well tried) to show off videos from my laptop to my TV it was grainy, and the remote stinks! I spent [$] for a door stop. That is all its good for. DO NOT BUY!!!
Wanted to use this to connect my PC to projector via component outputs. It was very difficult to figure out how to operate. Once I realized that the cable in the package and not a general VGA cable is required I obtained an image. After about 1.5 h trying to adjust the contrast and brightness, I got an image that was somewhat readable. The resolution is very poor and text is blurry. It actually gave me a headache. Perhaps it is OK for Powerpoint, but nothing else. Definately not worth the time or money. I plan to return ASAP!!
Picked up three for a quick fix at work. Not one worked.
I have used many similar devices and know how to install and operate. These are all junk!
Doesn't provide any more quality on component side of my HDTV than a composite connection direct from video card to SDTV. Flickers alot and requires constant adjustment. Does not come on when PC Comes on, which is pointless because it requires too much 'Setup Time' to get it going. Some games make it conk out and cannot play. Very blurry on a 42 inch HDTV just like composite. I feel like I wasted my money.
from patchogue, ny on 10/27/2007
don't bother
from Milwaukee, WI on 10/26/2007
Works well for displaying videos and powerpoints. Detail for small text is fuzzy, needs to be 14pt or greater. Easy plug'n'play, no software to install.
Does not work. Do NOT waste your money!
would not work at all-even blanked out my monitor
Complete waste of time Product does not work and has no technical support.
Product did not work. Need a better manual. Could not find a manual online. Also need instructions how to convert personal PC screen.
from san diego, ca on 9/29/2007
Hooked it up everyway possible, can not get it work. I almost can see my laptop's picture when I press the power button and hold it but that's really only a weak image. No picture, no way to find out what's wrong because there's no trouble shooting, no tech support, not even FAQ's
I bought this and it would not work, [...] Don't waste your time