Anchor Bay VP50 - The Insane $3,000 Model
- 1. Introduction
- 2. Radiient Select 4-ce - The Nifty $200 Model
- 3. Gefen 8x1 Switcher - The Loaded $900 Model
- 4. Anchor Bay VP50 - The Insane $3,000 Model
- 5. Anchor Bay VP50, Continued
4. Anchor Bay VP50 - The Insane $3,000 Model
The only thing that could top a video selector with eight different inputs is one that has 29. That's how many individual ports comprise the input side of Anchor Bay's iScan VP50. Alright, so I cheated by counting three different ports for one full component video input (Y, Pb and Pr). The actual number of inputs in the VP50 is as follows:
Three HDMI Two component video Two S-video Two composite video One analog video Four digital audio One composite audio
The word "plethora" doesn't even begin to describe the amount of hook-ups on this thing.
What's crazy about this Godzilla of video switchers is that it takes virtually any video source you can think of and upconverts it via either HDMI or analog video (RGBHV). In other words, you can plug in three HDMI devices, two component video devices, an S-video device, and a composite video device, and the only thing you need to plug into your TV is an HDMI cable from the VP50.
Seriously, there are more hook-ups here than God ever intended. That also translates into the features that are available. Directly from the included remote, you can change the aspect ratio, check on-screen display tests and all sorts of other stuff that I just never imagined were possible to do from a video splitter. Advanced tools are executed by an on-screen menu overlay that looks like something you'd see at the Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena, California. With menu options like "Serial Port Rate" and "Gamma Control," you need to know your stuff, or at least be able to navigate the full-size 48-page manual that comes with it.
The front of the monstrous VP50 box
It offers a bevy of different output resolutions, up to and including 1080p60, which looks just awesome on all the hi-def sources I tested. Also, just for kicks, I ran into the domain of lost treasures known as my closet and brought out a laserdisc player. It has nothing I'd show to woo a bunch of friends, but surprisingly it did look a lot better than when I just plugged it directly into my 48" TV.
My biggest complaint is the fact that there is only one set of composite audio inputs. There are two component video inputs and two for composite video. Without some sort of external sound system, there's no way to hook up audio components for all those video sources. There are two coaxial and two optical audio inputs, so there are enough audio ports to support all the video inputs. It just requires you to have a certain kind of audio set-up.
I've seen universal remotes with fewer buttons than this crazy thing.
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- Next page Anchor Bay VP50, Continued
