Should You Buy the Cool Digital AV2HDMI Adapter for Retro Video Games

6 years ago
14

In this video we unbox and test the CoolDigital AV2HDMI Adapter.

To order a CoolDigital AV2HDMI adapter please visit the link below:
http://amzn.to/2CGDfsd

A company called CoolDigital reached out to us with a sample of their latest AV2HDMI adapters, designed to allow you to connect older AV-equipped items to modern HDMI TVs. To make sure the CoolDigital AV2HDMI Adapter works properly you'll want to use quality cables and connect them firmly into the box itself (yellow/video, red/right audio, white/left audio) along with the micro USB cabe for power. To toggle between 16:9 and 4:3 formats you'll need to hold down the Format button for about 3 seconds, while a press and release of the Format button toggles you between 720P and 1080P. I've found that if the video quality doesn't look the best switching from 1080P to 720P makes a significant difference.

With my original Nintendo Famicom that has been AV modded with Wai Wai World 2 it introduced some vertical “stripes” that could be seen right on the main intro splash screen. There were some other issues such as visible overscan, but compared to other units I've tested this seemed better when set to 4:3 and 720P resolution. When I set things to 16:9 and 1080P however things did not look great; I definitely recommend sticking with 4:3 and 720P for older systems.

Next up was my USA-based NES & Mike Tyson’s Punch Out. There was a ton of noise on the mat of the game and it was really trippy. I had a hard time with this just from a visual standpoint myself. One good thing is that the audio was pretty crisp & there was little if any lag introduced.

From here I moved to the Sega Genesis & it looked a lot better in 720P/4:3. Playing Streets of Rage 2 felt pretty solid, if just a touch on the blurry side, but it was definitely playable. My opinion on the CoolDigital Box was definitely improving.

My N64 was next with Shadows of the Empire & I have to say this looked solid to me. Not Ultra HDMI quality but pretty decent. The images were good, definitely better than the AV cables would have looked.

Finally it was time for my Gamecube with F-Zero GX to it. While no-where near as sharp & crisp as the GC HD it did look a better than the standard AV cables. With this test it really underscored the importance of a good quality signal going into the CoolDigital converter; if you have a better input signal the output result is much better too.

Why it RoX:
- Adapts AV to HDMI for easier connections
- Features 4:3 &16:9 modes
- 1080P & 720P picture modes
- Metal casing dissipates heat much better than other converters with molded cases
- Micro USB connection for power instead of Mini USB
- Micro USB Cable included

What could be improved?
- If you have a low quality input signal the output will suffer
- Box indicates no power needed but power IS required
- Somewhat short Micro USB cable included

Should you buy one?
Once set to 4:3 and 720P the CoolDigital converter did look and sound better than the one featured in our original video. For the money it is ok, you just need to remember that the better quality signal you have coming into the box the better quality you’ll get out of it.

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