HDMI and VGA Video Converters

I'm interested in recording gameplay from my computer and I bought two products to try to do this:  a ViewHD HDMI to Composite and a Monoprice VGA to RCA converters.  My hope was to use my DVD recorder to capture computer footage.  The output would only be standard definition, but I'd be mostly interested in recording older computer games.  Software recorders carry significant CPU overhead and I hoped to record video without dropping frames or quality.  Unfortunately, my hopes were dashed after using these two products.

(HDMI to Composite with The Witcher at resolution 800x600.  The colors are darker most likely due to a bad contrast setting.)

The ViewHD's video quality proved sufficient except that it included a copy-protection signal in the composite output.  My DVD recorder added a distorting/banding effect to deliberately ruin the picture.  It connected to a television just fine, but VCRs and DVD recorders were useless.  Oddly enough, a USB composite capture dongle I own displayed the video without the distortion.  Either the hardware itself or VirtualDub ignores the copy-protection signal. As such, the ViewHD could record to a computer, but that defeated the purpose of getting the device in the first place.  It might be possible to find something to strip the signal, but that's an added expense and may not work.  Footage in a 16:9 aspect ratio might work with the converter since the distortion could be cropped out of the video.

Strangely, the ViewHD works perfectly well with a second-generation Apple TV, but won't work at all with an iPhone 4s with iOS 7.  The iPhone seems finicky about which devices it will work with.


(VGA capture footage of The Witcher at 800x600 resolution.  No sound.)

The Monoprice VGA to RCA converter didn't introduce any copyright protection, but its overall quality seemed quite poor.  The right and bottom borders clipped so the image wasn't an exact copy.  These border problems were probably due to over-scanning, but there was no way to fix it despite a switch which claims to do just that.  It definitely receives the whole image since zooming will show the correct border, but for some reason it clips in the normal view.  The device reset once, but refused to do so after the first time.  It seems designed for PowerPoint presentations and not gameplay capture.

The sad part is that with all the money I spent on this little project (due to needed cables and whatnot), I could have purchased a GeForce 650/750 with ShadowPlay recording technology.  It requires a little CPU overhead, but far better than most capture software thanks to the inclusion of an encoder chip.  Since I use a Dell desktop which includes a proprietary power supply, I'd need to purchase a drive bay power supply.  I haven't used either of these products, but my buyer's regret makes me think this is a workable solution.  The biggest problem I can see with this plan is that the graphics card might be too large for my system and that my PCI Express version might be too old.  [Edited 2014-04-29:  That drive bay power supply apparently requires a special type of PSU that it plugs into (for purposes of grounding and whatnot).  However, I also found out that Dell no longer uses proprietary supplies, so swapping one out shouldn't be a problem.  And I discovered that EVGA creates GeForce 750 graphics cards that function on 300 Watt power supplies without six-pin connectors (assuming an Intel processor is used instead of a rather power-hungry AMD).]

For Radeon-oriented users, there's the AverMedia Game Capture HD, but there have been some complains about that one.  It requires a hard drive as well.  This is another product I've yet to use.

Chrono Trigger DS (Nintendo DS - Square Enix - 2008)

Originally developed and published by Square in 1995, TOSE added additional quests and re-translated the game for the Nintendo DS.

Positives

Accessible from the start of the game, the Arena of the Ages permits low-level challenges by enabling the player to win a Workman's Wallet early on.  The Workman's Wallet converts experience to gold and thus causes party members to avoid gaining any experience.  Stat-boosting Tabs/Capsules can also be won and are quite necessary for said challenge.  The Arena also allows two players to battle each other using Smidges (small generic monsters that evolve into more powerful creatures).

Compared to the PlayStation version, it loads very quickly.  If the choice were between the Nintendo DS and PlayStation version (available on the PlayStation Store), I'd go with the Nintendo DS version as it loads much faster.  The battles in Chrono Trigger fly by quickly once the player knows what to do, so excessive load times detract from the experience.

The Dimensional Vortex designs and layouts almost live up to the game's original dungeons, though the story elements that crossover with Chrono Cross may not be everyone's cup of tea.

New items such as the Master's Crown (permits Haste and a damage boost), the Elemental Aegis (blocks elemental damage for Lucca), and the Dragon's Tear (boosts critical hit rates) are some of the new useful items added to the game.

Nitpicks

A few translation points are perplexing, but especially the changing of the term "Mystic" to "Fiend".  I personally prefer Mystic because it seems to fit into the fantasy setting better.  Magus even gained the title "Fiendlord" which seems clunky since "Magus" is already a title!

Some of the rest of the translation may fall into the trap of being too literal, but, having quickly played through the Super Nintendo Chrono Trigger recently, the changes aren't too bad or drastic save for the modification to "Fiend".

Negatives

The Lost Sanctum fetch quests are horrible, consisting of going up and down a mountain repeatedly.  The party acquires some useful items, but this is the antithesis of the original Chrono Trigger's design philosophy.

New items such as the Mirrors are some of the less useful items found in the Arena of the Ages.  For instance, the Pontic Mirror counters non-Water attacks 25% of the time and is only usable by Marle and Frog.  The trouble is that Rage and Wrath Bands counter all attacks 50% and 80% of the time, respectively, and all party members can equip them.  The Mirrors have some use in a low-level run, given that Rage Bands can't be easily won.  A higher counter-attack rate would negate some of these complaints.  The same goes for the Nu Arcana:  it can be useful in a low-level run to potentially reduce a non-boss enemy's health to one hit point.  It becomes less useful as the party gains more power.

Rather than using portals that appear on the map, the new locations could have been placed on an island at the corner of the map.  It wouldn't be accessible until late in the game, but it would both fit in with the changing-world theme and stay out of the way of the normal game.  Using portals just makes the new content feel even more tacked on.  Even something as simple as an earthquake opening a cave in a mountain could have served as an excuse for their abrupt appearance.

Pro-Tips

If going for a low-level run, never allow the Smidge to transform to a higher form.  The cost of fighting in a tier increases, but the prizes won't change.  It completely wrecks the economics of fighting in the Arena of the Ages.  Always keep a backup save in which the Smidge has not been sent to train.

It is possible to re-enter the Dimensional Vortex dungeons after defeating the respective bosses.  Since parts of the dungeon are random, this allows the player to retrieve all items or visit all sections.

The Nintendo DS version adds a clear save file after defeating the final boss, so that it is not necessary to go through the entire game again to access the Dimensional Vortex dungeons.

Conclusion

If you're looking to play Chrono Trigger for the first time, challenge yourself to a low-level game, or desire to battle Smidges in the Arena of the Ages, then Chrono Trigger DS may be the game for you.  Despite a few quibbles with the new translation and content, the basic story and game are there and are still enjoyable.