Officially Retiring My CD-RKing Gaming Capture Box

retire

I finally decided to upgrade my gear back in mid-November of last year and decided to get an AverMedia HD DVR from Amazon.

I received my new capture device in early December which up to that I was still using my old CD-RKing Gaming Capture Box. The capture box allows for an HD pass-through (up to 720p/1080i) but only captures in 480p. Even though it brings the name "CD-RKing" which we know is a hit or miss brand (usually a miss), it has served me well. It is by no means broken in any way but after trying the AverMedia HD DVR, the difference in quality was very VERY clear.

I have yet to fully explore all the features that the AverMedia HD DVR has to offer just because I was busy for the whole month of December and am still busy to this day but the tests are coming along slowly but surely. I've also been using the HD DVR for the most recent videos that are up on our youtube channel so head over there and subscribe.

I don't plan on getting rid of my Gaming Capture Box. I'll keep it around as a backup or bring it along if I need to capture some footage outside the comforts of my own home. To my old trusty capture box; you have served me well. For now, you may slumber until the need for you arises again.

 

CD-RKing Gaming Capture Box:

 

AverMedia HD DVR:

 

retire

Quantity over quality? CD-RKing PS2 Controllers

CD-RKing PS2 Controller

For those familiar with CD-RKing then just from looking at the top picture alone you are already shaking your heads in disapproval. Shameless, I know. But hopefully these will last me for the next 2 or so months.

If you do not know what CD-RKing then let me give you a brief explanation. CD-RKing is a computer and gadget retail shop here in the Philippines whose products go for usually a third of the price compared to leading brands. The reasoning for such a big price difference is because for the most part they use, dare I say, "bootleg"-esque quality parts. That means that though the price is cheap, the quality is very iffy to say the least. The best way to describe it is "there is strength in numbers" which is exactly what I tried to do in my situation.

I just recently got a hold of a 2nd hand original PlayStation, known also the 1st PSX or the Fat PS1. The controllers that came with work but are very beat-up with a lot of bumps and scrapes on the plastic, as if it was thrown down a rocky hill. Though my issue isn't really about its looks but the main fact that the cord is really short and that these are the pre-Dual Shock controllers meaning no analog sticks. I busted out my PS2 controllers, 1 original and 1 class-A. However, my PS2 controllers seem to have a problem. Some buttons on my original PS2 controller don't register quickly and need a really hard press before they input. The class-A one auto mashes the cross button which makes playing most games completely unplayable.

CD-RKing PS2 Controller

I'm a little short on cash at the moment but I wanted to get at least 1 working controller for both my PS1 and PS2. At Datablitz, a brand new PS2 controller is going for around 750php I think which does fit in my budget albeit a little tight. However due to my trip to CD-RKing first to pick up a few blank CDs and DVDs, I asked if they were still selling PS2 controllers because I was curious about their price. The clerk told me that the PS2 controllers were going for 180php a pop. My mind went blank as I was caught off guard. I then asked to look at them and saw that they came in a few clear colors aside from the standard solid black. Me being a sucker for clear colored plastic caught a glimpse of a clear blue, it was different from DiEnd (my translucent blue PS3 controller) which had a matte finish and thus produced a foggy effect. These one were in smooth clear colored plastic, similar to the ones you find on action figures. Sure they crack easy but it's not like I throw of slam my controllers around. Honestly if it were not for the clear plastic, I wouldn't have cracked and impulse bought them. After I said that I would take the blue one, I thought to myself that this is a CD-RKing product and knowing the "quality" of their products, a single controller might not even last a full month. Knowing that it had such a low price, I opted to buy another just in case. Went with a color that I haven't seen on PS3 controller which is colorless clear plastic.

I truly am a sucker for clear plastic, I even thought of having my Wii's housing changed to a clear case more than once already. Aside from the tremendously low price, I do have another good thing to say about the CD-RKing PS2 controllers, the buttons do feel better than the ones you'd find on a class-A controller which had very hard buttons. I just hope that these controllers don't decide to break on me so soon.

CD-RKing Gaming Capture Box (Addendum)

Narutard 1 After spending some time with the program that came with the capture device. I took a few screen shots, and recorded some videos using each of the formats available. Here are the results.

Video

For the videos I played Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 because that game can have so much stuff happening on screen at the same time while being so vibrant makes it fitting for a video test to see if the hardware or software chugs.

H264

 

iPod (High)

 

iPod (Low)

 

PSP (High)

 

PSP (Low)

 

DVD

 

MPEG1

 

MPEG2

 

VCD

 

Screenshots

As for the screenshots, I took some screens in UMvC3 and Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2.

 

Note: The TV I was using during the capture of these videos and images was a Panasonic CRT TV. I have not yet confirmed if the image quality would look better if captured while playing on an HDTV.