GBA TV... anyone get or getting this?

[digitalpress]

Looks very cool. I must have one.

http://www.gbatv.com/

The price isn't bad either, especially when you consider that there was a similar product for the Lynx that was way way more. Still, I wonder about the quality of the picture. Anyone care to comment?

[buttasuperb]

im pretty sure deadtech has one, you might wanna ask him.

[Nature Boy]

The details are a bit hazy. They say you can detach it, but I'm wondering how far out the connection sticks out. WOuldn't want that jabbing me in my pocket.

I won't be buying it anyway. I'm against physically modifying any of my vg machines. No peripheral is worth it.

[rolenta]

Last year, the folks at Interact told me they were working on a tuner for the Gameboy. I don't know what the status of it is at this time but I doubt that Interact would produce something that required hardware modifications.

[bargora]

It's a cool item, but my GBA would no longer fit in its home (my back pocket). IGN did an article about it, including screen captures using composite and S-video connections.

http://gear.ign.com/articles/356/356041p1.html

[CrazyImpmon]

They looked like a previously released product called TV de Advance. I had planned to get a NTSC version from Lik-Sang about a month ago when the price was about $50 US for it. M$ had to screw everything though!

[Captain Wrong]

Neat idea, but it kind of negates the purpose of a portable system. Plus for the money involved, I can't think of any GBA game I own that would make it worth it.

[Raedon]

I installed one (Interact) into my GBA about 2 months ago when they first came into Software Etc. The output looked really bad, every 25 pixels are so are doubled up, not smoothed together.. so you get thes big lines of color on the image.. I took it off and gave it back.. they wanted 69.99 :P

I was told there would be a way to go from a GBA to a GC to the TV in the future.. I sure hope so.

The way it works is you replace the back of your GBA with a new back (they are all white.. so if you have a Blue/clear GBA it will look off with the white back on it.) You squeeze this little ribbon cable in with the same ribbon that goes to the TFT LCD and that goes to a little port on the back just to the right of the battery slots. This new slot has it's own door and the slot excepts a PCB connection (like a cart) to this 2nd tuner that has AV outs to a TV. You can remove the GBA from the tuner part and the GBA retains it's original size but with the quality of the picture and the fact that I don't know many people with the White GBA (looks stupid on all non-white GBA's trust me) it's not worth it unless you can get one for 19.99 and have an extra GBA around you don't mind looking bad.

[o2william]

This looks just like a TV de Advance to me. I have one, and I really enjoyed it for the month or so that it worked. You install it by unscrewing the back of your GBA with those tiny screwdrivers included in the kit, then attaching a new (white) back that has a small ribbon cable that plugs into the same port the internal GBA screen connects to. The two cables actually share the same port. Then you can plug in a TV adapter module that contains S-Video/composite cables to the back of your unit. Composite gives a good (if slightly blurry) picture, but I got weird vertical interference lines with S-Video. Not a big deal to me as I'm accustomed to lousy RF picture quality. :)

I rarely use the GBA for portability, since I hardly ever travel... I just want to play the games without squinting. But then I took a plane trip and brought the GBA along, without the TV adapter portion (you can simply detach it and return the GBA to a portable size). It worked fine on the trip, but when I got back home, the TV adapter stopped working. Games would power up, play for a few minutes, then reset or go crazy, like the power was interruped.

I figured a cable may have come loose, so I took it apart and made sure the cables were snugly in place. No dice. Tried it several times, still no luck. Luckily, my GBA still functions normally, but I really hate playing it on the small screen. My eyesight just ain't that great.

I noticed that the TV de Advance power supply gets REALLY hot even after just a few minutes of use. The TV adapter part of the unit gets warm too, though I don't think it reaches dangerous levels. I vaguely recall reading some kind of warning that the power supply is not compatible with U.S. voltages or something, but now I can't seem to find what I read. My suspicion is that the power supply is damaged and won't power the unit properly any more . Unfortunately, the p/s jack is super-slim, a size I've never seen in the U.S. before, and I doubt I can find a replacement easily. I admit that I haven't looked carefully yet though.

I warn you against buying this... it's possible that I am at fault and mishandled my GBA or mucked up something during installation, but I doubt it. It WAS a great device, but if it breaks that easily...

[deadtech]

I have the "Gametech" TV de Advance. I too, basically use my GBA only at home. I have had the TV adaptor pretty much since I could get an imported one, and it has given me no trouble to date. Personally, i only really started playing my GBA after I installed it. The GBA screen is just too dark, and... if I am going to be sitting on the couch in my own apartment anyhow, why not have the screen 26" across instead of 2.x", and stereo instead of mono. As for the resoultion, I *personally* have no problem with it at all. Sure stuff looks blocky, but so do MANY of the games I own on old systems. That doesn't keep me from playing them. ;) And, at least you can SEE them! :)

As for the size of the system, once installed, your GBA is exactly the same size and shape. There is a small port on the back of the unit, but it can be covered with the little door that is supplied with the kit. bt yeah it looks a little goofy (my GBA is the purple one, with a white back now.) IMO, the install is very simple. They supply the screwdrivers, and all the parts. basically you open the GBA up, remove the back panel, unlatch the hooks on the ribbon AV cable, slide in the new (additional) AV cable on top of the existing one, relatch the hooks, and close it up. That's it. No drilling, cutting or soldering.


I also didn't get any GameBoy games until I had a Super GameBoy, so maybe I am biased towards playing GB/C/A games on TV. Lynx and NeoGeo Pocket, etc. don't really need a TV adaptor......but it would be cool if they did have one . :)

-deadtech

[bargora]

As for the size of the system, once installed, your GBA is exactly the same size and shape.

Maybe the TV de Advance is a different beast than the GBATV. If you go to the http://www.gbatv.com/ site and click on the "Order Product" link, you see a picture of (presumably) the installed system from the top view, and it appears to roughly double the thickness of your GBA. If that extra plastic piece slides off, though, then it would be cool.

[deadtech]

It is about twice as thick, but ONLY whenyou have the TV part attached. You can pop that off, and put the regular battery door back on, then your GBA is exactly the same size and shape. Just as you had hoped :)

-deadtech

[driftout625]

I bought the Pal version of the GameBoy Advance TV converter a couple of months ago and the quality of the graphics (via S-video) is better than an Nes but inferior to a Snes .

[Six Switch]

Do any of you remember the tv runner for Game Gear?I always wanted one,but never got one.

It looks ok,but I don't have the $$$ to spend on one right now. :evil: :D :?