Brando video out cable quick review

[dr g]

After unsuccessfully trying to modify one of these to use camcorder cables, I decided to bite the bullet and get the Brando video cable.

Brando is located in Hong Kong. I ordered on Dec. 14 and received the cable on Dec. 23.

A quick review:

PROS

- Full video functionality - cable registers as TV out immediately upon plug-in. You do not have to be connected to the TV to register like this.

- Price - at $16 with free shipping, this is the cheapest commercial cable available at this time. EDIT 1/5/08: Free shipping was a limited-time offer. Brando has a $3 shipping charge. Still the cheapest commercial cable at this time, but comparison shop accordingly.

- Build quality - seems to be of good build quality, the connectors are solid and the cable very pliable.

- Works through media adaptor - The cable itself has no power input, however it can be used through the HTC headphone adaptor that comes with the TP.

- Long cable - cable is about 8' long from end to end, so you can sit back from the TV a ways and control the TP. This could possibly be a Con if you want a short cable.

CONS

- No built-in power port - Though you can use the adaptor that comes with the TP, as noted above.

- Foreign supplier - Takes a little longer to arrive than a product shipped from a US retailer.

CONCLUSION

The Brando cable is a great alternative to the Expansys cable for people wanting a foolproof, commercial solution. Recommended!

[dr g]

A little usage update ... No problems with the cable itself so far, but of course the blue flicker issue with Coreplayer exists, so I have to use Directdraw mode, which struggles even more than Qtv mode already does.

[hopper13]

How is the video quality? Is there any background hum? I have done the "dremel tool mod" to a $6 ebay cable and it does work, but there is a slight hum.

[WarChild]

+1 for the review

[[sammich]]

Nice writeup! I didn't know there were other retailers, so thanks for the info

[chrisaroz]

Sweet! Thanks to your review I just ordered them!

[TurboFool]

Overall video quality report (besides blue flicker issue)? What sort of TV are you connecting to? SD or HD? If HD, how does it look upscaled (granted this will differ from TV to TV)?

[hopper13]

** Video review using the "Dremel mod", not the Brando cable **

I tried tv out today for the first time using the dremel mod on a $6 ebay cable and standard HTC adapter. There is a soft background hum which is tolerable. Streaming video to my 42" HD set shows a pretty fuzzy picture, even when just displaying a menu or home screen. I guess this is a resolution issue and will be present with all cables. I did try streaming a movie via CorePlayer (direct draw) and although it's not great, it is okay in a pinch. Streaming Slingbox is pretty rough and defaults to full screen so there is no ability to change any setting or channel without disconnecting the tv out cable.

I am anxious to hear if the viewing quality seems better with the Brando cable!

[jmorton10]

Originally Posted by hopper13

**Slingbox is pretty rough and defaults to full screen so there is no ability to change any setting or channel without disconnecting the tv out cable.
!

not true, push up on the bottom of the SB screen & you can get to all the settings/change channels etc. while the video out is connected (I do it all the time)

~John

[hopper13]

Originally Posted by jmorton10

not true, push up on the bottom of the SB screen & you can get to all the settings/change channels etc. while the video out is connected (I do it all the time)

~John

Thanks! That's a big help. Now if I could only get Sling to connect via wifi... it just gets to the first "inverted U" screen and stays there forever. Works fine via 3G, but that won't help me in Europe next month.

I found an old 13" CRT TV with rca inputs and tried my "dremel cable" on a smaller screen. Of course, that helped... but the picture is still a bit fuzzy.