LKV8000 LENKING - PSP to HDMI 720P Scaler

[SkyeWelse]

Now that it has pretty much been confirmed that in order to really stay current with Falcom games mostly being developed for PSP, I've decided that I want to go ahead and update my PSP 1000 running custom firmware with a new PSP 3000 running no custom firmware for the faster loading times, brighter screen and the ability to output the video and audio to a television.

However, during my research I learned that the output to television simply centers the picture on the screen at about 70% of the maximum hdtv screen dimensions.

And then I saw this:

www.lenkeng.net/showproduct.asp?id=64

I just ordered one of these today and hopefully it will arrive just before Ys Seven gets shipped.

Not sure if anyone else has ever used this product, but I definitely will keep this updated after it arrives to verify if it does what it says it can do. : )

I see if I can take a video to share as well.

-Thomas

[HJ]

You're switching from CFW to OFW for faster loading times? Unless you're still playing your games from UMD, then CFW should be faster, PSP1000 or not. Personally I'd switch from a 1000 to a 3000 that also has CFW, but whatever floats your boat. I'm curious about this thing as well, though, so I look forward to hearing about your experiences.

[HJ]

I'm buying Ys Seven legit and then I'll download the ISO and play it from the memory stick. You can easily keep it legal on CFW.

[schlagwerk]

Converting latency reports, pls. Preferably tested against music games with timing windows.

[HJ]

Oh, okay. I just got a different impression from your post, but no matter.

[Lunar]

I wish I could see some actual screenshots. Also it doesn't look like there's a place to buy it on that page

[HJ]

I'd like some actual screenshots as well. It sounds too good to be true, but we'll see.

[Lunar]

But they are in the business of Supply High Quality Products with Reasonable Price so I think we'll be okay.

[Skeletore has a boner]

Maybe I'll be surprised...but honestly 99% of video scalers sub $300 are absolute garbage.

They all use the same cheap insufficient chips housed in different boxes.

For a game like Ys where millisecond timing isn't important it's probably going to be serviceable, but you'd have difficulty playing something like DJ max, P.Diva, etc, on them.

[SkyeWelse]

Aug 6, 2010 12:23:14 GMT -5 @adoru said:

Well, he's probably buying the games legit (as we should) and playing them off the UMD, so I see where he's coming from. If you want to keep it legal, the 3000s are fantastic machines.

EDIT: That looks badass, Skye. How much did that run you?

Yeah, aside from a few here and there that I might "try" first, I pretty much buy everything that I enjoy if I intend to play through it, enjoy it, or want to support the developer. This includes Falcom games especially.

Lately though, CFW aside being nice and all, I've been finding that the newer games that I've been purchasing just can't quite be played on my system off of the UMD because CFW hasn't quite caught up to the newer firmware required games. I have bought for example games like Patapon 2 where at the time the only available option was to purchase a case with a download voucher for the game off of PSN, but as I'm running CFW, I can't even use it... So I bought it and then downloaded an ISO of he game.

But I'm kind of tired of all that and it occured to me that when my limited edition Ys Seven arrives on UMD and I wouldn't be able to play it unless I waited for a cracked version of it.... I'd be pretty pissed about that. And with all of these new Falcom titles coming out for PSP, it just makes sense to get a new unit that is more powerful and can output to an HDTV and keep the old one exclusively for CFW. : )

This LKV8000 unit goes for around $65-70 so I hope it will be worth it... But the policy on the site I ordered from stated that if I purchased an open box version (which was cheaper) then I can return in within 30 days if I'm not satisfied with the product. I figure it is worth a shot!

Aug 6, 2010 14:24:13 GMT -5 Skeletore has a boner said:

Maybe I'll be surprised...but honestly 99% of video scalers sub $300 are absolute garbage.

They all use the same cheap insufficient chips housed in different boxes.

For a game like Ys where millisecond timing isn't important it's probably going to be serviceable, but you'd have difficulty playing something like DJ max, P.Diva, etc, on them.

Well, I sure hope it'll be worth it, but you may be right since this seems to be a cheaper model.

Anyhow, here's the site I ended up ordering it from in case anyone else wants to try it out:

sewelldirect.com/PSP-to-HDMI-Converter-With-Upscaler-720p.asp

-Thomas

[HJ]

Game compatibility won't be an issue if you switch to Prometheus firmware. Of course, issues may arise again in the future, so your reasoning still stands. I just thought I'd point this out.

[SkyeWelse]

Let's see, the only music games that we currently own are Lumines I & II, Gunpey, Guitaroo Man Lives, Parappa the Rappa, and Patapon I & II. I don't own DJ Max Fever or the two Hatsune Miku games (yet...) but those would likely be the best to test. Maybe Guitaroo Man will be fast enough to test.

-Thomas

[Incog Neato]

There's 3 reviews of it on Amazon Japan.
www.amazon.co.jp/product-reviews/B002ZBSLWQ

I'll let someone else give a run-down of the the reviews. XD

[schlagwerk]

Aug 7, 2010 6:39:37 GMT -5 SkyeWelse said:

Let's see, the only music games that we currently own are Lumines I & II, Gunpey, Guitaroo Man Lives, Parappa the Rappa, and Patapon I & II. I don't own DJ Max Fever or the two Hatsune Miku games (yet...) but those would likely be the best to test. Maybe Guitaroo Man will be fast enough to test.

-Thomas

Guitaroo Man would prolly be the best. In the Patapons you set the rhythm instead of reacting to inputs.
What would've been great about DJ MAX, PNM, or Project Diva is they have timing windows so even if you're hitting the notes, it tells you if your timing is a little early or late if you don't get the best rating

For lag testing nothing beats good ol' IIDX. The game can feel off at as little as 10-15ms delay. But that's for the PS2 so that's more of a TV test. I got to find out the hard way that my TV has negligible video lag... but noticeable audio lag. wtf

[SkyeWelse]

Aug 7, 2010 7:44:12 GMT -5 Incog Neato said:

There's 3 reviews of it on Amazon Japan.
www.amazon.co.jp/product-reviews/B002ZBSLWQ

I'll let someone else give a run-down of the the reviews. XD

Thanks for finding these reviews! My wife who is Japanese did me the honor of letting me know what they said:

1. 5 Star Review - Coming from someone who tested he first Hatsune Miku Project Diva game saying that it really made it look and play great on the television.

2. 3 Star Review - Said that it looked and played great on the television, but it might just be his brand of Panasonic television, but he said the audio wasn't terribly great when he tried it.

3. 1 Star Review - From a PSPGo user who said something about the product not containing some type of extra part or hookup needed when he ordered it.

So far, it is looking like pretty decent product. We'll see! : )

-Thomas

[SkyeWelse]

The Lenkeng LKV8000 arrived and I've been able to test it using a PSP3000. The video does indeed scale the output from the PSP to be 720p and can be displayed either in the center of the screen (which is picture perfect to the resolution of the PSP) or full-screen zoomed mode which will add additional pixels. While the full-screen is not a perfect picture it does an incredible job with it and the convenience of playing the PSP as it were a control pad makes it well worth the investment in my opinion.

The kit comes with a audio out cable to red/white audio input splicer which works decently I suppose for sound, but as I had an audio input jack on the back of my HDTV, I've found that running just an audio cable out from the converter to the back of the HDTV using that jack tend to produce the best sound for games. Most of all the games I've tried have great sound output, aside from one that I tried which was Lunar Silver Star Harmony. Some of the music sounds great, but the higher pitched flute-like sounds played on the title screen especially did not sound great on either audio setup. I think that it depends on the game at least for audio.

I tested the responsiveness of the button inputs as well and I was able to have fairly perfect response time on the games I've tried. For the purpose of testing, I tested out a particular stage of Gitaroo Man Lives! for PSP that offered several quick button presses. I can assure you that if this converter had issues of lagging, I would not have been able to finish the stage. I scored around what I normally score (or a little less I suppose) on the PS2 version of the game and the controls are much better on a Dual Shock 2 than that of a PSP.

Anyhoo, here are some of the recordings I made:

Gitaroo Man Lives! PSP using LKV8000 HDMI Converter

Ys VI: The Ark of Napishtim PSP using LKV8000 HDMI Converter

I tested Brandish TDR, Crimson Gem Saga, Katamari Damacy, Mega Man Maverick Hunter X (which looked amazing on the HDTV btw) and Loco Roco. All of which worked fine and played fine with no lag.

-Thomas

[Incog Neato]

I was admiring your living(?) room more than the Ys VI gameplay. XD And it's kind of hard to see the actual quality of the gameplay, I think, especially given the fact that there's compression in the video . :|

Looks good though~~!

What's the SE poster above the entertainment center?

[SkyeWelse]

Hi Nunuu,

Yes, that is our living room. : ) Sorry that I couldn't get a better video quality with my camera. It's a point-and-shoot camera that is about 3 years old and isn't exactly made for recording video.

The poster you see in there is from the Final Fantasy Dear Friends Concert that my wife and I drove to in Chicago. It is autographed by Nobuo Uematsu and Yoshitaka Amano.

-Thomas

[Incog Neato]

Aug 18, 2010 17:54:04 GMT -5 SkyeWelse said:

The poster you see in there is from the Final Fantasy Dear Friends Concert that my wife and I drove to in Chicago. It is autographed by Nobuo Uematsu and Yoshitaka Amano.

*wanders into your living room nonchalantly*

*takes poster*

*leaves*

[SkyeWelse]

(laughs) Well as long as that is all you are taking!

Kind of getting the raw end of the deal though when you could be going after this instead!



*note* This was put together using two photos. Some editing was applied in order to put them together. But you get the idea for what part of the game room looks like. : )

By the way, I've been playing Ys Seven using the LKV8000 unit like mad and I must say that it looks pretty darn great on full screen mode. No lag and I was able to finally get the sound perfect through the audio output to speakers only setup. Running the HDMI audo to the TV for sound isn't the greatest, but the external speakers/receiver outputs perfect sound.

I'll see if I can record some additional videos in full screen mode for Ys Seven in the next few days if I can.

-Thomas