Friday, September 2, 2005
X50v on the Big Screen: Pc-Mobile's VGA Cable Adapter Reviewed
Posted by Darius Wey in "HARDWARE" @ 11:00 AM
Small Screen on the Big Screen
Why you would want to display Internet Explorer Mobile on the big screen is beyond me! Most people would use the X50v and the VGA cable for the odd PowerPoint presentation and for media playback. This is where things start to look great!
Figure 7: A Windows Mobile 5.0 PowerPoint presentation on a 50" widescreen display ay 1024x768.
I used the ClearVue Suite for the PowerPoint presentation in Figure 7. It has the ability to take control of the 2700G without the need for the Mirror Mode application on the X50v. In addition, it can also output at resolutions higher than 640x480 - a feature you'll love if you value clarity! Overall, ClearVue Suite is a great solution if you're after a collection of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF and image viewers with stellar external video support, but bear in mind that it is not the only solution available. I also tested the X50v and its VGA-out capabilities with RepliGo, Conduits Pocket Slides (with its beta X50v plugin), and Adobe Acrobat Reader. All of these programs work great with Mirror Mode enabled, but alas, only 640x480 - which is still very usable in my opinion, but if you're after a minimal hassle solution with unprecedented external video support, the ClearVue suite is the way to go. The suite itself can be purchased for US$29.95 and includes ClearVue Presentation, ClearVue Document, ClearVue Worksheet, Clearvue Image and ClearVue PDF. Alternatively, each individual application can be purchased for US$8.95 - definitely a money-saver if you only need one application, as opposed to all five.
Figure 8: ClearVue Suite's external video support.
I also tested Windows Media with Mirror Mode enabled. But what about the audio feed? That's what the headphone jack's for. ;)
Figure 9: Windows Media 10 on the big screen. W?BIC!
Finally, I put the X50v and the VGA cable through a TCPMP test (formerly known as BetaPlayer). Playing, in Figure 10, is a Fantastic Four trailer running at 640x268 in DivX format. Mirror Mode is enabled, but with the screen off, for reasons I will explain in the next section of this review.
Figure 10: The Thing!
Performance - Yay or Nay?
As I mentioned earlier, Mirror Mode controls the video output from the X50v. However, having both the internal and external displays running simultaneously can kill performance significantly. Below are two low-quality videos demonstrating the smooth playback of the Fantastic Four trailer when the X50v screen is turned off (initiated by holding the power and record buttons simultaneously), and the lagging playback when the X50v screen is turned on. As you'll notice, the latter suffers in performance since the X50v cannot handle the running of two displays all that well. While it's still usable for common applications, it's not the best for media playback, so the best thing to do would be to turn the screen off. Having said that, it's important to note that the screen is still responsive to taps, so you can still control it while gazing at the big screen.
• Fantastic Four trailer - Axim X50v: screen off (WMV file, 320x240, 2.3MB, 1 minute and 21 seconds)
• Fantastic Four trailer - Axim X50v: screen on (WMV file, 320x240, 2.3MB, 1 minute and 21 seconds)
I also ran the X50v through a couple of TCPMP benchmark tests to find out how the device performed with and without an output to an external display. This time I used a Batman Begins trailer running at 640x272 in DivX format.
Axim X50v at 624MHz - Playback on External Display with Screen Off:
Average Speed: 261.16%
Video Frames: 3449
Audio Samples: 6395195
Amount of Data: 18270 KB
Bench. Time: 0:55.081
Bench. Frame Rate: 62.62
Bench. Sample Rate: 116104
Bench. Data Rate: 2.7 Mbit/s
Original Time: 2:23.851
Original Frame Rate: 23.98
Original Sample Rate: 44100
Original Data Rate: 1.0 Mbit/s
URL: \SD Card\My Documents\My Videos\Batman Begins.avi
Size: 18708480
Platform: PocketPC
OS Version: 4.21
OEM Info: Dell Axim X50
Clock speed: 624 MHz
Video output: Intel 2700G 640x480 16bits Slow
Audio output: Wave Output 44100Hz 16Bits 2Ch.
Axim X50v at 624MHz - Standard Playback on Device Display:
Average Speed: 266.59%
Video Frames: 3449
Audio Samples: 6394725
Amount of Data: 18270 KB
Bench. Time: 0:53.959
Bench. Frame Rate: 63.92
Bench. Sample Rate: 118514
Bench. Data Rate: 2.7 Mbit/s
Original Time: 2:23.851
Original Frame Rate: 23.98
Original Sample Rate: 44100
Original Data Rate: 1.0 Mbit/s
URL: \SD Card\My Documents\My Videos\Batman Begins.avi
Size: 18708480
Platform: PocketPC
OS Version: 4.21
OEM Info: Dell Axim X50
Clock speed: 624 MHz
Video output: Intel 2700G 640x480 16bits Slow
Audio output: Wave Output 44100Hz 16Bits 2Ch.
As you can see, with the screen off and the VGA cable plugged in, media playback performance suffers negligibly in comparison to media playback on the device alone. Smooth playback is guaranteed in almost all cases. So back to the original question: performance is definitely a "yay"! :)
