Metamorphosis Complete

By Shamus Posted Thursday Jan 22, 2009

Filed under: Personal 59 comments

Somehow I’ve mutated into a console gamer. My work / play space:

I sit here. All day. I’m not complaining.  It’s a pretty good setup, although I still struggle to hide <a href="?p=1375">the snarl</a>.  <em>Nice job on the photography, Shamus.  Why don’t you just aim the flash at a mirror and post a picture of that?</em>
I sit here. All day. I’m not complaining. It’s a pretty good setup, although I still struggle to hide the snarl. Nice job on the photography, Shamus. Why don’t you just aim the flash at a mirror and post a picture of that?

And because I know people will ask what all this stuff is, I’ll give you the tour:

All the way to the left is a wireless keyboard. The receiver is positioned so that I can plug it into either the Xbox or the PS3, so the one keyboard it can serve both machines. (I HATE typing with a game controller.) To the right of the keyboard is the console lineup: The neglected Gamecube, PS3, my new Xbox 360, and the venerable PS2. All four consoles plug into the switch (the silver thing left of the phone) and from there go into my PC.

The huge black brick behind the switch is the Xbox 360 power supply, which may or may not be a steam engine. What the heck, Microsoft? I haven’t seen a power brick that immense since the 80’s. Even the mighty TI-99/4a didn’t require this much sprawling, bulky infrastructure.

At the risk of opening up the French Press thread again, the mug in front of the phone is my new French Press, which also acts as a well-insulated mug. It’s quite good, although I inadvertently jacked up my caffeine intake when I switched from brewed to… pressed(?) coffee. It’s gonna be murder correcting that.

This setup has allowed me to migrate to console gaming. Moving to “the couch” – where most console gamers do their thing – was never an option, because the games I play aren’t generally fit for the family room. Plus, I need a way to acquire screenshots and the like for my writing. What you see above lets me play console games without sacrificing the advantages of PC gaming. (Aside from the loss of a mouse for FPS games. This is a bitter wound, akin to the loss of a limb.) I can sit in my comfy chair, drink coffee, talk on the phone, wear headphones, keep a keyboard plugged into the console, and generally enjoy using the machines without needing to monopolize the living room.

This lets me play a console game in a window on my desktop. (Although I play full-screen when I’m actually out to enjoy the game.) The game-in-a-window is nice for when I’m writing or keeping an eye on a download. It’s also really handy for when I must turn to walkthroughs to get me past some some gaming annoyance. I can have gamefaqs sitting in a window next to the game, which is an arrangement that ranges from superfluous to indispensable depending on the game and how much it’s pissing me off at the moment.

And in some ways this is better than PC Gaming. The game isn’t using the resources of the PC, which means that I can alt-tab to and from a game without that awful choke that games normally exhibit.

 


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59 thoughts on “Metamorphosis Complete

  1. Kevin says:

    Hey Shamus, has game-playing become work for you, or is it still hella-fun?

  2. Daimbert says:

    Oddly enough, for me what made the difference between my PS2 being neglected and now being my main gaming option was two Christmas’ ago discovering that I could hook my PS2 up to an old Amiga monitor I had lying around, sticking that on an old TV stand I had (and didn’t need) and wheeling that in front of the sofa to play. Much more comfortable, and the ability to have on a sports game on TV WHILE playing games is just too good …

    My PC, though in the same room, faces AWAY from the TV, so it’s harder to watch TV while playing on the PC.

  3. Shamus says:

    Kevin: Still fun, although once in a while it’s a chore if I have to RE-play to get screenshots.

    Example: In tomorrow’s comic, I had to start a new game of Mass Effect and play for about 40 mins before I could get to the scene I needed for the screenshots. It’s not AWFUL or anything, but it’s not as much fun as sitting down and playing for its own sake.

  4. Factoid says:

    Let me just say: It’s extremely old-school how you have the nice black glossy LCD monitor and not one but TWO of the ugly beige power boxes underneath.

    I don’t think I’ve had one of those on a computer since 1995. Are you trying to keep a handle on the standby power your devices use or are they more for convenience?

    Also a note about your screencaps recently for Stolen Pixels: They seem a little grainy and washed out compared to ones taken on PC games. Is that a result of pumping 4 consoles through a TV tuner card?

  5. OddlucK says:

    My PC gets the vast majority of my play-time precisely because I can have the TV going while I play (I’m not quite ADD, just OOH! A KITTY!).* I’ve considered this solution before, but wasn’t sure of its viability. In the past, I’ve hooked up my games to a separate, smaller TV placed next to my main TV, but there’s not really room for that now. This may actually revive my console RPG fetish. Hmmm…

    *Well, that reason and WoW.

  6. Shamus says:

    Factoid: Look at the number of devices in that picture. I NEED both of those power strips. (And in fact, I need them, and another one under the desk, since half the $#!@ing devices have brick plugs that cover adjacent outlets.) It also lifts my monitor up to eye level. I wouldn’t want to spend this many hours looking DOWN at a screen.

    Yes, console screencaps are not going to look as nice as PC native ones. The TV tuner card I have only gives 720×480. I could get a better card, but then I’d most likely have screen lag that would make playing impossible.

    On the PC I can crank the resolution up to bigxhuge, and then I can go one step further and disable the hud so the ENTIRE screenshot is usable. The console starts out low resolution, and then I have to trim that down to cut out interface elements.

  7. Nihil says:

    I’m not a console gamer, but can’t the PS3 run PS2 games already?

    Also, the next time you intend to spend some money on your L33T R1G, may I recommend a second, smaller, vertically-orientable screen? Given your needs, you’re probably going to love it.

  8. Daimbert says:

    I am horribly bitter over the fact that only the very, very early PS3s are backwards compatible with the PS2, and none of the ones that you can buy now are. It’s probably the main reason why I have no intention of buying a PS3 anytime in the near future.

  9. Strangeite says:

    Now you just need a MacMini and your setup would be complete.

  10. Robyrt says:

    That, sir, is a pimpin’ setup. Being able to alt-tab to Gamefaqs is SO GOOD – if I’m playing a game like that, I’ll bring my laptop out to the sofa for this purpose.

    Although it sounds like you’re using 720×480 for your console games… have you noticed any legibility problems? A lot of my 360 games (like Prince of Persia) are basically unplayable on a standard-definition set, but totally fine at bigxhuge resolution.

  11. Anaphyis says:

    I would have expected more LCD’s, but that is just me and my fetish for them, staring into three side by side at the moment ;)

    Did I get that right, you are using a TV-Card to play the consoles on the screen? How is that working, lag-wise? I played with the idea for a while but never got around to actually try it.

    And what ARE those power box thingies under the screen exactly? Never saw those. Do they have a specific purpose or are they really substitutes for the good power grid other countries employ as I guessed from the comments?

    Edit: Oh and for the Snarl, that doesn’t look half bad, seriously. Others are far worse and I’m afraid to crawl under my desk if I’m alone for a few days, fearing a type of entanglement only Houdini could undo and subsequent starvation.

  12. Daktylo says:

    Is this an acceptable way for the wife to tolerate gaming? Hmm…I may have to look into this solution.

    Although it’s really hard to justify connecting an XBOX 360 and a PS3 to a small LCD monitor when I’ve got the 50″ in the living room. :/
    Plus the PS3 is not really a single player system, but a group play system as Rockband 3 is our primary entertainment with our friends.

  13. Henebry says:

    I remember looking into how to hook up a console to a computer “” I don’t have a TV set “” and at the time it looked like it was a lot of trouble for a low-quality picture.

    How are you doing it? A TV tuner card in your pc? And how good are the visuals? As good as they would be on a good HD TV?

    (Oops: looks like you’ve already answered this, at least in part. But any further details would be helpful. For instance, is the screen quality just worse than a PC native game would be, or worse than they would be if you had the console plugged into a good modern TV? Also, why does a better tv tuner card lead to lag time? And do you recommend a particular model?)

  14. Deoxy says:

    And in some ways this is better than PC Gaming.

    Actually, I would call it “PC gaming with several very expensive external graphics cards”.

  15. Mart says:

    If you don’t mind me asking, which TV tuner card and software are you using? 720à—480 with smooth playable settings is cool! I’m currently wanting to hook up my Wii to my PC, but unsure as to which TV tuner card gives decent fps.

  16. Clint says:

    If you’re annoyed at the giant power bricks that cover more than one outlet, you may want to check out the PowerSquid. It has each extra outlet on its own cord, thus preventing them from interfering with one another. Granted, it contributes to the snarl a bit on it own.

    Clint

  17. Jason says:

    Your setup may warrent a post of its own. I’m adding my voice to the chorus clammering for more specifics.

  18. Annon says:

    You say you are turning into a console gamer, but I have to wonder–is it really that you are acclimating more to consoles, or is it because the line between next gen consoles and desktops has become very fuzzy? I mean, you can use the same keyboard for all three machines–that used to be a royal pain in the ass.

    Also, do you really save any space by putting the gamecube on its side? Looks silly…

  19. onosson says:

    First thing I noticed is that you have your windows taskbar on the left edge of your desktop – nice!

  20. Nazgul says:

    Besides the Squid, you can also get short extension cords – like 6″ long – that serve to get multiple bricks into the same outlet. Like the squid, the end result may not be as tidy but it’s probably better than needing an extra strip you wouldn’t otherwise need.

    As for the 360 brick, at least it doesn’t seem as inclined to burn your house down as the original Xbox power cord was.

    What’s the black thing in the background? Is it an actual window, as in see-outside-and-let-in-sunlight? At first I thought it was a flatscreen TV or something.

  21. Shamus says:

    Nazgul:Yes, in the background is a window with a BLACK curtain. The sun hits that window for most of the day, and if I left it open wy monitor would be blindingly backlit. It would be like using a laptop at the beach. Not something you want to endure for eight hours a day.

    There is another window in the room which is occasionally opened, but never the one behind my monitor.

  22. Hal says:

    I came in here to mention the squid, but I guess I was beaten to the punch.

    I’m guessing then, that we’ll never see a Wii game suffer to have its pixels stolen?

  23. Shamus says:

    onosson: In the early days of Win95, having the taskbar on the bottom just felt WRONG. Putting it on top was fussy, since it was too close to the menu bar of a lot of programs. Thus the left-side bar.

    It’s odd, but after all these years I don’t imagine I could change it without experiencing physical pain.

  24. Shamus says:

    Hal: I’ve been passing on Wii games for just that reason: It’s just an incredible hassle to move the machine into my office.

    We’ve been talking about getting a second Wii for in here, but that seems a little… extravagant.

    Although, if I stick with Wii Fit then it just might be worth it as a tool for work, a gaming machine, AND a bit of exercise equipment.

    Hmmmmm.

  25. asterismW says:

    I think you need another monitor. It is SO nice to be able to browse in one screen and have different applications running in the other screen. When my boss first insisted I get two monitors, I rebelled, saying, “What do I need two monitors for?” Now I know, and I’ll never be able to go back.

  26. Illiterate says:

    Shamus,

    with that switcher aren’t you just getting an analog signal?

    Do you experience any audio sync problems with guitar-hero style games? Have you tried any?

  27. Apathy Curve says:

    “Somehow I've mutated into a console gamer.”

    You should see your doctor. He can probably give you something for that unsightly rash. =P

  28. Shamus says:

    illiterate:

    The “signal” issue is a complex one. The switch accepts with composite or s-video, which are the only two options offered by my vid capture card. (Well, that, and cable TV hookup, which doesn’t apply here.)

    S-video has mild artifacting issues. There are a couple of faint colored lines running diagonally over the display. They become more visible in darker parts of the scene. (Even if I plug the console directly into the PC) I struggled with this in the Prince of Persia comics.

    Composite video is free of that. It seems a little blurry, but it’s possible that just because I’m viewing a 720 wide picture on a 1900 wide display.

    I don’t have any sync issues with audio. I was able to do the Mass Effect button-press game with an 90% success rate, so I don’t think I have timing issues any worse than my own aging reflexes.

  29. Ferrous Buller says:

    I have a somewhat similar setup, though my consoles are plugged directly into my monitor (which has multiple inputs including HDMI & component). I just hit the input-select button on my monitor when I want to cycle from my console to my PC – or between consoles, for that matter, if for some reason I want to use more than one (e.g., play on one console while another is downloading).

    Add in my office chair from the future and it’s like, “Who needs a sofa for console gaming?”

  30. Moridin says:

    I second the suggestion to get a second monitor. I have a virtual machine in my laptop(I have several old games I enjoy playing(including both original Fallouts) which require 8-bit colors and for that reason refuse to work) and it’s nice to be able to play, have irc open and check the walkthrough if I need to. It works better with two monitors than with just one.

  31. KarmaDoor says:

    I put my taskbar on the left, as well. trueSpace puts its title bar on the bottom of the screen, so the bottom wasn’t an option, just like the top for all other applications. Left just felt more natural given that’s the side the Start button is normally.

    Regarding console versus PC gaming;
    I don’t think the line has blurred as much as some people make it out to be. Proprietary chipsets keep programming different for each platform, as well as helping maintain the heavy yet transparent DRM. More features are available on consoles that were only available on PCs, before, but few users take advantage of them, and usual not often, either.

    It’s mostly the crossover of display technology between the two realms that creates the sense of blur. Convergence has finally happened at a large scale technological adoption, but utilization has hardly increased in comparison.

    More useful is the continued spread of USB allowing for wider use of keyboards and pointing devices (mice, trackballs, etc.) Even that is mostly shunned by console software developers, though. It’s easier getting a XBox 360 contorller working ona Windows system than it is to find a keyboard supproting title.

    If anything, PCs are starting to move in on consoles territory, especially when you can hook a DVI digital or HDMI output into a 1080p TV. That and Flash games. :-p

  32. Adamantyr says:

    Kudos for the TI reference! I still have my old one, but I use a very clever CF card reader device a fellow assembled and sold on eBay in place of the peripheral expansion box.

    Just so you know, the P.E. box weighed about 25 pounds, because it had a steel frame. Even back in the early 80’s people wondered what the heck TI was thinking… maybe they thought their computers would see deployment in war zones? I bet it could take grenade fragmentation and small arms fire.

  33. Oleyo says:

    trueSpace…

    Your sad devotion to that ancient religion hasn’t helped you conjure up a personal avatar; or given you clairvoyance enough to create a properly animated skeletal avatar.

    Don’t try to frighten me with your sorcerers ways.

    ;)

  34. Oleyo says:

    Btw, I have to second the motion for the, er, second monitor. I was unconvinced that it would be very helpful, but since our boss pitched in for some new LCD’s I took the plunge.

    It’s great having Photoshop on the right and Blender on the left. Or, having a config or text file on the right, and your file directory or FTP on the other side.

    I recommend it.

  35. KarmaDoor says:

    Oleyo,
    I do indeed have a custom avatar. Admittingly it’s made with Corel Draw. trueSpace has fallen to disuse, mostly because the projects I work on don’t involve anything 3-D. It was a hobby that ended up being more work than pleasure, though I did try some more serious endeavors with gameSpace.
    Alas, Caligari was eaten up by Microsoft last February, and seemingly trueSpace 7.6 is the last version (though now free with registration.) Knowing MS, you’ll see the ancient religion reborn into a cult of 3-D know-nothings proclaiming the endless merits of Office. *blech*

  36. Shamus says:

    Truspace! Yes, now I remember. Thast’s the same reason I’m a left-taskbar guy. Truspace’s mutant interface made a bottom taskbar a minefield of mis-clicks.

    And for context: Oleyo is a friend from work. Many hours we have spent complaining about the torments of Truspace. He moved on to blender. I moved on to doing things I was less horrible at. (Programming.)

  37. Shamus says:

    And the second monitor is indeed something I would dig. Right now it’s a matter of budget. We have a CRT left to replace in the kitchen first.

    And I need to figure out where I’d PUT the dang thing.

  38. kelvingreen says:

    I was primarily a computer gamer back in the day (I have hundreds and hundreds of Commodore 64 and Amiga games), although I dabbled in consoles with the Master System, Megadrive and SNES. When pcs suddenly became a viable gaming platform and coincidentally soared out of my price range, I switched over to the PS1, upgraded to the PS2, then got right royally narked with the endless identical WWII shooters and sport games and lost interest in gaming altogether.

    Katamari Damacy drew me back, as I recognised something in it from the old days; it wasn’t trying to be like a movie, or a TV show, it was simply trying to be a game, something of which I think the industry had latterly lost sight. Then the Wii popped up and again I saw something interesting; an explicit rejection of the power/graphics race in order to get back at the “game” part of “video games”. I’ve not been disappointed so far. I’ve also been impressed with the longevity of the PS2, as great games are still being released for the thing.

    So my gaming set up consists of a pc on which I occasionally play the computer games I missed back in the 90’s (Planescape: Torment is next), and then in the living room, the old PS2 and the Wii. Rather unfairly, the Wii gets to sit on the stand next to the HDTV, while the PS2 gets relegated to underneath; the Wii is definitely the main machine, especially since Christmas, but the PS2 is still used. I’ve got the still-unfinished Final Fantasy X in there right now, and it’s either the sequel or Persona 4 next; I occasionally break out the Katamari games or the wonderful Silent Hill 2 too, but it’s mainly for the rpgs. We got it years ago when we lived in the US, and I dread the day when it breaks down and I’ve got to figure out how to get a replacement in over the Atlantic.

    Sorry, rambled for ages there. In short, I started out a computer gamer, then gradually shifted all the way across the spectrum (ha!) until I arrived at my current 70/30 console/computer mix.

  39. KarmaDoor says:

    Does that mean the custom avatar comment was directed at you, Shamus?
    I certainly didn’t stand a chance of not being confused given the flow of dialogue, so my apologies for anything confusing on my behalf.

    That’s so odd that you also used tS, though. You’re like a mirror of me, except you actually managed to get yourself motivated and complete your initiatives. Or does that make me a echo? Eh, whatever; this is getting too social-networky.

    I tried multiple monitors for a while, but ended up finding all I’d put on the second was text for the most part. I reverted to Alt-Tabbing, but I do occasionally use my PDA for lugging a document around and is more than adequate for GameFAQ guides.

  40. Arndt says:

    Okay. I have questions.

    1) What is your switcher?

    2) Can one plug a switcher into another switcher for even more options?

    3) What is the TV card and how much resources does it consume?

    4) Where did the desk come from and how tall is it from legs to the part where my knees would bang into if I tried to slide into it?

    5) Do you have any idea how jealous I am? That PS2 is a classic one! My classic PS2 was procured in 2002 using the money I inherited from my late Grandmother. It died from unknown wear and tear causes resembling a natural death. I miss it. I currently play a Silver PS2 that my mother owns but it is not the same by half. When I buy a new one it still will not be my original, whose corpse I keep in the attic in the original box, nor will it be the same disc-in-tray design.

    6) What software do you use to capture gameplay?

    7) I think I have more questions….

  41. smIsle says:

    Concurred on the dual monitors … you can never have too many.

    My set-up is pretty cool. Since I have such a small apartment, I use the entire (5×5) dining room for my office. I set up a second large screen monitor with multiple inputs facing the living room, and ran a mac keyboard (with that extra usb port for the mouse) from my computer to the couch – letting me sit on the couch to play games or read TwentySided or watch TV. The only thing I wish I could do differently is a way to see it from my computer so I could use it as an extended desktop rather than a clone. But, there is nothing worse than extending your desktop somewhere that you can’t see it. (said to person in living room: ‘switch to my computer … do you see that dialog box? tell me when I’m over the title bar’ … heh)

    The reason I’m using the PS2 is the ability to hack a boot-loader into it and run uLaunch-ELF so that I can play the old NES, SNES and Sega games :-)

  42. Johan says:

    “I can alt-tab to and from a game without that awful choke that games normally exhibit.”
    Make me a PC game that can do this and I’ll buy it irregardless of quality.

  43. Jim says:

    Hey Shamus, would you be willing to list the Brand and Model of your Video Capture card (and if you are using anything other than its bundled software, that as well)?

    I’ve owned several and they all had a 1/2 second or more delay that made playing Video Game consoles through them completely impossible.

  44. Mark says:

    I’ve had difficulties with my tuner card in the past. The lag was just barely noticeable, enough to make playing Smash Bros a hassle. It’s fine for most of the games I play, but in that one case…. Well, I was bound to get a display that could handle other inputs natively sooner or later.

    Shamus, have you tried getting the VGA output adapter for your 360? I found this to be a most satisfactory option, and it works well with a KVM switch.

  45. A wireless mouse? How can you stand to use that for gaming? For me, the lag in wireless mice feels like trying to through a swimming pool.

  46. Noble Bear says:

    Dude.

    Best. Setup. EVAR.

  47. Mephane says:

    “I can alt-tab to and from a game without that awful choke that games normally exhibit.”

    Make me a PC game that can do this and I'll buy it irregardless of quality.

    I definitely know that World of Warcraft and Warhammer Online let you do this (I have it set up that way in the latter currently). You can easily set them to window mode and alt-tab instantaneously. On Vista, you can even see what’s happening in the game in the 3D-windows-tab-mode, and in the taskbar preview, heh. The moment I discovered that, I knew that Aero actually IS awesome.

    The awful choke is actually the computer switching from full screen mode back to normal mode. I don’t know whether it’s the video card that takes so long to do it, or if it’s Windows itself, but pretty much any game with a “window mode” option let’s you play and alt-tab with ease.

  48. Pidmon says:

    @16

    Clint, is there an Australian version of that? It looks awesome… then I read ‘standard five’. How can you handle to have a non-one odd number of power switches? That’s so weird.

  49. On alt tabbing, on my old computer it used to work smoothly and without a delay. A driver upgrade and that feature disappeared. It has sure been a surprise to find that the delay is normal rather than a glitch caused by the driver change.

    I am horribly bitter over the fact that only the very, very early PS3s are backwards compatible with the PS2, and none of the ones that you can buy now are.

    Ouch, I did not know that.

  50. nilus says:

    This is why I insisted on having a house with a basement “Man” room when we bought. I don’t like playing console games on a monitor. I like playing them on a big screen while I sit in a recliner.

    Lucky for me my wife was cool with letting me make the basement my space. Mainly because she then controls the other two stories of the house and I have a place to keep my crap. It works out well though(I as lucky to get a house with a good sized finished basement). This way I got my home office/computer gaming area, A nice area where I can put a folding table or two for when my buddies come over to game, and then still a nice small living room area with my 37 inch TV and two recliners. I even have room for my 4 Player MAME cabinet.

    Of course this works now, while my son is a toddler. But I know when he gets older this space will inevitable be invaded by him. Which is okay, it just means Daddy can’t play GTA IV until my little monkey goes to bed.

  51. food4worms says:

    Danny Aiello in Jacob’s ladder: “no, your other left”.
    I’m glad there’s someone else out there that can’t tell his left from his right! ;-)

  52. Ted says:

    Wow… alt-tab. This changes everything…

  53. Vader says:

    Nooooooo.

    Console gaming.

    Nooooooo.

  54. Mark says:

    On the subject of alt-tab, you can easily coerce any Source engine game to switch focus gracefully by running it windowed with the -noborder parameter and resolution identical to your monitor.

  55. Derek K. says:

    kelvingreen:

    Gametap has Planescape available, and it runs seamlessly. It’s awesome. Also, all the Fallouts, all the Baldur’s Gate/Icewind Dale games, and a lot of other RPGs.

    Daktylo:

    Um, could I borrow Rock Band 3? Just long enough to burn a copy and make millions selling it?

    Etc:
    It’s a sad(?) commentary on my life that I haven’t even attempted to run my PS2 through my computer, because I don’t have the faintest idea how, AND HAVEN’T DONE ANYTHING ABOUT IT.

    10 years ago, I would have ripped up the internet and plugged 14 different things in to see what happened. Now, I just look at the PS2 occasionally and whisper “I miss you.”

  56. kelvingreen says:

    Derek, I already have Planescape in its original CD form, just not installed yet, but thanks for the suggestion anyway; I might give the Fallout games a try in that format.

  57. Winter says:

    Johan: Grid alt-tabs pretty seamlessly on my (admittedly excessive) computer. It’s not instant, but it’s moreso than (say) alt-tabbing in and out of Firefox with lots of tabs open. Of course, that game has… problems… in other ways. The fact that it can alt tab (and close properly, and do all of the other things that gremlinize most PC games) when it only makes vague concessions to the PC in other ways (try to navigate its menus with a mouse, i dare you) and that the PC gamer is a largely “second class citizen” as far as the game is concerned makes this sharpness all the more shocking.

    Anyway, my setup is this: instead of a tv tuner (or whatever) i have a monitor that accepts multiple inputs. Specifically: VGA, DVI, component, S-Video, and two others that suck. I then rig my consoles up to an input switcher and feed that into the monitor. I also split audio off for my speakers–eventually i’m going to get a small mixer (ie, when i can find one small enough) so i can listen to internet radio while playing Gran Turismo, for instance.

    Benefits: almost zero added lag (although the LCD monitor has non-zero delay, which is troublesome for some games, the one i have is very low delay anyway) and very little signal degradation. Can play the games in full resolution (well, up to 1080i due to… ahem… DRM nonsense). The hardware is well-understood and flexible.

    Drawbacks: you can’t play the games in a window, switching is sometimes awkward (“Let’s see, flip the monitor over to component, then switch the input to the playstation and…”), requires a bunch of hardware.

  58. JamesF says:

    Red Dwarf reference?

  59. @Ferrous Buller I am digging that chair in your post and I am considering getting one, haha! I have been kicking around the idea for way too long. Do you still like it? I know it has been a long time since your post but was hoping for your thoughts. There is a new Ergohuman v2. Wondering if the “extras” are worth the extra cash :)

    -Tanner

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