.) Anyways, I know a lot of you have been interested in this product/are waiting to buy it, so I just thought I'd share my thoughts on it with you.Physical Makeup: 8/10
The unit looks pretty nice. It has a silver paint job and looks good with Siver DS Hevy's and Silver GBA SP's. The sticker is nice looking, more professional than the M1 (this is the M2). The plastic feels kind of sturdy; of a higher quality than, say, a 3rd party GBA flash cart, but lower than that of an actual Nintendo GBA game. The SD card clicks in the side much like a DS game is inserted. The only REAL bone I have to pick with the physical makeup is that it sticks out of the system a bit; on an SP/DS Hevy, it sticks out about as much as a normal GBA game would on the Lite; on the Lite, about double what a normal GBA cart would. Although I must say, the SD version is MUCH smaller than the CF version, sticking out about an inch less on SP/DS Hevy. It's not really THAT big a problem for me, but it does look kinda ugly.
Sound/Music: 6/10 to 8.7/10
The reason I give a range of scores is because there are various compression modes for audio files on the GBAMP, from 8:1 Stereo (highest) to 64:1 Mono (lowest). 64 isn't even listenable, so I don't count it. 32:1 is okay for, say, talking files (movies, comedians, etc.) but not for music, because it is quite tinny. That leaves us with 16:1 Mono and 8:1 Stereo. 16:1 is a tad bit tinny for rock songs, but isn't bad for orchestral stuff; however, 8:1 Stereo is the way to go. Very little tinny sound, pretty clear, crisp. Just one problem: The file size. If you've got a large SD (or CF) card, this may not be a problem. However, I only have 512MB, so I'm a bit weary when it comes to file space. For example, the DragonForce song "Through the Fire and Flames" (great song
) is about 4.7MB in 16:1 Mono. In 8:1, however, that same song is almost 11MB, over 2 times the size of the original file. Just something to think about if you're limited on file space.Video: 7/10 to 9/10
Again, there are several compression modes for video. The lowest one is not even laughable, so we won't even look at it. The second is pretty good; a bit pixelated, but just perfect for watching anime/cartoons, and is also good for most live action and CG; although with heavy CG movies (like Advent Children) the action tends to get bogged down and even more pixely in places. One thing that is great about this mode is the size of the file. When converted, Advent Children was a mere 163MB! Not bad, eh? The highest mode is a mere notch under DVD quality, boasting 8:1 Stereo sound, nearly no pixelation, and increased framerate. Although the files are around 400-500MB, it's the way to go if you have the extra space.
Pictures: 8/10
Pretty straight forward. The pics are pretty good quality, althoug some are a tad pixelated or the color may be off a bit; can be fixed with a bit of touch-up work, though.
Games: 4/10
Of all the things the GBAMP does well, emulation is not one of them. It was just kinda thrown in as a side thing, I think; it can run NES games only, and GB and GBC games if you download Goomba, a Game Boy emulator. The games look/sound just fine, but your game must be smaller than 200MB, and you also can't save. Good if you just wanna play a quick round of Tetris, not so good for all us Zelda/Final Fantasy fans. As stated before, it's not meant to be a game player. If you're looking for games, get a GBA Flash cart or a SuperCard; not a GBAMP.
EBooks: 8/10
This feature is pretty nice, because you can listen to music while reading. The text is very legible; the only problems I have with it are that the pages are very short (lots of page turning) and that every time you turn a page, your song lags a bit.
Software/Customization: 10/10
This part gets a perfect score. The software is very user-friendly; simply select your input file(s), your sound/video/picture quality, where you want to put the converted files, then just click "Convert". Simple as that. And the GBAMP is VERY customizable. There are literally 100's of skins out there, ranging from anime/games, to movie and PSP menu style skins. The files are also quite small, around 2MB. You can also make your own custom skins, which is a nice feature as well.
Differences between CF and SD Versions:
Size: The SD version is MUCH smaller than the CF version; about an inch and a half smaller, to be more precise. This is because SD cards are much smaller than CF cards. Something to consider for GB Micro owners, and DEFINITELY for DS Lite owners.
Card: CF cards are usually a bit cheaper than SD cards, although they aren't as readily available. CF card writers are also cheaper than SD card writers, but are again harder to find. And as stated before, CF cards are much bigger than SD cards.
Color/Other: Color is more of a prefrence; the SD version has a silver/blue label thing going on, and the CF version is half red, half white with a barf colored sticker. Take 'yer pick
! The only other thing is that I believe the CF version doesn't have the click when the card is inserted, as in no lock in. I'm not sure on that, though.Overall:8/10 for those with cash, 10/10 for those short on it (come on, the price tag is a mere $30 shipped for both versions!)
That's it for now. I'll have pics of the software, the system running, size, and all that jazz tomorrow. I may also do a video review if my camcorder stops being so dumb!
Until next time,
CTFan
