Sewell HDdeck USB to HDMI Reviews - SW-31000

Pros: The HD deck #31000 USB/HDMI adapter is great, and it works fine. It installed very well, and see no trouble so far. The video and audio is fine on the computer monitor.

Cons: My one objection here, I cannot get my HDTV (40" Samsung LCD) to show the videos in full screen. I can only get the TV screen with a blank at the top and bottom with 2-1/2" space.

Other Comments: SEWELL NOTE: You should be able to eliminate those blank spaces. I would recommend trying different resolution outputs as well as restarting the computer with the monitor connected and turned on. If after this you still have issues please contact Tech Support for additional help.

Pros: Works as described. You can change the resolution very easily, and it supports pretty much any resolution your TV/Monitor will support. Perfect HD output source. Audio was also fine.

Cons: It will take some time to figure out the best setup for your device. I had a difficult time finding a way to get video running smoothly. See other comments for my solutions.

Other Comments: I don't see very much information helping people troubleshoot their problems. First off, follow the install directions. Install from the CD first, then turn your monitor/TV on and connect it to the HDdeck, and finally plug the HDdeck into your usb port. IF the image on the TV/monitor is too small or too big, this is probably a zoom/aspect ratio problem with your TV settings. Most TVs allow you to change the aspect ratio and screen fit through their own settings. Play around until you find the correct setting. My TV had a fit to screen setting. This corrected the display issues I was having. For good video playback I had to disable hardware acceleration on my browser. This was the only way I could get video playback to work properly. I'm not sure if this was just my problem, but if you're having problems this might help. For video playback from a media player, I've had to play around a lot. I do not have a solution for windows media player. What I do have working smoothly is VLC media player. The only way I was able to get smooth video playback was to change the video output. Go Tools->Preferences->Video and look for the output drop down menu. I'm currently using Windows GDI video output. So those are my solutions. Hopefully this helps someone out. If you don't use VLC already, get it, it's probably the best video player out there.

Pros: Works fine and the picture and sound quality that comes from the TV is good.

Cons: Wish so very much that the HDdeck had the capability to show in full screen mode!

Other Comments: Hopefully Sewell Direct can fix this issue because this is a really good product but it is on the verge of being great.

Pros: Easy installation and good quality picture.

Cons: Won't give me full screen Mode on 42" screen HDTV. You must have 2 available 2.0 USB ports

Other Comments: Place more emphasis on video card quality standards to mirror to external device with 1080p.

Pros: This device is amazing. If you are video editor and already have a dual monitor set up, now you can easily connect to a larger plasma/LCD screen and not just mirror one of your other displays, but you get an actual third display. You can drag your video player onto the plasma and show your client the video you are working on on a much larger screen. It was seemless and fast. It even knew that my plasma was not a full HD screen but was 1380 x 720 and it adjusted for that automatically. I can also see the use for this at a trade show when you want to use a large Plasma in your booth connected to your laptop to give demos. In the past I purchased a Gefen DVI splitter for over $400.00 and all that I was able to do was to mirror my second display. Now for around $100 I get a third display.

Cons: None so far