Macrovision Remover KTvision Smart Lead

All these products are created by the same company: sonel and ktvision share the exact same business address.

Having bought all three products (HQ, GOLD, VICE) I can say that, without any doubt, all are made from the cheapest possible China import leads. I managed to source the actual SCART lead used for the HQ - gold plated pins and all, which sonel and ktvision sell for £35.00; it costs only £2.99 trade, so god knows what these guys are paying. They are certainly turning a nice profit,

The Macrovision Remover KTvision Smart Lead is very well made and feels like good value for money (if you know what I mean). Seems to be an expensive bit of kit but doesn't cost any more than the Monster leads from comet.

Very handy, especially for those of use who don't want to chuck away their old TVs just to use their new DVD players or games consoles.

Well as I had lots of conflicting advice about how to take Macrovision level 1,2,3 and cgms off so I bought all of the external devices that state they perform this action. I should tell you that in order to perform this test I used my place of employment to use their large range of equipment to try multiple combinations to give the you my opinion. First up the £360 - £980 DVD Recorder ranges with similar priced DVD Player. Macromaster Plus from DVD European or there web name icos-tech Priced at £ 42-50 including world wide Carriage, Removes Macrovision level 1 and CGMS ONLY, Composite, S-Video or RGB, External power supply included, connection via 2 scart sockets 1 standard scart lead supplied. Not compatible with non scart equipment.

Conclusion I found their service 4/10, Connecting the devices was laborious with a P.S.U to plug in, 2 scart leads only one provided 3/10, usability its a bit of a mess about as the unit is a dated and bulky and you wouldn't want it on display. It dose what it says only macrovision level 1 so if that's all your trying to get rid of fine 10/10 but most films and players have a combination of 1 2 and 3 plus cgms now and then. The end picture was faded and grainy this will be due to the dated construction and the amount of breaks in the video connection. You have your player which you have to connect a scart lead to, that then plugs into the macromasterplus, then you need a second scart to come out of the macromasterplus to connect to your destination machine so you have 4 standard scart sockets and 3 meters of standard scart cable this alone would reduce the picture and sound quality. I improved the quality by using 2 Monster MV2SC-1M 40205 scart leads which reduce the cable to 2 meters and added low-loss insulator for improved signal transfer, 24k gold contact SCART connectors maximize signal transfer and resist corrosion Separate shielding between audio and video conductors for improved overall performance 100% foil shield coverage of all audio and video conductors at a cost of £39.99 each which made the picture and sound satisfactory but still a noticeable difference from the original this will be due to signal loss in the standard scart sockets and you still have 4 connections and 2meters of cable plus I also noticed a patterning being generated when the P.S.U got close some of players and recorders. I tried this on mid range equipment £130 - £400 and had the same results but improved results on the £25 - 130 range but this could be slightly miss leading as using a £25 player you would not expect the best audio & video so the recording did look like the original. So for best results you need add the cost of 2 monster scart leads to the unit giving a total of £122.48. For non scart equipment replace the monster scart to scart leads with scart to RCA (phono).

Verdict Macromaster

Value for money 2/10

Ease of use 5/10

Quality of AV 6/10

Number of connections/ normal setup breaks 4

As standard External Power Supply Required (P.S.U)

My next test was on the Macro Master Pro HQ Gold this seems to be have been around the longest judging by the advice. It is supplied by http://www.sonel.com and the name of there product seems to be used as a nick name by others so don't get mixed up, priced at £27.99 includes UK postage. Removes Macrovision level 1, 2 and CGMS Composite, S-Video or RGB, Pal and NTSC compatible, 24k gold contact SCART connectors maximize signal transfer and resist corrosion. The unit is built into the end of a scart cable 1.5 meters gold terminals. Has been designed to be powered internally from the playing device.

Conclusion I tested the product on High, Medium and low priced equipment and found the quality to be satisfactory 6/10. The connection couldn't be simpler it was just a case of putting the marked end in the playing device tv/output scart ( is say TV/OUTPUT scart because if you record from a sky digi box the vcr/output scart dose not provide power to the Macro Master) and the other into the recording device input scart ease of use was 9/10. The results were the same across the range except didn't work on non scart equipment for phono connections you need their adaptor kit £7.99 for an output or input kit or £12.98 for both. The kits have a power socket on them and you need to buy your own power supply £4.99 as the scart can no longer get the power from the player. The most you would have to pay is £42.96 with all the extra bits for non scart equipment

Verdict Macro Master Pro HQ Gold

Value for money 7/10

Ease of use 9/10

Quality of AV 6/10

Number of connections normal setup breaks 2

As standard [b]NO[/b]External Power Supply Required (P.S.U)

Next up the Smart Leads Standard Gold and the I.S.Pro Gold. Can be bought from a few websites and direct from ktvision.com Service is excellent and website very professional with the ability to create an account and check order progress 9/10. They have the same idea as Sonel and the Smart lead Standard Gold looks identical and connects the same way and has adaptors for non scart devices. priced at £27.99 includes UK postage. Removes Macrovision level 1, 2 and CGMS Composite, S-Video or RGB, Pal and NTSC compatible, 24k gold contact SCART connectors maximize signal transfer and resist corrosion. The unit is built into the end of a scart cable 1.5 meters gold terminals. Has been designed to be powered internally from the playing device. Composite, S-Video or RGB, Pal and NTSC compatible. Compatible with PlayStation2 or other consoles, all DVD Recorders, Sky Digital and Tivo

Conclusion I tested the product on High, Medium and low priced equipment and found the quality to be satisfactory 6/10. The connection couldn't be simpler it was just a case of putting the marked end in the playing device tv/output scart ( is say TV/OUTPUT scart because if you record from a sky digi box the vcr/output scart dose not provide power to the Smart Leads) and the other into the recording device input scart ease of use was 9/10. The results were the same across the range except didn't work on non scart equipment. They also do the Smart Lead Std Plus priced at £32.56 which has a power socket built into the lead this is for playing devices which do not provide enough voltage from the scart output socket like 2 of Sony DVD player I tested although again you need to buy your own P.S.U £4.99. The maximum cost being £37.58 for a powered version.

Verdict Smart Leads Standard Gold

Value for money 8/10

Ease of use 9/10

Quality of AV 7/10

Number of connections normal setup breaks 2

As standard NO External Power Supply Required (P.S.U)

Next up the I.S.Pro Gold. Can be bought from a few websites and direct from http://www.ktvision.com Service is excellent and website very professional with the ability to create an account and check order progress 9/10. It is the same idea the unit is a high quality 24k gold terminals, 1.5 meter oxygen free individually screed low resistance scart cable with metal cast enclosures, similar to spec to MONSTER CABLE MV3SC (£59.95) with the electronics built in to one end. Priced at £52.99 which for the cable quality alone is very well priced plus macrovision (all) and cgms removal, Composite, S-Video or RGB, Pal and NTSC compatible. Compatible with PlayStation2 or other consoles, all DVD Recorders, Sky Digital and Tivo

Conclusion I tested the product on High, Medium and low priced equipment and found the quality to be Very satisfactory 8/10. The connection couldn't be simpler it was just a case of putting the marked end in the playing device tv/output scart ( is say TV/OUTPUT scart because if you record from a sky digi box the vcr/output scart dose not provide power to the Smart Leads) and the other into the recording device input scart ease of use was 9/10. The results were the Very good across the range except didn't work on non scart equipment. They also do the Smart Lead I.S.Pro Plus priced at £55.95 which has a power socket built into the lead this is for playing devices which do not provide enough voltage from the scart output socket like 2 of Sony DVD player I tested although again you need to buy your own P.S.U £4.99. For non scart devices they do an I.S.Pro Plus with adaptor in/output kits to convert to s-video RCA and RGB priced at £72.94 + your P.S.U Maximum cost £77.93

Verdict Smart Leads I.S.Pro BEST BUY

Value for money 9/10

Ease of use 9/10

Quality of AV 8/10

Number of connections breaks normal setup 2

As standard NO External Power Supply Required (P.S.U)

I have ordered a few more devices which have nothing to do with macrovision or cgms but technically and if connected right will do the same job one is available via EBay which as far as I know it hasn`t dawned on anyone yet to use it for that purpose so I shall keep you posted..........

At the end of the day the above are my opinions you can take them or leave them but it may save you time and money by benefiting from my research and overall experience.

I bought the latest gadget the other day... the KTvision smart lead ISPRO Gold macrovision remover. It's the best money I have spent in a long time. It is simple to use, just scart to scart, no other cables or power connections required. It works great with my Tivo, and DVD to DVD recorder requirements.