Hardware Review: RCA AV to HDMI Gana Mini

The Gana brand is likely one you have not come across before, but the company puts out utilitarian audio and video (AV) components which can be bought through amazon.com’s platform (also available on E-Bay for twice the price). Not much can be found about the company, so I am just going to assume they are a generic Chinese manufacturer who is satisfying the need for cheap and reliable AV solutions for niche applications.

One such application is the need to connect devices that have RCA outputs into televisions that have HDMI inputs. RCA connectors, commonly explained as “Red, yellow, white” cables, were the standard for a couple of decades, replacing radio frequency (RF) coaxial cables.

Some television manufacturers still include an RCA option (pictured below) with a 3.5 mm male stereo plug (something that shocked me when I first saw it, but it works just as well and saves the manufacturers the cost of putting in three RCA inputs).

My co-host on the Game Under Podcast revealed in Episode 125 that he had obtained a Gana Mini, which is a compact and affordable RCA to HDMI converter with the ability to upscale to either 1080p or 720p (pictured below). Tom said the device worked splendidly with the Super Nintendo Entertainment System.

I have about ten or eleven retro game consoles that output from RCA, and while my current setup works well, the added advantage of upscaling was appealing, so with nothing but $13.99 to lose I promptly ordered one.

Gana shipped the item promptly and included a USB power cable, that I tested with a power adapter and just plugging into one of the available USB ports on my television (both good). I tried it with all systems and it worked, with the exception of the SEGA Dreamcast, but more troubleshooting is required and I don’t suspect the Gana mini is the culprit.

Trying the N64 first you can see with the RCA cable the colours are certainly warmer. In terms of better definition, if you look between the N and the B in NBA you will see that the HDMI converter has some separation that the RCA cable was not able to provide. Overall though, the RCA provided a more pleasing image. At this stage, I do want to point out that I can likely adjust the picture mode on my TV to get that warmer image, but this will also apply to everything else I view. In this comparison, the RCA cable won.

Now it’s time for Kobe to dunk on Australia’s Luc Longley. The first image is RCA, the second the Gana Mini HDMI converter. This time the picture is not only warmer, but it appears to me better when you look at the definition of the polygons making up Kobe’s model. Look also at the lettering of the Chicago Bulls floor art.

Again the RCA cable wins.

Looking at the Gamecube, the differences were harder to tell apart, but both cables did a good job. I played several games that I was very familiar with and was satisfied with the images, but did not see a noticeable difference from my prior experience with the direct input of RCA to the television.

I can’t really say I am confident that the Gana mini is actually upscaling anything, but what I don’t know is if my television is upscaling natively with the RCA to 3.5 mm adapter, explaining why I am not seeing a difference between the two.

What I can say, is that even if the Gana mini is just a solution for converting RCA signal to HDMI it does a great job, and at the low price is worth obtaining for anyone looking to reconnect with their gaming past and hook up old consoles to modern televisions. Manufacturers have already stopped providing any sort of solution (I am “lucky” to have an older 55” set), so for most people something like this is a must-buy.

8/10

- Phil Fogg