I have 4 x Cyborg gaming lights (ambx) running on Win7 64bit mounted behind my Sony KDL-46EX720. Because I really like the effects very much, I wanted to use them with my consoles (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii and a Xoom tablet) as well. Of course this isn't possible "out of the box", but if you're willing to fork out a few bucks extra (like $60), you can use at least one HDMI-source using a cheap (I recommend an active !) HDMI-splitter. If you have more sources, you can use a HDMI-matrix instead as I did in my example:
All devices are connected to a 4x2 HDMI-matrix (4 inputs, 2 individual outputs):
PS3, Xbox 360 and Xoom are connected via HDMI,
Wii uses component-cables and a component > Hdmi converter.
1st HDMI out connects to the TV,
2nd HDMI out connects to a HDMI > composite video converter (yellow cinch, usually).
This (absolutely low-end but who cares as it's just being used as the colour-source) video-signal is connected to a Logilink USB 2.0 video-grabber. VLC is a very good tool to start with, because it can directly display this device's Video-stream AND run the amBX-lights as usual. No other software is needed to get this running, as long as the USB-grabber's drivers are installed correctly.
To make things very comfortable, you may want to start VLC from a small .bat:
vlc dshow:// :dshow-vdev="USB2.0 ATV" :dshow-adev="none" :dshow-caching=0
This small batch starts VLC, selects the USB-grabber's input, disables sound (important for smallest possible lag !) and disables the cache (reduces lag as well). So you just have to start this .bat and everything works without any other operations. You can add more switches to the VLC-command line of course ...
If you're using a different USB-grabber make sure to replace the name with your's (case-sensitive !) "USB2.0 ATV" or it will not work. You can find out your device's name by starting VLC and selecting the capture-device from the list.
The Video-quality is poor of course, but right after starting this batch you will switch your TV to the "real" HDMI-input - given you have a Matrix or a cheapo HDMI-splitter at least.
Lag is very low using this (VLC)-method, but of course you can use the video-preview's window and "AuroraSynthesia" or (the imho better) Glow as well, as Glow lets you define the screen-portions to "grab" and set values for a "real" white-balance.
So what does this cost ?
Logilink USB Video Grabber - $10
HDMI-Composite converter - $40
HDMI-splitter - $10
If you have more devices and some extra-cash, I'd recommend a real HDMI-matrix instead of the splitter ($50 +)
This works really well and reliable, so yes ! It's worth the extra cash
Have fun !
