The Cloner Alliance Pro Box has a built in Processing Amplifier for adjusting the Brightness and Contrast, as well as the Saturation of video that it records. But its difficult to access from the onscreen display.
The Cloner Alliance Pro Box has inputs for HDMI and Component Video and stereo Audio capture. It has three main audio video ports, the HDMI in, HDMI out and the AV port (which is used with a special breakout cable to accept Component video and audio).
The HDMI out is plugged into a TV or monitor and carries sound as well as video.
When initially configuring the Cloner Alliance Pro stand alone mode, it has three buttons on the front of the box and an IR port for use with a hand held remote control.
The three buttons choose "source" one of the HDMI/Component ports, trigger a "screenshot" capture and start and stop a "record" session to a connected USB storage device.
Detailed configuration requires using the hand held remote and the HDMI out "on screen display".
The hand held remote have a circular dial in the middle of the remote surrounded by four buttons; "i" for information, "camera" for snapshot, "back arrow" for return, and "house" for home menu.
Detailed configuration has to be performed by navigating the on screen display using the remote.
The most important button is the "house" or home menu button, this brings up an on screen overlay of a transparent vertical up and down menu.
At first the menu is centered on the "First" lateral (or left <-> right menu) from four menus.
This first menu has the basic settings for selecting capture resolution, file format and the bare minimal things required to allow the on box start and stop "record" button to work.
Once starting to travel up or down the menu using the up and down arrows on the circular wheel, you are "locked" into that menu and cannot move laterally to any other horizontal menu choice.
Reading some onscreen tips you are instructed to "break out" of this "locked in" menu choice, you should hit the "back arrow" or return button on the hand held remote and you will exit that menus "locked in" mode and be able to press the "left and right" arrows on the circular wheel of the remote to travel to a new major configuration menu.
The Processing Amplifier for adjusting the Brightness, Contrast, Saturation of the image displayed and to be captured as video.. is in the Second major lateral >> Right menu
note: the "Contrast" setting seems (inverted) to normal behavior, increasing it actually mutes the image and makes things less "contrasty". So the best setting is probably to reduce the Contrast from 100 towards 0, where 40 is a fair setting. Upon power up the firmware presets these to defaults that are often less than optimal and make the video appear dark and hard to see. Increasing Brightness to 100 and then setting the Contrast to something less than 50 will brighten and then pull out detail by making the picture appear darker where needed to make the picture appear to have more contrast without appearing too dark.
Remember!
If you start moving Up and Down in the "First" menu, you will not be able to move to the "Second" menu just to the Right, until you hit the "back arrow" on the hand held remote to "Exit" the "First" menu mode.
Simply Pressing the > Right arrow on the hand held remote will "do nothing".. and keep you trapped in the First menu. The button press will be ignored.
Only coordinating and Pressing "first" the "back arrow" button, and (then) the "> Right" arrow button on the perimeter of the circular dial on the hand held remote, will leap you out of the "First" menu and traverse to the "Second" menu.
The "Second" menu contains the Brightness, Contrast, Hue, and Saturation controls for the currently displayed video image visible partially behind the menu overlay.
Now you can moved up and down to select one of the configuration options and increase or decrease its value, the results will be immediately reflected on the video playing or onscreen behind the semi-transparent menu.
These options are saved when exiting all menus by pressing the "house" or home menu button.
But they (do not) remain set across restarts or power down and power up events of the Cloner Alliance Pro Box. The Time also is not saved across power down and power up events of the Cloner Alliance Pro Box. They all have to be reset manually each time the device is powered on.
