View Full Version : NTSC, Pal, HDTV et al again!
Okay first, yep, I did a scour of the boards and the following problem does not seem to be covered by any of the threads.
I have a HDTV pack, but not a HDTV... it's a HDTV pack that splits into five leads (RGB and Audio L/R). This goes into a copy of the X2VGA which gives a 15-pin din output to a monitor.
I believe the following modes are supported : 480p, 720p and 1080i This issues me with problems.
It's a softmod'd box with an upgraded hdd, so the first dash that boots is either UnleashX or XBMC. Neither of these seem to have the ability to change the display mode to 480p by default (manual config file would be nice). Oddly, the Xromwell boot loader works nicely... boot any linux CD and I can load up on the monitor :-) I can get into the MS Dash if I have things on the screen (TV) but if the TV's connected the MS dash only gives me the non HDTV options!
I've set the video mode to NTSC with that video switcher (name eludes me, simple app, no interface to speak of) and can confirm that it has worked, because if I connect to the TV, I have Flickery B+W (standard on a PAL TV with NTSC input).
However, getting into the MS dash with the HDTV pack plugged in is impossible... I have no HDTV, and UnleashX/XBMC don't appear on the monitor (480i doesn't convert) to select a better res.
I can't see any way around this except for buying a HDTV! Please tell me there's some kind of hex edit I can do to enable HDTV output without getting into the MS dash in 480i mode!
Even getting XBMC to run in 480p by a config setting would be nice... as I say, xromwell does 480p by default with the hdpack and I can get into Linux on the monitor. Is that possible? a config file setting to get to 480p?
All input gratefully received.
It sounds like you have the X2VGA 2. If you have this and it is connected to a monitor you should be able to use their easyview feature to change the settings in the MS dash. This is what it says on their site
Provides the exceptional 480i EasyView feature for effortless setup in simplified 480i displays on VGA monitors.
This is from their faq
Does the X2VGA 2 support 480i? What 480i EasyView functions for?
Most VGA monitors cannot display in 480i mode. The X2VGA 2 provides a simplified display of 480i with the exceptional 480i EasyView feature (patented pending). 480i EasyView however doesn't function for complete display. In order to maintain the best display while the game is playing, 480i EasyView can display 480i mode signals on VGA monitors with two limits as following:
1. You can see only a half of the full screen at one time. When you need to see the hidden part, hold the Screen Shift Button on the X2VGA 2 and the screen will move continually until reaching the part you want.
2. Some screen instability / blurriness in 480i EasyView mode when you start the Xbox system with the X2VGA 2 is normal. Don't worry, it is harmless to your monitor and will not be there once you start the game in 480p, 720p, or 1080i modes.
Since the 480i Easyview feature has the two limitations above, it is only targeted at providing convenience to a short-term use in setting Xbox on the VGA monitor. DO NOT use 480i EasyView in playing 480i games or DVDs to reduce the risk of serious injury to your eyes.
If you want more info you should check out their site
http://www.x2vga.com/
Hope this helps!
It sounds like you have the X2VGA 2. If you have this and it is connected to a monitor you should be able to use their easyview feature to change the settings in the MS dash. This is what it says on their site
Nope, like I said in my original post, this isn't an X2VGA2, it's a similar device but doesn't do 480i (EDIT: NOTE: I'd love to get a real x2vga2, but they're not available until 45 days after some unknown number of days after their webpage was last updated - date of which of course is unknown)
I don't really see why this has been moved to off-topic so that noone sees it yet other similar questions have been left in support, could it be moved back please, 'cos I'd really like some support on this one!
Quite clearly a support question, no reason for it to be moved to off-topic, general where it quite clearly says no support questions. I don't know which mod moved it, but I'd like support on the issue, so can it please be moved back, thanks.
Gamester17
2006-09-27, 10:24
it's been moved to Off Topic > Xbox General becuase it has nothing specifcily to do with XBMC, you get the problem in any Xbox game or other Xbox homebrew software.
XBMC doesn't have the ability to change your Xbox EEPROM to 480p thus nothing 'we' can do for you.
You have to go into the original Microsoft dashboard to enable 480p in there, ...however you will not be able to change it there if your Xbox cable-adapter doesn't support HDTV modes, (and RGB doesn't automaticly mean HDTV, and Microsoft classifies 480p as HDTV as well, ...I for example have a non-HDTV RGB cable to my TV and my TV doesn't support HDTV modes)
Well, actually, I don't have the problem with SOME homebrew software, as I said, Cromwell recognises the pack perfectly and displays neatly in 480p, with NO eeprom writing as far as I know.
So, yeah, I might have the problem with a lot of software, but still there's two things that are SPECIFICALLY to do with xbmc :
1. selecting video mode by config file - I still think this should be possible, for any software, if you can access it via network and (possibly) not by the standard output device. EVEN if there are limitations to which mode(s) XBMC can run in based on what the dash is set to, that limited choice should be configurable via file.
2. if Cromwell can do it, so can XBMC! Both are opensource projects, and whilst I don't have the XDK to recompile if I spent the time to get familiar with the codebase of XBMC I could work up a patch. As I ideally don't want to duplicate effort, someone more familiar with the internals of XBMC could have a look at the Cromwell source to see how it's doing whatever it's doing. I'm obviously not demanding that someone look into it (I'm involved in many opensource projects myself and know how irritating it is to be told what to do), I am however asking if someone could do it.
Maybe they're not support if they're both not yet implemented but feature requests, however, they were couched in support terms specifically for xbmc, and as it says "(no support/help questions!)" in the forum topic, I really don't agree with it being in off-topic where people who might actually answer with simple support answers such as "not supported yet, make a feature request" rather than skipping over an off-topic off-topic post.
Anyway, this post is way too long and for that I apologise, however I stand by my support requests, which have not really been answered definitively yet. If they both are feature requests I guess I need to find out what the correct forum is, but I need to know definitively if that is the case.
Thanks.
Gamester17
2006-09-27, 15:10
Short answer; not supported yet, see the already existing feature requests/suggestions.
For future reference, we can't list everything that isn't supported in XBMX but we can and have listed what is supported, which we have here: http://xboxmediacenter.com/wiki/index.php?title=Supported_File_Formats (and HDTV switching isn't one of them).
Long answer:
1. Not possible in XBMC unless you FIRST set it in Microsoft dashboard, thus not a support issue but a feature request, see feature suggestion; "PAL <=> NTSC <=> HDTV switch (http://xbmc.org/forum/showthread.php?t=2926)"
2. Cromwell has absolutly nothing to do with XBMC and can not be compared to any Xbox game or homebrew application. Cromwell is a BIOS (not a application/game) that fully replaced the original Xbox BIOS, when you load cromwell then the Xbox is not an Xbox anymore (and the EEPROM with Xbox video-settings, etc. is not used at all any more), instead it becomes a regular x86 computer. Thus your 'Cromwell vs. XBMC' comparison is just a good as a 'My home computer vs. XBMC' comparision. ...please do some reading/research on www.xbox-linux.com (http://www.xbox-linux.com) before bring up Cromwell on this XBMC-forum again.
Feel free to make and submit a patch which would enable 'PAL <=> NTSC <=> HDTV video-mode switch (http://xbmc.org/forum/showthread.php?t=2926) in XBMC, (I would seriously love a such function in XBMC in it was implemented right, see my comments in the linked topic-thread). However note that the cromwell source code will not be of use to you, instead have a look in that topic thread which links to source code that has the ability to change those settings and write them to the Xbox EEPROM.
PS! Maybe we should rename the "OFF-TOPIC" summery to "NOT XBMC RELATED" and a few people don't see a line between Xbox and XBMC :oo:
2. Cromwell has absolutly nothing to do with XBMC and can not be compared to any Xbox game or homebrew application. Cromwell is a BIOS (not a application/game) that fully replaced the original Xbox BIOS, when you load cromwell then the Xbox is not an Xbox anymore (and the EEPROM with Xbox video-settings, etc. is not used at all any more), instead it becomes a regular x86 computer. Thus your 'Cromwell vs. XBMC' comparison is just a good as a 'My home computer vs. XBMC' comparision. ...please do some reading/research on www.xbox-linux.com (http://www.xbox-linux.com) before bring up Cromwell on this XBMC-forum again.
Woah there, I think there's a lot of difference between something that is an .xbe and something that is also an .xbe and something which is a piece of hardware and an .xbe!
You may be completely correct about Cromwell being a bios, but the version I have (Xromwell?) is a plain old .xbe. Now, as I said earlier, I haven't looked at the source for either (my other OSS projects along with RL have been taking up too much of my time), so the .xbe could simply be a loader for the bios, however, I was under the impression it was rewritten as an app and launches the kernel... feel free to correct me if you know for a fact I'm wrong, but there's no need to say I'm comparing apples with 5 course meals when I'm only comparing apples with oranges :-)
PS! Maybe we should rename the "OFF-TOPIC" summery to "NOT XBMC RELATED"
I'd agree on that, but even then, I'm asking questions about wether things are supported by XBMC, a yes or no in support would suffice and be on-topic. i.e. it didn't need moving in the first place. EDIT: to clarify, thanks for the no's :-)
and a few people don't see a line between Xbox and XBMC :oo:
I'm sure that's the case, not so in my case, but I'm sure some people don't see the difference.