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HELP FOR PAL XBOX HDTV USERS
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chrisfunk
Member
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26. January 2006 @ 12:13 |
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I have just typed this thing up to help a guy who like me, found it difficult to get help for using a LCD / PLASMA with a PAL xbox.
The HD AV Pack will NOT WORK ON PAL MACHINES, not fully anyway until you switch to NTSC...........ps there were pictures, don't know if they will copy to this thread but they are not important......
Hi
I'm no expert by any means, I just know what I read online so I'll try to
help.
Since the xbox came out they have changed it a few times so you need to know
what version you have. Mine for example is a v1.6 (0ne of the newer ones).
If you look into the details of the various chips some may only be
compatible with certain versions of xbox, and other chips with other
versions. Any website selling them should have this information. Newer chips
should work with all models but you should check before buying one. If you
need to know your version here is a guide on how to find out:
http://www.chipit.co.uk/versionfinder.asp
If you are going to solder you should be able to pay less as the solderless
ones are expensive. The Xecutor range is the best known and probably for
good reason so I would go for one of them.
There are Xecuter 3 chips (the latest ones) to buy for £37.00 on this
website:
http://www.xbox-scene.com/diagrams.php
The above link will also take you right to the page where diagrams can be
found to help you install the chip to various motherboard versions as the
solder points vary on different models. There are full guides on there too
about how to get into the thing in the first place without damaging the
case. I used the guides to help me change my case to a white one I bought
and they are very detailed with good photos, like this one:
Once you have the chip installed you will need to install the EVOX
dashboard.
This is where my knowledge sadly ends as I have never done it, though I
think it's pretty easy,,,or so I am told. It can be hard to find this
software but you will be able to get it from a download site (bit torrent is
more likely than morpheus though) or maybe find it on CD on ebay etc.
A guide to EVOX is here:
http://www.copying-xbox-games.com/evolution-x-tutorial.php
Alternatively, if you wanted to upgrade your hard drive at the same time
there are 160gb drives on ebay going for £60-£80 with evox pre installed, as
well as loads of extras inc xbox games, emulators with all the arcade
classics etc etc.
Anyway, whichever you choose, EVOX is in fact not just a dashboard /
operating system type thing, but a collection of programs such as DVD2XBOX
which lets you install games on your hard drive. Media player is included
and the one you are looking for is called....
Enigmah PAL-NTSC Switcher. It's in one of the settings menus which will now
be on your xbox. The screen looks like this:
I am not 100% sure but I think this program may only show up on your xbox
when you have the HD cables connected. At least I never noticed it before i
connected mine but that hardly matters, the fact is, it's there! Once you
have changed it to NTSC, restart the machine in NORMAL MODE. (When you have
the chip in you will have normal start up and chipped start up by pressing
different buttons on the front)
Normal ode loads you normal xbox screen as if you had never touched it, but
this screen will now have extra options which are only usualy found on NTSC
machines.
Go into video options and now you have tick boxes for 480p, 720p and 1080i.
Tick whatever your LCD/PLAMSMA supports and then restart xbox again and load
up a game.
The screen will look a bit like this in chipped mode, but backgrounds will
vary and you can download new ones to customise:
Now sit back and cry over how good your games look! They will now probably
run in 480p, I have never found a game that runs higher than that yet but
that's good enough!
The startup screen (above) might still be 480i but don't worry it will
switch mode when a game is loaded.
And YES PAL games still work, as now it has been chipped it will play any
region of game or DVD. I have also found that the games now even seem to run
faster and smoother. You judge for yourself on that one.
The only setback is this, if you play a PAL DVD, it is still only 480i which
is the highest setting any xbox game play video at anyway, but the frame
rate will not match the NTSC setting and it will look a bit 'jerky'.
I don't use xbox for DVD and either will you if you have a HD TV (a normal
dvd player with component or hdmi cables is the best option) but you can
always switch back to PAL again if you want to watch a movie.
When playing emulators too, SNES and MEGADRIVE games which are PAL will not
work in NTSC mode (I have installed each game twice on mine, one PAL and one
NTSC version as I use 2 different tv's) but this does not affect real xbox
games at all.
Hope this helps you!
Xbox 1.6 Executor3 EvoX 120gb
Custom white case, controler port and power button blue LED mods.
AMD Athlon XP 2.2gig, 120gb 7200rpm HD
512mb PC2700 ram, Delta Audiophile soundcard.
27" HD LCD, 450w dolby digital system.
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bugoy
Newbie
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27. January 2006 @ 01:11 |
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Hi there,
Read through your post. Thanks for that.
I have a modded box and I'm connecting to a Philips Rear projection TV. The Rear Projector has two component inputs:
Above connections are the HD inputs (eg. 1080i/480p
(60Hz) or 576p (50Hz)). When I plugged my modded box using this component inputs, picture is blurry. Could barely see the xbox start up screen.
Above connection (refer AV1), has the component video input [CVI] sockets, compatible with 480i and 576i signals. When I plug the xbox to through these component inputs, I get a decent picture. Getting black bars on either side (ie. Vertical) of the screen but output is great none the less.
Question: Does this mean my xbox is not capable of outputting Progressive video? Why do I get a blurry output when connecting through AV4.
Don't see the Enigmah PAL-NTSC Switcher on the menu.
Hope you can help me.
Thanks.
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chrisfunk
Member
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27. January 2006 @ 06:34 |
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Well he black bars may be because you are using a widescreen tv and the xbox is not set to widescreen?
(if you are not sure check video options in the normal xbox startup menu)
Your xbox being PAL will not output prog scan. no matter what cable you use until you switch it to NTSC.
My Enigmah switcher was in the follwing menus of EVOX:
System management > Launch Apps (then the sceen has 2 sections, the bottom half has the title "auto added items" and it's under there.
I think these 'auto added' may 9and I'm not sure) but may be added when you connect the HD AV pack but I know I never noticed them before and I have been on that screen before.
If it's not on there then you can get the program from a torrent site and ftp it to your xbox. (i can do that but if you need any help best use one of the guides as I'm not an expert)
the startup scren will never be prog scan by the way (not the real one anyway, the evox screen does run in 480p) you can force teh ms dash to run in prog scan but you have to actualy change the hex code in the xbe file which isn't something to dabble with unless you really need to.
Xbox 1.6 Executor3 EvoX 120gb
Custom white case, controler port and power button blue LED mods.
AMD Athlon XP 2.2gig, 120gb 7200rpm HD
512mb PC2700 ram, Delta Audiophile soundcard.
27" HD LCD, 450w dolby digital system.
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animal_nz
Suspended due to non-functional email address
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9. February 2006 @ 21:25 |
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Hi guys... after some help. I recently bought the Progressive-Scan Component VGA Box from lik-sang.com and can't get it to work with my LCD TV and XBOX. I have a Samsung LA32M51B LCD, sold in New Zealand. I have changed my PAL XBOX to NTSC mode and get the 480p, 720p and 1080i options in the menu across a component cable. When I try to output in any of those modes my TV just says Mode not supported. The Samsung website says the TV accepts 720p and 1080i, but doesn't mention 480p. I plugged it into my LCD computer monitor and managed to get it to work in one mode (can't remember which). It all points to the TV, but it should support all those modes. Any ideas??? Has anyone had any experience with this TV and XBOX?? Thanks in advance......
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nateoomru
Newbie
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27. February 2006 @ 13:45 |
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Hey Im in NZ too and trying to figure this out before the next gen consoles.
Have you tried disabling 420p support in the xbox dashboard and leaving the other options enabled?
Ive got a similar problem but my Samsung SP47Q7 says its HDREADY 1080i on the top left but when i tried to play xbox media center at 1080i the screen says "not supported." At the moment the best it can do is 420p (i know for sure it doesnt support 720p)
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