getting best picture with OG xbox

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beetlejuice
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getting best picture with OG xbox

Post by beetlejuice »

Hello,

Is there a way to get better picture than on RGB scart, since it's very blurry and games look even worse than on PS2 RGB scart. I have official advance scart kit.

I upgraded my xbox from 1.1 revision to 1.6 and I gained significant picture quality improvement, but still it's average at best.

Is component the way to go? I have PAL console. Or I should get CRT TV, atm I play on LCD TV.
NuAgeHeat
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Re: getting best picture with OG xbox

Post by NuAgeHeat »

A big factor with the blur is the flicker filter that the Xbox has ob y default. After softmodding mine and turning the flicker filter to 0 i nlticed thay games are wayyyyy sharper than before. sometimes set it to 1 to hide some of the aliasing in 3d games but never back up to the default of 5
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Star1
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Re: getting best picture with OG xbox

Post by Star1 »

Where in the menu is the filter setting?
nmalinoski
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Re: getting best picture with OG xbox

Post by nmalinoski »

beetlejuice wrote:Hello,

Is there a way to get better picture than on RGB scart, since it's very blurry and games look even worse than on PS2 RGB scart. I have official advance scart kit.

I upgraded my xbox from 1.1 revision to 1.6 and I gained significant picture quality improvement, but still it's average at best.

Is component the way to go? I have PAL console. Or I should get CRT TV, atm I play on LCD TV.
Component is definitely the way to go, as it's the only way to get 480p, 720p, and 1080i out of the console; RGB SCART is limited to 15kHz SD video only.

You'll need to use a softmod to change your console's video region to NTSC, and then you'll be able to use the better video modes.
lechu
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Re: getting best picture with OG xbox

Post by lechu »

nmalinoski wrote:
Component is definitely the way to go, as it's the only way to get 480p, 720p, and 1080i out of the console; RGB SCART is limited to 15kHz SD video only.
Do you mean in general or just on the Xbox? Because that's not true in general. You can get 480p out of SCART (my PS2, Gamecube with GCVideo, and Dreamcast through the Toro all do 480p through SCART).
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Syntax
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Re: getting best picture with OG xbox

Post by Syntax »

PS2 cannot do 480p via scart RGBS without a mod. It shuts off composite video and luma in progressive scan mode. It can RGsB but I find SOG compatible screens rare/hard to find.

Certain version Xbox can be modded to output VGA 480p RGBHV, but its a bit of work. Same with the PS2
nmalinoski
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Re: getting best picture with OG xbox

Post by nmalinoski »

lechu wrote:
nmalinoski wrote:
Component is definitely the way to go, as it's the only way to get 480p, 720p, and 1080i out of the console; RGB SCART is limited to 15kHz SD video only.
Do you mean in general or just on the Xbox? Because that's not true in general. You can get 480p out of SCART (my PS2, Gamecube with GCVideo, and Dreamcast through the Toro all do 480p through SCART).
I was speaking within the context of the Xbox ("only way to get ... out of the console").

And Syntax is correct--you won't be able to get 480p RGBS out of the PS2 without a hard mod, and most compliant SCART devices won't recognize an RGsB signal because it doesn't put any kind of sync signal on the sync line.
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Lawfer
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Re: getting best picture with OG xbox

Post by Lawfer »

Component, I have a v1.3 OG Xbox (v1.4 and more won't work properly with Smilebit games), I don't use the low quality cables that came with the High Definition AV Pack, I only use the unit itself with high end RCA to BNC cable, the picture quality is very good, you can also get Dolby Digital output through Toslink. But not a big fan of Xbox though, the only Xbox exclusive that I really like on there is Dino Crisis 3, I guess you could add Panzer Dragoon Orta and Otogi 2 too but these games a very short, you can finish them in one sitting.

beetlejuice wrote:Is component the way to go? I have PAL console. Or I should get CRT TV, atm I play on LCD TV.
There's your problem, PAL + LCD. Most NTSC Xbox games can do 480p with component, only like 2 games are 480i only.
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Konsolkongen
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Re: getting best picture with OG xbox

Post by Konsolkongen »

Actually, most if not just as many PAL games support 480p once the Xbox has been modified to output these resolutions. Used to own more than a hundred games at one point, and none of them had any issue supporting 480p or higher.

And I believe the Smilebit bugs only apply to the v1.6 Xbox. My 1.4 works perfectly with these.
Ikaruga11
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Re: getting best picture with OG xbox

Post by Ikaruga11 »

Does motherboard revision make a difference with picture/audio/gameplay?
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Austin
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Re: getting best picture with OG xbox

Post by Austin »

I am interested in checking out these flicker/sharpness options mentioned earlier in the thread. What softmod are you guys using? I have a softmodded system from about a decade ago but don't recall what I used, and I don't remember seeing flicker/sharpness settings. I will have to fire it up to see what's on it, as well as dig further into my options and see if those settings are buried somewhere.

I've used various component cables and the image has always looked terrible in my eyes--very soft, not sharp how I expect things to look when using something like component. If I can fix that then I'm more likely to get more mileage out of my Xbox. Most of the times I'm streaming and so my consoles are going into the Framemeister or OSSC. While it looks fine in casual use situations on one of my CRTs, the fuzzy image doesn't translate well to a HD display when I'm using one of those devices.
daskrabs
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Re: getting best picture with OG xbox

Post by daskrabs »

There's this (out of stock). Also, unless you have a 1.6b model, RGB via SCART has significant interference due to the GPU. The 1.6b model has a different chip with no interference.
nmalinoski
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Re: getting best picture with OG xbox

Post by nmalinoski »

daskrabs wrote:There's this (out of stock).
The thing that worries me about this (aside from its lack of availability) is that it doesn't do any upscaling. If your TV/monitor doesn't support 480i over HDMI, you'll be SOL for any content that doesn't support 480p+ (and you probably won't be able to even get into the menu to enable 480p et. al.).
NuAgeHeat
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Re: getting best picture with OG xbox

Post by NuAgeHeat »

Austin wrote:I am interested in checking out these flicker/sharpness options mentioned earlier in the thread. What softmod are you guys using? I have a softmodded system from about a decade ago but don't recall what I used, and I don't remember seeing flicker/sharpness settings. I will have to fire it up to see what's on it, as well as dig further into my options and see if those settings are buried somewhere.

I've used various component cables and the image has always looked terrible in my eyes--very soft, not sharp how I expect things to look when using something like component. If I can fix that then I'm more likely to get more mileage out of my Xbox. Most of the times I'm streaming and so my consoles are going into the Framemeister or OSSC. While it looks fine in casual use situations on one of my CRTs, the fuzzy image doesn't translate well to a HD display when I'm using one of those devices.
The dashboard I use is "UnleashX" and it has the flicker setting under display settings. Not the Microsoft dashboard "display settings" but UnleashX's display settings.

There's also a standalone application you could run called Flicker F*cker, but it's pretty outdated tbh.

You're never going to get better than 1080i out of the XBox but setting the flicker filter lower / off will help a lot with the softness.

In between moving house but when I get my rig set back up I'll post before and after photos.
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Austin
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Re: getting best picture with OG xbox

Post by Austin »

daskrabs wrote:There's this (out of stock). Also, unless you have a 1.6b model, RGB via SCART has significant interference due to the GPU. The 1.6b model has a different chip with no interference.
Yep, I was able to snag one of those when they were still available. Still haven't gotten around to testing it but I'll try it soon. My only concern is I've heard they're basic analog to digital converters which may add some input lag. I'll check and see for sure though.

I do have a RGB (via SCART) cable as well. It's been a little while since I used it so I don't remember if I noticed interference. Along with the HDMI cable, I'll give this a try again soon.
NuAgeHeat wrote:The dashboard I use is "UnleashX" and it has the flicker setting under display settings. Not the Microsoft dashboard "display settings" but UnleashX's display settings.

There's also a standalone application you could run called Flicker F*cker, but it's pretty outdated tbh.

You're never going to get better than 1080i out of the XBox but setting the flicker filter lower / off will help a lot with the softness.

In between moving house but when I get my rig set back up I'll post before and after photos.
Ahh, damn. Got excited there for a second, but just remembered I'm on Evolution X. I'll have to dig in the settings of it, and worst case try and change the soft mod if it doesn't have the option.

I don't mind sticking with 480i or 480p. It's just that when the picture is so soft that component looks like composite on stream, it makes you wonder, what's the point? Haha.
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Lawfer
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Re: getting best picture with OG xbox

Post by Lawfer »

GeneraLight wrote:Does motherboard revision make a difference with picture/audio/gameplay?
Dunno, but Microsoft changed the internals too much starting at 1.4 causing issues with some titles and v1.0 and v1.1 have a design flaw that can cause a shortcircuit that would result in the board getting fried and they also use a Thompson drive which are just terrible and eventually end up failing.
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Konsolkongen
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Re: getting best picture with OG xbox

Post by Konsolkongen »

Only the 1.6 has the problem with running the Sega games in 480p. The 1.4 does not.
Ikaruga11
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Re: getting best picture with OG xbox

Post by Ikaruga11 »

Lawfer wrote:
GeneraLight wrote:Does motherboard revision make a difference with picture/audio/gameplay?
Dunno, but Microsoft changed the internals too much starting at 1.4 causing issues with some titles and v1.0 and v1.1 have a design flaw that can cause a shortcircuit that would result in the board getting fried and they also use a Thompson drive which are just terrible and eventually end up failing.
So I'm guessing 1.2 and 1.3 are the best revisions then.
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D
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Re: getting best picture with OG xbox

Post by D »

There are several vga and hdmi options, but most of them only available in the us and not ship internationally. Seems we're going back in time. #frustration
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Austin
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Re: getting best picture with OG xbox

Post by Austin »

Austin wrote:Ahh, damn. Got excited there for a second, but just remembered I'm on Evolution X. I'll have to dig in the settings of it, and worst case try and change the soft mod if it doesn't have the option.

I don't mind sticking with 480i or 480p. It's just that when the picture is so soft that component looks like composite on stream, it makes you wonder, what's the point? Haha.
Turns out my initial softmod installation package was still there and I was able to remove Evo X and install UnleashX. I was able to find the flicker options and definitely noticed a big difference on the GUI. Unfortunately, I can't see any changes in-game. I've tried various settings and I seem to get the same quality picture every time, which makes me think it's not having an effect in games. Hm..
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austin532
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Re: getting best picture with OG xbox

Post by austin532 »

NuAgeHeat wrote:
Austin wrote:I am interested in checking out these flicker/sharpness options mentioned earlier in the thread. What softmod are you guys using? I have a softmodded system from about a decade ago but don't recall what I used, and I don't remember seeing flicker/sharpness settings. I will have to fire it up to see what's on it, as well as dig further into my options and see if those settings are buried somewhere.

I've used various component cables and the image has always looked terrible in my eyes--very soft, not sharp how I expect things to look when using something like component. If I can fix that then I'm more likely to get more mileage out of my Xbox. Most of the times I'm streaming and so my consoles are going into the Framemeister or OSSC. While it looks fine in casual use situations on one of my CRTs, the fuzzy image doesn't translate well to a HD display when I'm using one of those devices.
The dashboard I use is "UnleashX" and it has the flicker setting under display settings. Not the Microsoft dashboard "display settings" but UnleashX's display settings.

There's also a standalone application you could run called Flicker F*cker, but it's pretty outdated tbh.

You're never going to get better than 1080i out of the XBox but setting the flicker filter lower / off will help a lot with the softness.

In between moving house but when I get my rig set back up I'll post before and after photos.
So, how about those pictures? :mrgreen: I agree that the flicker filter greatly softens the image and makes it look like Composite. It's my main reason for wanting to mod my XBOX.
Framemeister 240p scanline settings: http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.ph ... start=9600
22point8
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Re: getting best picture with OG xbox

Post by 22point8 »

Austin wrote:
Austin wrote:Ahh, damn. Got excited there for a second, but just remembered I'm on Evolution X. I'll have to dig in the settings of it, and worst case try and change the soft mod if it doesn't have the option.

I don't mind sticking with 480i or 480p. It's just that when the picture is so soft that component looks like composite on stream, it makes you wonder, what's the point? Haha.
Turns out my initial softmod installation package was still there and I was able to remove Evo X and install UnleashX. I was able to find the flicker options and definitely noticed a big difference on the GUI. Unfortunately, I can't see any changes in-game. I've tried various settings and I seem to get the same quality picture every time, which makes me think it's not having an effect in games. Hm..
This is the tool you need https://1drv.ms/f/s!ArJdQhcOk1dnmlGfoVxvJRb5FE7m
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Lawfer
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Re: getting best picture with OG xbox

Post by Lawfer »

Konsolkongen wrote:Only the 1.6 has the problem with running the Sega games in 480p. The 1.4 does not.
Actually if you get a 1.4 model that comes with the old official firmware then it has no problem running with Sega games at 480p, however update your 1.4 Xbox with the latest official firmware and you get the same issue as you would get with version 1.5 and 1.6. But with an Xbox that's 1.0, 1.1, 1.2 or 1.3 even if you update your Xbox with the latest firmware, your Xbox will still run Sega games at 480p with no issues.

The main issue with SEGA games on 1.4, 1.5 and 1.6 models seem to come from the firmware update that Microsoft released in Q4 2004, apparently Microsoft released this firmware because "Fable" had problem running in their newer Xbox models (1.4-1.6) in 480p, so they released the firmware to have Fable run in 480p properly, but at the same time this screwed over all the Sega/Smilebit games in the process on the non-Conexant Xbox models.

GeneraLight wrote:
Lawfer wrote:
GeneraLight wrote:Does motherboard revision make a difference with picture/audio/gameplay?
Dunno, but Microsoft changed the internals too much starting at 1.4 causing issues with some titles and v1.0 and v1.1 have a design flaw that can cause a shortcircuit that would result in the board getting fried and they also use a Thompson drive which are just terrible and eventually end up failing.
So I'm guessing 1.2 and 1.3 are the best revisions then.
They are the ones with the highest compatibility, yes.

I can get good component output from my 1.3 model and the Sega/Smilebit games run properly in 480p even with the latest firmware (though if you get a 1.2 or 1.3 with the original firmware, I would advise against updating the firmware, as explained above, Microsoft only released it to enable Fable to run properly on 1.4-1.6 Xbox).
RocketBelt
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Re: getting best picture with OG xbox

Post by RocketBelt »

There is a fix for softmodded 1.6 xboxes now, install the games to the hard drive and run a script from xbmc provided here:
https://www.reddit.com/r/originalxbox/c ... _v16_xbox/

I can confirm all the games I tried run in 480p fine on PAL 1.6 when patched. Fable, JSRF, Panzer Dragoon Orta, Quantum Redshift, Galleon, Gun Metal, Gun Valkyrie. Very quick and easy patch to run.
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NoAffinity
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Re: getting best picture with OG xbox

Post by NoAffinity »

Anybody here tested the pound or hyperkin hdmi cables? I've watched a few reviews but trust the opinions of folks on here more than I trust YouTube reviewers.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk
ldeveraux
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Re: getting best picture with OG xbox

Post by ldeveraux »

NoAffinity wrote:Anybody here tested the pound or hyperkin hdmi cables? I've watched a few reviews but trust the opinions of folks on here more than I trust YouTube reviewers.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk
I have the Hyperkin XBOX HDMI cable and love it (same with the Dreamcast variety). Picture is bright and clear. I'm usually of differing opinion though, I prefer this look to the SCART cable just released for the Dreamcast. I'm going to try the Genesis cable just released from Hyperkin too!
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Syntax
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Re: getting best picture with OG xbox

Post by Syntax »

After a week of screwing around I have finally managed to put together a dual boot (TSOP and chip) True VGA no SOG forced 480p patched all 480i to run 480p bios Xbox 1.1 and restored and buffered the Vsync Hsync output to the AV port.

Works all the way up to 1080i if your run MODE 2+3 but you end up with purple flashes before games load.
MODE 1+2+3 seems nicer as there are no glitchy purple screens but I think it only does 480p.

Works fine with monitors not compatible with SOG :)
Spoiler
Image

Image


Sources
Spoiler
The NO SOG part
https://assemblergames.com/threads/xbox ... ded.61635/

Collection of prepatched 480p force/480i fix/VGA Bios that can be used with a HEX editor to create a NO SOG Bios
https://assemblergames.com/threads/forc ... ift.59122/

Free HEX editor
http://www.hhdsoftware.com/Download/fre ... or-neo.exe

Making the Hsync Vsync Buffer
https://gamesx.com/grafx/dricas.gif

AV pinout and MODE chart
https://gamesx.com/avpinouts/xbox.htm

Interesting HDMI mod that could of output HVsync to the AV port
https://www.xbmc4xbox.org.uk/forum/view ... =13&t=3644

HEXEN CD - Use this to flash your bios, either via evoXdash+FTP or rebuilding the cd to include the file
https://assemblergames.com/threads/my-h ... 019.69926/

The Cable
Just buy a cheap 360 VGA cable and a cheap xbox AV cable and make your own with optical audio out :)
Dochartaigh
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Re: getting best picture with OG xbox

Post by Dochartaigh »

Syntax wrote:After a week of screwing around I have finally managed to put together a dual boot (TSOP and chip) True VGA no SOG forced 480p patched all 480i to run 480p bios Xbox 1.1 and restored and buffered the Vsync Hsync output to the AV port
Can you please explain this to me like a newb? Totally interested...but I was always told (i.e. read) that the Xbox outputs RGsB at the motherboard level - meaning there wouldn't be places where there's separate H and V Sync....or maybe they were always talking about how through the existing un-modded connector you can only get RGsB (with the appropriate BIOS of course).

Just wondering as I'm currently using a Frozen VGA/RGBHV cable, which the newest type allows you to solder over a jumper to get the chip to export RGBS from it (although it's technically RGsBS? since sync still comes out on the green line as well - i.e. I can run internal or external sync and get the same picture).
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Syntax
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Re: getting best picture with OG xbox

Post by Syntax »

If you can jumper the points that I posted and your vga cable buffers and amps sync it will work fine.
Edit just re read your post I see your cable takes sync from green. That wont work. If you can get it from comp video and clean it then it should fine.

Removing sync from green is part of the final video encoder and hex editing the bios bin will stop it putting SOG.
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