HD Box Pro: cheap (and good) alternative to the XRGB-3

[lobotomy42]

I just got this box! The quality on my old PS2 games is great!

One issue I am having though, is the VGA passthrough. I use VGA cables for my Xbox because they look the best on my monitor. (Even better than component) But when using the pass-through function on the HD Box Pro, I'm getting some blurring - it looks like everything on the monitor "bleeds" a few pixels to the right. It's not hugely noticeable for most people, but since I'm now used to the picture being super-crisp from the VGA cable, it's distracting for me.

Is there any solution to this besides unplugging the HD Box Pro and swapping VGA cables every time I switch from Xbox to my other consoles? That would be a real pain! I've read that the total length of VGA cables can affect the final picture - is this true? Should I try to find a shorter VGA cable to connect the HD Box Pro?

[gundamalpha]

I've had trouble getting good working VGA cables other than those that come with the monitor, so bad cable is my guess.

[Endymion]

Monoprice sells some excellent cables at very low prices, most or all of their VGA cables have ferrite cores on each end. Might be less than ideal to have to get another cable but at least theirs are the best you can get and are inexpensive.

[SGGG2]

Holy crap. I tested a bunch of games with HD Xploder, and 480p from the PS2 is amazing from this thing. Much better than my XRGB-3. Whites/brightness is too intense, and sharpness isn't all that sharp, but otherwise, it's unbelievable for the money. Gradius V looks phenomenal. 480i is decent, it's noticeably better than the internal scaling on my TV (1080p LCD) but it's nothing to get excited about.

Pair it up with ps2force480p, iscan pro or HD Xploder and you are good to go.

EDIT: HD Box will *not* see the signal from an iScan Pro

[Fudoh]

Holy crap. I tested a bunch of games with HD Xploder, and 480p from the PS2 is amazing from this thing. Much better than my XRGB-3.

That's because the HD Xploder software does not apply upscaling or deinterlacing, but forces the PS2 to render the games in 480p natively.

Could we start a list of HD Xploder supported games somewhere (but not in this thread) ? There aren't many games besides G5 for which I use the Xploder disc. I recently god Silpheed running with it, but could not start it a second time. Looked great though while it lasted.

@SGGG2: let us know which games work with the Xploder disc on your setup.

[SGGG2]

I knew my post wasn't clear.

What I meant was the quality of PS2 480p via the HD Box is (usually) much better than PS2 480i processed by the XRGB-3, or even, it's transcoding of 480p signals. 480p directly to my set via component is just okay. An Xploder thread is a good idea, but my tested games weren't shooters.

[mclebron23]

So the best VGA converter for the money is easily the HD Box PRO?

[topper]

I just read through this entire thread. Just a comment for the people who think a ground loop may be interfering with their setup. If you buy a couple of cheaters and plug any of your three prong plugs into a cheater before plugging them into the outlet it will eliminate the ground loop. Most likely only your TV would need the cheater if a ground loop is causing the rising line on doom. I realize the ground plug is for your safety but it works to eliminate a ground loop. I use this technique to eliminate the buzz I get from my home theater receiver. Cheaters cost about $2 and they sell them at home improvement stores and even grocery stores carry them.

Again, I don't know that the rising line of doom I have seen mentioned is from a ground loop but if it is then a cheater should eliminate the ground loop.

Remember the ground plug is for your safety and shouldn't be removed or bypassed but it does work if you want to eliminate a ground loop and think the risk is worth it If it does turn out to be the issue you could investigate a safer method for eliminating the ground loop.

[wroxtar]

If you wanna check out how the ps2 looks on an LCD Monitor with this HDBOXPRO...

Check out the pics below:














Hope this helps towards making a decision over HDBOXPRO:)

I placed an order for the same already from ebay.[*]

[Xranger60]

Hey guys, have a question. I'm a big fan of the HDBOX PRO, and appreciate all your suggestions here. I've noticed that the HDBOX PRO has been outputting the image with a green tint, that at first I hadn't recognized, but have recently picked up on. I've got my ps2 hooked up via component, and I've tried connecting the component cables directly to my TV, and the tint was gone. With the HDBOX, I've made sure all the wires are secure, and tried different VGA cables, and 2 different monitors... same story, a noticeable green tint. Has anyone else experienced this? I've noticed that at default saturation, the green tint is there- any increased saturation, and the tint becomes extreme. So the severity increases or decreases with the saturation, but it is always there. Is this a problem with my particular HD box?

[ZOM]

Yeah! Same problem with my HD box Pro; green tint all over the place! I can adjust the picture a bit from my TV's white balance settings but any proper way to fix this thing would be very welcome. I'm ok with soldering works as long as it's nothing too exotic.

Anyone any hints on this?

[Xranger60]

It's very frustrating. The box does a great job with the upscaling, and the colors come through, mostly intact, but there's that general green tint that's more noticeable in some areas than others. The problem seems to be with shades of yellow... what should be yellowish or slightly green is displayed with a green hue that is sometimes barely visible, but many times overpowering. There's got to be a fix for this, if it's a problem with just our boxes. I've searched and you're the only other person I've found to have this problem.

I have not received a response from customer service.

[CaptainSuave]

I just got the HDboxpro, heard great things about it, seen great screens of it in action, specially for the ps2. However, I seem to be having a couple of issues. For 1, I dont seem to be getting any color, only black white and greys. Also, the picture quality is less of that on a normal tv. ( Even more blurry/fuzzy.) I'm trying to use this on a 24" dell monitor E248WFP model, and a playstation 2 slim, unmodded. Using the standard a/v cable that comes with the system. Would upgrading to a component cable help with these issues? I've been away from consoles for so long I really don't know my way around them aside of plug into TV and turn on power lol. Any help is appreciated thank you.

[Fudoh]

Would upgrading to a component cable help with these issues?

It sure will. The HDBoxPro being a Component to VGA converter, there's little sense in using it with a composite connection (as you do right now).

[CaptainSuave]

Would upgrading to a component cable help with these issues?

It sure will. The HDBoxPro being a Component to VGA converter, there's little sense in using it with a composite connection (as you do right now).

/facepalm.

Alright, Ill pick one up, hopefully that fixes it. As a person who spends alot of time around electronics, I really should know better.

[IronGiant]

Currently thinking of buying an HD Box Pro so I can plug my PAL Wii into my PC's LCD monitor (a Samsung SyncMaster 2032BW - it has VGA and DVI inputs).

I currently use an XCM 1080p and, while it's okay, the image isn't as sharp as it could be, colours aren't as vivid as I'd like and it suffers from a common problem where the screen will briefly go blank for a second or two every so often (due to the XCM box sometimes not handling the conversion process fast enough).

It will also only display 480p games and not Virtual Console games (no 576i support you see).


Does the HD Box Pro suffer from any of these problems when connected to a Wii?

Would love to hear any feedback from Wii owners.

Thanks

[RGB32E]

I knew my post wasn't clear.

What I meant was the quality of PS2 480p via the HD Box is (usually) much better than PS2 480i processed by the XRGB-3, or even, it's transcoding of 480p signals. 480p directly to my set via component is just okay. An Xploder thread is a good idea, but my tested games weren't shooters.

Have you tried native VGA output from your PS2 (RGsB intead of component)? You'd have to convert RGsB to RGBHV and connect to the PC input on your LCD though... This setup would be infinitely better than a direct component connection, as HDTVs tend to process component video differently than an analog PC (RGB) input.

So, the only benefit I see from using the HDBP is for 480i sources. The XRGB-3 owns 240p, a transcoder (YUV/RGsB) owns 480p, so....

... now I'm curious to re-visit PS2 480i via my GBS-8220 (HDBP variant).

[SGGG2]

Have you tried native VGA output from your PS2 (RGsB intead of component)? You'd have to convert RGsB to RGBHV and connect to the PC input on your LCD though... This setup would be infinitely better than a direct component connection, as HDTVs tend to process component video differently than an analog PC (RGB) input.

So, the only benefit I see from using the HDBP is for 480i sources. The XRGB-3 owns 240p, a transcoder (YUV/RGsB) owns 480p, so....

... now I'm curious to re-visit PS2 480i via my GBS-8220 (HDBP variant).

Hmm. No, I have not. What would I need? PS2 VGA cable and... another transcoder? All things considered, the HD Box pro looks reaaally nice for 480p, if a little soft. So nice, in fact, that I cannot justify spending $500 on a DVDO edge. Although, 576p via Xploder is almost perfect (if you don't mind the letterboxing.)

BTW, looking forward to seeing the PS2 running via the Wii scaler in the XRGB-3 thread.

EDIT: Tried 480p over VGA with the iScan Pro, better than component but not great. Does anyone have any ideas on how to get the HD Box Pro to see the VGA iScan signal?

[SGGG2]

Aw, crap. When I switched resolution mode to 480p via the internal menu in Fantasy Zone, the HDBP started getting menu artifacts and acting weird. Continued with a few other games until the video went out. The monitor knows that something's there -- and then the signal drops out. The black screen never changes. My Asus doesn't even see it at all. Any tips?

[Zippers]

Hey guys, I registered because this was probably the biggest discussion I could find on the HD Box Pro and I have a quick question on it before committing a purchase on it. Is it possible to use a VGA to DVI plug with it to connect it to an LCD monitor? I ask because the monitor I'm using (Asus VH236H) has both VGA and DVI ports, but has some unfortunately limited display options while using DVI, making desktop use worse for me than VGA, so I'd prefer to use the HD Box Pro there. Would it be possible?

[ZOM]

^^Works with my HP monitor via VGA2DVI adapter, so it shouldn't be a problem for yours either.

[Zippers]

Good to know, then I'll be picking this up. Thanks.

[spl]

Nevermind.

[Tigershark]

So, I have a Jap PS2 and a UK DC with the VGA lead. To get them working on this box all I need to do is plug the red, yellow and white cables of the PS2 into the HD Box and then connect it to my LCD TV via the VGA and on the DC plug the VGA cable into the HD Box and then connect a separate VGA cable to my TV?

Is it that simple?

[Fudoh]

No, the HDBoxPro has a component input, no composite input. You need a component cable from the PS2 to the box (5 RCA leads, 3 for picture, 2 for audio). DC goes into the VGA input of the box. Then one VGA cable to your TV set.

[Tigershark]

Think I've made a schoolboy error but would appreciate advice.

Box turned up and connected it all up and ran VGA cable from box to TV. Nothing. Fiddled around a bit. TV did not recognise an input. Got manual out. Oh dear. My TV is a KURO KRL-37V. Went to the "connecting a PC" section and read "This TV has only limited PC compatibility". Not a good start. Notice a table that lists VGA to 640x480 then SVGA, XGA, WXGA, SXGA at different single resolutions.

The TV also has an RS-232C IOIO but not sure that helps.

Am I fucked?

[Fudoh]

The newer HDBoxPro units don't output 640x480, but XGA for example should always be available. Test the thing on a PC monitor first. Don't you need an active source before you get an output ? Can't remember....

[Tigershark]

Active Source?

I'll try a PC monitor.

Also, note I have a JAP PS2. Does the component cable have to be compatible? I just got mine online and didn't pay attention to whether it might not work with my PS2.

[Fudoh]

Active Source?

e.g. a PS2 on the input which is switched on.

Also, note I have a JAP PS2. Does the component cable have to be compatible? I just got mine online and didn't pay attention to whether it might not work with my PS2.

no compatibility issues, but the PS2 has to be switched from RGB to component in the boot menu. If you left it to RGB, it won't work on the HDBoxPro.

[Tigershark]

Aha. That's probably the problem. Will report back when I sort this tomorrow.

Cheers.