[divinewrite]

Hi there,

I know that variations of this question have been asked in various other threads, but I'm having trouble finding a categorical answer...

I've just bought an original xbox, modded and loaded with XBMC. I'm planning to use XBMC to make the xbox my media centre. i.e. I want it to play DVDs and CDs and stream digital audio from my PC's external hard disk via a network cable.

However, I bought the device under the impression that it had 5.1 outputs and Component, etc. As no doubt all of you know, it doesn't.

I've done a bit of research, and found that I can buy AV packs that are supposed to enable high definition playback, but I'm not sure if they actually do upscale to HD.

The two AV packs I've found are:

1. http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Xbox-High-Definit...dZViewItem
   
2. http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ADVANCED-AV-PACK-...dZViewItem
   

Questions:

1. Does XBMC upscale the signal 1080i, thus enabling me to use one of these packs to play HD from DVD (yes I have a HD tv)?
   
2. If so, which pack would you recommend?
   
3. Is the picture likely to be better than my AUD $70 Sansui (which is terrible with dark scenes)?
   
4. Note, the first pack listed above note says that video playback is only 480i. Does this include DVD playback?
   
5. Can anyone suggest a better option?
   
6. Is it possible to get an adapter to convert digital audio to 5.1?
   

I asked this question on the xbox forum, and there seemed to be consensus that even with XBMC, the original xbox can't upscale.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Cheers.

[gergtreble]

1. Yes. But you are better using 720p.
2. Personaly 1, because it has an optical out.
3. Yes.
4. Thats only on the MS DVD player, XBMC uses whatever resolution you choose
5. Erm...
6. Yes its called an AV amp.

[divinewrite]

1. Yes. But you are better using 720p.
2. Personaly 1, because it has an optical out.
3. Yes.
4. Thats only on the MS DVD player, XBMC uses whatever resolution you choose
5. Erm...
6. Yes its called an AV amp.

Brilliant (and quite funny!). Thanks gergtreble. Much appreciated.

[gergtreble]

No problemo.

Good luck in your AV pack search. You might like to read this thread.

[divinewrite]

Hi again, everyone.

I've been advised that I need to do the following with my modded xbox in order to get hidef (1080i) out of it. As this is the forum with the resident experts, I thought I'd ask if someone could please confirm whether this advice is correct?

1. Go to http://www.xbox-scene.com then you need to go onto the forums and ask for the enigma video switch disc that changes your xbox to ntsc from pal. Go onto the forums and ask how to access ***** to get this.

2. Then you need to boot up your xbox to the normal dashboard and select the enabling of 480p/720p and 1080i. Then download ***** which you will get off an ftp server just ask around they'll help you.

3.Then from there go into the xbmc dash settings and enable 720p by 16:9 in the my videos sections. Then you can watch 720p on all standard dvd's upscaled.

Also, I've heard that step 1 is quite risky - that it's been known to cause the unit to go a little 'haywire' at times. Is this so?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Cheers.

[jiz_king]

Hi,

No, it's not risky. You can change back and forth whenever you want NTSC > PAL and vica verca. You do need to be in NTSC mode to use HD resolutions though.

[divinewrite]

Thanks jiz king. Appreciate your fast response! That's the impression I had until I was warned the other day. Nice to have it confirmed.

Should have asked this before, but does changing from PAL to NTSC limit (or otherwise impact) the DVDs I can play using the xbox?

Cheers.

[gergtreble]

Just so you know.

The xbox will upscale to 720p quite well. However setting it at 1080i on mine has always made it crash. Never had this problem with 720p.

Also. The xbox can not handle standard HD files you can download off the net. It simply doesnt have the processor power. However there is a thread on this board dedicated to discussion about this. Last I saw I think they had figured out some encoding settings so that you can rip your own media to play in glorious HD.

[gergtreble]

Also playing PAL films at NTSC framerates will cause some dropped frames. Weather this is noticable or not is open to discussion.

But you will be able to play PAL discs on the NTSC box.

[divinewrite]

Thanks gergtreble. Much appreciated.

I was gonna ask what the downside of upscaling to 1080i was. I remembered you saying there was one.

I'm gonna trial some DVDs in PAL mode first, and if it looks crap, I'll switch to 1080i and see how it goes. If it crashes, I'll go to 720. If it skips frames noticeably, I'll buy a new DVD player!!!

Once again, thanks for all your help!

Cheers.

[divinewrite]

I'll switch to 1080i and see how it goes. If it crashes, I'll go to 720.

Actually, I've just done a little bit of research of 720p v 1080i, and it looks like I'd be wise to go with 720p for quality anyway (over 1080i)? I refer to:
http://alvyray.com/DigitalTV/Naming_Proposal.htm; and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/720p

Thoughts? (Or has this already been widely and comprehensively debated here? If so, where?)

Cheers.

[divinewrite]

CORRECTION - Should have been http://alvyray.com/DigitalTV/Naming_Proposal.htm and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/720p.

Cheers.

[gergtreble]

Yeah progressive is usually better than interlaced.

[divinewrite]

I'm just now trying to use the video switch. I burned it onto a RW DVD, but the xbox doesn't recognise it. What should I do?

Cheers.

[gergtreble]

I burnt it onto a CD-R and it recognised it on mine....