Videomode Switch Ntsc/pal Display Options

[royster]

Hi,
First thanks for a great Dash.
I have been looking at the Video options MXM has to automatically change display modes based on what the user is loading. My default dashboard is normally set to PAL50 but once I have loaded MXM and choose to go back to MS Dashboard I can tell It has been set to NTSC because it no longer gives me the setting for PAL50/PAL60 is my video settings.
I currently have selected a Multimode TV in my MXM options and set my video mode to AUTO so it should pick the correct standard automatically right?
It seems to work for games but is there anyway I can find out what mode MXM has picked for the game. I would just be interested in knowing if for example when I put in a PAL game it switches to PAL and NTSC it is switching to NTSC. It can be hard to tell otherwise if its picked the correct mode.
Thanks again.

[spillage]

I find the easiest way presently is simply to pay attention to colour saturation and black levels.

In PAL you get better colour and a blacker black.

In NTSC the colours are a little more washed out and the black is not black but very dark grey.

PAL is a very superior system to NTSC. MAkes you wonder why we don't ALL have the same thing.

I have also noticed that if I am playing PGR1 NTSC in PAL mode by mistake, I cannot get near the lap time records.

This post has been edited by spillage: Nov 19 2003, 12:44 PM

[diffident]

The video mode isn't changed until you actually start to play a game, and is reset when you power cycle the xbox, which does make it tricky to find out which mode is used for which game, but I think (I'm not at home so can't check this) that MXM's temporary video mode change is maintained if you IGR (that'll be X2 bios IGR) back to MXM rather than power cycling the xbox, and you can then tell from MXM's system details box (from the menu called up by pressing yellow) which mode is currently selected (or, I guess, start up the M$ dash and see whether it offers you PAL options or NTSC options). MXM's skin string for video standard shows the box's video standard (ie the one held in EEPROM, not the temporary MXM switch), unless BJ's added a new skin string since n4.

[royster]

QUOTE (diffident @ Nov 20 2003, 03:58 PM)

MXM's skin string for video standard shows the box's video standard (ie the one held in EEPROM, not the temporary MXM switch), unless BJ's added a new skin string since n4.

I think you are right about this. I played a game which was NTSC then used my IGR to reset and went to the MS dashboard to see what video mode the XBOX was in. The XBOX was obviously in NTSC mode because I no longer had any options for PAL50/60. I IGR reset back to MXM and my settings screen shows my video mode to be PAL which means it must read this from the EEPROM and not the temporary fix.
MXM picks up its setting from the .xbe file I assume, does anyone know how I can manaully edit this to change a game .xbe thinking its NTSC or PAL in the MXM Dashboard?
(Hex Editing perhaps)

Thanks for all your help.

[spillage]

I have tried numerous settings with MXM to achieve auto format switching but alas I have failed. My TAG processor always indicates what format it is recieving from any input. I only get NTSC if I use Enigmah Video Switcher. Am I doing something wrong or does the function simply not work. Also when using the video switcher it only works after a power cycle. A reboot does nothing.

[BenJeremy]

Menu Item tag:

<VIDEOMODE>
Values:
NTSC
PAL
PAL60
NTSCM
NTSCJ
PAL50
DEFAULT
AUTO

This post has been edited by BenJeremy: Nov 21 2003, 11:59 AM

[yourwishismine]

QUOTE (BenJeremy @ Nov 21 2003, 07:59 AM)

Menu Item tag: <VIDEOMODE> Values: NTSC PAL PAL60 NTSCM NTSCJ PAL50 DEFAULT AUTO

BJ,

Is that tag for the MXM.XML or the MENU.XML..

you called it a menu tag,

but it looks like something that would go in the MAIN section of MXM.XML

A Little help please...

[BenJeremy]

QUOTE (yourwishismine @ Nov 21 2003, 09:14 AM)

QUOTE (BenJeremy @ Nov 21 2003, 07:59 AM) Menu Item tag: <VIDEOMODE> Values: NTSC PAL PAL60 NTSCM NTSCJ PAL50 DEFAULT AUTO BJ, Is that tag for the MXM.XML or the MENU.XML.. you called it a menu tag, but it looks like something that would go in the MAIN section of MXM.XML A Little help please...

It's a menu item tag, specifically. It overrides the menu setting, and "default" is the setting that allows the preferences setting to take effect. I thought I had one in there for region, as well, but I'll have to add it in the next release.