Hurrah for Frosty! Hurrah!

Co-axial would be awesome as the 5.1 center I got the missus only has 2 inputs so it would free up the toslink.

Go Frosty

Go Frosty

Don't be slow

Be like Elvis

Go man Go!

this VGA box is definitely a good idea.
and if you are going to have hi-def video, you might as well have the option for digital hi-fi sound.
and the product might appeal to more people if you include basically everything anyone would want

How does this look?

This is what the manufacturer said the packaging would look like.

Oh yeah, and they also said it would be easy to implement, and shouldn't raise the price.

I will know for sure in about 2 days from this point...

wow, topman Frosty. Really good to see someone who takes feedback and turns it into results. I'm back in for one of these beauties with a vengeance.

A minor point, but wouldn't it be better if the VGA and audio connectors were situated on the sides of the box instead of the top?

Just a thought.

Why would that make it better? The mere fact that there is more surface area on the front of the box means that this stuff can fit on it better and in a more compact box. If you wanted to put it on the side you would need a great big ugly breakout box like the original HD pack from MS.

If the connectors were on the sides then the unit could rest flat on the ground making it less obtrusive. It would also mean that there would be less strain on the connectors, and the likelihood of damaging the unit if you accidentally stepped on it would be much lower.

FWIW, all of the Dreamcast VGA adapters that I've ever come across have had the connectors on the sides, and I think there are good design reasons for that.

FWIW, you'll find the chances of stepping on something are always greatly reduced if you avoid putting it on the floor and look where you're going.

Jeez man, we just got a 5.1 sound connection added and you're still not content because it doesn't aesthetically please you? Some folks is never happy...

I think it looks great. i might even buy one.
so whats inside it? still an LM1881?

So far yes, it is still using the LM1881N-based design.

I am looking into other, more compatible options, but at the moment it is still LM1881N-based.

I can't remember if I ever asked if you'd looked at the successors to the LM1881, the LMH1980 and the LMH1981 ?

The LMH1981 may be a bit overkill and costs three times that of the LM1881 but is probably one of the best quality ones out there.
The LMH1980 is the LMH1981's smaller brother and only costs $0.53 more each (when bought in 1000s) than the LM1881.

Both of these sync separators sound like good choices, with separate H-Sync and V-Sync outputs and compatibility for all standard and most non-standard video formats.

I know you were looking for a direct "drop-in" replacement solution at this stage in the development or the breakout box, but I figured that if these things become popular then maybe there will be future revisions.

Anyway, just thought I'd point them out if you'd not come across them yet.

Just a quick question. Will this converter be compatible with VGA under Linux?

The reason I ask is that I understand Linux handles VGA slightly differently to the VGA patched BIOSes. IIRC different video connector pins have to be grounded for the OS to recognise that a VGA signal is required.

Thanks in advance.

This VGA cable will be using the 'HDTV' mode jumper setting, so no, it won't be compatible with Linux.

Linux requires 1+3 mode (unsupported VGA mode) whereas my cable uses 2+3 mode (HDTV) so it won't work...

Linux has very limited support for VGA, especially on Focus/Xcalibur encoders, so this option was not considered.

Thanks for your reply. That's what I suspected.

Would it be possible to add a switch to enable Linux support, or would that add too much to the cost?

Frosty, will this VGA cable be compatible with 1.6 Xboxes? Sorry if this is a dumb question!

Well, the cable itself will work with 1.6 XBOXes, but it won't output VGA.

The 1.6 XBOX is not compatible with my VGA patchers.

Thanks for the quick reply.

BIG NEWS!!!

Myself and xman954 have released the first VGA-Compatible Force480p modchip BIOS, based on the X2 5035 BIOS!!!

Go get it!!! (in the usual places)

Oh, and this release would not have been possible without xman954's help implementing Force480p, much thanks to xman954.


NOTE: For those who dont know what Force480p means, it means that now EVERY SINGLE game and application (PAL/NTSC/JAP) are now 100% VGA-Compatible, including the flubber!

NOTE 2: This only forces 480i games to go into 480p, it does not disable 720p and 1080i, they are still fully supported.

WOW well done frosty. how long have you been working on that?
are you trying to put Neoya out of business?

I have been working on it for about a year, but Xman954 was really the one who got the Force480p working.

And no, i'm not trying to run Neoya out of business. But, from what i've heard, you can actually build your own VGA cable yourself by the time they ship your X2VGA to you...

lol. i only want one more feature out of a bios, is there any way of detecting vga so the bios can output vga or component depending on the cable? or switch modes from your dash?
and can you patch a retail bios to have vga to still play on live?

Well, yes and no.

No, I can't make an autodetecting BIOS, because of the shortage of modes on the AVIP...

Yes, you can switch modes from your dash. Just use a PBL version of this BIOS instead of flashing it.

Let me know if you would like to try the PBL version.

Oh also, no I couldn't make a live-safe version, because even the smallest of changes to the BIOS will be noticed by MS, and will result in a ban.

why did you decide not to use mode 1+3?
maybe you could have it detect when you plug in a normal AV cable at least?


sure a PBL version would be cool
but don't worry about it. i dual boot my tsop anyway. i just thought it would be a usefull feature


i suspected that. if only we could trick M$...

Have you personally had a chance to test this BIOS with your VGA cable?

I'm trying to gather some feedback on the BIOS, as I have very few testers.

I was just about to download it

It's probably entirely possible that we could re-write the video code for mode 1+3 to match the HDTV settings, but i'm willing to bet that it would break a lot of games and applications...



This is entirely possible. In fact, we might end up doing it, but not until v1.1.

that sounds really good.
well i flashed my tsop with the stock 5035 and your vga 5035. as it was flashing it stoped about a quarter from the end which is very scary when you are flashing a tsop...
somehow my xbox still boots. the stock 5035 bios is working but is the vga one supposed to show the flubber?
maybe i mixed something up...
anyway it seems to be working ok. i will test it on some more games when i get time

Honestly, i'm not entirely sure if the flubber will show up or not. In theory, it should show up because it is being forced into 480p, but I dont have a modchip to test it...

But even if the flubber doesn't show up, it should still take you to your dashboard and force 480i games into 480p.

P.S. You might want to reflash your TSOP again, because pausing is never a good thing when flashing...

Hats off to you once more Frosty and to Xman954 for his contributions, this is fantastic news!

I'm not able to test it out just yet as am in the process of re-designing my AV-Out panel and circuitry on my xbox. I've just downloaded the files and will test as soon as I put my box back into some kind of working order.


Keep up the great work!

anyone who is trying this bios, its probably best to only flash half of your mod chip, just in case it doesn't work.

Okay, that last release was broken... my bad.

Anyway, here's something new... FrostyTheSnowman and Xman954's VGA Boot Disc v1.0!!!

This is a PBL version of the X2 5035 w/VGA & Force480p (my last release) except in boot disc form!


No need to flash anything!!!


Just copy the x2config.ini in the package to your 'E' drive and edit it to point to your dashboard, burn the xISO image in this package to a DVD-R, boot the disc, and BAM! Instant VGA.

This is 100% compatible with all softmods, modchips, and hacked BIOSes to date. (as long as they boot d:\default.xbe first)

You can find this release under the following path in the 'usual places':

\XBOX\Console Based Applications\apps\utilities\FrostyTheSnowman and Xman954 VGA Boot Disc\

Enjoy!

NOTE: This only works with HDTV and Homemade VGA cables (Mode 2+3). (and my cable being manufactured)

good so it wasn't just my xbox
what was wrong with it? are you going to release a proper?

We are thinking it might have been the patched code in the header of the BIOS, but we not sure.

You can expect a flashable version soon, but i'm going to order a modchip first so that we can properly test it before release. (neither myself nor xman954 have a modchip)

For now though, enjoy the boot disc, it's definitely my personal favorite VGA release thus far.

lol. i can't believe both of you are modding bioses without a chip
probably a good idea to get a programmer as well. i am guessing you will need it

and i made a new vga cable with a male plug on the end. so now it is actually useful. i used a normal xbox cable and wired up a vga cable to the avip plug. vga cables have enough unused wires (for digital data and stuff) to have the sound going through the same cable to a breakout box. it uses internal sync signals as well

Nice cable, it reminds me of my own, except better because you are using the internal sync signals.

I'm too lazy to wire up internal syncs, but I do admit that they are superior.

Have you tried the new disc with your cable? (also, you can copy the files off the disc and make it an application on your hard drive if you like.)




Nah, a Duo X2 should suffice, it has 2 banks.

yeah i stole your idea i would have bought one of yours but i couldn't wait and i am handy with a soldering iron...
internal sync signals probably are better, when they work that is. i still haven't bothered fixing the line shifting. but it is hardly noticeable at 480p which is fine for me
and yeah i will give that disk a go soon
and I used to have a duo X2. but i killed it with static or something

LOL, don't get me wrong, I fully support the idea of building your own stuff if you can.

I love hand-making these VGA cables, mostly because they are such a pain in the ass that you can't help but be proud of your work when you are done.

LOL thats right. just don't ask to look inside
i used hot glue for insulation

i tried your vga disk. it works great. i tried it on "grand theft auto san andreas" which was green and out of sync with the old patch. it works PERFECTLY. i am not sure what other games are progressive, i couldn't find a list. do you know of one?

thanks for the great bios. even if it is only media bootable. still i would be happy using it

Frosty,

Is it possible to add a jumper to disable the sync chip, for when using it on a monitor that supports SOG? It would be nice to have a cable that worked on both seperate H&V and SOG.

It shouldn't matter...

I can use my LM1881N-based cable on both types of monitors just fine.

Understood, but it would be better to have the option to not have to use the LM1881N chip at all on monitors that do not need it, those that support SOG. Might as well not have to seperate the H&V signal when there is no need to, and thereby getting a better image.

Just an idea, of which i'd use when i bought the vga cable.

Great work Frosty!!
I've been away from the xbox modscene for a long while... and I was a bit of a late starter in the first place. It's really good to see it's still alive and kicking
I've just been getting into the VGA side of things as I invested in a Samsung 245B which is an awesome monitor but only has VGA and DVI inputs. As part of the point of it was to get my old 28" TV out of my room to make some space and the only thing I really use it for is my box, VGA setup is just what I needed.

I built the cables according to leeloos and other guides starting with a straight cable as the 245B runs SOG and my other Proview 17" appears to as well.
Tested them both with your boot disk as it seemed the quickest way to check if my cable worked. They both worked the same which is to say it worked really well (booted no problem but unfortunately with a heavy pink tint and all the rest of the colours were wrong blues were green, greens were blue etc). I've got a feeling it's something to do with my cable but anyway, a couple of LM1881s arrived in the post yesterday so I redid the cable and tested again using your boot disk and also tried flashing the second half of my chip with a patched X3 3294 bios using your v0.8 VGA Patch.

Now I get no signal on the 17" except for a a couple of twitches of life around bootup. However, the 245B works a treat... Except it's black and white !!!

Any help would be much appreciated as I've double checked the cable and cant find any problems there but being my first build I havn't got much to compare with.

As far as the Bios disk goes, it seemed to work really well with my v1.2/3 box with a X3 chip. The only niggle was that I couldn't access my games and vids cause they're all on G: which XBMC said was unavailable. I did try Morrowwind and Burnout on disk which worked great, but the same colour issue as the dash.

As I said, any help would be much appreciated and I will keep you updated as I progress with the testing.

Thanks again for all your efforts.

Hi Nicsun.
sounds like it is your cable. check it again. it is very easy to mess up wires

did you fix that with the disk bios?

Hi Frosty!

Just a quickie Do you think that this lead of yours will be available by xmas as I've just bought a wii for the missus and have to plan on how I'm going to connect everything come the big day?

Cheers,

Rob

From what I have been told, this cable should be ready to purchase around mid-December.

Punmaster has right that LM1881 has not standard h-sync signal but v-sync ist standard. I looked on the datasheet of the LM1881. On Pin1 the LM1881 output is c-sync (composite sync). Some displays cannot extract h-sync from the c-sync signal. But we can extract h-sync from v-sync and c-sync with a logic circuit.

RGBCV ---> RGBHV

CVH (csync,vsync,hsync TTL-Level)
---
000
010
101
110

h-sync has to be high if c-sync high and v-sync low

Now, if we use 7400 (four NAND) we may get h-sync (I dont know if the 7400 is fast enough).

The circuit:
- From LM1881 put c-sync and v-sync to the first NAND.
- The output of the first NAND and c-sync to the second NAND.
- Put the output of the second NAND to the third NAND (to invert the signal).
- The second NAND and the third NAND as intverter then build a logical AND.

See:

http://www.tkk.fi/Misc/Electronics/faq/vga2rgb/scart.html

at the end of the site for the circuit.

The LM1881 and 7400 are easy to get in many countries by private purchase.
This may be the solution to get hsync and vsync without the internal sync signals of the XBOX.
I am not sure but I think some very old Sun and Apple monitors need the c-sync instead of h-sync.
Excuse my poor english.

have you tried that circuit netfraggel?
it would probably be a good adition to the frosty vga cable, or a mod for people who need it.
i am sure there will be room inside the box
the only place i can get a lm1881 is over the net. and i cbf, so i will stick with internal signals

Many thanks to all contributing to this issue.

Punmaster: I appreciate the explanation of the "video level corrector circuit", and am trying to build one, but the "break the three "discharge” traces and wire them instead to the three negative (inverting) inputs of the op-amps" direction doesn't show up on the schematic you posted (linking pins 1 to 16, 3 to 4 and 6 to 7, I'm assuming), though I've tried both and neither seem to work (the schematic first, then the rerouting of discharge traces). The fault could be due to my human error, but some clarification would be great.

@patch6- are you referring to http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?s=&...t&p=4019291

so you have the evaluation board?

I didn't realize punmaster achieved this. using that circuit and the internal vga mod its possible to get *completely* standard vga out of the xbox

I wonder if the MAX4383 could be used instead of the LMH6739
unfortunately punmaster hasn't logged in for a month or so

hey frosty. did punmaster ever complete his ultimate tutorial? I was thinking about writing one but i quickly gave up

I honestly can't remember.

If you look back in this thread you will find out more about it, but I don't think he ever officially released his diagram...

Man, native VGA sure is a pain in the ass on the original XBOX...