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[Heimdall]

Your question about the hacked dash has been answered more than once in this thread. The hacked dash doesn't change the Xbox video settings, it simply makes use of them for its own display. If you disable 1080i in the MSDash (which changes the settings in the eeprom) then Evox and UnleashX will never display in 1080i nomatter what you do. Again - the hacked dash has nothing to do with your problem.

Modchips don't "pick up" anything - they are simply carriers for the BIOS. Which BIOS are you using?

What happens if you do each of the following?
- Cold boot with a Japanese retail game, modchip disabled (your post implies that you get 480p, but just confirm it so we get a complete picture of the problem)
- Cold boot with a Japanese retail game, modchip enabled
- Start a Japanese retail game from your dashboard, modchip enabled

[gibbousmoon]

Hmm, seems I can't edit anymore.

Sorry, that should read "I got progressive output with the modchip disabled, and interlaced SD output with it ENABLED, on the same Japanese retail game. I don't remember if it was a cold boot or a dash startup. I think perhaps both gave the same results."

[gibbousmoon]

A number of my games (Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance NTSC is the one I'm struggling with now) seem to default to 480i, even though they are supposed to support 480p.  (Other games work just fine.)

I'm using an adaptor (x2vga 2) to output my xbox to my monitor.  For some reason, the only image I can get is a 480i one (which is distorted and blurry and not really playable).

I'm not sure if this is an EvoX issue, an x2vga2 issue, a game issue, or a monitor issue.

If someone could help me narrow down the culprit and/or give me a few ideas, I will be grateful!

EDIT: I just qwixed Dark Alliance II to my Xbox, and it exhibits exactly the same problem.  If anyone can help me, please do!  Even if it's just to tell me that my problem isn't with EvoX, and that I should repost this in a different forum.

This post has been edited by gibbousmoon: Nov 27 2011, 03:31 PM

[JohnnyHunng]

How is your xbox modded?

[gibbousmoon]

I don't know, I bought it used.  (I can still contact the original owner if need be.)

I believe it's an executor chip.  I can enable/disable it at will with a switch.  It also has four dips, of which the second needs to be kept down for it to do its thing.

Is that relevant to this problem?  Please share! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[JohnnyHunng]

Was asking because softmods can be a pain to enable the higher resolutions compared to hardmods like yours...have you enabled 480P in the MS Dash?

Also, you are using component cables correct? the standard xbox composite a/v cable cannot do 480P.

[gibbousmoon]

I have enabled everything in the dash, yes.  (Switched off the chip in order to get access to the stock dash, if that makes a difference.)

I'm not sure about the cables, but I believe I am using component ones, yes.  It's hooked up to a computer monitor (and they don't support 480i) and plays many games just fine.

EDIT: I can list some of the games that work fine, if that will help narrow down the problem.

This post has been edited by gibbousmoon: Nov 27 2011, 05:46 PM

[JohnnyHunng]

Well if some display 480P and some not...even tho they are supposed to...maybe you have to enable the 480P res from within the game? other than that im not sure.

I would also ditch Evox completely and just run XBMC as my dash/launcher...more up to date, still supported...can always run Evox as an app for whatever needs you may need it for.

This post has been edited by JohnnyHunng: Nov 27 2011, 05:49 PM

[gibbousmoon]

Nope, that's not the problem.  Most don't allow changing from 480i to 480p from within the game.

Do you have experience outputting Xbox to a monitor?  Because I'm almost positive that's relevant to this issue.

[JohnnyHunng]

Nope sure dont, not original xbox anyway...but providing you're using xbox component cables then the x2vga should output any resolution available/that you choose rather easily.

[gibbousmoon]

Come to think of it, I don't know of a single Xbox game with in-game options to change the resolution.

Can you name a couple?  Or even one?  I will try it out, and perhaps learn more about this issue.

[xboxmods2977]

They don't. Games that can use multiple HD resolutions automatically default to the highest allowed res enabled in the M$ dash first, and hacked dashes second. The dashes tell the game what res to use. So for example, if you start a game that supports both 720p and 1080i, it will be displayed in the highest res, 1080i, unless of course this res is disabled in dash, in which case it would drop to 720p, so on and so forth.

Note:You must make sure that all dashes (including the M$) have identical resolution settings. It's best if you disable any resolutions that your monitor won't support, and also, some PC monitors may have issues displaying interlaced resolutions.

[gibbousmoon]

Ah, now we're getting somewhere.  And this is where I need some EvoX-specific help.

I've looked all over the dash's settings for an option to enable specific resolutions (suspecting that something similar to what you just told me might be true) but couldn't find it.  Is it in a config file somewhere?

My theory is that, even though I am enabling the resolutions in the MS dash, the EvoX dash isn't matching it (just like you said).  BUT: Many of my games output progressive resolutions (not sure which one) just fine, which I know because interlaced resolutions won't display properly on my monitor.  This pokes a hole in my theory.

In any case, if I can find the appropriate EvoX settings, it may save me the hassle of researching and installing a different dash (e.g., xbmc).

Thank you for your help!

[Heimdall]

There are no Evox settings for 480p.

I'm not sure that games care how the hacked dash is set up - I suspect that they simply read the available video settings from the eeprom, which contains the settings from the MS Dash.

[xboxmods2977]

QUOTE(Heimdall @ Nov 29 2011, 02:36 AM)

I'm not sure that games care how the hacked dash is set up - I suspect that they simply read the available video settings from the EEprom, which contains the settings from the MS Dash.

Depends.

Regarding Unleash X (and possibly other hacked dashes) it can override M$ resolution settings when disabling certain HD resolutions, but not when enabling them, as far as the displayed resolution of the dash itself. I'll explain.

The TV I have connected to my main gaming Xbox via component cable only supports 480p and 1080i. It does not handle 720p. With that known, right now I have all HD resolutions enabled in the M$ dash. In the Unleash X dash, I have 480p enabled, 720p disabled, and 1080i disabled (just because I don't like the 1080i picture). The dash displays at 480p. If I enable 1080i in Unleash X, the dash is displayed at 1080i. If I enable 720p in Unleash, the dash is not displayed properly. Also, if I enable either in Unleash and then go back the M$Dash, the Unleash changes are not reflected here. This would suggest that Unleash X must be patching the eeprom settings in memory because if unleash had direct access to the eeprom, then when I changed a resolution setting in Unleash X, the changes WOULD then be reflected in the M$dash. This would also lead me to believe that any game launched (through Unleash X with these settings) would adhere to those resolution settings as well, however the game part is speculation, as I haven't actually tried it, but seems likely, which is why I suggested in my above post to set all HD settings the same in all dashboards used. Better to err on the side of caution, right?

Now for the flip side to the coin: If I were to go into my M$ dash and disable all of my HD resolutions, this would be the final say and all HD resolutions are now disabled, regardless of my Unleash X settings. It is almost as if Unleash X has the ability to patch "out" enabled HD resolution settings made from the M$dash, but can't patch "in" disabled HD resolution settings. My guess, if I am correct in all this, is that it is for safety reasons.

EDIT: Actually, I take that back. I have tried it. I have more than a few xbox games, some of which do support 720p, but I have never had an issue with displaying any these games on my TV, so yes, the games do adhere to my Unleash X resolution settings.

EDIT2:Nevermind, you were right Heimdall. I just tried Soul Calibur 2 and it is not displayed correctly. So, the M$DASH does determine resolution settings for games. Looks like I have some resolutions to disable in the M$Dash. LOL