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Author Topic: Xbox In Van With 5.1  (Read 32 times)

arkade

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Xbox In Van With 5.1
« on: October 04, 2004, 01:58:00 AM »
the chances that your headunit supports 5.1 are almost non-existant. Car stereos are just that - stereo. I think you'd have to get a HT type amp that's capable of decoding 5.1
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JaredC01

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Xbox In Van With 5.1
« Reply #1 on: October 04, 2004, 09:32:00 AM »
QUOTE (arkade @ Oct 4 2004, 03:01 AM)
the chances that your headunit supports 5.1 are almost non-existant. Car stereos are just that - stereo. I think you'd have to get a HT type amp that's capable of decoding 5.1

He already stated that he would not be using his car stereo, read more carefully  next time.

1.  If you have a tape player in your van, your best bet would probably be a tape adapter, commonly used for portable cd players.  Simply buy an adapter from a headphone type jack, to RCA jack.

2.  Unfortunately, there is no easy way to use the 12v DC that your car provides as a direct power line for the xbox.  You will have to buy an inverter.

3.  The only way you would get 5.1 sound, would be using Pro Logic mode, which takes a 2 channel signal, and converts it into 5.1 (not true 5.1 digital, but simulated... in some cases it sounds better than true 5.1).  Another unfortunate situation, if you use your car stereo for the audio, it will most likely NOT have Pro Logic mode.  You could do your idea in #1, and hook a Pro Logic enabled reciever up to your existinng speakers, and simply turn the car stereo off while using the reciever.  If you were already using an inverter for the xbox, it would most likely have an extra power plug for you to plug in a reciever.

Hope that helps, let me know if you have anymore questions.
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inee

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Xbox In Van With 5.1
« Reply #2 on: October 05, 2004, 02:46:00 AM »
QUOTE

1.  If you have a tape player in your van, your best bet would probably be a tape adapter, commonly used for portable cd players.  Simply buy an adapter from a headphone type jack, to RCA jack.


This solves the connection problem, but not the 5.1 problem. I dont have tape, only CD on the head unit. I believe a better way this route would be FM modulation, and that's my last resort.
QUOTE

2.  Unfortunately, there is no easy way to use the 12v DC that your car provides as a direct power line for the xbox.  You will have to buy an inverter.

Figured.
QUOTE

3.  The only way you would get 5.1 sound, would be using Pro Logic mode, which takes a 2 channel signal, and converts it into 5.1 (not true 5.1 digital, but simulated... in some cases it sounds better than true 5.1). 

I dont quite understand this. Xbox has pro logic mode? Or my stereo? Or a separate amp/signal processor I have to get?
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Another unfortunate situation, if you use your car stereo for the audio, it will most likely NOT have Pro Logic mode.

No i believe it doesnt.
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You could do your idea in #1, and hook a Pro Logic enabled reciever up to your existinng speakers, and simply turn the car stereo off while using the reciever. 

This sound like the first solution i was thinking of - attaching a DTS/Dolby signal processor like Clarion so I can hook up the xbox optical cable out to it and it will then have RCA hookups to my speakers. Ive found one on Ebay for 150$, but then with all these complications Im having second-thoughts if its ever really worth it all? I would have to install a switch maybe to switch from video to cdplayer to go to the speakers.

I could save myself all the trouble and just freaking hookup my red and white xbox cables to my speakers (of course id have to divide the channels so each line has 4 speakers each).
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JaredC01

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Xbox In Van With 5.1
« Reply #3 on: October 05, 2004, 06:42:00 AM »
Pro Logic mode is in the reciever.  Almost any semi-cheap reciever anymore has a Pro Logic mode.

All things considered, I don't think you will notice all that much of a difference between using an FM modulator, and rewiring everything to a reciever for Pro Logic 5.1.  If you want my opinion, just go with the FM modulation. If you like the sound of your stereo when you're listening to the radio, I'm sure you won't be disappointed.
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JaredC01

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Xbox In Van With 5.1
« Reply #4 on: October 05, 2004, 09:19:00 AM »
QUOTE (arkade @ Oct 5 2004, 08:43 AM)
read more carefully next time

Idiot rolleyes.gif.
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JaredC01

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Xbox In Van With 5.1
« Reply #5 on: October 05, 2004, 05:16:00 PM »
QUOTE (inee @ Oct 5 2004, 03:07 PM)
is there a sure way to know if my reciever has pro logic mode? do i enable it or something or just hookup my xbox to it?

sadly, i dont like the sound of radio coming out of my speakers, cd quality really is my target since ive spent dough in improving my speakers already and am targetting 5.1. i guess the cleanest way to go is fm modulation, though i dont really like how fm radio sounds - there must be a difference between radio station sounds and fm modulated sounds from a nearby source like an xbox is there? im imagining that fm radio travels miles and miles away, and the sound that is sent from the radio transmitter already has "noise" in it with the encoding into fm frequency added to the air noise and decoding back to music. Id imagine that an fm modulated sound from an xbox should sound better, right?

in any case, i just might wire my xbox onto my speakers and put a switch between the xbox input and my receiver input so i can switch between cd-radio and xbox. my next problem is, is the xbox amplified? can i connect it directly to 50Wx8 speakers and have enough power to drive the sound or should I then next buy an amp to sit between the xbox and speakers?

damn this is really getting complicated.

Not sure if you remember, but when cd changers first came out, they used FM modulation.  The sound coming from the FM modulator is near cd quality if it is in your car.  The reason radio stations are fuzzy at times, is because they travel long distances, and have many interfering wavelengths also coming in.  All you would need to do, is find an unused FM station, with the MOST static with the FM modulator turned off.  The more static there is, the less interfering signals there are that have a frequency close to the FM signal you're using.

Most recievers will have a button on them to enable Pro Logic mode.  Some other recievers can automatically detect a signal, and enable Pro Logic mode automatically.

The xbox is NOT amplified.  You would need an amplifier of some type, or a reciever to boost the volume.

Edit:  I'd say just keep things simple as possible, buy an FM modulator, and an inverter, and hook it up that way.  Keep in mind, the more complex something is, the higher the chance for something to get screwed up.
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inee

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Xbox In Van With 5.1
« Reply #6 on: October 05, 2004, 10:30:00 PM »
*sigh*

you've refreshed my memory. i do kind of recall that years ago, when cd players were mounted with kits onto the dash they also used fm modulation; actually when i think  more about it i remember that sony has a dvd changer currently running off of fm modulation (dvx-100) and this is a last year product. so yeah, fm modulation would still have the quality i need.

i agree that i ought to keep it simple stupid KISS. my new problem is an inverter powerful enough to take 300W xbox needs, and some sort of circuitry to regulate a constant 12v dc power.

i guess since im doing fm modulation i dont need an amp anymore. only problem with fm modulation is no room to upgrade to 5.1, or i guess this is where prologic comes in. however i have no idea if my head unit (factory panasonic i think it was) has this feature built in.
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