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[spillage]

That pin out is IMO wrong and you should follow the found in this thread.

All Outputs Configurable

The information found within the thread is known to work. Yes there could be variants but personally I don't believe there are, based on the fact you don't have to buy particular AV cables for particular boxes.

Assuming the monitor has an RGBHV @ 15KHz input, yes you will need to build the sync stripper. You will not need the X2VGA, unless of course you discover the display can handle RGBHV @ 31KHz.

[ofx210p]

To my knowlege it cant be done (cheaply)

I have spent a little time working on it

The Xbox doesnt output RGB natively

The closest it gets is Component.

Theoretically it can output RGsB which is Sync on Green

You can then use the LM1881 chip and some wiring to remove the sync from the Green channel and that then gives you RGB Composite Sync, oh you also need to modify the mode switches on the AVIP into RGB mode.

To my knowlege the only way of getting RGB output of the machine is also to use a LINUX cromwell bios that supports RGB - this bios wouldnt allow you to then run any games just LINUX.

I don't believe that any of the other bios's output RGB (such as xecuter or evox)

Oh and one last thing is that the sync of the Arcade Monitor is 15khz and not 31khz that monitors use - (these numbers are off top of my head and quite possibly totally innaccurate)

SO where does this leave you - well I have had an arcade machine for a while and also thought - what a cool idea that it would be to put an Xbox running Mame, KAWA etc in it would be - I have seen a Dreamcast in the same - but Dreamcasts Natively output RBGHV. So I spent some time setting up all the mode switches to tell the xbox what was (as far as it was concerned) connected to the  AVIP and then connected the output RGsB to the Sync Sep Circuit and connected it all to a Jammer loom solder card - and ......


It almost works -

But doesnt

It basically looks like the green circuit is fine but the other guns are overdriven and so after much much more reading and playing I have come to the conclusion that it basically isnt feasible cheaply

I have seen $70 semi professional converters but this to me is not cost effective

I have the LM1881 circuit built up if you want it cheap from me (im in the UK though)

Hope this helps

Chris
Xboxbreakers.co.uk

[ofx210p]

Yeah but those VGA boxes give out a really horrible line doubled wishy washy image. I have one of those and just didnt give it a moments thought because of the lack of clarity.

However I am fairly certain that the H/V frequencys are all wrong for the arcade monitors as opposed to the PC monitor.

Just a thought
Chris

[wayne1967]

Do you know if there is a version of xbox MAME that launches vertically for the MS.pac cocktail that I plan to put this into??

[DarkLegion]

The xbox does output RGB natively and your arcade monitor will be able to accept it as long as it is a standard res monitor that accepts 15 khz horizontal scan rate....which is almost all of them since most games use standard res.Some things you'll need to do:

* You'll need to strip the sync down to either composite or h/v sync which can be done with a LM1881 chip or any other simple sync stripper.Probably better to use h/v since you mentioned it supported it but it is very likely that it supports composite.
*You may need to amplify the rgb signals using a video amplifier or make an adjustment on the monitor pcb which will switch between around 0-1.5 V to 4-5V.Only bother checking if the signal is too dim.
*AC coupling may be required,this is done with  220 uf capacitors inline with each rgb signal(you could use lower or higher value if you want but this is the standard) ...this also relates to brightness only try if screen is dim or brightness looks inaccurate in certain areas...particularly black and white levels.You'll need to wire the input side to the positive leg and the output side to the negative leg.
*On newer xboxes there is a known problem of the 5v line causing interference with the rgb and sync signals.You'll need 5v for the sync stripper so its recommended that you run the 5v wire through a ferrite bead.
*If you are building a homebuilt cable you'll need to setup the correct mod switches,have a look around for what points you'll need grounded....for my PAL box all 3 mode select points must be tied to ground and I believe it is the same for NTSC boxes in this case.

[ofx210p]

Darklegion thanks for that... very impressed. Have you actually connected up a box to an arcade monitor or is this just theoretical.

Anyhow cheers for all the info it is very comprehensive. I bow to the superior oracle of all things video output.

Cheers once again - goes to show you really do learn something every day

Chris

[dna-man]

Although this is an odd question as the XBOX is capable of much higher video output and resolution, has anyone attempted to connect the output of their xbox to an arcade monitor?

Next would be questions of dashboard resolutions etc...

The better solution may just be to dump the arcade monitor and install a better quality TV

Thanks for your thoughts!

d

[-FourDoor-]

Or buy a pc monitor instead and pait it with a x2vga. I have an old used cab sitting in the garage awaiting to be worked on for a summer project. I did some reading and a lot of folks recommended againts the TV as the resolutions werent as sharp at such a close proximity.

Take a look in the emulators forum for some pics and links on the similar discussions.

[pkr]

I used to hear alot of talk about this on atarilabs.com and gamesx.com.  I have never done it, but I believe most arcate monitors accept  RGB and a composite sync, so if you put the xbox in scart mode you will get the RGB you are looking for then you will have to make some sort of sync splitter to strip sync signals off of the composite video lead.  

I did this with a ps2 connected to a CRT projector it was only 480i, but it was a very pure and clean signal.  It looked better than s-video.

[dna-man]

Thank you for the input!

I am unable to use SCART as I'm located in North America

I will continue to watch for suggestions etc. until such time as I am ready to really work on this, until then it may be a good topic of discussion.

Talk soon,

d

[Mr Ed]

[poiygon]

Yea, if I were to build a cabinet today, I would look for a CRT that supports HD and has inputs for component and dvi/hdmi. That way, I could hook up a computer or whatever console I'd like and have the best quality picture. Now, finding one that will fit inside a cabinet may be difficult. I searched Best Buy and Circuit City and only found TVs 30" and up that matched my search, and they were pretty expensive.

[poiygon]

No, but my PC can emulate those systems well enough with graphics filters. Why would put a nearly perfect emulated console in an arcade cabinet? Doesn't that kind of defeat the purpose of a MAME cabinet?

[xboxnewguy]

Send an email to Andy at www.ultimarc.com.  He has a cable that  he says will go from the xbox to an arcade cabinet. Also he has a ipac xbox adapter so you can convert your arcade controls to the xbox instead of hacking a joystick. Let me know how it goes. I just finshed my arcade cab and I used a TV. It works  for me because my kids watch to on it to.

[darkspectre]

I've been searching the forums, but I can't seem to find an answer to this.  has anyone successfully hooked and xbox up to a standard RGB arcade monitor?  If anyone has, do they have wiring diagrams?

Thanks!

- DS