Staples - 26" LCD TV/MONITOR 16ms/DVI £299

Godspeed

Thanks for posting that you got it all sorted

Do the colours display ok and are you getting 1280x720p for definate? (the first picture does'nt seem to be on the phocus 26")

(Just bought and waiting for a hi-def kit, now all I need is a component to vga cable)


Cheers

G

twe

hi, basically the colours do not display correctly [i.e. green tinge] when you keep the original bios.... you definately need to install the vga bios which will basically change the output of the xbox to support vga [i.e. no green tinge]....

so after upgrading the bios i have no problems with colour..... thought i should take another 2 pictures for you [the first picture above is basically the bios loading up and was displayed on the phocus but at night]....



ok this is the 26" monitor, you can see that the bottom left says "PC" which is telling you that the xbox is connected via vga to the monitor.....



and thats the current output in xbmc..... all colours are ok

let me know if you need some help with the bios, etc..... i don't mind helping.... even though i had to learn from the start, etc..... and u need to know what version xbox you have.....

edit: Not all games run in a higher resolution.... most games only support 480 progressive rather than interlaced..... and the odd game does not run in progressive and only interlaced..... in which case you will get a green tinge unless you use a normal non vga bios.......

check out these sites for which games are HD compatible...

http://www.hdtvarcade.com/xboxlist.htm [incomplete list, shows most games but not all]
http://www.hdgames.net/ [search xbox only - shows more games than above, but use both as both have a game the other does not list]

Godspeed

Cheers again for the info. I was going to make a lead up but really wanted the optical output which would of been a right pain to get the parts for and implement. I know the splinter cell series of games will have the green problem even with the vga bios, others have found that booting the game from inside xbmc cures some games displaying green.

I have an xecuter2 chip so have a choice of 2 bios's, one is currently cromwell so I suppose thats the one that will eventually be flashed with the ind vga one instead. Is it the 5001 version you are using?

Whats the upscaling of dvd's like from within the latest xbmc at 1280x720?


Cheers

G

kaan_is

slightly off topic....can someone help.I have my resolution set on 1024x768 on my 19"samsung tft/lcd monitor. I am not sure if i am on my own on this, but recently noticing this is beginning to affect my vision.The screen is approx 2ft away from me.Any views welcome.

Sid_Harper

kaan_is wrote:

slightly off topic....can someone help.I have my resolution set on 1024x768 on my 19"samsung tft/lcd monitor. I am not sure if i am on my own on this, but recently noticing this is beginning to affect my vision.The screen is approx 2ft away from me.Any views welcome.

Very off topic. Er, 'see' an optician maybe? I can't say much about Samsung screens (we're staring at the 'phocus' unit from Staples in this thread).

Generally, TFTs are no where near as bad for your eyes as CRT monitors. But staring at any fixed-distance object for hours on end is always bad for your eyes which is why you should stop and focus on something distant every so often.

I should take my own advice though - my eyes are failing too... and I stare at a 19" TFT about 2' away from me all day too.

twe

i am not too sure about flashing the xecuter 2, but the main thing for you is to know what version of the xbox you have [xbmc will tell you, go to shutdown then there is an option to the right with "I" icon for information - same place where I got the last screenshot from]..... there is only 1 ind-bios which supports vga, and that is by junkmonkey bios version 5001 [even though the latest is 5003, but no vga support].... from what i can remember the ind-bios will support what i have the connexant video chip and the focus chip..... otherwise you will need to get another bios that supports other video chips..... but check this thread, read all the way through.... http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?showtopic=274272

dvds have been improved as it displays at 480 progressive.... even with the upscaling the quality looks better than when i used to watch dvds on a normal tv via scart.....

Godspeed

Pm sent to you twe.