Considering OSSC for Xbox

[BuckoA51]

You need component cables, Xbox SCART cables do not support 480p.

[KentaZX]

Any good recommendation for the brand component cables?

[nmalinoski]

If you want to use digital audio, you’ll need something like the official Microsoft HD AV Pack (either the breakout box or the latter, rarer, single cable; and do not confuse this with the Advanced AV pack, which only has composite and S-Video out, not YPbPr–look at the photos before you buy on eBay).

If digital audio isn’t a concern, the HD AV Packs are still good, although I’ve heard that the cables in the first revision of the HD AV Pack (the breakout box) aren’t good, so you can just get some nice, thick RCA-to-RCA component cables from Monoprice.

Finally, if you just want to try out 480p, spend $5 or so and get a cheap component cable. If you don’t notice any issues with the audio or video, then just keep using that.

[pignouf]

Best solution tested so far for me: the Pound Technology HD-Link cable. Can’t get something nicer with the ossc.

[nmalinoski]

Best solution tested so far for me: the Pound Technology HD-Link cable. Can’t get something nicer with the ossc.

I think the Pound cable for the Xbox is a decent solution, but it’s not perfect. It’s very simple to use, and it’s only $30; but it’s still a component-to-HDMI converter, any games that have frequent video mode changes (not many, but they exist) are going to be frustrating to play due to the HDMI blackouts, it doesn’t do any deinterlacing for 480i or 1080i, it’s a passive device without any configuration (which may be a pro for some), and it doesn’t support 5.1 surround. It would definitely be useful if your TV or AV setup can’t accommodate YPbPr component, or if you’re using the console on its own, like if you were to bring it to a friend’s house for some system link fun.

The OSSC is a different solution for a slew of other problems, but it does have a few benefits over the Pound cable, like being able to line-double 480p to get 960p, which, when scaled, can get you a far sharper image than starting from 480p, it can bob-deinterlace 480i and 1080i for televisions that don’t support those modes over HDMI, and it doesn’t preclude you from using TOSLINK to get 5.1 surround. (I am aware of TOSLINK shims that fit between the console and the AV cable that would probably work, but they’re very hard to find.)

I think the best solution with the best fidelity, would be an internal HDMI mod, not unlike the UltraHDMI or DCHDMI. Something like that would (ideally) be able to read the digital RGB and audio (so it would use stereo or 5.1 surround as configured in the dashboard) directly from the motherboard instead of digitizing and converting analogue YPbPr or audio. It could come with a built-in scaler that could, like the UltraHDMI, scale everything to a given resolution, which would avoid HDMI dropouts; and it could, like the DCHDMI, line-multiply 480i and 480p to 960p, optionally windowboxing to 1080p, which would give a pixel-perfect scale without sacrificing image quality or compatibility. Even better if it came with a proper (optional, of course) deinterlacer for 480i and 1080i content rather than simply bob-deinterlacing.

[badboo]

Well, I’m a new OSSc owner and trying to read and understand most of what I can, and learning on the way.

So, since the original Xbox outputs 480p, the OSSC can’t do L X3, X4, X5 for this system, right? Only on 240p consoles, isn’t it?

I guess this was mentioned before on this thread but I can’t understand everything yet lol

[nmalinoski]

Correct; the OSSC will do passthrough or line2x for 480p and 576p. line3x of 480p@60Hz would be 1440p@60Hz, which a little outside the OSSC hardware’s max resolution of 1920x1200p@60Hz.

Your TV may or may not support 480p line2x, which would give you 960p. Most 1080p and smaller-resolution consumer TVs don’t accept 960p, but 4K sets tend to be more flexible (but it’s still not guaranteed that it would work).

[badboo]

Thanks for your reply. Yes, I did a pass through on that reslotuion. My TV is 4k, but it is an RCA (non hdr, if that matters), which this x3, 4,5 didn’t work, as you mentioned that could happen.
I will go back to my OSSc and checking those resolutions you mentioned. Maybe I can find out how to get those Lx3, 4,5 if possible.

[nmalinoski]

I’ll put it another way: You won’t be able to test line3x/4x/5x for 480p; those modes are not available in the firmware, because they would exceed the limitations of the hardware.

If you’re referring to line3x/4x/5x for 240p and 288p, then you should be able to connect a 240p/288p source, open the menu and nagivate to Output Opts > 240p/288p proc, and then switch between each mode to see which, if any, are supported by your display.

[badboo]

Sorry, I just re-read my previous response and I was conflicting myself. Thanks for confirming that for me. I think when when I get my scart cable for my saturn, I will give it a try if I can get these Lx3,4,5 then.
Cheers

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