Xbox can indeed use a component cable setup and upscale to 720p or 1080i, when in NTSC mode. BUT, its CPU is pretty low and in fact it cannot even cope with 720p content. 1080p is, of course, out of the question.
Some crazy people, I've read, have modified the xbox's cpu so that it can do HighDef.
Don't get me wrong, Xbox is an excellent media centre. Just not for HighDef.
XBMC isn't upscaled though man, the 'OS' itself if you like can be displayed in HD (I have mine in 720p) but as you say, most of the content isn't. I suppose you could look at pictures better and browse the web more easily if you wished.
You wont lose live from modding the xbox, but if you meant losing it by playing a burnt game, then your correct...but only if microsoft catches you .
I have a freind who burnt GTA4 about a week before realease. After it was officially realeased, he went online with it. no one can tell if its pirated or not :/. There should be something that can tell people whether anyone on the server is running a pirate copy.
Yep, agreed 100%. Got an Xecuter 3 in mine, full up with DivX movies & TV shows and every rom for every system from the N64 on back. Plus a good number of xbox games.
I ment on the original xbox, with a modded original xbox you can't go on live with it, search google to see if you can go on live with the original xbox.
What I said was, XBMC runs natively at HD resolutions without a problem. You are correct in that its an old unit and needs some pretty extreme mods to playback HD content, but that isn't what I said. Its much nicer to read sharp, legible text as opposed to the upscaled-smudge you would otherwise get.
As a sidenote, every Xbox game will run natively at 480p, which is a bit nicer on the eyes than normal telly res (480i). Some games I noticed (Soul Caliber 2 for example) will run natively at 720p.
I have a small switch panel on the back of my Xbox, one of the functions of it is to revert back to the original firmware, so I can play my games on XBL without an issue. Not really used it much though, most xbox games still did split-screen gaming. But point is, it works flawlessly on live.
if it is a revision 1 xbox there is a way to mod it without a chip, and it lets you switch between normal and modded, but you still have to do some internal work.
the revision 1 xbox had a 4 block rom, it only used 1 at a time and had the three others as backups that it could switch to if you ran a wire between 2 points inside the system. I don't know if the revision 2 or later has these. but it lets you use the buffer overflow trick to load a softmod and still be able to put a switch on one of the others that you could turn on to go back to normal.
My original xbox doesn't have the switch on it, it must be a revision 2 or later version then, I have the crystal xbox if that helps for you to know what revision mine is.
It's either the chip that will have a switch on it, or like with mine if you hold power hold for 3 secs its boots from the original EEPROM bank and loads the official dash etc.
Mine you have to hold the power button for about 3secs for the chip to come on with the dash but if I just press the power button for say a second it will boot up but will then come up with loads of chinese writing so does this mean I can't turn my chip off?
Probably means somethings broken somewhere. If you haven't already, you need to 'lock' the hardrive you have replaced the original with, otherwise the dash probably won't boot. Can't remember how you do this, but I'm pretty sure Slayers EvoX disc did it back in the day.
Game suggestion - Mercenaries : Playground of Destruction. I've got the PS2 version. I'm doing it in my spare time now, I'm finding it hard but that's expected as I suck at shooters :P
Also, the original Canis Canem Edit (sold as Bully outside the UK) is pretty good, too.
Both of which should found lying near the bottom of a bargain bin.
It was like it the day I got it, I think I can remember my Auntie who knew the guy who done them said that the chip is permentaly enabled or something. I don't have all the disc's as I didn't chip it.
Lol defo agree with that Jack. I've spent many a night with mates round on PGR2 with some beers, getting progressively worse as the night goes on. Forza is definitely worth getting too. Leave the FPS' for PC I reckon. edit: Fair play Sam, you can get Slayers disc from the internet if you want to give it a go, just burn it onto CD, pop it in and see what the options are. edit2: wtf editing messes up formatting.
This is the original PGR - at the start the lack of AA was an issue, but it's fine now.
Bidding on some supplies to get my XMBC running, Forza is in the post (as is Burnout 3 and a DVD Remote) - also got the SCART lead today, seems to have helped.
Had SegaGT (still do!) for PC and f'ing loved it - wish the graphics were better and i didn't have to use the keyboard for it though
Trying to borrow a memory card for XMBC after getting a copy of Splinter Cell (:P) - Enjoying Forza, but having issues with driving as there seems to be a bit of a dead-zone on the steering axis - is this a problem with my controller or just something I need to get used to?
If you're coming from a G25 and LFS, then using a gamepad in Forza is always going to be a bit of an anticlimax. You'll not notice it so much in PGR as it's much more of an arcade racer. But Forza really needs a wheel to get the best out of the physics (which are actually very good tbh) Don't think it's a problem with the gamepad's deadzone, although try another if poss, see if it's any different.
And as far as the topic is concerned, here's my list of must have Xbox games (if you're interested).
In no particular order:-
PGR2, if you like the original, you'll love number 2, it's stunning, one of the best Xbox games ever.
Ghost Recon, in my opinion still one of the best FPS's ever made. Free roaming, non linear, very very difficult (one hit kills) Used to have a great online community, and at the time one of the few ported games that was actually better than the PC version. (although the PC community quickly caught up with some fantastic mods).
Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic (KOTOR)Not great graphics, takes a while to get into it, seems like a big pile of doggy poo at first. But stick with it, get involved with the story, and you'll discover it's simply a masterpiece of gaming. One of the best games of all time imo. It's got so much depth, so much character, so many things to do and places to explore, so many directions to follow and choices to make, you'll quickly forget it's short comings and you'll really begin to care about the characters in the game you'll do anything to protect them and keep them alive. Seriously, this is a great great game, get it !
MotoGP Numbers 1 and 2 are the ones to go for, number 3 didn't really add much except street racing and weird bikes (which isn't as good as it sounds) But, all games have great a control system and a really neat high speed blur effect. Great fun !
Got to be honest, there's not really many other Xbox games that stand out for me. Midtown Madness is ok for a laugh, Halo is good, but gets very repetitive after a while. And as i said above, Forza really needs a proper controller to get the best out of it. Other than that, there arn't many games that stand out as being that good. But then again, when i had my Xbox i was buying games at full price, so they had to be good to justify the cost. Maybe these days i wouldn't be so critical if i could buy the 'lesser' titles for a couple of quid.
P.S not read the entire thread, so i apologise if all these games have already been suggested.
your getting ripped! i went up to civic video the other day, and they had 3 splinter cells, number 1, chaos theory etc and they were $10 each, let alone 10 pounds!
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