Xbox looks sh!tty on DIY projector...

[Juice Box]

So, I finished my DIY projector....15" LCD monitor behind the conversion of something like this (not exactly it, but pretty much the same thing...outputs 800x600 - 1024x768)

and for some reason, the xbox looks like ass on it....very very blurry, can hardly make anything out. Then we plug it in the TV, and it looks super crisp.....

Anything I'm doing wrong?

 

[dug777]

what does the xbox output at natively?

could be an interpolation issue with the LCD?

640x480 on a 1024 native LCD screen is going to look awful in most cases

EDIT: how does it look at 1024 from the computer?

 

[darkswordsman17]

Does the same thing happen with TV through that converter box (so does TV look bad, blurry, etc. through the projector)? How are you connecting the Xbox to the TV and the converter box? Both through composite? If so, then this could very well be the reason, being a mixture of not the greatest signal quality and then not a really high quality converter upscaling it to a significantly higher resolution. I'm trying to think what else it might be.

 

[Kromis]

WHOA! What the bloody hell!?!? When did dug come back?

Anyways...

 

[santz]

post actual pics OP!

 

[darkhorror]

Are you talking about SD tv looking super crisp? SD tv looks bad on most projectors as it's quality is not very good. It could be that your projector is bluring SD tv enough to make it look good. But when you go with a source that is crisp that the projector is bluring it also. Why don't you just buy a used projector you can get one for not that much money.

 

[blckgrffn]

Originally posted by: darkhorror
Are you talking about SD tv looking super crisp? SD tv looks bad on most projectors as it's quality is not very good. It could be that your projector is bluring SD tv enough to make it look good. But when you go with a source that is crisp that the projector is bluring it also. Why don't you just buy a used projector you can get one for not that much money.

Why don't you just go throw money away? Sound stupid to you? OK. He already has a projector, and there are a host of reasons why a DIY one can be much better depending on the application.

Any way, good luck on this. I don't know how to help you. I would at least hook a PC up the VGA port to see if that looks blurry.

Nat

 

[Juice Box]

When I connect a computer to the monitor (straight to its VGA port), it looks super crisp....no problems at all.

I'm not sure what the native output of the xbox is.....but I can change the monitor to 800x600, and it still looks pretty bad....I dunno what else I can do.

When I say it looks crisp on the TV, that is just a regular 21" TV, connected to the xbox with RCA (composite?) cables.... (red white and yellow). The xbox hooks up to the converter box in the exact same way...but I guess somewhere in the conversion process it gets fvcked up??

 

[ArchAngel777]

Originally posted by: Juice Box
When I connect a computer to the monitor (straight to its VGA port), it looks super crisp....no problems at all.

I'm not sure what the native output of the xbox is.....but I can change the monitor to 800x600, and it still looks pretty bad....I dunno what else I can do.

When I say it looks crisp on the TV, that is just a regular 21" TV, connected to the xbox with RCA (composite?) cables.... (red white and yellow). The xbox hooks up to the converter box in the exact same way...but I guess somewhere in the conversion process it gets fvcked up??

Native output is 480p (4:3 for most titles, some are 16:9) *if* you have the HDTV cable for it. You will not get 480p from a composite or s-video cable, only component. Also, you need to make sure you set up the resolutions supported in the Dash Board of the Xbox. Be sure to enable 480p and 720p. Almost every game supports 480p, but some do not.

Edit ** Just followed the link you posted in the origonal post and found that the problem is a combintation of the converter and the xbox. If you are using the standard XBOX composite cables, then it is going to look like ass no matter what converter it runs though. You are essentially viewing most games at 640x480i with a significant amount of blurr... You are going to have to find a component to VGA adapter and pickup the XBox HDTV component cables to get a decent picture.

 

[Juice Box]

Originally posted by: ArchAngel777

Originally posted by: Juice Box
When I connect a computer to the monitor (straight to its VGA port), it looks super crisp....no problems at all.

I'm not sure what the native output of the xbox is.....but I can change the monitor to 800x600, and it still looks pretty bad....I dunno what else I can do.

When I say it looks crisp on the TV, that is just a regular 21" TV, connected to the xbox with RCA (composite?) cables.... (red white and yellow). The xbox hooks up to the converter box in the exact same way...but I guess somewhere in the conversion process it gets fvcked up??

Native output is 480p (4:3 for most titles, some are 16:9) *if* you have the HDTV cable for it. You will not get 480p from a composite or s-video cable, only component. Also, you need to make sure you set up the resolutions supported in the Dash Board of the Xbox. Be sure to enable 480p and 720p. Almost every game supports 480p, but some do not.

Edit ** Just followed the link you posted in the origonal post and found that the problem is a combintation of the converter and the xbox. If you are using the standard XBOX composite cables, then it is going to look like ass no matter what converter it runs though. You are essentially viewing most games at 640x480i with a significant amount of blurr... You are going to have to find a component to VGA adapter and pickup the XBox HDTV component cables to get a decent picture.

I've read a lot of recommendations to buy this item:

http://www.datapro.net/products/CSV-955A.html

it comes with the xbox HD cables and stuff.....but I'm just not sure if even then, it will make my 15" LCD display good quality images.....does a 15" LCD even support hidef?!

 

[otispunkmeyer]

Originally posted by: ArchAngel777

Originally posted by: Juice Box
When I connect a computer to the monitor (straight to its VGA port), it looks super crisp....no problems at all.

I'm not sure what the native output of the xbox is.....but I can change the monitor to 800x600, and it still looks pretty bad....I dunno what else I can do.

When I say it looks crisp on the TV, that is just a regular 21" TV, connected to the xbox with RCA (composite?) cables.... (red white and yellow). The xbox hooks up to the converter box in the exact same way...but I guess somewhere in the conversion process it gets fvcked up??

Native output is 480p (4:3 for most titles, some are 16:9) *if* you have the HDTV cable for it. You will not get 480p from a composite or s-video cable, only component. Also, you need to make sure you set up the resolutions supported in the Dash Board of the Xbox. Be sure to enable 480p and 720p. Almost every game supports 480p, but some do not.

Edit ** Just followed the link you posted in the origonal post and found that the problem is a combintation of the converter and the xbox. If you are using the standard XBOX composite cables, then it is going to look like ass no matter what converter it runs though. You are essentially viewing most games at 640x480i with a significant amount of blurr... You are going to have to find a component to VGA adapter and pickup the XBox HDTV component cables to get a decent picture.

yeah i remember running my PS2 through my TV tuner card using the S-video input and that was horrible. you could even tell it was 480i, you could clearly see like a horziontal blind effect as it drew alternate lines. looked nasty

 

[blckgrffn]

Originally posted by: Juice Box

Originally posted by: ArchAngel777

Originally posted by: Juice Box
When I connect a computer to the monitor (straight to its VGA port), it looks super crisp....no problems at all.

I'm not sure what the native output of the xbox is.....but I can change the monitor to 800x600, and it still looks pretty bad....I dunno what else I can do.

When I say it looks crisp on the TV, that is just a regular 21" TV, connected to the xbox with RCA (composite?) cables.... (red white and yellow). The xbox hooks up to the converter box in the exact same way...but I guess somewhere in the conversion process it gets fvcked up??

Native output is 480p (4:3 for most titles, some are 16:9) *if* you have the HDTV cable for it. You will not get 480p from a composite or s-video cable, only component. Also, you need to make sure you set up the resolutions supported in the Dash Board of the Xbox. Be sure to enable 480p and 720p. Almost every game supports 480p, but some do not.

Edit ** Just followed the link you posted in the origonal post and found that the problem is a combintation of the converter and the xbox. If you are using the standard XBOX composite cables, then it is going to look like ass no matter what converter it runs though. You are essentially viewing most games at 640x480i with a significant amount of blurr... You are going to have to find a component to VGA adapter and pickup the XBox HDTV component cables to get a decent picture.

I've read a lot of recommendations to buy this item:

http://www.datapro.net/products/CSV-955A.html

it comes with the xbox HD cables and stuff.....but I'm just not sure if even then, it will make my 15" LCD display good quality images.....does a 15" LCD even support hidef?!

1024*768 should be great for hidef stuff. I say go for it, and if it doesn't do what you need, return it.

Nat

 

[Juice Box]

*sigh* I've been looking all day and can't seem to find any information about what I am trying to do. Am I pretty much screwed if I keep using my 15" LCD for the projector? Do I need to totally re-build? I just want my xbox to look good tongue.gif

=/

 

[darkswordsman17]

Originally posted by: Juice Box
*sigh* I've been looking all day and can't seem to find any information about what I am trying to do. Am I pretty much screwed if I keep using my 15" LCD for the projector? Do I need to totally re-build? I just want my xbox to look good tongue.gif

=/

I think its your conversion box that isn't the best and its taking a signal that is considerably lower quality than your monitor's native resolution (640x480 interlaced is what signal your Xbox will be sending to the conversion box which is then scaling it to 1024x768). If you used a VGA adapter for the Xbox I'm guessing it would look quite a good bit better.

 

[Juice Box]

Originally posted by: darkswordsman17

Originally posted by: Juice Box
*sigh* I've been looking all day and can't seem to find any information about what I am trying to do. Am I pretty much screwed if I keep using my 15" LCD for the projector? Do I need to totally re-build? I just want my xbox to look good tongue.gif

=/

I think its your conversion box that isn't the best and its taking a signal that is considerably lower quality than your monitor's native resolution (640x480 interlaced is what signal your Xbox will be sending to the conversion box which is then scaling it to 1024x768). If you used a VGA adapter for the Xbox I'm guessing it would look quite a good bit better.

I highly doubt they sell a VGA adapter for the xbox....if you know of one, please share

 

[ArchAngel777]

Originally posted by: Juice Box

Originally posted by: darkswordsman17

Originally posted by: Juice Box
*sigh* I've been looking all day and can't seem to find any information about what I am trying to do. Am I pretty much screwed if I keep using my 15" LCD for the projector? Do I need to totally re-build? I just want my xbox to look good tongue.gif

=/

I think its your conversion box that isn't the best and its taking a signal that is considerably lower quality than your monitor's native resolution (640x480 interlaced is what signal your Xbox will be sending to the conversion box which is then scaling it to 1024x768). If you used a VGA adapter for the Xbox I'm guessing it would look quite a good bit better.

I highly doubt they sell a VGA adapter for the xbox....if you know of one, please share

They don't, only component. The XBox 360 does, however. You might want to look into getting a 360, since even old games will be upscaled to 720p and then apply 2x anti aliasing to the image. So most of your older games will be compatable, look better and load faster as a result. It is a win-win situation, in my opinion.

 

[ArchAngel777]

Originally posted by: Juice Box

Originally posted by: ArchAngel777

Originally posted by: Juice Box
When I connect a computer to the monitor (straight to its VGA port), it looks super crisp....no problems at all.

I'm not sure what the native output of the xbox is.....but I can change the monitor to 800x600, and it still looks pretty bad....I dunno what else I can do.

When I say it looks crisp on the TV, that is just a regular 21" TV, connected to the xbox with RCA (composite?) cables.... (red white and yellow). The xbox hooks up to the converter box in the exact same way...but I guess somewhere in the conversion process it gets fvcked up??

Native output is 480p (4:3 for most titles, some are 16:9) *if* you have the HDTV cable for it. You will not get 480p from a composite or s-video cable, only component. Also, you need to make sure you set up the resolutions supported in the Dash Board of the Xbox. Be sure to enable 480p and 720p. Almost every game supports 480p, but some do not.

Edit ** Just followed the link you posted in the origonal post and found that the problem is a combintation of the converter and the xbox. If you are using the standard XBOX composite cables, then it is going to look like ass no matter what converter it runs though. You are essentially viewing most games at 640x480i with a significant amount of blurr... You are going to have to find a component to VGA adapter and pickup the XBox HDTV component cables to get a decent picture.

I've read a lot of recommendations to buy this item:

http://www.datapro.net/products/CSV-955A.html

it comes with the xbox HD cables and stuff.....but I'm just not sure if even then, it will make my 15" LCD display good quality images.....does a 15" LCD even support hidef?!

In my experience from dealing with this a long time ago is that you should stay away from such items... I suppose as long as they have a good return policy, then you can *try* it, but I dunno... Converting component to VGA isn't as simple as everyone thinks, a lot of convertion has to take place.

After spending all the money it will require for you to get this to work, you will have spent close to, or over $100... Mine as well pour that money into an XBox 360 premium and have some kick butt hardware to go with it. Just my opinion though...

Edit ** I keep seeing that you mention 15" (inches) as your Projector or what not... do you mean 15' (feet)?

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: ArchAngel777

Originally posted by: Juice Box

Originally posted by: ArchAngel777

Originally posted by: Juice Box
When I connect a computer to the monitor (straight to its VGA port), it looks super crisp....no problems at all.

I'm not sure what the native output of the xbox is.....but I can change the monitor to 800x600, and it still looks pretty bad....I dunno what else I can do.

When I say it looks crisp on the TV, that is just a regular 21" TV, connected to the xbox with RCA (composite?) cables.... (red white and yellow). The xbox hooks up to the converter box in the exact same way...but I guess somewhere in the conversion process it gets fvcked up??

Native output is 480p (4:3 for most titles, some are 16:9) *if* you have the HDTV cable for it. You will not get 480p from a composite or s-video cable, only component. Also, you need to make sure you set up the resolutions supported in the Dash Board of the Xbox. Be sure to enable 480p and 720p. Almost every game supports 480p, but some do not.

Edit ** Just followed the link you posted in the origonal post and found that the problem is a combintation of the converter and the xbox. If you are using the standard XBOX composite cables, then it is going to look like ass no matter what converter it runs though. You are essentially viewing most games at 640x480i with a significant amount of blurr... You are going to have to find a component to VGA adapter and pickup the XBox HDTV component cables to get a decent picture.

I've read a lot of recommendations to buy this item:

http://www.datapro.net/products/CSV-955A.html

it comes with the xbox HD cables and stuff.....but I'm just not sure if even then, it will make my 15" LCD display good quality images.....does a 15" LCD even support hidef?!

In my experience from dealing with this a long time ago is that you should stay away from such items... I suppose as long as they have a good return policy, then you can *try* it, but I dunno... Converting component to VGA isn't as simple as everyone thinks, a lot of convertion has to take place.

After spending all the money it will require for you to get this to work, you will have spent close to, or over $100... Mine as well pour that money into an XBox 360 premium and have some kick butt hardware to go with it. Just my opinion though...

Edit ** I keep seeing that you mention 15" (inches) as your Projector or what not... do you mean 15' (feet)?

15" LCD you shine light through to get your projected image

 

[darkswordsman17]

Originally posted by: ArchAngel777

Originally posted by: Juice Box

I highly doubt they sell a VGA adapter for the xbox....if you know of one, please share

They don't, only component. The XBox 360 does, however. You might want to look into getting a 360, since even old games will be upscaled to 720p and then apply 2x anti aliasing to the image. So most of your older games will be compatable, look better and load faster as a result. It is a win-win situation, in my opinion.

Um, there are VGA adapters for the original Xbox. There was one that I can't recall the name of it, but it was about $50 and was pretty popular. It plugged directly into the Xbox I believe.

Of course its not made by Microsoft.

X2VGA

 

[ArchAngel777]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: ArchAngel777

Originally posted by: Juice Box

Originally posted by: ArchAngel777

Originally posted by: Juice Box
When I connect a computer to the monitor (straight to its VGA port), it looks super crisp....no problems at all.

I'm not sure what the native output of the xbox is.....but I can change the monitor to 800x600, and it still looks pretty bad....I dunno what else I can do.

When I say it looks crisp on the TV, that is just a regular 21" TV, connected to the xbox with RCA (composite?) cables.... (red white and yellow). The xbox hooks up to the converter box in the exact same way...but I guess somewhere in the conversion process it gets fvcked up??

Native output is 480p (4:3 for most titles, some are 16:9) *if* you have the HDTV cable for it. You will not get 480p from a composite or s-video cable, only component. Also, you need to make sure you set up the resolutions supported in the Dash Board of the Xbox. Be sure to enable 480p and 720p. Almost every game supports 480p, but some do not.

Edit ** Just followed the link you posted in the origonal post and found that the problem is a combintation of the converter and the xbox. If you are using the standard XBOX composite cables, then it is going to look like ass no matter what converter it runs though. You are essentially viewing most games at 640x480i with a significant amount of blurr... You are going to have to find a component to VGA adapter and pickup the XBox HDTV component cables to get a decent picture.

I've read a lot of recommendations to buy this item:

http://www.datapro.net/products/CSV-955A.html

it comes with the xbox HD cables and stuff.....but I'm just not sure if even then, it will make my 15" LCD display good quality images.....does a 15" LCD even support hidef?!

In my experience from dealing with this a long time ago is that you should stay away from such items... I suppose as long as they have a good return policy, then you can *try* it, but I dunno... Converting component to VGA isn't as simple as everyone thinks, a lot of convertion has to take place.

After spending all the money it will require for you to get this to work, you will have spent close to, or over $100... Mine as well pour that money into an XBox 360 premium and have some kick butt hardware to go with it. Just my opinion though...

Edit ** I keep seeing that you mention 15" (inches) as your Projector or what not... do you mean 15' (feet)?

15" LCD you shine light through to get your projected image

Interesting... I never heard of that before....

Thanks!

 

[blckgrffn]

I had a mac book 13" or whatever 1024*768 LCD that I always wanted to do a DIY kit with, but I ended up spending ~$500 on a 800*600 infocus. The DIY stuff is cool, and one of the major upsides is that bulb life is a lot longer and bulbs are what, $10?

Nat