[fhoude]

hi,
i have both a standard 4:3 pal tv and a 16:9 hdtv video projector.
i want to use both of them with xbmc
how should i do ?

i’m able to do that with xbmp since i could force xbmp to use a specific resolution. to do that, i create a folder with xbmp configured with the default resolution of my xbox (standard 4:3 pal tv) and in another folder, i have another copy of xbmp forced to hdtv 720p ntsc.
i would be so happy to use the same trick with xbmc but i’m not able to force a specific resolution.

please help
fred

[jmarshall]

excellent, you may be able to help me.

how have you got this set up? do you have just 1 video connection pack (hd pack) connected, or do you have 2 that you swap? (one for the projector, one for the tv?)

secondly, what are your video settings set to in the ms dash? do these change if/when you change the cables?

the main problem i see is that as far as i know, the xbox only allows hd modes when the xbox is set to ntsc. i may however be wrong about this.

once i know how you have it set up, we may be able to work something out.

[fhoude]

damm it
i re-test my setup and it does not work that easy (anymore?).
i'm forced to use xbmplayer to swap between pal-ntsc & 16:9-4:3, plus i'm forced to use the ms dashboard to allow 720p (otherwise xbmc freeze or wait at init)

to answer you question i have the high definition pack who own a switch to swap between yuv & yc (see here: http://www.alapage.com/mx....&sv=x_l )

i have two remarks:
1/ it seems that xbmplayer does not do what i ask in the xml setting. it seems according to the sources that some checking are done... i think perhaps that some line should be changed. i don't know if you know that (i'll ask some of my fiends if you don't know) but i'm wondering if the xbox software could change those video settings without entering or respecting the dashboard setting.

2/ i'm also wondering about the tmp folder. if xbmplayer is installed twice do they share the same tmp folder without any overwriting of tmp file or config file?

i'll continue to perform some setting test. i'll also install asap the xbox debug bios & prog tools and try to find some software issue for this problem.

again sorry for making you thought it was that easy ,
i was indeed sure it works that way but my setting hang and obliged me to make too many adjustment. i'll try to find the way to solve this and let you know! i promise!

fred

ps: do you have a pal & ntsc setup also ?

[jmarshall]

hi fred,

i believe it works as follows:

the xbox only allows hdtv modes when it's bios is setup for ntsc. otherwise, only the standard pal modes are available.

what you would need, is a utility that swaps the eeprom settings with a previously saved setting.

note that this may not be all that safe to do repeatedly - a bad eeprom will not be fun to deal with, as it may require external flashing to correct it, which will be a big pita.

xbmp used to be able to do this on bootup - problem is that it allows people to mess up their eeprom settings too easily.

i suggest that your best bet is to always run in ntsc mode - i'm sure your pal tv is capable of displaying an ntsc picture no problem at all - most tvs in the last 5 years or so can. that way you don't need to constantly rewrite your eeprom settings.

all you need then is the ability to set xbmc's settings all at once (by specifying a tag in xbox media center.xml or something). this is easy to add to the codebase, but we must consider the best possible way to do this.

cheers,
jonathan