GRcade

Digging my old original Xbox out the loft but couldn't seem to find my power supply or video cable. I've managed to get a ps2 power cable to turn it on, but can't find the video cable, which seems to be bespoke.

Can anyone advise the best thing to buy to get it working again? What would work best in an hdtv?

I also have a slightly bigger problem in that the disc drive won't open when I have powered it up.

Anyone got any ideas how to fix that?

The same thing happened with two 360s I had as well. It seems to open about a millimetre then get stuck.

Help!

The Xbox can actually output in 720p and 1080i with the HD AV pack (and there is a limited range of games that can output in 16x9 and at those resolutions.) So better to get these cables.



It doesn't use an ugly power brick like the 360 and XBO as it is built into the Xbox console, so I think you can use a standard kettle cable - but verify before trying! EDIT: I see you already have that covered!


For your DVD drive either change disc when it's off or replace the drive. Here's one guide from YouTube.

Venom wrote:The Xbox can actually output in 720p and 1080i with the HD AV pack (and there is a limited range of games that can output in 16x9 and at those resolutions.) So better to get these cables...

Good info, Venom, although I believe that PAL consoles are unable to output a picture in high resolution; even if you use component cables. The high-res option, available as standard on NTSC machines, can only be enabled by soft-modding the console.

Even so, I use component cables with my standard PAL Xbox and the picture is reasonably good; slightly better than using a SCART connection.

I still rate the original Xbox console pretty highly; enjoy your gaming, Lazy Fair!

Good info? Thank you for being polite but it's not good info if I'm wrong! Back in the days of the Xbox I didn't have a HDTV (not many did) I think they were coming down from 4K each so didn't test it for myself.

List of Xbox games with HD support
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Xbox_games_with_HD_support

Venom wrote:Good info? Thank you for being polite but it's not good info if I'm wrong!...

Sorry dude, wasn't trying to stick an oar in - the other stuff was cool .

How do you mean change the disc when it's off?

The original xbox uses a standard 5.25 inch drive Bay? It really is a PC in a box.

I have a crazy modded one of my friend's that probably does output HD. I didn't know about that. Might try to find a good cable for it and give some older games a go. I can just upload roms to it over ftp set up on the ethernet, which is nice.

Worth mentioning, I think, if I haven't already.

TheTurnipKing wrote:Worth mentioning, I think, if I haven't already...

Oof. I wasn't aware of that capacitor issue and I don't have the engineering skills to resolve it. I guess I'll use my Xbox whilst I can :-(.

Power caps? That happens with loads of stuff. It's not a big deal to fix for anyone with a little experience soldering.

Managed to get a power supply and video cable off my cousin.

Also managed to fix the sticking disc drive by taking out the belt that operates the disc tray and cleaning it. Seems to work now.

Anyone able to recommend the best way to improve the visuals? They looks like ass on my hdtv.

I'm using the wee yellow cable directly into the Telly. Am I better putting the scart adapter on?

Alternatively, is there a better cable I could buy?

You should be able to find an RGB scart cable as oppose to the standard composite cables with a SCART adapter, which is simply that. This splits the video signal into red, green and blue along separate cables, improving the clarity and depth of colours with none of that fuzzy "JPEG" effect. A lot of people don't know the difference between composite video wired to a SCART adapter and proper RGB SCART.

You can use a component cable to similar effect, maybe a bit better, but PAL consoles won't output an HD/progressive image without modding.

It looks like this was called the "Xbox Advanced SCART Cable": http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MICROSOFT-XBO ... 1753307625

You could also find a component cable but it is probably harder to come buy and more expensive, much like the GameCube.

There are a lot of crappy thin as thread RGB cables around so watch out for those, they will suck compared to the official or other higher spec cable.

Amazon listing for reference: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Box-Official-Ad ... B00005TRYX

The official one has a box with an optical output as well for surround sound/AV receiver.

Spot-on, Gecko. It depends on the TV / screen, but as a rule of thumb I fnd that:

Component > RGB SCART > SCART > SVHS > SCART (Composite) > Composite

I use a component cable with my standard PAL machine and, whilst not high res, I find it delivers a reasonable image. I do notice a "bluryness" after seeing my PS3 and PS4 HDMI pictures, but after a few minutes of playing a game it never seems too bad.

Would there be any improvement if I put the red white and yellow bits into the wee scart adapter?

No. They are just pins, you would get the same result bending paperclips together and slotting them into the SCART socket. Unless your TV is weird. Personally I'd keep the SCART free for stuff that actually uses SCART (or if you prefer, leave a SCART adapter in and then you can plug in 2 retro consoles at once if you don't have any better cables).

...you may notice a slight improvement, Lazy, depending on how your TV deals with the signal. The yellow cable carries the picture whilst the red and white cables carry the audio. Give it a whirl!

EDIT: posted just as Gecko posted. Geck is right although I'd still be inclined to give it a go.

Lazy Fair wrote:Would there be any improvement if I put the red white and yellow bits into the wee scart adapter?

No. The red, white and yellow connectors are the absolute worst way to connect the Xbox to a TV. All the SCART adapter does is allow you to plug them into a different socket. The quality is still dogshit.

I'd try it out, but it's possible it may even be worse by introducing another adapter to the mix which generally degrades the signal. There's a possibility the telly treats like the composite inputs like scum and has some nicer electronics for the SCART socket though, so.. maybe.

I put it in the scart port. I think it does look a bit better.

I've ordered the rgb scart from a guy in eBay though.

Had some fun playing Conker and Hitman blood money.

Anyone recommend anything else? I have halo 1 and 2, doom 3, pgr 2 and Fahrenheit.

Burnout 3 is easily the best in the series (other than possibly Paradise). There's a lot of praise out there for Stranger's Wrath, although there was an HD re-release, it's a bit buggy.