Wow, I am a bit disturbed. After a factory reset on my projector ( Infocus 4805 ) and no calibration from Avia on either source, hands-down the mediocre Xbox displays incredible video as compared to my $600 rig.

Unfortunately, I am unable to pass a digital signal from any DVI card from the HTPC because of an inherent problem with the projector. This will be resolved late this year when my extended warranty kicks in.

So, I set all the 6150 drivers back to default and factory reset my projector. I then calibrated only the VGA side to see if I could get it to match the component quality I was seeing from the Xbox. I used various resolutions to get as close as I could to the native resolution of the picture. Nada.

I suppose the Xbox/XBMC, by doing 720x480, is either upscaling internally or is just closer to the native res of the projector. Maybe I am spoiled.

Anyway, here is my question....

Since I can obviously not utilize my DVI port for the time being, can I use a VGA>Component or DVI>Component adapter of some sort from my integrated 6150 nf-m2 board and achieve this resolution or get pixel-mapping out of the conversion of the cabling? I see ATI uses one for their products. I also noted the Monoprice version states certain Nvidia cards that are not supported by it. I was wondering if the 6150 could work with this adapter since it is component enabled.

I will appreciate your reply since I don't seem to get much love in the HTPC forum. ;)

HTPC setup:

Media Center 2005 w/ Rollup 2
Abit nf-m2 Nvidia 6150 integrated w/ latest Nvidia drivers
2 gigs DDR-2 667

*Mods please close my thread of the same title in the HTPC forum if you wish. :)

Just run component cables to the 4805 from the Xbox MS HD pack until you get it fixed. Then set the Xbox to display (Xbox/Xbmc) 1080i and enjoy. You can custom set the Xbmc SW (Similar to FFdshow) to pixel map as well as AR's 16:9, 15:9, 4:3, Zoom, etc.)
It doesn't do a bad job upscaling/displaying video, not as good as the Bravo D1 but really nice. I also like the Vision Skin. :) Sorry about your DVI/M1 port, I only use that port from my AVR (Yammy HTR 5990) hdmi port. But I wouldn't hesitate to use the component if my DVI portion went belly up.

You can also go here, many Xbmcer's here with htpc setups also. The first post is from Ja Phule, an experienced 4805 owner also with Xbmc (mayhem III skin ) screen shots.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=635294&page=1&pp=30

Thanks for the response speed32219.

That is a nice thread you linked to. I have been using XBMC since early '05 so I understand it's intracacies. I guess my first post was basically asking a few questions.

Why would component @ 720p via a measily Xbox w/ XBMC look so much nicer than my $600 rig running VGA?

In the meantime, so I can actually enjoy my brand new HTPC and feel like I have actually upgraded from XBMC, use some sort of adapter from my 6150 motherboard integrated graphics, either via VGA or DVI port, to get same or better quality than the XBMC? It is frustrating to compare the two, I feel like I have lost money and only added a TV tuner to the mix with the HTPC purchase.

Thirdly, if such an adapter existed for my motherboard, by using the component conversion, could I then pixelmap?

;)

Not to be flippant, but the xbox was designed to display high speed, vibrant, exciting images in HD. The 6150 integrated into your mb is really, really not. Integrated graphics are not designed for the enthusiast or gamer - they're there to sell cheap boxes to consumers who don't know any better, or businesses who don't care about graphics performance.

Your OS is up to the task, you've got the right amount of ram, but your graphics card is sorely lacking.

Speqtre,

I would rather get flippant responses than no response. Besides, I did not see it as flippant. I appreciate the clarification. I just thought because the Xbox was so old the 6150 must be surely up to the task of meeting, if not beating, the GPU on the Xbox.

So, at this point, which card would meet or beat the Xbox GPU? I know, I know there are countless threads on which are the best cards. Since I have been obviously spoiled by the quality of the Xbox, my situation maybe different from people just jumping in to HTPC. I could go get a fanless 7600GS, but will it beat the GPU of the box? See what I mean?

Please, feedback is greatly appreciated. ;)

What is it about XBMC that makes it look better than your pc set up?

I had a 4805 and a 6600gt worked great. I pixel mapped at 854x480 no problems and the image smoked xbmc. I also have a modded xbox...

The image was hands down sharper. This was over DVI of course.

If you are thinking of upgrading to a 720p projector you may want a better graphics card. If you are planning on using the 4805 for a while longer the 6600gt is hard to beat for the price.

Anything over that will surely beat XMBC no problems.

I have a DFI board with 6150 graphics thats works awesome with my Xbox 360 hd-dvd drive,looks just as good as my xbox 360 .I know the graphics chip on the 360 is more powerful but the 6150 has just as good graphics for movies.I have X2 4200, 1 gig 667 ram and a Mits hd1000.I know the 6150 will be just as good as the original xbox.I also had the asus board with the 6150 graphics and the dvi port had alot of problems.I could not get a signal with anything longer than a 6 foot dvi cable.The Dfi board works with my 16 foot dvi -hdmi cable.

What is it about XBMC that makes it look better than your pc set up?

Well, for the most part HTPC seems muddy in comparison. I guess you would call it less sharp and color less "punchy." I have played with the settings the VGA source quite a bit at this point. I am pretty sure the sharpness is caused by not being pixel-mapped. The color issue, is a bit troublesome. From my understanding of the make-up of component vs VGA, they are almost identical with VGA having an extra pin for some sort of synch.

I would say the XBMC viewing of a Korean Drama (which is known for VERY vibrant colors ) seems more 3d than the VGA connection to the PC. The colors seems to be more detail on the screen. Less blurry. This video is derived from an HDTV broadcast, BTW. It is a standard Xvid. I am using it as reference because of the movement in action scenes and color variety.

I had a 4805 and a 6600gt worked great. I pixel mapped at 854x480 no problems and the image smoked xbmc. I also have a modded xbox...

The image was hands down sharper. This was over DVI of course.

If you are thinking of upgrading to a 720p projector you may want a better graphics card. If you are planning on using the 4805 for a while longer the 6600gt is hard to beat for the price.

Anything over that will surely beat XMBC no problems.

If I decide to go the upgrade route, how does the 6600GT fair in HD-DVD and or Blu-Ray (meh,)? Is that Nvidia PureVideo decoder compatible with 6600? Is it fanless?

720 is a long time off for me. I would stay with 4805 until I start moving toward hi-res sources that would require a better native res.

Well, for the most part HTPC seems muddy in comparison. I guess you would call it less sharp and color less "punchy." I have played with the settings the VGA source quite a bit at this point. I am pretty sure the sharpness is caused by not being pixel-mapped. The color issue, is a bit troublesome. From my understanding of the make-up of component vs VGA, they are almost identical with VGA having an extra pin for some sort of synch.

I would say the XBMC viewing of a Korean Drama (which is known for VERY vibrant colors ) seems more 3d than the VGA connection to the PC. The colors seems to be more detail on the screen. Less blurry. This video is derived from an HDTV broadcast, BTW. It is a standard Xvid. I am using it as reference because of the movement in action scenes and color variety.

I would imagine pc would at least match if not be better looking than xbmc. What software are you using and when you say you are playing with the vga settings, are you adjusting the settings with the 4805 or via software in your pc?

I have a DFI board with 6150 graphics thats works awesome with my Xbox 360 hd-dvd drive,looks just as good as my xbox 360 .I know the graphics chip on the 360 is more powerful but the 6150 has just as good graphics for movies.I have X2 4200, 1 gig 667 ram and a Mits hd1000.I know the 6150 will be just as good as the original xbox.I also had the asus board with the 6150 graphics and the dvi port had alot of problems.I could not get a signal with anything longer than a 6 foot dvi cable.The Dfi board works with my 16 foot dvi -hdmi cable.

At this point I cannot go with a shorter run on my DVI cable to test that scenario. I have, however, used an x800GTO2 in the HTPC to see if it passed a signal to the projector. It did not.

It is nice to hear the 6150 is on par with the 360 for HD-DVDs. I am starting to think it is a resolution issue coupled with either an un-trained eye or an eye that is making a comparison to something I was used to watching for so long I believe it is an accurate representation of what the movie "should" look like.

<edit> Sorry, I just had to comment on my last sentence. That has to be the second largest run-on sentence I have ever performed. :rolleyes:

I would imagine pc would at least match if not be better looking than xbmc. What software are you using and when you say you are playing with the vga settings, are you adjusting the settings with the 4805 or via software in your pc?


I have defaulted all driver settings to default for gamma, contrast, etc. I was, in that comment, referring to the 4805 settings.

I think it was the stupid NV control panel. I am used to having ATI cards.