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Thread: Xploder HDTV for the PS2

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    Strawberry (Level 2) RARusk's Avatar
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    Default Xploder HDTV for the PS2

    On a recent trip to the PS2 Scene forums I was turned onto this upcoming product from Xploder which can be found here:

    http://www.xploder.net/products/148/...DTV-Player.htm

    From what I can gather, what these guys did was dig around the hardware and found these hidden resolution modes which can be triggered (kinda like dipswitches). So you can play most any PS2 game in Progressive Scan mode.

    This is not the same as upscaling. The picture is formed inside the PS2 in Progressive Scan then sent out as Interlaced Scan. What the Xploder software does is simply tell the PS2 to send the image out as Progressive Scan instead of Interlaced by utilizing these hidden "dipswitches".

    Very effective from what I have heard so far. And with a (current) 95% compatability rate which is far more than the Blaze VGA disc that came out a couple of years ago. This will even let you play DVD movies in Progressive Scan even on the older PS2 machines which did not have the feature built-in.

    Should be out this month but the various EB Games/GameStops I have visited do not have any info as of yet. Man, I can't wait to try this out on my "Grand Theft Auto" games.....

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    Wow, I know you know your shit R.A., so now I'm officially curious about this thing. When I first heard about it, I just figured it was some lame software upscaling algorythm thing.


    R.A., don't you play games like San Andreas and stuff in analog rgb on your NEC MultiSync? Back when I had a PS2, San Andreas looked amazing in analog rgb on my Commodore 1084S-D1. Sure, it wasn't 480p, but it still looked damn good. I'm still quite skeptical of that thing, but the fact that you actually have an interest in it, means that I should too, lol.

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    Cherry (Level 1)
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    Strawberry (Level 2) RARusk's Avatar
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    "Wow, I know you know your shit R.A., so now I'm officially curious about this thing. When I first heard about it, I just figured it was some lame software upscaling algorythm thing.


    R.A., don't you play games like San Andreas and stuff in analog rgb on your NEC MultiSync? Back when I had a PS2, San Andreas looked amazing in analog rgb on my Commodore 1084S-D1. Sure, it wasn't 480p, but it still looked damn good. I'm still quite skeptical of that thing, but the fact that you actually have an interest in it, means that I should too, lol."


    I think the Blaze VGA deal used those algorythms and I believe the cancelled Codebreaker VGA product before that was doing the same thing. But from what I read in the PS2 Scene forums, the Xploder product does it's thing very differently.

    These hidden resolution modes were hinted at within the PS2 Linux pages that I read some time ago. So that's where the Xploder guys dug around and found them. Then they made a program that activates them. Very simple. Doesn't mess up the game software. Just put in the Xploder disc, choose your resolution, and then put in the game or movie. That's it.

    And, as you already know Anthony, EVERYTHING looks amazing in RGB.

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    Forgive my ignorance, RARusk - but this is where I get very confused. Wouldn't choosing a higher resolution seriously effect the framerate? A game such as Shadow of the Colossus would just become unplayable.

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    Pac-Man (Level 10) Joker T's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by THATinkjar
    Forgive my ignorance, RARusk - but this is where I get very confused. Wouldn't choosing a higher resolution seriously effect the framerate? A game such as Shadow of the Colossus would just become unplayable.
    Yeah I think it would.

    I just have trouble imagining that this would work that well.

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    Quote Originally Posted by THATinkjar
    Forgive my ignorance, RARusk - but this is where I get very confused. Wouldn't choosing a higher resolution seriously effect the framerate? A game such as Shadow of the Colossus would just become unplayable.
    It says in their FAQ that is doesn't for some technical reason beyond me.

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    When is it coming out? I haven't seen it for sale yet.
    Part of the #Vbender Crew


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    If I read things correctly, the picture is formed inside the video memory as a 480p or 525p image but is usually sent out to the AV plug as a 480i or 525i image. So, technically, all games are progressive scan but that images are "dumbed down" to interlaced for standard video after formation. So there shouldn't be any slowdown when progessive scan is activated by the Xploder product.

    There are some games that will blow up when using this product but it appears to be about 5% at the moment.

    I've also been informed that the Blaze VGA product, which I mentioned earlier as using algorythms, did somethihing similar to the Xploder product. However, the Xploder product is supposed to be a lot better than the Blaze unit.

    Now what I need to do is find a solid way to remove sync from green so I can make a decent VGA adapter for my PS2. My MultiSync 3D can do sync-on-green but this will give me an excuse to do research on sync removal (which is much harder than sync separation).

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    Oh, I almost forgot. I keep reading that the product should be released this month but all of the game stores I frequent don't have any info on it. I'll keep trying.

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    i wonder how easily it can be used with the independence exploit and HD loader/Advance

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    Quote Originally Posted by RARusk
    Oh, I almost forgot. I keep reading that the product should be released this month but all of the game stores I frequent don't have any info on it. I'll keep trying.
    I was under the impression that it would only be made available in the UK (possibly Europe as a whole) to begin with. You could always buy it direct from their website, though.

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    I spoke with the company about this thing, they've already gone to press with them and they'll be shipping out the review copies by the end of the week. They're sending me one, so i'll toss up a review and let you guys know how well it works.

    I went digging through the sony paperwork on the PS2 and can't find much info on the rendering pipeline (even in the dev documents).

    The only thing I can figure is that the video signal is kept in progressive format until it hits the video encoder, where it's output as interlaced. This product would then disable/bypass the encoder... Problem is, the encoder is also where the system would format it for pal vs. ntsc. And none of this explains how you would end up with 1080i. I *think* PS2 linux is capible of such resolutions, but only with the VGA adapter, and then you're stuck with the Sync-On-Green as stated above...

    No matter what, i'm confused.

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    Does it say anywhere when its gonna hit the streets?

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    They're saying it'll be out in october, but i'm not sure if that's only in the UK or worldwide. If they haven't already started shipping them, i find an october release unlikely. I would expect early november, but they haven't put a date on it yet.

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    should check to see if it works with the HDLoader (if possible)
    *insert signature >here<*

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    "I *think* PS2 linux is capible of such resolutions, but only with the VGA adapter, and then you're stuck with the Sync-On-Green as stated above..."

    This is the reason I am trying to build my own adapter that will work on all VGA monitors.

    First, one needs to get the sync channels (horizontal and vertical) from the green video line. I plan to use the ISL59885 sync chip for this part (I got four samples from Intersil some time ago but haven't used them at this point). This is the easy part.

    Second, after acquiring sync from green, the sync needs to be removed from the green video line. This is NOT so easy. I have not mastered the ability to remove sync from video and I need to do research to find ways of doing that. The reason you need to remove sync from green is most monitors will see the sync as some form of brightness signal and you will end up with a nasty green tint.

    If I can do sync removal then it is just a matter of putting all of the parts together.

    A true VGA adapter would include a cheap upscaler to allow you to see what you are doing when using the Xploder disc then be disabled when the PS2 switches to progressive scan. But I will settle for sync separation and removal since I have a monitor that can do 480i and 480p resolution.

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    I am sure this thing would make Atari games look bettter
    Looking to buy any Criterion movies that I don't already have.

    http://cinemalacrum.blogspot.com/


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    I ordered mine this morning from their website. It was 39.95 for the NTSC version plus shipping. I figured why not, if it does anything close to what it says it should be pretty sweet.
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