The x2VGA: Xbox -> VGA adapter

[Cookie Monster]

After researching the available VGA options for the Xbox, I stumbled across the x2VGA being discussed over on xboxhacker.net. The unit appeared to be a well designed alternative to the Digital-X (a unit which has numerous brightness/contrast issues) and Ken Gasper's Xbox VGA adapter from xboxvga.com. After looking at the pictures and talking to the sales rep, I decided to take the plunge and cough up the cash via PayPal. The company that makes the x2VGA, Neoya, is out of Taiwan so I had to wait about 10 days for the unit to arrive.

Out of the box, it clear that this is a well designed unit. The adapter sports composite video out, stereo RCA jacks, digital optical out, and VGA out. The top of the unit has mode (indicating 480p, 720p, or 1080p)and power LEDs, a power switch, and a Shift button- more on that later. On one end are DIP switches for fune tuning settings on the adapter, but I haven't had to touch them for my setup. The unit itself is fairly lightweight, but the construction feels sturdy. Included with the package is a very thorough manual that covers everything you need to know to use the adapter effectively.

Here's a pic of the unit:


One of the cool features that Neoya has included on the adapter is a mode called EasyView. What EasyView does is allow you to display the Xbox dashboard on your VGA monitor, something that the previously mentioned adapters do not allow. This is because the dashboard is displayed in 480i mode, below most monitors' operating range; the x2VGA allows this to be visible, although the picture is stretched and jittery. Pressing the Shift button on the adapter allows you to move the picture over to accomodate anything not viewable at first. This is a great convenience feature if you need to do something like work with saved games or set your clock.

Ok, on to the meat and potatoes - testing actual games. I tried Halo first because I had heard of some of the other adapters having brightness problems on some levels. No worries here- brightness was fine, and the image quality was top notch. Models and textures were crisp and clean. I actually ended up playing for a lot longer than I intended just to see how different things looked. Excellent all around. Next up was Panzer Dragoon Orta, and I was not disappointed a bit. Especially amazing to behold was Level 2 where you fly through the jungle; the water looks almost photorealistic it's so crisp. Lastly, I ran KOTOR through. Anyone who's played KOTOR knows this game has serious slowdown issues, and this problem was more prominent on a VGA display. You get to see some of the flaws on the models, like jaggies around the edges. Some of the character potraits are also not high res. These are not adapter related, but rather game related. Oh well, at least the game is fantastic enough otherwise that I don't care.

All of those games run at 480p, and I don't have any 720p games to test at the moment. From what I've read on other boards, 720p mode looks great as well. No brightness issues have been reported.

I am extremely pleased with this unit. Picture quality is comparable(if not better in some cases) to the Gamecube or Dreamcast VGA adapters. It costs around $77 US, about what you would pay for any of the other available adapters. Definitely worth it in my book.

EDIT: forgot to put the URL in here - http://www.x2vga.com

[Cheebs]

Great news. I have not taken the Xbox VGA plunge yet, and this is as good a time as any to do so...

[epmode]

wow, thanks for posting. i was planning on ordering a vga box from xboxvga.com in a week or so. i think i'll get one of these instead. how was the turnaround time?

edit: reread your post. 10 day turnaround. much better than the several months required at xboxvga.com.

[Cookie Monster]

wow, thanks for posting. i was planning on ordering a vga box from xboxvga.com in a week or so. i think i'll get one of these instead. how was the turnaround time?

edit: reread your post. 10 day turnaround. much better than the several months required at xboxvga.com.

Yeah, they were great about responding to emails too. I ordered the unit on a Thursday night around 10pm, and it was shipped by the time I woke up the next morning. The time difference definitely worked to my advantage

[skelly]

Thanks for the info. This looks great!

[M1Savage]

Just read the review in Xbox mag and was really interested. Now my mind is made up...I'm getting one! Thanks for the input CM.

[Josh]

I run my Xbox into a RGB monitor via analog input.
Is VGA going to improve my picture quality any?

[Cheebs]

Yes. Xbox with RGB is going to be interlaced. VGA is progressive scan. Essentially twice the resolution. (full frames drawn instead of half frames). The end result is that the picture looks more "solid".

[Josh]

Sexy... I'm buying one then.

[StriderKyo]

Yeah, OXM was drooling over this. I have a universal VGA adaptor right now, and it's buggin'. As soon as I find one of these and the necessary cash in the same place, I'm buying.