Original Xbox Video Controller

Hello,
I recently softmodded my xbox and of course i made an USB adapter for it.
But when I looked up the chart for the pinouts I found that the extra pin on the Controller port has something called Video-Sync.

Now because of that I was intrigued and wired a Composite cable to it. And well It did show a picture but it was frozen and glitched. It updated the Image though every time i switched back to the xbox on my TV.
Makes sense it is named sync after all.

Now, I am not an expert in electronics but shouldn't it be possible to get at least composite somehow out of this connector ? If there is no composite on this sync signal maybe some additional chips could help with that ?

Again I know not mutch so please go easy on me if it is obvious that this won't work.

But I think it would be kind of neat to have a Display that you could slide into the Xbox Controllers Memorycard slot.

Hopefully someone has something to say about this or some ideas.

Thanks und vielen Dank,
-Cabbage-

 

The extra wire is used for Lightguns.

 

Oh, well I guess that explains it.
Thanks, Borman

 

A popular mod was actually to rewire the yellow wire to the power button, so you could remotely turn the console on and off. The downside was losing the lightgun support.

 

According to the Hardware Design Specification:

Video Sync Signal
The NV2A GPU outputs a composite sync signal that is output to each of the controller ports. This
signal is provided to support the implementation of controllers that need to have a timing reference
to the CRT output. A light gun, that provides X,Y pointing input to the Xbox based on the location of
the screen that it is pointed to is an example of such a controller.

Are you using component out with progressive scan? Maybe if you switch to composite output the image on the controller port pin will be better.

It should be possible to add a composite output on the controller by separating the pin inside the xbox and connecting it to the composite output pin of the video port but, AFAIK this only works if the console is not outputting component or RGB video so you wil be limited to composite or s-video on the display port.

 

I wonder if this was intended to be used on Silent Scope, in the arcade version it uses a small screen inside the sniper scope (controller), since its not strictly a lightgun game and the sniper has a fixed position, the X y Y coordinates are sent by tilting and spinning the sniper rifle, almost like a joystick.

Maybe I'm stretching my imagination, is there any chance you could try that game and check if the xbox version is outputting any image through that pin while playing?

 

It's likely just bypassing the need to plug directly into video as you did on the PlayStation.

 

@Conte Zero
I actually tried both scart and Component kables with no change as far as i remember. I am actually working on a display that you can simply plug into the controller. But I guess i have to use the video cable from the xbox for that. Perhaps I make a pass through so I can still leave it plugged into my TV.

 

Have you try with a composite cable? Not component.

There was a commercial solution from Hip Gear: the Screen controller. They did a version for xbox, one for gamecube and one for ps2. Horrible screen quality btw


I found a guy on youtube doing your same project, following my hint to run a connection inside the xbox to re-use the sync wire by rewiring to composite output. It seems that the biggest problem is power consumption.

 

I actually dont have a composite cable around. I try to do that kind of thing without any modification though.

But is guess my video quality will be better, I use component that goes thru a converter to VGA anf then to the screen.
Only difference is i have an extra cable.

 

You can try to source a small screen with component input so you won't need the converter. But the cable will be pretty thick. The HipGear controller used a cable with 3 ends: one for the controller, one for the video port and another one for an external power supply.

 

I searched for one but I was not able to found a small screen with component.
Also the converter is small an USB powered so no worries.

 

So,
I think I might update a bit.
The Screen I ordered will still take a while (That's what free shipping from China gets you.)
But I did already 3D modeled and printed a dummycase for the Xboxplug and the VGA Converter.
I think I will later set the Converter with the display a little bit lower in font of the Controller, instead of towering out of the memory card slot.

https://imgur.com/a/GCWwkxk

https://imgur.com/a/xLo42Iy

 

@Syclopse
Thanks for the upload.

 

Great job! But why you used a transconder and not a modded bios with vga output? How big is the monitor you sourced?

 

My goal is to make the screen work without modification on the xbox.
Screen is this one:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/m.aliexpress.com/item/32812503009.html

But I also found this.
https://m.de.dhgate.com/product/2-4ghz-wireless-transmitter-and-receiver/270487639.html#pd-112

So if the component cable gets to bulky I could try this. Maybe the loss in quality won't be as bad.

 

Those wireless adapter can add a little bit of lag. It's not important if you watch a movie but can be annoying if you play a game. Also most of them are composite only (I have a wireless RGB but it's very bulky). If you ditch the component and use only composite a cable will be thin enough and there are plenty of screen with composite input, no need to wireless video. Unless you plan a v2 version full wireless
BTW in a small screen with composite it's possible that the screen is barely readable. I have the joypad with integrated screen and it's almost unusable. But I think that the lcd is only 320x240.

 

Ok, I will check what lools better once the screen has arrived.
You're right it might work out better if i go with composite instead, but we'll see.