netmazk
12-25-2001, 06:22 PM
DISCLAIMER: These modifications may and probably WILL void your warranty for your XBox and/or A/V kit. Perform these modifications at YOUR OWN RISK! I WILL NOT BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE YOU CAUSE TO YOUR XBOX, AV KIT, OTHER ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT OR BLOWING UP YOUR HOUSE.
Now, from reading these boards I realized I'm not the only one who had problems with Dolby Digital sound on 3rd party A/V adapters. I recently purchased the MadCatz Ultra A/V kit before x-mas as I knew i was getting a new dolby digital receiver & 2 nice floor speakers for xmas. Turns out, the "Ultra" A/V kit wasn't so Ultra... dolby digital didn't work correctly. I collected info and was eventually able to fix the adapter because I was so anxious to hear it in digital, and was not able to get a replacement on xmas day :) .
The REAL Problem: MadCatz and Monster Cables shipped
defective (incorrectly wired) cables where the xbox would not
be able to detect it as a cable supporting dolby digital/dts output.
The "Quick-n-dirty solution":
Pin diagram looking at the AV cable connector (on the cable, not the connector on the XBox)
_________________1_1_1_
_/1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 \_
| |
| 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 |
| 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 |
-----------------------------
(I apologize for the pin diagram, but its the best i could do.)
Simply connect pins 6 and 18 on your madcatz/monster cable where it plugs into the xbox, with some sort of jumper (I used a small strand of sturdy copper wire that i inserted into the holes of pin 6 and 18 after enlarging them slightly with a pin.). Be sure that your 'jumper' does NOT touch ANYTHING metal besides the pins 6 and 18.
Why it works: The XBox has an odd design for A/V kits. Simply put, it checks the bits on a few pins to determine which AV kit you have connected. For the standard A/V kit, 5 and 17 are jumpered only. Now for the advanced AV kit, additionally 6 and 18 are jumpered, which tells the xbox the cable is capable of dolby digital output. Furthermore, the HD AV kit jumpers 7 and 19 in addition to 6 and 18, but NOT 5 and 17. Closing 7 and 19 enable HDTV output ONLY.
Please reply with any comments/suggestions/questions.
--netmazk
Now, from reading these boards I realized I'm not the only one who had problems with Dolby Digital sound on 3rd party A/V adapters. I recently purchased the MadCatz Ultra A/V kit before x-mas as I knew i was getting a new dolby digital receiver & 2 nice floor speakers for xmas. Turns out, the "Ultra" A/V kit wasn't so Ultra... dolby digital didn't work correctly. I collected info and was eventually able to fix the adapter because I was so anxious to hear it in digital, and was not able to get a replacement on xmas day :) .
The REAL Problem: MadCatz and Monster Cables shipped
defective (incorrectly wired) cables where the xbox would not
be able to detect it as a cable supporting dolby digital/dts output.
The "Quick-n-dirty solution":
Pin diagram looking at the AV cable connector (on the cable, not the connector on the XBox)
_________________1_1_1_
_/1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 \_
| |
| 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 |
| 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 |
-----------------------------
(I apologize for the pin diagram, but its the best i could do.)
Simply connect pins 6 and 18 on your madcatz/monster cable where it plugs into the xbox, with some sort of jumper (I used a small strand of sturdy copper wire that i inserted into the holes of pin 6 and 18 after enlarging them slightly with a pin.). Be sure that your 'jumper' does NOT touch ANYTHING metal besides the pins 6 and 18.
Why it works: The XBox has an odd design for A/V kits. Simply put, it checks the bits on a few pins to determine which AV kit you have connected. For the standard A/V kit, 5 and 17 are jumpered only. Now for the advanced AV kit, additionally 6 and 18 are jumpered, which tells the xbox the cable is capable of dolby digital output. Furthermore, the HD AV kit jumpers 7 and 19 in addition to 6 and 18, but NOT 5 and 17. Closing 7 and 19 enable HDTV output ONLY.
Please reply with any comments/suggestions/questions.
--netmazk