XSELECT-D4: First Impressions

[Jeremy Pallant]

I have in front of me, Micomsoft's XSELECT-D4. That's the same Micomsoft well all know and love for their XRGB-2 Plus. One of the objections leveled at the XRGB-2 Plus was it's failure to support progressive scan.Well, the XSELECT-D4 supports progressive scan via five ports, (1 D-Terminal, 1 Japanese RGB and three combination component video/D-Terminal), converting their signals to VGA. It also outputs interlaced scan via a D-Terminal port. In fact a little light on the front indicates the nature of the signal it is dealing with.

That D-Terminal output port is significant because it means that, with the supplied cable, it can be connected to the D-Terminal input on an XRGB-2 Plus. Thus with a few judicious button presses, you can readily switch between an interlaced scan signal and a progressive scan signal all displayed on the same VGA monitor.

How does it work? Well, I'm still evaluating the product, but pretty well actually. The progressive scan image is actually better than the single port Audio Authority 9A62, having better color and, I think, sharper image quality. The passed-through interlaced video from the PS2 and GameCube doesn't seem to suffer too much, if at all, and there's actually an improvement for my XBOX, which previously used a component to Japanese RGB adaptor for the purpose on my XRGB-2 Plus.

So far, I'm quite impressed. A full review is forthcoming, if anyone is interested.

[NFG]

You bet your bippy we're interested, there's a lot of us been looking forward to this box for a long time, but without many clues about what it actually DOES.  

[FlatFeet]

Hey awesome!

I just found this forum looking for a solution to my console display problems, and you guys are a god-send! I look forward to your full review!

~Flat

[smellyguineapig]

Does this unit only work with progresive scan Component signals?

I see there's a 21 pin rgb connector on the front, would it take a standard rgb signal and convert it to standard component video?

[Guest]

It works with progressive scan Component, D-Terminal and Japanese RGB. These are converted to 15 pin RGB (in other words VGA). The VGA port is at the rear. At the same time, the signal is passed through to a D-Terminal output socket on the rear. If the signal started out as interlaced scan it will exit as interlaced scan.

So to answer your question, a standard RGB signal is converted to D-Terminal and 15 pin RGB. D-Terminal is basically component video, so I guess the answer is "yes." You would need an adaptor.

With my setup, the VGA port is connected to a VGA switch. The D-Terminal output is connected to the D-Terminal input of an XRGB-2 Plus. The output of that is connected to the VGA switch. The VGA switch is connected to a VGA monitor. That way I can easily switch between, say, my XBox and my PS2.

[Jeremy Pallant]

Damn! Forgot to login. Sorry about that. Mr Guest above was me.

[smellyguineapig]

Thanks for the reply.

This looks like the perfect solution for me, I've been using a XRGB2 with a 19" VGA monitor, it's great, however I need a larger display for 2 player gaming, etc.


I'm thinking of picking one of these units up with a 27" or larger TV with component inputs.

[CC_Devil]

Jeremy submitted his review and Lawrence posted it here...

Great review Jeremy !!!
If I were to pick-up a new transcoder I would go with this unit...

I'm pretty sure Micomsoft will release a unit combining both features of the XRGB2+ and XSELECT4 at one point though so I might as well wait for the ultimate unit...

CC

[Jeremy Pallant]

Thanks. Glad you liked it.

It does seem reasonable that Micomsoft would eventually merge the two products, doesn't it?. Given that the XSELECT-D4 can recognize a signal with a horizontal scan frequency greater than 15.75kHz, some kind of automatic switch between an upscan converter and a transcoder doesn't seem impossible. Sort of makes me wonder why they didn't include such a feature in the XSELECT-D4, especially given that they are clued in to the requirements of console games.

Maybe it's harder than we think.

[HunterX]

Or maybe it's just that they don't want to make the perfect unit, because then you wouldn't need their 8 other units and 7 high-quality cables with gold plated connectors any longer ;-)

[CC_Devil]

Jeremy, I have a question for you:
does the unit output 15kHz RGB on the 15-pin VGA style output if you input interlaced component (480i) ?

When I had my 9a62, one of the uses I got from it was to convert 480i to 15kHz RGB for a Scart TV. That was before the Gamecube RGB mod...
I actually had to work with AudioAuthority to make it work (they had to change a resistor value) because it's not it's main use.

So I was wondering if the XSELECT4 can do that too...

Thanks,

CC

[Jeremy Pallant]

I can't tell for sure, but I'm guessing that it does. The reason I say this is that when I run a 480i signal through it, switching to the 15-pin RGB output results in my monitor reporting "Signal out of range."

[kimitake]

Hi,

I recently received my Xselect D4 and I plan on using the same consoles with the same cables you mention in your review.  I was wondering why you use a VGA switchbox?  I only had a couple of days to play around with the Xselect before I had to return to school but I think you can plug in all the systems you mentioned directly into the XRGB2 Plus and the Xselect without the need for a switchbox which may degrade the signal.

You can use a VGA extension cable to loop the signal from the output of the XRGB2 to the input of the Xselect and plug in your Dreamcast with another VGA extension cable to the VGA input of the XRGB2.  Then you use the VGA output of the Xselect for your monitor.  That way your Xselect and your XRGB and your Dreamcast can be output without a switchbox.  I don't remember the details well but I think that with this configuration you always leave the Xselect on but turn off the XRGB2 when you use a progressive signal.

I�m curios to know if this configuration improves your image quality.

P.S. Great job on the review

[Jeremy Pallant]

Basically I find the VGA switchbot a simpler solution.

Also, you can't use the D-Terminal cable at the same time as the 15-pin RGB input. I wanted to keep the front two inputs clear because I wanted to keep to a minimum the cables hanging around the front of my PS2. Have the XSELECT-D4 sitting atop it, with the XRGB-2 Plus atop that.

In addition, I have a computer to consider as well.

Furthermore, how about sound? I've only got the one set of speakers. They plug into the 3.5mm audio output port of the XRGB2 Plus. The XSELECT-D4 doesn't have a port like that, and no means for audio pass-through. Instead I use the D-Terminal output and it's RCA connectors plugged into the D-Terminal input on the XRGB-2 Plus. Select that input and I get sound from all three consoles by changing the input in the XSELECT-D4.

I get sound from the Dreamcast by using the audio pass-through on the XRGB-2 Plus, which has to be switched off for that to work.

Did all that make sense?

Glad you liked the review.