CDX or JVC X'Eye?

Emperor Bohe · Post by **Emperor Bohe** » Sat Dec 09, 2006 9:32 am

Which one is worth the money?

Which one has better unadvertised 32X compatiblities?

Are the keyboard/microphone funtions on the X'Eye anygood?

Or should I just get a Genesis 2 with a 32x and Sega CD add on?

Post by **bicostp** » Sat Dec 09, 2006 10:10 am

Unless you're making a portable, stick with your Genesis 2, Sega CD, and 32x. That's the most complete, most compatable Genesis system you can get.

Emperor Bohe · Post by **Emperor Bohe** » Sat Dec 09, 2006 12:50 pm

But I don't have any of those 3, so getting each of them seperate is more worth it?

Are there any compatibilty issues with the CDX and X'Eye?

Post by **bicostp** » Sat Dec 09, 2006 12:58 pm

Well, the CDX is rather unstable when you pair it with a 32x, because the extra support pieces that came with the 32x don't fit in the CDX right. (I think they both weigh the same, which can also cause problems.) I'm not sure if the X-Eye is compatable with the 32x. Someone around here (Segasonicfan?) has sucessfully used the 32x on the CDX, but that's a fragile combination.

I'm just saying that the Genesis / Sega CD / 32x combo works with everything, and the square Genesis consoles are dirt cheap. At least you'll know it will work and be stable.

Emperor Bohe · Post by **Emperor Bohe** » Sat Dec 09, 2006 9:35 pm

One more question for those who own them out of curiousity. Do they support composite cables?

Post by **bicostp** » Sun Dec 10, 2006 9:08 am

http://www.gamesx.com/avpinouts/genesisav.htm

Yup.

(I'm pretty sure the metal ring around the putside is ground.)

segasonicfan · Post by **segasonicfan** » Sun Dec 10, 2006 1:39 pm

The 32X works perfectly with the CDX. Anyone who has tried the setup (and there are many) vouch for this. Simply just don't put the metal in the cart slot and it works great. X'Eye is a nice system but the CDX is much better hardware and more size efficient.

-Segasonicfan

Emperor Bohe · Post by **Emperor Bohe** » Sun Dec 10, 2006 8:03 pm

I understand the size, but what makes CDX's hardware better than X'eye's?

segasonicfan · Post by **segasonicfan** » Mon Dec 11, 2006 1:15 am

just finer components...the CDX is easily the finest system Sega ever built. Open one up and you'll see...

-Segasonicfan

segasonicfan · Post by **segasonicfan** » Tue Dec 12, 2006 6:15 am

Just thought I should reiterate the one major flaw of the CDX is its video: it uses an inferior chroma encoder (MB3514) and has poor RGB output. Fortunately, there are mods to fix both which I have devised :) If anyone's interested I would be glad to post the modding info.

-Segasonicfan

Emperor Bohe · Post by **Emperor Bohe** » Tue Dec 12, 2006 4:53 pm

Please post the modding info.

Is it really that noticable though?

segasonicfan · Post by **segasonicfan** » Wed Dec 13, 2006 4:22 am

I've already been posting the RGB fix info on GameSX: http://nfggames.com/forum/index.php?s=f ... topic=2449

The video chip swap is also quite easy and I have already performed it with success:

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b134/ ... maswap.jpg

The BH7236AF is jsut a CXA2075 clone. Basically you just desolder the old chroma encoder (MB3514) and connect only the necessary pins for the new one. Later on I will put more detailed information on how to this on my website.

All the mods are internal and thus not noticeable at all.

-Segasonicfan

Krepticor · Post by **Krepticor** » Wed Dec 13, 2006 8:29 am

:Bows to the soldering god:

How large of a difference is there in the video quality?
Have you ever thought of swapping the encoders on an MVS or a more modern system?

*EDIT*
I saw the thread you posted and WOW! what a difference
I have this SEGA CD problem in another thread...

segasonicfan · Post by **segasonicfan** » Wed Dec 13, 2006 9:07 am

krepepticor, loyal subject of the soldering kingdom :P

The MVS actually doesn't have any encoders (same with all arcade systems/PCBs) because it just outputs pure RGB which is what all arcade monitors use. The Neo Geo AES on the other hand does have a chroma encoder since it is a home system. The encoders are for RGB->Composite video. The AES uses a CXA1145 so it wouldn't be hard to swap for a better IC in one of those either (exact same method as the CDX swap). Likewise, this can be done with early Genesis models that use the same old chroma encoder chip.

As for the difference in video quality, I need to take a "before" shot to show the difference but it is quite huge. The normal RGB output from my CDX is hideous.

-Segasonicfan

Krepticor · Post by **Krepticor** » Wed Dec 13, 2006 1:08 pm

yea I saw the lines on the before (I thought it was a Sonic2 Kilt pattern) and your Gen3 RGB looks awesome If you can get that smoothness out then that would really be worth the modding time and money