Hey, Dustin here from MakeMHz with another update and a very exciting one at that! If you have been following along with us on our adventure via Twitter or Discord then this post will help you catch up. 

Since our last update a lot has happened so here's a quick update. (The tl;dr of this post)

• All pre-orders were shipped out at the beginning of February along with an additional 300+ orders towards the end of the month.
• Moved shipping to it's own dedicated space for processing orders more efficiently and quicker.
• Fixed various bugs and improved the installation guide.
• Ported the kernel patch to various scene BIOS releases; including the X2, X3, and ind BIOS. (Currently in beta testing)
• Added upscaling with advanced interpolation, overscan, and colorspace options. (Currently in beta testing)
• Redesigned PCB for easier installation based on customer feedback.

Introducing the XboxHD+

When we released the XboxHDMI, now XboxHD+, we could have never dreamt of how much interest there would be. The original goal of the project was to provide a perfect one to one video output mod for the Xbox and we've achieved that.

We've heard everyone's requests for upscaling and the long list of video related features that we should add, so we're adding those and more!

The XboxHD+ is the next step in our adventure and those paying close attention may have noticed that all references to XboxHDMI have been replaced with XboxHD+ and the reason for this is simple. We're taking a new direction with the product and since it offers more, we felt the name needed to change to reflect it.

And for everyone that supported us by purchasing the XboxHDMI you're not out of luck. All new features will be available, completely for free, via a firmware update here shortly.

Next Batch

The next batch is now up for order! Orders for the XboxHD+ will be open until May 10th at a reduced price of $80USD. Pricing will increase to $100USD, due to the increased cost of materials and development, after this batch.

Orders will begin to ship out July 1st. This is a firm date and gives us plenty of time. Our timeline is below and has plenty of room for dates to move without affecting the final shipping date of July 1st.

Global chip shortage:
Currently we have one part that's being affected by the global chip shortage. We have already placed an order with our vendor for a quantity of the part that should last us well in to next year. We expect to have the part the second or third week of May and currently do not expect any other delays.

Timeline:

New Features

Alongside the completely rewritten configuration app comes a long list of new features and options. Additional options and tweaks are on their way. (We look forward to feedback on what we can add!)

• Output Resolution -This completely changes how the video output is handled compared to before where the output resolution was based on the game running. Now a desired output resolution can be set once and all games will automatically be upscaled to that resolution. Or it can be set to original and the original video output will be used. This should also resolve the issue of some displays not supporting VGA 640x480.
• Audio Compatibility Mode - This resolves the issue of some displays outputting static when certain dashboard audio settings are set.
• Colorspace - The Xbox by default sends the framebuffer as YCbCr to the onboard encoder. With this option you can choose to skip the colorspace conversion and output the framebuffer directly as RGB.
• Upscaling Interpolation - Both Truncate(Nearest-neighbor) and Bilinear upscaling are now supported, with additional options for weights and rounding. This will be expanded on in a future post.
• Per-game Settings - Direct integration with XBMC and XBMC4Gamers.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg of the features that are shipping with the XboxHD+! 

Beta Testing

We're currently looking for users with the XboxHDMI kit installed to help out with testing the next firmware release. If you would like to play around with all of these new features then make sure to join our Discord server so you can be added to the beta tester group.

Hardware/Kit Changes

While the hardware is mostly the same, a lot of small tweaks have been made to simplify manufacturing, workaround the global chip shortage, and to make the installation process a lot easier. The flex cable has not changed and is backwards compatible.

• The 1.0 - 1.1 and 1.2 - 1.5 kits will both have their own QSB boards. This simplifies the installation by removing the need to connect the 1v8 wire to the XboxHD+ board and allowing users to test their system without the XboxHD+ board installed. 
• All kits will now include premium silicone insulated wire. These high quality wires are nearly impossible to melt and will make the install easier and look great! 
• Extra goodies. We can't spoil these surprises quite yet!

MakeMHz Updates

A lot is going on behind the scenes as we continue to learn and grow. We're continuing to invest in our fabrication operations. Our focus now is improving the quality of our products even more, both pre-fabrication through upgrades to our PCB stenciling process and to our post-processing with better depaneling tools and industrial cleaning machines.

We look forward to sharing more on our in house fabrication operation and processes in the near future!

Conclusion

If you made it this far, thank you! None of this would have been possible without the support from our users and community members.

We look forward to the future and everything that the XboxHD+ has to offer.

Thanks,
Dustin