1080i with Xbox 360?

[Goombaz]

I was going to register for some kind of forum specific for this, but I decided I trusted/liked you guys and would get a logical answer here. I am fairly new to the entire HDTV thing, but was lucky enough to attain a 1080i HDTV. I know this isn't the best, and it's a projectionish thingie, but it's what I have, and buying a new TV is pretty much out of the question. It's a JVC of some kind.

My question is how much of the higher resolution benefit will I get with an Xbox 360 on this particular TV? I am well aware that I can take the standard TV signal and pipe it through it, but I was reading and 720P(which I understand is usually considered to be the opposite of 1080i as far as set support) came up an awful lot. I did see something about "scaling to the best resolution you can use", but when they say scaling, do they mean Scaling or Scaling, if you catch my drift.

In other words if I have a 720P Xbox 360 game(most of them according to the xbox site are 720P but not 1080i), will I actually get the best detail possible(in other words the game will render at 1080i) or will the game itself render in standard TV resolution and simply upsize to 1080i? In other words will I lose all the HD detail and it will just "inflate" a regular TV signal rendering of it, or will it actually render in 1080i(which won't be quite as good as 720P but will still be very high res for a tv-game).

Of course I will be using the HD cables(I am clueless about a lot about HDTV, but not that )

 

[wit>trope]

If you have an 1080i HDTV, that means it is also able to display 720p. So the answer is Yes.

Spoiler :

However things are not that simple because for it to "truly" display 1080i in a perfect manner the horizontal resolution would have to be 1080 (or higher, preferably in integer multiples) .... and for it to "truly" display 720p, the horizontal resolution would have to be 720 (or higher, preferably in integer multiples).

So actually a LOWER resolution TV may be better for 720p than a HIGHER resolution one. (ex one with native resolution of 1280x720 will be better for 720p than one with native resolution of say 2100x1080)

I would also wait for PS3. PS3 can display 1080p and in fact display TWO of them at the same time.

Even MS admits PS is faster (while also contradicting the admission at the same time)

Now, when you’re the second guy of course you’re going to be faster.

Slip of the tongue or moment of honesty followed by a save? Read it in context and YOU decide

http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000597043723/

 

[Goombaz]

Meh, if the PS3 is good I'll scrape up and get one of them too. My "System Wars" days are long over, I put that battle axe away ages ago.

The Xbox was faster than the PS2, but I still had more fun with the PS2. Faster is rarely the *real* deciding factor for the quality of a console. IMHO BOTH systems specs are so insanely fast that I don't care too much about that aspect of them. To me it is akin to being asked if I want to be shot with twelve machineguns or fourteen machine guns: both will amount to a quick and messy death, one is just bigger.

Ok so I will get something better than just regular TV then for the games that are marked 720p for sure?

 

[wit>trope]

Ok so I will get something better than just regular TV then for the games that are marked 720p for sure?

Yes for sure.

Unless of course the game company makes crappy graphics. ... it could be higher resolution but still bad due to poor frame rate or just artistically bad or something like that.

I think ALL Xbox 360 games are required to be 720p and above. ... so it would be for all of them.

But not for the old Xbox games ... only a small portion of them will be compatible btw and you'll have to probably download patches to make the other ones compatible if they ever become compatible. For PS3 virtually all PS2 and PS1 is compabitble.

 

[Goombaz]

Well thanks for the help

As far as the Xbox library goes they can just hit a few high points, KOTOR 1/2, Ninja Gaiden, Jade Empire etc and I will be fine for backwards compatibility. The PS2 had a lot more good games, therefore the PS3 has a higher stake in near-100% compatability.

You sure don't like that Xbox 360

Hey I am not knocking the PS3 btw, I will evaluate it when it is released as well.

I was one of those bastards that had an N64 AND PSX, which was considered treason at the time for some reason. I was an ardent N64 supporter for a long time though, but finally broke down for a PSX once I realized I had to have Symphony of the Night.

Really the "Death of PC gaming" hype is about the only hotbutton I have, but even that will just happen if it happens, no reason to get mad about it. As far as the consoles go I have slim to no brand loyalty.

EDIT: You might want to check Gamespot for it's list of back-compatible games anyhow, it is showing very large number of them as slated for it.

 

[wit>trope]

You sure don't like that Xbox 360

lol ... I'm just trying to help you not make a mistake in your purchase

Hey I am not knocking the PS3 btw, I will evaluate it when it is released as well.

So why not wait until it is released before buying Xbox 360?

EDIT: You might want to check Gamespot for it's list of back-compatible games anyhow, it is showing very large number of them as slated for it.

You are right. I thought it would just be like 20 to 50 games at launch but apparently it is about 200 games at launch BUT you need to buy the harddrive version and download compatibility patches for them ... that means paying like 100 dollars more and it also means those without broadband internet are out of luck or those without a router are out of luck too (you'd have to pay like 50 dollars for the router)

I read more and apparently you can BUY the patches on CD from Miscrosoft but they GIVE them for FREE to Japanese customers! That is unjustified discrimination!

 

[Goombaz]

lol ... I'm just trying to help you not make a mistake in your purchase



So why not wait until it is released before buying Xbox 360?



You are right. I thought it would just be like 20 to 50 games at launch but apparently it is about 200 games at launch BUT you need to buy the harddrive version and download compatibility patches for them ... that means paying like 100 dollars more and it also means those without broadband internet are out of luck or those without a router are out of luck too (you'd have to pay like 50 dollars for the router)

I read more and apparently you can BUY the patches on CD from Miscrosoft but they GIVE them for FREE to Japanese customers! That is unjustified discrimination!

I already have a fully functioning network, with router, and with an extra hole AND an extra network cable already running through the walls. I am more than ready for an extra network device, this is bordering on an excuse to have one. I also plan on maintaining a permanent Xbox Live Gold membership. I also make sure to always have a broadband connection, I haven't done without one for more than a month in like 4 years. I am an online gamer wanting to try online gaming on their platform moreso than a "pure" console enthusiast. Don't get me wrong however, I was born and bread in the 16-Bit era, so I am a console gamer.


Well, as far as the hard drive goes, I am going for the 399.99(yay mom, I saved a penny on a 400 dollar toy hooray!) bundle, so I will have a HDD the second that I have a 360.

The bottom line is while I appreciate your comments(they are not a flame or anything like that), most of them are hollow to me (possible speed differences), or don't apply to me(the router/broadband thing). Perhaps I am merely the exact kind of gamer Xbox 360 is targeting?

Now, the REAL concern I have with the 360 is 3rd party developer support. I am essentially gambling 400 dollars on Microsofts ability to attract and keep 3rd party development. The fact that this is probably a real gamble is not lost on me. It is important to note, however, that the Xbox had a newcomer/pariah status to overcome that I doubt the 360 will suffer as much from.

EDIT: On the other hand, I ran across a minor irritation. I had always heard the wireless controller billed as recharging on the system when you weren't playing or some such, but it appears that you need a 10 dollar battery pack and a 20 dollar recharge kit for it. So basically the bundle I want is $430 and not $400.

 

[Zakharov]

If you have an 1080i HDTV, that means it is also able to display 720p. So the answer is Yes.

Not necessarily true. Some 1080i displays cannot upscale a 720p signal, so they have to downscale to 480p instead. You need to look in the TV's manual and look for 720p input support.

Having said that, it shouldn't be a problem for the 360. From what I have read over these past few months, it can scale the output signal internally. This means that even if a game is coded for 720p, you can just go into the console options menu and manually select 1080i output.

I would also wait for PS3. PS3 can display 1080p and in fact display TWO of them at the same time.

Firstly, how many people do you know who have just one 1080p TV, never mind two. It's a nice feature on paper but I just can't see it being useful in the real world. It will also likely be dropped from the release version to cut costs.

Secondly, I was thinking of waiting for the PS3 before choosing which console to get but I have now decided that I'm not going to wait that long. Here in Europe the 360 is released on December 2nd, whilst I don't expect to see the PS3 until about April 2007 at the earliest. In 16 months I should have enough money to buy the PS3 as well should I want one.

Now, the REAL concern I have with the 360 is 3rd party developer support.

I don't think you need to worry there. Microsoft's number one goal this time has been to get as many developers as possible making games for the 360.

 

[Goombaz]

A lot of people blast the 360 for "relying on being used by a broadband-user with a router" but that really does describe quite a few people. Nearly every gamer I know, almost down to a man, fits this description. This is not something that 5 rich people have, this is an increasingly common way of life.