360 compatibility
Discussion
2 questions:
1) Are Xbox 360 games bought in the US compatible with machines sold in the UK. Im guessing yes, since the release was worldwide...? Games are half price in the states.
2) The 360 is backwards compatible with xbox games. Are the origional titles likey to run at double or tripple the frame rate, or be improved in any way?
1) Are Xbox 360 games bought in the US compatible with machines sold in the UK. Im guessing yes, since the release was worldwide...? Games are half price in the states.
2) The 360 is backwards compatible with xbox games. Are the origional titles likey to run at double or tripple the frame rate, or be improved in any way?
UKBob said:
2 questions:
1) Are Xbox 360 games bought in the US compatible with machines sold in the UK. Im guessing yes, since the release was worldwide...? Games are half price in the states.
2) The 360 is backwards compatible with xbox games. Are the origional titles likey to run at double or tripple the frame rate, or be improved in any way?
1) Probably not.
2) Only games announced so far are Halo 1 and 2. They will however run at 720p and have 4xAA
UKBob said:
whats "4xAA"
And 720p? (pixels, Id imagine?) If p does stand for pixels, why are there so many different formats?
AA= Anti-aliasing
720p= High Definition, 720 lines, progresively scanned - only good if you have a HD set that can take this format.
A lot of manufacturers are claiming HD compatibility, but at what res??
In High Definition there are:
480i (interlaced)
480p (progreessive)
720i (interlaced)
720p (progreessive)
1080i (interlaced)
1080p (progreessive)
But most sets will not be able to run the last two, and a lot will have problems with 720..It will be interesting!
You can also run HiDef on a PC however, so you should be ok, with the first two depending on your monitor. Some monitors will support 1080i but not 1080p. Expect to see some really nice (read expensive) TFT or LCD monitors coming out in the next couple of years
Why dont TV's have X by Y resolutions, and instead just have lines?
Does the 360 support 1080 (and all the other resolutions)? And currently, how much is a 1080p 28" LCD or TFT TV. And (I should just buy some bloody magazines) which gives the truest picture, TFT or LCD? Ive got a widescreen telly which is one of the two, but its too small for my liking and probably not high def as it was only £800 a year or 18 months ago.
So the 360 will support a regular PC monitor then?
Does the 360 support 1080 (and all the other resolutions)? And currently, how much is a 1080p 28" LCD or TFT TV. And (I should just buy some bloody magazines) which gives the truest picture, TFT or LCD? Ive got a widescreen telly which is one of the two, but its too small for my liking and probably not high def as it was only £800 a year or 18 months ago.
So the 360 will support a regular PC monitor then?
UKBob said:
Why dont TV's have X by Y resolutions, and instead just have lines?
Does the 360 support 1080 (and all the other resolutions)? And currently, how much is a 1080p 28" LCD or TFT TV. And (I should just buy some bloody magazines) which gives the truest picture, TFT or LCD? Ive got a widescreen telly which is one of the two, but its too small for my liking and probably not high def as it was only £800 a year or 18 months ago.
So the 360 will support a regular PC monitor then?
How many questions ?
UKBob said:
Why dont TV's have X by Y resolutions, and instead just have lines?
Its the other way around actually - TV's have 525 lines scanned from top to bottom. Then along came PC monitors which had a direct graphics area. The PC monitor is the replacement for the old scanning system which was present in TV's.
I don't know anything about the 360 I am waiting for the PS3
which will do major damage to my high-end games PC's market 
Yes, go buy some magazines as consumer electronics is 'fashion' these days.. and what you read will be obsolete tomorrow along with the hardware.
I don't know if anyone produces a 28" 1080p set yet, doubt it as the 'p' stands for progressive scan (the picture bandwidth is doubled effectively, so you would be looking at an LCD monitor that supports an effective resolution of 2160 lines. Currently only high end CRT video projectors are capable of doing this at that resolution as LCD/DLP has a long way to go and has manufacturing issues. Also at that res, your refresh would be around 60Hz which is almost noticeable. I beleive that the Dell 24" widescreen is the neatest and greatest of all PC LCD monitors, and that can do 1920x1080i IRC. I don't know if the xbox 360 has DVI output but it should have.
Don't forget that its not just the resolution that is important, at that res, the refresh is equally important although in a 'power console' like the 360 all the hardware decisions have already been tried and tested for you - its plug and play.
You will be better running at 540p (as it probably only supports the lower res) as you will get a better frame rate from the onboard graphics. I don't know the specifications of the 360. If you care to point them at me, I can give you a direct comparison to a high end games PC running SLi (2 graphics cards).
It is going to get very interesting in the next few years thats for sure
>> Edited by ultimasimon on Saturday 12th November 12:12
ultimasimon said:What line of work are you in?
the PS3 will will do major damage to my high-end games PC's market
I thought 720 and 1080 were the new high definition formats. Why are there two of them, and why would it be hard to find a 1080p TV? Im after a TV, not a monitor, and am not very knowlegable about either (my excuse for asking)
So interlaced doesnt look as good, meaning support for 720p or 1080p is preferred? (has anyone got an xbox spec to hand. I saw it on gamespot.com but cant seem to find it now)
And why would I looking for an LCD monitor that supports an effective resolution of 2160 lines?
And whats LCD liquid crystal display... whats DLP (digital something or other?)
And what kinds of output should an ideal TV have. Assuming I want to buy the best I can afford, so I dont feel the new to upgrade it to get the most out of the xbox 360? (I guess we need to look at the xbox spec first. (I did see a link on PH to comet, who were selling a HD cable for £90!!!)If the Xbox supports 1080 then why would I want to buy a TV which only went up to 720
hmmm... Where does the 540p come into it, and what does a standard telly likely have?
Simon, a thousand thanks for your wonderfully lengthy reply and apolgoies for all the questions mate. When did you sell your baby by the way?
>> Edited by UKBob on Saturday 12th November 13:22
UKBob said:
the PS3 will will do major damage to my high-end games PC's market
I sell high end PC's for games machines, video servers and Media players
Sadly the new PS3 will have on par if not better performance than a high end PC in SLi for much less
UKBob said:
I thought 720 and 1080 were the new high definition formats. Why are there two of them, and why would it be hard to find a 1080p TV? Im after a TV, not a monitor, and am not very knowlegable about either (my excuse for asking)
So interlaced doesnt look as good, meaning support for 720p or 1080p is preferred? (has anyone got an xbox spec to hand. I saw it on gamespot.com but cant seem to find it now)
And why would I looking for an LCD monitor that supports an effective resolution of 2160 lines?
And whats LCD liquid crystal display... whats DLP (digital something or other?)
And what kinds of output should an ideal TV have. Assuming I want to buy the best I can afford, so I dont feel the new to upgrade it to get the most out of the xbox 360? (I guess we need to look at the xbox spec first. (I did see a link on PH to comet, who were selling a HD cable for £90!!!)If the Xbox supports 1080 then why would I want to buy a TV which only went up to 720
Where does the 540p come into it, and what does a standard telly likely have?
Simon, a thousand thanks for your wonderfully lengthy reply and apolgoies for all the questions mate. When did you sell your baby by the way?
Look here
This will go a long way to explaining things.
Cheers Simon! I'll have a look
steve_evil said:Whats the best resolution the 360 does support? 720i?
As far as I know the XBox 360 won't support 1080p, 720p or 1080i is the best you will get, PS3 may well be a different story, but 1080p TVs aren't exactly commonplace yet and it's unlikely that HD Sky when it arrives will broadcast in 1080p either.
720p, generally (from what i've gathered) progressive (720p, 1080p) produce a clearer picture than interlaced (720i, 1080i) so 720p should look clearer than 1080i, and 1080p would be the ultimate. 1080p isn't supported by the 360 though and not a lot does support 1080p at the moment, if you want the best possible tv then 1080p is the one, PS3 should support it, but unlike the US who get HDTV in resolutions up to 1080p we'll only be getting 720p broadcast for the forseeable future, so you won't often be using the TV at it's full potential.
Edit: Had this article shown to me earlier which should make a lot more sense than my ramblings:
www.ntsc-uk.com/tech.php?tech=HDTV
>> Edited by steve_evil on Monday 14th November 19:47
Edit: Had this article shown to me earlier which should make a lot more sense than my ramblings:
www.ntsc-uk.com/tech.php?tech=HDTV
>> Edited by steve_evil on Monday 14th November 19:47
I've just read in one of this months mags that a 1080p DLP rear proj TV and DLP proj will be available in the UK from the spring. Might have to hold off on the SIM2 purchase after all! Obviously not necessary for sky's 720p HD service but handy for the PS3 and blue-ray HD DVD.
You can get a good idea of the difference from some this sample HD content. The 1080 looks truly awesome on my tft
www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/content_provider/film/ContentShowcase.aspx
>> Edited by stuh on Tuesday 15th November 06:18
You can get a good idea of the difference from some this sample HD content. The 1080 looks truly awesome on my tft
www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/content_provider/film/ContentShowcase.aspx
>> Edited by stuh on Tuesday 15th November 06:18
Shame the consoles don't have DVI-I, since the Dell 24 widescreen LCD is indeed very nice...
I'm considering getting a new HD telly next year, but didn't realise the differentiation of 1080p being effectively twice the bandwidth/res.
Seems like 1080i is what we are likely to be getting then, still high res but a lower real full frame rate!? Just refreshing 50% of a frame twice as often!?
Looking at about £750-£1000 in spring/summer, so am I best waiting longer still for a final format to emerge, or will any decent HD LCD set do for the forseeable future?
Still, at least the PC just does what it wants with the Dell LCD screen
Still hope for PC's yet with their versatility!
Dave
I'm considering getting a new HD telly next year, but didn't realise the differentiation of 1080p being effectively twice the bandwidth/res.
Seems like 1080i is what we are likely to be getting then, still high res but a lower real full frame rate!? Just refreshing 50% of a frame twice as often!?
Looking at about £750-£1000 in spring/summer, so am I best waiting longer still for a final format to emerge, or will any decent HD LCD set do for the forseeable future?
Still, at least the PC just does what it wants with the Dell LCD screen
Still hope for PC's yet with their versatility!
Dave
ultimasimon said:
Hey we all know I am just a tad biased towards crt's but for plasma money you could get a really special set that could do 1080p with ease and you can play your games on it at 2048x1536. Try doing that on anything else
In that case what would you charge me for a dogs danglies projector?
Ex Noble owners must get a hefty discount Re the TFT. I run a pair of Samsung 24"'s which is the same screen as in the dell, yet 1080p via Media Player 10 still isn't all that if you ask me. I just think TFT's inherently struggle to generate enough colour depth to give the smooth silky cinematic look of a DLP........
>> Edited by stuh on Tuesday 15th November 19:31
stuh said:
I've just read in one of this months mags that a 1080p DLP rear proj TV and DLP proj will be available in the UK from the spring. Might have to hold off on the SIM2 purchase after all! Obviously not necessary for sky's 720p HD service but handy for the PS3 and blue-ray HD DVD.
You can get a good idea of the difference from some this sample HD content. The 1080 looks truly awesome on my tft
www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/content_provider/film/ContentShowcase.aspx
>> Edited by stuh on Tuesday 15th November 06:18
putting my bandwith to use at last
thanks for thiskneedowndeano said:Yeah, thanks. Sheds a lot of light, giving me a much clearer picture of what one can expect with HD
I've just read in one of this months mags that a 1080p DLP rear proj TV and DLP proj will be available in the UK from the spring. Might have to hold off on the SIM2 purchase after all! Obviously not necessary for sky's 720p HD service but handy for the PS3 and blue-ray HD DVD.
You can get a good idea of the difference from some this sample HD content. The 1080 looks truly awesome on my tft
www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/content_provider/film/ContentShowcase.aspx
>> Edited by stuh on Tuesday 15th November 06:18
putting my bandwith to use at last
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