New to High Definition

[stigcv8]

Having never seen the comparison between HD and normal TV I went and bought a HD tv to use with a newly bought Xbox 360 - in other words I have never ever seen teh difference between the 360 on standard tv and HD.

Now reading through my TV manual it says it is only HD if I use the HDMI ports. The X360 only uses component output so its all hooked into the tv that way but how do I really know it is displaying in HD?

The 360 output is selected as HD on that vga connector and all hooked into teh tv via the component ports but how on earth do I know if it truely is in HD mode as the TV manual states - only via HDMI port.

The tv in question is a Philips model number 32pf5531d how can i tell if its displaying in HD or not during games?

[stuh]

Component is fine for HD. The 360 only comes with component for HD so it would need to be

Your TV should tell you if it is being fed a 720p signal? Have you configured the XBOX to HD?

[stigcv8]

have told xbox to run hd yes and xbox says it is but how do i get teh tv to tell me?

[slinky]

Stig, has your new TV got a PC style VGA in?

A 15 quid cable will give you a much better experience I believe..

Hang on, there's a thread around here somewhere..

[Fidgits]

yeah, I have the 360 running 1080i over the component (in the settings menu, you want it as high as your HD TV can take (highest is 1080p)).

I've just gotten a HDMI DVD Player that upscales, and they look pretty plush at 480p (only just switched it to 1080i)

[slinky]

Here we go..

www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=95&t=343066

[stuh]

There is no benefit to going the VGA route unless your panel can 1:1 pixel map. Otherwise your panel will just rescale the signal anyway. 720p is the way forward via component imo. All panels benefit from a progressive signal as opposed to the interlaced 1080i, which just adds another level of re-scaling as your panel doesn't have sufficient vertical resolution to display 1080 lines.

Does you TV not have additional display modes that will tell you what signal a given input is receiving? To be honest, if the XBOX is set to output HD via component then your in good shape. The additional level of details should also be pretty apparent in the games?

Edited by stuh on Monday 5th February 04:54

[Fidgits]

Huh.. thanks for that Stu.

So the fact im using 1080p with my xbox explains why I occasionally get horizontal lines on constant surfaces?

Is 720i actually better then?

[stuh]

Fidgits said:

Huh.. thanks for that Stu.

So the fact im using 1080p with my xbox explains why I occasionally get horizontal lines on constant surfaces?

Is 720i actually better then?

The i and p, are for interaced and progressive. Interlaced means that each frame is made from 2 images, odd and then even lines in effect. Progressive means each frame is diaplyed in one sweep. It's actually not as simple as that, as the display will need to deal with the interlaced signal and scale and process it before display anyhow. But that's a whole other can of worms

Your 360 can output 1080i, but not native 1080p. The PS3, Blue-ray and soon the 360 HD-DVD WILL be able to output 1080p, but you'll need a panel with a vertical resolution of at least 1080 lines to see any benefit. Even some 1080p panels can't accept a 1080p native signal! The highest "progressive" singal you can output is 720p. I've experimented with 1080i and 720p with my 360 and Sky HD into my Pioneer 436 plasma, and to my eyes, 720p gives better picture quality.

Edited by stuh on Monday 5th February 10:01

[Fidgits]

sorry yes, I get p and i mixed up...

my TV will do 1080 - but the lesser one, not the top one...

so i want to do 720p for the best picture quality? cheers

Edited by Fidgits on Monday 5th February 10:00

[stigcv8]

cheers all

the device doesnt have a vga port, it can take a pc image via a dvi to hdni convertor (ie digital signal only)

I have switched the xbox thingie from hd and you can see its got a rough edge on the xbox circle when it starts up, its smooth when in hd mode...

[PJ S]

Stick the RGB cables into the top right of the the image below, then the R&W (audio) into the R&W ones beside it.
Job done, select 720p in Xobox Dashboard - enjoy!

[stigcv8]

cool thats what i had done but as I've never seen teh dif between hd and non hd I cant tell if i am getting it if you see what i mean

[Tonsko]

If you're running the 360 via component (or VGA) and you have set your output to 720p on the 360, and you have an LCD teevee that's capable of accepting a 720p input - then you will be playing games in HD.