360 HD Goodness question?

[dan1981]

Hi ALL,

I have joined the masses and bought myself an xbox 360.

I also have a HD ready TV.

I set the XBOX up using the three input thingys that came with it, turned it on and all that, it asked me to select my video settings.

checked tv instruction book said it could support up to 1080i (i think it was i)

but optimum was 720.

anyway i picked 1080i.

It looks ace. but what i wanna know is will it loko better at the optimum setting of 720?

And can i make it look any better with a different cable or is the three plug in set up thingy the best way?

as you can tell my tv knowledge has slipped recently!

[scorp]

The I stands for interlace which means half the picture is sent in one video frame (1/60th or 50th of a second). This means 1080i video is 30 frames per second. The other mode "P" means "progressive scan" which sends the whole picture each frame, and so runs at 60 frames per second.

In laymans terms:
720p = good for live action
1080i = good for picture fidelity

AFAIK HD movies are (approx) 30fps anyway so 1080i is the better mode.

Edited by scorp on Thursday 31st January 16:03

[Steve Evil]

When things get moving yes it will look better in 720p.

Better cable options are VGA and HDMI (provided you have one of the new model 360's that supports HDMI)

[scorp]

Steve Evil said:

Better cable options are VGA and HDMI (provided you have one of the new model 360's that supports HDMI)

Yeah the cable is important.

Component is the other good HD option too.

[ScuttleRX]

What resolution is your tv?

[The DJ 27]

I'm currently running my Xbox 360 through an HD TV using the component cable that came with the console. Would it be worth me investing in the VGA cable, as the TV also has this input on the back (and DVI, but you can't get DVI cables for a 360, can you?).

[Thudd]

You can get an HDMI/DVI adaptor...

I went to VGA from Component. On my 720p telly there's a bit of a difference, but probably not worth spending money on.

I did it to free up the component sockets for use with my DVD player.

[kiwisr]

It really does seem to depend on a number of factors regarding which cable is best. You really have to test it yourself. Sometimes HDMI is better and sometimes Component. There can be a significant difference between the two.

Colours are often much better on component.

[Mattt]

Is there any difference in performance/heat between the 2? I always assumed 1080 'worked' it harder.

[Frederick]

Mattt said:

Is there any difference in performance/heat between the 2? I always assumed 1080 'worked' it harder.

nope, the GPU outputs at max resolution all the time, it has a Scaler chip that scales down to the resolution required (SD, HD720, HD1080i, HD1080p)