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Question of the Day: Are you keeping your Prime subscription?
xbox 360 experts, please explain.
- Thread starter BCO
- Start date
Basically the X360 will upscale your DVD movies to whatever resolution you have your HDTV set at. It does improve visual quality of DVD movies to some extent, better with some and non-noticeable with others. But if you are running the X360 via component cables you still get your movies shown in progressive scan which is better than standard SD quality.
doobiwan
Executive Member
I don't want to say yes, but yes 
You need the VGA cable to enable DVD upscaling, from what I understand.
You need the VGA cable to enable DVD upscaling, from what I understand.When I play a DVD via my 360, my tv says "576p 60hz" so yes, it's kinda EDTV. From what I understand it will upscale, then, to 720p if I use the VGA cable. My question is - is this "real" 720p or some kind of "simulated HD"?
GavinMannion
Executive Member
What is real, that is the question
From my limited upscaling knowledge the 360 can upscale to true HD using the VGA cable and only to EDTV using the Composite cables.
It is simulated since your DVD does not have all the HD info on it, so it guesses what it should show. Well that is what I was told anyway
doobiwan
Executive Member
Think of it like this, it's not "True 720p" but it is 720p. The box takes the "blocky" 480p signal and sort of anti-aliases it to 720p, so you get a smooth if not slightly blurry but overall better picture.
doobiwan
Executive Member
Ever noticed that the picture quality on SA, UK and Aus programs is crisper than US TV programs? That's why.
undefined
Well-Known Member
I watch DVD's on my 360 over VGA to my HDTV.
On some movies the scaling is unbelievable. Some it's hardly noticeable.
I've also tried some standalone scaler DVD players via HDMI to my HDTV. The 360 does a much better job.
Besides the upscaling of DVD's, the 360 outputs games closer to the native resolution of a 720p LCD HDTV, which is 1366 x 768. On the VGA cable you can select an output of 1360 x 768, 6 pixels short of native res compared to the much lower 1280 x 720 ( 720p ).
To cut a long story short. Get a VGA cable. I personally will never let Component cables anywhere near my 360.
On some movies the scaling is unbelievable. Some it's hardly noticeable.
I've also tried some standalone scaler DVD players via HDMI to my HDTV. The 360 does a much better job.
Besides the upscaling of DVD's, the 360 outputs games closer to the native resolution of a 720p LCD HDTV, which is 1366 x 768. On the VGA cable you can select an output of 1360 x 768, 6 pixels short of native res compared to the much lower 1280 x 720 ( 720p ).
To cut a long story short. Get a VGA cable. I personally will never let Component cables anywhere near my 360.
Well, I got the VGA cable. The one thing that's most apparent is the greater vinrancy of colour. I've been playing Oblivion, and the environments really seem more alive, with much greater colour saturation.
I've only had a chance to watch one DVD, so I can't really comment yet, but it looked amazing (I watched Silent Hill which, visually, is very appealing, so I'm not sure if it was the movie itself that looked great or the cable that made it look great. I was too lazy to reconnect the component cable and watch Silent Hill again).
Subjectively, the 48 extra vertical lines I get make the menus screens look a little crisper too.
I've only had a chance to watch one DVD, so I can't really comment yet, but it looked amazing (I watched Silent Hill which, visually, is very appealing, so I'm not sure if it was the movie itself that looked great or the cable that made it look great. I was too lazy to reconnect the component cable and watch Silent Hill again).
Subjectively, the 48 extra vertical lines I get make the menus screens look a little crisper too.
vodacom3g
Vodacom Representative
AFAIK, you only get analog cables for the 360, composite and component with the standard cable and VGA if you buy the separate cable.
Whereas you'll get progressively (pardon the pun) better picture quality going from composite to component (which is not RGB) to VGA (which is actually RGB), why no digital output capability, HDMI or even DVI?
The XBox is a digital device, why do a D/A on the video just so that your digital display device (LCD/Plasma/Projector) can re-convert it back to digital?
By providing a digital output, you remove two conversion processes with the resultant improved picture.
Whereas you'll get progressively (pardon the pun) better picture quality going from composite to component (which is not RGB) to VGA (which is actually RGB), why no digital output capability, HDMI or even DVI?
The XBox is a digital device, why do a D/A on the video just so that your digital display device (LCD/Plasma/Projector) can re-convert it back to digital?
By providing a digital output, you remove two conversion processes with the resultant improved picture.
doobiwan
Executive Member
That's why there's the Elite with native HDMI, there's also a 3rd party HDMI convertor for standard 360's coming out.