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[Zeusydude]

1. Does this make an improvment ?
Most defently not. Sorry

2. What games are availible in hi def (halo 2) ?
Nope

3. Does the Xbox contain an upscaler when watching dvd movies (1080i) ?
Im pretty sure it does

4. If the answer is no to question 3 then does it alow Progressive Scan ?


5. Does Media centre support mpeg4 and divx6 in hi-def ?
Not yet

6. Would any one recomend any decent HD movies or xbox games if all of the above are within scope ?
Nope

[Dano2k0]

On all the rear projection tv's ive ever seen you never gain quality, you just loose it, the viewing angles aren't good and brightness is often a big issue.

The quality of the actuall picture displayed doesn't seem too good in quality, i really do prefer the RCT Tv's, but plasmas and LCD's are just as good.

My girlfriend has a 50" rear projection toshiba tv, and its great for gaming on even on 4 player because you get a nice chunk of the screen each, but quality in games and watching films i don't really like, i still prefer a CRT Tv over a rear projection.

I do know thats now days they have got the picture quality on them alot better, but still the quality seems to suffer too much for me to consider buying one.

As for the HDTV input, i think they have just added just so people buy one because its a 'HDTV' it probably will also help the quality of the picture, but personally i don't think its going to compare to a plasma panel or LCD panel, maybe i'm wrong but i don't like what ive seen so far.

Let us know how you get on with it, i would be interested.

Good luck  

[c0d3_z3r0]

I have HDTV and the quality does change a little in halo 2 compared to standard def.
Probably the only thing you would notice alot, is when comparing XBMC.
XBMC  is way better when you are using HD, I plugged my xbox to my Standard def TV and the quality on the Visualizations were kinda crappy, But then I plugged it in to my HD and the quality increased by over 100%.
I use 1080i Def on XBMC.
So it's a big difference when comparing by that.

Edit: if you want, I can take screenshots from XBMC to show you the difference.

[twistedsymphony]

Wow... Zeusydude, first if you don't REALLY know the answerers to questions then DON'T ANSWER THE QUESTIONS  

This should have been posted in the AV forum... most of the people there really know what they're talking about. I run HD out of my Xbox all the time so:

The Xbox supports 480p, 720p, and 1080i all at 60Hz by way of a "Component" video cable (typically referred to as the "HD Pack"). You can't run any of those video modes without component cables

1. Does this make an improvement ?
HELL YES the difference is night and day... 90% of the Xbox games support 480p and going back to 480i is like playing your game with a screen door in front of your TV. Even without progressive scan the quality difference from S-Video to Component is greater than the difference from Composite to S-Video.

2. What games are available in hi def (halo 2) ?
There are only a small handful of games that actually support 720p and 1080i mods. But as I said before most games are available in 480p (progressive scan). Both Halo's will run in 480p, Halo 2 will also run in Widescreen (which is great for the added FOV). Most of the Tony Hawk Games, and Amped 2 will run in HD 720p, for a more complete list there are lots of sites that list which games support which modes. this site is pretty good http://www.hdtvarcade.com/ if you google for HDTV Arcade you'll get a few other worthy sites too.

3. Does the Xbox contain an up-scaler when watching dvd movies (1080i) ?
Yes and no... Natively the Xbox DVD player WILL NOT output in anything but 480i (or 576i for the UK)... it doesn't even support Progressive scan. If you've modded your Xbox though there are patches you can apply to the MS dash to get progressive scan playback. Also the homebrew XBMC software will use the Xbox's built in scaler to upscale DVDs to 1080i and 720p. The one catch with the XBMC player is that it doesn't support DVD menu's so you either play DVDs with no menu's or you have to go into the DVD file structure and pick out the movie's video file explicitly (which really isn't that big a deal for HD playback).

4. If the answer is no to question 3 then does it allow Progressive Scan ?
See above answer.

5. Does Media center support mpeg4 and divx6 in hi-def ?
the Xbox's own media capabilities no... XBMC I believe so (but you should check the specs on the official website, I haven't looked ina while).

6. Would any one recommend any decent HD movies or xbox games if all of the above are within scope ?
AFAIK there are NO HD movies currently available with the exception of T2: Extreme edition which come with a WMV-HD disc... though that can only be played on a PC (I don't think the Xbox can handle it, again check the XBMC website). As for games... As I suggested before: The Tony Hawk Series, Amped 2, Also Enter the Matrix, Fifa Street, Black Hawk Down, MX Unleashed, MX vs ATV, True Crimes, The Sims 2, The Urbz, Xmen Legends, All support 720p or better and all look amazing at that resolution... again check the web for more complete lists.

I should note that Soul Calibur II "support" 720p as well but it plays windowed at that resolution (still looks better than 480i or 480p though)

FINALLY
Since the component cables aren't available in the UK the UK version of the Xbox doesn't have the options for those resolutions available in the consoles setup menu (on the US console you have to explicitly activate those video modes after attaching the component video cable). There is a way to bring them back though: http://www.xboxworld...89&page=1&pp=30
You essentially run an exploit on your Xbox and convert the software to NTSC so you have access to your options...

AFAIK you can change it back to pal when you're done and as long as you don't unplug the component cable you'll have the HD modes enabled. (but note that the HD modes run at 60Hz and most UK tvs are 50Hz) also Pal games with progressive scan will infact run at 576p not 480p

good luck  

[brokenglass]

QUOTE

6. Would any one recomend any decent HD movies or xbox games if all of the above are within scope ?
Nope

your an ass, any way i recently purchased tons of movies from M$ in WMV-HD for my 50in plasma, heres a link to preview them here,
and if your intrested in purchasing them go here but if you have an hdtv this movies are hot.

[twistedsymphony]

QUOTE(brokenglass @ Aug 11 2005, 01:52 PM)

your an ass, any way i recently purchased tons of movies from M$ in WMV-HD for my 50in plasma, heres a link to preview them here,

[twistedsymphony]

QUOTE(smooth-op @ Aug 11 2005, 03:29 PM)

...

[RTK]

Wow!

Zeusydude you obviously have never used an HD kit otherwise you'd retract ever word you said.

The difference between playing NFSU2 in 480p versus 480i is incredible, everything looks crisp when driving and the light trails look incredible.

Play MX Unleashed or MX vs ATV Unleashed, both support 1080i which looks great. I've got a 55" rear projection and the viewing angles are great and picture is crisp, its no LCD but to knock a rear projection over a standard tube that isn't HD is just ignorant.

Nothing more needs to be added twistedsymphony already laid out everything else.

Peace.
-Rob

[xboxmodder4life]

i have a 46" in toshiba RPTV. 46H84. It's a good tv, and when the xbox is hooked up via the highdef pack. The picture is awsome. It is a huge improvement. To all the idoits who said it didnt make a difference they A. Dont own a HDTV B. Are legally blind



So get the HDTV kit it'll be the best 19.99 you'll spend on hooking up a device to your tv.

[hedge]

Did you get the official MS kit? from what I've read the knock-offs are crap.

[aepuppetmaster]

QUOTE(smooth-op @ Aug 11 2005, 06:25 PM)

I managed to get the cable from an import shop near me

[eminvil_12]

some one that can direct you where to go if you would like to make your own hi def mod is "jameson_42" i think thats it.
Hes a great member and is extremeley helpful in this area.

and if your lucky he might post the link to that big picture with all the video mods because i cant find it and i need it:P
please

[twistedsymphony]

I can honestly say I've never seen that... you might want to bring it up in the AV forums here those as again... those people know what they're talking about (pictures might help them diagnose too)

evox should support 480p automatically but as other's have said you need to enable HD modes explicitly in XBMC to get the improvement there.

[posure]

I've never tried upscaling DVD's to 1080i with XBMC, but I've tested some native 1080i TS movies and the xbox doesn't even come close to handling it (my xbox has double memory too)..maybe a dreamx box could handle it, but i doubt it

[aepuppetmaster]

))