Topic: How To Divx/xvid Movies Look On An Hdtv? (Read 76 times)

geoman2k · « **on:** August 17, 2006, 10:10:00 AM »

so i'm looking into buying a 26" samsung HDTV. a lot of the reason why i want to but this is to watch movies on it, and most of the movies i watch are in divx/xvid format playing through xbox media center. my question is, with the added video quality of the HDTV, will the quality problems of the divx movies be a lot more appartent than on a normal SDTV? i'm sure i'm going to get the hdtv either way, but i'm just wondering if this is going to make divx obsolete for me, because the quality just won't be good enough for the screen displaying it.

my other question is what resolutions xbox media center will be able to do. i know that most xbox games are 480p, but i was wondering if xbox media center will be able to play movies at higher resolutions, like 720p or 1080i? will this require a "hex code" which i've been reading about? i'm not very familliar with what exactly "hex codes" are, and if anyone can point me to a good explanation of what they are, why they are needed and how they work, that would be great. i've done some looking around but all i can find are the actual hex codes, but no explainations.

thanks a ton in advance.

FrostyTheSnowman · « **Reply #1 on:** August 17, 2006, 10:18:00 AM »

XBMC already has built-in support for 480p, 720p, and 1080i, so you don't need to hex edit anything. And yes, DivX movies are awesome on an HDTV. As long as you can watch them on your PC and not mind the quality, you will be just fine watching them on an HDTV.

Just so you know though, in order to enable HDTV modes on your XBOX you need to have access to your original MS Dashboard, and you will need a Component HD Cable for your XBOX too.

This post has been edited by FrostyTheSnowman: Aug 17 2006, 05:19 PM

The Zep Man · « **Reply #2 on:** August 17, 2006, 11:56:00 AM »

QUOTE(FrostyTheSnowman @ Aug 17 2006, 06:25 PM)

Just so you know though, in order to enable HDTV modes on your XBOX you need to have access to your original MS Dashboard, and you will need a Component HD Cable for your XBOX too.

Also, the video mode must be NTSC, not PAL.

DiGiTY · « **Reply #3 on:** August 17, 2006, 09:47:00 PM »

i'm also looking to buy a hdtv (samsung 32") and i mainly watch downloaded divx/xvid TV shows via XBMC. can some more people weigh in on this topic??? maybe those who have HDTVs driven mainly by XBMC???

i'm just really worried about my shows and movies looking sh1ttie on HDTV display

TIA

The Zep Man · « **Reply #4 on:** August 18, 2006, 12:18:00 AM »

QUOTE(DiGiTY @ Aug 18 2006, 05:54 AM)

i'm also looking to buy a hdtv (samsung 32") and i mainly watch downloaded divx/xvid TV shows via XBMC. can some more people weigh in on this topic??? maybe those who have HDTVs driven mainly by XBMC???

i'm just really worried about my shows and movies looking sh1ttie on HDTV display

TIA

Why would it look 'sh1ttie' (what does that word mean, anyway? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/huh.gif))?

FrostyTheSnowman · « **Reply #5 on:** August 18, 2006, 06:46:00 AM »

I have an Akai 52" Widescreen HDTV w/XBMC @ 1080i and every movie i've played so far has been perfectly fine. Especially movies that are already formatted for a widescreen monitor.

drleephd · « **Reply #6 on:** August 20, 2006, 02:28:00 AM »

looks great on my high def set.

The problems people sometimes see on HDTVs are normally reserved for LCD, DLP, and plasma,
but not for CRT screens. the issue is that these screens have a native resolution that they're designed to
run in and look like crap in other resolutions (example: change your flat panel laptop to 640x480 and see how it looks)

The xbox can upsample your videos to 480p, 720p or 1080i if necessary, and it does a great job. it's similar to watching movies on your computer screen.

Alot of people run xbmc in 720p because the gui runs a bit smoother with most skins. so you'll want a high def set that can do 720p natively as well.

so as long as your HDTV can do NATIVE 720p and 1080i (most TVs nowadays) it will look fine in xbmc. Of course that doesn't mean games won't look like crap in 480i on your new 52" screen. Bottom line, Try viewing something in lo-def in the store before you buy an expensive TV. Most tv's have front AV so you can test them in the store and if they won't let you do this, find a better video shop.

FlyingBig · « **Reply #7 on:** August 22, 2006, 04:09:00 PM »

While on the subject is it possible to get x264 hidef movies to play in Xbox Media Center?

sheepie · « **Reply #8 on:** August 22, 2006, 05:23:00 PM »

x264 plays fine, ive watched speed in x264 recently and it plays fine but does slow down in scenes with explosions looks a damn site better than my retial region 2 dvd upscaled in xbmc as well

This post has been edited by sheepie: Aug 23 2006, 12:25 AM

KTMITA · « **Reply #9 on:** August 29, 2006, 06:29:00 AM »

QUOTE(FrostyTheSnowman @ Aug 17 2006, 06:25 PM)

XBMC already has built-in support for 480p, 720p, and 1080i, so you don't need to hex edit anything. And yes, DivX movies are awesome on an HDTV. As long as you can watch them on your PC and not mind the quality, you will be just fine watching them on an HDTV.

Just so you know though, in order to enable HDTV modes on your XBOX you need to have access to your original MS Dashboard, and you will need a Component HD Cable for your XBOX too.

I have access to the MS Dashboard but i DONT have the option to enable HDTV on it. I have my box set to NTSC, the Advanced cable RGB but my Dashboard just allows me to set TV, Letterbox 4:3 and widescreen . Furthermore in the latest XMBC i do not see the resolution option 720 but only NTSC 16:9 and PAL 4:3 , why? How can i get the 720p option? I have a chipped SMARTXX xbox.

tdw197 · « **Reply #10 on:** August 29, 2006, 11:29:00 AM »

QUOTE(KTMITA @ Aug 29 2006, 01:36 PM)

I have access to the MS Dashboard but i DONT have the option to enable HDTV on it. I have my box set to NTSC, the Advanced cable RGB but my Dashboard just allows me to set TV, Letterbox 4:3 and widescreen . Furthermore in the latest XMBC i do not see the resolution option 720 but only NTSC 16:9 and PAL 4:3 , why? How can i get the 720p option? I have a chipped SMARTXX xbox.

You need to have a component cable, not an a scart cable

BigYellow · « **Reply #11 on:** September 01, 2006, 12:26:00 AM »

Two questions...

First off, will my Xbox automatically switch over to 480p when hooked up via the advanced av pack through s-video to my brand new 56" toshiba cinema dlp projection? (check it out here...)
I bought this tv because it was a smokin deal, and because the "CableClear" technology on it made SD channels look way better than any other tv in the store (especially any other DLP/LCD projection sets), so I'm hoping that 480i will look as good comin from my Xbox, and thus that 480p will look even better...

Second, will this same S-video connection through my Advanced AV pack allow me to use 720p or 1080i (both of which are supported on my set) for XBMC? And if so, how do I set that resolution in XBMC?

Thanks,

-Biggie!

FrostyTheSnowman · « **Reply #12 on:** September 01, 2006, 07:06:00 AM »

You will need the HD Pack (aka Component Cables) to get 480p, 720p, and 1080i, not the Advanced Pack. S-Video doesn't support anything higher than 480i.

palmboy5 · « **Reply #13 on:** September 01, 2006, 03:43:00 PM »

about the Component HD cable, does it also have the green tint problem as I've read about for mods such as the one for a VGA output?

FrostyTheSnowman · « **Reply #14 on:** September 01, 2006, 04:46:00 PM »

Unless you PLAN on using it for VGA, then no, it doesn't have the green tint problem. It works perfectly with EVERYTHING. Microsoft designed the XBOX for it afterall...

This post has been edited by FrostyTheSnowman: Sep 1 2006, 11:47 PM

Author Topic: How To Divx/xvid Movies Look On An Hdtv? (Read 76 times)