HDTV era

ScottyGEE · Post by **ScottyGEE** » Sat Jul 14, 2007 11:01 pm

Well, it seems that I have now got a 42" plasma television in my household now...And my friends now have HDTV's too...

The thing is though, is the whole HDTV for xbox 360 thing. Like I mean, I've read in so many places that the leap from SD to HD on the 360 is amazing, and honestly I don't find it that super duper at all...

I love the sharper textures/picture, I love the smaller amounts of details like scratches and all that, but due to what I had been reading, I thought it would be better.

I mean it is indeed a step up from SD, but the step up is quite small...I though maybe it was my tv, but as I said, my friends got HDTV's aswell now I tried it on theirs and it wasn't too special either.

So I guess this topic is really me saying that HD gaming doesn't really make things any better... What's your thoughts? do you think its much better?

Oh...I'm using component cables...Reckon itd be better using VGA (As that supposedly can create a better image)?

Tural · Post by **Tural** » Sat Jul 14, 2007 11:21 pm

As long as I can read the text (I'm looking at you, Dead Rising), I couldn't care less what I'm playing on.

JK-47 · Post by **JK-47** » Sat Jul 14, 2007 11:57 pm

I don't get the whole HDTV thing... Not a big deal. Wohoo, better quality.. That's great. I don't buy games for graphics, I buy them for gameplay. And I'm sure as hell not going to buy a 1000$ TV to get better quality..

ScottyGEE · Post by **ScottyGEE** » Sun Jul 15, 2007 1:42 am

JK-47 wrote:I don't get the whole HDTV thing... Not a big deal. Wohoo, better quality.. That's great. I don't buy games for graphics, I buy them for gameplay. And I'm sure as hell not going to buy a 1000$ TV to get better quality..

I'd be surprised if anyone bought a HDTV solely for gaming.

JK-47 · Post by **JK-47** » Sun Jul 15, 2007 10:37 am

ScottyGEE wrote:
JK-47 wrote:I don't get the whole HDTV thing... Not a big deal. Wohoo, better quality.. That's great. I don't buy games for graphics, I buy them for gameplay. And I'm sure as hell not going to buy a 1000$ TV to get better quality..
I'd be surprised if anyone bought a HDTV solely for gaming.

My friend did.

nintendo9713 · Post by **nintendo9713** » Sun Jul 15, 2007 10:43 am

Your friend did? I did >_> But I play games more than anybody I know. 3 xboxes, 2 360's, wii, 64, NES with lots of free time....I don't leave my room >_> gears of war..the step up was amazing to me because for 3 years I had this 19" weird colored tv that had about 3.5 colors. I didn't even have sound

Subtitles ftw ALL THROUGH HALO 2 Campaign and on live...only sound i heard was voices over mic. So the HD tv i bought (32") has made me one happy panda!

Edit: Forgot to mention: I don't watch tv. Haven't watched tv in about 6 years. Sure its been on in my family room but I don't sit down and watch it anymore, completely lost interest in television. MTV consumed everyone around me >_>

XanderChaos · Post by **XanderChaos** » Sun Jul 15, 2007 11:04 am

In most games, it just looks a little nicer (except in the Halo 3 Beta's case where I looked a little worse at times). But Rainbow Six: Vegas for example, it is hard to play without it. When you are looking across the room, in SD you see a few pixels move, but it could be anything. In HD, those few pixels are an enemy. I can't snipe in SD for my life, but I kick ass in HD because I can see much further in great detail.

shadowkhas · Post by **shadowkhas** » Sun Jul 15, 2007 11:06 am

ScottyGEE wrote:I'd be surprised if anyone bought a HDTV solely for gaming.

I did. Then again, it was only $200. It's a 27" CRT with 1080i. I personally love that it's CRT, the contrast on it is awesome.
Jumping from my non-HD TV to that TV was a difference. For instance, in Halo 2, text was much crisper, and I could see some details that I couldn't, just because of the upped contrast of it. Maybe if I hooked up a 360 and got a game that has 720p resolution or 1080i, I'd see an even better difference.

kibito87 · Post by **kibito87** » Sun Jul 15, 2007 12:36 pm

ScottyGEE wrote:I'd be surprised if anyone bought a HDTV solely for gaming.

That's what i'll be doing. I don't care for HDTV at all.

@ Tural, I agree with you. It's hard enough reading the text in Dead Rising as is...so annoying.

FReAK · Post by **FReAK** » Sun Jul 15, 2007 12:46 pm

Short Answer: Yes, it will look much better.

Long Answer: Shadowkhas, you would defenitely see an improvement. To my knowledge, the Original xbox only outputs up to 480p. That is also the native resolution of Halo 2, according to the back of the box. If you were to step up to the 360, you would defenitely see an improvement. Now, I know, the 360 games look better to begin with. But let's forget that piece of information, shall we?

The 360 outputs 480p (not sure about 480i) for SDTVs, and it outputs 720p (again, not sure about i), 1080i, and 1080p. All of those signals are supported by the standard cable that comes with the Xbox 360. Shadow, do you know your TV's native resolution? I'm sure that it can run both 720p and 1080i, but one or the other will theoretically look better on your set. This is due to what your set is made to output natively. Sure, it CAN play 720p, but it was MADE for a 1080i signal (or vice versa), so it'll look better if you choose the right one.

But, either way, both resolutions look really good. It is very hard to see a difference between the two, until you start heading into the 60" TVs or so. But, that's irrelevant. In short, your image WILL look better on the 360, when playing the 360. But, Halo 2 will look basically the same. It's only meant to be played at 480p, so your 360 will just try to Upscale the image to your resolution, but quality isn't really going to be gained at that point. So yeah, quick lesson on resolutions for you.

---

I bought my HDTV both for gaming and HD Cable. Eventually, that will expand to HD-DVD/Blu-Ray movies as well, dependant on which format wins the war. If you're looking for a cheap one, go DLP. It looks better than the other sets IMO, it's about half the price of the other sets, and if you buy a newer model Samsung, your DLP will have capability for 3DHD video. Google it or something.

turk645 · Post by **turk645** » Sun Jul 15, 2007 12:55 pm

shadowkhas wrote:
ScottyGEE wrote:I'd be surprised if anyone bought a HDTV solely for gaming.
I did. Then again, it was only $200. It's a 27" CRT with 1080i.

where the hell did you find an HDtv for $200.

FReAK · Post by **FReAK** » Sun Jul 15, 2007 3:37 pm

Costco?

ScottyGEE · Post by **ScottyGEE** » Sun Jul 15, 2007 4:40 pm

haha boy was I wrong/...Everyone gets their hdtv for gaming

Anyway yeah there is a good improvement but as I said I expected more. Also, I never knew there was such a thing as HD CRT...kool!

It may also have been due to the fact that my SDTV is like a 32" crt...If lets say I were playing on a 16" SDTV it may have been a much more orsm leap...Ahh wells, its still good.

turk645 · Post by **turk645** » Sun Jul 15, 2007 4:44 pm

i still dont have hd though. Then again its not a big deal to me.

Racka_Tacka_Joe_Enos · Sun Jul 15, 2007 5:54 pm

My parents bought our 42" HDTV and i love it because you feel like your in the action rather than looking into a small 20" display that you can hardly tell what team your on!

Dr.Cox · Post by **Dr.Cox** » Sun Jul 15, 2007 6:27 pm

58 inch HD PLasma here.

Gears looks AMAZING!!!!

Racka_Tacka_Joe_Enos · Sun Jul 15, 2007 6:35 pm

Armed Civilian wrote:58 inch HD PLasma here.

Gears looks AMAZING!!!!

the gears menu when you are playing looks stretched out on 42" i dont even want to know how stretched out it looks on a 58"

Dr.Cox · Post by **Dr.Cox** » Sun Jul 15, 2007 6:38 pm

Naw it looks fine to me.

Racka_Tacka_Joe_Enos · Sun Jul 15, 2007 6:46 pm

who ever said tv size doesn't matter never played on a big screen. I think everyone with a big screen can agree.

TomClancey · Post by **TomClancey** » Sun Jul 15, 2007 7:19 pm

I feel left out. I don't have an HDTV. Just a 52" projection TV, though it is 10+ years old...