the 'official' everything XBOX 360 thread

[JayMan]

Cant wait to get 5.1sound happening, too excited last night to worry about it.

Ditto! I've got a toslink cable on its way (bought off ebay cuz i'm a tight ass, $10 shipped for tha same grade cable elsewhere for $30-50).

JayMan

[dyates69]

My Panansonic TX-76PW300A HD TV plays XBOX and my HD set top box fine in 1080i but when I try to set the XBOX 360 to 1080i, I get this. My TV doesn't support 720p so when I set it to that, there's nothing on the screen. I have to have the 360 set to 480p for it to be viewable. I tried it with a friend's HD TV and it was fine. Can anyone help?

That looks bad, almost like a sync problem. Ensure you have the right connector in the right plug, assuming you're using the component connections. If so, you may have some success with the VGA cable instead. I think your TV has the VGA input. See if you can just borrow one incase it doesn't work, or if your tv has multiple component inputs, try the others and see how you go. I'd say the VGA option might be your best bet though.

Otherwise, the 360 could be sending 60Hz 1080i, I'm not sure, and perhaps your TV only supports 50Hz 1080i.

[JayMan]

My Panansonic TX-76PW300A HD TV plays XBOX and my HD set top box fine in 1080i but when I try to set the XBOX 360 to 1080i, I get this. My TV doesn't support 720p so when I set it to that, there's nothing on the screen. I have to have the 360 set to 480p for it to be viewable. I tried it with a friend's HD TV and it was fine. Can anyone help?

Just had a quick look at the manual for your TV... Can you change the Scan Mode while using the component in? Lets you choose between a couple scan modes... Maybe that'll sort it out?

The Scan mode control allows you to change the Picture refresh setting between 75/883i, 100Hz and Progressive. The 75/883i mode gives a faster refresh rate and more lines than a standard television. 100Hz will give a steady picture for most signals. Progressive is recommended when receiving NTSC signals. NOTE: The scan mode function is not available when Picture in Picture is being used.

Or maybe this?

Reproduction of irregular signals such as certain video (AV Mode only) games or some rental video tapes may be improved by turning the VCR/GAME feature On.

Hopefully one of those settings will sort it out...

JayMan

[betty boop]

Ditto! I've got a toslink cable on its way (bought off ebay cuz i'm a tight ass, $10 shipped for tha same grade cable elsewhere for $30-50).

JayMan

5.1 is well worth it for the audio with gotham racing. great for sound effects and atmosphere.

[Crono]

Yes I'm using component and I can't change any scan modes when using component. I've tried both component inputs. My TV doesn't have VGA. I called Panasonic and they contacted Microsoft and they said something about the XBOX 360 outputing 1080i at 60Hz NTSC. A lot of people are having this problem. I hope someone finds a fix for it soon. Someone on another forum suggested getting a box with component that converts 60Hz to 50Hz. I don't know if it exists but it would work wouldn't it?

[RodN]

Yes I'm using component and I can't change any scan modes when using component. I've tried both component inputs. My TV doesn't have VGA. I called Panasonic and they contacted Microsoft and they said something about the XBOX 360 outputing 1080i at 60Hz NTSC. A lot of people are having this problem. I hope someone finds a fix for it soon. Someone on another forum suggested getting a box with component that converts 60Hz to 50Hz. I don't know if it exists but it would work wouldn't it?

Some of the games, perhaps the one you are trying, are PAL60Hz..... This is probably where your problems are if the display can't recognise this.

[Felix..]

5.1 is well worth it for the audio with gotham racing. great for sound effects and atmosphere.

Yeah it makes me anxious (in a good way ) to hear those other drivers close in behind you after you've nudged the railings yet again! My 360 expectations have already been surpassed and they haven't even released the really good games yet.

[RodN]

Yeah it makes me anxious (in a good way ) to hear those other drivers close in behind you after you've nudged the railings yet again! My 360 expectations have already been surpassed and they haven't even released the really good games yet.

It makes me wonder how the 7.1 systems might go with this, with the decoding such as Logic7 from the HKs... Alebonau what are you impressions of this?

[betty boop]

It makes me wonder how the 7.1 systems might go with this, with the decoding such as Logic7 from the HKs... Alebonau what are you impressions of this?

checked it out on quake for you nobby. With logic7 on my HK using 7.1, theres plenty coming out the rear speakers but only ambience atmosphere sounds(eg all those sounds you hear wandering in the world of quake), this is unlike the side surrounds, front and centre which are getting discrete effects - people talking gun shots and all that other stuff in quake.

Think the rears with 7.1 using logic7 add some rear atmosphere but really though I think 5.1 with DD is more than adequate in this case for recreating the atmosphere.

Really finding this quite a step up from pc gaming ...instead of sitting infront of a small screen with pc audio speakers now playing on a much bigger screen of my plasma and getting a whole room experience with DD5.1 which is much more immersive putting you right in the midst of the action

[betty boop]

well this is whats being released over in the UK. Not sure if we're getting the same over here, maybe somone has a release list for us.

http://www.homecinemachoice.com/cgi-bin/shownews.php?id=8612

"Blockbuster Games on the Way

The Xbox 360 games portfolio expands this spring with new next-generation titles from leading developers and publishers that cater to every genre, age, skill level and budget. Gamers can choose from a range of truly next generation games such as “The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion” (Bethesda Softworks/2K Games), an Xbox 360 console exclusive with beautiful next generation graphics and a huge world to explore, “Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter” (Ubisoft) the latest version of the successful Tom Clancy series that once again pushes the boundaries of multiplayer boundaries on Xbox Live, and “Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Legend” (Eidos Interactive Ltd) the next-generation debut of the very popular Lara Croft series.

In addition, new titles are coming to Xbox Live Arcade all the time, including “Street Fighter II: Hyper Fighting”, “Uno” and the free full version of “Texas Hold ‘Em Poker” by Riverbelle.

Great titles that gamers can expect this season include:

* 2006 FIFA World Cup™ (EA SPORTS)

* Battlefield 2: Modern Combat (Electronic Arts)

* Blazing Angles Squadrons of WWII (Ubisoft)

* Burnout Revenge (Electronic Arts)

* Dynasty Warriors® 5 Empires (KOEI)

* Far Cry Instincts Predator (Ubisoft)

* FINAL FANTASY® XI (Square Enix, Inc.)

* Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter (Ubisoft)

* Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Legend (Eidos)

* The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (2K Games)

* The Lord of the Rings™ The Battle for Middle Earth II™ (Electronic Arts)

* The Outfit™ (THQ)

* Top Spin 2 (2K Sports)

* Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis (Rockstar Games)

* Rumble Roses XX™ (Konami)

* X-Men: The Official Game (Activision)

* Football Manager (Sega)

* Moto GP 2006 (THQ)

* Test Drive Unlimited (Atari)

anyways, some real interesting stuff there. interesting too they say can choose from "trully next gen titles" does it mean it gets even better from what we have now !

[DavoNogo]

aww, come now alebonau, you can just as easily plug in a PC into the big screen with 5.1, 6.1 or 7.1 sound (depending on the soundcard) digitally or via analogue (again, depends on the soundcard) and get the same kind of experience, provided you have a wireless keyboard/mouse and/or an XBox controller plugged into the USB port

Side note:

5.1, 6.1 or 7.1 sound, whichever path you take, they will all be discrete because games aren't limited to a set number of speakers. Directsound is flexible in this way, and pretty much every game that supports 5.1 will be able to do 7.1 properly as well. No processing effects necessary.

Side note 2:

You can have digital or analogue sound, but it depends on the soundcard. There are soundcards that use the exact same chip used for the original XBox, that turns every source into Dolby Digital 5.1. These are otherwise known as Dolby Digital Live soundcards. There are also DTS ones called DTS Connect, that will encode DTS on-the-fly so that you only need one audio cable from the PC to the receiver/amp.

[Ohboy]

well this is whats being released over in the UK. Not sure if we're getting the same over here, maybe somone has a release list for us.

http://www.homecinemachoice.com/cgi-bin/shownews.php?id=8612

anyways, some real interesting stuff there. interesting too they say can choose from "trully next gen titles" does it mean it gets even better from what we have now !

Hi Al,

I have three (3) of these listed games already:

1.- Oblivion

2.- Burnout Revenge

3.- Ghost Recon

cheers

[romalb]

Yes I'm using component and I can't change any scan modes when using component. I've tried both component inputs. My TV doesn't have VGA. I called Panasonic and they contacted Microsoft and they said something about the XBOX 360 outputing 1080i at 60Hz NTSC. A lot of people are having this problem. I hope someone finds a fix for it soon. Someone on another forum suggested getting a box with component that converts 60Hz to 50Hz. I don't know if it exists but it would work wouldn't it?

Anyone come across a solution to this problem. Its a pain having to use 480p when 1080i is just a fix away? I've spent hours trying to find a solution.

[Crono]

Some of the games, perhaps the one you are trying, are PAL60Hz..... This is probably where your problems are if the display can't recognise this.

It's in the dashboard! Not just when I play games.

[betty boop]

Hi Al,

I have three (3) of these listed games already:

1.- Oblivion

2.- Burnout Revenge

3.- Ghost Recon

cheers

all three sound like great games ohboy

I think I know what they mean by 'trully next gen'

checking out the xbox.com website

http://www.xbox.com/en-AU/games/catalog.as...m=0&h=1&r=0&p=6

there are a few 1080i titles but many of the games out now are really 720p. So guess when more of the 1080i ones come out that when we're really going to see the best out this.

that said 'time shift' and 'perfect dark zero' seem pretty interesting as 1080i titles.

[pandemik]

OMG.

Had my 360 up and running by 12.30am through vga to my 50" fuji and Oblivion BLEW me away. Well.....it was everything they said it would be....so far. Graphically it looks fantastic with HDR and aa and is easily worth purchasing the 360 for. HDR is way better than i expected and adds massive amounts of atmosphere to the game.Gameplay is already far better than morrowind (for me anyway). Combat is faster and easier.

Man oh man the 360 is exactly what i expected and matches and exceed games that i play at 1360x768 from my pc.

Damn thing kept me up to 3.30am. It's a bugger being at work.

dude on your fuji, what res do you have the dashboard set as? 1360x768, or other?

also, does the setting for the resolution for the dashboard have any connection to the resolution that the games run at?

(one last question - which VGA cable are you using? MS or third-party)

cheers

[Crono]

Anyone come across a solution to this problem. Its a pain having to use 480p when 1080i is just a fix away? I've spent hours trying to find a solution.

Does anyone think something like this would work?

[DaLeroy]

dude on your fuji, what res do you have the dashboard set as? 1360x768, or other?

also, does the setting for the resolution for the dashboard have any connection to the resolution that the games run at?

(one last question - which VGA cable are you using? MS or third-party)

cheers

Hiya

Bought my 360 yesterday. I bought the Joytech VGA cable and it seems alright. I'd be interested in knowing if anyone's done a comparison between it and the MS one.

[pandemik]

Hiya

Bought my 360 yesterday. I bought the Joytech VGA cable and it seems alright. I'd be interested in knowing if anyone's done a comparison between it and the MS one.

yeah I went with the joytech one as well, because no one in the store could tell me if the MS VGA cable had the optical output (I was pretty sure it did, but...)

I also noticed that the MS VGA cable said "resolutions up to 720p" on the box, where as joytech said 1080i.

Probably makes no diff either way. At $27ish for the joytech pack, I have no probs grabbing the MS version, but I did not think it should/would make any diff?

Anyway, the reason I posted yeterday was that, if I chose 1024x720 as dashboard res (or whatever it was, the one that was somethingx720, so 720p I guess), I had a very bizarre result on my panel, where the image was not correctly aligned on the screen, and there was some clear horizontal banding on the screen that was moving up/down (kind of like credits rolling, but as dis-coloured bands spanning the width of the screen). I was wondering if this was something I was doing wrong, or something to do with the joytech VGA cable.

I did not see any other issue using any either kind of dashboard resolution.

I am using 1360x768 at the moment (native res of my panel), but for some reason, choosing the 720p res gave a much clearer, crisper image (aside from the moving banding pattern).

Seem to make no diff to games, PerfectDarkZero etc all look spot on, crisp, no probs... its just when im running the dash itself at 1024x720...

anyone else with a Fuji using VGA seen this "issue", and/or have any suggestions?

cheers

[Guest hatguy]

Does anyone think something like this would work?

Yeah, the Xbox australia forum HD FAQ says older CRT HDTV's (like my Panasonic TX-76PW200A) won't play nice with the Xbox 360 at 1080i because the '360 only outputs 1080i at 60hz (the default Hz for NTSC), which leaves older HD PAL sets in the cold.

I've sent off an e-mail to the people who make the product you've linked to Crono ... I'm guessing that thing might be 5k + though ... which means you'd be better off just buying a whole new TV. We'll find out tomorrow probably.

[betty boop]

aww, come now alebonau, you can just as easily plug in a PC into the big screen with 5.1, 6.1 or 7.1 sound (depending on the soundcard) digitally or via analogue (again, depends on the soundcard) and get the same kind of experience, provided you have a wireless keyboard/mouse and/or an XBox controller plugged into the USB port

~

I tell you davo, I've never been a big fan of consoles and been into pc games going back many years. But I tell you picked up need for speed for the 360 this afternoon and honestly it is miles better than nfs or any other car racing game that I have or ever had on my pc. This really is at the cutting edge of gaming at the present. Have not seen or heard any better ever.

anyone keen on car racing games do yourselves a big big favour and grab nfs. Quite outstandign video (amazing given I understand its only 720p) and audio & effects is excellent to match as well.

[ejm]

I do not yet have the X360 and I am not planning on getting it in the distant future but I have one question about it that might make me go an get one tomorrow, is the gameplay of current games (ie:Elder Scrolls IV to be exact) on it any better than the Xbox (ie: Elder Scrolls III)? I am more into a game that is great to play and not into the whole fancy graphics thing.

Edited March 26, 2006 by ejm

[betty boop]

I do not yet have the X360 and I am not planning on getting it in the distant future but I have one question about it that might make me go an get one tomorrow, is the gameplay of current games (ie:Elder Scrolls IV to be exact) on it any better than the Xbox (ie: Elder Scrolls III)? I am more into a game that is great to play and not into the whole fancy graphics thing.

not sure where you are but why not pop into a store that have it setup and give it a go to decide for your self whether you think its worth buying over the old xbox.

[ejm]

not sure where you are but why not pop into a store that have it setup and give it a go to decide for your self whether you think its worth buying over the old xbox.

I would do that but all the stores near me have PGR3 or NFS:MW set up with the consol.

And what I ment was is Elder Scrolls 4 on X360 gameplay as good as Elder Scrolls 3 on Xbox?

[betty boop]

I would do that but all the stores near me have PGR3 or NFS:MW set up with the consol.

And what I ment was is Elder Scrolls 4 on X360 gameplay as good as Elder Scrolls 3 on Xbox?

Why don't you try asking the guys there, sure theyd load it up for you to have a look if you asked nicely.