Xbox 360 Q&A Thread

[Arclight]

Thx!

[thedank]

Originally Posted by rwemyss

The Pro version comes with a component cable... and now includes HDMI as well.

You can play it on an HDTV even with the composite connection, it just won't look nearly as good.

Very little noticable difference with most televisions. However, the upscaling via HDMI has a good chance of looking better than your television's upscaling.

[milohimself]

Depends on the tv.

As far as just video quality, on 720p, HD composite and HDMI will have very little, if any, difference. HDMI's capabilities really shine through on 1080p.

[rwemyss]

Originally Posted by thedank

Very little noticable difference with most televisions. However, the upscaling via HDMI has a good chance of looking better than your television's upscaling.

Very little noticeable between 480i of the composite and either 720p or 1080i of component?!?! Seriously?

I am using component on my regular xbox b/c it looks much better in 480p than 480i. C'mon!

[DrRosenRosen]

Originally Posted by milohimself

Depends on the tv.

As far as just video quality, on 720p, HD composite and HDMI will have very little, if any, difference. HDMI's capabilities really shine through on 1080p.

I will even say that the difference, on most tvs, between 1080p via HDMI and component will not be very noticable to the human eye. But, if you want to see movies or video in 1080p, HDMI and VGA are your only choices with a 360.

[DrRosenRosen]

Originally Posted by rwemyss

Very little noticeable between 480i of the composite and either 720p or 1080i of component?!?! Seriously?

I am using component on my regular xbox b/c it looks much better in 480p than 480i. C'mon!

You misunderstood what I said. I was making note that the 360 will upscale DVDs via HDMI to 720p, 1080i, and 1080p, etc. Now, whether or not the 360 does a better job than your TV at scaling obviously varies depending on the TV. Some sets have great scalers, some don't. The 360 is no slouch in this department, so most people should see a slightly better picture. I doubt side by side many folks here would ante up more money for it...but it's a nice bonus.

You are talking about a rendered picture from the source. Component is a better cable with a much bigger bandwidth than composite. The different between HDMI and component is much smaller. Plus, you get to a point with lots of sources where the extra bandwidth isn't used, or utilized in any way. So, in lots of cases HDMI and component are exactly the same picture. But yes, having the xbox render at 480p does make a noticable difference. I bought the HD cables for sure. I just don't think the different in component and HDMI is anything remotely close to that big of a jump. Just an opinion, for sure.

[rwemyss]

I definitely misunderstood. I thought you were speaking of the difference in composite->component... but you were saying, component->HDMI.

[rwemyss]

Actually... on a second look, I wasn't even responding to you Dr.

I was responding to "thedank".

[DrRosenRosen]

[SmokeyVol]

[milohimself]

Originally Posted by rwemyss

Very little noticeable between 480i of the composite and either 720p or 1080i of component?!?! Seriously?

I am using component on my regular xbox b/c it looks much better in 480p than 480i. C'mon!

Agreed... Progressive scan >>>>>>>>>>>>>> Interlace

[Arclight]

Originally Posted by milohimself

Also, if I remember correctly, the HDMI pro version has upgraded heatsinks for the GPU, so the red rings of death should be (hopefully) less prevalent.

Thx for this tip. I read similar on the GameStop Board. They also said the Pro's cardboard box has a HDMI sticker on it. They also said to beware because some stores are selling off the old models--the ones w/o the h/sinks.

I'll prob try and get a new Pro model with the HDMI port & sinks.

[thedank]

Originally Posted by Arclight

Thx for this tip. I read similar on the GameStop Board. They also said the Pro's cardboard box has a HDMI sticker on it. They also said to beware because some stores are selling off the old models--the ones w/o the h/sinks.

I'll prob try and get a new Pro model with the HDMI port & sinks.

New units in stores actually have HDMI printed on the box along with composite and componenet and vga on the side of the box. Zephry is also listed on the seriel code sticker. First batch they used up all the old boxes, then switched to the new boxes with HDMI printed on the side.

So, there's actually some units out there with HDMI in the old boxes. Just check the seriel number sticker if they don't have any with HDMI on the side.

[Arclight]

Originally Posted by thedank

New units in stores actually have HDMI printed on the box along with composite and componenet and vga on the side of the box. Zephry is also listed on the seriel code sticker. First batch they used up all the old boxes, then switched to the new boxes with HDMI printed on the side.

So, there's actually some units out there with HDMI in the old boxes. Just check the seriel number sticker if they don't have any with HDMI on the side.

Thx for the extra tip on the s/n sticker!

[Arclight]

Finally bought my Pro 360 from BestBuy. Brought it home and..

1. Powered up--sometimes.
2. Tray opened sometimes.
3. Would never play a disc.

Returned it and the replacement is working fine. Gee, one would think MS would have this piece of equipt' to perfection.