xbox hi def question

[Supperdog]

i am thinking of getting a standard aspect HD capable monitor and i want to know whether games run in hd modes will be in the widescreen format or not. thanks!

[Titty]

your gonna need to get hdtv monster cables for xbox to be in hd. and ya you can pick how u want ot view your screen in.

[speedbuggy76]

That's correct, but may I ask why you don't want a widescreen? I can understand if it's too much money, but other than that there's no reason not to get one. If you don't like the stretched feel on 4:3 shows, most widescreens have the option to put black bars on the sides to correct the aspect ratio.

Just my $.02

[l Maximus l]

On your XBox dashboard, select the video option. You can put whatever screen you want...widescreen, standard, etc...

But, I'm with these dudes: I strongly suggest getting a widescreen HDTV with the normal 16x9 aspect ratio instead of the more "Square" 4x3 aspect ratio.

All of your DVD movies will fit the screen perfectly in widescreen (unless, of course, you get the "full screen" version) and most XBox games support the widecreen 16x9 aspect ratio. Seriously, dude...it's the way to go. I have a 50" Widescreen HDTV by Toshiba...I love it...it's my baby

[LynxFX]

Well for starters, you are shooting yourself in the foot by going with a 4x3 HDTV.

HD specs of 720p and 1080i are in the 16x9 ratio. When the time comes for when all broadcast television is switched to HD you will end up with black bars on the top and bottom for everything you view of normal tv.

Also depending on the tv you get, you may not be able to view widescreen dvd's properly. Not all 4x3 HD tv's do a 480p anamorphic squeeze on 16x9 material. This means you end up with a distorted image.

As for the Xbox, it is true that most games are in 4x3. The ones that actually support HD (720p and/or 1080i) are in 16x9 with the exception of Soul Calibur 2. 720p is only 4x3 which is lame. But most 4x3 games in 480p stretch nicely to 16x9. And those that are in 16x9 are beautiful.

And you don't need the monster HD cables. Spend $20 on the Microsoft HD A/V pack and you are set.

[Titty]

i play in 16:9 on my hdtv for xbox. looks sweet

[Supperdog]

thanks for the input guys, i see what you're saying about widescreen vs normal. i guess ill just buy a widescreen when (and if) HDTV takes off like everyone says it will. i cant stand the vertical bars though, it is incredibly distracting. unfortunately i HAVE to buy a new TV and soon, because my dad dropped our current one

[Yankeez]

would this be a tv worth the $1700 or is toshiba not a company to mess with

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...st=electronics

[LynxFX]

Originally posted by Supperdog
thanks for the input guys, i see what you're saying about widescreen vs normal. i guess ill just buy a widescreen when (and if) HDTV takes off like everyone says it will. i cant stand the vertical bars though, it is incredibly distracting.

It isn't a question of when or if, it IS going to be the standard in 2006. Ok, maybe it is a question of when because they have been fooling with the date which could be 2005 or as late as 2007. But that doesn't mean it can't be used now, like for dvd's and the xbox. Even digital cable and satellite and their non HD stations. Nearly every new show has been shot using widescreen cameras, most on the major networks are in HD already. Start last year the superbowl was shot in widescreen hdtv.

So there you have it. Oh and if you are worried about watching 4x3 material on it, check out some of the stretch modes on some of these widescreen tvs. Most have a variety of ways of stretching. Some don't touch the very center of the picture and stretch only the far edges. For the most part you can't even tell it isn't widescreen. Go to a store and play around.

[BCan]

Try closer to 2010 for HDTV to be the standard in any country. The uptake is slow in all countries, and most have a law stating analogue continues until 85% of viewers use digital (That's in the US anyway,got that by watching The Screen Savers on TechTV)

[MerimacHamwich]

BCan, I wouldn't be to quick to talk about the penetration of HDTV's in a continent seperated from you by the pacific ocean.


I have actually found that the general public is really starting to eat up Widescreen HDTV's in North America. Heck, the first three cribs here at XBA have widescreen HDTV's. I think it is highly feasible that in 2006, 3 years from now, at least 40% of the able population in North America will have some form of an HDTV. Then there is also rumours of a HDTV<->Analog converter for those who are left with regular cathode ray tubes.

[defcon420]

Way too much money for me to spend.

[runninutes]

I believe that the reason people are talking about 2006 is because the US federal government made a law that all TV broadcasts have to be digital by 2006. That frees up the bandwidth the analog signals are currently using so that they can use it for other things.

My understanding is that Digital = HDTV and HDTV = widescreen. That doesn't mean that you can't have non-HDTV stuff in widescreen, but I believe that all HDTV is widescreen.

[LynxFX]

That is correct runninutes. The FCC is still going by the 2006 date for when they pull the switch on analog signals.

The reason why I said HDTV in an earlier post is because here in the States there are very few (that's an understatement) digital tv's that aren't HD Ready or HDTV. Ask someone what an EDTV is and they usually look at you funny.

[Supperdog]

so if i get a standard aspect HDTV and play an xbox game in HD modes it will not be cut off?

[LynxFX]

It depends on the game and if they coded it correctly and what settings you use in your dashboard. I've seen more games that do not do letterboxing correctly on a 4x3 tv when the game is 16x9 and the settings in the dashboard is set to letterboxing. This should put black bars on the top and bottom of the image maintaining the proper 16x9 ratio of the game. However the game just stretches vertically to fill the entire screen. DOA3 for example. I don't know how a 1080i game will react on a 4x3 HDTV. If you have a proper squeeze function it will probably put the black bars on top and bottom for you, keeping the full res of the game in the proper 16x9 ratio. Otherwise it might just expand to fill all, but you will end up with a stretched image.

[l Maximus l]

Originally posted by Yankeez
would this be a tv worth the $1700 or is toshiba not a company to mess with

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...st=electronics

Toshiba has been ranked within the top 3 brands for TVs and DVD players for atleast 8 years. It's a top of the line company, if you ask me. In fact, Toshiba video equipment is the only brand I buy. I strongly recommend anything made by Toshiba.

[Titty]

zenith is known for thei hdtv's and are top of the line in hdtvs in my standards..