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[thirty]

so i get my 360, download the update, and go into settings and apply 1080i. now when i play games, my tv says it's getting a 1080i input, but when i play DVDs my tv says it's only got a 480p input and the picture look horrible. i thought the 360 would upscale? am i doing something wrong? please tell me i don't have to buy a stupid remote to access the upscaling feature.

gaf, help!!!

 

[vatstep]

You need to use the VGA cord to upscale standard DVDs, whether or not you have the HD-DVD player.

 

[The Innocent X]

No upscaling of DVD via component is mandated by law. Only VGA can do this.

 

[thirty]

how awful. thanks guys.

 

[AtomicShroom]

how awful. thanks guys.

Indeed. Thank the bigwigs in Hollywood.

 

[buckfutter]

In other news, I recently grabbed the VGA cable for my 360 and nearly crapped myself when it became evident that outputting to my monitor at 1920x1080 for around 5 minutes playing a game or watching a DVD would cause the system to lock up. I was panicking because I thought it'd killed the system just in times for Gears of War to come out over here, but when I turned the resolution down to 1280x720 it began working fine again. Microsoft hasn't gotten back to me about it yet.

 

[Naked Snake]

Is there any difference in picture quality when playing a DVD on Xbox 360 compared to playing it on the attached HD-DVD player? Both upscaled using VGA.

 

[jarosh]

...but when i play DVDs my tv says it's only got a 480p input and the picture look horrible.

it shouldn't look HORRIBLE in any case though

 

[thirty]

In other news, I recently grabbed the VGA cable for my 360 and nearly crapped myself when it became evident that outputting to my monitor at 1920x1080 for around 5 minutes playing a game or watching a DVD would cause the system to lock up. I was panicking because I thought it'd killed the system just in times for Gears of War to come out over here, but when I turned the resolution down to 1280x720 it began working fine again. Microsoft hasn't gotten back to me about it yet.

hmmm, i was gonna go out and get a vga cable but now you're scaring me.

it shouldn't look HORRIBLE in any case though

sorry, it does look horrible.

 

[CO_Andy]

No upscaling of DVD via component is mandated by law. Only VGA can do this.

WTFudge?! Is this true? The original Xbox can upscale movies perfectly thru homebrew apps.

 

[vatstep]

WTFudge?! Is this true? The original Xbox can upscale movies perfectly thru homebrew apps.

Well, yeah, but that's only because they're homebrew apps. Even some standalone players have basic remote codes and simple hacks to upconvert copyright protected discs via component. Manufacturers don't give consumers the option out of the box, but there are work-arounds a lot of the time.

 

[dante786]

OK, how do I go about getting my 360 to upscale DVD's im pretty ignorant with anything technical, so is there anyone in here who can just walk me through it, obviously I can't just put in the DVD and it upscales it automatically right? I've got it set to 1366x768 or something, with a VGA cable. Anybody?

 

[pr0cs]

OK, how do I go about getting my 360 to upscale DVD's im pretty ignorant with anything technical, so is there anyone in here who can just walk me through it, obviously I can't just put in the DVD and it upscales it automatically right? I've got it set to 1366x768 or something, with a VGA cable. Anybody?

Yep, it just upscales automatically. Just make sure you have the dashboard set to a resolution that you find acceptable and voila, you have upscaling (ala the beauty of the 360 really).

Not sure what TV you have but on mine I can press the Info button my my TV's remote and it will verify when playing a movie of it's current resolution... Using the component cables my TV verifies that the movie is playing at 480p, using the VGA it verifies that it's playing at 720p.

 

[GCQuinton]

I've been running my 360 through 1920 x 1080 on my 42" Westinghouse monitor and haven't had a single problem with it. Upscaled DVDs, and now HD-DVDs since I picked up the player, look great and it's now replaced my standalone unit.

 

[thirty]

Not sure what TV you have but on mine I can press the Info button my my TV's remote and it will verify when playing a movie of it's current resolution... Using the component cables my TV verifies that the movie is playing at 480p, using the VGA it verifies that it's playing at 720p.

yeah, my tv remote does the same thing. i cry when i play horrible looking 480p dvd movies after a 1080i gaming session. damn you dvd mafia!!!

i sure hope the new vga cable i'm planning to buy for the upscaling dvd feature will make the games look just as good as they do using component. i heard the games through vga didn't look so great before the recent dashboard upgrade. can someone confirm this info about gaming through vga?

 

[pr0cs]

i heard the games through vga didn't look so great before the recent dashboard upgrade. can someone confirm this info about gaming through vga?

I bought a knock-off VGA cable from ebay for $15 (shipped) canadian from some group in the UK. I figured for that price I could test DVD upscaling and see how my TV handled the connection.

Overall the picture was fine, perhaps slightly washed out but I didn't spend ANY time calibrating the connection so I'm sure I could get it to the same quality as component in terms of picture clarity. My biggest problem is that my TV doesn't handle the resolution or refresh rate of the VGA connection very well. I either get underscan or overscan depending on the resolution I pick and the "zoom" mode my TV lets me select for the input. The best I can get is underscan with about 1/2" black border around the viewable area. I was a bit disappointed with this but proceeded to test DVD upscaling.

Initially I was a bit skeptical as to how much difference it would make but it really is huge, I watched a bit of the Matrix as a test and the upscaled image was significantly better, no hard aliased edges and the dithering on people's faces was a lot less noticable on the VGA upscaled connection.

In the end however I decided to go back to component. I don't actually watch all that many DVDs (and don't plan on buying the HD-DVD drive anytime soon) so I went back to component that let me view the games without any underscan.

If I actually watched DVDs regularly though I probably would have kept the VGA connection because the underscan problems were overshadowed by how much more improved DVDs looked when upscaled.

 

[thirty]

I bought a knock-off VGA cable from ebay for $15 (shipped) canadian from some group in the UK. I figured for that price I could test DVD upscaling and see how my TV handled the connection.

Overall the picture was fine, perhaps slightly washed out but I didn't spend ANY time calibrating the connection so I'm sure I could get it to the same quality as component in terms of picture clarity. My biggest problem is that my TV doesn't handle the resolution or refresh rate of the VGA connection very well. I either get underscan or overscan depending on the resolution I pick and the "zoom" mode my TV lets me select for the input. The best I can get is underscan with about 1/2" black border around the viewable area. I was a bit disappointed with this but proceeded to test DVD upscaling.

Initially I was a bit skeptical as to how much difference it would make but it really is huge, I watched a bit of the Matrix as a test and the upscaled image was significantly better, no hard aliased edges and the dithering on people's faces was a lot less noticable on the VGA upscaled connection.

In the end however I decided to go back to component. I don't actually watch all that many DVDs (and don't plan on buying the HD-DVD drive anytime soon) so I went back to component that let me view the games without any underscan.

If I actually watched DVDs regularly though I probably would have kept the VGA connection because the underscan problems were overshadowed by how much more improved DVDs looked when upscaled.

thanks for the info, looks like i'll stay on component. hopefully there will be a hack in the near future.

 

[pr0cs]

thanks for the info, looks like i'll stay on component. hopefully there will be a hack in the near future.

Well it's a mixed bag, it's like all those people saying "HDMI is better", etc. YOu won't really know until you try it. My friend for example uses the VGA cable on his Optoma H79 projector and it's awesome but then he has a lot more adjustment options than I do (he should, his projector cost around $7000 Canadian). If you can pick up a VGA cable for cheap (like on ebay) and have a real willingness to watch DVDs on your 360 then I'd say splurge and buy a VGA cable to know for sure if your TV handles the connection with the 360.

My TV is a Sony KDFE42A10 rear projection LCD TV.

 

[----]

Does the HDTV actually upscale DVDs or is the only way to upscale a DVD through the DVD player?

 

[pr0cs]

Does the HDTV actually upscale DVDs or is the only way to upscale a DVD through the DVD player?

With my TV I have to rely on the input source (360 et al) to upscale the image.

I know a lot of people on this forum (I've been corrected constantly at my limited TV knowledge) that have upscalers built into their TV and they've been very happy with the image quality. It depends on your TV.

 

[thirty]

Well it's a mixed bag, it's like all those people saying "HDMI is better", etc. YOu won't really know until you try it. My friend for example uses the VGA cable on his Optoma H79 projector and it's awesome but then he has a lot more adjustment options than I do (he should, his projector cost around $7000 Canadian). If you can pick up a VGA cable for cheap (like on ebay) and have a real willingness to watch DVDs on your 360 then I'd say splurge and buy a VGA cable to know for sure if your TV handles the connection with the 360.

My TV is a Sony KDFE42A10 rear projection LCD TV.

oh snap, i got the same tv, ahahhaaaaaaa. gaming in component just looks too good to even try anything different. plus i already have a stand alone upscaling player. i was just hoping that i'd be able to toss that stand alone and brag about my 360 upscaling dvd's.

edit: 'cept mine is 46". thanks for all your info, you saved me $40 and more importantly, peace of mine knowing that i'm getting the best possible image gaming through component which is ultimately the most important factor.

 

[pr0cs]

oh snap, i got the same tv, ahahhaaaaaaa. gaming in component just looks too good to even try anything different. plus i already have a stand alone upscaling player. i was just hoping that i'd be able to toss that stand alone and brag about my 360 upscaling dvd's.

Yeah at least now you know. (at my expense :lol :lol )
I'd probably just keep the standalone player to be honest.

My friend with the projector is really happy though. I should probably take some pictures of his setup because it is quite amazing. Very high end projector, entire basement dedicated to his theatre, $3000 theatre couches (3 of them), custom made speakers, 750 DVDs. He was going to buy the Toshiba HD-DVD player but after I convinced him to buy a 360 (he was tired of me talking about chainsawing faces off) he also nabbed the HD-DVD drive and VGA cable as well and he's really happy with his investment.