A question regarding Xbox on standard tv

El Toro

First of all, I apologise if this is one of the most frequently asked questions in this forum but I'm looking for some advice/experiences!

I'm thinking strongly of braving red ring of doom and buying a 360. I wont ask about where's best to buy it as i'm sure it'll drive y'all mad! Basically I was wondering what the quality of picture is on a standard tv as opposed to HD?

I cant really afford HD at this stage (or any stage) and I don't expect the picture to be anywhere near as clear, but i've heard numerous stories of how poor the picture can be and just wanted to clarify. Cheers!

monkeyfudge

If you have a decent computer monitor it might be better to get the VGA connection and plug into that for HD gaming.

Sad Professor

It looks just fine via composite imo, as good as the old xbox. You can also buy a RGB SCART for improved picture. But obviously HD is a lot better.

The only thing you might want to consider is that several games (GOW, Forza) are 60hz only which might be a problem if your tv is old or (as is often the case) incorrectly calibrated for NTSC/60hz. I have a year-old Philips hdtv and 60hz looks absolutely awful via SCART, excessive overscan, ghosting, etc. Thankfully it's ok in hd.

lee_baby_simms

El Toro wrote:

First of all, I apologise if this is one of the most frequently asked questions in this forum but I'm looking for some advice/experiences!

I'm thinking strongly of braving red ring of doom and buying a 360. I wont ask about where's best to buy it as i'm sure it'll drive y'all mad! Basically I was wondering what the quality of picture is on a standard tv as opposed to HD?

I cant really afford HD at this stage (or any stage) and I don't expect the picture to be anywhere near as clear, but i've heard numerous stories of how poor the picture can be and just wanted to clarify. Cheers!

Xtravision seem to be the best place, they should do a good bundle for €400.

I used my 360 on a regular tv for a few months and it was fine, the odd game was problematic. I remember the text in Dead Rising was hard to read.

I now play it through a 26" Samsung LCD which i also use as telly/pc monitor so it was well worth the 800 quid i paid for it.

JM MARCONI

I had my 360 for about 6-8 months before i got my HDTV. And for those months i thought my 360 looked amazing on standard def. Its only when you have to go back to standard that you will really notice, so dont worry.

johnny_ultimate

I switch between standard TV and HDTV (HD room doesn't have Live) and I dont really think it makes THAT much of a difference. The HD does look much crisper and brighter, but I think HD doesnt make as much of a difference as some would suggest. HD is the prefferable option, but there is nothing wrong with standard TV. Some may tell you "the 360 isnt worth it without HD" but in my experience it is.

Royale with Cheese

I agree with Johnny Ultimate. Although HD is better, it's mostly marketing hype which people are taken in by. The 360 looks absolutely fine on a standard def tv. Only thing you might struggle with is being able to read subtitles on some games.

El Toro

Ah cool. The subtitle problem was indeed the issue I was warned about alright but if that is the only issue I'll accept it, I'm only playing a ds at the moment and wouldn't mind a little more power. Only thing to worry about now is it crapping out on me after a month!:p

Stephen!

Not with your 3year guarantee you wont!

dexterfletcher

Have to say, I only have a CRT TV and I bought my 360 a few weeks ago. I bought the Advanced Scart cable and it really made a difference to the games. I'm nearly sure my TV is not 60Hz as it was bought about 4/5 years ago and is an "Orion" make from Power City, but GOW and DiRT work fine. The only gripe I have is that GOW still looks a bit dark, a bit like I need to adjust the contrast on the TV or something...doesn't affect the gameplay but some of the in-game sequences can look a little poor

Sad Professor

dexterfletcher wrote:

Have to say, I only have a CRT TV and I bought my 360 a few weeks ago. I bought the Advanced Scart cable and it really made a difference to the games. I'm nearly sure my TV is not 60Hz as it was bought about 4/5 years ago and is an "Orion" make from Power City, but GOW and DiRT work fine. The only gripe I have is that GOW still looks a bit dark, a bit like I need to adjust the contrast on the TV or something...doesn't affect the gameplay but some of the in-game sequences can look a little poor

Your tv must support 60hz if it's able to play GOW as it's 60hz only. I've had older, cheaper tvs which handled NTSC/60hz just perfect, the problem is many manufacturers assume you won't use it and don't calibrate it correctly.

Also afaik there's a setting within GOW that lets you adjust the brightness.

Anyway I just connected up my Xbox via component/720p and the quality is incredible, especially in Dirt.