Hey guys, my first post.

So I have an Xbox Elite, and I just bought my first HDTV (Samsung 52A750). However....

You know when you press the guide button and the little guide slides out on the left? The guide is of HORRIBLE PQ. Is this normal?

make sure you have thw switch set to HD on your AV dongle......maybe

my guide also becomes pixelated, or freezes when it slides in and out. if that is what u mean.

make sure you have thw switch set to HD on your AV dongle......maybe

That's my guess as well. You can check the resolution on the settings section.

Hey guys, my first post.

So I have an Xbox Elite, and I just bought my first HDTV (Samsung 52A750). However....

You know when you press the guide button and the little guide slides out on the left? The guide is of HORRIBLE PQ. Is this normal?

Read the manual and follow the steps for HD setup.

Plug the HDMI cable into your 360, then into your TV. Then set the resolution to 1080p in the system blade, then come back and tell us how it looks :D

Ok, first:

I'm not a beginner to this by any means, keep that in mind. The whole Xbox interface looks great as is, it is just the guide blade. So the guy telling me to look at the manual, completely pointless advice, even if I was a beginner.

Secondly, setting is @ 1080p Widescreen. I tried your method 257tony and it did not work.

Third, I have a huge TV (52 inch, one of the best models). I'm thinking the guide blade (when you press the xbox button on your controller, that is the blade that comes out) is bad quality already, but since I have a huge tv I can see it better.

4th, Antwon, I am using direct HDMI hookup, so I believe that is not necessary.

5th, luckysixx, no I mean I'm looking at the guide right now. It doesn't look Atari bad and I can see how I would deal with it, but compared to the gorgeous quality of the regular Xbox interface it's horrible. If you have HD, you know how you can go to the main Xbox Live blade and your gamer picture looks such of high quality? The guide blade isn't even close to that.

But like I said, it's a huge TV and I'm not that far away from it, I'm thinking no one ever noticed that it's not as good as quality as the rest of the xbox interface, unless anyone says anything...

Is there a way you can take a picture of it?

So the guy telling me to look at the manual, completely pointless advice, even if I was a beginner.

I am playing on Sony 70" and 60" LCOS XBR displays compared to your 52" and don't have that issue. Regardless somthing isn't right for you to have the issue you are having so rather than you saying it is pointless to look at a manual then, disconnect it all and hook it up again. Do you have the 360 going to a reciever and then to the display? If so, connect the 360 direct to the display and see if the problem still exist.
Any other displays in the home to test out?
Have you tried the component cables?

my blades looked horrible too starting 2 days before my 360 graphic chip crapped out. :(

disconnect it all and hook it up again

Already did that 3 times, doesn't work

Do you have the 360 going to a reciever and then to the display?

Nope

Any other displays in the home to test out?

The CRT I previously had but it's only 35inch, the lack of PQ would be undetectable on that television

Have you tried the component cables?

yes

-------
OK this is the thing. The guide blade doesn't look horrible. It just doesn't look the great quality that the other blades do. I don't think it's meant to be as high quality as those other blades though.

As far as reconnecting or checking my gear, there is no need. If there was something wrong with my setup, then everything would look wrong, as opposed to one blade. Taking a picture of it, you wouldn't notice a difference. As far as the 70 and 60 inch, your blowing up the other blades so much I don't think you would notice a difference either. Another big difference between our setups is I'm betting I sit closer.

Just 1 thing. Go to your main Xbox screen when you first turn it on. Hopefully you have a great looking gamerpic (I have the Ryu one). If you press the guide, you should notice that the gamerpic in the guide is not nearly as high quality as that one. And it looks like the text from the guide has just merely been scaled down in size, and although that blade is 1080p, I don't think that blade is high quality to begin with, hence why it doesn't look favorable.

As far as graphics card giving out, I just bought this Xbox, it's an Xbox Elite with a falcon chip, and every other blade looks GORGEOUS so I doubt that is the case.

Since you bought a Sammy lcd. Might want to have a look at these 2 threads.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=988390

http://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=622671

I'm on a samsung 50" 1080p plasma. The whole dashboard looked pretty badly to me at first.

Read Korn's first link. That fixed the problem for me. I sit about 2-3 feet from my 50" plasma in my gaming chair :)

I know exactly what the OP is talking about. The guide blade that comes out when you push the guide button doesn't look as good as the rest of the 380 interface. I noticed this a long time ago, but it didn't really bother me, however I've always wondered why Microsoft decided to do such a thing. My guess is for performance and load reasons, as the guide blade can be called up at any time, no matter what you are doing on the console.

There is nothing wrong with your display or your console settings, this is normal, as I've seen the same image quality on every 360 and display combination.

There is nothing wrong with your display or your console settings, this is normal, as I've seen the same image quality on every 360 and display combination.

Agreed. 108" here and the difference between guide and ingame blade are definitely noticeable.

Pictures?

on a 62" here and i can't say i've ever seen a difference.

[QUOTE=KoRn;14265548]Since you bought a Sammy lcd. Might want to have a look at these 2 threads.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=988390
why must you throw this link at everyone that posts with a question about a Samsung? the OP clearly stated that he has a 750, and that thread doesn't pertain to the this years models, more specifically the 330, 450, 550, 650 or 750...

the bottom line is that the in-game tab looks terrible, whether you're viewing it on a 27" 480i SDTV or a 52" 1080p HDTV, it's not your tv...

the bottom line is that the in-game tab looks terrible, whether you're viewing it on a 27" 480i SDTV or a 52" 1080p HDTV, it's not your tv...

So are you saying everyone else that doesn't see it is in denial?

50" at 4 feet away, and have never noticed it. How do your games look? Isn't that what matters?

Is it really that big of a deal? It's just a quick access blade. Are the actual games and Live blades looking pretty good?

I know precisely what the OP is talking about. The regular menu blades are crisp and reflective, while the XBOX button guide blade is dull, pixelated, and of poor PQ.

I think it is just not an elegant design for it. Good thing it doesnt stay on the screen all the time...huh!

Because the new Samsung lcds still have the "issue".

[QUOTE=KoRn;14265548]Since you bought a Sammy lcd. Might want to have a look at these 2 threads.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=988390
why must you throw this link at everyone that posts with a question about a Samsung? the OP clearly stated that he has a 750, and that thread doesn't pertain to the this years models, more specifically the 330, 450, 550, 650 or 750...

the bottom line is that the in-game tab looks terrible, whether you're viewing it on a 27" 480i SDTV or a 52" 1080p HDTV, it's not your tv...

Since you bought a Sammy lcd. Might want to have a look at these 2 threads.

I appreciate the help KoRn, but....

Those settings do not apply to my model of TV. I tried to go through it even though that is an old post, but per the post, certain options are not grayed out, and I have no Home Theatre option (or at least I can't find it).

I'm on a samsung 50" 1080p plasma. The whole dashboard looked pretty badly to me at first.

That's the thing though. EVERYTHING else looks fine except for that blade (and maybe all notifications). Since the guide blade is almost exactly like the other blades, it makes no sense that all I have to do is change a couple of options for that 1 blade.


There is nothing wrong with your display or your console settings, this is normal, as I've seen the same image quality on every 360 and display combination.

Thank you for confirming this, I knew it :)

Agreed. 108" here and the difference between guide and ingame blade are definitely noticeable.

Thank you also for confirming


the bottom line is that the in-game tab looks terrible, whether you're viewing it on a 27" 480i SDTV or a 52" 1080p HDTV, it's not your tv...

Thanks. I have a tube Tv and I never noticed it before though, but now that I have nearly doubled my TV size and resolution, I can immediately see the difference.

50" at 4 feet away, and have never noticed it. How do your games look? Isn't that what matters?

Um some of my games look good, others........meh.
Geometry wars definitely doesn't look as good as it did on my other TV, though I think it's just that Geometry Wars just doesn't support such a High Resolution. Call of Duty 4 on the other hand looks gorgeous, along with Forza 2, Shadowrun..... Also Pacman Championship edition doesn't look good either.

Is it really that big of a deal? It's just a quick access blade. Are the actual games and Live blades looking pretty good?


Well it sullies the whole experience, party because I'm always in the quick access blade, almost more than I am in the actual Xbox guide. Also, it isn't relegated necessarily to just the guide blade. "Some" notifications, and also the blade that comes in from the right (when you shut off the console, etc). It's like watching a HD movie and it switching to SD for 1 minute. Yeah it might be 1 minute but that 1 minute is excruciating.

I know precisely what the OP is talking about. The regular menu blades are crisp and reflective, while the XBOX button guide blade is dull, pixelated, and of poor PQ.

I think it is just not an elegant design for it. Good thing it doesnt stay on the screen all the time...huh!

Thanks for confirming. But actually for me, it does stay on the screen the whole time. Because the quick access blade also encompasses music, all your mail, friends, and now playing, including chat/IM, personal settings, and I press guide button all the time so I always have to stare at it. Also when shutting off your Xbox, the guide to the right does this as well. So it definitely does hurt the experience a little for me. I almost wish the actual Xbox interface look like the Guide blade, and the guide blade had the high PQ to it.

Can somebody post pics to see what the difference is?

So it definitely does hurt the experience a little for me. I almost wish the actual Xbox interface look like the Guide blade, and the guide blade had the high PQ to it.

Question: do you have a theme loaded? Have you looked at customizing the blade's look?

My experience is that many (most?) themes make the blade look just awful, so I modify the blade to stick with a clean and simple metallic/glass look no matter what the rest of the theme looks like. Try different themes (there's a fair amount of freebies) and remember you can mix-n-match the background and trim. My current layout has the Mass Effect theme with a gray metallic blade (I think from the Kameo theme) and a glass trim. Looks fine and perfectly readable.
Of course, your sense of aesthetics might be different... :cool:

Good look.

Question: do you have a theme loaded? Have you looked at customizing the blade's look?



I could be wrong here, but I think the OP is talking about the blade that comes up in game when you hit the Xbox button, BEFORE you get to the dashboard. On my 360, the theme settings don't apply to this at all. It is a grayscale blade, if irc. And yes, compared to the full dashboard, min is ugly on my 106" screen from a Sony VW40 proj.
If someone with more motivation than me(and who's not at work!) could post some pics to compare it would be awesome.

Question: do you have a theme loaded? Have you looked at customizing the blade's look?

No matter what theme I choose, the Xbox interface STAYS at high quality. I currently have mine set on Carbon, but I had everything at default a while ago. The theme also changes the blade (though they can be changed independent of each other) but this doesn't help on the quality of the guide blade whatsoever.

........Guys, trust me when I say I have tried EVERYTHING. Reconnecting, using component, putting it in different slots, labeling inputs, changing resolution via Xbox, scaling it down and letting the TV scale it to 1080p, changing themes, trust me I have tried ALL of those little things, AND some (including "reading the manual for an HD setup" :rolleyes:).

The only thing this possibly could be at this point, is that the guide blade is not as high quality as the rest of the interface by DESIGN, or for some off the wall reason my firmware is corrupted or not the same as everyone else's for more off the wall reasons.(but this doesn't make sense, I'm connected to Xbox Live). But as you guys have seen, other people have confirmed this. My TV is brand spankin new, 50,000:1 dynamic contrast (not ANSI but still...) top of the line TV, and I just live in an apartment, and the TV is in my bedroom no less, so I'm not sitting far away from it at all. So you have to understand, under my conditions, ANY source I put on my TV falls under heavy scrutiny. The very first time I booted up my Xbox, the interface looked gorgeous, until that guide blade slid out.

As far as pictures, I really don't think pictures will do it justice, things will be lost in translation if you understand what I mean....

I'll try to see if I can find a sd card for my camera later this week.

And to clarify, you really do use that guide blade for everything. I took the time to write an extensive list.

You use it to remotely shut off your console/controller, view, write, and record ALL messages (this in itself has me in the quick access blade alot), have video chats and voice chats, view your friend list and profiles and bios (this includes inviting friends to games, etc) and comparing games. Also for all recent players. ALSO, looking at your own gamer card, which encompasses any and all achievements (I also spend a ton of time in here), your own profile, and settings. You also use it for managing current profiles. Also for listening to music while playing a game. Also, it is used extensively when downloading content of ANY KIND, and managing active downloads. Also if you switch games as often as I do, your going to be press that guide button A LOT to quit to dashboard.

ALSO, many games utilize the blade. For instance, I'm playing Devil May Cry 4 now. You have to use the blade every start-up for picking your hard drive, saving and uploading scores (which it always prompts you to do), and other games also use it extensively. Like I said, for me at least, I spend all my time in the quick access blades, so it is really disappointing.

It's a simple choice for Microsoft really. Do you spend ram holding a high resolution, high quality image for the in-game Guide blade, or do you leave that ram free for game use and use a far lower quality blade?

The choice is obvious, right? This answers your question, right?

End of thread.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3162/2660677959_d87d7a3379_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3053/2660677803_23ef8778b9_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3252/2660678291_7db02b73fe_o.jpg

Is this what you are talking about?

60" XBR Sony LCOS Oh, HDMI connection 1080p

The choice is obvious, right? This answers your question, right?

CLEARLY half of the people in this thread have this problem, and half do not. What I am trying to get to the bottom of, is either 2 scenarios.

Scenario 1: The Xbox blade really IS of high quality, and the people who are having problems with it (including me) are an isolated case.

Scenario 2: The Xbox blade really IS of poor quality, and the people who say it's fine merely don't have the PQ on their television, or are sitting too far away to notice it.

Oh, and BY THE WAY...

Go to the main Xbox interface. Press the guide button. Obviously the guide blade slides out, and the interface fades. If you look closely, you will notice the quality of the interface reduce EVER SO SLIGHTLY before it dims. Do you honestly think Microsoft couldn't engineer a better looking blade that would work EVEN WITH the allotted ram?! As it is, most games default to pausing when pressing the guide.

ALSO........... If I'm also correct, the new firmware for the PS3 ALSO allows a great quality IN GAME XMB, which is not of reduced quality..........

But wait....... doesn't the Xbox 360 have double ram than the PS3 has?!

wait............. doesn't that render your whole ram argument null?

Be gone troll ;)

Is this what you are talking about?

Yep that would be the quick access blade.

Like I said though, looking at those pictures, there is absolutely no way to tell what kind of quality it is, you would need much higher quality pictures to show it off.

Oh and if it helps I have 20/20 vision. I'm really just trying to get to the bottom of this. To be honest I would much rather prefer you were correct, so that I can go return my Xbox, but I honestly do not think that is the case.

The PS3 and 360 have the same amount of ram, the 360 is unified and the ps3 is split into 256. Keep in mind the in game XMB is newer on the PS3 and basically a rip-off, like the trophy system. So of course they have an improved version.

The blade looks fine for me 90% of the time, but depending on the game can look slightly off.

The PS3 and 360 have the same amount of ram, the 360 is unified and the ps3 is split into 256. Keep in mind the in game XMB is newer on the PS3 and basically a rip-off, like the trophy system. So of course they have an improved version.

The blade looks fine for me 90% of the time, but depending on the game can look slightly off.

Ok let me put this to rest right now. I have in no way, even since the start of thread, been complaining about it not being there. I have not said "What the heck, the blade should be of higher quality!".....No...... I challenge anyone to point out once in the whole thread where I made this sort of statement

I have not said that it should be higher quality, I have not any comment of that sort. The troll who commented was THE FIRST to bring it up in a conversation that had nothing to do with it.

Now if what you say is true, if they have the same amount of ram, then the 360's guide should be able to match the quality of the PS3's. Yes, the PS3's system is newer, but the mere fact that they have released an XMB which does not sacrifice quality, only further strengthens the point to be made that IT CAN BE DONE. If you say it is impossible to go to the moon, then 5 seconds later you see Neil Armstrong up there, all other points are conjecture and fluff; It can be done, and has been shown as such.Whether or not their "Trophy" system is a rip-off is a completely ancillary point, and once again, belongs in a completely different topic.

So to summarize, not only were we not talking about that, but even if you wanted to go there, they still have the same amount of ram, and the PS3 has it on their system, so there is really no excuses.

But I reiterate, that has nothing to do with the main point of this thread, so let's not divert from the main topic like oh so many threads do....

12step - If you are going to respond this aggressively to every post that is trying to help you out (as your 7 replies have been), then maybe AVS isn't the right place for you. Might I recommend that IGN or Gamefaqs would be a better fit for your personality. :)

Why did you quote me then? I never said it's impossible, or shouldn't be done. Maybe 8 people on earth even really care about it, so I doubt it's a priority.

Basically the point of my post was, if something comes out after something it's copying, of course there can be improvements made. Like I said, I see it mainly in games like Halo 3, COD4, and GTAIV which don't run natively at 720p. everything else looks fine.

You seem to have some sort of mental instability if this irks you so much. Jeez.

Yep that would be the quick access blade.

Like I said though, looking at those pictures, there is absolutely no way to tell what kind of quality it is, you would need much higher quality pictures to show it off.

Oh and if it helps I have 20/20 vision. I'm really just trying to get to the bottom of this. To be honest I would much rather prefer you were correct, so that I can go return my Xbox, but I honestly do not think that is the case.

Unless you show your own pictures which would have made this easier to actually see what you were talking about from the get go. I can tell you regardless that this picture is not of high quality with my actual eyes and this display I don't see any difference in degrade of quality when hitting the guide button. Hell I don't see any difference from a SD display for what it is worth. Again pictures from your display showing the guide would help. I don't see how anyone here can help you see the difference unless you are in driving distance to come to their actual house and see. Better yet if this is bothering you that much take the 360 to CC or Best Buy and hook it up to those displays and see what you get.

12step - If you are going to respond this aggressively to every post that is trying to help you out (as your 7 replies have been), then maybe AVS isn't the right place for you. Might I recommend that IGN or Gamefaqs would be a better fit for your personality. :)

Telling me to go read the manual and telling me the xbox 360 doesn't have enough ram.....do you consider this help? Do you consider your own post help?

Telling me Gamefaqs would be a better fit for my personality? I mean honestly if your going to make a hypocritical post like that you have to expect me to respond with a post drenched with sarcasm and eye raising...... :D

Why did you quote me then? I never said it's impossible, or shouldn't be done.

So you agree, that a post citing ram as the reason for the problem doesn't belong in this thread, which is where my response that I made stems from, which is the same one that you replied to. I agree with you dude, things can be improved on, but you don't agree with my point, which is how and why did we even get on that subject? I am merely trying to find out if this is how it should/should not be looking. The only thing that slightly "irks" me is asking a well intentioned question, and having it spiral out of control into something completely different.

You don't have a problem with the guide? 100% OKAY. Some of the other people in this thread, do see a noticeable difference, that is also 100% OKAY. I am trying to hear from more people who have an opinion on the quality of the blade. Nothing more, nothing less.

12step - If you are going to respond this aggressively to every post that is trying to help you out (as your 7 replies have been), then maybe AVS isn't the right place for you. Might I recommend that IGN or Gamefaqs would be a better fit for your personality. :)

+1

12step, people are attempting to assist you, yet you are basically trolling every one of them when they address you. I've never noticed the "problem" you are having. I play on a Panasonic 42PH10UK plasma, and typically the last thing I'm concerned about is the guide blade. As long as your games look fine, give it a rest. :rolleyes:

"telling me the xbox 360 doesn't have enough ram"

At no point did anybody say the Xbox doesn't have enough ram. What was said is that more ram available is preferable to less ram available. This point seems like a huge "no frakkin duh" concept to me, but maybe it doesn't feel that way to you. At that point, I don't know what to tell you as I find it difficult to comprehend a world in which that concept isn't true.

At no point did anybody say the Xbox doesn't have enough ram.

So we are still on the ram thing huh.....even though I said it had nothing to do with my question, we are still on it. Here is your original quote..

Do you spend ram holding a high resolution, high quality image for the in-game Guide blade, or do you leave that ram free for game use and use a far lower quality blade?

Now hypothetically, if the Xbox 360 had, let's say 20GB of ram, they wouldn't have to leave ram free for game use, and use a far lower quality blade. Obviously this isn't the case, I say this to make a point.

By saying that they should leave ram free for game use and use a far lower quality blade, you are directly implying that the Xbox 360 conversely (to my above point) does not have sufficient amount of ram to handle both a high quality blade & game use at a sufficiently high performance level. I am fully aware of the concepts, which is exactly why I made the comment that I did. My point still stands, unless you have anything else to say on the subject.

As long as your games look fine, give it a rest. :rolleyes:

I cannot for the life of me understand how you can call me a troll, and make comments like this! Seriously I'm not even upset or anything, it is extremely hillarious! I am over here dying! :D

You know......some people buy Xbox 360's and PS3's to use as Media Centers/Home Theatres.... what have you. They expect them to be the WHOLE PACKAGE, especially when the companies that manufacture them, tout them as HD capable devices.

Now, telling me that as long as my games look fine, give it a rest, with a little rolleyes emoticon? Surely you jest sir! :D

Some people actually buy consoles for other than the sole purpose of playing games! So excuse me and anyone else who's idea of entertainment is different from yours!

I mean really, why don't they put a windows command prompt for the guide! I mean, who cares as long as your games look good, RIGHT!!! :D:D:D

"So we are still on the ram thing huh.....even though I said it had nothing to do with my question, we are still on it."

Of course we are still on it. You keep talking about it! In fact, I've only talked about it twice in this thread, versus your four posts regarding ram. Whoops, there is my third mention then. You've still got me beat. :)

As far as "I said it had nothing to do with my question" goes, saying something doesn't automatically make it true. Really, it has a hell of a lot to do with your question, but you are refusing to acknowledge anything that doesn't already fall within whatever you decided the issue was before you even started the thread. If you aren't open to conflicting opinion, or even looking for a genuine answer, then why the hell did you even start posting to begin with?

"So we are still on the ram thing huh.....even though I said it had nothing to do with my question, we are still on it."

Of course we are still on it. You keep talking about it!

I keep responding to you and others, which by the way, you never bothered to respond to my last post...why is that? :D

I actually love conflicting opinions, but you know, they have to actually, ya know.....CONFLICT.

I have already thoroughly responded to each of your ram arguments, and explained piece by piece why it is not relevant. If you so desire to keep this up, then by all means go ahead. You can START by responding to my previous post, instead of dodging it :D

Scenario 2: The Xbox blade really IS of poor quality, and the people who say it's fine merely don't have the PQ on their television, or are sitting too far away to notice it.




This is probably not the case. This is avs forum. Most of us here, probably have $15,000+ worth of AV equpment in our home theaters.

I cannot for the life of me understand how you can call me a troll, and make comments like this! Seriously I'm not even upset or anything, it is extremely hillarious! I am over here dying! :D

You know......some people buy Xbox 360's and PS3's to use as Media Centers/Home Theatres.... what have you. They expect them to be the WHOLE PACKAGE, especially when the companies that manufacture them, tout them as HD capable devices.

Now, telling me that as long as my games look fine, give it a rest, with a little rolleyes emoticon? Surely you jest sir! :D

Some people actually buy consoles for other than the sole purpose of playing games! So excuse me and anyone else who's idea of entertainment is different from yours!

I mean really, why don't they put a windows command prompt for the guide! I mean, who cares as long as your games look good, RIGHT!!! :D:D:D


It's fine that you bought the 360 for other reasons besides playing games. But the makers designed it primarily for playing games. Now you bring up streaming media. If you stream movies, then you aren't going to see that temp blade unless you bring it up. If you stream music, last time I checked, the music blade was in HD and looked pretty good with the option to turn on visualizations. If it doesn't, then something may be wrong with your set.

What you should probably do is determine the amount of REQUIRED time spent
on the temp blade versus total time spent doing other things with the 360. I'm willing to bet that it's in the single digit percentage range. And if you took the average time spent by all the other players in the temp blade it would be very low. I don't see a need for Microsoft to spend any more resources on it than they did. I'm sure you don't spend countless hours watching it. Just let it be.

I cannot for the life of me understand how you can call me a troll, and make comments like this! Seriously I'm not even upset or anything, it is extremely hillarious! I am over here dying! :D

You know......some people buy Xbox 360's and PS3's to use as Media Centers/Home Theatres.... what have you. They expect them to be the WHOLE PACKAGE, especially when the companies that manufacture them, tout them as HD capable devices.

Now, telling me that as long as my games look fine, give it a rest, with a little rolleyes emoticon? Surely you jest sir! :D

Some people actually buy consoles for other than the sole purpose of playing games! So excuse me and anyone else who's idea of entertainment is different from yours!

I mean really, why don't they put a windows command prompt for the guide! I mean, who cares as long as your games look good, RIGHT!!! :D:D:D



I said you were trolling because every time someone replies to you, initially you replied a tad rude and/or aggressive, and now you are more sarcastic than anything. AVS does not operate like your run-of the-mill message board. People respect others, try to help out if we can, and if you don't like peoples' suggestions that is 100% fine, but you are in constant disagreement with people and obviously not willing to accept anything anyone has to say. Debate is one thing, completely rejecting others' ideas is another.


When you say something like: "Scenario 2: The Xbox blade really IS of poor quality, and the people who say it's fine merely don't have the PQ on their television, or are sitting too far away to notice it."

Which was pre-qualified with this from your first post: "Hey guys, my first post.

So I have an Xbox Elite, and I just bought my first HDTV (Samsung 52A750)."

So this is your first HDTV, congrats on the purchase, and welcome to AVS. You're insulting peoples' AV knowledge, and their equipment, not the best way to get off to a good start here. If you are interested in what peoples' ideas are on the issue you are having, then please continue. But if you are going to insist on carrying on like a troll, which you indeed are, then please find another board.

Just let it be.

A couple of things

There seems to be a huge conflict between statements here. So I guess I should split this into 3 camps. Just want to clarify this so I don't have to keep retreading old ground in each post.

Some people are saying it does exist, we'll call them the "Something Wrong" camp.

Some people are just saying "well it is of poor quality but you buy an Xbox to play games, not look at the quick access blade dummy". We'll call them the "Don't Care" camp.

Some people say it purely does not exist and they do not see it. We'll call them the "Nothing Wrong" camp.

The Nothing wrong camp shares a trait with the don't care camp, in that they see nothing wrong, therefore it's of no concern. The Don't care camp shares a trait with the Something wrong camp, in that they don't really argue the fact that the guide blade is of bad quality, they just state that it shouldn't matter. Now, with that out of the way...... onto my post

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Like I have said, I merely just want to know if the guide blade is purposely of bad quality, or if I am an isolated incident. You fall inside of the Don't Care camp, that's GREAT.

It's awesome a bunch of people here have firmly established themselves inside of that camp. Unfortunately, "don't care" doesn't answer any questions, it just states your opinion. That belongs in the make believe following topic: How do you feel about the Guide blade being of horrible quality?

As far as percentages, a lot of people like throw around percentages in arguments. Example? What if someone came in here and made a comment as to this extent?

You guys spend so much money on this tech stuff........why is this stuff important? You probably spend only 10% of your life using this stuff, what a waste of money and resources!

And then that is when the whole forum erupts at said person. It's a kind of statement that blindly ignores oh so many things.

Look I have said it before, I really do not care AS MUCH as what's being portrayed here, but even if I did, SO WHAT? I look at the quick access blade only 10% of the time, so what?

Hypothetical situation: I buy a house, and the Realtor tells me everything is OK. The very next day, I find that the plumbing doesn't work the way it should, and it all needs to be replaced (rotted pipes, whatever) And then the Realtor tells me "Well hey, only 10% of what I told you is off! The the other 90% that you should be worrying about is OK! Who cares?!"

So yeah, the fact that I use quick access blades only 10% of the time (which I can tell you for a fact I use it more than that, but hey I will handicap my point for the sake of your argument) means absolutely nothing

...... But like I have said before, this is COMPLETELY off the topic at hand.

This is probably not the case. This is avs forum. Most of us here, probably have $15,000+ worth of AV equpment in our home theaters.

ilivas, I have received about 55/45 response regarding the guide blade, in the Xbox 360 Subforum no less, where any bad talk about the 360 is not permitted :D, so I'd say it's about neck and neck regarding whether it is or isn't a problem.

I also didn't mean to say I have a better setup, I probably don't, but I can see a lot of cases where you wouldn't notice that. In a $5000.00, 150 inch tv, with 1080p (most of today's sources don't go above this) at a certain distance (or most) the source is going to look sooo pixelated you might not even notice the difference between the guide and the blade.

So yeah until I see something definitive, those 2 scenarios still stand, although I should probably revise the 2nd scenario:

Scenario 1: The Xbox blade is really of good quality, I and others are an isolated case

Scenario 2: The Xbox blade really IS of poor quality, and the people who say it's fine, say so under special circumstances that would serve only to obfuscate what is actually the case.

Unless you show your own pictures which would have made this easier to actually see what you were talking about from the get go.

Like I said, pictures would lose a lot in translation, especially from all but the highest quality cameras. Furthermore, what good would a picture do? If I were to show you a picture that actually got my point across, all it would show is exactly what I've been talking about, and do nothing to disprove that I'm an isolated incident.

Now don't get the wrong idea (seriously don't take this the wrong way, I am in no way asking for this from anyone), but it would make MUCH more sense for someone who wasn't having this problem to post high quality pictures. Because in doing so, you prove that I am an isolated incident, and you basically render this whole thread completely null. That, and it would let me know that there is some way to get the guide to look that much better.

Which of course gets back to my previous point, I love conflicting opinions, this thread is only win-win for me. I'm either right or wrong, and if I'm wrong, then I get a setup that actually looks that much better. So I would actually prefer someone to prove me wrong.

I'll work on getting pictures later in the week, just can't find a SD card around here anywhere. Anyway, thanks for reading this novel.

I said you were trolling because every time someone replies to you, initially you replied a tad rude and/or aggressive


Nope, not to everyone's post, please do not exaggerate the truth.

AVS does not operate like your run-of the-mill message board. People respect others.....

Do you consider this a respectful comment? Implying that I come from some ragtag message board? So in other words, your motto is "Do as I say, not as I do"? You cannot possibly hope to keep up that "respectful" facade when your very own statements contradict themselves.

Debate is one thing, completely rejecting others' ideas is another.

Ok listen. In the part of the "rag-tag message boards" that I hail from, we go by certain unspoken rules. When someone asks a question, we give them a response DIRECTLY based on their question. Show respect, receive respect. If someone asked a great question, we would NEVER give someone mis-information, or the stock responses (google it, go read the manual, etc).

Now I know I asked a good question. and what was one of the very first responses I received? "Go read the manual".......

Now, from my rag-tag parts, this is considered extremely disrespectful, because not only was I given a stock response, but I know the question wasn't read carefully, because it's not possible to have half of your Xbox setup in HD and the other in SD. Now, this person had immensely better subsequent posts. I did not get fly with my response, I merely told it like it was, it was completely pointless advice, and I think I was absolutely fair in that statement. No disrespect mboojigga (sorry can't remember your full name)


When you say something like: "Scenario 2: The Xbox blade really IS of poor quality, and the people who say it's fine merely don't have the PQ on their television, or are sitting too far away to notice it."

Just wondering, did you happen to miss Scenario 1? To be fair, I did kind of misword Scenario 2, but I already revised it before your post regarding it, and even then, it was kind of a general scenario, because if I am indeed right (but I'm not sure, which is why it is labled as a SCENARIO), I didn't know how to describe under what possible conditions someone else couldn't notice it, so this is what I wrote. If you had to write a description for a theoretical case where I was right, what would you write?

So this is your first HDTV, congrats on the purchase[, and welcome to AVS.

Thank you

You're insulting peoples' AV knowledge....

Almost every response I received completely ignored the fact that I was not talking about the Xbox interface itself, but merely the guide blade. But yet I keep getting the stock responses: Disconnect and reconnect everything; go to this thread, something is wrong with Samsungs and Xbox's; try component cables.... every single stock advice ever given, none of which apply because I only said that my guide blade looks bad. So I know it might sound insulting, but when I say that I am not a beginner, and people insist on giving me the stock advice, I have no choice but to (and I mean this in the nicest way possible), not insult anyone's AV knowledge, but their lack thereof.

if you are going to insist on carrying on like a troll

You are just as guilty if not more of this accusation for aforementioned reasons.

Like I said, I see it mainly in games like Halo 3, COD4, and GTAIV which don't run natively at 720p.

Actually GTA4 is 720p native on the 360. It's the PS3 version that is not 720p native. You are right about Halo 3 and CoD4 not being native though.

this thread is funny. it's a stupid guide blade that is hardly ever on screen.

oh, and Neil Armstrong was never on the moon :)

this thread is funny. it's a stupid guide blade that is hardly ever on screen.

oh, and Neil Armstrong was never on the moon :)

I'd say it gets about 30% usage from me. But thanks for your insightful contribution to the thread. I don't know what that 12step guy is talking about, this is very helpful stuff! :D

Alright, so I somehow got a hold of a High Quality Pentax, so I took some pictures for the people who requested it. It is important to note that some things still get lost in translation, but if you see what I see, just know that it is even more exacerbated on my television.

Now I just signed up with a Flickr account, and as per their rules I can't link directly to the image. So make sure when you go to the link I provide, look above the upper right hand corner of the picture, there will a button there that says "All Sizes". Make sure to subsequently click on that button. You won't notice anything without zooming in.

So without further ado:

First, my Xbox Dashboard:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8163310@N04/2664614756/

Now, my quick Access blade (and other supporting pictures):
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8163310@N04/2663789481/ (look at the word "personal settings")
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8163310@N04/2664616426/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8163310@N04/2663792025/

Wait wait wait wait wait!

You're throwing a fit over maybe minor text scaling issues on the Guide Blade, yet you still have the advertisement stickers stuck to your TV? Some of those even covering up parts of your picture!?!

Talk about seriously misplaced priorities! :)

You're throwing a fit over maybe minor text scaling issues

Not minor. Like I said twenty times, the pictures lose a lot in translation.

yet you still have the advertisement stickers stuck to your TV? Some of those even covering up parts of your picture!?!

Talk about seriously misplaced priorities! :)

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that is meant as some sort of joke :)

In all seriousness, the sticker doesn't come off until 30 days, I'm still looking for issues with my TV (and I "may" have clouding, but that's a totally different topic). Once I'm absolutely sure everything looks good, then the stickers come off.

But seriously darklordjames, do you see what I'm talking about? You never said if you were or weren't having the problem.

EDIT: Oh yeah by the way. I'm using the default theme for the guide background. If you use any other theme, it makes the problem look 2x worse.

Alright, so I somehow got a hold of a High Quality Pentax, so I took some pictures for the people who requested it. It is important to note that some things still get lost in translation, but if you see what I see, just know that it is even more exacerbated on my television.

Now I just signed up with a Flickr account, and as per their rules I can't link directly to the image. So make sure when you go to the link I provide, look above the upper right hand corner of the picture, there will a button there that says "All Sizes". Make sure to subsequently click on that button. You won't notice anything without zooming in.

So without further ado:

First, my Xbox Dashboard:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8163310@N04/2664614756/

Now, my quick Access blade (and other supporting pictures):
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8163310@N04/2663789481/ (look at the word "personal settings")
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8163310@N04/2664616426/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8163310@N04/2663792025/

Even with pictures that came out better then my camcorder snaps I still don't see what the hell is the problem :D. That looks no different then the dashboard. If you say with other themes it looks worse why didn't you post with those other themes because this doesn't show any loss in quality of the blade to the dashboard in your first pic. I stuck around to see if there was just some drastic difference you were seeing and was dissappointed by what you posted.

IT LOOKS GOOD ON THAT DISPLAY :D

When I took my shots I am using the Dark Knight theme.

By the way, Did you try a different resolution like 720p or 1080i instead of 1080p? I don't remember in any of your post if you did.

Almost every response I received completely ignored the fact that I was not talking about the Xbox interface itself, but merely the guide blade. But yet I keep getting the stock responses: Disconnect and reconnect everything; go to this thread, something is wrong with Samsungs and Xbox's; try component cables.... every single stock advice ever given, none of which apply because I only said that my guide blade looks bad. So I know it might sound insulting, but when I say that I am not a beginner, and people insist on giving me the stock advice, I have no choice but to (and I mean this in the nicest way possible), not insult anyone's AV knowledge, but their lack thereof.


This proves my point exactly. People are brainstorming with you to find possible causes of your issue. Of course they start with the most basic of ideas, no one knows you or your level of AV knowledge. You just joined the boards, you have no post history of being knowledgeable or helpful to others so of course you are going to get the "stock" answers. You apparently had some sort of expectations for replies to your questions, and when you didn't get what you were looking for, which btw you still haven't gotten anything explanatory for your issue, you get into these "conflicts of opinions" that you claim to love so much - so why wouldn't I think you are just trolling and not willing to accept the help you have been offered? Could it just simply be that no one knows why something like that happens? It's obviously an issue for you, if you find that it's not an issue with your TV, then pursue the issue with MS. We here at AVS with our lack of AV knowledge, as you put it, just can't figure out what the problem is, so please keep us up to date on your fight against the guide blade. I know I'll be at the edge of my seat waiting for another one of your personable, warm hearted replies.

Even with pictures that came out better then my camcorder snaps I still don't see what the hell is the problem :D. That looks no different then the dashboard.

I definitely pixelation in the guide blade if you zoom in on it. If you go look at the word "Personal Settings", I see pixelation man. Are you saying that you don't see it, or are you saying you see it, and it is non issue?

We here at AVS with our lack of AV knowledge, as you put it....

Yep, that is EXACTLY how I put it, word for word ;) Instead of skimming my posts and responding, I would suggest you go back and re-read my post, and stop firing off angry posts.

I would explain it to you, but you would probably, again, skim my counter-response and fire off another response which would clearly show again that you haven't been listening.

Of course they start with the most basic of ideas, no one knows you or your level of AV knowledge. You just joined the boards, you have no post history of being knowledgeable or helpful to others so of course you are going to get the "stock" answers.

You do understand this makes no sense, do you not?

First things first. Click here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=14264594#post14264594), read my 2nd sentence. That is my 2nd post here on AVS. Once again, instead of skimming, maybe you might want to actually read what I post so you can make an educated response.

I have no post history of being knowledgeable? I think we have established a while ago that I am fairly knowledgeable when it comes to AV, including me even saying it MYSELF. (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=14264594#post14264594) And again, it's not so much the stock answers, as it is the stock answers being applied to something that has nothing to do with the stock answers. I mean, I'm sorry you feel insulted when I say you are wrong, but guess what? You cannot have half of your 360 setup in HD, and the other half in SD!

I do not know how you can keep saying comments like "you are insulting our AV knowledge", when I am getting clearly apparent, slapdash, wrong, stock answers!

You know, I contribute to a couple of forums, and I would never give "stock answers", side from extremely rare cases. I consider it disrespectful, and I reciprocate it.

I know I'll be at the edge of my seat waiting for another one of your personable, warm hearted replies.

At least I'm upfront about it. You, on the other hand, keep putting up this "respectful" front on, all the while sneaking jabs into your posts. You ever heard that story about the pot and the kettle? Check it out sometime, it's a REAL good story :D

Oh and if you haven't noticed, the thread as a whole had actually calmed down but you still felt the need to stir the pot with your expected "holier than thou" response post :D

Actually GTA4 is 720p native on the 360. It's the PS3 version that is not 720p native. You are right about Halo 3 and CoD4 not being native though.

Wow, that's shocking. Why the hell is it so blurry?

"Wow, that's shocking. Why the hell is it so blurry?"

Intentional depth of field filtering.

"I think we have established a while ago that I am fairly knowledgeable when it comes to AV, including me even saying it MYSELF. (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=14264594#post14264594)"

When people say "I'm no noob!", as you did, it usually means that they are horribly ignorant of the subject at hand. It's like when people try to tell you "I'm not racist!". They wouldn't have had to make that statement unless they had just demonstrated that they are, in fact, racist douchebags.

As far as establishing your knowledge in the field, no you have proven no such thing. You have 18 posts, most of which is pointless arguing. The only thing you have established is a lack of reason thus far. Hell, your statement of 52" being "huge", and a Samsung A750 being "one of the best models" pretty much establishes a certain level of noob status. On this board, and in the world in general, 52" is a good, average size, and the A750 is a pretty good display.

see pixelation man. Are you saying that you don't see it, or are you saying you see it, and it is non issue?

12Step,

How far away do you sit from your new display? I ask this because I can only see the pixelation when my face is 5 inches up to the screen. That is how I had to see what you were talking about when looking at personal settings.

I see 12 feet away from my 60" display and I don't see pixelation on a screen size like mine. I can sit 4 feet away as I just did to look at "personal settings" and it doesn't get pixelated.

You need to either adjust your seating position or/and resolution and see what you come up with.

It's like when people try to tell you "I'm not racist!". They wouldn't have had to make that statement unless they had just demonstrated that they are, in fact, racist douchebags.

Did you seriously go there with this comment? No response needed, I'll let this one speak for itself :D

As far as establishing your knowledge in the field, no you have proven no such thing.

How about you respond to my post about the ram, and then we can talk. You can keep dodging it ALL YOU WANT, it only further proves my point. Until then, you have absolutely no credibility to make that statement.

On this board, and in the world in general, 52" is a good, average size, and the A750 is a pretty good display.

Don't make me laugh. Your telling me a 52" HDTV is the norm for THE WORLD? Who's rich billionaire's son are you to have this skewed perspective?

Furthermore, the a750 is a "pretty good" display? How the heck do you come to that conclusion? It gets dam close to the Pio in terms of black level, and it decimates any other LCD, INCLUDING the XBR's. It is the best LCD on the market!

Saying the a750 is not one of the best LCD's on the market is just turning a blind eye to the truth. It is the successor to the 71 series, one of the most popular tv's, which has had the most popular thread for like, I don't know, a year until the x50 series came along.

I'll give you a hint: This is the link to the main LCD page.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=166
Go to it, tell me THE VERY FIRST STICKY ON THE PAGE, then get back to me :D

And once again, I prove that I know way more than you on the subject.

12Step,

How far away do you sit from your new display? I ask this because I can only see the pixelation when my face is 5 inches up to the screen. That is how I had to see what you were talking about when looking at personal settings.

I see 12 feet away from my 60" display and I don't see pixelation on a screen size like mine. I can sit 4 feet away as I just did to look at "personal settings" and it doesn't get pixelated.

You need to either adjust your seating position or/and resolution and see what you come up with.

In the pictures, when I zoom it just 1 time, I can immediately see the pixelation on my 15" widescreen monitor. I don't know what kind of monitor you use to surf the web (maybe your TV, dunno).

I mean I sit approx 8 feet from my TV, but I can move back 1 feet (far as my wall will go) and I still see it on my TV. As far as resolution, I tried 480, 720, and 1080, nothing.

I think the curious thing is that I see something wrong in the pictures, but everything looks fine to you. Maybe I have sensitive vision or something?

Anyways, yeah thanks for the help. If anyone wants to, look at the pictures and tell me if you can spot pixelation.

In the pictures, when I zoom it just 1 time, I can immediately see the pixelation on my 15" widescreen monitor. I don't know what kind of monitor you use to surf the web (maybe your TV, dunno).

I use two 23" widescreen Viewsonic monitors.

Maybe you should check this site out. Here is a qoute from the article.

http://www.practical-home-theater-guide.com/Tv-viewing-distance.html

TV Viewing Distance: Is it just a matter of personal preference?
Sit too close to your big screen TV and you will be able to see the image build-up structure - scanning lines or pixels forming the image – thus distracting your attention and spoiling your home theater experience. Sit too far away and the impact will be lost.

There are differing opinions on the best way to determine the optimum TV viewing distance for a specific screen size.

I think the curious thing is that I see something wrong in the pictures, but everything looks fine to you. Maybe I have sensitive vision or something?

what I said was that in order to reenact the pixelation you see with your display I have to put my face up to my screen for the same words "personal settings" to see what I see in your pics. Not every display is created equal either. I have a different technology to your LCD vs my LCOS. I think you need to move this to the 750 thread because the only reponses you have gotten here are from others who don't have your display. Just a recommendation.


Also I saw vertical angle lines which looks to be your display. The pic showing the controller buttons.

I have no post history of being knowledgeable? I think we have established a while ago that I am fairly knowledgeable when it comes to AV, including me even saying it MYSELF. (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=14264594#post14264594) And again, it's not so much the stock answers, as it is the stock answers being applied to something that has nothing to do with the stock answers. I mean, I'm sorry you feel insulted when I say you are wrong, but guess what? You cannot have half of your 360 setup in HD, and the other half in SD!

I do not know how you can keep saying comments like "you are insulting our AV knowledge", when I am getting clearly apparent, slapdash, wrong, stock answers!

You know, I contribute to a couple of forums, and I would never give "stock answers", side from extremely rare cases. I consider it disrespectful, and I reciprocate it.



At least I'm upfront about it. You, on the other hand, keep putting up this "respectful" front on, all the while sneaking jabs into your posts. You ever heard that story about the pot and the kettle? Check it out sometime, it's a REAL good story :D

Oh and if you haven't noticed, the thread as a whole had actually calmed down but you still felt the need to stir the pot with your expected "holier than thou" response post :D[/SIZE]


Look at my post history and see if I am some how known for being "holier than thou". I'm not sneaking jabs in, I'm flat out telling you how the community operates here, to which you are blatantly ignoring me and calling me the troll. You didn't like the answers you received, you're arguing with people, all over a moot point. It's obvious that most of us don't see your issue as worth discussing, hence why this thread is mostly just you arguing with people. You are presenting your preferences and your opinions as some sort of fact. All in all, common sense tells me that you are disrespectful, trollish, and you seem to have an enjoyment for arguing. If you honestly aren't going to be part of the community, and be willing to accept it when people have views different than yours, then seriously stop posting. There's pride to be had in lurking more, and leaving your wit for better uses. ;)

All joking and good natured ribbing aside, I looked at your pics, I do see what you are referring to, but I do not see the same thing on my plasma. It could be a graphical glitch in your 360, I've had a few go RRoD on me and they just seem to do whacky things at times, not saying yours is getting ready to go RRoD but it could be possible. The 750 series is a nice line of LCD's, not my first choice in a panel, but to each his own. If it were the TV itself, you would see it in more instances than the guide blade. So, I would do some testing, look for it elsewhere, if you don't see it, then it has to be your 360. If that is the case, you could call MS, see if you can get another 360 hooked up to your panel to check the guide, or simply learn to live with it. The high-def world is far from perfect, we all have to accept some flaws with our set ups at times....it's the nature of the beast.

Maybe you should check this site out. Here is a qoute from the article.

Well I'm 8ft away, and everything (and I mean everything) looks fine, so this would make absolutely no sense from purely a technical perspective, do you know what I mean? Hypothetically, if you have a still picture, and one half looks great and the other pixelated, no viewing distance or settings you could configure on your tv will make it go away. The fact that I have great looking games and an interface is (I think) confirmation that my TV works fine. It's kind of like if you put a Blu-Ray movie on, and it looks great, then you change it to OTA and you see all types of macro-blocking, you obviously know that is of no fault of your TV, but yet the source. And since I am not changing inputs, it can't be my hookup.

So you see, I have been methodically ruling out possible problems, which is why I have reached the solution that I have. It merely comes down to whether or not you see it, and I see something. Whether I'm right or wrong, who knows? That's what I'm trying to figure out.

I think you need to move this to the 750 thread because the only reponses you have gotten here are from others who don't have your display. Just a recommendation.

I could......... but it wouldn't prove anything. If no one saw the pixelation, we are back to square 1. Purely based on eyesight, who is right? Do I have sensitive vision?

If someone does see pixelation in that thread, still back to square 1, because if they see pixelation, it still means that it either exists only in the a750 (which I doubt honestly), or in all HDTV's. And 2 or 3 other people also shared my sentiment about their being a lack of quality in the guide blade also, so I'm not a lone case. The best way to get to the bottom of this, is to have other people look at that picture and say whether or not they think it looks pixelated. I'm actually going to get someone to look at it later to see what they think.

What also might help, is if I get Photoshop and completely take out the background so the differences can easily been seen.

Well I'm 8ft away, and everything (and I mean everything) looks fine, so this would make absolutely no sense from purely a technical perspective, do you know what I mean? Hypothetically, if you have a still picture, and one half looks great and the other pixelated, no viewing distance or settings you could configure on your tv will make it go away. The fact that I have great looking games and an interface is (I think) confirmation that my TV works fine.



I could......... but it wouldn't prove anything, unless in fact no one saw the pixelation, but then we are back to square 1. Purely based on eyesight, who is right? Do I have sensitive vision?

If someone does see pixelation in that thread, still back to square 1, because if they see pixelation, it still means that it either exists only in the a750 (which I doubt honestly), or in all HDTV's. And 2 or 3 other people also shared my sentiment about their being a lack of quality in the guide blade also, so I'm not a lone case. The best way to get to the bottom of this, is to have other people look at that picture and say whether or not they think it looks pixelated. I'm actually going to get someone to look at it later to see what they think.

All HDTV's do have pixelation to a degree, and you also may have sensitive vision. I've read many posts of people stating that they see things that many others do not. Have you viewed any other models of TV, or checked out plasma? Are you dead set on the Sammy?

All HDTV's do have pixelation to a degree

Well yeah of course. Take a 1080p source, and from a 30", as you go up, it will progressively get more and more pixelated, especially since you are not scaling the source with it. It's just the guide blade looks worse than the xbox interface.

and you also may have sensitive vision. I've read many posts of people stating that they see things that many others do not.

That maybe true, but how would you explain the rest of the interface, including my games, looking dead on? I mean like I said, I do notice pixelation here and there, that is the nature of the beast though. I notice it in a ton of games (but again, fairly (stress on the fairly, darklordjames) large TV, which is not 1080p, it is expected) The guide just doesn't make any sense to me though.

Have you viewed any other models of TV, or checked out plasma? Are you dead set on the Sammy?

What ya got?! :D

Seriously though, Plasma is out: burn-in (this is going to be used as a computer screen which might be left on for hours, that and it will be in a semi-bright environment. The only thing Plasma would offer for me is wider viewing angles, and darker blacks). I mean I'm not dead set on the Sammy, but I have been researching HDTV's for about 2 years now and I finally settled on this one (although I could have done without the reflective screen and the semi-red bezel but it seems like the best on the market).

You are welcome to suggest TV's though.

All joking and good natured ribbing aside, I looked at your pics, I do see what you are referring to

So that means that I infact do not have sensitive vision. If you see what I'm talking about, it definitely means it exists! :D

It could be a graphical glitch in your 360, I've had a few go RRoD on me and they just seem to do whacky things at times, not saying yours is getting ready to go RRoD but it could be possible.

Weird......I guess I have to check out my xbox...... although that still doesn't explain the other people who also concur with the fact that the guide is of bad quality.

The 750 series is a nice line of LCD's, not my first choice in a panel, but to each his own.

First choice being? I have been searching for 2 years before I pulled the trigger on this bad boy. Although I understand if your one of those "plasma" people. I think this is the best LCD on the market, though if you have any other suggestions, feel free.

The high-def world is far from perfect, we all have to accept some flaws with our set ups at times....it's the nature of the beast.

That's the thing though, if this is in fact isolated to myself and a few others, should I live with it? If it is fact my Xbox, I can go down to the store right now and replace it with my warranty, no questions asked (the only thing is actually transferring the data to the other Xbox, but that is a completely different story). But in order for me to do that, I definitely have to know whether or not it is an Xbox problem. To spend a lot of time switching my Xbox, only to boot it up and see the exact same thing would be the worst feeling ever. I guess from here, I call around and see if any stores have an Xbox hooked up to an HDTV (and hopefully can switch it to a750 series).

mboojigga, I think I will post a question in the a750 forum, just out of curiosity.

12step: Yeah, I'm a "plasma" guy, but I started in LCD land. Hmm...after some quick research it looks like you picked a winner. But, if everything else looks great to you then I would keep the TV and see if it's the 360 that is the culprit, which to me it sounds like the problem. If your panel has pretty even back lighting and no dead pixels, i.e. it's a good one, then I wouldn't go switching it out. All in all, you may have to deal with the pixelated guide...unless another 360 does the trick for you.

In retrospect, I hope you understand where I was coming from with my posts. I do understand your approach to the "stock" answers and such. But if we all don't do our part to keep AVS the way it's intended, then all the great info and help that is available here will be gone. So, I'd like to apologize for being so conflicting. Even though I was right. ZING!!! :p:D

In the pictures, when I zoom it just 1 time, I can immediately see the pixelation on my 15" widescreen monitor. I don't know what kind of monitor you use to surf the web (maybe your TV, dunno).

snip

Anyways, yeah thanks for the help. If anyone wants to, look at the pictures and tell me if you can spot pixelation.

I see a fair amount of JPEG artifacting in those pictures combined with sub-pixel font rendering (the technique is known as ClearType on Windows PCs).

I'm a little confused by the fact that the pixel structure of your TV isn't very apparent combined with the excessive moire. That indicates the image isn't high enough resolution to capture the original structure, making a pixel level analysis for this artifact impossible. The odd resolution also makes me think these images have been cropped or resized, also making the analysis for this artifact impossible.

The particular camera used for these also has an issue generating JPEGs directly rom the camera. They tend to be very overprocessed, leading to, for example, the halos seen around the text. The RAW files run through a decent RAW converter (RAW Therapee is free) would be significantly better for analysis.

12step: Yeah, I'm a "plasma" guy, but I started in LCD land.

Yeah Plasmas are great. Good response time, wide viewing angles, deep blacks. But for what I'm looking for (A gaming HDTV to also function as a computer monitor in a semi-bright environment), it doesn't work out. And the TV I have, has pretty good wide viewing angles, has a decent response time, and has some pretty good blacks. I'm still checking for clouding and flashlights, but that can be remedied by a quick return.

All in all, you may have to deal with the pixelated guide...unless another 360 does the trick for you.

I can assure you..... if in fact you guys have a working guide with no pixelation, then I will figure out a way to remedy the situation by any means. If the TV is the culprit, the same problems that are happening with the guide might hurt me when I buy my computer or watch movies, which is unacceptable. If the culprit is the Xbox 360, it will take about a week to fully switch it for another. So I will get to the bottom of this, I just don't want to willy-nilly return my TV, get another one, only to find it was the Xbox 360, or vice-versa.


In retrospect, I hope you understand where I was coming from with my posts. I do understand your approach to the "stock" answers and such. But if we all don't do our part to keep AVS the way it's intended, then all the great info and help that is available here will be gone. So, I'd like to apologize for being so conflicting. Even though I was right. ZING!!! :p:D

Yeah yeah :D My bad dude.

I see a fair amount of JPEG artifacting in those pictures combined with sub-pixel font rendering (the technique is known as ClearType on Windows PCs).

I'm a little confused by the fact that the pixel structure of your TV isn't very apparent combined with the excessive moire. That indicates the image isn't high enough resolution to capture the original structure, making a pixel level analysis for this artifact impossible. The odd resolution also makes me think these images have been cropped or resized, also making the analysis for this artifact impossible.

Yeah well I hate .jpg for posting to the web. I really know Photoshop well (and web technologies in general) but working with cameras/video is somewhat a weak point of mine. It didn't seem apparent how to switch the camera to produce RAW files, but even if I found that option, I could only find a 32MB SD card and if I remember correctly, RAW is without compression, therefore extremely large. So yeah I'm aware of the moire effect going on in the pictures, nonetheless the pixelation (I think you call it "artifacting") is still apparent for me at least in those pictures. It's not only fonts though, it's everything, it's just the font is the only readily apparent thing.

As far as the fonts only, yeah I know what you mean, it looks like horrible to non-existent anti-aliasing and non-uniformity.

As far as resize and recrop.......I did only 2 things to the pictures.

1. I actually took the pictures. I might have zoomed in on the camera closer in one of the pictures.
2. Uploaded to flickr. I don't know if flickr compresses, but I sure as hell know that Photobucket does, which is why I did not upload it there. In any event, on the flickr page, I can still clearly see the PQ difference between the two, especially when I zoom in on the picture.

EDIT: more pictures are over at Flickr, I am uploading them right now. Take close notice of both of the Devil May Cry 4 picture. One is taken in Quick Access, and one is taken in the main interface.

Holy crap, are you seriously complaining about the FONT they used for the guide blade??? That's exactly the way it's supposed to look and I've seen it on both a calibrated Sony 52w3000 and 52" Sammy 650.

It only looks "bad" in the sense that they used a font that's a little blocky. They wanted it big and bold; easy to read.

Well yeah of course. Take a 1080p source, and from a 30", as you go up, it will progressively get more and more pixelated, especially since you are not scaling the source with it. It's just the guide blade looks worse than the xbox interface.



That maybe true, but how would you explain the rest of the interface, including my games, looking dead on? I mean like I said, I do notice pixelation here and there, that is the nature of the beast though. I notice it in a ton of games (but again, fairly (stress on the fairly, darklordjames) large TV, which is not 1080p, it is expected) The guide just doesn't make any sense to me though.



What ya got?! :D

Seriously though, Plasma is out: burn-in (this is going to be used as a computer screen which might be left on for hours, that and it will be in a semi-bright environment. The only thing Plasma would offer for me is wider viewing angles, and darker blacks). I mean I'm not dead set on the Sammy, but I have been researching HDTV's for about 2 years now and I finally settled on this one (although I could have done without the reflective screen and the semi-red bezel but it seems like the best on the market).

You are welcome to suggest TV's though.



So that means that I infact do not have sensitive vision. If you see what I'm talking about, it definitely means it exists! :D



Weird......I guess I have to check out my xbox...... although that still doesn't explain the other people who also concur with the fact that the guide is of bad quality.



First choice being? I have been searching for 2 years before I pulled the trigger on this bad boy. Although I understand if your one of those "plasma" people. I think this is the best LCD on the market, though if you have any other suggestions, feel free.



That's the thing though, if this is in fact isolated to myself and a few others, should I live with it? If it is fact my Xbox, I can go down to the store right now and replace it with my warranty, no questions asked (the only thing is actually transferring the data to the other Xbox, but that is a completely different story). But in order for me to do that, I definitely have to know whether or not it is an Xbox problem. To spend a lot of time switching my Xbox, only to boot it up and see the exact same thing would be the worst feeling ever. I guess from here, I call around and see if any stores have an Xbox hooked up to an HDTV (and hopefully can switch it to a750 series).

mboojigga, I think I will post a question in the a750 forum, just out of curiosity.

Not trying to persuuade you to do plasma, but I'll tell you my experience. I have a samsung fpt5084 plasma. I did NOT do a break in. I use my plasma for gaming, and a home theater pc. Not a hint of burn in, at all. I've left static images on the screen for long periods of time. In fact, I paused my HD-DVR while I went outside yesterday, and washed the cars. I then resumed play back, and all was good.

That being said, the plasma is switching to bedroom duty, as I ordered a pio kuro. It will be replacing a vizio 42" 768p lcd.

My sammy plasma does glare a bit so I had to rearrange the lights a little.

??? I can't believe this thread actually made it past the first page.

Holy crap, are you seriously complaining about the FONT they used for the guide blade???

Nope, try to read the thread carefully next time. The degradation of quality applies to everything in the guide blade, and I mean EVERYTHING. It's the easiest to see on the font. Try checking out my Flickr page I set up, and see the differences for yourself.

??? I can't believe this thread actually made it past the first page.

50 pages strong buddy, believe it! :D

Not a hint of burn in.......

....My sammy plasma does glare a bit so I had to rearrange the lights a little.

It honestly isn't worth the risk to me. I do not want to have to worry about running methods to get rid of IR, I don't want to worry if I accidentally leave on my monitor for 3 days in a row. Also, in a semi-bright environment, the Kuro can't touch the A750. Oh trust me I had seriously looked at a plasma, but as long as I'm going to be using my TV for lots of computer work, I cannot go that route. Maybe in a 1-3 years when it's time to upgrade, I'll get a great monitor for my computer (or keep my LCD) and then get a Plasma just for watching movies/playing games, etc. I honestly don't think me hav

??? I can't believe this thread actually made it past the first page.

Me either but it certainly is a diversion from the pre-E3 FUD-fest elsewhere...
;)

12Step, all I can suggest at this point is that you check to see if you have some kind of overscan on. Your pics don't look particularly bad but they don't look quite as good as a 1080p display should look like. Mine certainly doesn't, but I'm feeding it VGA which nobody overscans.

It may be you're just facing an unfortunate combo of facts:

- the pop-out guide is by design and intent rendered very simply so as to minimize its memory footprint. This and similar decisions mean the 360 makes the best use of its resources and provides up to 96MB more free memory for gaming. And gaming is the reason the 360 exists in the first place.

- Whatever resolution the 360 renders the dashboard and/or blade at, it has to be rescaled to display on a 1080p display. The 360 itself processes the render to be as smooth as possible but it cannot account for what happend further down the chain. If your set has overscan on (and some overscan even when they shouldn't be doing it) that can lead to artifacts, especially on computer-type text-and-button interfaces.

- Display calibration can be a tricky affair; sometimes a setting that makes movies and photos look stunning is absolutely murder on text and line-art. Especially when sub-pixel addressing is in use.

- Always suspect the cables. :)

- Maybe your eyesight is too darn sharp for your own good. ;)

Sorry to hear you're having trouble but at this point the only suggestions that come to mind are stuff you've probably thought of or done (hook up a PC on the same port, check the cables, check for overscan, etc) so you are probably stuck.
Hope its not a deal breaker for you; there are a lot of great games to be experienced on the 360 with more on the way and it would be sad if this glitch got in the way of your enjoyment.
Luck!

In all seriousness, the sticker doesn't come off until 30 days, I'm still looking for issues with my TV (and I "may" have clouding, but that's a totally different topic). Once I'm absolutely sure everything looks good, then the stickers come off.



I'm not aware of any return policy that is voided by removing the stickers. Especially if they are covering any part of the viewing area, you will never know what issues could be hiding under it until you pull it off.

To the original poster.. after examining your pictures on Flickr:

Be advised its purposely done to look that way. It looks like that on every single xbox360 and every single display. It looks like that on mines too. The reason why you wont find much information about the guide blade is because most people simply dont care enough to complain about it.


Also.. I also seriously doubt you spend "30% of your time" looking at that guide pop out screen.

I give this advice to everyone, so dont take it personal. Stop looking at pixels and start looking at movies (or in your case.. games, movies, media, etc). You will find you recieve alot more enjoyment out of your A/V equipment and experience when you try that approach.

Nope, try to read the thread carefully next time. The degradation of quality applies to everything in the guide blade, and I mean EVERYTHING. It's the easiest to see on the font. Try checking out my Flickr page I set up, and see the differences for yourself.



50 pages strong buddy, believe it! :D



It honestly isn't worth the risk to me. I do not want to have to worry about running methods to get rid of IR, I don't want to worry if I accidentally leave on my monitor for 3 days in a row. Also, in a semi-bright environment, the Kuro can't touch the A750. Oh trust me I had seriously looked at a plasma, but as long as I'm going to be using my TV for lots of computer work, I cannot go that route. Maybe in a 1-3 years when it's time to upgrade, I'll get a great monitor for my computer (or keep my LCD) and then get a Plasma just for watching movies/playing games, etc. I honestly don't think me hav

I've never had to run anything to get rid of IR. The newer plasmas dont seem to have many issues. No different than using a CRT TV or monitor, we never had problems with those. CRT, and plasma is pretty much the same phosphur burning tech except plasma has MORE safe guards than crt did.

Honestly, I've never seen any tv look better than a kuro elite, no matter the lighting. Like I said, it will glare if your lamps are int he wrong place. Most of this is probably opinion.

What do you mean by semi-bright room?

But I do agree, there is nothing wrong with your set. It is a good set.

I'll give you a hint: This is the link to the main LCD page.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=166
Go to it, tell me THE VERY FIRST STICKY ON THE PAGE, then get back to me :D

know what else i see in that sticky list? my westinghouse 37". not an amazing set by any means... whats your point?

I think we've all been trying to tell this guy that there is nothing wrong with his set. The quick access blade is of lower quality than the rest of the blades or games by design because of the very limited time anybody spends looking at it.

Ogbuehi.. that makes absolute sense.

Also you got to remember that quick access blade is using system resources. So I'd venture to say its made lower quality purposely (equating to it using less system resources) while games, media, movies, etc are being played in the background.

Its one of the reasons the guide is able to run 24/7 on the system. If they made it beefier or prettier, it may not be possible to have it running 24/7.

OP, your problem may have been solved today. M$ announced a new dashboard, and the blades will be no more.

OP, your problem may have been solved today. M$ announced a new dashboard, and the blades will be no more.

x2

bye bye blade interface... though they never showed what the guide button overlay interface menu will look like.

12step, as an owner of a 40" 71F, and with a friend who owns a 52a750 (amazing TV btw, congrats), all I can say is that going from a smaller set to a bigger set will make any PQ nuances appear worse on the larger set until you get used to it.

Hell, on his TV I HAVE to sit back to about 6-8ft away because the screen is too big and I'm not quite used to it yet. EVERYTHING seems worse only because the pixel density is always better on smaller screens.

You have to find the right sitting distance. I know I may not resolve 1080p from where I sit in his house, but it's what I have to do while playing games there. Not that it matters. Most games are only 720p anyway).

I have a 42" Panasonic commercial 8-series ED plasma. When I connect the 360 via VGA, games look amazing and all the of the text--in the guide and in the blade currently under discussion--is equally sharp. When connected via VGA, as you probably already know, the 360 only gives you one resolution choice. For my setup, that is the 852x480.

When I connect the 360 via component, games look amazing, the guide looks fine, but the blade's text is of significantly fuzzier resolution. I noticed it immediately and did find it annoying. This is true whether I set the 360 to output 720p or 1080i, which do look slightly different on my plasma, but not when it comes to that problem on the blade.

If it bothers me enough, like if I find myself doing a lot of messaging or something, then I will probably switch back to the VGA connection.

This problem does exist, and I seem to have, in my own individual setup, been able to connect the 360 one way and have the problem, and connect it another, equally legitimate way, and eliminate the problem. I have not tried connecting with HDMI, but if I do I will update this post.

x2

bye bye blade interface... though they never showed what the guide button overlay interface menu will look like.

Actually, the Guide button overlay for the new interface is the *current* Blades interface.
(But you know that by now, right? ;) )

I do like that the new GUI is not mandatory...
Those guys come up with *some* ideas...

(But you know that by now, right? ;) )


yes i do!


hopefully they dont lower the resolution on the blades to load them into operating memory, i'd hate to have people complaining about that too :P

The OP might have his sharpness up too high as well. I sit about 8-9' from a 110" diagonal and it looks fine to me. Of course, I don't spend 30% of my time analyzing the guide blade. To be honest, I could care less what it looks like. It serves its purpose and does that well. This thread is a pretty good reminder that there are people much more neurotic than myself in the world...

I really liked the current blade system. I hope they don't make too drastic a change.

I think we've all been trying to tell this guy that there is nothing wrong with his set. The quick access blade is of lower quality than the rest of the blades or games by design because of the very limited time anybody spends looking at it.

Absolutely not. A ton of people have suggested that their maybe something wrong with my Xbox or my TV because they do not see it. After the first couple of posts, my goal was to see in fact which camp was right. If the whole thread would have outright said this, this topic would have been put to rest a long time ago. But of course I keep getting the predictable responses....

This thread is a pretty good reminder that there are people much more neurotic than myself in the world...

So yeah thread it's been nice, but I have have come to a definitive conclusion.

Upon further inspection, the only possible explanation, is that the guide is of bad quality. I kicked all of my settings down to a very low quality (no sharpness, no nothing), and all the problems go away. Of course, the drawback is now that everything looks uniformly ugly.

And to respond to some of the posters, like I have said 1 million times by now, yes the screen is big, yes pixelation is expected, but the guide was of WORSE quality, not the same.

As far as the new interface, the avatars ruin the whole thing. What, are we going to have to shell out 200 gamer points to "pimp" out our avatars now? Tell me you guys can't see MS charging tons of gamer points for your avatars getup. Incredibly stupid, if I wanted avatars I would have bought a Wii. What's most sad about it, is that the interface isn't mandatory. You guys may think this is good, but it is a great excuse for Microsoft. Why? Because any possible complaint you could lodge against the new user interface, you will get the obvious response: "Well, the old user interface is there also".
Way to make the interface look childish.

Everything ELSE looks great though. If you guys haven't seen it , go to the market place, navigate to "bringing it home" on the same page, go to new xbox experience, and download it, it looks really good (side from those stupid avatars). I hope those 4 achievements in the demo of the new interface are changeable. They should come out with bunches of ways for developers to sell really good looking themes/customize it. The only themes you can buy right now are inane game themes that look horrible.

"Well, the old user interface is there also".

Which has been the staple of the console since release. You have options.

You had options to get an HD-DVD add-on
You have options to get the wireless adaptor
You have options to upgrade to the 120 gig or 60 gig
you have options to purchase an HDMI cable if you have the capability
you have the option to pay for Live in two ways
You have the option to download DLC, movies, avatars,
You have the option to choose what background you want vs downloading a theme
You have the choice to sell or trade in your 360 and get a PS3 or if you already have it just a PS3 and enjoy 2.41.

We just found out today you still have options to upgrade. NOTHING IS FORCED.

if I wanted avatars I would have bought a Wii.

You still have that option or stick with what MS is offering in HD.

We just found out today you still have options to upgrade. NOTHING IS FORCED.

Where are you getting that from? Everywhere I've seen says this update is mandatory.

http://kotaku.com/5025143/the-new-xbox-experience-just-the-facts-and-maybe-some-conjecture
Fans of the current "blades" interface may be saddened to learn that the update isn't an optional redesign, it's a total replacement

Where are you getting that from? Everywhere I've seen says this update is mandatory.

Yes its mandatory, but apparently the Guide will be turned into a mini-version of the blades interface so that you can do everything from it.

I just hope there's a dark themed version of the new interface, like there is for my Elite currently, I just like that much better than the white one.

I just hope there's a dark themed version of the new interface, like there is for my Elite currently, I just like that much better than the white one.

Couldn't agree more. I love Carbon.

so wait.

turning down the sharpness and other crap on your set (sharpness should be at 0-20 anyway) fixes the problem? yet it's still xbox related?

have you calibrated your set?

so wait.

turning down the sharpness and other crap on your set (sharpness should be at 0-20 anyway) fixes the problem? yet it's still xbox related?

have you calibrated your set?

Honestly formulanerd I was going to ask the same question but since he knows what he is doing I didn't see the point.

Honestly formulanerd I was going to ask the same question but since he knows what he is doing I didn't see the point.

yea... nothing against the guy, but plenty of average guys i know (not A/V enthusiasts, or "in the know") love to crank on sharpness and all sorts of other post processing, and while it may look "acceptable" on one source or material, it won't look as good as others (which i KNOW you are aware of, as are more than half of the posters in this thread.)

The "enhancement" settings, and sharpness should be turned off anyways for optimal picture quality. I have all noise reduction, and all that stuff off. I also have sharpness set to 0. This was calibrated using a DVE calibration disc.

The "enhancement" settings, and sharpness should be turned off anyways for optimal picture quality. I have all noise reduction, and all that stuff off. I also have sharpness set to 0. This was calibrated using a DVE calibration disc.

i agree 100%, the problem is that most people (in general, not on this board) don't know this.

^+1
his set it not calibrated properly if he has his sharpness settings way up.
any conclusions of whether there is or isn't a problem should be in relation to individual HT systems only. for my system, the guide is not of any worse quality visually (calibrated, btw).

The "enhancement" settings, and sharpness should be turned off anyways for optimal picture quality. I have all noise reduction, and all that stuff off. I also have sharpness set to 0. This was calibrated using a DVE calibration disc.

Sharpness at 0 is not always optimal. On my TV (Sony KDS-60A30000), sharpness at 25 or so is "sharpness off." Below this value, the TV intentionally blurs the image.

Sharpness at 0 is not always optimal. On my TV (Sony KDS-60A30000), sharpness at 25 or so is "sharpness off." Below this value, the TV intentionally blurs the image.

i don't think anyone is saying that all sets should have the sharpness set to 0 but, rather, all sets should have sharpness turned down/off. whether that's 0 or 25 or whatever. oh, except for maybe in certain situations with a direct view crt.

Sharpness at 0 is not always optimal. On my TV (Sony KDS-60A30000), sharpness at 25 or so is "sharpness off." Below this value, the TV intentionally blurs the image.

Exactly.

Guys, how many times are you going to rush to the "well this guy doesn't know what he is talking about" conclusion. I only play Xbox 360 on my TV in only "1" mode, and that mode is GAME MODE. "Game Mode" removes absolutely ALL processing, and once you are in that mode, it is impossible to calibrate the TV any further.

I merely took it off of game mode temporarily to bump down the sharpness well below where sharpness cuts off (as shape was saying) and it progressively gets better, but of course the whole picture of the TV looks stupid when you do this, it looks like some blurry mess. Like I said, there is a reason I came to this conclusion. There is no fix for this, it is something I have to live with. WHICH IS ABSOLUTELY FINE, I just wanted to be sure that it is indeed something that is happening to all Xbox's and TV's (whether or not people know about it).

i don't think anyone is saying that all sets should have the sharpness set to 0 but, rather, all sets should have sharpness turned down/off. whether that's 0 or 25 or whatever. oh, except for maybe in certain situations with a direct view crt.

I figured the way that the set handled sharpness would be the same, since we both have the same brand set, even though I have a plasma vs his lcd.

I would also like to point out that game mode on my samsung set crushes blacks.

I just wanted to be sure that it is indeed something that is happening to all Xbox's and TV's (whether or not people know about it).
i guess the answer is a "No" then.
for those interested, the follow up question would be why a few people have the issue. probably not big enough of an issue, though, for most to try and figure out.

I have a 42" Panasonic commercial 8-series ED plasma. When I connect the 360 via VGA, games look amazing and all the of the text--in the guide and in the blade currently under discussion--is equally sharp. When connected via VGA, as you probably already know, the 360 only gives you one resolution choice. For my setup, that is the 852x480.

When I connect the 360 via component, games look amazing, the guide looks fine, but the blade's text is of significantly fuzzier resolution. I noticed it immediately and did find it annoying. This is true whether I set the 360 to output 720p or 1080i, which do look slightly different on my plasma, but not when it comes to that problem on the blade.

If it bothers me enough, like if I find myself doing a lot of messaging or something, then I will probably switch back to the VGA connection.

This problem does exist, and I seem to have, in my own individual setup, been able to connect the 360 one way and have the problem, and connect it another, equally legitimate way, and eliminate the problem. I have not tried connecting with HDMI, but if I do I will update this post.

So did you try hooking up VGA to see if that eliminated your problem? Do you have that option on your set?

So did you try hooking up VGA to see if that eliminated your problem? Do you have that option on your set?

I can, but I don't have the correct cable for that

I can, but I don't have the correct cable for that

Gotcha. Well, if you decide to try it, you can get a 360 VGA cable (with digital and analog audio options) from Monoprice for about $8.

Gotcha. Well, if you decide to try it, you can get a 360 VGA cable (with digital and analog audio options) from Monoprice for about $8.

Great to know. Thanks.

Gotcha. Well, if you decide to try it, you can get a 360 VGA cable (with digital and analog audio options) from Monoprice for about $8.

I'd be a little wary of those. Some people bought those and had problems with ghosting at higher resolutions.

Great to know. Thanks.

You can find the original Microsoft XBOX 360 VGA Cable at Toys R Us for 9.99

"You can find the original Microsoft XBOX 360 VGA Cable at Toys R Us for 9.99"

...because it has been a clearance item there for about 6 months and therefore is very unlikely to be found in your local store.

You forgot that part. :)

"You can find the original Microsoft XBOX 360 VGA Cable at Toys R Us for 9.99"

...because it has been a clearance item there for about 6 months and therefore is very unlikely to be found in your local store.

You forgot that part. :)

I have seen 2-4 official vga cables at each and every Toys R Us in my area over the last couple of months...just trying to be helpful...I guess you forgot that part...things seem to be changing around these parts and definately not for the better...I have been lurking in these forums for years and have found so much useful information but lately nothing but bickering back and forth, which is very unfortunate for such a once proud community.

Ok, first:

I'm not a beginner to this by any means, keep that in mind. The whole Xbox interface looks great as is, it is just the guide blade. So the guy telling me to look at the manual, completely pointless advice, even if I was a beginner.

Secondly, setting is @ 1080p Widescreen. I tried your method 257tony and it did not work.

Third, I have a huge TV (52 inch, one of the best models). I'm thinking the guide blade (when you press the xbox button on your controller, that is the blade that comes out) is bad quality already, but since I have a huge tv I can see it better.

4th, Antwon, I am using direct HDMI hookup, so I believe that is not necessary.

5th, luckysixx, no I mean I'm looking at the guide right now. It doesn't look Atari bad and I can see how I would deal with it, but compared to the gorgeous quality of the regular Xbox interface it's horrible. If you have HD, you know how you can go to the main Xbox Live blade and your gamer picture looks such of high quality? The guide blade isn't even close to that.

But like I said, it's a huge TV and I'm not that far away from it, I'm thinking no one ever noticed that it's not as good as quality as the rest of the xbox interface, unless anyone says anything...

52 inches is huge? LOL