Thanks to MS for the latest Xbox 360 1080p HD-DVD (etc.) update. Hopefully it's kosher to start a separate bug and feature request thread for the next update here...

I'll start:

I appreciate having the new Aspect Ratio button, but unfortunately it's missing one setting for those of us with older TVs. Some of these older TVs lock into widescreen mode when presented with progressive scan or HD content. This is a major issue with 4:3 material. To better explain:

My 16:9 TV is hooked up to the Xbox 360 via component 1080i.

Original 4:3 480p image:

http://www.eugbanana.com/files/Pix/Xbox360/4x3/4x3.jpg


What that image from the Xbox 360 is supposed to look like on a (recent) 16:9 TV in Default Aspect Ratio mode:

http://www.eugbanana.com/files/Pix/Xbox360/4x3/4x3DefaultNormal.jpg


This is the Xbox 360's Default mode on my (older) TV. The image is stretched horizontally:

http://www.eugbanana.com/files/Pix/Xbox360/4x3/4x3DefaultEug.jpg


Horizontal Stretched mode looks exactly the same on my TV. This is what it should look like on a newer TV as well:

http://www.eugbanana.com/files/Pix/Xbox360/4x3/4x3HorizontalStretch.jpg


Letterbox Zoom mode on my TV corrects the aspect ratio, but cuts off the top and bottom:

http://www.eugbanana.com/files/Pix/Xbox360/4x3/4x3LetterboxZoom.jpg


What would be nice for the next update would be to have the Aspect Ratio button have an additional option where the Xbox 360 would add (107 pixels of) black space to each side, before output. This is how my HD cable box deals with 4:3 HD output. Even on my TV, such a hypothetical "Fixed 4:3" mode would display correctly:

http://www.eugbanana.com/files/Pix/Xbox360/4x3/4x3DefaultNormal.jpg


I can't test the HD DVD drive yet (since it's still a couple of weeks before its release), but I suspect the same issues exist using the new Aspect Ratio button with HD DVD 4:3 material. (Or maybe not. See my next post below.)


This is apparently NOT an issue with 4:3 material on HD DVD (either 4:3 480i/p or 4:3 1080p). It's only an issue with 4:3 DVD playback. See post #16 (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=8806270&&#post8806270)
.

eg. Casablanca:

http://www.eugbanana.com/files/Pix/Xbox360/4x3/CasablancaHDDVD.jpg


Original 4:3 Casablanca aspect ratio:

http://www.eugbanana.com/files/Pix/Xbox360/4x3/Casablanca.jpg


I suspect it will look like this on my TV (but maybe not - see my next post below):

http://www.eugbanana.com/files/Pix/Xbox360/4x3/CasablancaHorizontalStretch.jpg

A "Fixed 4:3" mode for the next update would be most welcome. :cool:

Now I'm off to test 720p and 1080p WMV video playback off DVD-R...

Request: Different output resolution options for dvds/hddvds and video games/other.

If this is a big deal you guys didn't do a good job on the software side.

Bug:

I am running into the 1080p problem that others in this forum are running into too.
Ironically, in direct contrast to my problem in my previous post:

1080p widescreen WMV video files get squished into a 4:3 aspect ratio. :p 720p video works fine though.

This 1080p 16:9 clip (http://download.microsoft.com/download/b/5/0/b5016be9-12bc-413f-9ee5-4d8d65105253/Discoverers_1080.exe) should look like this...

http://www.eugbanana.com/files/Pix/Xbox360/4x3/16x9.jpg

...but ends up looking like this on my TV:

http://www.eugbanana.com/files/Pix/Xbox360/4x3/16x9Shrunk.jpg

If only I had this problem with my 4:3 DVDs.


However, it turns out these "1920x1080" videos are actually only "1440x1080" natively. If in fact that this is the behaviour with 4:3 HD DVDs, that would be a good thing for me, because then 4:3 HD DVDs would display correctly on my TV. However, this is definitely not the behaviour with standard definition DVD playback. 4:3 DVD 480p gets stretched on my TV, whether it needs it or not.

It seems that the Xbox 360 treats output of 480p video and 1080p video differently for some reason.



Apparently 4:3 material on HD DVD (either 4:3 480i/p or 4:3 1080p) will display the right aspect ratio on older TVs. The 4:3 --> 16:9 stretch is only an issue with 4:3 DVD playback. See post #16 (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=8806270&&#post8806270).


4:3 1440x1080p (http://download.microsoft.com/download/f/d/5/fd5bdd21-f1ac-426a-adf1-d3d105b448d3/Speed_1080.exe) WMV video displays correctly however. This original video...

http://www.eugbanana.com/files/Pix/Xbox360/4x3/4x3-1080p.jpg

...looks like this on my screen, as it should:

http://www.eugbanana.com/files/Pix/Xbox360/4x3/4x3-1080p-Correct.jpg

Again, my TV is hooked up to the Xbox 360 at 1080i over component.

----

Also, it seems the jellyfish artifact claim for WMV video is true.

I downloaded this WMV HD 1080p clip (http://download.microsoft.com/download/b/0/0/b00e8489-b4fd-490e-9e7c-19b06c7bc3ed/The_Living_Sea_1080.exe) and this is what it showed: Jellyfish artifact (http://www.eugbanana.com/files/Pix/Xbox360/4x3/Jellyfish.jpg) :p

Just in case you ddin't know, on xbox.com they have a feature request forum on the site. That supposedly how MS got the info to make this update.

I can't test the HD DVD drive yet (since it's still a couple of weeks before its release), but I suspect the same issues exist using the new Aspect Ratio button with HD DVD 4:3 material.

eg. Casablanca:
Given the behaviour with 1080p WMV, I wonder if this is actually the case. I can't wait until the HD DVD drive arrives.


Request: Different output resolution options for dvds/hddvds and video games/other.

If this is a big deal you guys didn't do a good job on the software side.
Hey, give 'em a chance. ;)


Just in case you ddin't know, on xbox.com they have a feature request forum on the site. That supposedly how MS got the info to make this update.
Thanks. I'll check it out.

I noticed 1440X1080P WMV files get 4:3 treatment but 1920X1080P wmv files display in 16:9 correctly. Kind of Annoying and hope this is fixed.

I noticed 1440X1080P WMV files get 4:3 treatment but 1920X1080P wmv files display in 16:9 correctly. Kind of Annoying and hope this is fixed.
You're right. That Discovers 1080p file is 1440x1080. I misread the app I was using because it reported the expanded size, which is 1920x1080. However, the native resolution is 1440x1080.

In a way, this is actually good for me. If Casablanca is 1440x1080p, that means it may display correctly on my TV.

I'l make this a sticky for a while...

Here is a site that has some true 1080p WMV video clips with native 1920x1080 resolution. (http://www.hd-channel.com/535457979d0979003/index.html#53545797ab0ac9930)


I'l make this a sticky for a while...
Hey cool. Thanks. :cool:

Sounds like the 1440x1080 WMV files are not flagged as anamorphic (they should be) or the 360 is not respecting this flag. Is there a tool to check this on WMV files? I suppose other apps automatically expanding the video would be a good indicator.

Sounds like the 1440x1080 WMV files are not flagged as anamorphic (they should be) or the 360 is not respecting this flag. Is there a tool to check this on WMV files? I suppose other apps automatically expanding the video would be a good indicator.
There must be a flag. The reason I say this is that the 1080p 1440x1080 "Speed" WMV video shows up on my computer as 4:3, whereas most of the other 1080p 1440x1080 WMV videos are widescreen on my computer, despite being the same resolution. These latter files must be flagged. All these videos are 4:3 on the Xbox 360 though.

PS. In the other Xbox thread in the HD DVD section, a mention (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=8790539&&#post8790539) is made that 480p on DVD may be stretched on my TV due to DVD's non-square pixels.

What about 480p on HD DVD (ie. extras)? Can it be upscaled to 1080i over component (unlike DVD)?

can you get the 1080p resolution through the component video cables, or do you have to use the VGA cables. I've been reading but haven't found the answer to this question. Thanks everyone.

can you get the 1080p resolution through the component video cables, or do you have to use the VGA cables. I've been reading but haven't found the answer to this question. Thanks everyone.
Component: 1080p games and 1080i HD DVD
VGA cable: 1080p games and 1080p HD DVD

Note that most TV sets cannot acccept 1080p over component, but it depends on your specific model.

can you get the 1080p resolution through the component video cables, or do you have to use the VGA cables. I've been reading but haven't found the answer to this question. Thanks everyone.


Amirm who's an HD-DVD insider stated to me when I asked him this very question in another thread the following:

The XB360 HD-DVD add-on can do 1080p for games & movies only through VGA.

The XB360 HD-DVD add-on can only do 1080i through Component. But if you have a 1080p HDTV, your HDTV should be able to take that 1080i signal through Component & upconvert it to 1080p on it's own.

Component: 1080p games and 1080i HD DVD
VGA cable: 1080p games and 1080p HD DVD

Note that most TV sets cannot acccept 1080p over component, but it depends on your specific model.

My tv can do 1080p through both, component and VGA so thats not a problem. I just dont want to buy the extra VGA cable.

Amirm who's an HD-DVD insider stated to me when I asked him this very question in another thread the following:

The XB360 HD-DVD add-on can do 1080p for games & movies only through VGA.

The XB360 HD-DVD add-on can only do 1080i through Component. But if you have a 1080p HDTV, your HDTV should be able to take that 1080i signal through Component & upconvert it to 1080p on it's own.

so it cant do 1080p on the games through component either? Well then I really need to get the VGA cable if I want 1080p from the 360.

so it cant do 1080p on the games through component either? Well then I really need to get the VGA cable if I want 1080p from the 360.
Games do 1080p over component.

---

Interestingly, according to somebody in another thread who claims to have the HD DVD drive already (along with an older TV), 4:3 material on HD DVD displays correctly through the Xbox 360 (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=8793822&&#post8793822) even on TVs that stretch DVD 480p material. This applies to both 1080p 4:3 HD DVD material and 480p 4:3 HD DVDmaterial:

In other words, even with older TVs like mine that stretch DVD 4:3 material:

1) 4:3 1080p HD DVD displays correctly over component.
2) 4:3 480p HD DVD also displays correctly over component.

That's cool, but also very cool is the statement that all 480p HD DVD content is upscaled to HD over component (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=8796591&&#post8796591). :)

So, assuming all of this is true, then HD DVD 4:3 playback of any kind will not be a problem for those of us with older TVs. We will still need another DVD player for DVD 4:3 playback, but that is not a big deal.

On the HD-DVD side of things, reports are that this player will not have HDMI output? If that is true, that means you won't be able to output the new HD audio formats DD TruHD and whatever DTS is calling their new audio format. If that's the case, it's a weakness that will become apparent to more people who start updating their surround receivers/processors over the next few years.

Is there anyway to watch T2 WMV on the 360 without having to stream it from the computer? Thanks

On the HD-DVD side of things, reports are that this player will not have HDMI output? If that is true, that means you won't be able to output the new HD audio formats DD TruHD and whatever DTS is calling their new audio format. If that's the case, it's a weakness that will become apparent to more people who start updating their surround receivers/processors over the next few years.
Correct. No HDMI output.

However, the Xbox 360 will decode TrueHD and re-encode on-the-fly to 640 Kbps Dolby Digital 5.1, for transmission over SPDIF. Not a perfect solution, but good enough for my needs for the time being. By the time HDMI 1.3 (or higher) is commonplace on players, TVs, and receiver, I suspect standalone players will be under $199, and I'll get one then.

OTOH, if you want HDMI output now, the Xbox 360 add-on is not an option.


Is there anyway to watch T2 WMV on the 360 without having to stream it from the computer? Thanks
AFAIK, no.

Correct. No HDMI output.

However, the Xbox 360 will decode TrueHD and re-encode on-the-fly to 640 Kbps Dolby Digital 5.1, for transmission over SPDIF. Not a perfect solution, but good enough for my needs for the time being. By the time HDMI 1.3 (or higher) is commonplace on players, TVs, and receiver, I suspect standalone players will be under $199, and I'll get one then.

OTOH, if you want HDMI output now, the Xbox 360 add-on is not an option.



AFAIK, no.

I thought the deal with systems that can't do Dolby TrueHD, etc. they would be downcoverted to the maxium bandwidth of the digital optical cable.......which is 1.5 mbps.

As a workaround for those with display aspect ratio problems with streaming the same footage over vista ultimate with media centre extender these problems dont occur. Also some other wmv video codecs are supported too.

I want 75Hz and 71.9 whatever it is Hz to get Judder free playback from HD-DVDs in PAL and NTSC land.
It needs to be a multiple of the framerate. 60Hz=unacceptable judder for me.

(EDIT: They have added 1080P 50Hz for PAL, but still 60Hz only for NTSC, yuk)

I want 75Hz and 71.9 whatever it is Hz to get Judder free playback from HD-DVDs in PAL and NTSC land.
It needs to be a multiple of the framerate. 60Hz=unacceptable judder for me.

(EDIT: They have added 1080P 50Hz for PAL, but still 60Hz only for NTSC, yuk)


Hello World,

the 3:2 Pulldown is my biggest concern, too.

So far I do not have a xbox, but I expect to buy one soon. Is is correct, that it outputs 720p and 1080i only with a 60 Hz refresh rate or has this been changed with the last update?

I hope they will give us an option with a 50 Hz and maybe even a 24p option with 48 or 72 Hz. But for right now, I would be happy if they give us 50 Hz with a speedup (like the PAL speedup) instead of 3:2 Pulldown with judder and a blurry picture.

-Caurus

When you buy an HD DVD Drive do you have to use a HDMI input to take advantage of it ? or can you you get the HD signal with Component Video ?

When you buy an HD DVD Drive do you have to use a HDMI input to take advantage of it ? or can you you get the HD signal with Component Video ?
Component is fine. That's what I'll be using.

HDMI isn't even supported on the Xbox 360 anyway.

When you buy an HD DVD Drive do you have to use a HDMI input to take advantage of it ? or can you you get the HD signal with Component Video ?

Well, I already have it and I am using component, my TV is only capable of 720p (but accepts 1080p), when I play a regular movie, my TV states the input is 720p.

I'm having a weird issue. Playing King Kong, my picture was somewhat laggy, like you were watching an Windows Media file on your PC and it was buffering. I played with the settings for my display (switching from 720P to 1080I) to no avail. I finally just got the disc out and cleaned it off and that worked fine. However, putting in Mission Impossible III, the HD-DVD drive won't recognize the disc at all. Yet the disc looks fine, not a scratch on it. It's labeled HD-DVD (it's a Netflix rental) but I put it in the DVD tray just in case. Sure enough, it won't play their either. Neither disc was overly dirty (if at all) when watching and yet I had various degrees of difficulty getting them to play perfectly. Anyone having anything similar at all happening with their player?

Picture quality is great though...no disappointments there at all.

I have a few more HD-DVD's on the way from Netflix so I will post back with more feedback later.

King Kong and Tokyo Drift both played perfectly for me.

Maybe I'm just dunce. I couldn't figure out how to open the tray from the menu with the remote. When I push the eject button on the remote it opens the 360's tray. Am I going about this incorrectly?

Quick update on my situation. I got another copy of MI3 and it plays perfectly.

In the 360 in order to open just the tray on the HD-DVD player, you need to click on the bottom half of the circle in the dashboard.

Yeah if a dvd is in the tray, it says "play hd-dvd" I can't seem to eject it.

Amirm who's an HD-DVD insider stated to me when I asked him this very question in another thread the following:

The XB360 HD-DVD add-on can do 1080p for games & movies only through VGA.

The XB360 HD-DVD add-on can only do 1080i through Component. But if you have a 1080p HDTV, your HDTV should be able to take that 1080i signal through Component & upconvert it to 1080p on it's own.
I have a question about this, cause I'm a bit confused. I will soon be buying the Pioneer PDP-6070HD which has a native resolution of 1365x768 (making it a native 720p if I'm not mistaken). And according to the official product page, it has the "Ability to Accept a 1080p/24Hz Signal".

So taking this update and the above into consideration....would I benefit from using vga? I've heard it's always best to play in your native resolution, so I'm not really sure if vga is good if my settings are currently at 720p.

The reason I ask is I am considering buying this HDDVD add-on, but only on the account that it can upconvert DVDs to 720p or above. If not, I'll likely just pass and buy a stand-alone dvd upconverter player. The problem with buying the drive, is I'm very confused what cable to use, and what settings to use for my 360 in playing both movies and games.

So can you or anyone else kindly help me out on this situation? It's greatly appreciated.

I love the add on. Pic on my setup is crisp. Very very nice. But one suggestion I'd love MS to add is the ability to set independent output resolutions for HD-DVD and games. I want 720p for games so that my processor can just scale to 1080p because folks have stated 1080i 360 games are just upconverted 720p anyways. Want to avoid double processing. But for HD-DVD's I want 1080i so my processor can deinterlace and framerate convert to 48Hz. I don't want to have to go to the dash and do this every time.

I have a question about this, cause I'm a bit confused. I will soon be buying the Pioneer PDP-6070HD which has a native resolution of 1365x768 (making it a native 720p if I'm not mistaken). And according to the official product page, it has the "Ability to Accept a 1080p/24Hz Signal".
Native 720p is 1280x720. As you said, it has a native resolution of 1368x768. That's just something different.

The HD-DVD has NOTHING to do with upconverting. The Xbox 360 can upconvert over VGA right now. DVD rules don't allow upconversion over component. You can, however, use the drive to play HD-DVDs, which look 5 times better than DVDs.

I emailed Xbox support about this. Hopefully we will have a fix sometime soon, as MS is usually good with actually responding to requests. Also, DYK that, not only is the 360 stretching 4:3, but seemingly any content <1.78:1. My Rear Window DVD is 1.66:1, and it is stretched as well. Not a big deal, but still an issue.

Maybe I'm just dunce. I couldn't figure out how to open the tray from the menu with the remote. When I push the eject button on the remote it opens the 360's tray. Am I going about this incorrectly?According to Microsoft, the OPEN/CLOSE button on the bundled HD-DVD remote doesn't OPEN/CLOSE the HD-DVD. :rolleyes:

And the VOL button on the "universal remote" can't be programmed to adjust the volume in your HT... only a TV speaker. :rolleyes:

http://www.xbox.com/en-US/support/systemsetup/xbox360/accessories/universalmediaremote.htm
The remote's Open/Close button will open and close the console's disc tray.

The Universal Media Remote works only with TVs, the Xbox 360 console, and a connected Microsoft Windows Media Center–based PC. It does not control VCRs, stand-alone DVRs and DVD players, or audio equipment.I tried the Pioneer codes and a quick scan. No Luck. If anyone has a remote code that can control the volume on a Pioneer VSX-816, please let me know.

Since this is the feature request thread:
maybe the TV button can be used as a toggle for opening the HD-DVD drawer vs the game drawer... e.g., if you press TV (button turns orange) then press OPEN/CLOSE, the HD-DVD drawer could open/close.

I'd like to be able to play games from the HD DVD drive. 2 disc changer mmmmmm.

I'd like to have separate display output settings for HD DVD playback and games. My set looks better on 720p for games and 1080i for HD DVD. Leaving it on 1080i for games such as GOW causes tearing, so it's not an option. It's annoying to have to switch it all the time.

I'd like to have separate display output settings for HD DVD playback and games. My set looks better on 720p for games and 1080i for HD DVD. Leaving it on 1080i for games such as GOW causes tearing, so it's not an option. It's annoying to have to switch it all the time.

I already posted this... but I want to bump you anyway. ;)

This is a huge omission.

The inability to use the volume keys on the included remote to my reciever (denon) is annoying, but not huge. I wish I could use my denon remote instead really.

I already posted this... but I want to bump you anyway. ;)

This is a huge omission.

The inability to use the volume keys on the included remote to my reciever (denon) is annoying, but not huge. I wish I could use my denon remote instead really.

I know I'm gloating here but....I have a Yamaha HTR-5990 receiver with an IR learning remote. I just programmed all the Xbox remote buttons unto an input on my receiver remote, and voila!! I now control the xbox and HD DVD player with the receiver remote...all functions including power, rewind, fastforward, menu, title, A B C & D, etc. I'm loving it so far.

Anybody have lip sync issues? I've noticed slight lip sync issues particularly with enabling TrueHD on Batman Begins.

Anybody have lip sync issues? I've noticed slight lip sync issues particularly with enabling TrueHD on Batman Begins.
I have posted a thread (with poll) on the subject here (http://avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=751752).

Don't have BB yet... no lip synch issues otherwise.

Uh oh... Not an isolated problem...

TrueHD audio sync issue reported by someone in the Xbox forum, with Batman Begins. (http://forums.xbox.com/8181232/ShowPost.aspx)

TrueHD audio sync issue reported by a Toshiba standalone owner, with Constantine. (http://avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=717245)

Another issue is DD+ sounds kinda muted, like dynamic compression is on to the extreme.

I know I'm gloating here but....I have a Yamaha HTR-5990 receiver with an IR learning remote. I just programmed all the Xbox remote buttons unto an input on my receiver remote, and voila!! I now control the xbox and HD DVD player with the receiver remote...all functions including power, rewind, fastforward, menu, title, A B C & D, etc. I'm loving it so far.

Yes, that's gloating. ;)

Uh oh... Not an isolated problem...

TrueHD audio sync issue reported by someone in the Xbox forum, with Batman Begins. (http://forums.xbox.com/8181232/ShowPost.aspx)

TrueHD audio sync issue reported by a Toshiba standalone owner, with Constantine. (http://avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=717245)
It's the most obvious with TrueHD, but there is definitely a very slight lag with even Dolby Digital Plus as well. I have noticed this on the last 3 discs I tested, all with Dolby Digital Plus tracks.

hmmm, I noticed a red light on my HD DVD drive, apparently it overheated.

audio sync problems with xbox 360 hd-dvd add-on

I noticed significant lip sync problems with "grand Prix" hd-dvd. To my eyes and ears the voices are delayed compared to video. It was so noticeable to me that i thought i was watching a dubbed foreign film. I can understand, however, how many would overlook it if they were not paying close attention. According to review of this hd-dvd at high-def digest website this movie has "dolby digital plus" soundtrack only. Their review makes no mention of audiosync problems, which makes me suspect that the 360 add-on is the culprit. Unfortunately, I do not possess a stand alone hd-dvd player to do a/b comparison. FWIW i am using official xbox 360 hd/av cable with optical into a yamaha receiver. sony 32" xbr1 lcd.

Something odd I found.
Background - I have 2 360's, and have played GoW extensively on both with no problems.

When I hooked up the HD-DVD drive in the living room I switched the display to 1080P and while testing out menu features, etc. on the King Kong HD-DVD, the system hard-locked on me. I had to power it off.
The next night I watched "Accepted" on HD-DVD and about 1 hour in it paused, then got really choppy. I quit to the dashboard and then went back in, got to the chapter just before that one and played the rest of the movie fine.
So yesterday I swapped consoles, set the other console to 1080P, hooked up the drive, and let King Kong play, and then watched MI3 HD-DVD with no problems at all. So it seems that one of my consoles has a problem with the HD-DVD drive, but doesn't have a problem playing games. I'll most likely take it back to Best Buy for replacement, but does anyone have any ideas?

I bought Accepted yesterday and was watching it, on the "Gone too far" chapter, mine freezes if I have subtitles on. If not, it doesn't freeze and plays fine.

I see a small lip sync problem on King Kong. I have my XBOX 360 connected to a Sony 40" XBR1 LCD Tv via component and stereo audio cables. It is very subtle though..the audio is lagging be a few milliseconds, not terrible but I hope that it can be fixed by a software update. Overall, I am really pleased with the picture and am glad I got this in addition to my 360, which I picked up two days ago. Now I need to find some local video stores that rent HD-DVDs

I have no issues or sync problems with my unit. I think you have to reboot it after you install the hd-dvd drive. That should clear up all the problems you seem to be having.

My unit plays fine. No lockups or any other odd behaviors on a Panny ax100 (brand new model) projector. The colors are fantastic and the sound seems alot better but I have yet to do an A-B comparison with a DVD. Rumor was that the conversion to DD5.1 could user more bandwidth that typically available on aa standard DVD.

Not to beat a dead horse but it would be very nice if the VGA worked. Component is great rich colors and no interflacing issues at 720p (which is the native for this projector). VGA SAME projector and there is just no comparison. I would never watch HD-DVD via the VGA input because it is dull.

In reading some threads of at Microsoft I sense "disbelief" that this is really an issue. Beleive me, it is an issue. I hook up a Copperbox component to VGA transcoder, the colors are just fine. This isn't a viable solution but demonstrates that there is some issue with the compatibility between the VGA on my projector (and many other peoples) and the VGA out on the Xbox.

I also tried the VGA output on my Pioneer 503CMX plasma COMPUTER MONITOR. Again, washed out and not at all rich like the colors coming into that SAME VGA PORT from a MyHD HighDef receiver.

On a different note, when I go out to the dashboard to make an adjustment to the resolution, the HD-DVD looses its place. Typically, I see it starting from where it left off but not in this case.

Also, for new users if you cursor in the dashboard down to the tray area, there are TWO choices there. Its very subtle but you can cursor to the HD-DVD and start it up from there.

I have no issues or sync problems with my unit. I think you have to reboot it after you install the hd-dvd drive. That should clear up all the problems you seem to be having.
If only it were that easy...


I see a small lip sync problem on King Kong. I have my XBOX 360 connected to a Sony 40" XBR1 LCD Tv via component and stereo audio cables. It is very subtle though..the audio is lagging be a few milliseconds, not terrible but I hope that it can be fixed by a software update.
I thought I noticed the same thing with King Kong, but it's REALLY subtle.

P.S. Here is the audio sync issues thread. (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=751752)

hoping this is the right place to put this:

is anyone else having issues with the HD-DVD a, b, c, and d buttons? supposedly the remote maps a, b, x, and y to a, b, c and d but I can't get it to work.

the test I'm performing is with batman begins. if you go into the options there is a zoom/pan selection that I would like to use for viewing the special features. it says to hit the [A] button to enter zoom mode and to hit it repeatedly to zoom more and to use the arrows to pan around. No dice.

I've tried using the actual [a] button on the remote as well as using [left-trigger+A] on a controller (which is listed in the help as the hd-dvd [a] button).

I've also tried this over both VGA and component. VGA is what I usually use and I was worried that it might be a resolution issue (not being able to zoom over VGA for some reason) but same lack of functionality over component.

on a side note, I'll mention that VGA and component look almost identical on my 46" DLP so I've been using VGA since it will upscale DVDs over component. (I only mention it because I know many people think VGA looks bad).

I am thinking about buying XB360 and the HD player to cater my 50" plasma and 6.1 system. I am not much a gamer.

But one thing bugs me: the XB system can't output DTS. If they can only deliver 5.1 DD why don't they just let the sound out via optical/coaxil so users can use their receiver do whatever they like?

For those who have both the XB HD player and other standalone upconversion DVD player, can the XB combo improve the image for regular DVD disk compared with playing the same regular disk on standalone upconversion player?

I am thinking about buying XB360 and the HD player to cater my 50" plasma and 6.1 system. I am not much a gamer.

But one thing bugs me: the XB system can't output DTS. If they can only deliver 5.1 DD why don't they just let the sound out via optical/coaxil so users can use their receiver do whatever they like?



there's no technical reason why it can't be done. i suspect the programmers wanted to cover the basics first to cover the launch and then add things like dts support later.

I just got my HD-DVD player for the 360, i plugged it in and started viewing the king kong movie, at 1080p on my Dell 2407, i got weird horizontal lines in the movie, i can view it but it pisses me off to see the lines on the lower left side of the screen, basically 35percent of the screen has them, when i switch to 720p on the dell LCD they are gone.

GREAT. Thanks Micro$oft. THis whole console and hd-dvd add-on is useless for me.

When I play my HD-DVDs I have to turn my volume way up. It's like it's muted compared to a regular DVD. Anyone else experience the same issue or does anybody have any suggestions as to what I am overlooking?

Fix the algorithms converting Dolby Digital Plus and Dolby TrueHD down to Dolby Digital. The sound from HD-DVDs is very compressed.

- Remember where the HD DVD move left off when you power off or switch to Dashboard so you can resume where you left off. This works for regular DVDs on the HD DVD drive, so why not for HD DVD movies?
- Please provide hdmi cable with hdmi 1.3 out so that we can be ready for next gen sound when receivers come next year
- Please allow switching of resolution (1080p etc) from remote while watching movie.
- please provide DTS in addition to Dolby

Fix the algorithms converting Dolby Digital Plus and Dolby TrueHD down to Dolby Digital. The sound from HD-DVDs is very compressed.

How do I do that?

Fix the algorithms converting Dolby Digital Plus and Dolby TrueHD down to Dolby Digital. The sound from HD-DVDs is very compressed.
Amirm sez: (http://avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=9001981&&#post9001981)

"...we are finalizing our DTS encoder which once done, should produce the same experience as the Toshiba player which everyone was happy with...."

Provide a setting for Color Saturation for HD-DVD playback with 1080p VGA. Many sets lack basic settings for VGA input.

Hi guys,

Does anyone know if the US/Canadian version of the HD-DVD add-on would work with an Asian XBOX 360 unit? I know the Japanese HD-DVD add-on unit would work but I prefer to have the remote in English.

I just tried playing a DVD on my Xbox 360 for the first time and it is in 4:3 format, but in letterbox... my setting on the console is at 1080p... is anybody else having this problem?

Amirm sez: (http://avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=9001981&&#post9001981)

"...we are finalizing our DTS encoder which once done, should produce the same experience as the Toshiba player which everyone was happy with...."


Fantastic, thanks for the update...I haven't had a chance to check here lately.

An option to have the IR command for opening the disc tray to open the one on the HD DVD player would be nice. Also It would be nice if MS has some basic calibration and test patterns available on Live for download. Nothing fancy just some basics to get you going.

-Jerry C.

hmmm, I noticed a red light on my HD DVD drive, apparently it overheated.


Question for you.. How does the image look using component cables? Considering all the HD players on the market utilize the HDMI cable for viewing.

Is your image at 1080i through the 360 HD player?

Question for you.. How does the image look using component cables? Considering all the HD players on the market utilize the HDMI cable for viewing.

Is your image at 1080i through the 360 HD player?

Looks awesome on my TV.

Fix UCONTROL, doesn't work

Two questions about HD DVDs and specifically this one.

First, I just stepped into the the HD World (buying my first set on Black Friday) so I dont know alot about the technology. Here are my two questions:

1) Will this addon make my regular DVDs look better or only HD DVDs. I think I heard there was a way to hack into regular DVDs for beter PQ. Also I heard standalone HD DVDs upconverts SD DVDs? The 360 one doesnt?

2) How does it connect? If it only uses HDMI I may be trouble as my set has been known to have problems with HDMI and I have thus avoided using it.

oh yeah and 3

3) I am out of composite (red blue green) cable inputs on my TV with my cable box and 360 using them both. How can I hook this up without more inputs and no HDMI and still get HD resolution?

Thanks in advance

1) Only if you are using a VGa cable. It will upconvert SD dvds.

2) You can connect via vga or component.

3) Get a component switch box.

Ok maybe I am really new to this but I have a RPTV CRT, The Hitachi 51f59 specifically. Im not at home so I cant check right now but do I have VGA inputs for that TV? I have a VGA cable and switch box back when I used to play the 360 on my computer monitor.

Will playing the 360 videogames via VGA look better than component on my HDTV (if that is an option).If there isnt an VGA input is there a way to get some kind of adapter to allow this?

I'm probably speaking out of my ass here and this is probably totally stupid, but is it possible that the 360 uses the harddrive for caching purposes while watching an hd-dvd, as a buffer of sorts? If this is the case, then someone who bought a core system and never bought a HDD for it would most likely have problems, like lip sync issues, right?

Sounds like the 1440x1080 WMV files are not flagged as anamorphic (they should be) or the 360 is not respecting this flag. Is there a tool to check this on WMV files? I suppose other apps automatically expanding the video would be a good indicator.The same happens to me. Media Player Classic plays them correctly as 16:9 files...
Any info on a fix?

Provide a setting for Color Saturation for HD-DVD playback with 1080p VGA. Many sets lack basic settings for VGA input.I'd like to expand on this... ideally I'd love it if a future update would provide video playback settings for the following, and not just through VGA, but component also:

* Brightness
* Contrast
* Hue
* Saturation
* Gamma

Also, as mentioned earlier, resumable HD-DVD playback.

I've been trying to figure out if the 360 can do upconverting for sd dvd's. Can someone please tell me if it does that over the hd av component cables it comes with? And if so, what resolutions can it upscale to, say 720p? That would be awesome.

Thanks for all the help.

I've been trying to figure out if the 360 can do upconverting for sd dvd's. Can someone please tell me if it does that over the hd av component cables it comes with? And if so, what resolutions can it upscale to, say 720p? That would be awesome.

Thanks for all the help.

No, Upconverting is only allowed over VGA due to MPAA rules i believe

Also, as mentioned earlier, resumable HD-DVD playback.


that is a software issue and has nothing to do with the player hardware

How do i know if my SD DVD's are being upconverted? i'm using vga to my computer monitor, the 360 is set at 1280 x 720, the problem is, i don't know if it's being upconverted or not, is it?

Longhorns, your DVD's are definately being upconverted to 1280x720. On many TV's you can hit an 'info' button on the remote to show the currently input resolution... on many computer monitors you can do the same thing in the OSD menus...

Thanks eskimo

What would be sweet is a 'demo' of sorts that was an HD version of something like the THX optimizer that you could download from marketplace.

Nothing too fancy... but something a bit higher res to help you adjust levels.

No kidding, I would certainly pay a few hundred points for that.

Is their going to be afix for the hd dvd 5.1 sound being so low?

Provide a setting for Color Saturation for HD-DVD playback with 1080p VGA. Many sets lack basic settings for VGA input.


I replaced an oppo 970hd. Talk about picture controls on a DVD player...WOW

Brightness
Contrast
Color Saturation
Sharpness
Tint

Games on the xbox 360 let you adjust the picture. Why shouldn't hd dvd playback? My projector has very limited picture controls with vga input. It sure would be nice to add more color saturation.

Also... My projector accepts 1080i input over vga. When I try 1920x1080 it does not work. I suspect it is sending 1080p. If so, please add a display option to vga for 1080i.

Bren

I think there needs to be a master setting in the Xbox 360 to select a PC Level VGA Output (0-255 RGB) or a Studio Level VGA Output (16-235 RGB). Samsung DLP televisions only accept a PC Level signal. If you feed it the studio level signal that the XBox currently outputs, you get washed out colors and poor black/white performance.

A fix for the DD+ sound issue is also a must.

wnorris,

Are you sure about that with Samsung DLPs? I have an HLP (2005) that looks great over VGA, better than my Zenith 318 that I'm using to upconvert over component.

Also... My projector accepts 1080i input over vga. When I try 1920x1080 it does not work. I suspect it is sending 1080p. If so, please add a display option to vga for 1080i.

Bren

I second that. 1080i via VGA/RGBHV should be an easy one to add. This is by far my biggest pet peeve with the 360, since my set does not take component above 480p.

When I play a dvd on the 360 via VGA to my 1280 by 768 tv, I get a picture which uses only part of my screen. I guess the xbox is not upscaling the DVD picture.

Any ideas on what to do? thanks


Also, there are clearly visible PQ issues. I dont know the technical terms for the ones I see, but it doesn't look much like a dvd quality transfer.

What do you mean it only uses part of the screen?

What DVD are you watching?

What do you mean it only uses part of the screen?

What DVD are you watching?
The video is centered on the TV screen. I reckon that the dvd is being shown at its native rez of 720 by 480, judging from the area covered. The rest of the screen is dark.

Given that the title was in 2.35 AR, I expect black bars below and above, but this one has thick black bars on the sides too. Btw, I have seen this title through component on the 360 and it works perfectly.

The title was 'O Brother, where art thou?'

Has anyone had issues with their HD-DVD add-on not acheiving very high levels of volume? There doesn't seem to be much variance in the volume....40 doesn't sound too much diff. from 80. I have a Samsung LCD and the XBOX itself sounds very loud at about 20....but the HD-DVD's volume isn't too sensitive to volume control at all.

Getting the 360 add-on for Xmas! Can't Wait

I have mine sitting in a box all wrapped up across the room taunting me, I can't till Christmas to open it.

I just got mine today, and I have to say, it's amazing! If the stupid xbox had come with it built in, that would be even better!

Can't wait to go DVD shopping tomorrow!

Has anyone had issues with their HD-DVD add-on not acheiving very high levels of volume? There doesn't seem to be much variance in the volume....40 doesn't sound too much diff. from 80. I have a Samsung LCD and the XBOX itself sounds very loud at about 20....but the HD-DVD's volume isn't too sensitive to volume control at all.

Yes, there is a problem. Dolby Digital Plus is very compressed (meaning not much variance in volume), while Dolby True HD has issues with getting out of synch with the video. Supposedly MS is working on a fix for these issues.

Anyone else's add-on sound just as loud as the 360's fans?

All,

Hopefully this is the right spot for this question:

I am experiencing bad picture judder/stutter when playing SD DVDs in either the 360 console drive or the HD Add-on Drive. I have tried three sets of component cables and am now on my third brand new Xbox 360 console.

I have tried MS Support (no help) and tried different power outlets, multiple DVDs, with or without a power strip, and on both of my TVs. All with the same result.

To make things even more confusing, HD DVDs look great on the HD Drive. Both King Kong and MI3 look fantastic with no judder/stutter of the picture. Games also play fine with no issue. I thought my 360 was finally my one stop solution for my home theater. Games on the console drive and both SD/HD DVDs on the HD Drive.

I am so frustrated trying to troubleshoot this problem. Anyone have any ideas??Any help would be GREATLY appreciated!!

Thanks in advance!! :D

Anyone else's add-on sound just as loud as the 360's fans?

My HD Add-on is very quiet.

Additonal info:

OK, I spent way too many hours today going through my entire library of SD DVDs... turns out I only have problems with movies that are in the THX format (all of the Star Wars movies, all of the disney movies...)

So, it looks like my problem is my console is not doing a good job decoding DVDs in the THX format and hence I am seeing the judder.

Anyone else have problems with THX encoded DVDs??

I called MS Support again and they claimed they have never heard of an issue with THX encoded DVDs. It is just very strange that my problem only involves SD DVDs that have THX encoding (granted I do not have any HD DVDs with THX encoding to try out.)

Thanks again for any insight!! :D

Has anyone had issues with their HD-DVD add-on not acheiving very high levels of volume? There doesn't seem to be much variance in the volume....40 doesn't sound too much diff. from 80. I have a Samsung LCD and the XBOX itself sounds very loud at about 20....but the HD-DVD's volume isn't too sensitive to volume control at all.


The flat sound problem. The problem with the compressed dynamics (because of the broken DD+ decoder) is well known to MS. But it looks like they do not care that much to deliver us a bug fix. At least not in a resonable time.


The rumors speak of a fix that might arrive in 3 month. But then, just go ahead and call MS to report this bug. They will tell you, that they NEVER heard of it before. Even though dozens or even hundreds if not thousands have called MS before and have reported this bug. They do not acknowledge the problem and this might hint, that they will never fix it. Even if they deliver the DTS encoder update at some point in the distant future the DD+ decoding bug might still persist.


I am very disappointed of MS.

Simple issue here. Have owned the HD-DVD for a month now. Worked great until recently. HD disks do not work and SD discs do. I get a "can't read disc" error. I know this isn't a disc issue as I've tried 4 of them. Any advice??

Simple issue here. Have owned the HD-DVD for a month now. Worked great until recently. HD disks do not work and SD discs do. I get a "can't read disc" error. I know this isn't a disc issue as I've tried 4 of them. Any advice??

Couldn't seem to find a fix and i was under warranty. , so i took it back. If anyone else has this problem hopefully you have the receipt and have owned it for less than 90 days.

I just got off the phone from xbox support on the 4:3 display problem with 16:9 displays where the aspect ratio cant be adjusted and the images are distorted - as per the photos on page one of this thread.

They were polite and helpful but Im left puzzled with the advice. The CSR basically said it was because I was using component cables and not VGA, and I then advised him I had previously called them as their VGA implementation is bugged and isnt giving the required horizontal frequency for my display.......So it concluded with "wait for the patch, and then your vga problem and the 4:3 will be fixed".

The more I think about it, the more it doesnt make sense. Why would going from component to vga cables affect a display aspect ratio problem on the 360's sd dvd player?

This is my first post at AVS, but I've been lurking here for some time. I had to break my silence because I'm experiencing a problem with DVD and HD DVD playback from my 360 that no else has yet reported (to my knowledge).

Basically, I'm noticing a mostly-white horizontal line near the top and bottom of DVDs and HD DVDs that are 2.4:1 like Gladiator (DVD) and Batman Begins (HD DVD) but not on full screen widescreen like like Smallville (which is 1.85:1).

My setup:
Samsung LNS4696D HDTV
Xbox 360 + HD DVD drive connected directly to the TV via Component
Xbox 360 set to 1080p output

Both the HD DVD and HDTV were recently purchased. Before purchasing the Sammy, I tried two separate Sharp LC46D62Us, but both had severe picture quality problems (backlight bleeding and horizontal banding). I didn't notice this "white line" problem on those sets, but I only had them for a few days. To be honest, I didn't notice the "white line" on the Sammy until recently. It's not a complete deal breaker for me but I am curious if it's a problem with the TV or the 360's DVD/HDDVD.

Note: The "white line" never appears when watching SD, gaming, or full widescreen HD programming on my cable box. So far, I've only noticed it while playing 2.4:1 DVDs and HD DVDs on the 360.

I'll try taking some photos so you can see the problem first hand.

Gladiator on DVD

http://img186.imageshack.us/img186/7909/gladiatordvdhg3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Gladiator on DVD closer up

http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/6734/gladiatordvdcloserck7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)


Batman Begins HD DVD

http://img126.imageshack.us/img126/5581/batmanbeginshddvdau8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)


Batman Begins HD DVD closer up

http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/9007/batmanbeginshddvdcloserzs7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

My HD DVD add on has quit working...

It receives power, as I can open the drive and un/load a disc, but the 360 dashboard does not recognize the drive. I have tried reloading the software, but when prompted to connect the drive to USB, nothing happens. I have tried every USB port and even a different USB cable. I did some searching and found some cache clearing trick to try, but that failed as well.

It appears I am screwed. I received this as a gift, and thus I dont have a retail receipt. Am I still covered under MS's 90 warranty?

@ danmacman

What happens when you plug the drive into a PC?

Also considering that the drive hasn't been on the market for 90 days yet you should be covered.

has anyoe else had the HD DVD player for the 360 randomly streach all movies to 1.78:1 even if they are 2.35:1 like Apollo 13

if I do something it fixes it dut I dont know what I did since it is a day later or so and sometimes when I finish watching a movie I put a different one with a 1.85:1 like Dazed and Confused and it either stays at the 2.35:1 from Apollo 13 or goes to 1.78:1 or sometimes 1.85:1

M$ has no clue what 1.78:1 and 1.85:1 mean and I talked to a supervisor who didnt even know what I was talking about and he told me he was a expert on HD DVD's but he doesent even know what 1.78:1 meanshe said "all movies are in 1080p widescreen" I said is it 1.78:1 or 16x9 and he said "not sure let me check"

WTF 1.78:1 is 16x9 so I let him know he is stupid and hung up

has anyoe else had the HD DVD player for the 360 randomly streach all movies to 1.78:1 even if they are 2.35:1 like Apollo 13

if I do something it fixes it dut I dont know what I did since it is a day later or so and sometimes when I finish watching a movie I put a different one with a 1.85:1 like Dazed and Confused and it either stays at the 2.35:1 from Apollo 13 or goes to 1.78:1 or sometimes 1.85:1

M$ has no clue what 1.78:1 and 1.85:1 mean and I talked to a supervisor who didnt even know what I was talking about and he told me he was a expert on HD DVD's but he doesent even know what 1.78:1 meanshe said "all movies are in 1080p widescreen" I said is it 1.78:1 or 16x9 and he said "not sure let me check"

WTF 1.78:1 is 16x9 so I let him know he is stupid and hung up

Nope. I've never seen this issue with my HD DVD add on.

Request: Different output resolution options for dvds/hddvds and video games/other.

If this is a big deal you guys didn't do a good job on the software side.

I SECOND THIS!!!!!!

Geez, thanks for putting in all this work, I have been debating on whether or not I want to get the HD attachment

I'm having a super minor issue and I'm just interested in understanding it.

My 360 is connected via component to my Westy 37w1. When I play standard anamorphic DVDs they are displayed at 720x480 instead of widescreen ARs when my display is set to Standard aspect ratio. It displays correctly when I force the TV to display 16:9 (Full mode, I think). I'm just wondering why this is, since, for instance, my PS2 doesn't do that.

Update on my image judder problem with SD DVDs on my Xbox 360:

It turns on that the PC Board on my plasma panel was starting to go bad. Best Buy replaced it under their extended warranty program. I now have judder free images when playing DVDs via Xbox 360!!

I now love my 360 once again (and HD add-on too)!! :D

I have a question about Dolby HD or DTS HD.. Lets say it's possible to do and M$ has updated the firmware to enable it.. Now if I use 5 RCA's to achieve the HD audio (since there's no HDMI) will my reciever be able to take full advantage of the HD Audio or will it be almost as good but not all the way HD Audio? Pioneer VSX-1015

Hello everyone... Long time Lurker here..

I'm not sure this question is in the right thread, but it does have to do with HD content on the X360... here goes.

I have yet to buy the HD-DVD add-on we just moved into our house a month ago and last night I hooked up my 360 to Live for the first time in 3 months. The first thing I did was travel to the market place to see what type of videos they where offering as well as their terms ect. I see that some movies are offered in 720p I'm very curious to see how these videos look. Has anyone had any experience 'renting' these digital videos? I'm looking at renting Superman Returns, would it be noticeably sharper then my SD DVD? Or should I just throw in my DVD?

I'm showing off my Home Theater tonight, want to make big waves!

Sevker

From what I have seen as far as responses to the downloadable content on the Market Place is that it is very good. Because as you probably already know, 720p and 1080i are very close visually. If you are running components on the HD-DVD drive you will only get 1080i. So you will get a really nice picture by downloading the movie vs. the SD-DVD however, the transfer to HD-DVD wasn't ranked so high. To show off your theatre, King Kong would be perfect (Beautiful HD-DVD Content), if this is available for download then get this! I don't know about the movie, I havent watched mine all the way through. The film is long so it might bore your company so I'd be careful there. If you go in the HD-DVD Software area (on the forums), you will find a tier ranking system that will give you an idea of what is impressive and what is not so impressive HD wise. Hope I was of some help, take care. -Wes-

Also you could just download some trailers that are in HD, movies will take a long time to dl since their around 5 Gb or more. I have dl 300, Blood Diamond and Smoking Aces in 720p and thought they looked great although I'm using an Infocus 4805 which is only 480p.

Thanks for the input gang!
Excellent points... I think I'll compare a few trailers to my SD-DVD trailers I have, then I'll know if I should be downloading for special occasions. I also have another little curveball to my problem. I have an INFOCUS IN72 (480p) SD-DVD is impressive to the average joe when it's 9 foot big.. However I hooked up my HD-TV reciever and compared Star Wars Episode 3 HD to SD-DVD and I witnessed a slight benefit.. It looked obviously better to me, but to the average Joe these benefits might be wasted. I'm gonna try out the HD content via Live tonight.. I'll keep everyone posted!

I have the same problem as the OP: My TV via component locks into a 16:9 ratio.

I can't get the Xbox 360 to pillarbox and display black bars on either side rather than stretch or zoom the image.

It's a real pain. Currently I just watch 4:3 dvds on my PS3, but its connected via RCA cables at the moment so the quality suffers.

I want a multy disk add on, so I can load about 5 games

I've got a weird reoccuring issue with dvd playback (both sd and hd) that occurs through both vga and component.

When I pop in a dvd, during playback it'll randomly screw up the image color - it's hard to describe - it makes everything really saturated and almost 'cartoonish' in appearance. When it first happenned I turned off the xbox and turned it back on and the issue went away.

Second time it happenned powering down didn't resolve anything. I switched cables from vga to component and the same issue. This not only affects playback but the dashboard as well. I removed the dvd from the hd drive and put it into the xbox's dvd drive and color was still screwed up. I put in an hd dvd into the hd drive and color was still screwed up. I checked my connections and they were all okay. I flipped the tv to my hd cable and everything was okay with that input.

Finally I put a game into the xbox and the color issue went away. Anyone else run across this issue? I'll take a picture and post next time this happens so you can know what I'm talking about.

I have a question about Dolby HD or DTS HD.. Lets say it's possible to do and M$ has updated the firmware to enable it.. Now if I use 5 RCA's to achieve the HD audio (since there's no HDMI) will my reciever be able to take full advantage of the HD Audio or will it be almost as good but not all the way HD Audio? Pioneer VSX-1015


Any takers?

Daniel, you cannot get 5.0 or 5.1 analogue from the Xbox 360. Analogue audio is stereo only on the 360.

The 360 can decode Dolby TrueHD 5.1, but it either gets reencoded to Dolby Digital 5.1 for output via optical, or else it gets output as stereo via the analogue outputs.

BTW, within a month or two we should get a DTS option (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=9518240&&#post9518240) as well for optical output. Some people have complained that DD+ reencoded to DD5.1 on the 360 often doesn't sound very good. However, DD+ reencoded to DTS on the Toshiba players sounds good. I had a Toshiba player, and I was very pleased with their DD+ --> DTS output. Microsoft is hoping their implementation of DD+ --> DTS output will sound as good as Toshiba's.

The video is centered on the TV screen. I reckon that the dvd is being shown at its native rez of 720 by 480, judging from the area covered. The rest of the screen is dark.

Given that the title was in 2.35 AR, I expect black bars below and above, but this one has thick black bars on the sides too. Btw, I have seen this title through component on the 360 and it works perfectly.

The title was 'O Brother, where art thou?'

I'm having this problem on almost all my widescreen SD dvd's as well, tried using the HD-DVD player and the regular 360 drive and both give me black bars on left/right and top bottom so it centers the widscreen 720x480 in the middle. Any new updates on when this is going to be fixed? Pretty useless as a DVD player at this point. I'm connected using the VGA cable to a 50" Panny plasma. Have to use my old Samsung HD-850 to get the dvd's to display correctly. What a pain.

Kasey

Quick question. When I play HD DVD on component, I get the black bars on top. I wanted to know if when playing via VGA it will display the entire image in Full Screen (Without the black bars (16:9))? Any help is appreciated, thanks.

Quick question. When I play HD DVD on component, I get the black bars on top. I wanted to know if when playing via VGA it will display the entire image in Full Screen (Without the black bars (16:9))? Any help is appreciated, thanks.

Doesn't matter if your using comp or VGA, the HD-DVD would have to be in 1.78:1 aspect ratio on your 16:9 tv to be full screen, unless you stretech it (vertical fit) w/ the dvd player, which I don't think you can do w/ either the reg 360 dvd player or the HD-DVD add on, I can't do it on mine.

I thought I had read somewhere that using the VGA cable it would display in Full Screen at 16:9. What you said makes sense. I wish you could view HD DVD/Blu-Ray like you see HDTV broadcast on TV, taking up the whole screen and not wasting any space on the screen. Thanks.

It will take up the screen if the HD DVD is a 16:9 aspect ratio. If its 2:35.1 then its going to have black bars no matter what. Do you want them to crop it like TV stations do? I would rather have the original aspect ratio than have the picture cropped.

I thought I had read somewhere that using the VGA cable it would display in Full Screen at 16:9. What you said makes sense. I wish you could view HD DVD/Blu-Ray like you see HDTV broadcast on TV, taking up the whole screen and not wasting any space on the screen. Thanks.

What Character and Kasey have said are correct. The ONLY reason you see black bars is that the aspect ratio is wider then your TV can display, unless you get one of the constant height 2.35:1 setups then you are always going to see the black bars on your TV to see the movie correctly. If you decide to "zoom" the image you loose the picture to either side taking away from the movie almost as bad a putting a 2.35:1 movie in Full Screen 4:3 format :(....

The VGA cable will allow the full RESOLUTION only of 1080p no matter what the content is. This would fill your screen IF the content is formated to 1.78:1 and most of the time if it is 1.85:1 (because of overscan). Most of the shows you see on HDTV are cropped (hacked) to fit the screen and thus you are loosing picture from this. Take a look at a movie in OAR on Showtime you will see the same black bars. It is not wasting space at all and that is the most common thing that people get wrong when talking about the aspect ratios (j6p) thinking I am seeing "less" when you are actually seeing more. There are many threads on the aspect ratio and why it looks the way it does. Hope this helps you and puts you at ease some.

here are some links to help the cause:
http://www.thedigitalbits.com/articles/anamorphic/aspectratios/widescreenorama.html
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=328207

I just got my HDDVD addon and i heard that it upconverts standard dvd's to 720P, but i cant get that to work ...

anyone have any ideas??

I just got my HDDVD addon and i heard that it upconverts standard dvd's to 720P, but i cant get that to work ...

anyone have any ideas??
Does your TV accept 720p?? if it does then all you have to do is set the 360s output to 720p (or whatever the maximum rez you TV will accept (1080p in my case) and you are good to go. You set the resolution in the "blade" setup section

And I dont believe that it is the HD DVD add on that up converts the 360 itself will upconvert :)

My remote stopped doing the bookmarks WTF!

I just got my HDDVD addon and i heard that it upconverts standard dvd's to 720P, but i cant get that to work ...

anyone have any ideas??

The 360 upconverts ONLY over VGA.

I've read some posts in this thread regarding audio problems and last night I found myself raising and raising the volume. When I changed the reciever to watch something on TV it almost blew my speakers. Is everyone experiencing this? If so does anyone know if there is a fix in the works?
Joe

I've read some posts in this thread regarding audio problems and last night I found myself raising and raising the volume. When I changed the reciever to watch something on TV it almost blew my speakers. Is everyone experiencing this? If so does anyone know if there is a fix in the works?
Joe
Actually I have read a lot on this about audio problems, but I have been testing it out and I haven't really changed the volume from what I normally watch DVDs from. It seems plenty loud even if games are set at a higher volume I dont see the DVDs at that low of volume.

Haven't seen anything in the forums yet about this problem, any help would be greatly appreciated.

Just got a Samsung HLS-5687W and the 360 addon last Thursday, got it set up, connected with the VGA cable so I could get 1080p from the 360 and upscale SD DVDS. That night everything was fine, watched Batman Begins, played Gears, Lost Planet etc. The next day when I turned everthing on the image over VGA at 1080p looks like it is moved up, some of the top of the screen cut off and the bottom 4 inches are so is static mess, sometimes green, or white or lots of colors. Now over component everything is fine, and if I change the VGA resolution in the 360 dashboard to any setting other than 1920x1080 I don't have the problem? Any ideas? Could it be the cable, the 360, or the TV? And why did it all work fine for a night and then screw up?

Haven't seen anything in the forums yet about this problem, any help would be greatly appreciated.

Just got a Samsung HLS-5687W and the 360 addon last Thursday, got it set up, connected with the VGA cable so I could get 1080p from the 360 and upscale SD DVDS. That night everything was fine, watched Batman Begins, played Gears, Lost Planet etc. The next day when I turned everthing on the image over VGA at 1080p looks like it is moved up, some of the top of the screen cut off and the bottom 4 inches are so is static mess, sometimes green, or white or lots of colors. Now over component everything is fine, and if I change the VGA resolution in the 360 dashboard to any setting other than 1920x1080 I don't have the problem? Any ideas? Could it be the cable, the 360, or the TV? And why did it all work fine for a night and then screw up?

You may need to hit the P.Size button (Blue) while on VGA mode that will bring up an "adjsutment" contorl that will allow you to move the picture up/down,left/right, and "all directions".....I ahd this problem and was bugging out at first did a search and found the anwser above somewhere on here...hope this helps :)

Here are some pics of the issue I described in post #125.

I've got a weird reoccuring issue with dvd playback (both sd and hd) that occurs through both vga and component.

When I pop in a dvd, during playback it'll randomly screw up the image color - it's hard to describe - it makes everything really saturated and almost 'cartoonish' in appearance. When it first happenned I turned off the xbox and turned it back on and the issue went away.

Second time it happenned powering down didn't resolve anything. I switched cables from vga to component and the same issue. This not only affects playback but the dashboard as well. I removed the dvd from the hd drive and put it into the xbox's dvd drive and color was still screwed up. I put in an hd dvd into the hd drive and color was still screwed up. I checked my connections and they were all okay. I flipped the tv to my hd cable and everything was okay with that input.

Finally I put a game into the xbox and the color issue went away. Anyone else run across this issue? I'll take a picture and post next time this happens so you can know what I'm talking about.

http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/4397/cimg0106kw9.jpg

http://img240.imageshack.us/img240/3015/cimg0105bj3.jpg

Anyone ever see this problem before?

It always seems to correct itself when I pop in a game and start it up - the colors will return to normal.

Here are some pics of the issue I described in post #125.




Anyone ever see this problem before?

It always seems to correct itself when I pop in a game and start it up - the colors will return to normal.


never had this problem at all almost looks like the gamma or the settings are WAY over skewed. It could be a bad player in your hands. Since it is originating from the HD-DVD player it might be that. have you had this happen when just playing DVDs from the DVD drive and not the HD-DVD drive?

never had this problem at all almost looks like the gamma or the settings are WAY over skewed. It could be a bad player in your hands. Since it is originating from the HD-DVD player it might be that. have you had this happen when just playing DVDs from the DVD drive and not the HD-DVD drive?

Yeah, the issue occurs with the DVD drive now too. I just sent off my 360 for repair today - the xbox just stopped sending a video signal to the tv altogether. Audio was still being piped through but no video. So I'm thinking something with video output was faulty and finally died.

I'm hoping they end up sending me a new 360 with one of the new quieter drives :)

I've read some posts in this thread regarding audio problems and last night I found myself raising and raising the volume. When I changed the reciever to watch something on TV it almost blew my speakers. Is everyone experiencing this? If so does anyone know if there is a fix in the works?
Joe


I had a weird audio problem from the add-on. While watching FF:Tokyo Drift, my receiver shut off during two of the louder race scenes. I rewound the movie, played it again at the same volume and it happened again. Played that part again with the volume slightly lower, no problems.

Just though I'd chime in to mention I experienced more or less the same problems as the above two posters.

For one the screwed up gamma: The exact same thing happened to my 360. And I believe I narrowed it down to selecting 1080p as a resolution. But it wouldnt go away even after I changed it back to 1080i which is what I normally have it set at (and yes I know that 1080p is only supported for games not hd-dvd playback).

The really weird part is I believe (and I could be wrong since this was around xmas), the only way to fix the gamma problem was to reset to factory defaults my display device. And I went through this a couple times and every other source looked normal, just the xbox was screwed up.

In regards to the above mentioned audio problem that shut off the reciever. I actually had this happen on my ps3 on two different bluray titles. It shut down the reciever and it said overload, never had this problem with any other device hooked up to the reciever. Possibly if the xbox 360 is causing a similar problem, maybe it has to do with the way these systems are down mixing the advanced audio formats to output on the optical. Just a theory, it probably is unrelated.

your display doesnt have an "auto-configure"?

when i switch to vga during boot (the white screen) my gamma is all out of whack, but if i switch after the dash loads, it's fine. you should check your menu for that auto configure, or something similar.


are you running vga or component? with vga you CAN get 1080p for dvd/hddvd

The eject button on my 360 HD-DVD player takes forever to open. I have to hold the button for a real long time, and it only opens when it wants. I would like to request that Microsoft adds the feature to either the universal remote or dashboard that will allow you eject the HD-DVD player's tray.

The eject button on my 360 HD-DVD player takes forever to open. I have to hold the button for a real long time, and it only opens when it wants. I would like to request that Microsoft adds the feature to either the universal remote or dashboard that will allow you eject the HD-DVD player's tray.

you CAN open\close the HD-DVD from the dashboard....on the bottom you will see a disc that looks like it has bee chopped in half. The top half is the DVD on the 360 the bottom half is the HD-DVD player.....

Just though I'd chime in to mention I experienced more or less the same problems as the above two posters.

For one the screwed up gamma: The exact same thing happened to my 360. And I believe I narrowed it down to selecting 1080p as a resolution. But it wouldnt go away even after I changed it back to 1080i which is what I normally have it set at (and yes I know that 1080p is only supported for games not hd-dvd playback).

The really weird part is I believe (and I could be wrong since this was around xmas), the only way to fix the gamma problem was to reset to factory defaults my display device. And I went through this a couple times and every other source looked normal, just the xbox was screwed up.

In regards to the above mentioned audio problem that shut off the reciever. I actually had this happen on my ps3 on two different bluray titles. It shut down the reciever and it said overload, never had this problem with any other device hooked up to the reciever. Possibly if the xbox 360 is causing a similar problem, maybe it has to do with the way these systems are down mixing the advanced audio formats to output on the optical. Just a theory, it probably is unrelated.

Personally I have had no problems with 1080p over VGA........

you CAN open\close the HD-DVD from the dashboard....on the bottom you will see a disc that looks like it has bee chopped in half. The top half is the DVD on the 360 the bottom half is the HD-DVD player.....

The problem I am having is that I can only use the dashboard to eject the HD tray if there is no disc in it. If there is a disc in it I only get the "Play" option.

The eject button on my 360 HD-DVD player is faulty. I tried contacting Xbox/Microsoft and even though the player is less the 6 weeks old they will only give me a refurb. The only advice the CRS told me to do was use a paperclip to get it treay open. I was hoping to bypass the eject button and either use the remote or dash.

The problem I am having is that I can only use the dashboard to eject the HD tray if there is no disc in it. If there is a disc in it I only get the "Play" option.

The eject button on my 360 HD-DVD player is faulty. I tried contacting Xbox/Microsoft and even though the player is less the 6 weeks old they will only give me a refurb. The only advice the CRS told me to do was use a paperclip to get it treay open. I was hoping to bypass the eject button and either use the remote or dash.

Where did you buy it from?? you may be able to exchange it there....Also, most of the time M$ will only give you a refurb when you send your unit in it is a rool of the dice.

ok I've searched and read a bunch but no one seems to be discussing this:

is anyone having audio sync issues with SD-DVD's? I know all about the HD-DVD audio sync issues but this is different. when playing an SD-DVD, if the sound is synced properly, hitting pause, skipping ahead chapters or just FF or RWD will, 9 times out of 10, throw it out of sync. It can be forced back into sync by repeatedly rewinding for like 2 seconds until it plays synced up.

I'm connected to a 46" samsung DLP via VGA and the audio is optical through a switcher box.

thanks.

Where did you buy it from?? you may be able to exchange it there....Also, most of the time M$ will only give you a refurb when you send your unit in it is a rool of the dice.

I bought it from Circuit City and they only give a 30 day refund/exchange. I really dont want to send it back to MS for a refurb or a repair, but that may be my only option at this point. I was hoping there would be a 360 update that would give you the option on the dashboard, but I guess not.

is anyone having audio sync issues with SD-DVD's?Were you using the console or add-on? Come to think of it, can you use either one for SD-DVDs?

both drives display the issue - as far as I can see it's a problem with the dvd playing software itself.

discs it has happened on for sure:

Dark Angel
Battlestar Galactica
Farscape
Scrubs

The problem I am having is that I can only use the dashboard to eject the HD tray if there is no disc in it. If there is a disc in it I only get the "Play" option.

The eject button on my 360 HD-DVD player is faulty. I tried contacting Xbox/Microsoft and even though the player is less the 6 weeks old they will only give me a refurb. The only advice the CRS told me to do was use a paperclip to get it treay open. I was hoping to bypass the eject button and either use the remote or dash.

I actually had a problem with the eject button...but luckily I returned mine in time.

is anyone having audio sync issues with SD-DVD's?I have experienced out-of-synch issues when playing SD-DVDs via Add-On, right from the start, i.e., w/o having paused, etc.

My remote stopped doing the bookmarks WTF!
Not all HD-DVD's support this feature!

I started having some issues recently with my add on and was wondering if anyone had similar problems.

To start I have had the 360 add on drive since November and until last week experienced no issues with my 12 discs.

Then last week I tried to play Serenity, which had already been viewed 2 months ago and this time would not load. The disc did not appear dirty. The drive starts to spin and I can hear it seaking. But the xbox just says reading. I tried loading it over and over again to no use. I then loaded a couple other discs which instantly started. Then I discovered that I had the same problem with Nacho Libre. Again I have played this before without incident.

I made probably a dozen attempts to load these discs to no avail. Eventually I got lucky and both titles loaded.

So far the titles I have had the most serious issues with are Serenity and Nacho Libre. Often I give up before I get these titles to work. I have also had issues with King Kong. Usually I can get it to work if I put in another non problem disc first, then eject, then put King Kong in.

The titles I have not had any issues with are the Departed, MI3, Slither, Bourne Supremacy, Aeon Flux and Superman 2. I also have played some rentals recently without issue but dont still have them to retest.

My discs are in good shape, and havent been used /handled much. Any one with similar problems or thoughts on my issue? Thanks in advance.

The 360 upconverts ONLY over VGA.

WHOA...o_X

the hddvd will not play 1080p on the component hook up...?

I just upgraded my pojector from an infocus 4805(480p) to Mistubishi HD100u(720p). I am thinking of getting the HD-DVD add-on but this thread has me worried due to so many reports ofr problems and bad audio. Is the add-on worth getting? or should I save my cash and by a stand alone player later??

I just upgraded my pojector from an infocus 4805(480p) to Mistubishi HD100u(720p). I am thinking of getting the HD-DVD add-on but this thread has me worried due to so many reports ofr problems and bad audio. Is the add-on worth getting? or should I save my cash and by a stand alone player later??
Get the addon. You don't want to pay $300+ and have your player trippin. The audio isn't that bad. I have the XA1, and have had my share of problems too. Remember that there are some folks who are happy with the addon too. This thread is just focused on the negative.

the hddvd will not play 1080p on the component hook up...?

Nope the HD-DVD maxes out at 1080i over component. Games can be played in 1080p over component though.

I just upgraded my pojector from an infocus 4805(480p) to Mistubishi HD100u(720p). I am thinking of getting the HD-DVD add-on but this thread has me worried due to so many reports ofr problems and bad audio. Is the add-on worth getting? or should I save my cash and by a stand alone player later??
Get the Add on you will not be disappointed remember for all of those that are having problems there are hundreds if not thousands not having problems, we represent a very small portion of the actual ownership here and problems tend to be over examined and discussed. The Audio problem should be fixed with the spring update :). Personally I havent had a problem outside the "soft" audio and for that I jsut turn up the sound. I havent had problems with discs I have played at all so far.

Well I got the add on. The first one I got would not eject, so back to wally world. I picked up a 2nd one and that one ejects fine. The picture on KK is excellent, sound is not as bad as I was expecting after hearing all the rants about it. Is it great, no. But I can live with it until they come up with a fix.

I started having some issues recently with my add on and was wondering if anyone had similar problems.

To start I have had the 360 add on drive since November and until last week experienced no issues with my 12 discs.

Then last week I tried to play Serenity, which had already been viewed 2 months ago and this time would not load. The disc did not appear dirty. The drive starts to spin and I can hear it seaking. But the xbox just says reading. I tried loading it over and over again to no use. I then loaded a couple other discs which instantly started. Then I discovered that I had the same problem with Nacho Libre. Again I have played this before without incident.

I made probably a dozen attempts to load these discs to no avail. Eventually I got lucky and both titles loaded.

So far the titles I have had the most serious issues with are Serenity and Nacho Libre. Often I give up before I get these titles to work. I have also had issues with King Kong. Usually I can get it to work if I put in another non problem disc first, then eject, then put King Kong in.

The titles I have not had any issues with are the Departed, MI3, Slither, Bourne Supremacy, Aeon Flux and Superman 2. I also have played some rentals recently without issue but dont still have them to retest.

My discs are in good shape, and havent been used /handled much. Any one with similar problems or thoughts on my issue? Thanks in advance.


Have you had any further luck with this issue? I recently got a copy of The Departed that the player hasn't been able to read either. The disc just constantly says "reading" in the dashboard. After ejecting and reloading the disc probably about 20 times it finally played.... but when I tried to play the movie yesterday after work same thing all over again. This is the first problems that I've had with the drive. I'm going to try to get another copy of the movie to see if I still have the same problems before I ship the drive back to Microsoft for repairs.

Unfortunately this issue hasnt gone away. The weird part its always the same discs but when I do get them to load, they play without issue. Also I have the departed, and for me thats a disc I have never had an issue with.

i was tring to watch miami vice hdvd and about ten minutes in when there talking on the phone outside after the night club the picture was real fuzzy i was also downloading the free hd southpark show so i dont know if that was the problem but has anyone else had this problem the only other dvds ive watched was king kong and mi3 with no problems.

miami vice appears grainy in some scenes due to the film, not your dvd player. assuming your "real fuzzy" equals my "grainy"

thank you after a little more research i found that out on a review of the hddvd but thanx for a quick response

Any word on a possible fix for the Sony SXRD VGA issue. I have the cable and with VGA it looks like crap. The adjustment settings are very limited with the SXRD over VGA. Should I just take the cable back? I hate to waste $39.99 on a cable that doesn't do it's job. Thanks.

Also what about a aspect ratio when using vga to watch hd dvd movies. you can aspect ratio on regular dvds but not on hd dvd movies. I would like to have the option of zooming out the black bars on the top and bottom of the widescreen movies.

Any word on a possible fix for the Sony SXRD VGA issue. I have the cable and with VGA it looks like crap. The adjustment settings are very limited with the SXRD over VGA. Should I just take the cable back? I hate to waste $39.99 on a cable that doesn't do it's job. Thanks.
Take the cable back. My XBR1 SXRD has the world's crappiest implementation of a VGA input. They shouldn't have even bothered with the connector.

Take the cable back. My XBR1 SXRD has the world's crappiest implementation of a VGA input. They shouldn't have even bothered with the connector.
Ok, Thanks.

This Xbox HD-DVD audio issue where the DD 5.1 audio sounds flattened out. Anyone think it could be specific to a certain batch of the players instead of being a software issue? I though I'd find a lot more people complaining about it here and at xbox.com forums. Maybe some players sound fine???

I'm leaning towards a software issue and I've pushed back all my HD-DVD movies in my Blockbuster Online queue. I'm going back to only renting standard DVDs hoping that this gets fixed with the Spring update.

Nope the HD-DVD maxes out at 1080i over component. Games can be played in 1080p over component though.

I've been reading this thread and I'm still a bit surprised to read this. I thought that I'd read (elsewhere) that as long as your TV supported 1080P input over component (which my Samsung says it does) you could watch HD-DVD's over component in 1080P.

Is it really the case that Microsoft's HD-DVD drive, which is supposed to be 1080P, really doesn't play 1080P? I'm not sure I see the point.

I've been reading this thread and I'm still a bit surprised to read this. I thought that I'd read (elsewhere) that as long as your TV supported 1080P input over component (which my Samsung says it does) you could watch HD-DVD's over component in 1080P.

Is it really the case that Microsoft's HD-DVD drive, which is supposed to be 1080P, really doesn't play 1080P? I'm not sure I see the point.

you're exactly right, the "copyright police" wont let anything movie related pass over 1080p on component, you need VGA to get 1080p on anything copy protected.

lymang,

This isn't something that is exclusive to the xbox360 add on drive. ANY upconverting DVD player or HD-DVD player or Blu Ray player will only do a max of 1080i over component. It isn't some big Microsoft conspiracy.

I've been reading this thread and I'm still a bit surprised to read this. I thought that I'd read (elsewhere) that as long as your TV supported 1080P input over component (which my Samsung says it does) you could watch HD-DVD's over component in 1080P.

Is it really the case that Microsoft's HD-DVD drive, which is supposed to be 1080P, really doesn't play 1080P? I'm not sure I see the point.

I wanted to know if it is possible to ask microsoft removing the block on the component on marks them 1080p, since the component it turns out better of the vga in the colors?
Fluck74
Rome Italy
:)

I wanted to know if it is possible to ask microsoft removing the block on the component on marks them 1080p, since the component it turns out better of the vga in the colors?
Fluck74
Rome Italy
:)

no, it's not possible, this isnt microsoft's choice, they are just following guidelines set for the component standard.

no, it's not possible, this isnt microsoft's choice, they are just following guidelines set for the component standard.

but it is not possible even if mine samsung chip ax marks them 1080p?
thanks
Fluck74
:)

Well I went out and got the Microsoft branded HD VGA cable for my XBox 360 last night, and hooked it up to my 56" Samsung DLP. Setting the resolution to 1920x1080 wasn't too hard, and the TV has an "auto-adjust" which I used to have it correctly center the image, etc.

Much like others I've read here and elsewhere, I was unimpressed with the colors and overall PQ of VGA compared to component inputs.

Which just means I'm not going to get much use out of the HD-DVD addon. Which means I'll probably sell it. Bah. I'm pretty disappointed by this.

Looks like I'm destined for a stand alone HD-DVD player that has HDMI.

Well I went out and got the Microsoft branded HD VGA cable for my XBox 360 last night, and hooked it up to my 56" Samsung DLP. Setting the resolution to 1920x1080 wasn't too hard, and the TV has an "auto-adjust" which I used to have it correctly center the image, etc.

Much like others I've read here and elsewhere, I was unimpressed with the colors and overall PQ of VGA compared to component inputs.

Which just means I'm not going to get much use out of the HD-DVD addon. Which means I'll probably sell it. Bah. I'm pretty disappointed by this.

Looks like I'm destined for a stand alone HD-DVD player that has HDMI.

Or you can sell your Xbox 360 and replace it with and Xbox 360 Elite with the HDMI output. I was also not satisified with the VGA output although I was only trying it for the upconverting of regular DVDs.

Well I went out and got the Microsoft branded HD VGA cable for my XBox 360 last night, and hooked it up to my 56" Samsung DLP. Setting the resolution to 1920x1080 wasn't too hard, and the TV has an "auto-adjust" which I used to have it correctly center the image, etc.

Much like others I've read here and elsewhere, I was unimpressed with the colors and overall PQ of VGA compared to component inputs.

Which just means I'm not going to get much use out of the HD-DVD addon. Which means I'll probably sell it. Bah. I'm pretty disappointed by this.

Looks like I'm destined for a stand alone HD-DVD player that has HDMI.

Amir mentioned in the insiders thread that the spring dashboard update would bring the option to set "PC" or "Video" levels for the VGA output. So hopefully that will address the PQ issues via the VGA connection.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=10151163&&#post10151163

Or you can sell your Xbox 360 and replace it with and Xbox 360 Elite with the HDMI output. I was also not satisified with the VGA output although I was only trying it for the upconverting of regular DVDs.

yeah funny enough I had not known about the new Elite box when I posted this. Since then I've read a lot of the stuff here and elsewhere about the Elite unit.

I will probably go this route as long as they offer me some way to get my stuff off the current hard drive and to the HD in the Elite box.

Amir mentioned in the insiders thread that the spring dashboard update would bring the option to set "PC" or "Video" levels for the VGA output. So hopefully that will address the PQ issues via the VGA connection.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=10151163&&#post10151163

Depending on when the spring dashboard update comes out, this might be enough to keep me from either updating to the Elite box OR buying an independent HD-DVD player. <shakes 8-ball>

"Future uncertain" (I suppose this is also sort of like what Yoda said to Luke in ESB)

Lyman

I've been weighing the costs & benefits of trading up to the Elite, and this is what it boils down to for me.

IF - The spring update contains a VGA PC level option, THEN I'll keep my current 360, sell my HD DVD addon, and and buy a Toshiba HD-A2. This way, I get great looking games and great looking HD DVD movies with great sound. This should only cost me a net of about + $250.


IF - The Elite comes with 5.1 or 7.1 channel PCM audio via HDMI for HD DVD output of Dolby TrueHD or DTSHD, THEN I'll sell my old 360, keep the HD DVD drive, and buy the Elite. This way, I get great looking games and great looking HD DVD movies with great sound. This should only cost me a net of about + $280.

I've been weighing the costs & benefits of trading up to the Elite, and this is what it boils down to for me.

IF - The spring update contains a VGA PC level option, THEN I'll keep my current 360, sell my HD DVD addon, and and buy a Toshiba HD-A2. This way, I get great looking games and great looking HD DVD movies with great sound. This should only cost me a net of about + $250.


IF - The Elite comes with 5.1 or 7.1 channel PCM audio via HDMI for HD DVD output of Dolby TrueHD or DTSHD, THEN I'll sell my old 360, keep the HD DVD drive, and buy the Elite. This way, I get great looking games and great looking HD DVD movies with great sound. This should only cost me a net of about + $280.

I'll jump in that boat -- though if it turns out we don't get LPCM on the elite I'll be very tempted to burn my old Xbox in protest.

I've been weighing the costs & benefits of trading up to the Elite, and this is what it boils down to for me.

IF - The spring update contains a VGA PC level option, THEN I'll keep my current 360, sell my HD DVD addon, and and buy a Toshiba HD-A2. This way, I get great looking games and great looking HD DVD movies with great sound. This should only cost me a net of about + $250.


IF - The Elite comes with 5.1 or 7.1 channel PCM audio via HDMI for HD DVD output of Dolby TrueHD or DTSHD, THEN I'll sell my old 360, keep the HD DVD drive, and buy the Elite. This way, I get great looking games and great looking HD DVD movies with great sound. This should only cost me a net of about + $280.


Well, my questions from back then have been answered. Much to my disappointment, the new ELITE will NOT support any advanced audio scheme. To make matters worse, MS is still being shady about the audio bug that plagues the HDDVD drive. As a result, I went with my first "IF".

I pulled the trigger today on a Toshiba HD-A20. With the 5 free HDDVD's I'll get, I'm only spending $140 after the sale of my HDDVD add on today for $140.

I'm sorry, I'm sure this has been asked before, but can the 360 add-on upscale SD dvd's?

I'm sorry, I'm sure this has been asked before, but can the 360 add-on upscale SD dvd's?

If you use a VGA cable from the 360 to the TV, yes.

If you use a VGA cable from the 360 to the TV, yes.

Even better, you can upscale DVD's with the VGA cable without the add on.

Has anyone used the HD DVD version of DVE (Digital Video Essentials)?
I can't find a way to select different titles.
If I select video tests, and then calibration patterns, I get to a screen where I should be able to select a pattern, but at that point it doesn't accept any input - I have to eject the disc to do anything else.

Has anyone used the HD DVD version of DVE (Digital Video Essentials)?
I can't find a way to select different titles.
If I select video tests, and then calibration patterns, I get to a screen where I should be able to select a pattern, but at that point it doesn't accept any input - I have to eject the disc to do anything else.

It has known problems with 360 add on. There is a rumor that an update is coming next week but I wouldn't hold my breath on that.

My Sams Club in Joliet IL has the HD DVD add on for $135 if anyone is interested.

Can the Elite 360 upscale DVD's to 1080p via HDMI?

Can the Elite 360 upscale DVD's to 1080p via HDMI?

Yes!

Yes!

Then that should be on the 1st page!

Has anyone elses HD DVD drive gotten loud when a disc is spinning in the drive? I've just noticed it the past few times I've used it.

my 360 unit is pretty loud. The HD-DVD drive is near silent.

Has anyone elses HD DVD drive gotten loud when a disc is spinning in the drive? I've just noticed it the past few times I've used it.

are you sure it was the hd-dvd drive and not the 360 drive? for some reason the other day when I started a movie, it spun up the regular drive too..which kept going while the movie was on. I restarted the console and all was well.

are you sure it was the hd-dvd drive and not the 360 drive? for some reason the other day when I started a movie, it spun up the regular drive too..which kept going while the movie was on. I restarted the console and all was well.

Known issue.

What have folks found the best way to calibrate the 360 to be? I constantly find that the gamma in games is fine but just about all videos to be too dark...

I've decided to pick up an HD DVD drive as my projector does handle 1080i pretty nicely. now, should I pick one up on ebay and save $50 or just buy from the store just to have new?

How is the quality? Will I really see a difference?

I connected my XBox 360 (with HD-DVD player) to my new Samsung LN-T5265F via the VGA cable. How do I tell if the movies are in 1080p? There are no HD settings, like Microsoft says should be there. When I connect it using component cables, there are HD options, and you can choose 1080p. My understanding is that you can not run 1080p over component. Can anyone clear up my confusion and tell me how to run 1080p from my XBox to my LCD?

Thank you in advance...

I ended up buying an Elite. I've been very happy with HD-DVD's in 1080p (finally) off the XBox 360 Elite.

While watching a rented copy of U-571, I lost sound at 00:53:08. This only happens
when I select the audio on the HD DVD as English 5.1 Dts. When I watch the movie
in dolby digital sound, it plays just fine. Anyone else have this problem? If more
people have this problem, I'd like to report it as a bug to MS. Any idea how to report
a bug?

BTW, I have the spring update and the HD DVD player update. The Digital Audio
Settings on the 360 is set to DTS and Dynamic range control is set to off.

Finally, the sound is fine on the HD-A2 with firmware version 1.3

Thanks.

Anybody else have this problem? Maybe just a bad disk. Although it wasn't scratched.

*crickets chirping*

I connected my XBox 360 (with HD-DVD player) to my new Samsung LN-T5265F via the VGA cable. How do I tell if the movies are in 1080p? There are no HD settings, like Microsoft says should be there. When I connect it using component cables, there are HD options, and you can choose 1080p. My understanding is that you can not run 1080p over component. Can anyone clear up my confusion and tell me how to run 1080p from my XBox to my LCD?

Thank you in advance...

I think its automatically 1080p at that point.

Can the Elite 360 upscale DVD's to 1080p via HDMI?

Yes, and even though I've only checked a few titles, I could swear it looks a lot better than my Oppo 971. I'm VERY impressed! I'm limited to 1080i over hdmi, btw. Still looks loads better!

I have an NTSC-J version of the X-Box 360. Since HD-DVD is region free, does it matter if I get a 360 HD-DVD drive from the US / UK / Japan etc. or does the HD-DVD drive need to match the NTSC-J 360 version for proper connectivity / playback.

As far as my understanding goes, it should not be a problem at all if the HD-DVD drive is from the US / UK or even Japan because HD-DVD is region free but it will make a difference on DVD playback because the HD-DVD drive will be region locked perhaps.

One concern might be that UK uses PAL while US uses NTSC etc. so that could be a problem perhaps.

Any experience with such a situation? Suggestions?



I'm sorry if this question has already been asked before.

Quick question, I'm sorry if it has already been asked. Does the Xbox 360 upconvert dvd's? I'm not sure I'm not ready to buy the hd dvd add on yet so if it does not I might just buy an upconverting dvd player for now. Thanks

Quick question, I'm sorry if it has already been asked. Does the Xbox 360 upconvert dvd's? I'm not sure I'm not ready to buy the hd dvd add on yet so if it does not I might just buy an upconverting dvd player for now. Thanks



Yes it does, but you will need the VGA cable or the xbox elite with HDMI.

I have a question: Does the 360HD-DVD drive work on any up to date PC??

Quick elementary question:

I have heard of an HD DVD audio menu a few times on the 360 but cannot find one. Is there one under system or where can I find it? I would like to see if My Onkyo 805 can handle WMA Pro. If not, does anyone know what the optimum settings would be on the 360 and on the HD DVD itself?

add a dang 1366x768 resolution option in the next 360 update. I'm sure there are quite a few fellow plasma owners that would agree with me.

I noticed that the dashboard no longer tells me the name of the game in my DVD drive, while my HDDVD add on is connected. (I haven't tried disconnecting it and seeing if it works again). This was updated in the last major dashboard release but I'm afraid the HD-DVD playback code broke this feature.
(Edit)

I did try disconnecting the add on and the name of the game does not appear in the 360.

Quick elementary question:

I have heard of an HD DVD audio menu a few times on the 360 but cannot find one. Is there one under system or where can I find it? I would like to see if My Onkyo 805 can handle WMA Pro. If not, does anyone know what the optimum settings would be on the 360 and on the HD DVD itself?
Just hit the display button on the remote and a menu should appear. At the end it should say basic this means that you are on the advanced menu. there should be an advanced audio options button in there.

I got a Panasonic PT-AX200U (http://www.projectorcentral.com/panasonic_ax200u_home_theater_projector.htm) 720p gaming projector yesterday, and over VGA I get the HD DVD image shifted way to the left, so that the left edge of the image is cut off. I can compensate by shifting the horizontal picture setting on the projector way to the right, but I'm wondering why it does this.

Also, I'll have to check again, but it seemed that using 720p60 on the 360 game me a weird judder on the zooming universal planet logo. This disappeared when I used 1080p60 on the 360. I'll have to check again to confirm this though.

I was thinking about getting the new xbox 360 pro with hdmi and I was wondering if that one also upscales SD dvd's. If so how well does it scale? I have an ok upconverting dvd player but if the 360 does a good job I wouldn't mind clearing my media rack of it.

I was thinking about getting the new xbox 360 pro with hdmi and I was wondering if that one also upscales SD dvd's. If so how well does it scale? I have an ok upconverting dvd player but if the 360 does a good job I wouldn't mind clearing my media rack of it.

First, it upscales standard DVDs over HDMI and VGA. You're going to get differing opinions on this, but it works fine for me. There's an ExtremeTech review that bashes the 360's DVD capabilities and if it hasn't already been posted in this thread, then someone will probably come along and do so. It tested the Xbox on 480p over component. I've never seen anything like what the pictures show on that review.

I'm happy with it; it looks great on my 1080p set.

Bug:

I am running into the 1080p problem that others in this forum are running into too.
Ironically, in direct contrast to my problem in my previous post:

1080p widescreen WMV video files get squished into a 4:3 aspect ratio. :p 720p video works fine though.

This 1080p 16:9 clip should look like this...

http://www.eugbanana.com/files/Pix/Xbox360/4x3/16x9.jpg

...but ends up looking like this on my TV:

http://www.eugbanana.com/files/Pix/Xbox360/4x3/16x9Shrunk.jpg

If only I had this problem with my 4:3 DVDs.


However, it turns out these "1920x1080" videos are actually only "1440x1080" natively. If in fact that this is the behaviour with 4:3 HD DVDs, that would be a good thing for me, because then 4:3 HD DVDs would display correctly on my TV. However, this is definitely not the behaviour with standard definition DVD playback. 4:3 DVD 480p gets stretched on my TV, whether it needs it or not.

It seems that the Xbox 360 treats output of 480p video and 1080p video differently for some reason.



Apparently 4:3 material on HD DVD (either 4:3 480i/p or 4:3 1080p) will display the right aspect ratio on older TVs. The 4:3 --> 16:9 stretch is only an issue with 4:3 DVD playback. See post #16


4:3 1440x1080p WMV video displays correctly however. This original video...

http://www.eugbanana.com/files/Pix/Xbox360/4x3/4x3-1080p.jpg

...looks like this on my screen, as it should:

http://www.eugbanana.com/files/Pix/Xbox360/4x3/4x3-1080p-Correct.jpg

Again, my TV is hooked up to the Xbox 360 at 1080i over component.

----

Also, it seems the jellyfish artifact claim for WMV video is true.

I downloaded this WMV HD 1080p clip and this is what it showed: Jellyfish artifact :p

Did anyone ever come up with a solution to the problem of 1440 X 1080 HD 16:9 WMV videos being converted to 4:3? I am running in to this and the videos automatically play 16:9 on the computer. Thanks in advance for any help.

In case anyone cares I thought I would post my findings on the issue of 1440 X 1080 wmv's playing in 4:3 mode over XBOX Media Center. It seems that if you go directly to the computer through the media/videos tab and play the same move it plays correctly in 16:9 but when you play that movie through media center it gets scrunched. I havent tried yet, but I believe that a 1440 X 1080 4:3 native wmv would play correctly this way as well. As you would expect, playing the movie off of a thumb drive or usb HD gives you the correct results as well.

Long story short, there seems to be a problem with how Media Center plays the wmv's but the XBox video functionality plays them correctly.

I wish they could patch my HD-DVD player to play new releases...

I wish they could patch my HD-DVD player to play new releases...So the Xbox 360 HD-DVD Player can't play new releases?

So the Xbox 360 HD-DVD Player can't play new releases?

Mine plays all the new releases. Just purchased a bunch over the weekend (that just came out) works fine.

See, it was an attempt at sarcasm, because very soon, there won't be any new releases.

Has anyone successfully upscaled DVD playback on the 360 via component? Now before anyone jumps all over this I'll add that the DVD I'm trying to upscale has had the macrovision removed. I understand that it should without having to use VGA cables...I'm still seeing the output switching from 1080i to 480P each time I play a personal copy of my DVDs...thoughts?

~4 rubBeR

Feature request: dont die off due to blu-ray.

does the 360 output 1080p at 24fps over hdmi?
thanks

No, it outputs at 60hz.