XBOX High Def Gaming
 

Having just got my new RPTV and my XBox set up, I played Unread today and was impressed. Its only 480p and has a widescreen mode. I then poped in KOTOR to find out it isnt in Widescreen so stretched looks very bad. I was just wondering, on some Xbox games, it says HDTV on the back, and hten on some games it says HDTV and Widescreen... Are they games that dont say Widescreen but say 480p or HDTV, are they all Full Screen? Just wondering cause I want to get games like Crimson Skies as it says 720p but doesnt mention Widescreen, any help here? Also, for people that game with a RPTV that is widescreen, i know they say limit gaming to 2 hours or so, but those games that are not widescreen, do you stretch them and only play that long or since its a short period of time, do you just play them in full screen? Thanks so much
Also, is there one game on the xbox that is basically considered the best looking game in HD?

Signed --- Confused High Def XBox gamer?

Here is a list of what games support what:

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...hreadid=100055

I stretch non-widescreen games and they still look fine. How they look is more dependant on your TV than the game though. Some TVs look bad stretched. I think mine looks great.

How long you should play depends on how many static images the game has (health bars, score bars, etc) and how prone your TV is to burn-in. Two hours will usually be fine. Even after that, you could just switch games and keep playing.

I don't think there is a consensus best-looking game.

Re: XBOX High Def Gaming
 

That is something I would like to know as well...

DOA3, DOAVX, SCII, and Panzer Dragoon all look very nice on my 65" HD RPTV in 16:9 480P mode.

How does Dragon's Lair look? I know it is in 1080i...

Splinter Cell and Rallisport Challange look damn good. I can't imagine any game that supports 720p to not offer a widescreen mode.

I was just trying SC2 on my 4:3 HDTV Wega, and it was a smaller 4:3 inside my screen, is this the way all 720p games that do not have widescreen support will look?

I know SC2 is only 4:3 720p for some reason. Not sure why. I know some most 720p games are widescreen, but not sure about that

All 720p games that don't have a widescreen mode will look like that on a Sony 4:3 HDTV. I have the KV-32HS500. Incredible picture, but any 720p or 1080i signal forces the TV into 16:9 mode. Since SC2 doesn't have a widescreen mode, you get bars on the sides as well as the top and bottom.

I'm getting used to it as well with SD TV broadcasts. I think it's time to get a 16:9 set.

Amped 2 would get my vote as looking the "best" of the 720p games.

This is due to the fact that the xbox was not powerful enough to render thegame in 720p and widescreen, this is the only game that is 720p and not widescreen.

Yes it my firend, I played on a 120" screen froma Runco prohector last night for the first time, and I actually dreamed about the game all night, I may be the geekiest person in the world :)

I think of all the games I've played (which really isn't very many), this one looks the best.

Ok that makes sense then, not that big of a deal anyway, it looks amazing...

Maybe for you it is, but I still feel Widescreen TV's are premature. I think that only about 40% of the things I watch/do on my TV are actually in Widescreen. Once videogaming in widescreen becomes more of a popularity(next gen?) then I will get a 16:9 tv.

That's why I bought a 4:3 TV in the first place, I knew that DVDs were the only widescreen content I watched and I was used to the letterbox bars.

The other day I received my $99 HD receiver from DirecTV (dish to be installed today). Watching a 25" image on my 32" TV is going to get old quick. :(

-screwy-

All three consoles offer games in widescreen mode. If you own any DVDs, then widescreen is the way to go.

so all games (except SC2) that are in 720p and 1080i are in Wide Screen mode?

-screwy-

But are ALL games available in widescreen mode? NO. And are ALL TV shows + DVD's widescreen 16:9? NO. So like I said, when 16:9 is the dominant aspect ratio that everything on my tv displays, then it will be time for me to upgrade.

I currently have non-HD DirecTv, did you originally have that also? What did it cost to upgrade for HDTV? What about monthly costs, did you have to pay more than normal?

The only games mentioned above that support 720p are Amped 2 and Soul Calibur 2. I just got a Sony KF50WE610 50" LCD and every game looks great on it, even stretched. But Soul Calibur 2 takes the cake. Even with it being only 4:3 the quality is incredible. The backgrounds are crystal clear and there aren't any jags to the characters. I was using a S-Video connection for a few days and then bough the component cables and the difference is incredible. Incredible, I tell you!

Sorry for the thread hijack...

Yeah, I have 2 non-HD DirecTiVo boxes. I pre-ordered the HD Tivo and found out about an offer from DirecTV to get a new dish (installed) and an HD DirecTV receiver for $99. The only catches: 1) you have been with DirecTV for 2 years and 2) they charge your credit card $450, but they credit your DirecTV account $350.

I got a Samsung SIR-TS160, which is at Best Buy for $600. This way I get everything wired for HD now and I can enjoy some HD programming (although without TiVo). Once the HD TiVo comes out, I plan to eBay the Samsung receiver and put the HD TiVo in with no "installation" headaches.

There's a huge thread here with all of the details. It's 25 pages long and it starts as a $399 deal. The short version: call customer retention at 800-600-8977. Just tell them you are interested in the $99 HD deal. That's all I did. I also got 6 months of Showtime for free. Some people are saying that they are required to sign up for the $10.99 HD package for 1 year. I signed up, but they didn't tell me it was required. The receiver will handle OTA HD broadcasts as well (which is nice since DirecTV doesn't do HD locals yet).

Back to the original topic...

I'm confused about widescreen games. I set my Xbox to 'widescreen' but when I play games, they still fill the entire screen. Soul Calibur 2 is the only game that seems to be in 16:9 mode. Is it because it's a 720p game?

yes, with the exception of Syberia. Syberia is in widescreen in 1080i. 4:3 in 720p. cutscenes are widescreen in 720p. cutscenes are shifted to the side and messed up in 1080i.

the back of the boxes in xbox games that say "HDTV 480p" or whatnot are completely irrelevant and wrong all the time. welcome to the brave new world of hd gaming.

it's best to check www.hdgames.net for reliable info on HDTV gaming.

Unlike many DVD players, console systems do not send a widescreen flag to TV sets. So it's up to you to change the aspect ratio on your TV manually to widescreen for games that support widescreen. If you don't, the images will look horizontall squished. The reason why SC2 jumps into widescreen mode automatically is because it's a 720p game. Your TV recognizes the 720p signal and automatically goes into widescreen, because 720p is a widescreen format. When your TV receives a 480p signal from most other xbox games, it won't switch to widescreen (unless it receives the widescreen flag from the source), because 480p is a 4:3 AND 16:9 format, whereas 720p is always supposed to be in a 16:9 frame.

What I don't get is all the 720p games, when so few HDTV televisions support 720p.