anyone using a plasma edtv and their xbox in 480p?

i am trying to set it up and although the xbox dashboard works ok, whenever i try to play a game, i get multiple screens (not totally clear although legible)... something obviously not right.

under video, i have "widescreen" and then i checked "480p" only. when i check the other 2 choices, "720p" or "1080i", the games work fine but i suspect that they are not being actually displayed in 720p or 1080i.

i tried motogp2 and rallisport2... i will be doing some more investigation when i get home.

i got an SVA 42" plasma tv from Target.com.

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in a related note, it has 2 sets of component video in. one works fine. the other, labeled DTV - i guess is meant for HDTV? when i hook up the xbox or my non-progressive dvd player to it, i get no picture and an error message - "720x480, 60Hz out of range". reading the manual, it looks like it should handle 720p or 1080i (and i think 480p - saw that somewhere). anyone know a simple reason why it's not working?

The X-Box dash displays in 480i no matter what settings you use.

I'm assuming you bought the X-Box HDTV pack and know enough to hook the console up to your TV by component cables?

Not all games are encoded for 720p or 1080i. Those settings in the X-Box dash only become active if the game is encoded for those resolutions. In a case like that, the X-Box defaults to using the highest available resolution that you've told it you can accept. If you check off Yes for 720p and 1080i and try to play Enter the Matrix or True Crime, you won't get a picture if your TV can't handle those resolutions. You will have to check No for those resolutions, and Yes for 480i and 480p only.

Your TV has separate inputs for interlaced signals and progressive scan signals. This can be a problem. Hook it up intially to the non-DTV inputs to make your X-Box dash settings, then disconnect and plug into the DTV inputs instead. You will no longer be able to see the dash, but 480p games will play fine.

The majority of X-Box games are 480p, but there are some that are not. If you want to play one of those games, you'll have to switch to the other component inputs.

Use this site as a resource for figuring out which games offer which resolutions:

www.hdtvarcade.com

actually, you can now set the dashboard to be 480p. yup, you need the hdtv component pack to even get the options for the various video resolutions.

i'm going to try some other games tonight to work this out.

thanks for the link.

The multiple screens you are getting is a result of the TV being sent a signal it can't display properly. Looks like the set of component inputs you are using here only accept 480i, not 480p.

Quote:

under video, i have "widescreen" and then i checked "480p" only. when i check the other 2 choices, "720p" or "1080i", the games work fine but i suspect that they are not being actually displayed in 720p or 1080i.

Your TV is an EDTV, not HDTV, so it's definitely not using 720p or 1080i. It doesn't make sense that the games would work fine when these are checked, but not fine when these are unchecked. Are you sure you described this situation accurately?

Quote:

i tried motogp2 and rallisport2... i will be doing some more investigation when i get home.

Both of these games are in widescreen and 480p.

Quote:

in a related note, it has 2 sets of component video in. one works fine. the other, labeled DTV - i guess is meant for HDTV? when i hook up the xbox or my non-progressive dvd player to it, i get no picture and an error message - "720x480, 60Hz out of range". reading the manual, it looks like it should handle 720p or 1080i (and i think 480p - saw that somewhere). anyone know a simple reason why it's not working?

As I said earlier, your TV is an EDTV, so it's not going to support 720p or 1080i. Ever. Since you get no picture when your non-progressive dvd player is hooked up to the component video input labelled DTV, I am guessing that this input only supports 480p.

So to sum up, from what you've described, you have 2 component video inputs. One of them supports ONLY 480i. The other one supports ONLY 480p.

sadly, i think the first one part is correct.

which explains why those games work fine... since they're 480p, the signals are actually 480i being displayed (not 720p/1080i).

the 2nd part, the manual says that it can handle 720p/1080i... but b/c i thought Rallisport2 was 720p, i thought i had tested it. as you posted, and from that link, i just found out that it isn't... i have freedom fighters and SB:LoC so i can test that other input for actual 720p support.

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btw, this is why i thought it could handle 480p

from the Amazon description:

The set gives you true EDTV (480p, progressive-scan) resolution as well as inputs compatible with full-resolution 720p and 1080i HDTV signals (optional set-top box decoder/receiver required) as well as analog PC signals up to 1,600 x 1,200 through a VGA input.

from their own spec page
DTV Compatible 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i
http://www.sva-usa.com/001/productit...play=spec&img=

i sent an email to their support.

I would guess that your TV *will* accept a 720p or 1080i signal. It just down converts it to a 480p signal.

Although that sounds like a bad thing, an EDTV plasma displaying a 1080i signal looks damn good from 8+ feet or so away. Especially when you consider the price difference between an EDTV display and an HDTV display.

Disclaimer: I have an HDTV plasma, but it's in the garage until we move. This is all based on what I've read at avsforum.com so I defer to someone with actual EDTV vs HDTV plasma experience. My experience at this point consists of the night I bought my display. HDTV and DVDs were jaw dropping. YMMV.

never mind... plasma tv died... going back to target

Go play Ninja Gaiden with the HD setup!!! it looks sweeeeet!

Get the 30 inch Sony Wega Widescreen. You won't have the problems like you described and it looks amazing.

Gallant Pig, that's the same TV that I'm using. Oh it's amazing!!! I love it!

Yeah that's what I just got. I'm now replaying all my 720p games. Is Ninja Gaiden 720p?

I'm pretty sure it is 480p.

heehee went to circuit city and got the sony 34hs420... it'll be delivered tomorrow. both component inputs handle all the signals (480i/p, 720p, 1080i).