I'm grumpy because I didn't get my 360 pre-order so I thought I'd bug those
that did. Any difference in video playback quality? I had always thought
the XBox was actually the best extender in terms of video playback and
curious if there is any difference with the 360.

In my opinion the Xbox 360 is the best Media Center Extender. It's better
than the original Xbox.

--
Michael Creasy [MS]
http://www.michaelcreasy.com/blog

"Shawn Oster" <shawn@enginefour.com> wrote in message
news:eJdtvv87FHA.3752@tk2msftngp13.phx.gbl...
> I'm grumpy because I didn't get my 360 pre-order so I thought I'd bug
> those that did. Any difference in video playback quality? I had always
> thought the XBox was actually the best extender in terms of video playback
> and curious if there is any difference with the 360.
>

How did you determine that your new XBOX 360 is delivering better PQ than
your previous XBOX? We know that MS claims that it is better but hearing
from your live tests would help to understand why. Are you able to use 720p
or 1080i resolution over the component output from a TV broadcast and found
that the Decoder is doing a much "Better" job or what?

"Michael Creasy - [MS]" <mcreasy@online.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:uU0IZ497FHA.3804@TK2MSFTNGP14.phx.gbl...
> In my opinion the Xbox 360 is the best Media Center Extender. It's better
> than the original Xbox.
>
> --
> Michael Creasy [MS]
> http://www.michaelcreasy.com/blog
>
> "Shawn Oster" <shawn@enginefour.com> wrote in message
> news:eJdtvv87FHA.3752@tk2msftngp13.phx.gbl...
>> I'm grumpy because I didn't get my 360 pre-order so I thought I'd bug
>> those that did. Any difference in video playback quality? I had always
>> thought the XBox was actually the best extender in terms of video
>> playback and curious if there is any difference with the 360.
>>
>
>

I'm using a unscientific test using my eyes. I've got the 360 connected to
a 46" rear-projection TV using component cables at 1080i and the clarity is
outstanding.

--
Michael Creasy [MS]
http://www.michaelcreasy.com/blog

"SoCalFred" <SoCalFred@spammenot.smn> wrote in message
news:uWRnTD%237FHA.1140@tk2msftngp13.phx.gbl...
> How did you determine that your new XBOX 360 is delivering better PQ than
> your previous XBOX? We know that MS claims that it is better but hearing
> from your live tests would help to understand why. Are you able to use
> 720p or 1080i resolution over the component output from a TV broadcast and
> found that the Decoder is doing a much "Better" job or what?
>
> "Michael Creasy - [MS]" <mcreasy@online.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:uU0IZ497FHA.3804@TK2MSFTNGP14.phx.gbl...
>> In my opinion the Xbox 360 is the best Media Center Extender. It's
>> better than the original Xbox.
>>
>> --
>> Michael Creasy [MS]
>> http://www.michaelcreasy.com/blog
>>
>> "Shawn Oster" <shawn@enginefour.com> wrote in message
>> news:eJdtvv87FHA.3752@tk2msftngp13.phx.gbl...
>>> I'm grumpy because I didn't get my 360 pre-order so I thought I'd bug
>>> those that did. Any difference in video playback quality? I had always
>>> thought the XBox was actually the best extender in terms of video
>>> playback and curious if there is any difference with the 360.
>>>
>>
>>
>
>

Using component 1080i to a 45 inch HD front projection TV. this
*looks* really good to me.

On Tue, 22 Nov 2005 19:48:53 -0800, "SoCalFred"
<SoCalFred@spammenot.smn> wrote:

>How did you determine that your new XBOX 360 is delivering better PQ than
>your previous XBOX? We know that MS claims that it is better but hearing
>from your live tests would help to understand why. Are you able to use 720p
>or 1080i resolution over the component output from a TV broadcast and found
>that the Decoder is doing a much "Better" job or what?
>
>"Michael Creasy - [MS]" <mcreasy@online.microsoft.com> wrote in message
>news:uU0IZ497FHA.3804@TK2MSFTNGP14.phx.gbl...
>> In my opinion the Xbox 360 is the best Media Center Extender. It's better
>> than the original Xbox.
>>
>> --
>> Michael Creasy [MS]
>> http://www.michaelcreasy.com/blog
>>
>> "Shawn Oster" <shawn@enginefour.com> wrote in message
>> news:eJdtvv87FHA.3752@tk2msftngp13.phx.gbl...
>>> I'm grumpy because I didn't get my 360 pre-order so I thought I'd bug
>>> those that did. Any difference in video playback quality? I had always
>>> thought the XBox was actually the best extender in terms of video
>>> playback and curious if there is any difference with the 360.
>>>
>>
>>
>
--

Barb Bowman
MS Windows-MVP
Expert Zone Columnist
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/e...ts/bowman.mspx
http://blogs.digitalmediaphile.com/barb/

We are just curious about using 1080i for two reasons. The first is that
the 360 HD games usually seem to specify 720p instead of 1080i. It would
seem setting the default to 720p would keep it in its "native" resolution a
little more. The second is that 720p "theoretically" displays less
"flicker" than 1080i since it is non-interlaced. Would that not work better
for the action of the games? We have worked with both and really have not
seen a difference, but we like to look at it a little more scientifically
once in a while.

Regards,

=D-

Derek R. Flickinger
Interactive Homes, Inc.

"Barb Bowman MVP-Windows" <barb@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:g1j8o1dd9b4fholaitbr4hqt3dh0jvdovb@4ax.com...
> Using component 1080i to a 45 inch HD front projection TV. this
> *looks* really good to me.
>
> On Tue, 22 Nov 2005 19:48:53 -0800, "SoCalFred"
> <SoCalFred@spammenot.smn> wrote:
>
>>How did you determine that your new XBOX 360 is delivering better PQ than
>>your previous XBOX? We know that MS claims that it is better but hearing
>>from your live tests would help to understand why. Are you able to use
>>720p
>>or 1080i resolution over the component output from a TV broadcast and
>>found
>>that the Decoder is doing a much "Better" job or what?
>>
>>"Michael Creasy - [MS]" <mcreasy@online.microsoft.com> wrote in message
>>news:uU0IZ497FHA.3804@TK2MSFTNGP14.phx.gbl...
>>> In my opinion the Xbox 360 is the best Media Center Extender. It's
>>> better
>>> than the original Xbox.
>>>
>>> --
>>> Michael Creasy [MS]
>>> http://www.michaelcreasy.com/blog
>>>
>>> "Shawn Oster" <shawn@enginefour.com> wrote in message
>>> news:eJdtvv87FHA.3752@tk2msftngp13.phx.gbl...
>>>> I'm grumpy because I didn't get my 360 pre-order so I thought I'd bug
>>>> those that did. Any difference in video playback quality? I had
>>>> always
>>>> thought the XBox was actually the best extender in terms of video
>>>> playback and curious if there is any difference with the 360.
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
> --
>
> Barb Bowman
> MS Windows-MVP
> Expert Zone Columnist
> http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/e...ts/bowman.mspx
> http://blogs.digitalmediaphile.com/barb/

I can't really see a difference between the 720p and 1080i here. i'll
experiment more over the next few days. will try with the King Kong
game tonight..

On Wed, 23 Nov 2005 12:09:42 -0500, "Derek R. Flickinger"
<DrFlick@ONLINE.InteractiveHomesInc.com> wrote:

>We are just curious about using 1080i for two reasons. The first is that
>the 360 HD games usually seem to specify 720p instead of 1080i. It would
>seem setting the default to 720p would keep it in its "native" resolution a
>little more. The second is that 720p "theoretically" displays less
>"flicker" than 1080i since it is non-interlaced. Would that not work better
>for the action of the games? We have worked with both and really have not
>seen a difference, but we like to look at it a little more scientifically
>once in a while.
>
>Regards,
>
> =D-
>
>Derek R. Flickinger
>Interactive Homes, Inc.
>
>"Barb Bowman MVP-Windows" <barb@nospam.com> wrote in message
>news:g1j8o1dd9b4fholaitbr4hqt3dh0jvdovb@4ax.com.. .
>> Using component 1080i to a 45 inch HD front projection TV. this
>> *looks* really good to me.
>>
>> On Tue, 22 Nov 2005 19:48:53 -0800, "SoCalFred"
>> <SoCalFred@spammenot.smn> wrote:
>>
>>>How did you determine that your new XBOX 360 is delivering better PQ than
>>>your previous XBOX? We know that MS claims that it is better but hearing
>>>from your live tests would help to understand why. Are you able to use
>>>720p
>>>or 1080i resolution over the component output from a TV broadcast and
>>>found
>>>that the Decoder is doing a much "Better" job or what?
>>>
>>>"Michael Creasy - [MS]" <mcreasy@online.microsoft.com> wrote in message
>>>news:uU0IZ497FHA.3804@TK2MSFTNGP14.phx.gbl...
>>>> In my opinion the Xbox 360 is the best Media Center Extender. It's
>>>> better
>>>> than the original Xbox.
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> Michael Creasy [MS]
>>>> http://www.michaelcreasy.com/blog
>>>>
>>>> "Shawn Oster" <shawn@enginefour.com> wrote in message
>>>> news:eJdtvv87FHA.3752@tk2msftngp13.phx.gbl...
>>>>> I'm grumpy because I didn't get my 360 pre-order so I thought I'd bug
>>>>> those that did. Any difference in video playback quality? I had
>>>>> always
>>>>> thought the XBox was actually the best extender in terms of video
>>>>> playback and curious if there is any difference with the 360.
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>> --
>>
>> Barb Bowman
>> MS Windows-MVP
>> Expert Zone Columnist
>> http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/e...ts/bowman.mspx
>> http://blogs.digitalmediaphile.com/barb/
>
--

Barb Bowman
MS Windows-MVP
Expert Zone Columnist
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/e...ts/bowman.mspx
http://blogs.digitalmediaphile.com/barb/

The games are rendered to 720p and then scaled to whatever resolution
required. If your TV's native resolution is 720p then it's best to stick
with it, but if the TV is natively 1080i it's better to have the Xbox doing
the scaling to 1080i than the TV (some TV's downsample 720p to 480p instead
of up to 1080i).

--
Michael Creasy [MS]
http://www.michaelcreasy.com/blog

"Barb Bowman MVP-Windows" <barb@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:bic9o1ptgti5sk2f0j97laqsalnbuu8rhu@4ax.com...
>I can't really see a difference between the 720p and 1080i here. i'll
> experiment more over the next few days. will try with the King Kong
> game tonight..
>
> On Wed, 23 Nov 2005 12:09:42 -0500, "Derek R. Flickinger"
> <DrFlick@ONLINE.InteractiveHomesInc.com> wrote:
>
>>We are just curious about using 1080i for two reasons. The first is that
>>the 360 HD games usually seem to specify 720p instead of 1080i. It would
>>seem setting the default to 720p would keep it in its "native" resolution
>>a
>>little more. The second is that 720p "theoretically" displays less
>>"flicker" than 1080i since it is non-interlaced. Would that not work
>>better
>>for the action of the games? We have worked with both and really have not
>>seen a difference, but we like to look at it a little more scientifically
>>once in a while.
>>
>>Regards,
>>
>> =D-
>>
>>Derek R. Flickinger
>>Interactive Homes, Inc.
>>
>>"Barb Bowman MVP-Windows" <barb@nospam.com> wrote in message
>>news:g1j8o1dd9b4fholaitbr4hqt3dh0jvdovb@4ax.com. ..
>>> Using component 1080i to a 45 inch HD front projection TV. this
>>> *looks* really good to me.
>>>
>>> On Tue, 22 Nov 2005 19:48:53 -0800, "SoCalFred"
>>> <SoCalFred@spammenot.smn> wrote:
>>>
>>>>How did you determine that your new XBOX 360 is delivering better PQ
>>>>than
>>>>your previous XBOX? We know that MS claims that it is better but
>>>>hearing
>>>>from your live tests would help to understand why. Are you able to use
>>>>720p
>>>>or 1080i resolution over the component output from a TV broadcast and
>>>>found
>>>>that the Decoder is doing a much "Better" job or what?
>>>>
>>>>"Michael Creasy - [MS]" <mcreasy@online.microsoft.com> wrote in message
>>>>news:uU0IZ497FHA.3804@TK2MSFTNGP14.phx.gbl.. .
>>>>> In my opinion the Xbox 360 is the best Media Center Extender. It's
>>>>> better
>>>>> than the original Xbox.
>>>>>
>>>>> --
>>>>> Michael Creasy [MS]
>>>>> http://www.michaelcreasy.com/blog
>>>>>
>>>>> "Shawn Oster" <shawn@enginefour.com> wrote in message
>>>>> news:eJdtvv87FHA.3752@tk2msftngp13.phx.gbl...
>>>>>> I'm grumpy because I didn't get my 360 pre-order so I thought I'd bug
>>>>>> those that did. Any difference in video playback quality? I had
>>>>>> always
>>>>>> thought the XBox was actually the best extender in terms of video
>>>>>> playback and curious if there is any difference with the 360.
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>> --
>>>
>>> Barb Bowman
>>> MS Windows-MVP
>>> Expert Zone Columnist
>>> http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/e...ts/bowman.mspx
>>> http://blogs.digitalmediaphile.com/barb/
>>
> --
>
> Barb Bowman
> MS Windows-MVP
> Expert Zone Columnist
> http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/e...ts/bowman.mspx
> http://blogs.digitalmediaphile.com/barb/

I believe the reason for most games setting 720p as default is because
Microsoft stated that any game made for the 360 MUST be HD compatible,
but they did not state how high of a resolution to make the games.
Naturally, the major publishers will feature 1080i (maybe even 1080p in
the future) as well, but knows that TV's with that are more costly
and not as common in house holds right now. So, I think they just set
720p as a default for it is very hard to distinguish from 1080i and is
more common, not to mention any TV's above that setting will adjust
themselves to that resolution. For your second question, I cannot
answer, for I have only played on 720p. I had been told that 1080i
would not offer much greater quality and I knew about the flicker of
interlaced display, so I never bothered turning it on. But your
"theory" sure does sound to me like it could be true, it will have
to be something I test out one of these days when I have time.

"Shawn Oster" wrote:

> I'm grumpy because I didn't get my 360 pre-order so I thought I'd bug those
> that did. Any difference in video playback quality? I had always thought
> the XBox was actually the best extender in terms of video playback and
> curious if there is any difference with the 360.
>

I don't see much difference with normal TV channels recorded at "good"
quality... but then again does it really matter when it's BBC News or the
Simpsons? (I've got a 47" RPTV connected using component in running at
1080i)

Anyways, since no Media Center PC can officially record HD Cable, it's a
moot point for me because I tend to watch HD channels on my HDTV more than
anything else, so my primary time shifting device is the HD PVR from my cable
company... and since it records the raw digital bitstreams digitally rather
than the Digital to S-Video to DVR-MS path that my Media Center PC
recordings have to take, there's no reason to use my Media Center PC to watch
TV through the XBOX360.

I like the XBOX360's extender feature because I *never* got the DRM enabled
version of the XBOX extender to connect with my Media Center PC, so could not
watch any protected content.