CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

stefan7 · Joined: 27 Oct 2009 Posts: 7

I have it connected via HDMI to my Xbox 360 in 1080p and the quality looks terrible, any ideas as to whats the problem? Neutral

dturco · Posted: Tue Oct 27, 2009 9:29 pm Post subject:

The first thing that comes to mind is does the xbox have a 24frame setting and if it does is on and does the vizio accept 24 frames, Also is the vizio a 1080p display or a 720p display?

All simple things that could be overlooked.

Welcome to the forum.

stefan7 · Joined: 27 Oct 2009 Posts: 7

The tv is 1080p compatible and I do not believe the Xbox 360 has a 24 frame rate setting and as far as the TV i have no idea whether it can or cannot accept 24 frames. Thank you for the welcome

dturco · Posted: Tue Oct 27, 2009 9:42 pm Post subject:

Well other than the obvious try another cable I won't be of much help, the regulars will start to chime in with better help.

It will help if you post the TV model number for them. Smile

ecrabb · Posted: Tue Oct 27, 2009 9:48 pm Post subject:

For starters, let's get a better description of the problem than "the quality looks terrible". Too dark? Too light? Too green? Blurry? You get the idea. Once we know what exactly you're seeing, we can go from there.

Welcome to the forum.

SC

stefan7 · Joined: 27 Oct 2009 Posts: 7

Ok, even after countless tries of toggling the brightness, contrast, sharpness etc it still looks like standard definition crap. By that I mean it is not crisp, it is not clear, and when lots of things are happening in the game it appears as if it is lagging and/or dropping frames. The HDMI cable is in perfect working condition and I have verified that is not the problem.

ecrabb · Posted: Tue Oct 27, 2009 9:58 pm Post subject:

Well, a couple of things...

First, there is an inherent lag in LCD displays (some more than others) that make them less-than-ideal for gaming. That may or may not be something you're seeing.

Second, let's get the model number on the Vizio so we can determine actual display resolution. 1080p may not be the best resolution to use on the 360 - especially for gaming.

As for it looking like "standard definition crap", something's obviously not right. How do graphic elements (text, graphics, details) look in the 360's Dashboard - before you even fire up a game?

Oh, and what were you using for a display before you bought the Vizio?

SC

stefan7 · Joined: 27 Oct 2009 Posts: 7

Model number on the Vizio is VO370M

Quality overall on the xbox is 'ok' and even looks good when I play some other games but on a game I play a lot and can recognize slight differences like Call of Duty it looks terrible compared to my previous setup which was a Vizio 32" 720p (previous gen where speakers are only on bottom)

WanMan · Joined: 19 Mar 2006 Posts: 10270

Pickup the remote for the Vizio and hit the Info button. Does it say 1080P? 1080i? Or something else. BTW, there is a long standing history of Xbox 360 games claiming one thing and then independently revealed to be far less than the advertised or implied resolution.

Next, let's rule out the display vs. it being a source device problem/limitation. Have you tried connecting something like a computer, Blu-ray player, etc. and evaluated how those look?

Beyond this I have to ask, be insure, whether you have optioned for HD resolution output.

stefan7 · Joined: 27 Oct 2009 Posts: 7

I hit info, resolution is 1920x1080(1080p). I dont have a blu-ray player and I dont know how I would connect my imac to my tv. I think the xbox and tv dont get along

ecrabb · Posted: Tue Oct 27, 2009 10:51 pm Post subject:

stefan7 · Joined: 27 Oct 2009 Posts: 7

After downloading and watching a couple different HD 720p movie trailers from the marketplace I can safely that they look great and very "HD" but the game quality is just no where near as good so I believe it is a lower-quality 3D engine. I think my only bet now is to downgrade in size back to the 32" Vizio which is sad to say the least

ecrabb · Posted: Tue Oct 27, 2009 11:14 pm Post subject:

I was afraid of that. You could also consider a larger display... Say a 37-42... But something not 1080p - that way it won't be so revealing. There are some excellent plasmas and LCD's in that size that still aren't 1080p. Unless you're sitting really close, you don't typically need the additional resolution, anyway.

Personally, I'd actually prefer a 720/768p plasma to a 1080p LCD, all other things being equal. Unless you watch in a room with lots of bright light during the day, I think I'd rather have the excellent black levels and color a plasma offers over the resolution in the LCD - especially given that it just reveals how crappy some of the sources are.

There's a 1024x768 42" Panasonic plasma at Costco right now for $679 after $60 rebate. You'd give up a little horizontal resolution over the old Vizio, but et a much bigger picture. Probably better overall, too.

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11472702

For a little mo money, there's a 50" Panny 1366x768 plasma. That's probably the same res as the old Vizio, but in a 50" set... Much more fun gaming on that bad boy, IMHO and movies would rock. The black levels and contrast ratio (important to PQ) would probably also smoke the old Vizio.

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11472699

Just something to consider.

SC

stefan7 · Joined: 27 Oct 2009 Posts: 7

Thank you for all the help and trying to find the problem, I really appreciate it. I'll look into those TVs but for now I'll have to hook up the smaller one.

bbfarmht · Posted: Wed Oct 28, 2009 12:41 am Post subject:

The first problem you have is that you are using an x-box. X-box is fine for playing popular games if you don't care about picture quality, and you just want to play that game your friends are raving about. If you want a outstanding picture while playing games than get a PS3. sony has their act together when it comes to the picture quality on the game console arena.

ecrabb · Posted: Wed Oct 28, 2009 2:05 am Post subject:

Do some googling Adam... You'll find the PS3 suffers from exactly the same problem. There are plenty of games on the PS3 that do not render full-res textures and geometry at 1080p, either. It's not as widespread of a problem on Sony's platform because the hardware is newer and a little more powerful, but the developers still have to make decisions about what to cut to keep frame rates acceptable.

SC

WanMan · Joined: 19 Mar 2006 Posts: 10270

Which version of Call of Duty are you referring to, and how far from this 37" display are you sitting?

jarodv · Joined: 06 Feb 2010 Posts: 1

I have the SAME issue w/ my 37in vizio LCD HDTV--xbox1 like quality graphics!

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Ok so i just got a Vizio V0370M 2 months ago. I have xbox 360 elite with both HD component cables by rocketfish and HDMI cables by same maker. My LCD looks great with comcast digital cable tv and absolutely beast w/ Blurays but it is TERRIBLE w/ xbox 360 games!!

The graphics on games like COD4, Halo3, COD modern warfare 2, gears2, borderlands, etc---all look awful. They are poorly rendered, jagged lines, blocky, and TERRIBLE textures! It really looks like 1st gen xbox graphics. I will get some screenies for u all later.

I have my console/display settings set to 1080p. I tried 720p, 1080i and no improvement in quality. I tried using my HDMI and HD component--they look the same. Is there a way to manually set the vizio's resolution to match the xbox's? is it a refresh rate issue? Will adjusting the TV's settings like WS/fullscreen/full affect the quality?

I hooked up my xbox to my old sony 36 in XBR CRT HDTV and it looks way better. I understand the xbox upscales the images but this bad?? really??

ANY ADVICE IS GREATLY APPRECIATED!!!
THANKS
-JAROD V
-MA

WanMan · Joined: 19 Mar 2006 Posts: 10270

I would think the most basic straight forward test would be to do the following ...

Find a nice picture file on the Internet for the pixel and color resolution that will best test your display. Now, put this on a USB drive and attach it to the Xbox 360. View it. Now do the same when you connect a desktop or laptop and use that to display the same file. Make sure the computer is configured for the best resolution of the flat panel. View it.

What can you conclude about the two methods to view the same file?