Help out an HD n00b

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cvmnJesus_basic

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#1 cvmnJesus_basic
Member since 2002 • 567 Posts

With all these great games, I've gotta get myself a 360. I'm looking for some advice regarding the best HD display for the 360. My budget is around $1300 (USD).

I've been looking at a 24'' LCD Dell computer monitor with native resolution of 1920 by 1200. How will the 360 look on this sort monitor? I suppose I'd connect with VGA, but how good does the 720p output scale to 1920 by 1200, and can I letterbox to get 16:9?

My other option is a less-than 30'' 720p HDTV. The thing that's a little confusing is that all the HDTVs I'm seeing have a native resolution of 1366 by 768. Now, I'm no mathemagician, but this ain't true 720p. Which connection is best on this sort of HDTV if I want to output true 720p from the 360, and is the scaling to 1366 by 768 noticable? Also, can I do 1 to 1 pixel mapping on an HDTV? I've read when connecting the 360 via the VGA cable, you get a resolution option of 1360 by 768 - it would be awesome if this was 1 to 1 as it would leave only a 3 pixel stripe on either side.

Any comments on this stuff would be greatly appreciated. Specifically i'd like to know which of the two displays I've mentioned would be better, which connection cable is best (VGA vs compoment vs ...), and which 360-selectable resolutions scale best to the monitor/HDTV display resolutions I've mentioned. Cheers!

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craig305

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#2 craig305
Member since 2003 • 588 Posts
I am using a Samsung SyncMaster 244T 24 inch LCD really fast response time and high contrast looks amazing, plus has hook up's for componet, VGA, and DVI good stuff also you can rotate it to the vertical position I also use a 32in HDTV Samsung Slim Fit tube But I do prefer the LCD for my gaming.
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cvmnJesus_basic

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#3 cvmnJesus_basic
Member since 2002 • 567 Posts

I am using a Samsung SyncMaster 244T 24 inch LCD really fast response time and high contrast looks amazing, plus has hook up's for componet, VGA, and DVI good stuff also you can rotate it to the vertical position I also use a 32in HDTV Samsung Slim Fit tube But I do prefer the LCD for my gaming.craig305

Cool, couple of questions...What's the native res of your monitor? What cable are you connecting with? What 360 output settings do you use, and how do they scale to your display's native res? Can you letterbox to get the correct 16:9 ratio? This is the sorta stuff I'm after :) Cheers dude.

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TimothyB

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#4 TimothyB
Member since 2003 • 6564 Posts

With all these great games, I've gotta get myself a 360. I'm looking for some advice regarding the best HD display for the 360. My budget is around $1300 (USD).

I've been looking at a 24'' LCD Dell computer monitor with native resolution of 1920 by 1200. How will the 360 look on this sort monitor? I suppose I'd connect with VGA, but how good does the 720p output scale to 1920 by 1200, and can I letterbox to get 16:9?

My other option is a less-than 30'' 720p HDTV. The thing that's a little confusing is that all the HDTVs I'm seeing have a native resolution of 1366 by 768. Now, I'm no mathemagician, but this ain't true 720p. Which connection is best on this sort of HDTV if I want to output true 720p from the 360, and is the scaling to 1366 by 768 noticable? Also, can I do 1 to 1 pixel mapping on an HDTV? I've read when connecting the 360 via the VGA cable, you get a resolution option of 1360 by 768 - it would be awesome if this was 1 to 1 as it would leave only a 3 pixel stripe on either side.

Any comments on this stuff would be greatly appreciated. Specifically i'd like to know which of the two displays I've mentioned would be better, which connection cable is best (VGA vs compoment vs ...), and which 360-selectable resolutions scale best to the monitor/HDTV display resolutions I've mentioned. Cheers!

cvmnJesus_basic

The Dell 24inch LCD has a resolution greater than 1080p. So you would set your 360 to 1080p, not 720p. Since 1920*1080 doesn't fit 1920*1200 on the LCD, you can probably use the 1:1 feature on the monitor to use exactly one pixel for every pixel so the monitor doesn't distort it to fill the screen, leaving bars on the top and bottom. The 360 will upscale the game pretty good to 1080p.

Also, if you are getting a new 360, you can also use a HDMI to DVI adapter to get digital video. Or, I think the Dell 24inch LCD even has Component inputs, though, I don't know and reviews on if it works as good as the vga and other connections on it.

On a 32inch LCD that has a 768p resolution, the difference in upscaling is unoticeable. I have one, I set it to 720p, I tell the tv to do 1:1 again, and it uses exactly that in the center of the screen, no upscaling, then I have it upscale to fill the screen, looks just about the same. Any connection is fine. If you are worried the tv doesn't scale well, then a VGA cable would let you choose 1360*768 so the 360 upscales for it. I know, it's off by 6, but that's what the 360 lets you choose. Didn't seem to matter on the $500 32inch Olevia I got.

I wouldn't bother with the Dell 24inch, since like what, 2 games on the 360 are 1080p, and if you don't have a HD-DVD movie player, even less of a reason. Though, if you want to also use it as your main PC monitor, then I can see doing it.

While the larger LCD TV will look perfect for 360 games at 720p resolutions.

This is what I got, and cool, the current sale says nothing about no other discounts, so $529 plus 10% AAA coupon is $476, not bad.

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/OLEVIA-32-LCD-HDTV-232V/sem/rpsm/oid/163702/catOid/-12869/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

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grouser22001

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#5 grouser22001
Member since 2003 • 151 Posts
it don't matter because halo3 runs in 624p resoultion, so.............
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cvmnJesus_basic

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#6 cvmnJesus_basic
Member since 2002 • 567 Posts

TimothyB - thanks a lot for that reply. I'm gonna go with the HDTV.

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novak2k6

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#7 novak2k6
Member since 2006 • 789 Posts
The Olevia is a good choice. I bought a 26" Olevia lcd on Black Friday sale last year for $300. This tv is left on for hours and it's been working great with a sharp picture that competes with the bigger name brands. Don't waste money getting the major brand names. Also if you want to go big my 1.5 yr old Vizio 50" plasma has dropped 1 grand to $1500 and now includes the tuner. The picture quality on Vizio's are also beautiful that rivals much higher other brand names.