XBOX 360 HD-DVD Upscale Normal DVDs?

MaceFace

Can the XBox 360 HD-DVD upscale normal DVDs and output it through the component?
At the moment my TV is reporting that the normal DVDs are being output at something like 526p, but with the new November update for the 360, I wonder if there is any change here?

I am hoping that I can get normal DVDs to run at something like 720p or 1080i?

Clank

MaceFace wrote:

Can the XBox 360 HD-DVD upscale normal DVDs and output it through the component?
At the moment my TV is reporting that the normal DVDs are being output at something like 526p, but with the new November update for the 360, I wonder if there is any change here?

I am hoping that I can get normal DVDs to run at something like 720p or 1080i?

No chance through component CSS forbids it.
Through VGA no problem, all the way to 1080P.

00sully

yeah only over VGA much to my chagrin

note to self: investigate things like this before purchasing expensive equipment

MaceFace

Hmmmmm......

The Bravia don't support 1080p through VGA.

The specs say that with an WXGA signal, it will go to 1360x768, which I guess is better than 720p, but not close to 1080p.

So, can I follow this on with the question:
Would the VGA cable they are selling in the stores upscale normal DVDs to 720p and send this accross which will allow me to set my VGA/PC input to the max setting?

Interesting that I told the guys in Gamestop that the VGA cable will send 1080p from the HD-DVD player with a HD-DVD, but they said it will only go to 480p (according to the text on the back of the box).

I might get the VGA cable and try set the VGA resolution on my TV to be 1360x768 and hope my existing DVD collection will look a lot better........

00sully

I think the max it will do over vga is 720p / 1080i or 1080p - not sure about resolutions in between.

funny thing - i read everywhere that the 360 either on the HD-DVD player or DVD player max upscale over component is 480p (just progressive scan!) yet I can manage to get 576p on my dvd's - nearly there!

MaceFace

Hey OOSully,

I am exactly the same. I have my normal DVDs at 576p which apparently is something called ED which is in between SD and HD (but in Oz, it is classified as HD) and has a resolution of 720x576.
Now, the VGA on the Sony will only allow up to 1360x768 whereas 720p is 1280x720. So, even if a VGA is used, and it the TV can be then configured to use 1280x720, this is still excellent quality.

Of course, with the Sony, this means having the WXGA signal, and I have no idea what this is in relation to the XBOX 360 or the VGA cable that they currently sell.

Anyone?

NiSmO

This post has been deleted.

MaceFace

no no. Component can go all the way to 1080p with the latest update. Same for VGA.
However, this is specifically about upscaling normal DVDs as opposed to Games or HD-DVDs. These go all the way (although I only got to 1080i as the Sony only accepts 1080p through HDMI :-(

00sully

MaceFace - true enough if your tv doesnt support 1080p through VGA you wont get it (unless MS release a HDMI cable)

also, your 360 will upscale dvd's to 720p over vga (1280 x 720) as opposed to 1360 x 768 (not much difference in that at all tho!)

you can manually choose the settings for the resolution in the System blade tho so maybe this will allow 1360 x 768 natively? although i would imagine once you play a dvd it will revert to 720p max.

my crappy vga only goes to 1024 x 768 BAH!

Furp

MaceFace wrote:

Hey OOSully,

I am exactly the same. I have my normal DVDs at 576p which apparently is something called ED which is in between SD and HD (but in Oz, it is classified as HD) and has a resolution of 720x576.

The reason for this is to do with TV standards the NTSC (USA) standard is 484 visible lines so if you had an American dvd it could be output at 480p but the PAL standard for UK Ireland and some of Europe is 576 visible lines so therefore you get a 576p signal.

The 360 can output 1080p over component for games if the Tv supports it but not for DVD's the reason being that the CSS which is the copy protections and DVD standards say that DVD cannot be upscaled over component, (no technical reason it can't be done) and this is why DVD can be upscaled over VGA as there is no mention of upscaling not being allowed over VGA.

The one caveat about the VGA connection and I know because I have tried both with my TV and gone back to component, is that the VGA can be a little washed out looking depending on your TV you might be able to get it to look similar, but on my TV the colour depth and black levels on component is much better then the VGA connection, although DVD's are upscaled to 720p over VGA I felt that the colour clarity was more important.

junglecliff

im using component lead on an hitachi 42" plasma.
and upscaling normal dvds on my hd drive is amazing quaility
tv only can go to 1080i but i cannt see it being any better via
vga...

Clank

junglecliff wrote:

im using component lead on an hitachi 42" plasma.
and upscaling normal dvds on my hd drive is amazing quaility
tv only can go to 1080i but i cannt see it being any better via
vga...

You know you dont need the HD-DVD drive to upscale DVDs?
The 360 does that once its outputting with a VGA cable.

hottstuff

Clank wrote:

You know you dont need the HD-DVD drive to upscale DVDs?
The 360 does that once its outputting with a VGA cable.

Yep , spot on

dave oc

junglecliff wrote:

im using component lead on an hitachi 42" plasma.
and upscaling normal dvds on my hd drive is amazing quaility
tv only can go to 1080i but i cannt see it being any better via
vga...

You are not upscaling over component, it cant be done. Only by VGA.

This post linked gives a detailed answer to nearly every queation about the hd-dvd drive.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=748740