Xbox 360 HDMI issues with video.

Ok, I'm going to post this in here as it's an Xbox 360 issue, but apols if considered better elsewhere.

Having set up the new LCD (37" 1336 x 768) I'm instantly chuffed with the picture on the set (digital & Freeview) and the Xbox 360 gaming used with HDMI is astounding. I can see everything at last.
But, my (or more, my Daughter's) XviD's look rubbish! All pixelated!
Now, I'm no expert whatsoever on HDMI - would this be because they're being 'upscaled'? Should I pulg the component in and use that for viewing compressed content? Can I actually do that - use both leads independently?
(worth mentioning I can't try it right now, not just being lazy and not testing for myself!)

Any help appreciated.

[Stephen]

what are you viewing the xvids on the 360?

I view my xvids streamed across my wireless network on the 360 and they look great.

Through the Xbox Dashboard (if that's what you mean?).
Resolution comes up as 640x480 @ 60 hz

[Charlie_Bubble]

Originally Posted by kryogenik

Through the Xbox Dashboard (if that's what you mean?).
Resolution comes up as 640x480 @ 60 hz

Is that what the xbox is putting them out at? What have you set your TV to do with signals it receives, autoscan, 1 to 1, 16:9? It may be that you Tv is receiving them at a certain resolution and is then putting them on the screen at a much bigger one and hence the bad quality.

Originally Posted by Charlie_Bubble

Is that what the xbox is putting them out at? What have you set your TV to do with signals it receives, autoscan, 1 to 1, 16:9? It may be that you Tv is receiving them at a certain resolution and is then putting them on the screen at a much bigger one and hence the bad quality.

Looks to me that the TV is defaulting to that res.
I can't see any way to change it though. TV came with no manual, but it's on screen menus are very easy to use. Just don't see any options for resolutions other than flipping between 16:9 and 4:3 - both look terrible.

Cheers for replies BTW


---------- Post added at 15:55 ---------- Previous post was at 15:47 ----------

Bit lost here now.
Xbox has HD settings for:
480p
720p
1080i
1080p

All but 480p are greyed out?

[Stephen]

Sounds a little odd. Using HDMI you should have acces to at least 720p and 1080i.

[icestar2]

Agreed that does seem strange. You should at least be able to access 720p and 1080i as Darth says.

[Stephen]

I know on the component cables you need to slide the switch on the cable from SD to HD in order to be able to select the HD resolutions. Don't know if the HDMI even has anything like that on it as it should automatically be HD.

Yeah.. Weird.


I've just checked some reasonable sized XviD's as well and they're not as bad but the artefacts (not sure if that's the right term) are still apparent.
As I say, the games look great but as soon as I flick to HD on the remote to access the Xbox, the on-screen display throws up 640x480 @ 60hz for games and media.
Would anyone care to look at the user manual PDF for me and see if I'm missing something (as in what it can ouput)?
I'm a proper noob at this game.

Manual is: http://www.polaroid.com/service/user...inia_ug_en.pdf
Specs are: http://www.polaroid.com/global/detai...bmLocale=en_GB

Struggling to get the old NTL 'shark' remote to work properly with it too, but I'm sure that's just a case of finding the right code for the unit (probs rebranded).

Meantime, I'll Google about for the prob. Cheers again for the replies.

---------- Post added at 18:33 ---------- Previous post was at 18:01 ----------

Incidentally

Should I plug the component in and use that for viewing compressed content? Can I actually do that - use both leads independently?
(worth mentioning I can't try it right now, not just being lazy and not testing for myself!)

Can't do that. Once the big plug is in, you can't get access to the HDMI socket, so it's one or the other..

[Tezcatlipoca]

Could just be the low res of the xvids combined with the large size of the TV (esp. as it's still only 1366*768 like 26" & 32" TVs are... same res but obviously bigger pixels).


But the 360 not letting you choose anything other than 480p... definitely weird, so maybe there is some other issue.


Have you tried both HDMI sockets on the TV?

Have you tried component instead of HDMI?

Matt - Yep, I see your point re the res.
I plugged in component and I can get everything up to 1080p. Xvids still as bad, which is a ball ache to be honest coz they were spot on with the 32" Toshiba. Anyway, I set it to 720p, plugged the HD cable back in and everything was screwed. All in a box in the middle of the screen. Couldn't get it right. So plugged component back in changed back to 480p and then managed to get it right. I can get more joy with component, but am I falling short when I could be using HDMI? Yes, tried both HDMI sockets. Only thing I haven't tried is RGB. I'll give that a go as soon as I can. Might as well find out what they look like with that.
I've a damn annoying problem when trying to sort stuff like this out - I suffer with dyspraxia and remembering settings & resolution numbers is a total nightmare. By the time I've got to the TV from Google on the laptop, I've forgotten what I'm supposed to be looking for!

[icestar2]

Could it be a bad HDMI lead thats making the 720P and 1080i be greyed out. I cant understand why they would not allow them to be selected.

It's not a rubbish one mate (£20 gold plated jobby), but yeah, I suppose so.
I don't know anyone with one I can try to test though, and I'm not buying another..

Unless I'm wrong, shouldn't the XBox allow these to be selected even if the TV can't support it like the component cable does..?
(The Telly CAN support it anyway - baffled)

[Stephen]

HDMI is digital so doesn't matter how much you pay it should still work fine. It sounds strange though that when you select 720p it appears in the middle of the screen as a wee box, that doesn't sound right.

Yeah I know mate. But, it was after messing with TV & XBox 'player' settings. Something got 'stuck' I think.
I'm connected with component now and all's OK. I'll try the HDMI again over the weekend.