LCD/Plasma/CRT/DLP - questions

[Big N Veiny]

Does anyone use a modded xbox and XBMC as an upscaling DVD player?
Just I am probably getting a HD LCD in january and can get a cheap modded xbox, just wanted to know if was any good.
Thanks.

[John Beaulieu]

just about to try this - will post impressions later

[Rossco]

I do I do I do!

Personally, I think its excellent at doing the job. Runs it at 720p very well, looks great. I want an Oppo player and was always going to wait and see how 360 plays DVDs but it only does them at 480p so I'm not sure how good it will look compared to Xbox. If its worse then I may just consider getting an Oppo for practicalitly.

But overall, yeh its good!

[Simmy]

OK now I'm a little worried. Just shelled out all the cash on the 40" samsung LCD, and there are now reports of it lagging while playing Xbox games. Does anyone here suffer lag on their Samsung LCD's through Xbox ? Any reason why a 40" panel would lag more than a 26-32" panel ? it's got an 8ms reponse time, so I presumed lag would not be an issue

edit : how are most people connected their xbox to their lcd's for 720p etc ?

[Rossco]

Wear they did tear before but thats been sorted has it not? And I've not heard anything of lagging, it is 8ms so I dont see how..


I use all the Official component cables. To get 720p on Xbox though, you either need a modded one or a US one/

[oblivion_6]

SUrely if the xboxs lagged on the sammies then they wouldnt use em to showcase the 360s?

from the 360 pod i was playing with last week the screen showed no ghosting at all and its was a 26 i reckon

with 8ms response its going to be the business

Im picking up the 37 inch one at the start of next year and i cant wait

[Simmy]

Guy that is reporting it is using a scart lead to feed the LCD, guess that could be the problem ??


I will have my 360 before the LCD, so I hope this becomes a non issue playing everything in 720p through the HD leads supplied with the premium pack !

[mid]

If they're running with a scart lead, I wonder if it's a problem at the deinterlacing stage on a 60fps game? I wouldn't be surprised, anyway.

The Samsung M screens are supposed to be pretty good for refresh, so I'd be surprised if that is the problem.

[John Beaulieu]

Does anyone use a modded xbox and XBMC as an upscaling DVD player?
Just I am probably getting a HD LCD in january and can get a cheap modded xbox, just wanted to know if was any good.
Thanks.

Just installed this and its bloody good at upscaling to 720p/1080i (dvd player mode) ... the dvd player is also pretty good in terms of options, very customisable.

I have an upscaling dvd player (not an Oppo which I am getting for christmas but a cheapo jobbie from scan) and this easily matches it

well worth an install

[Salsa Party Animal]

Which DVDs should I use to demo a LCD TV tomorrow. (I don't think I could use Omg Bak )

[Rossco]

Try something like Finding Nemo, Incredibles. They're good testers. Along with something like Sin City which has cool colour and camera use etc and then go for a new epic one like Lord of The Rings, Star Wars etc.

Thats what I would do anyway.

[John Beaulieu]

just ran the new Sin City dvd - only watched the first release on crt before (a 32" Sony Wega) and the definition of colour is now jaw dropping. It ran perfectly, upscaled to 1080i using XBMC, and it showcased my tosh lcd perfectly (I have been playing around with some settings - trying to get more definition in black areas, and its working ).

really need to get my camera found so i can take some grabs of this screen

[EvilBoris]

I watched LOTR: ROTK last night through my PC, it realyl suprised me how much difference the 2 decoders I tried made. THe Nvidia Purevideo decoder was stunning and the PowerDVD decoder was blurry as eck.

[Concept]

Well I cracked.

I rang Play and told them I'd be sending it back. I've noticed five pixels, and ISO 13406-2 states that screens with 5 defective pixels clustered together allow a warranty to be invoked. The grey smudge on the screen is either dust under the screen or a group of defective pixels clustered together, which to me along with the red one in the centre, was unacceptable.

Thankfully, the guy on the customer service line said they'd send someone to pick it up (should be Thursday), although I was told I might be without the television until early next year now if they replace it (I assume because of low stock, but it better not be Feburary/March).

I think the dust/smudge should work in my favour. It's about the size of cigarette burn to the right, and while it isn't as noticeable on whites as the central stuck/dead pixel (which I've tried to remove), it's another huge distraction. There are also numerous sub-pixels stuck everywhere, though you have to inch in close to find them.

I've included the pixel checker Wush sent me on a disc and a letter outlining the problem in the box along with everything.

Knowing my luck over the past month (it's like the series Worst Week of My Life spread over four) they'll send it back and say nothing is wrong. Fortunately, the fact that a cluster of defective pixels are stuck together, or it's that or dust, should be in my favour.

Damn it. Nothing is going smoothly right now. It'd be nice if I could get something without anything going wrong for once.

[HaHaUK]

How long will it take to recieve a telly from EmpireDirect? And who do they use to send it?