GC & Xbox Component - better than letting LCD HDTV deinterlace?

[PhilG]

Hi,

I\'ve both a PAL Cube and PAL Xbox. The xbox is set to NTSC via enigmah, and I\'ve been considering running both consoles via component to get 480p out of them.



However...

LCD\'s are inherently progressive, and spending a lot of time over on the avforums it is widely accepted that depending on the quality of deinterlacing done by the source, it may be better to leave it to the panel.

For example if I run my Pioneer 585 DVD player in progressive mode it looks no better or smoother than if I let my Panasonic TX32LXD52 tv take care of the deinterlacing with a 480i signal from the Pioneer.



So...

Has anyone tried 480p from a GC/Xbox versus 480i component (or even RGB scart) on an LCD, and is it really any better? If so, how was it better, and by what sort of margin? Was the colour/sharpness better?



Sorry if this seems like a dumb question, but I don\'t want to invest in the expense of leads for these machines (if I can even find them at sensible prices) if they\'re only really of benefit to people with progressive-compatible CRT sets.

[egparadigm]

On the OG Xbox, the picture quality improvement from RGB scart -> P scan is massive. It looks incredibly blurred through scart.

[smouty]

Can you get 480p out of a PAL GC? You might need a Qoob SX if it is even possible.

[PhilG]

Can you get 480p out of a PAL GC? You might need a Qoob SX if it is even possible.

Yup, apparently the PAL unit outputs component, its just the software that doesn\'t support it, so:

freeloader (or modded machine) + NTSC title + component lead = prog-scan



Dunno how much better than rgb it will be on an lcd though...

[tom-nook]

Yeah, you're understanding about the PAL GC is spot on. Personally I didn't notice any real difference between rgb & component on my lcd with games that don't include a prog scan option. Think it varies from tv to tv though as some handle rgb/ component sources better than others. tbh unless you are going to mainly be playing games in prog scan mode it's probably not worth spending ?30+ on a component lead.

The Xbox definitely benefits from running stuff in 480p via component. As mmp says the picture is much less blurry but it does tend to show the 'limitations' of the Xbox graphics a bit (can look a bit rough with lots of jaggies etc.). The few games that have support 720p look lush though (THUG, Amped 2 etc.).

[mrsquare]

Another advantage is that the panel won't have to do any signal processing itself, so you don't get any (or anywhere near as much) input lag on your button presses.

Obv. it depends on the set, but input sensitive games like Guitar Hero and Frequency are nigh on unplayable in 480i on my set - I made them output in 480p via that xPloder HDTV thing and it sorted them out a treat

[PhilG]

Thanks for the responses guys.

Tom-Nook: What brand/model lcd do you have please?
My dvds definitely looked better in component (interlaced or progressive) than rgb - it was like someone had peeled tracing paper from the screen - everything was brighter and clearer, so maybe my Panasonic handles rgb worse than component.

My next question then, other than possible input lag caused by the panel having to do the deinterlacing, is:
For Gamecube games that do support prog-scan, what about them was better letting the Gamecube do the prog-conversion than using component but letting the LCD/Plasma do the prog-conversion (i.e. feeding the panel 480i)?

[fallenangle]

There is another thread here about similar issues and one important thing came up - recent UK GC PAL consoles actually do not have the secondary AV out socket required for use with the GC component cable.

Re: RGB SCART/Component XBox debate - I've run all types of ( legal) XBox games on my chipped PAL XBox (in PAL chip on/off and NTSC modes where applicable) through both RGB SCART and Component cables (official XBox versions) to check this PQ question.

Apart from the RGB SCART left shift and base contrast/colour settings the PQ difference between 480p and anything through RGB SCART is minimal.

This is true for my JVC TV but that's a real point: individual TVs/monitors and how they're set up can make a significant difference to the results whatever connection type you've selected. Hence I don't think there is a definitive answer to the original question.