Non HD Plasma TV and XB360

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Hi, possibly another PC to XBox 360 convert. I have a Philips 32" Plasma, a couple of years old now, not HD however VGA inputs and, according to the manual, capable of running 1280 x 1024. I have it connected to the 360 using the VGA cable, running supposedly at 1280 x 1024. Is this proper HD quality or do you really need an HDTV to see the likes of GRAW at their best. The PSU in the Plasma is failing so if I thought a nice new 37" LCD would vastly improve image quality, it would speed up my buying decision. Don't tell the wife!!
 
TerryS said:
Hi, possibly another PC to XBox 360 convert. I have a Philips 32" Plasma, a couple of years old now, not HD however VGA inputs and, according to the manual, capable of running 1280 x 1024. I have it connected to the 360 using the VGA cable, running supposedly at 1280 x 1024. Is this proper HD quality or do you really need an HDTV to see the likes of GRAW at their best. The PSU in the Plasma is failing so if I thought a nice new 37" LCD would vastly improve image quality, it would speed up my buying decision. Don't tell the wife!!

Running through a VGA connection is HD or equivalent to it, basically you're running at a resolution similar that that which HD component cables would let you use (in fact you are probably somewhere in between 720p and 1080i)

A lot of people on this board say that VGA is the best way to experience the 360.
 
Only problem is that 1280x1024 resolution causes some 'issues' with games, meaning you'd have to change to a different resolution to get better results.
 
DaveyD said:
Only problem is that 1280x1024 resolution causes some 'issues' with games, meaning you'd have to change to a different resolution to get better results.

Yep, PGR springs to mind immediately. I always had to run it at 1024x768 to get as close to the correct aspect ratio as possible (it still wasn't quite right even then!). Still, £575 later and I dont have to worry! ;)
 
TerryS said:
Hi, possibly another PC to XBox 360 convert. I have a Philips 32" Plasma, a couple of years old now, not HD however VGA inputs and, according to the manual, capable of running 1280 x 1024. I have it connected to the 360 using the VGA cable, running supposedly at 1280 x 1024. Is this proper HD quality or do you really need an HDTV to see the likes of GRAW at their best. The PSU in the Plasma is failing so if I thought a nice new 37" LCD would vastly improve image quality, it would speed up my buying decision. Don't tell the wife!!

I'd find the real resolution of your plasma display and run the Xbox as close to that as possible. It'll probably be somewhere around 852x500. It'll still be HD (huzzah!) downscaled a little, but it should look much better. The scalers built into TVs are awful (hence why upscaling DVD players are much better quality than letting the TV deal with it).
 
Thanks very much for all your help, I'll experiment with different resolutions. When I bought the Plasma, I specifically went for one with 1024 x 768 pixel resolution as I initially had it connected up to a Shuttle PC so I'll try this first. Didn't realise about upscaling etc, I was surprised when I read the manual and 1280 x 1024 was listed, as well as every combination down to 640 x 480. The real killer is, I paid £2.5K for it almost 3 years ago and now you could get a 50" HD for that. Not quite as bad as forever upgrading my PC however.
 
TerryS said:
Hi, possibly another PC to XBox 360 convert. I have a Philips 32" Plasma, a couple of years old now, not HD however VGA inputs and, according to the manual, capable of running 1280 x 1024. I have it connected to the 360 using the VGA cable, running supposedly at 1280 x 1024. Is this proper HD quality or do you really need an HDTV to see the likes of GRAW at their best. The PSU in the Plasma is failing so if I thought a nice new 37" LCD would vastly improve image quality, it would speed up my buying decision. Don't tell the wife!!

Personal experience tells me that Plasma is much nicer looking than LCD. Get a 42" Plasma screen :).
 
TerryS said:
Thanks very much for all your help, I'll experiment with different resolutions. When I bought the Plasma, I specifically went for one with 1024 x 768 pixel resolution as I initially had it connected up to a Shuttle PC so I'll try this first. Didn't realise about upscaling etc, I was surprised when I read the manual and 1280 x 1024 was listed, as well as every combination down to 640 x 480. The real killer is, I paid £2.5K for it almost 3 years ago and now you could get a 50" HD for that. Not quite as bad as forever upgrading my PC however.

tbh I wouldn't worry about it. It has a good resolution (even if it is 852x500), definitely enough for HD content. There's a Sharp 32" LCD with a similiar resolution that offers better quality for standard PAL than any HD LCD, and no1 on AVForums can tell the difference between it and a genuine HD LCD when displaying HD content (movie content, not Xbox).

If you're happy with it, stick with it :) Simple as that really, especially if you prefer plasma to LCD.
 
Plasma has a nicer picture buit LCD will last longer so ive heard, plasma wear out ive heard may be a myth though.
 
plasma is a living orangic gas that has current passed through it in the relevant places to produce picture.

hence screenburn when the current is constantly passed through a certain section of the plasma the organic in the gas dies....

thus u need to regass the [plasma eventually as all the gas dies?
 
I'll probably wait until my plasma completely packs up before buying another screen, which shouldn't be too long now. It already failed once, fortunately under warranty. The inbuilt power supply unit failed, the engineer told me it was because plasma's generate so much heat and the PSU's can't cope with it. A possibility I suppose, my plasma generates so much heat I don't need a radiator on in the room during winter. I imagine LCD's run a lot cooler. The only problem with LCD's, in my case, is that the screens are quite brittle should my 2 year old son poke his finger at it whereas the plasma is glass and has already survived a few assaults when Bob the Builder is on!
 
TerryS said:
I'll probably wait until my plasma completely packs up before buying another screen, which shouldn't be too long now. It already failed once, fortunately under warranty. The inbuilt power supply unit failed, the engineer told me it was because plasma's generate so much heat and the PSU's can't cope with it. A possibility I suppose, my plasma generates so much heat I don't need a radiator on in the room during winter. I imagine LCD's run a lot cooler. The only problem with LCD's, in my case, is that the screens are quite brittle should my 2 year old son poke his finger at it whereas the plasma is glass and has already survived a few assaults when Bob the Builder is on!
Or you could aways get an LCD and mount it on the wall,(high enought to be out of reach of 2 years olds)
 
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