Compatibility with LCD monitors and resolutions


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These days I'm growing tempted to buy an Xbox 360, it would actually be my first console ever, I've always been a devoted PC gamer. So anyway, I don't have an HD television and I'd certainly want to connect the console to my LCD, a Samsung 20" that has DVI and VGA input and a native resolution of 1680x1050.

My main worry is that Xbox 360 games might not support 1680x1050 and I'd have to play at a non-native res, which will look blurry and/or distorted. Is that the case?

Also, is it possible to use the DVI port or do I have to use the VGA one?

Thanks.

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These days I'm growing tempted to buy an Xbox 360, it would actually be my first console ever, I've always been a devoted PC gamer. So anyway, I don't have an HD television and I'd certainly want to connect the console to my LCD, a Samsung 20" that has DVI and VGA input and a native resolution of 1680x1050.

My main worry is that Xbox 360 games might not support 1680x1050 and I'd have to play at a non-native res, which will look blurry and/or distorted. Is that the case?

Also, is it possible to use the DVI port or do I have to use the VGA one?

Thanks.

Games are 16:9, so while the xbox has an option to set that resolution it'll just fix the aspect ratio on games (black bars on the sides of the screen). Either that or you could select a 16:9 res and play fullscreen with a slightly stretched image.

IIRC the xbox to vga cable includes an vga to dvi adaptor (and if it doesn't you could buy one anyway).

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These days I'm growing tempted to buy an Xbox 360, it would actually be my first console ever, I've always been a devoted PC gamer. So anyway, I don't have an HD television and I'd certainly want to connect the console to my LCD, a Samsung 20" that has DVI and VGA input and a native resolution of 1680x1050.

My main worry is that Xbox 360 games might not support 1680x1050 and I'd have to play at a non-native res, which will look blurry and/or distorted. Is that the case?

Also, is it possible to use the DVI port or do I have to use the VGA one?

Thanks.

It does 1650x1050, there are just black bands at the bottom and top. No DVI support, but you may be able to get an HDMI to DVI adapter.

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It does 1650x1050, there are just black bands at the bottom and top. No DVI support, but you may be able to get an HDMI to DVI adapter.
Thanks. Does 1680x1050 support depend on the specific game I play or is it always offered by the system?
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Thanks. Does 1680x1050 support depend on the specific game I play or is it always offered by the system?

Always offered by the system. You just set the resolution in system settings, and it will keep that resolution in the dashboard and across all games.

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Always offered by the system. You just set the resolution in system settings, and it will keep that resolution in the dashboard and across all games.
Nice. I'm even more tempted to buy an Xbox 360 now. Damn you !

:p

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Nice. I'm even more tempted to buy an Xbox 360 now. Damn you !

:p

Do it!! You will love it. If you're a PC gamer, it might take you a little bit to get used to using a controller, but once you do, you won't look back. There's a reason why a lot of PC gamers are doing most of their gaming on 360 these days. It's just such a seamless experience, and you don't have to worry about cheaters online (glitchers, yes, but no cheaters PC style).

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I still have a nagging doubt though... How does multiple resolution work on the 360? For instance, for 16:9 on a 16:10 20" incher, the game has to be rendered at 1680*945 which is a pretty uncommon resolution. Is the game rendered at whatever is its default resolution (say, 720p) and then scaled by the system using linear interpolation? If so, then it's not much different from running at a non-native res, only the interpolation takes place in the gpu rather than the monitor.

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From my own scourging around the web, the only article I can find about 1680x1050 support on the xbox360 is this. So basically, yeah it is supported, but it looks like it's poorly upscaled from an inferior resolution, probably 720p. So the best option on an LCD is probably to use 720p and let the monitor do the interpolation. Many users report that doing it this way makes it look very good, certainly not as good as having the game render directly to native res but "good enough", no obvious jaggies or distortion, just slight blur.

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I still have a nagging doubt though... How does multiple resolution work on the 360? For instance, for 16:9 on a 16:10 20" incher, the game has to be rendered at 1680*945 which is a pretty uncommon resolution. Is the game rendered at whatever is its default resolution (say, 720p) and then scaled by the system using linear interpolation? If so, then it's not much different from running at a non-native res, only the interpolation takes place in the gpu rather than the monitor.

The 360 has a dedicated scaler chip. I don't know the exact tech, but the results don't LOOK like straight up linear interpolation.

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From my own scourging around the web, the only article I can find about 1680x1050 support on the xbox360 is this. So basically, yeah it is supported, but it looks like it's poorly upscaled from an inferior resolution, probably 720p. So the best option on an LCD is probably to use 720p and let the monitor do the interpolation. Many users report that doing it this way makes it look very good, certainly not as good as having the game render directly to native res but "good enough", no obvious jaggies or distortion, just slight blur.

I'm using 1680x1050 on my 20" monitor as well. Trust me, it looks native. No blurring at all. My buddy even thinks it looks better than his HDTV.

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just set your 360 to 720p, and get an HDMI cable. you're thinking like a PC gamer, with the resolutions and all, but consoles make these things simpler. Even if you do choose the higher res, the upscaling isn't bad.

EDIT: btw congrats on the choice, you'll be very happy with the 360.

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EDIT: btw congrats on the choice, you'll be very happy with the 360.
Thanks for the tips. I'm not decided yet, just weighing the pros and cons. In the meantime, I've bought an Xbox 360 controller for my PC. :p

It's not just buying a console, it's also building a game collection on there, and I've already got quite an impressive PC games collection that ranges from TF2 to old snes games on an emulator. With Steam I often get great deals on games, like this weekend I just bought Heroes V for 5$, and I don't ever need to reinstall my games, and I can play them on any PC, so it's still pretty streamlined. Anyway, just rambling. I'm mainly curious about console gaming, at some point I might buy The Beatles Rock Band or some other console-exclusive, or just use the Xbox 360 for game development with XNA and see what are the specific issues when developing for console vs PC.

Edited by Dr_Asik
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...

mine had hdmi but you could use any one but DVI is better.

DVI is better ? lolwut ? srsly ?

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Asik, you are a PC gamer...wordy, over analyzing every little detail...oh boy next thing you know you'll be adding Xbox shuttability with regards to LAN parties as factoring into whether or not you want to get a console ;)

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Asik, you are a PC gamer...wordy, over analyzing every little detail...oh boy next thing you know you'll be adding Xbox shuttability with regards to LAN parties as factoring into whether or not you want to get a console ;)
I love your analysis of PC gamers, it's probably true though. :p I *really* care about details like 4x vs 2x AA, DirectX10, triple-buffered vsync, DVI, running at native resolution, etc. Otherwise I can't play, there's always a little voice telling me "oh but you got some bad tearing artifacts" or "oh but those jaggies are quite obvious" and if I don't fix those issues I can't concentrate on the game. Call me a perfectionist, but that's me. :yes:
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I love your analysis of PC gamers, it's probably true though. :p I *really* care about details like 4x vs 2x AA, DirectX10, triple-buffered vsync, DVI, running at native resolution, etc. Otherwise I can't play, there's always a little voice telling me "oh but you got some bad tearing artifacts" or "oh but those jaggies are quite obvious" and if I don't fix those issues I can't concentrate on the game. Call me a perfectionist, but that's me. :yes:

You won't see that in AAA console titles. The two that come to mind for me were both bad PC ports (Two Worlds and Dark Messiah of Might and Magic). Two Worlds was at least a good game, just marred by technical difficulties. Fortunately you could access the console in the 360 version and disable some of the graphical options to make it at least run at a decent framerate.

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actually i have to digress...tearing is quite common on the 360 and PS3, seems to me V-sync is the first to go in the struggle to maximize textures and frames per second. doesn't bother me none.

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