720p on modded xbox & samsung LE26R41BDX

mrback

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Hello to all out there
I have been trying my soft modded xbox on this samsung tv for a couple of days now & wanted to share my findings & try to get a bit of feedback.
I have tried the xbox through 720p with a billiards game which is on xbox live arcade & gives a 720p option(this is the only thing I could find, waiting for soul calibur "2") The picture is quite nice but on the menu's there is a bit of a shadow on the text, wasn't expecting this really.
Far cry is another title which I have been trying which again looks ok but a bit blocky & jaggy, I dont think this has a 720p mode probably 480p.
Currently going through component with a third party component lead, waiting for the official microsoft one to turn up so hoping this may give an improved picture.
Was using my xbox through a monitor with an x2vga which gave some pretty nice results & thought that this tv would at least match it but alas no.
I have posted some shots too for you to peruse & would love some feedback, really have bought this for 360 so hoping that it will give some good performance. Can anyone give a direct link on how to check what firmware my set has & how can i update it?
 

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The official xbox lead should be better mate, third party leads tend to be crap unless they are from the better names ixos monster etc. Also dont expect mircles with 480p will it looks better you tv wont shine till you feed it a 720p game.
 
Hi Supermackam, the first two thumbnails are from a pool game on xbox live arcade which gives a 720p option. The picture is pretty good although there is a slight shadow on the text in the menu's. I have linked my pc to the set & ran somem hi-def trailers which look pretty nice though.Do you have one of these sets? If so what are your current settings?
 
Hi,

I have the same tv, and have also been testing out my chipped xbox for HD.
It might not be much help but so far I am in exactly the same position as yourself. I was expecting the jump to progressive scan (480p), and especially to 720p to be a watershed moment. I think we may be expecting too much.
I too am using a crappy 3rd party lead, waiting on my official one arriving and so far I've not been overly impressed on the whole.
I have also been using xbmc to test upscaled dvd output - once again with mixed results. I do not have any of the picture options (auto brightness/contrast/NR etc) enabled.
-Pros:
Although not widescreen, soul caliber 2 looks great at 720p. Very sharp and totally smooth - if x360 output looks like this, then all is ok!
Some xbmc dvd output at 720p has been impressive (SW EP:II especially)
-Cons:
I find the progressive scan picture darker and much softer than interlaced. (specific example is doing the L&R trigger/thumbstick in MS dash to switch modes) I'm really hoping that this is to do with the cable (or possibly the xbox - it is 3yrs old?) I'm using custom settings for component with the sharpness right up, brightness and colour about 55, contrast around 90.
Text in games/menus etc is no clearer than it was with rgb scart - should it be?

My viewing for the last 3yrs has been a philips 32" crt with pixel plus, so I'm wondering whether I'm so used to a super sharp picture that I'm being overly harsh?
 
Thanks for your reply ceescd1
I recieved my official hi-def kit today & I can't see any discernible difference between this & the third party lead in all honesty. I have been playing far cry@480p which is okay but the graphics are shown quite harsh (jaggy etc).
I have also been trying a samsung HD950 dvd player which is going through HDMI which I thought would rock but again not overly impressed really(quite pixally) The xbox 360 hi def demos look really nice through the set though & this is the main reason I got the set, disappointed witht the dvd playback though as I thought it would upscale better.
any thoughts?
 
I have just purchased this TV (minus the freeview) and I must say I am impressed by its performance using my modded xbox. I use the official Hi-def pack and Halo 2 looks much better than it ever did on my 32" CRT. It is darker than if using scart but im guessing this is how its supposed to look.
Also tried Attack of the clones DVD through the xbox and this blew me away. It looks absolutely fantastic.

I suppose to summarise I wasnt expecting much difference (bought the TV for Xbox 360) between this LCD and my Pixel Plus CRT, but happily I am very pleased with the results.
 
Good to hear that mate. My LE26R41BD is waiting for me at home!! Can't wait to try it out. My other tv is a 32" Philips Pixel Plus as well so hoping to see similar improvements to you!!
 
mrback said:
I have also been trying a samsung HD950 dvd player which is going through HDMI which I thought would rock but again not overly impressed really(quite pixally) The xbox 360 hi def demos look really nice through the set though & this is the main reason I got the set, disappointed witht the dvd playback though as I thought it would upscale better.
any thoughts?

I think the problem here is the percieved notion that because it is connected via HDMI then the picture will be fantastic. You still need to have a high quality player, and the Samsung HD950 is still limited by it's cost. The fact that you have HDMI is no guarantee of quality.
 
Thanks for your comments.
Having previously used a 24" widescreen sony set through rgb with a toshiba SD-220E I thought that the picture would be much better than it is on my current setup. Do you think my dvd player would be better outputting ntsc rather than pal?
cheers fella
 
I also found 480p surprisingly blocky when I first saw it, but I prefer it over RGB scart any day. Although its more blocky its a much clearer picture (if that makes any sense), I found standard RGB scart to be a blurry mess.

Its only when you go to 720p that it really blows you away, roll on the 360 !!
 
mrback said:
Thanks for your comments.
Having previously used a 24" widescreen sony set through rgb with a toshiba SD-220E I thought that the picture would be much better than it is on my current setup. Do you think my dvd player would be better outputting ntsc rather than pal?
cheers fella

Depends on what region DVD's you watch the most.
 
when will people ever learn :nono: if you want the best buy the best, if you do your research you will find that the only cable for xbox that gives you the best picture is the OFFICIAL xbox cable, others a known for being utter rubbish, esspecially the monster cables

remember 480P is like trying to play the old 640x480 games on your pc tho, it wont be great, its 720p when things kick into gear
 
Just tried soul calibur "2" in 720p & it does look gorgeous, really vibrant picture & colours are fantastic. I think I have the right set for 360.
 
mrback said:
Just tried soul calibur "2" in 720p & it does look gorgeous, really vibrant picture & colours are fantastic. I think I have the right set for 360.

how is SC2 on the official cable compared to the third party cable?
 
I have this set and the official cable. Looks fine in 720p. Occasional tearing in FIFA 2006 but that's all I've experienced. Amped 2 and True Crime look especially good. I'm chuffed to bits with this TV.
 
Didnt know Fifa 2006 was in 720p, thats good.
Have you tried MTX vs ATV unleashed in 1080i it looks amazing on the samsung!
 
mrback said:
Just tried soul calibur "2" in 720p & it does look gorgeous, really vibrant picture & colours are fantastic. I think I have the right set for 360.

Pity the game only supports 720p in 4:3 and not in widescreen. :( I'm still trying to get hold of an American game ( before anyone asks why it's because I have a US Xbox ) that supports 720p in 16:9 at a cheap price. I guess I could always wait till 360 comes out.
 
Moogle said:
Pity the game only supports 720p in 4:3 and not in widescreen. :( I'm still trying to get hold of an American game ( before anyone asks why it's because I have a US Xbox ) that supports 720p in 16:9 at a cheap price. I guess I could always wait till 360 comes out.

Freedom Fighters PAL& NTSC supports widescreen 720p. I've got it and it looks great! :thumbsup:

Also True Crime: Streets of Ney York supports 720p WS on the US version.
 
what set do most of you guys own? i can't choose between 32 and 26 incher. the 26 inch seems the perfect size for the bedroom. but bigger always seems a bit better...


it would be really great if people could post a few more pictures of 720p games running on their sets.
 
rubberducker said:
what set do most of you guys own? i can't choose between 32 and 26 incher. the 26 inch seems the perfect size for the bedroom. but bigger always seems a bit better...


it would be really great if people could post a few more pictures of 720p games running on their sets.

Personally i'm a 100" man! You can't beat the big screen effect from a good HD projector! My room is just over 3M x 2M :smashin:
 
rubberducker said:
what set do most of you guys own? i can't choose between 32 and 26 incher. the 26 inch seems the perfect size for the bedroom. but bigger always seems a bit better...


it would be really great if people could post a few more pictures of 720p games running on their sets.

I bought the 26in for my bedroom, to be used with Sky multiroom and Xbox media streaming/gaming. I'm sat/laid about 4 or 5 feet away and it's the perfect size. Any bigger and you'd be smothered by it. If it was for a bigger room though Id want the 32in or larger. I put this at the side of the 42in downstairs and it looked pathetic !
 
CAS FAN said:
Freedom Fighters PAL& NTSC supports widescreen 720p. I've got it and it looks great! :thumbsup:

Also True Crime: Streets of Ney York supports 720p WS on the US version.

I think you mean True Crime:Streets Of L.A. ;) Yes I've seen the list of games at hdtvarcade.com. I purchased the US version of MX Unleashed second cheap the the other day but graphically it's not a great game to begin with although it does support resolutions up to 1080i. I'm trying to get a hold of a more recent game as graphically it should be better but as I have an actual US machine it has to be a US game and finding those cheap around here is not easy. There are a couple of local import shops and I will just have to keep my eye out on a decent second hand game. The new X-Men Legends game supports 720p and has got good reviews so I'm tempted to order that one online but I'm trying to save money for the 360.
 
Moogle said:
I think you mean True Crime:Streets Of L.A. ;)

Ah yet that'll be the one :smashin: . Maybe i've prempted the sequel! :D
 

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