Bought a new TV - why do the graphics suck for Xbox 360? - Hardware & Software

My parents bought a new TV and I decided to hook my Xbox up to it. It's a 41 inch LCD TV - and it was around $700, so it wasn't just some cheap model. Anyway, I was surprised when my Xbox quality sucked. My old TV played in 1080i and it looked much better then running my Xbox through this new tv on 1080p. The graphics look jagged and poorly lit, I dunno how else to describe it. If I was playing a PC game, I'd describe the lighting as being fucked up. I tried searching online for help with no luck. Also asked my Dad, but he didn't know what to do. I've played with the settings on both my Xbox and my TV and haven't had any luck. And yes, my Xbox is set to HDTV, I checked it on standard and switched back to make sure. Here are my TV's as listed on Amazon: New TV - [URL]http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001418W2C[/URL] Old TV - [URL="http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-TH-50PZ77U-50-Inch-1080p-Plasma/dp/B000WINAGG"]http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-TH-5.../dp/B000WINAGG[/URL]

You're noticing things that weren't apparent on the 1080i set. That, or the thing's dying.

How big was your old tv and can you post a pic?

[QUOTE=JIAC;21630955]You're noticing things that weren't apparent on the 1080i set. That, or the thing's dying.[/QUOTE] I took screenshots in Halo to compare them between TV's, and the new TV is definitely messing up on something. The textures look much more bland - its as if I'm playing on a low setting. I'm not noticing new things, I'm missing old things =(

What cable are you using to connect the xbox to the tv? (HDMI, VGA, Component, Composite, etc)

Possibly the tv doesn't have a very good contrast ratio

Have you refreshed the display settings on the Xbox? If it still has the 1080i settings it will probably look a little distorted on a 1080p TV.

[QUOTE=Jedi_Rayne;21631081]What cable are you using to connect the xbox to the tv? (HDMI, VGA, Component, Composite, etc)[/QUOTE] I'm using one of these: [img]http://images.pcworld.com/news/graphics/131322-xbox_cable4_350.jpg[/img] I'm gonna go take some pictures of my TV's because maybe my new TV isn't that great.. I don't know much about either of them.

What game are you playing? Sometimes it depends what game your playing. CoD4 i think is only 720p.

[QUOTE=jimmy_;21631208]What game are you playing? Sometimes it depends what game your playing. CoD4 i think is only 720p.[/QUOTE] I tried out Halo 3, and was going to try CoD4 out too but I decided to post this thread first I noticed the dashboard doesn't look as great too, although that one is a bit harder to notice. Anyhow, here are the pictures; [url]http://img46.imageshack.us/img46/9986/dsc00219qc.jpg[/url] New TV [url]http://img249.imageshack.us/img249/7171/dsc00218ez.jpg[/url] Old TV

it's hard to compare the image quality when the tv's aren't displaying the same image.

[QUOTE=Stunted;21631305]it's hard to compare the image quality when the tv's aren't displaying the same image.[/QUOTE] I only took the pictures to identify the TVs, my camera would distort the images on the TV's anyhow =( I'm trying to identify the names..its hard because they aren't listed anywhere Edit: Okay the new TV is called a "Samsung LCD TV Series 550" Here it is on Amazon with the specs - [URL]http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001418W2C[/URL] I'm fairly certain this is my other TV: [url]http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-TH-50PZ77U-50-Inch-1080p-Plasma/dp/B000WINAGG[/url]

Set the contrast level lower, and try using an Hdmi cable if your xbox has one.

[QUOTE=that1dude24;21631476]Set the contrast level lower, and try using an Hdmi cable if your xbox has one.[/QUOTE] I wish I had an HDMI cable, but I'll try that out. I did play with contrast already but I think that's the issue. I just found a quote for my old TV.. it says "..Experience the Power of 1080p with Breathtaking Clarity, Vivid Images and Fluid Motion Panasonic 1080p1 plasmas match the most advanced pixel resolution and image-processing technology with an ability to beautifully reproduce fast-moving images. So every detail is rendered with amazing clarity, and all the action is delivered with unbelievable fluidity. 1080p also delivers amazing color reproduction resulting in impressive contrast and beautiful, natural colors. What you get is warm, accurate skin tones, deep blacks, gorgeous greens, breathtaking blues and vivid reds for color that's as rich and bold as life itself." Do you think that might be why the new TV looks poor?

Marketing speak has no bearing on the quality of a TV. That's what every TV claims to be. [editline]08:46PM[/editline] Why would you exchange a 50" plasma for a 40" lcd?

[QUOTE=BmB;21631608]Marketing speak has no bearing on the quality of a TV. That's what every TV claims to be. [editline]08:46PM[/editline] Why would you exchange a 50" plasma for a 40" lcd?[/QUOTE] We didn't exchange it, we bought an additional TV for the basement. The guy who sold us the TV said LCD was better for gaming .. ? I know the screen isn't as big, but the difference shouldn't be that huge, right?

[QUOTE=shadow_678;21631522]I wish I had an HDMI cable, but I'll try that out.[/QUOTE] Newegg sells 6ft. HDMI cables for 6 dollars, just grab any one, because it's a digital signal most cables are exactly the same, disregard the more expensive cables.

[QUOTE=jimmy_;21631208]What game are you playing? Sometimes it depends what game your playing. CoD4 i think is only 720p.[/QUOTE] No Cod4 and Mw2 is 1024x640 Halo games runs 1152x640 Not even 720p looks like shit.

[QUOTE=shadow_678;21631735]We didn't exchange it, we bought an additional TV for the basement. The guy who sold us the TV said LCD was better for gaming .. ? I know the screen isn't as big, but the difference shouldn't be that huge, right?[/QUOTE] LCD has a lower response time depending on the display, less input lag. Not sure about how Plasma's handle ghosting.

You should be using HDMI if you want your shit to look on good on a TV like that,

[QUOTE=Sgt Pringles;21633182]You should be using HDMI if you want your shit to look on good on a TV like that,[/QUOTE] You won't be able to tell the difference between component and hdmi unless 2 sets are right next to each other. The fact is that the old TV looked much better with the same cables.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe the ecsbawks renders most games at around 720p then upscales them to 1080p. Sit further away from the creen. [editline]09:31PM[/editline] And some of the jaggies may be because you're noticing the console's complete lack of any kind of AA.

I experience this jaggyness on my 22" 1920x1080 monitor too, using a HDMI cable, I think it's just the xbox that's retarded.

[QUOTE=shadow_678;21631735]We didn't exchange it, we bought an additional TV for the basement. The guy who sold us the TV said LCD was better for gaming .. ? I know the screen isn't as big, but the difference shouldn't be that huge, right?[/QUOTE] The LCD is better for gaming. Mostly because that (As far as I know) you can't get burn in. I've seen people play games for a while and then have a map/health bar burned into a corner. It's possible that the new TV is weird with component, as HDMI cables are cheap as hell I'd pick one up just to eliminate a cable or five.

Pick up a $3 HDMI cable from a thrift store. Also, disable any "Image Enhancing" features on the TV's end.

Monoprice has good cheap HDMI cables. To get 1080P out of the 360 you must use HDMI, otherwise 1080i is what you get(at most). I have a Panny Plasma. You have to calibrate each input separately on mine, don't know if it's the same on your Samsung but I bet it is. So, for example, if you have a cable box on HDMI input 1, and the 360 on Component input 1- you need to calibrate that HDMI input, then also calibrate that Component input. Just because you calibrate one does not mean the tv is calibrated for everything. HD is different than SD in color space, so the same setttings won't transfer over, just so you know. They will I mean, but they won't look right. So if you are calibrating for HD, use an HD source with HD material. Same for SD, use an SD source with SD material. You need to really work with LCDs to get a good picture. Their standard modes are just too overbright/oversaturated/over everything. This is so the tv looks good in the store compared to other tvs, at home it's different.

:20bux: says that the OP never calibrated his new TV, and that's why it looks bad. TVs never look very great with the factory defaults. Pixar movies have THX television calibration test patterns so you could try configuring your settings with those. Did wonders for my Toshiba set.

It's because it's a shitty LCD. Plasmas have much lower black levels, resulting in better color and less washing out and grayness.

[QUOTE=Generic Monk;21633809]Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe the ecsbawks renders most games at around 720p then upscales them to 1080p. Sit further away from the creen. [editline]09:31PM[/editline] And some of the jaggies may be because you're noticing the console's complete lack of any kind of AA.[/QUOTE] The Xbox does render a LOT lower than 1080p. Actually almost all games are rendered by the gpu at 720p or less. And then further upscaled to 1080p. So perhaps the new television, still being 1080p, with greater resolution density is showing things differently than your used to. The games render at <720 and are upscaled, perhaps stretching or distorting things that would have been harder to see in a less dense screen. Just sit further away from the screen to not notice the imperfections.

Xbox has 512mb of ram, and 500mhz on the gpu deal with it. The gpu can't render at 1080p it runs much lower and is unscaled like a dvd player, making it look like shit. Xbox is 5 years old running on a brand new monitor. [editline]03:53AM[/editline] [QUOTE=cecilbdemodded;21639170]Monoprice has good cheap HDMI cables. To get 1080P out of the 360 you must use HDMI, otherwise 1080i is what you get(at most). I have a Panny Plasma. You have to calibrate each input separately on mine, don't know if it's the same on your Samsung but I bet it is. So, for example, if you have a cable box on HDMI input 1, and the 360 on Component input 1- you need to calibrate that HDMI input, then also calibrate that Component input. Just because you calibrate one does not mean the tv is calibrated for everything. HD is different than SD in color space, so the same setttings won't transfer over, just so you know. They will I mean, but they won't look right. So if you are calibrating for HD, use an HD source with HD material. Same for SD, use an SD source with SD material. You need to really work with LCDs to get a good picture. Their standard modes are just too overbright/oversaturated/over everything. This is so the tv looks good in the store compared to other tvs, at home it's different.[/QUOTE] YPbPr can run at 1080p and that's what he's using. HDMI is more convenient because it carries audio and video in one cable, it's the only plus to using it with an xbox. HDMI is good for reses higher then 1080p but at it YPbPr is just as good. If your tv only accepts digital signals then I suppose that's a good reason to have it. You can also get 1080p with a vga cable or D-Terminal. [editline]03:54AM[/editline] If you're only getting 1080i from YPbPr then your tv can't do 1080p from an analog signal. [editline]03:56AM[/editline] Also post #22. [editline]03:58AM[/editline] Also 5ms response time can be a factor. There are a shit load of reasons.