Xbox 360 Elite vs. classic: the test
By Ryan Block 
posted Apr 26th 2007 5:19PM
posted Apr 26th 2007 5:19PM
We tested the consoles with a Sharp 46D62U (46-inch) 1080p LCD and a 5.1 surround system -- we went HDMI vs component, since it's safe to assume the majority of people don't have VGA inputs on their HDTVs (including us). We played the first stage of Gears of War (on casual, so what?), and then plugged in our HD DVD drive and watched a few scenes from Batman Begins.
Console noise
We know how much you all wanted your Xbox 360 Elite to quiet down a bit, but we have some bad news for ya. As we heard from our sources who supplied us with much of our info about the Elite, unfortunately the noise level is about the same as before. It doesn't use the new 65nm chips, so it seems to require the same number of case fans.
The same is true of the disc drive. Our Elite and classic drives do sound different, and it's obvious they're not the same make or model. However, unfortunately, they're equally loud. Sorry guys, you're still going to have to put up with the same level of noise as before -- don't come looking to the Elite for something that sounds less like a shop-vac.
Heat
As we said before, these are using the old round of 90nm chips, not the 65nm variety. So it goes without saying that using the same chips as before, these things are going to produce the same amount of heat. We didn't run an 18 hour stress test or anything (obviously), but both units did feel about the same after an hour of playing games and movies, and they both felt like they were outputting about the same amount of heat.
HDMI 1080p vs component 1080p/i
We're going to be totally honest here, we hardly noticed a damn difference at all. We figured the best visual test would be playing in 1080p on both HDMI and component video, and we were right. What little difference we did notice, we noticed it with that test. In a couple of darker scenes in Gears there seemed to be a little more depth to the blacks (and a bit more distance detail because of it). But to tell you how subtle it was, we didn't even notice it until we literally started flipping back and forth as fast as we could. Fast motion, spinning, action, all the rest -- it looks almost identical on both consoles.
When watching an HD DVD in 1080p on HDMI and 1080i on component, we definitely didn't really notice anything different. The age old question though, right? Is 1080p actually noticeably different? Not to us, and probably not even if you have a 720p set -- assuming you're viewing on anything less than a massive, massive display. By the way, before you make any judgments about perceived visual quality based on our screen caps, please remember that those were taken with a regular camera, not pro screen capturing tools . In other words, what you may think is a big difference in quality may actually just be a small change in light metering or exposure. In other words, you'll kind of have to take our word for it when we say it looks almost identical.
Audio
We can now definitely confirm that despite its HDMI output, the Xbox 360 Elite still doesn't enable advanced codec support (like Dolby TrueHD). You still have the same three options as you had before: digital stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1, and DD with WMA Pro. When we played back an HD DVD with TrueHD audio (Batman Begins), it just stayed on DD5.1, nothing else happened. Bummer. But again, that's what we were expecting.
Other minor bits
We did notice that the front power button on the Elite console is much clickier than the squishy power button on our classic 360. Probably not enough clikiness to actually justify the purchase in and of itself, we'd imagine.
Also, the black controller is entirely matte, whereas the white controller is matte everywhere except the slick silver strip on the bottom. Since that bottom strip is where a couple of your fingers rest when holding the controller we found the entirely matte black controller slightly preferable.
We haven't yet checked out DVD upscaling, but that's on our list of thing sto do. Anything else you want to know or see? Leave us a comment.
Final thoughts
Basically, unless you are seriously eagle-eyed, have a massive friggin screen, or for whatever reason need to use HDMI because you're all out of component inputs, your investment in the first-gen Xbox 360 is probably safe. Do yourself a favor, just buy that 120GB drive if you need the space, the HDMI really just doesn't justify replacing your whole console for a new $480 unit. Then again, if you're truly "elite" then all the stuff we just said really doesn't matter, and you're probably gonna buy this thing anyway. Cheers, enjoy!
so when is the 65nm chip xbox360 coming out?
Exactly my thoughts: when is the 65nm chip coming out?
i don't have any inside info so don't quote me but i would assume then if Microsoft comes out with a new 360 that has the new chips then they will come out with it 1 1/2/ to 2 years before the new Xbox "720" comes out i can assume this because that is what Sony has done with the ps1 and ps2 and although I'm not a Sony fan boy that makes sense to do that
What size was the TV used during the testing?
46-inch
Good. Being an early adopter isn't so bad after all (except that one time my 360 melted, but they sent me a new one).
Doubt they'd have changed this at all, but check for region lock (or the lack thereof)?
I don't have any foreign movies or games handy! Can you think of another way to test it?
Ryan,
Can I ask you where you are located?
Did this go through? Any ideas when the 65nm chip will be coming out?
San Francisco
Looks about a 42" from the picture ... I rock the SONY 60" SXRD XBR2 .. i wonder if it would look different with a bigger screen , also i cant run 1080P using component on my tv so HDMI is the only way to get that magical # 1080P
well, based upon the review, I can truly say that 1080p is just a hyped up standard that has me saying, "it'll be a cold day in hell before I get anything that requires the latest video standards within the next 5 years."
Just when I was getting upset I didn't wait!
Great overview! I'm definitely looking forward to the verdict on the std def DVD upscaling.
Did you idiots even read the damn article? He says it's a 46" in the second paragraph.
No, I'm not an idiot. Ryan added "46D62U (46-inch)" after the original posting.
crap. If they had thrown in the WiFi I'd say maybe but now I will get a PS3 when there are enough games. 3 skews, lame; sounds like it should have just replaced the premium and lost the basic.
Doesn't the hard drive allow them to sell more crap? The core requires you to buy a $40 memory card anyway. They probably should have made the whole thing "skinable" in the first place.
I own a Xbox 360 Premium (with all wireless accessories) and I own a PS3 60GB HDD.
After reading this, I am not as dissapointed that I bought my 360 right before the Elite was released.
PS3 is truly the better hardware while Xbox 360 just happens to be the best game machine right now due to its higher number of playable games.
I think PS3's graphics look better on my 1080p 50".
If you are deciding which way to go, I suggest you get the 360 thought since right now PS3 doesn't have many games.
agreed. If they just fixed the heat/noise and breaking issues and charged $100 more I would be happy. The 360 is by far the better gaming machine. Not just for the games but everything else it can do media wise far exceeds the PS3 and the Wii.
I feel like I'm limping through with the 360 because I expect it to break again any day. Both the Wii(I have one) and the PS3 hardware seem like much better designs. The PS3 just has no games. And with Forza 2 on preorder I might never look back to GT4/GT5. I originally bought a PS@ just to play GT.
lol and people say sony were robbing people, while MS is putting out a black xbox as something new.
When viewing a movie, the size of the TV shouldn't matter. With a 1080p display, viewing a movie originally shot at 24 fps, there's enough info in the 1080i signal that the display can reconstruct the original 1080p frames without any loss whatsoever, by removing the 3:2 pull-down.
You should see a difference when viewing video material shot at 60 fps, but anything at 30 fps or lower shouldn't be visible, assuming the TV knows what it's doing (and the Sharp LCDs probably do).
The only difference in quality that should be visible here is in the colours (especially the darks).
"When viewing a movie, the size of the TV shouldn't matter."
Ummm it does matter, a lot. Thats why it is a waste to have a 1080i/p set if it is less than ~50". Your eye just can't make out the extra detail provided when the set is smaller. You definitely notice resolution and quality differences more the bigger the screen is.
wait wait.. is engadget actually suggesting people to pay $180 for a 120GB of HDD??
That's even a bigger rip-off than NOT having BenQ DVD drive (quiter, less likely to destory your disc) and 65nm processor
Not necessarily- didn't they show how to NOT spend $180 for the drive a few days ago?
Sounds interesting, and I'm very surprised about the sound output levels. We own a 360 from a january 06 manufacture date. My friend own one from novemberish. His console itself is a LOT quieter, especially when on the dash. It is completely silent when mine produces some noise. His DVD-drive does sound different and is just as loud. I wish they would just get decend DVD-drives and slap 'em in. Couldn't be too much more expensive. I'd buy one then. Right now, I'm waiting for my console to die (its getting VERY close) then I'll just buy another, hopefully the 65 nm ones will be out by then.
The Xbox 360's drive sound isn't due to crappy hardware, it's due to the drive speed. The 360s drive throttles up to 16x speed while running games. All DVD drives are going to be loud at that speed. The sound is also a problem when the 360 needs to have venting holes all over to allow for airflow, but also makes the drive sound louder.
While sitting at the dashboard, the 360 is relatively quiet. And it's even quieter while playing a DVD.
maybe I should shove a bigger hard drive in my computer...then it will be ELITE! My computer will be better than anything else on the market!! The resale will skyrocket!! I am such a genius!!
I recently bought a new television and have not been impressed with 1080p at all. We've tried it on the PS3 and on the 360 (VGA), and it's really nothing to get excited about. 1080i is just fine.
I think the problem is that no matter how much people argue, the final resolution of one complete frame is still 1080 whether progressive or interlaced. There is a difference, but the minute difference hardly lives up to the hype.
Thanks Engadget; maybe I won't upgrade after all.
Why didn't you guys test on a 50 inch or larger since 1080p is not noticeable on anything smaller.
When using the HDMI output is it possible to select the native resolution of the screen? My tv is 1366x768, and I really want to use that, rather than going through a couple of scalers.
If anyone can tell you that they see a difference between 1080i and 1080p- they're either lying or they are watching television with their eyeballs so close to the screen that their nose leaves an oily mark. Seriously though- I have several HD televisions in my home, and I did a side by side comparison and I didn't see a single difference. I have 20/15 vision too. Anyone tells you that you NEED 1080p, probably also thinks you need the most expensive HDMI cable to go with it. If you have a 1080p television- no doubt you have the greatest that HD can offer, but I doubt you'd be able to pick out 1080i from 1080p in an comparison. And if you have Directv- it doesn't matter anyway because of how much compression they put into the signal.
Hook your PC up to your 1080P screen via VGA, DVI, or HDMI, whatever you prefer, then hook it up to a 720P screen. believe me, the difference is massive!!!
HD DVD/ Blu rAy movie viewing will never look any better, and as one of the people here said, that's because movies run at 24fps.
I played a regular DVD, then the same movie, but in blu-ray, and saw hardly any real difference. But when gaming, there's quite a big difference, textures go on further and are much nicer, there's alot less jaggies, and everything just looks nicer! comparing Gran tourismo HD in 720P vs 1080P and CS:S hooked up via DVI, 1280x720 vs 1920x1080.
Let me guess, your TV's inputs have separate video quality settings (brightness, contrast, etc). My TV's component looks much different than the DVI. Were the inputs settings set as closely to each other as possible?
From those screenshots, the HDMI does indeed look slightly better. Not much, but still better.
Does the 360 now support HDCP with the HDDVD drive?
Actually, larger screen size would be needed to compare 1080i to 1080p. The i is interlaced. So when you view 1080i on a 1080p set, you have to run the signal through a de-interlacer. The larger the screen, the more pronounced the visual artifacts resulting from this would be. A still shot of a fast-moving frame would probably be the best test, preferrably on a 1080p projector (not rear projection TV). The smaller the display, the more these artifacts get to hide.
The statement that 1080p is useless is just silly. It's twice the information. The thing to keep in mind is that current source material is generally upconverted to 1080p from something else. You're not going to notice a big difference between 720p and 1080p either if you're upconverting a 540p signal, but that doesn't mean there's not a big difference between 1080p and 720p. It's also a significant difference if you're talking about a computer display - computer folks have known for a LONG time that i vs. p is always different, and the p is always better. It's true that at some point, your eyes can't keep up, but it's not the i vs. p where that has effect, it's in the dpi + viewing distance.
What is true is that Xbox 360 games at 1080i vs. 1080p won't be a significant difference for most users. I'd say only those with 61" or better 1080p native screens will really notice. The HDMI connection is more of importance as it helps clean out the rats nest behind our components.
Very disappointed it doesn't have the new chip. Any new info on IPTV? Will IPTV require new hardware? How does the HD-DVD player compare to a dedicated player? I'm looking at the Xbox360 as a media hub that will work with my WMCE desktop. I want it to be an extender, HD-DVD player, gaming system and HD content provider (via Xbox Live downloads) .... and HOPEFULLY a DVR as well!
the power button is clicky on newed regular 360's too. I had a 360 from december 05 break and the replacement was from march 06 and had the clicky button.
I am really wondering on if the Elite will upconvert standard DVDs. Let me know when you do that test.
Well, the good thing about the article are the comments that showed me how ignorant people are when it comes to HDTV.
It seems like the hard drive is the only thing that's improved then. It still doesn't have WIFI though?
The only difference you are likely to see in HDMI video vs component video is with overly long cable runs where component is likely to get more noise introduced. I have about a 20 foot run and I definitely noticed when I switched my DVD player to HDMI.
It is a total failure as an imitation next gen system. Who wants a crippled hdmi port. The only advantage to hdmi over component performance wise is on the audio side. Not supporting uncompressed LPCM equates to leaving half the possible performance out of the equation. Poor design choice.
The ignorance level regarding HD Video is amazing.
Wow
I have to agree with this comment.
Before you guys start talking out of your ass about HD, I highly recommend doing just a little bit of research. Here is one article to start off with.
http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volume_14_1/feature-article-1080p-3-2007-part-1.html
how can you transfer data from your old 360 to the elite?
"elite" means "matte black" in Eskimo. Something was lost in the translation and you thought it meant "way better"
The only thing I really care about right now is the upscaling of DVD's and how it compares to the Likes of Oppo.
why does the wall on the right in gears look so different in the first two pictures
meh the only difference is that the HDMI has a brighter image and a teeny bit clear and component is darker well by these images no big difrrence to me I'll keep my whit Xbox 360 but cant wait till may 21st my b-day and I get PS3 yea blu-ray (no fanboy i still got the HD-DVD add on for 360) and im guessing if they make a game HDMI based and not component it may look better who knows time will tell
IDK why it hasn't been mentioned, but the HMDI connection is the only way to engage in an HDCP handshake... a security feature they will be implementing on all HD-DVD and Blu-Ray disks. In the future, if you don't have HDMI, you won't be watching high def, since the player will downscale to 480i/p.
The player will downscale to 1080i or 720p, not 480p/i. Get it right if you're going to make a point of it.
And by the way, to those who say 360 owners "put up with a lot of problems"... I've never had a single problem with my 360. It doesn't overheat unless you mistreat it. It's a stable, reliable console and I've quite happy with mine. I'm a little sick of hearing about "overheating" or "crashing" because mine has NEVER done either, and I won mine at launch (well, my first one; I wanted a BenQ drive and replaced the launch console with a newer one a couple months back, but I stand by my statement. It's rock-solid and stable. The guy who bought my launch console is still happy.)
Audiophiles will tell you they CAN TOO hear in the same range as dogs. Videophiles will tell you they CAN TOO see in spectrums the rest of us cannot ("Ooh! Did you see that! That pixel wasn't on the 1080i version! 1080p is sooo much better!") and furries will tell you that the CAN TOO feel the spirit of an animal inside their soul.
Believe any of these lowest-of-the-low geeks if you want, but in my book, the hardcore audiophiles, videophiles, and furries are about the same in terms of believablitiy.
I will test the upconversion when i get mine. I have a oppo DV-970HD to compare it to.
id really like to get my hands on the figures for the number of busted xbox360 every forum i go to theres several people who have had them bust on them. i bet this ones the same!
The clunky power button and entirely matte controler came as standard with my Xbox 360 Premium purchased Novemeber 2006. So I don't think that is anything new there, guys. =/
wait, disregard the matte comment, I'm tired and meant something else... Which I've forgotten. My apologies.
Guys, did you test with overscan off or on?
You *may* find the overscan makes a difference.
It certainly makes no sense to pay to use HDMI for 1080 output and then overscan the picture.
Also, you really should try with a display that supports VGA; that's the *real* test: VGA vs HDMI. Because 1080p VGA is *always* ZERO overscan.
These results aren't surprising in the least.
That TV converts everything to 1080p anyway, no matter what the input signal is. And since it's not 24p-capable (and the 360 HD-DVD addon isn't either) HD-DVD movies are being played at 1080i (with 3:2 pulldown) and the only thing you're doing is moving the 1080i->1080p conversion step from the TV higher up the chain to the Xbox.
As for games, the 360 only renders games in 720p anyway so it's a completely and totally pointless comparison!
Even under ideal circumstances there isn't much difference between component and HDMI/DVI. Only if your particular TV handles processing of one type (digital or analog) better than the other...
The one real tangible bonus of HDMI (right now, until there are 24p/120hz and/or Deep Color TVs) is having 7.1 hi-def digital sound, and the "1337" 360 doesn't even GO there. This is basically the most useless implementation of HDMI since pass-thru receivers...
as far as the HDD space goes unless you really love downloading HD videos from the marketplace the i cant imagine why you would need all this space after all you can stream from media center. even if you have a mac there are tools for doing it there as well.
I think that you are all being taken by this "elite" its only slightly better than the regular one. also i am no sony fanboy but they have a damn fine line of games coming this fall so i think its almost better to get a ps3...its still more powerful then the "elite" and it has wifi and hdmi all you need is the cables. and blu ray has like 15 times the space so games like gears of war could be 10 times longer on the ps3
"When we played back an HD DVD with TrueHD audio (Batman Begins), it just stayed on DD5.1, nothing else happened."
This is not the case. Please try this again but listen with your ears and don't worry about what it says on the receiver. I have an old Dolby Digital 5.1 and DDS receiver. When I switch the Batman Begins DVD to TrueHD audio it makes a drastic difference in the sound quality even though I'm still only using Dolby Digital 5.1 as displayed by my receiver. The Bass sounds deeper and the mids and highs sound clearer.
I would consider myself an audiophile...but the difference is so obvious I assure you even the average joe will hear it. And this was reported at length on AVS Forum as being the case.
The problem is that unfortunately most movies do not have TrueHD...in fact I haven't encountered a single other release that has TrueHD. So in essence...true HD does not mater much if the Studios aren't supporting it. But do know that you will receive a bit of improvement using TrueHD even if you only have Dolby Digital 5.1
Heh. Yes, Jon, you're definitely an "audiophile". Listening on equipment which can't do anything with a TrueHD signal, through a player which doesn't support it, but you can "hear" the difference?
How much did you pay for your power cable? Also, I've got a couple of $5000 magnets I can sell you which will make a huge difference to the transparity and legibility of your sound.
Doormat have you tried it yourself? Or are you just conjecturing? What was explained on AVS forum is that even though True HD audio is selected...it does some downconversion to Dolby Digital which the end result is better than Dolby Digital.
From Wikipedia: "All HD DVD players offer the option to transcode the TrueHD bitstream into a different legacy format (such as DTS or Dolby Digital), providing a high-quality approximation of the original TrueHD audio over the familiar TOSLINK cable." Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolby_TrueHD
So somewhere along the line the TruHD signal is converted down to Dolby Digital and from my experience and that of others on AVS Forum...the TrueHD signal via Dolby Digital sounds better than just choosing the Dolby Digital signal.
also when i say elite is slightly better i mean not even enough to notice
I just went to a few different game stores, 2 eb games and 2 gamestops, all told me they will be getting "2-3" systems in at most, on a first come first serve basis, so be up early on sunday and try to get yours.
http://www.burnedbytheman.com
I have a JVC 56" HD-ILA 1080p tv set which doesn't support 1080p over component. My question is, 'Is there a visual difference between 1080i and 1080p over component for the XBox 360?"
It's great that they decided to do a review like this but in the end I think it still doesn't answer any of the questions that most of us have. Why do a 1080p over component against 1080p over HDMI when most TVs do not support that resolution over component connections? Why not test it at 1080i/component against 1080p/HDMI and see what the difference is? I own a 65-inch Mitsubishi 1080p DLP and I notice a huge difference between 720p and 1080i so why wouldn't I notice a difference between 1080i and 1080p? I've used the VGA cable in the past for games like Chromehounds and COD2 and noticed quite a bit of difference. It does a great job of bumping up the resolution but the video is washed out. Guess the only real way to find out is to go buy one....
Why play an upscaled 1080p game like Gears of War? Virtua Tennis 3 and NBA Street Homecourt are both 1080p native.
LOL. So much for PS3's 1080p campaign. I totally agree that unless you have a 100+ inch screen, 1080p is NOT going to look any better than 1080i. I have a 106" screen with a DLP projector. I run HD-DVD at 1080i and at 13 ft, it looks awesome. 1080p looks pretty much the same as well - maybe a bit crisper but is it worth buying another 360? hell no.
The sound coming out of the 360 through optical output is just awesome. I'm not sure how much better TRUEHD will sound.
In my opinion, MS should've just released the 120GB instead of adding another SKU.
But hey.. if you think HDMI is that much better ... go ahead and waste your money :)
How can you do justice with camera pictures of the screen?
DEPENDING ON YOUR TELEVISION, HDMI may look better.
In my experience with the PS3, small sharp text at 1080p looks fuzzy over component but crystal clear over HDMI. Of course, this totally depends on your brand of TV and how it handles A/D signal conversion. I was doing this on a cheapo Westinghouse 37" 1080p set.
I can't get over how many times I've read, "My current 360 is about to die" or "Once my 360 dies" followed by, "I'll buy the even more expensive one." Seriously? If I dropped $400 on a piece of hardware that lasted just beyond its warranty, I'd never give the company that shafted me another penny, let alone give them another huge pile of cash for another system that has every liklihood of dieing itself! And I thought the annual Live membership dues was a ripoff. The hardware dues for the 360 puts the Live dues shame.
Good games are only good if you can count on being able to play (finish) them. Better to support the gamemakers that publish on systems that function.
I want to agree with you except I don't think you have a 360. If you are a gamer it is the best system out there(when it works) and blows away everything else. I've had mine die twice now and missed it so much I bought another one a few days after just so I would have one while waiting fro the repaired one to arrive.
I have a wii, but as you may know it is a different experience.
I would be all over the PS3 too except there are not enough good games to justify $600. I would rather have 2 core 360's as back up. This of course should change, but no time soon I'm afraid.
@ Chris Fredette
I gotta say, I admire your dedication to great gaming. Not holding a grudge against a manufacturer that has totally screwed you and willing to pay them twice for the same unit - all because you love the games so much. I seriously admire that kind of gaming love.
And you're right. I don't have a 360. I was so close to buying one when they came out, but the quality of the games just didn't justify it at launch. (Much like the PS3, but I pulled the trigger on faith there. I fully expect the games to come for the PS3 just like they did for the 360). As time went on and the games started getting good, I've really WANTED to pick up a 360. I'm not much of a FPS fan, but there are some great games for that system. But I kept waiting and waiting for the hardware to get reliable. And I guess I'm still waiting. I can't afford to drop $800 on a system (just banking on having to buy a replacement - all odds indicate I would have to.), not to mention replacing the games that it might destroy alla this whole disc scratching issue. And the add on expenses are huge too. A $100 here for wifi, $200 there for a hard drive, another $200 for HD Movie drive, and the annual Live membership over say 7 years. I'd rather go to Maui for a week.
So I bought a Wii and a PS3 and game on my PC as well. I'm dieing for all the great games that will arrive on both systems very soon. Waiting sucks. And if I had slightly less patience, I'd buy a 360 as a temporary solution. But it won't be long before there are more killer PS3 and Wii games than I have time to play. And I have full faith that my money is better invested in those systems. And there's the self satisfaction in knowing I didn't give my money to a manufacturer that makes unreliable hardware and doesn't care enough about its customers or reputation to fix their design.
Anyhow - I don't mean to bag on the 360 gamers out there. In fact, I think anyone who loves their games enough to put up with all the problems is a true dedicated gamer. But I think you guys deserve more for being so dedicated.
what did you expect with an outdated version of hdmi? the best you are going to get out of your resolution will be comparable to 1080i. there is a reason why its competitors can justify high starting prices. build quality and future proofing. taking short cuts never solves anything. outside of the black console it is the same or slightly better/worse then before. if they had added all of those things you all wished for that price would have been worth it in fact it would have been a steal.
Already have my new Elite 360 bought from ebay and can notice a difference. Brian Reeves
and by the way folks, you're only getting real 1080p picture on the 360 if you're playing an HD-DVD or a 1080p native game like Virtua Tennis 3. Setting your dash to 1080p without either of the 2 aforementioned possible sources will yield an IDENTICAL looking picture to 720p. All the 360 does is effectively resize (i.e. "upscale") the 720p output to 1080p, not too different from telling Windows to "Stretch" your wallpaper to fit your monitor's resolution. So don't say "there's no difference" without taking a look at a real 1080p source.
And if you prefer 1080i over 1080p you either have an AWESOME deinterlacer on your TV or you fundamentally don't understand how the technology works, or you sit too far away from your TV to know any better
The XElite is lame simply because it doesnt broadcast its dvd's in 1080i. Whereas the Former elite turned joe shmoe with a Xbox 360 "Premium" can get his content broadcast in 1080i, which means its really cool.
Sorry, direcTV commercials seem to have a bigger grasp on my sub.conscious.MND
If you have LCD TV, just get the VGA cable. It can do a 1:1 square pixel w/o overscan and it looks just as good as a PC. Minimally, your native resolution on the LCD TV needs to be 1366x768, but the latest dash update can do 1920x1080 (1080p). HDMI and component overscans and you get a blurred picture.
Most games use the whole 16:9 screen and everything is pixel perfect. Games like Guitar Hero II and Burnout Revenge were written to not overscan and you'll have a thin black bar around your TV.
Get the VGA cable... cheap on ebay.
I would like to see a comparison between VGA and HDMI since I use the VGA cable for 1080p on my Sceptre X37SV-Naga. To really tell the difference it would be best to use one of the games that natively supports 1080p, and pay close attention to clearness of text, color depth (look for banding and transitions as well as vibrancy), and distinction of black levels.
dude its black....that all i care about
TEST IF DVD PLAYBACK IS BETTER ON THE ELITE! I MEAN THEY HAVE TO USE A DIFFERENT DIGITAL DECODER TO DO THE HDMI STUFF SO... MAYBE THAT WOULD AFFECT DVD PLAYBACKS?
@Zrolimit: You noticed a huge difference between 720p and 1080i because they are completely different resolutions... 1080i and 1080p are the exact same resolution and the only difference is one is interlaced and one is progressive. You probably wouldn't even be able to tell which one is which if you saw them.
Does anyone else feel that the darks look deeper and higher contrast on the component than HDMI? Just throwing it out there..
Any word on the standard dvd player upscaling to 720p/1080i?
Nice article, I feel much better about my xbox 360 pro system now. (as in i dont feel bad about not having an elite)
Re: Jeff
absolutely, what he said!!! test if the standard DVD player on the elite "up-converts" regular DVDs via HDMI. i read that the original 360 had some pretty weak DVD playback. i'd like to know how the DVD playback on the elite looks via HDMI, not the HD-DVD player. thanks alot!!!
Thanks to this article i actually just went and bought a core system to replace my busted 360, i was waiting for elite, but since there was no real point i just got the core, i can buy a bigger hd if i actually ever need it, thus far i have not.
http://www.burnedbytheman.com
This is quite disappointing. I was looking forward to buying the Elite because among all the added benefits of what I was hoping would be a quieter console with better picture quality, I would FINALLY be able to play games that constantly freeze up on my current 360 (Gears of War, GRAW 2). Now that there are no real added benefits, I'll be spending $480 just because my first 360 bricked out on me.
Should I just get a PS3 now?
This is quite disappointing. I was looking forward to buying the Elite
because among all the added benefits of what I was hoping would be a
quieter console with better picture quality, I would FINALLY be able
to play games that constantly freeze up on my current 360 (Gears of
War, GRAW 2). Now that there are no real added benefits, I'll be
spending $480 just because my first 360 bricked out on me.Should I
just get a PS3 now?
If you allready have a Classic 360 then it would be cheaper if you just go and buy the 120 gig drive if you need space, but if you dont have a classic 360 then it would be cheaper to just get the Elite, and the review was great and i personally like the component better, it looks a bit sharper to me than HDMI, but that could be just me
Great Article! It's what I was looking for!
Thanks
Ripman
is there still problems with disc reading?
Does it still have disc reading problems?
Much appreciated for the article.
Wasn't expecting anything revolutionary except for the larger drive.
Probably will get one at a later date, especially when there's more content to snatch in Australia.
Have had to send my box off to Sydney for repairs twice in the four months I've owned it... Hopefully, if there is a "third strike" Microsoft will just send me an Elite as a replacement!
Wishful thinking probably but fingers crossed nothing goes wrong again anyway!
Umm, if you can't tell the difference between a compressed analogue and uncompressed digital input with your eyes, you have no business reviewing video hardware.
Thanks to you guys I have just saved my self $500 bucks!!! thank you! I do have all the systems literally starting with a commodore 64 for those of you who know what that is. So I was going to be adding the Black Elite To my collection but not no more the bad new will be for my son who was looking forward to receiving my Original Premium Xbox 360 ! oh well it would have matched my black t.v and receiver but oh well I can just buy a case Mod and make it BLACK MYSELF with the $500! bucks I'm SAVING!!!!!!
THANKS AGAIN SINCERELY....
DAN ABARCA
I was so tempted to trade up and get the elite. The noise factor being one of those reasons. I guess I'll wait till the next gen of the elite to consider purchasing. Great article.
Could you also test a 1080p native game (I think its only VT3 at the momment). thx
Now lets hope everyone has the Sharp display........DOH! I knew I was missing something! I have an older tv,a 65" Toshiba HDTV, that like many older HDTV's only accept 1080 over the HDMI and not the component, check your manuals. Try comparing it this was and I bet you WILL see a difference.