Up or down converting a 720p input

[Sinjin]

Well, I bought my Panasonic pt-47wxc43 knowing full well that it didn't support 720p, but also knowing that my Motorola STB would handle the conversion for me. My only regret was about 3-5 Xbox titles that were 720p only, but I got the TV NEW for $700 so I couldn't resist.

Now I just got the stats for Xbox 2 and found that 480p is dropped and 720p is the new MINIMUM standard for ALL forthcoming Xbox2 games. There is no word on whether the Xbox2 will be doing any up or down conversion so is there anyway to convert the signal, either through an AV receiver or third-party box, or perhaps passing through my Motorola HD receiver which outputs everything at 1080i.

I review games for a living so I HAVE to play Xbox2 games and I'd hate to have to buy a new HDTV.

[57U]

There is no way to convert 720P to 1080i through an A/V receiver or STB. There may be a 3rd party box.

[kevinw]

I have read the same article
http://xbox.gamespy.com/xbox/microsoft-xbox/594331p2.html
I am not sure how to interperet the info
Developers are being instructed to plan their games for high-definition. The baseline is 720p at 1280x720 for gameplay and video clips, 16:9 aspect ratio, 5.1 Surround Sound, and anti-aliasing. These features are the current minimum requirement.
Will the games display both 1080i and 720p, Will it still have a 480i output, that can be coverted by your TV to 480p or 1080i depending upon model.It's nice to see that Microsoft is being aggressive with HD performance. Having all games run at 720p (potentially) makes for an incredibly engrossing experience -- particularly owners of HDTV sets. Users with standard televisions needn't worry; 16:9 content will be letterboxed to fit within a 4:3 aspect ratio by default. Developers are being instructed to make sure that any critical text will fit into and look good in 4:3.
Not having an option for something other than 720p seems shortsighted, since majority of TV in use are not able to display 720p.

[Matt27]

They say the consoles will have scalers, to scale down to 480i if needed.

[tonelocdog]

Man if xbox 2 gonna have their games in full blown 720p, its gonna be amazing except for the rumor i heard, that xbox 2 is going to cost 400 bucks. :(

[Hawkeye]

I think it would be just shy of $400, but thats the price that some consoles launch at anyway. Give it a couple of years and it will be much cheaper. Maybe even when the PS3 comes out they might drop the price.

[Sinjin]

The Xbox 2 will not come with a HD (initially) so this will keep the price down to an expected $299 at launch. Of course without the hard drive you cannot download content, do custom soundtracks, or cache game data so most people will drop another $50-80 for the optional HD. The thing that kills me is that the Xbox 2 comes with a digital camera (eyetoy) - I think a lot more people would rather have a HD than a stupid camera given a choice.

[Bombthroat]

I feel pretty confident in saying Microsoft is using 720p as a minimum requirement for Xbox Next games. The console will no doubt have an internal scaler to handle upconverting the games to 1080i or all the way down to 480i if needed for people who don't have HDTV's. No matter what anyone says, Microsoft is a smart company full of smart employees, and I'm sure they will have all the resolutions covered so every single family can buy and enjoy their next console.

It is very nice to know that Microsoft is using some of their clout to push developers to use 720p and the 16:9 aspect ratio as a minimum spec for all games for their future console. This will let current HDTV owners get the most out of their purchases and will most likely cause some other people who have been waiting to upgrade to HDTV to do so now that there will be a compelling reason to have one. Combine an HD ready console with the impending release of Blu-Ray and HD-DVD by Christmas '05 and it's looking like a great time to be an HDTV owner.

Let's face it, the more HDTV's there are in the public sector, the better the HD programming is going to get. So, it's a win - win for everyone.

Sorry for getting a little off topic there!

[Rich]

Sinjin: what about that "iscan" upconverting stb that has been so heavily advertised (you know, it is black with lots of leds and the ads feature a striking woman, it is all over avs and some of the magazines). I have not read much about it, but it sounds like it converts any input signal to 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i, and maybe 1080p. Course, it might be pretty expensive, too!

[Sinjin]

Well, I currently have the Motorola DCT5100 STB and it "appears" to upconvert anything I feed it to 1080i - at least based on my current setup parameters. I'll have to dig up my copy of Soul Calibur to test my theory and see if this STB can actually upconvert a 720p signal from an Xbox.

[Jester]

How are you planning to connect your Xbox to the cable STB? I have yet to see one that has component inputs, which is the only thing that an Xbox is going to output. You don't happen to have a component to QAM modulator, do you? If so, I want one too!

[57U]

Some STBs DO have component video inputs - this is to facilitate connections since some TVs don't have many CV inputs. These inputs typically only "passthrough" signals - they don't upconvert them, also they're usually limited to 480i/P signals.

[Jester]

I was actually referring to the Motorola DCT-5100 STB. I have not seen a variant that possess CV inputs. It does have a composite input, but obviously that is not going to take a 720p input from the XBox.

Here is a link to the setup guide with a picture of the back:

link (http://broadband.motorola.com/consumers/products/DCT5100/downloads/DCT5100_SetUp_Guide.pdf)