[X360] 1080p... un pò di chiarezza...

[.:|Physalis|:.]

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Much like looking both ways before crossing the road, remembering to read the fine print is a valuable life skill that will inevitably save your existence at one point or another. Some even consider HD resolution to be a matter of life and death, especially when the money spent on a 1080p television could have been used to purchase New Zealand instead. When Microsoft announced earlier this week that an update would automagically enable 1080p resolution ("true" or "full" HD if you believe in such things) for the Xbox 360, they neglected to mention any specifics regarding component output and that pesky issue of copyright.

A Microsoft insider (with handle "amirm") provides some clarity on the AVS forums, explaining what types of content are allowed over a component connection. If you insist on watching your HD-DVDs at full resolution, it appears you'll have to invest in a VGA cable (and not an HDMI cable).

If your 360 is hooked up via component cables:

    * Xbox 360 games can be upscaled to 1080p. Titles that run in 1080p natively (none of which currently exist) will also display without a problem.
    * HD-DVDs will display at 1080i maximum -- you can thank AACS for that.
    * Normal DVDs will play at 480p. CSS prevents anything higher (though some upscaling DVD players conveniently ignore it).

If your 360 is hooked up via VGA cable:

    * HD-DVDs, Upscaled DVDs and games can all display at 1080p with no copyright hassles.

If your 360 is hooked up via RF Adapter:

    * You have bigger problems.

[gerzam]

If your 360 is hooked up via RF Adapter:

* You have bigger problems.

[.:|Physalis|:.]

Hooked your Xbox 360 up to your new 1080p-capable HDTV by component and planning to get the HD-DVD add-on? Then it's time to pray you have a VGA connector on your HDTV. Why? Because copyright restrictions on HD-DVD don't allow 1080p over component. Microsoft insider Amir M. made this clear in a post in the AVS Forums. After the jump you'll find a more complete explanation.

HDDVD logoDue to regulations on the DVD and HD-DVD formats Microsoft is forced to cripple the component output. AACS on the HD-DVD format doesn't allow them to use the component cables for better output than 1080i, VGA on the other hand is classified as "authorized computer monitor output" and as such is allowed to output 1080p. DVD is also crippled on component, even when you have the the upcoming fall update, the best you can get is 480p.

A small list of what will be possible:

Component:

    * HD-DVD: max 1080i (thanks to AACS)
    * DVD: upscaled to max 480p (thanks to CSS)
    * Games: 720p upscaled to 1080p, maybe in the future there will be 1080p native games.

VGA:

    * HD-DVD: max 1080p.
    * DVD: upscaled to max 1080p.
    * Games: 720p upscaled to 1080p, maybe in the future there will be 1080p native games.

You'll have to note that not many devices accept 1080p over component anyway.

[.:|Physalis|:.]

Aggiornamento su IGN:

September 27, 2006 - ***Updated 9/28***

Microsoft just got back to us to clarify the Xbox 360's ability to transmit a digital signal. In short, it can, which means that Microsoft could conceivably release an HDMI cable for the Xbox 360. This is good news, and relieves a great deal of our concern over the Xbox 360's ability to effectively work with 1080p. Microsoft's full response is marked in the Q & A portion of this feature.

With this new information in mind, consider us relatively mollified. A future HDMI cable for the 360 will resolve the problems we outline in our discussion of 1080p compatibility. Let's hope Microsoft decides the market demands it sooner rather than later.