[Oscar The Grouch]

I just love it when I play Call of Duty 2 on Live and whenever there's a kill notice, it displays right over my crosshairs! How the hell can I kill someone when my own crosshairs are blocked.

Now being said that, if we had a hidef tv, it wouldn't be a problem.

[NOS2Go4Me]

^^ PWNED.

[Aka]

NOS2Go4Me,Nov 29 2005, 09:42 AM Wrote:This is where I say "why am I not surprised".

This is, potentially, the most overblown launch of anything in the history of entertainment.

The number of disappointed 8-year olds with SDTVs is going to be into the hundreds of thousands. I wonder how many families end up in trouble after buying the HDTV they "need" for their son's / daughter's new 360 because "it looks like crap on our old TV"?

Before you laugh it off, think about it. There's already going to be a massive upswing of people "upgrading" to support the eye candy these things can crank out. Can the average Joe 6-pack's wallet handle the strain?
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And they say console gaming is cheaper than PC gaming...

[darkpuppet]

But the thing you have to realize is that people won't even realize the difference between standard def, and high def to begin with.

Anyone who's talked to their woman about putting a stereo in their car, trying to explain the benefits of surround sound, and home theatres will realize that 90% of the population won't even notice. And even on standard def, the differences in horsepower can be realized, but it'll take savy development to truly reach that point.

the games will look prettier, with proper AA, they'll look fine on Standard Def, and you gain the benefits of great viewing distances, smoother polies and animation, etc.. sure, Hi def will make a huge difference, but considering how many people noticed the difference in quality between S-Video and Components when that switch was upon us, I doubt the hi-def argument is a truly compelling one.

I have friends with hi def TVs who have hi def boxes, and never realize the difference when it switches from hi-def to standard def shots (watch any sporting event and you'll see what I mean). Hardcore users notice it...but it's never ruined the experience for anyone I know.

[NOS2Go4Me]

Good points man.

I know consultant acquaintances in Richmond Hill that swear by their Hi-Def. One guy refuses to even look at a football game on a SDTV channel now. I can't wait for my Hi-Def next year, personally.

My big questions are thus (not that they can really be answered here):

- Why do standard def-mode games lack AA for the most part?

- Why was the standard def playability overlooked on some games (Oscar's example of COD2)?

It's one thing to usher in a new era of gaming, it's another to piss off a vast majority of your fan base by having s**t that only looks good in Hi-Def.

[darkpuppet]

NOS2Go4Me,Nov 29 2005, 02:37 PM Wrote:Good points man.

I know consultant acquaintances in Richmond Hill that swear by their Hi-Def. One guy refuses to even look at a football game on a SDTV channel now. I can't wait for my Hi-Def next year, personally.

does he cry everytime a replay comes on, and it takes up 1/3rd the screen and is all blurry?

I see a lot of stuff wrong with hidef, now that it's more mainstream... especially CTV... what's with all logo the transitions that start at standard def and fade to high def? There's so much mish-mashing of std and hidef in the hidef programming, it feels like you're only getting half of what you paid for.

Quote:My big questions are thus (not that they can really be answered here):

- Why do standard def-mode games lack AA for the most part?

- Why was the standard def playability overlooked on some games (Oscar's example of COD2)?

It's one thing to usher in a new era of gaming, it's another to piss off a vast majority of your fan base by having s**t that only looks good in Hi-Def.
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they probably have AA, but the game probably doesn't switch to higher quality full scene AA at lower resolutions as it should to maximize visual quality.

Same as hidef vs std def... spend the time to test highdef and std def play when you have a tight timeline? pick one and go with it, and considering COD2's PC origins, I imagine they didn't spend too much time playing on TVs. Consider it the symptom of short development cycle of the first round of games

[NOS2Go4Me]

To be perfectly honest, I haven't had a good chance to test-drive it for an extended period of time.

All I know is that I had figured it would make a great addition to my new projector that I am hoping to buy in the new year. The projector will be at least 720P native resolution, so I figured I may as well amp up my cable service as well.

The sad part (and maybe the most telling) is that my upgrade to Hi-Def from standard Digital Cable is dirt cheap... $6/mo more (and one more Digitial channel pack as well is included) and then the new box rental. It's quite affordable. The box can be bought for $800 currently, and unless that price drops I'd have to run that service for 2 1/2 years before it's cheaper to own the box than rent it.

As for the 360... I just feel, as a tech guy, put off by the whole thing. I wouldn't spend the cash right now for one just because there's the good chance that SDTV playability sucks.

[darkpuppet]

you did hear that they're already working on a linux distribution for the xbox360 tho, right?

I noticed that samsung is now selling 1080p DLP TVs.. finally at the point where I'd buy one.. so that's the PS3 spring purchase for me. I'd recommend saving up and going 1080p.. now that the technology is more stable, it's probably the best way to go.

[Aka]

^--- I agree.

Edit: Also yeah, heard about the Linux thing on /. That'll be great lol

[NOS2Go4Me]

I might go 1080p native, depending on the cost. Right now a very sweet InFocus home theatre DLP projector is ~$2000 for 720p native resolution.

Well that's $2000 my cost, good or bad. 540p can be had native for $1200.