360 Screen resolution help

[Dzapper]

Hello, well I've had my 360 for about 3 weeks now and I must say I'm very happy with it. However I have it hooked up to a very old T.V.(had to buy an adapter just to hook it up) and when I play most games it plays in a weird screen ratio that resembles a movie playing in widescreen. It doesn't happen on every game, but it does on most. Please help.


Also if anyone has Turok please let me know your opinion on the online multiplayer, thanks.

 

[The_Mitch]

thats because many of the games for the 360 are in widescreen so it adds blackbars on a 4:3 ratio TV. you will get used to it. i dont even notice it anymore. i can go from a full screen game to a widescreen one and not even be able to tell.

 

[T3kNi9e]

Seeing as the TV is old, it should be a standard TV. Most games do not put black bars when the resolution is on 480i (Standard TV). So I don't know why black bars are there. Mass Effect is the only game i know that puts black bars on a standard TV. Keep in mind, thats the only game I(me) know of. On a HDTV, alot of games have blackbars because they did not develop the game for 4:3 in HD

 

[strommsarnac]

thats because many of the games for the 360 are in widescreen so it adds blackbars on a 4:3 ratio TV.QUOTE]

No No No. Wrong.

The 360 is aware of display format. If one is using a 4:3 screen, they are likely using composite (yellow) video or S-Video. This is a 4:3 resolution.

The only way that someone would get letterbox format is if they have incorrectly configured the 360's resolution under the Settings/Display menu.

 

[strommsarnac]

Guys, the 360 will not use black bars (left/right) on a HDTV if the 360 is configured correctly AND using component, VGA, or HDMI ports.

By configured correctly, I mean that the resolution must be properly set to match your TV's resolution.

Same is true for SDTV's when using composite or s-video. If the TV is really old and only has RF or heaven forbid uhf/vhf screws, using one or both of the following should work.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/B00005R6YY/ref=dp_image_0?ie=UTF8&n=468642&s=videogames

http://www.summittvantenna.com/category91.html.

Here's the thing. Most HDTV's support more INPUT resolutions than they actually display. Especially LCD/Plasma screens (panel and projection both included). CRT HDTV's will display what they input.

So, take my RP-HDTV for example. It supports (both input/display) 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i). It has composite, s-video, component, DVI and VGA ports.

Composite will give me 480i, s-video: 800x600, component 480p-1080i, DVI and VGA 480p-1080p and up. HDMI is locked to the display resolution of your TV. Such that if you have a 1366x768 LCD panel, your HDMI device will ONLY output 1366x768 or lower resolution which will then be upscaled by the display to the native res.

So, here's the deal. I run my 360 through component to my RPHDTV. I set the switch on the cable to HD. This gives me 1080i resolution. My TV supports 1080i, therefore I get NO BARS AT ALL. None top or bottom.

I usually have my 360 connected to my Dell 2405FPW. It's res is 1920x1200. I've had it connected via component and now use VGA. Component gave me 1080i, while VGA gives me 1080p. Since my monitor is x1200, I'll get bars across the top and bottom unless I set my monitor to stretch mode.

My son plays his 360 on my old 27" RCA circa 1989. He uses the s-video cable. No bars for him either. Even when it was connected via the composite cable, no bars.

My guess is the OP has his 360's display settings set to 480p or higher and not the "4:3" res of 480i. I suggest changing it and seeing if you still get bars. If so, it might be that the adapter is confusing the 360.

 

[T3kNi9e]

If your resolution is set to 480i and you are using the SDTV with 4:3 scren ratio you shouldn't have black bars. But some games like Mass Effect, yes you will have black bars because it was made for widescreen. Everyone who has mass effect and does not have a widescreen have the black bars, this is a fact.

I get black bars on my monitor because its a 720p 4:3 screen ratio. Games like Gears of War, Mass Effect, Oblivion, etc. all have black bars because they were not made in 4:3 for HDTV. People have complained about this because if you don't have a widescreen plasma/LCD tv/monitor then you will suffer the black bars because game developers didn't make the game with 4:3 HDTV in mind, but when you use a SDTV you don't get black bars Wierd, but thats what happens to me and everyone else because ive seen everyone complain about it.

I doubt I personally have settings wrong because its not like I don't have knowledge of PC's and electronics in general.