How does the 360 look on LCD monitors?

noahj

noahj

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I haven't invested in a 360 yet, primarily because i dont want to buy a HDTV. I recently started playing my ps2 on my lcd monitor with the Adaptec Gamebridge and have been enjoying it alot.

So it got me to thinking how a 360 would look on my monitor. Here is my monitor http://www.amazon.com/NEC-LCD1770GX-BK-LCD-Monitor-Black/dp/B0007WWN8S

So what kind of picture can i expect from this monitor if i were to decide to get a 360? Decent, ok, pretty good, very good, etc......

Any opinions are appreciated :)
 
bump ... I would also like to know. But, I would also like to know if I can play on my monitor using VGA (not a gamebridge)? This may be a dumb question, but oh well.
 
The VGA makes the 360 look awesome on monitors. I did it for like 6 months and now just have it on my TV standard def. For the OP, just mess around with the resolutions starting at highest and going down and see which looks the best.
 
[quote name='nyprimus4']The VGA makes the 360 look awesome on monitors. I did it for like 6 months and now just have it on my TV standard def. For the OP, just mess around with the resolutions starting at highest and going down and see which looks the best.[/quote]

QFT.

I use VGA on my projector, and it looks phenominal. I've also hooked it up to my widescreen LCD and it looks great there too.
 
so with the monitor i have (that is listed in my first post), playing with the resolutions would give me a pretty nice picture? i've all but given up on pc gaming, so would the 360 on my lcd give me similar graphics as the upper end pc stuff now?

my wife would kill me if she knew i was even considering such a thing, but i'm definitely looking into it if it would be worth it. i'm looking for some good advice because obviously this is a big investment to take just for playing on a monitor.
 
I play both my XBOX and 360 on monitors with VGA connections and they both look great. Even on a 10 yr. old CRT monitor (that I got for free after a school upgraded to LCDs) both systems look far better than any non-HD TV could do. As long as the resolution is 1280x720 or higher you will be playing in HD.
 
well, looks like i better start working some overtime then huh :)

so how would you compare the graphics for the 360 on a monitor to the higher-end pc graphics? i have a moderate pc for gaming......can i expect to get similar visuals?
 
[quote name='noahj']so with the monitor i have (that is listed in my first post), playing with the resolutions would give me a pretty nice picture? i've all but given up on pc gaming, so would the 360 on my lcd give me similar graphics as the upper end pc stuff now?

my wife would kill me if she knew i was even considering such a thing, but i'm definitely looking into it if it would be worth it. i'm looking for some good advice because obviously this is a big investment to take just for playing on a monitor.[/quote]
noahj, all the comments above do not do justice as to how great the VGA adaptor is on an LCD monitor. To put it simply, it is HDTV quality. I too had the same question as you, regarding if it would look like a high-end PC. It is.

Hooking up a 360 to a LCD monitor is like playing a high-end Alienware PC that is fully loaded. I was giddy like a school girl when I was playing Oblivion on my monitor because I was thinking, "man, so this is what Oblivion looks like on a $600 video card for the PC." Playing the FEAR demo made me giddy as well, because it is CRISP. It is sharp, and no jaggies.

There is one "criticsm" however. The VGA supports 1280 x 1024 which is the same as my monitor. But if I set my 360 to that resolution, on the dashboard it looks great but popping in games makes it distorted. It will be "squished." I found that you have to make it 1024 resolution to fix this.

I think the reason is that MS made the VGA's "native resolution" 1024 x 768. Probably so they can penetrate as many LCD users as possible, they went with the lowest common denominator. But don't let it discourage you at all. 1024 displays the 360 games ultra sharp, and the anti-aliasing gets rid of any jaggies. Truly worth the $40.

*Edit - BTW, if you have a moderate gaming PC, this 360 totally destroys it. I'm talking David vs. Goliath. The 360 truly is a high-end gaming PC. FYI, you do realize that the VGA adaptor is only $40 for the OFFICIAL MS brand one right? It's not a huge investment at all.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7479604&st=360+vga&type=product&id=1126591946321
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7479604&st=360+vga&type=product&id=1126591946321

7479604_sc.jpg
 
I dunno. I think the way the GameBridge works is that it tricks a system like PS2 or 360 into thinking the LCD monitor is a TV.

The way the 360 VGA adaptor works is that once you use it, the 360 KNOWS that it is plugged to a computer monitor. What I mean by that is this:

When I hook up 360 to my TV, it gives me options like HDTV, SDTV, 4:3, 16:9. Basically TV options.

When I hook the VGA adaptor, the 360 knows it is a VGA adaptor and it won't give me TV options like above. It will give me options like setting the resolutions 1280 x 1024, 1280 x 720, 1024 x 768.

You could try that GameBridge. It might work fine. And you might save yourself $40.
 
i was thinking about investing in a VGA cable too, but i didnt wanna fork over 40 bucks for one...any cheaper alternatives for playing the 360 on my comp monitor?
 
the gamebridge can be had for under $20, that is if it works as good with the 360 that it does for me for the ps2
 
the picture will not be as good with the game bridge. it downgrades my cubes graphics.
get the cable. it will also cut the lag issues that can be experienced with the gamebridge.
 
Be aware that some games force wide aspect. On TW2006, the characters were "squished" despite my settings on the dashboard.

Other games just letterbox the visuals so it maintains the proportions.

Either way, the VGA cable is a great way to make use of a PC monitor for hi-def gaming.
 
[quote name='Kendro']
I think the reason is that MS made the VGA's "native resolution" 1024 x 768. [/quote]

No, they didn't.

I run this at the max resolution possible and I have no issue with "squishing" anything. It all has to do with the screen format you are running in. For the record, every single display I have is 16:9 standard.
 
you know i'm getting letterbox using my gamebridge with every ps2 game i play and its aggrivating. i'm missing out on a couple inches i can be getting for games. i've tried to adjust my desktop resolutions to help, but i cant figure nothing out.

anyone know how to solve this? i know this is the 360 forum, but maybe someone here can help me with this issue on my ps2.
 
[quote name='noahj']you know i'm getting letterbox using my gamebridge with every ps2 game i play and its aggrivating. i'm missing out on a couple inches i can be getting for games. i've tried to adjust my desktop resolutions to help, but i cant figure nothing out.

anyone know how to solve this? i know this is the 360 forum, but maybe someone here can help me with this issue on my ps2.[/quote]

Can your monitor support widescreen resolutions?
 
[quote name='noahj']1280x1024 is the highest resolution i can get. what resolution would one need to get that letterbox off?[/quote]You'll need a widescreen monitor. 1280x1024 is 4:3 aspect ratio so it's either:

a) the game fills up the whole screen at "regular" 4:3
b) the game will stretch out the widescreen aspect of the game to fill out your whole screen so everything looks stretched vertically ("squished" visuals)
c) letterboxed so you'll have the black bars on the top and bottom of the game image to keep the widescreen aspect

I had to switch to a 4:3 aspect monitor when I was in between screens and I do find it annoying that you can't force letterbox or just have it run at regular 4:3 using the VGA cable. Seems like some games auto-detect the VGA cable and force it into the 16:9 aspect giving you either solution b or c.

Once you go widescreen though, you have a hard time gaming on a regular tv again.
 
FYI you can always "force" letterbox by choosing 1024 x 768 resolution, it will run in letterbox mode for every game (at least the 15 or so that I've tried). It seems that anything other than that resolution will give you the results that SteveMcQ has wrote (only if you have a 4:3 monitor).

Oh and mtxbass1, your correct. If you have a 16:9 monitor, 1280 x 720 will display with no problems and no squished images. I neglected to mention that because the OP has a 4:3 monitor.
 
[quote name='Kendro']FYI you can always "force" letterbox by choosing 1024 x 768 resolution, it will run in letterbox mode for every game (at least the 15 or so that I've tried). It seems that anything other than that resolution will give you the results that SteveMcQ has wrote (only if you have a 4:3 monitor).

Oh and mtxbass1, your correct. If you have a 16:9 monitor, 1280 x 720 will display with no problems and no squished images. I neglected to mention that because the OP has a 4:3 monitor.[/QUOTE]

Most standard widescreen LCD monitors are 16:10 and not 16:9. LCD TV monitors are a different story since they were made with the television aspect being the priority.
 
i actually had been considering an upgrade to a widescreen monitor lately anyhow.

so is a jump from a 17" to a 19" widescreen significant or should i wait a few more months (to save up a bit more money) to go to a 20"?
 
Hm, op hasn't seen an xbox 360 kiosk? anyway, i don't believe they make that exact model of samsung anymore. i think the newer ones still have a "game mode" though.
 
[quote name='Kendro']FYI you can always "force" letterbox by choosing 1024 x 768 resolution, it will run in letterbox mode for every game (at least the 15 or so that I've tried). It seems that anything other than that resolution will give you the results that SteveMcQ has wrote (only if you have a 4:3 monitor).

Oh and mtxbass1, your correct. If you have a 16:9 monitor, 1280 x 720 will display with no problems and no squished images. I neglected to mention that because the OP has a 4:3 monitor.[/QUOTE]

This isn't true with every game. I tried running in 1280x1024 with Saint's Row and it ran the game in a 4:3 mode and looked much worse. I assume it upscaled the 480p signal (since that is the 360's native 4:3 mode) instead of using the much better looking 720p signal.

Additionally I think running at 1024x768 will use the 480p signal for every game since it isn't even up to the 720p level (unlike 1280x1024).
 
So get a $200-$300 widescreen LCD monitor which can play in HD with that cable to save money over buying an LCD HDTV?
 
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