Text 15742, 57 rader
Skriven 2007-01-30 11:43:26 av Rich Gauszka (1:379/45)
Ärende: Xbox 360's Seriously Flawed DVD Playback
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From: "Rich Gauszka" <gauszka@dontspamhotmail.com>

I wonder if Microsoft spent more time worrying about DRM than performance? Test
details at the link

 - we have seen better DVD playback out of sub-$100 standalone players. -

http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,2088531,00.asp

To say that the Xbox 360 is a "decent" DVD player, as we have seen reported in
so many places on the 'net, is giving it way too much credit. Frankly, it's a
terrible DVD player. Hopefully, this article has provided you with enough
evidence to compare Xbox 360 DVD playback with other consumer electronics (and
even PCs) and see what you're missing. It's true that not every DVD exhibits
the sorts of problems highlighted here. Many don't have any particular errors
to speak of. But "many" isn't good enough, and there are enough DVDs-popular
ones, at that-with serious problems.

Even those movies that play without noticeable errors don't look quite as good
as they should. Though the 360 is limited to 480p through component, in
compliance with the DVD Forum's regulations, the images tend to have a bit of a
blocky and over-sharp look to them. Microsoft's gaming box does a good job of
preserving detail, but it sometimes looks a bit rough. It's like playing a game
at low resolution without antialiasing.


The million dollar question is this: Will Microsoft fix DVD playback? The Xbox
360 is updated regularly with new system software that adds features and
improves existing functions. There's no reason this game box couldn't be one of
the best DVD players around, scoring over 120 on HQV's benchmark. The
processing power in the CPU and GPU combined is well in excess of the combined
might of many PCs and video card combinations that we have seen score 100 or
more. The only thing necessary is the will to make it happen-for Microsoft to
expend the resources to write vastly improved DVD playback code.

Some would say it is not important, or point out that you can't expect a
$400 game console to play DVDs as well as an $800 dedicated DVD player like
the one we used. We would argue that, if Microsoft is going to make the thing
play DVDs, they should do it right. We're not expecting to replace high-end AV
gear, but $400 isn't cheap, the 360 has a ton of processing power at its
disposal, and we have seen better DVD playback out of sub-$100 standalone
players.

By now, some of you Xbox 360 owners might be a little upset and want to send
Microsoft your hate mail. Inboxes full of obscenities probably won't do much,
but calm and reasoned letters about how you are unsatisfied with the 360's DVD
playback might. We don't have an exact email address you can use to contact
Microsoft about this issue, but this Xbox support page may be a good place to
start, and you might want to post on the official Xbox forums. Of course, feel
free to chime in with your thoughts in our own discussion thread. Are you happy
with the quality of the Xbox 360 DVD playback, or have you noticed many of the
same problems highlighted here? Is improved DVD quality important to you, or
would you rather Microsoft spend their time and engineering resources on other
things?

--- BBBS/NT v4.01 Flag-5
 * Origin: Barktopia BBS Site http://HarborWebs.com:8081 (1:379/45)