Is the 360 capable of 1080p?
by Christopher Grant 
{ Dec 15th 2005 at 9:00PM }
Here's some grist for the old rumor mill. In an AnandTech article from last May's E3 detailing specs of ATI's custom Xbox 360 GPU, it was revealed that the unit would be capable of outputting 1080p. They wrote, "ATI did clarify that although Microsoft isn't targetting 1080p (1920 x 1080) as a resolution for games, their GPU would be able to handle the resolution with 4X AA enabled at no performance penalty."
Is it possible the Xbox 360 supports the "true definition of HD"? Why would they choose not to use it?
[Via dahkness.com]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Don Wilson @ Dec 16th 2005 12:05AM
"Why would they choose not to use it?"
Ask the same question with HD-DVD/Bluray
asurroca @ Dec 16th 2005 12:21AM
I don't know exactly what bean-counting it would entail, but I'd think that if Microsoft suspects a significant threat from the PS3's 1080p and blu-Ray features, they would be able to swap in an HD-DVD drive and use the GPU's 1080p on all Xbox 360s when the PS3 hits market.
The HD-DVD functionality that would certainly increase the cost of the 360 if implemented today would be much cheaper to implement if Microsoft holds off another year first. Bonus: then, they can screw early adopters by selling the HD-DVD upgrade just as they sell the HDD to folks who bought the Core system!
Nicholas @ Dec 16th 2005 1:45AM
Go ahead and name some cheap/mid-priced high-def displays that can do 1080p. The list will be very very very short. Heck, list displays that can even do 1080i natively.
miguel @ Dec 16th 2005 1:33AM
Does anybody think it would be possible to have a USB HD-DVD drive? I was wondering if that was a possibility.
Nate @ Dec 16th 2005 9:50AM
From what I've read, and I've read extensively, the difference between 1080i and 1080p is only noticible on screens that are GIGANTIC. Why invest extra R&D and drive the price up even more on a technology that is unnecessary right now? Until 1080p displays drop out of the $5000 dollar range or become otherwise more affordable, I think the practicality in utilizing 1080p is lost on most of us.
Just my $.02
xnatex
Dan @ Dec 16th 2005 2:29AM
yeah it would be possible usb2.0 is rated at about 480mb/s more than fast enough to stream hd dvds
Jon @ Dec 16th 2005 3:05AM
1080p is as good as non existent. Sony is full of crap on this one for sure. Most people don't even have a High Def TV yet and were talking about 1280p. Lets get real.
rigby @ Dec 16th 2005 5:56AM
The xbox 360 GPU can handle 1080p, but the encoder chip that outputs it to the display cannot, so NO, it cant output 1080p
APK @ Dec 16th 2005 11:14AM
My bet would be that the ananlog output IC's cannot do 1080p. Maybe the much rumored DVI/HDMI output can/will? Maybe when the PS3 come out, they release the HDMI cable, Halo3 and 1080p as a one, two , three punch? Maybe they need to get the hang of coding for all three cores before they can use 1080p?
I will wake up now....
theburn16 @ Dec 16th 2005 10:15AM
yeah, you're right...most people dont have a hi-def tv yet. but by the time this generation of consoles is on its way out everyone will and 1080p sets will be no more expensive than top of the line 720p and 1080i sets are now. sony is ready for it and ms wont be, fact is ms isn't even prepared for hdmi cables which is ridiculous. my dvd player is much better than the one in the xbox 360, yet i have to unplug one of them just to use the other bc my tv only has 1 component input....sony may not get much right but atleast they got this right
Joel Barciauskas @ Dec 16th 2005 10:21AM
"8. The xbox 360 GPU can handle 1080p, but the encoder chip that outputs it to the display cannot, so NO, it cant output 1080p"
How do you know this?
I was under the impression that 1080p was an option, but 720p is the BASELINE, that is, all games must do at least 720p, but nothing would stop them from trying 1080p except performance concerns.
JGE @ Dec 16th 2005 11:20AM
I would say the reason 1080p output is disabled is that you probably wouldn't be able to get enough information on a standard DVD to run at true 1080p. Hence the reason for the next-gen DVD players. If MS were to ever produce a system with next-gen dvd players, I would seriously expect to see 1080p outut unlocked.
Rick @ Dec 16th 2005 11:48AM
1080i and 1080p are both rendered by the ATI card at 1920x1080... the limitation is in the output of the encoder chip... there is only a handful of TV's (none in which my local best buy had) that even do 1080p...
1080i on a tube, or projection TV(NOT Microdisplay), actually only draws 540 lines on any given "frame", which is why many of these tv's can to 1080i, but not 720p. a TV running 720p actually has more lines on the screen at any given time than 1080i, but there is less total "resolution" of the final image.
Needless to say... the xbox360 would take no performance hit from 1080p, (on games that are rendered at that rez already, that say 1080i on the back).
jon @ Dec 16th 2005 12:32PM
This is a moot argument. Those of you who think 1080p will ever be adopted by the masses in this generation of consoles are dead wrong...beggining with Sony. 1080p will never be adopted for the same reasons DVD Audio has not had mass adoption. It far surpasseses the need of most users with a real tangible benefit above the existing and as yet largely unadopted HDTV standards of 720p and 1080i. Because there aren't even any 1080p out on the market for the most part, developers and content creators can't help but to ignore 1080p. Sony talks a great deal, but what developer or content creator wants to waste their time optimizing for a feature hardly anyone will be able to use.
Don't beleive the hype. Sony needs to release a High Def console to begin with before they start talking about 1080p. And all you fools talking about 1080p need to just buy and Xbox 360 play it on an HDTV and then we'll talk.
jon @ Dec 16th 2005 5:02PM
This is a moot argument. Those of you who think 1080p will ever be adopted by the masses in this generation of consoles are dead wrong...beggining with Sony. 1080p will never be adopted for the same reasons DVD Audio has not had mass adoption. It far surpasseses the need of most users with a real tangible benefit above the existing and as yet largely unadopted HDTV standards of 720p and 1080i. Because there aren't even any 1080p out on the market for the most part, developers and content creators can't help but to ignore 1080p. Sony talks a great deal, but what developer or content creator wants to waste their time optimizing for a feature hardly anyone will be able to use.
Don't beleive the hype. Sony needs to release a High Def console to begin with before they start talking about 1080p. And all you fools talking about 1080p need to just buy and Xbox 360 play it on an HDTV and then we'll talk.
Natrino @ Dec 16th 2005 10:35PM
The reality is that most people who currently have HDTV's, or plan on getting on within the next few months, will not have a 1080p set, and chances are this is going to be their TV for the next 5 years (at least). I really don't see 1080p being a big deal until the next generation.