Ballmer: 360 will get “Blu-ray drives as accessories”

You know all these things you never said… you said them:

“The PS3 is a 1080p native system unlike the xbox360.”
“The 360 is not 1080p native. It upscales to 1080p.”
“360 is not 1080p native but only upscaled.”

Digital downloads/streaming is nice and all but the concept is null and void if your internet goes out.

another great point Sebbie16. you might as well go buy the disc or rent it at blockbuster

The future will (hopefully) be SSDs. I mean, for all platforms – games, movies, data – the full works.

great point also stickbot

Why does Tea always feel like it is him against the world? Oh, wait nvm.

another great point dasher..i mean prancer..sorry I mean pracer.

Hey I tried to hook my system up to my 720p native hd tv. No dice on the bluray – they won’t play. Blank screen is all I get. Are you folks able to run blu rays on TV that do NOT support 1080p? Following the links E provided it seems that some folks are claiming they can. I can’t. Either I am doing something wrong(possible) or is it possibly a region thing(I am NTSC), or ..even a system model thing(seems unlikly as firmware should be the same) I don’t know I don’t get it.

@Sebbie gonna have same prob if your isp limits bandwidth or is just plan slow. Not much you can do about that. If your isp unreliable tho, could always(maybe) try a new one.

Tea you blow my freaken mind lol.
In my mind it goes like this:

Someone says: Hey hd is awesome.
Tea: what res are you running?
Soneone: um, 720p…
Tea: hahaha you suck dumb ass hd is 1080p
Someone: Yea well, this looks really nice tho.
Tea: hahaha

I mean really dude. Most average folks prolly can’t or won’t even be able to tell the difference between 720p and 1080p, let alone 1080p and 1080i. You just end up sounding like a moron.
In my situation I can’t get my PS3 to display bluray movies on anything less then 1080P. Which means I can not watch them on my ps3 in my bedroom on my smaller(read less expensive) TV. And because you seem to judge it as a sense of self worth, I will tell you my main TV in living room(read my gaming TV) is 1080p. And yes, my xb360 runs games at 1080p(I don’t care if it “Upscales” or is 1080i native) on said TV. Its like saying that one bright red is redder then the other bright red. When in truth they are both brilliantly bright red.

Sony would love it if MS released a Blu-ray add-on, which is exactly why they won’t, IMO.

“I own a HD TV. It out puts at 720p. I can use the HDMI out of my PS3 for games. But I can NOT watch my blu ray movies on this TV. They simply won’t play. Inorder to watch blu ray from PS3 I need to use my TV in the living room. That TV is 1080p.

Blu Ray needs 1080p to work. ”

FUD

lol @ anyone who thinks blu-ray quality and “Up scaled” DvDs are anywhere NEAR the same thing.

Blu Ray to DvD is like DvD to VHS in quality change.

TRUE 1080p > 720p upscaled to “1080p” (like Xbox 360 does but probably will never admit to lol)

I know Withnail. But scroll up and read the links. They all, or many of them, are convinced it doesn’t. So i retried it. It does. I was saying that I didn’t know that when I bought my second hd tv for my bedroom. Was kinda pissed when we tried it. My wife can’t watch her hairy Potters…I can’t honestly say that it bothers me much tho.

Blu Ray does not need 1080p to work. My ps3 played any and all blu ray movies fine on my old 720p 32″ 60Hz TV I had before I upgraded to a 40″ 1080p 120Hz TV.

Theres obviously something wrong with your TV.

there’s a big difference but what you like is what you like.
I’m not making fun of anyone that doesn’t have 1080p. I highly recommend it if you have a PS3, yes. If you have 720p fine also.

My 360 is on a 720p Vizio and looks better that way than onmy 1080p bravia. The NXE just looks better in 720p to me.
The XMB is displayed at native 1080p. You can clearly see its better.

About you not being able to get a signal with your set IDK, are you using HDMI. Plus a lot of old HDTV sets are weird with all that DRM bootleg signal blocking stuff.

DRM Bootleg stuff? First time I have heard of that. Prolly software on the TV dash itself? Wonder if there is a way to update the TV frimware past it? Will have to explore that a bit.

I run my xbox360 and PS3 in 720p as well. I like the slightly larger text/icons. When we do bluray of course, we switch but it isn’t very often I think we own maybe 12 blu rays. All of the HP for my wife, and the five free ones we got when we bought the system.

I think one of the biggest points people put out there some folks(looking at you Tea) seem not to understand. Is that while 1080p does look good and bluray is nice. It isn’t that(read (THAT) big of a deal. I think you can see it as evidence by the sheer number of stnd DVDs still being sold. And yea, I like the upscaling. I don’t look for a movie on BD. I buy the SD copy. Then the kids can watch it in their rooms, I can watch it in mine and we can STILL watch the same disc on the ps3 or xb360 in the living room. It isn’t realistic to think we are going to have a BD player in every room. But we do have less then 50usd/stnd dvd players in each room. And in the end I am very happy with that.
As for Netflix. I can not help you there. It seems to be NA only. Pitty you guys are missing out big time. Oh and with PlayOn you can stream Netflix on your PS3. But because of the built in interface on xb360, it looks nicer and runs smoother. But it can be done. Incedently it also works on a Wii(PlayOn).

I don’t know man, you just seem off your rocker. If your lucky enough to own a PS3 or a XB360 and hdTV, and hella fast isp, your lucky. We are all pretty lucky I met some folks this weekend that had a PS2 and were all worried it might break. Sometimes forget how lucky we are to have what we do. These things are toys. Nothing more important then that. And honestly the stuff you rant and rave about…like two filthy rich bastards bickering about who has more millions. Kinda of a MUTE point that is going to be lost on all of the folks out there that are still playing PS2s or playing nothing at all. Just keep stuff in perspective is all.

A lot of people put to much faith into the 720p 1080p thing.. There is no reason a 720p should look ‘better’ than a 1080p unless the 1080p has a poor contrast ratio. (I personally think contrast ratio matters ALOT more these days than the 1080p moniker. )

I find the 720 display have slightly better text size. In some cases. And because I tend to play games with alot of text, I find it easier on the eyes sometimes. I went back and played PSO in 480p and was amazed at how huge the icons were. I have gotten so used to the HD stuff.

First, the basics. Every HDTV has what’s referred to as a native resolution. This is the only resolution the television can display. Every broadcast it receives or digital format it displays (such as a DVD), must all display in the native format. To do this the HDTV converts any signal that differs from its native resolution tothe native resolution. Lower resolutions are “upgraded” and higher resolutions are “downgraded.” This process is known as upconverting and downconverting. In the switch from standard definition broadcasts to high-definition broadcasts, there are competing formats. Some networks broadcast in 720p(1280 x 720) and others in 1080i (1920 x 1080). A 720pHDTV will be able to display 720pbroadcasts natively. Displaying a signal without conversion results in an excellent picture. Once the TV has to convert a signal, the conversion process itself can degrade picture quality. Therefore a 720pbroadcast might look better on a 720pTV than on a 1080p, if the processor chip in the 1080pHDTV is not up to snuff.

Other networks broadcast in 1080i, which the 1080pHDTV can display natively. A 720pset will have to downconvert a 1080i signal before displaying it. Both HDTVs will also have to de-interlace the 1080i signal but this does not involve changing the resolution, only reordering frame display. An interlaced signal is designed to paint every other line on the display, then fill in the missing lines. Progressive scan TVs paint the screen sequentially, from top to bottom, reducing the flicker affect of interlaced signals. So far it might sound like a wash. A 720pHDTV will display 720pbroadcasts natively, and a 1080pwill display 1080i broadcasts natively. The 1080pmight be seen as having the advantage that it will also upconvert 720psignals to 1080presolution, and if the internal processing chip is a good one, this should improve picture quality to lessen “stair stepping” and the “screen door affect” by packing more pixels into the image for an overall smoother quality. Meanwhile, the 720pset will have to downconvert 1080i broadcasts.

But the real advantage of the 1080pis in watching HD DVD and Blu-ray discs. These digital discs are formatted in 1080pand studio movies on this media played on the 1080pHDTV are astounding. A 720pset that will accept a Blu-Ray signal must downconvert these formats to lesser resolutions, robbing the viewer of the true Blu-ray / HD DVD experience. The 1080pis also a preferable set for gamers who intend to connect a PC, XBox™ or PlayStation™.

All else being equal, 720pHDTVs are less expensive than their higher resolution siblings. If you aren’t big on DVDs and don’t plan on buying a Blu-ray or HD DVD player, you might opt to save some money. For gamers or movie fanatics, consider the higher resolution set, but stick with a quality brand that will provide a solid upconverter for all of those 720pbroadcasts you’ll be watching between movies. Also, be sure the 1080pHDTV provides 1080pinputsor ports. Accepting 1080pinput (as from a Blu-Ray player) is a different function than upconverting broadcast signals, and some earlier models lacked the ability to accept 1080psignals.

High-definition television (HDTV) is available in both 720pand 1080p models. The differencebetween them boils down to resolution, with 1080pcapable of displaying a higher native resolution than 720psets. This doesn’t necessarily mean that in all instances a 1080pHDTV will display a better picture than a 720pset. We can thank multiple broadcast formats and the varying quality of electronic components used in HDTVs to complicate the issue just a bit.

Good show Beast. Where were you when I was buying TVs? My TV is 100% no go for displaying BluRays in the bedroom. Plays games nice tho. So the PS3 stays in the living room, nice 1080p out there. What kind of effect on the pic quality does screen size have?

Thanks dude lol. Everybody I know called me to come pick out their tv lol. I’m Just an electro-geek. But about the effect on the pic quality.

Knowing what is the optimal HDTV size for your room is an important step when buying a new TV. Regardless of what kind of flat-screen HDTV you intend to buy – plasma or LCD – it is a good idea to first go and measure the distance between the place you will be sitting (e.g. the couch) and the place where the HDTV will be sitting (e.g. stand, wall).

Once you have chosen the screen size you want, you will need to decide which HDTV you want to purchase. The big question often asked is “Should I buy a plasma or LCD?”Lets compare the advantages and disadvantages of each technology.

Plasma Advantages
Widest viewing angleBest overall contrast ratio, sets typically have deeper blacks than LCDLower Cost at the same screen size (though its getting close this holiday season)Freedom from motion blur (display maintains high resolution with motion)Stronger front glass than LCD (safer from flying Wii remotes and hard pokes from children)Overall better picture quality than LCDNo Burn-in (image retention) when the HDTV is adjusted for in-home viewing (as opposed to showroom mode, based on results of tests of 2008 models)

Plasma Disadvantages
No models available below 32” (there are only two 32” HD plasmas Vizio & Insignia@Best Buy)Heavier than LCDHigher power consumption than LCD on larger size screens 60” and higher (smaller size display power consumption is highly dependent on the user settings)

LCD Advantages
Higher Brightness (makes them more suitable for very bright rooms such as retail store showrooms and home settings for daytime viewing with rooms large bare windows)Weighs less than plasma screens of same sizeScreen sizes range from around 19”-70”Large screen sizes (>55”) typically consume less powerNo Burn-in (image retention)

LCD Disadvantages
Horizontal off-axis image quality depends on make and model consideredPoor vertical off-axis image qualityPoor motion resolution with 60 Hz models, medium motion resolution with 120 Hz models (as compared to plasma TVs).Poor black levels and low contrast ratios with low-end models.

How important is resolution? Although resolution separates HDTV from standard-definition TV, it’s not as important to overall picture quality as other factors. According to the Imaging Science Foundation, a group that consults for home-theater manufacturers and trains professional video calibrators.

IF you can not see a difference between a 1 megapixel and 2 megapixel display at 8 feet away, then you really have less of a problem with resolution decisions. Probably you are more sensitive to black levels and contrast, and will prefer plasma or SXRD technology.

Most people looking at standard TV dont realize the pixel they see is not square but in fact a rectangle. Most Plasma screens and LCD is square pixel, but 4:3 NTSC TV is a .9091 to 1 shape. Not square. So when you see a regular pillar boxed STD def TV show on your HD screen, its really scaled in a lot of ways.Back in early TV for Color on CRTs they worked it out by placing Red, Gren, Blue vertically masked bars or color subpixels with very thin black borders separating the colors for the electron gun to scan. This caused a need to “converge” in STD TV sets ( get Red Green and Blue to line up ) . We got used to fuzzy in the process, tint knobs, yuch. HD TV is not fuzzy now and square uniform pixels are part of that.