Xbox Live's Major Nelson has acknowledged that some users are having problems with the color space on video playback following the recent Xbox 360 dashboard update, and promises that a fix is on the way. The issue relates to black levels and washed out colors in videos, though game playback is seemingly unaffected. However, Microsoft is apparently ignoring separate complaints regarding the console's resolution output — specifically, that the new dashboard artificially restricts 1080p playback to content from Microsoft's own Zune Marketplace. Eurogamer has confirmed that all non-Zune content is limited to 720p output, which seems like a clear strategic move by Microsoft to get people using their store. Additionally, some users are reporting errors that seem to be caused by an HDMI handshake issue, with Microsoft staying mum on this subject too. We'll be sure to let you know if we hear anything more about when the fix may be coming, or what exactly it'll fix.
Xbox 360 color space fix coming, still no word on restoring 1080p playback
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The scary thing is that it is within their rights to limit your video playback quality. I don’t understand how they expect to compete with a PC as a media playing device…
Posted on Jan 20, 2012 | 4:43 AM EST reply Recommend (2) Flag actions
Well, they compete by being attached to your 40+ inch TV while your PC is most probably attached to a much smaller monitor.
Apart from the very small niche HTPC market, and the majority of those people are running Windows boxes anyway. It’s a win win for MS as a whole if not for the Xbox division.
For the majority MS has us by the balls over this one.
Posted on Jan 20, 2012 | 6:11 AM EST reply Recommend (7) Flag actions
I’ve had a (Windows) PC plugged into my main TV for years. Do many people do that, or am I part of a weird minority?
Posted on Jan 20, 2012 | 6:36 AM EST via mobile reply Recommend (3) Flag actions
Welcome to the minority.
Posted on Jan 20, 2012 | 6:41 AM EST reply Recommend (10) Flag actions
I actually custom built an HTPC in late 2009 just to run Windows Media Center on Windows 7. I do OTA (dual tuner) plus netflix, hulu, and a DVD movie library. I dropped cable entirely back in 2009 after the system proved itself. It’s even wife-friendly, as I am very picky in terms of insisting that everything be done via remote (no keyboard and mouse except for system maintenance). I’m very happy with it. It’s more stable than a cable company DVR.
Posted on Jan 20, 2012 | 6:42 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
It’s the best and most adaptable / versatile solution…you’re not locked out of any content, no codec / format issues, more raw power than any set top box can provide…but it’s also the most expensive solution and therefore not widely used.
Posted on Jan 20, 2012 | 6:48 AM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
You can build a perfectly good system for around $300, it’s not all that pricey.
Posted on Jan 20, 2012 | 3:50 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
i have my notebook connected to my Tv through HDMI for watching movies and it works pretty good
Posted on Jan 20, 2012 | 6:57 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
MacMini running XBMC for 3 years, prior to that a Shuttle PC and some media centre software I can longer remember the name of. My PS3 is my backup media player.
Posted on Jan 20, 2012 | 3:32 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
I have done it since Windows Medica Center XP. WIndows Media Center is simply the best DVR solution available. I have a dedicated computer with a TV tuner on my large flat screen at home. It is an incredible, but highly underused aspect of Windows. In fact, it is what got me interested in Windows again.
Posted on Jan 23, 2012 | 3:35 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Yeah I have my PC connected to my TV, but you’re right, not many people do, sucks to be them :)
Posted on Jan 20, 2012 | 9:41 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
The difference between 720 and 1080p isn’t that big of a deal.
Posted on Jan 20, 2012 | 12:59 PM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
720p→1080p is a 2.25x increase in resolution. That’s a bigger increase both in raw pixel count AND percentage wise than going from 720×576 PAL resolution to 720p (1280×720). It is a huge issue and unless you have impaired vision it is impossible to not notice.
Posted on Jan 20, 2012 | 3:15 PM EST reply Recommend (4) Flag actions
If you’ve only got a 40" screen, there’s not much noticeable difference.
Posted on Jan 20, 2012 | 3:51 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Screen size doesn’t really matter unless you’re really far away. You can easily spot the difference on a 24" or even smaller monitor on your desk.
Posted on Jan 20, 2012 | 4:12 PM EST reply Recommend (2) Flag actions
For Blu-Ray quality encoding perhaps, if you’re actively looking for it, but not for the relatively low-bitrate stuff you’re going to get via the console.
Posted on Jan 30, 2012 | 4:40 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
That’s nuts. Completely nuts.
Posted on Jan 20, 2012 | 3:32 PM EST reply Recommend (2) Flag actions
Not necessarily. It depends on the bitrate. At a given bitrate, I’d get 720p would look superior. More bits/pixel, better shadows, fewer compression artifacts, and so on. Kind of like how a DVD can look better than a lot of streaming 1080p content, in terms of overall picture. Sheer resolution, for the sake of resolution, is going at it the wrong way.
Posted on Jan 21, 2012 | 10:25 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
You could produce any combination of native resolution and bitrate and by skewing them, demonstrate a 1080p stream looking worse than a VideoCD but let’s assume the average person is not sourcing terribly encoded content.
Without context, the assertion that the difference between 720p and 1080p “isnt that big of a deal” remains nuts. And that’s being polite.
Posted on Jan 21, 2012 | 1:42 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
And while you’re at it Microsoft, get rid of these damn adds. That’s not what i pay a gold membership for.
Posted on Jan 20, 2012 | 4:59 AM EST via mobile reply Recommend (18) Flag actions
Touché.
Posted on Jan 20, 2012 | 5:42 AM EST via mobile reply Recommend Flag actions
It has never bothered me….but wouldn’t mind them if they were gone.
Posted on Jan 20, 2012 | 7:55 AM EST reply Recommend (3) Flag actions
Hear hear. When you actually look at how many ads are there, including all the ones plugging marketplace content, it’s virtually the entire dash.
Posted on Jan 20, 2012 | 8:15 AM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
Without those content ads I would never know what content was available on Xbox Live. I find the ads about as bothersome as I do the ads in a magazine I just paid for. The ads are nowhere near as intrusive as radio or TV ads. The people who complain about this stuff are so strange. In a couple of weeks millions of people will be tuning into the Super Bowl for the sole purpose of watching ads. We get ads at the movies, in magazines, on highways, on the radio, on cable tv, on internet web sites, at sporting events, etc. The fact that you pay a lot of money for these things doesn’t prevent them from having ads.
As long as the ad is not an interstitial ad or blocking any content then it doesn’t affect me in any way whatsoever. In fact many things that aren’t ad supported with recognizable brands look unprofessional or unpopular.
Posted on Jan 20, 2012 | 12:34 PM EST reply Recommend (4) Flag actions
I agree when it comes to ads for … cars or whatever. I don’t mind ads for games as much. I especially don’t mind seeing “ads” for features of the dashboard. That’s not really an ad, more of an announcement. I think those are interesting to a lot of people, and could potentially help lesser-known content get pushed to the masses.
Posted on Jan 20, 2012 | 2:34 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
About time someone art MS acknowledged this. It’s such an obvious bug even my wife, who will happily watch super compressed SD channels on cable and say they look ‘fine’, thought Netflix etc on the Xbox looked bad. We have a PS3 and so use that instead, which not only has correct black levels, but also 1080p.
Posted on Jan 20, 2012 | 8:14 AM EST reply Recommend (5) Flag actions
Has anyone else had any problems with Netflix? I keep getting error codes saying I don’t have a connection, even though it will usually load the video to 100%. Hulu still works though, so it ain’t my connection. I don’t know where to direct my ire – Netflix or Xbox.
Posted on Jan 20, 2012 | 9:35 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
I got a ps3 for various reasons I won’t get into, but if I knew there were ads on the dashboard and they were restricting resolution, I would never have even considered it. I feel ya, Xbox people— that sucks!
Posted on Jan 20, 2012 | 9:53 AM EST via mobile reply Recommend Flag actions
And the worst part is you don’t even pay extra to get those ads and restricted resolution.
Posted on Jan 20, 2012 | 11:31 AM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
?
Posted on Jan 21, 2012 | 6:13 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
This is exactly the kind of problem being a hardware creator as well as content supplier leads to; a company that doesn’t want the best possible hardware (and core software) but rather only supports their own en-devours. In the coming years we’re going to see a lot more of this, hell, just look at Verizon and Google Wallet. Security issues my ass, it’s clearly flexing control to give preference to a competitor it has a financial stake in.
Posted on Jan 20, 2012 | 10:07 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
This is a technical issue. Do you seriously think that MS is restricting YouTube to 720p because they’re worried about it interfering with sales of Avatar and Planet of the Apes on Zune? They also had to cut out all of the social group video watching features from their apps because of technical reasons.
Posted on Jan 20, 2012 | 12:43 PM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
Relax guys… It appears to be a bug, not the end of civilization as we know it.
Posted on Jan 20, 2012 | 10:32 AM EST reply Recommend (4) Flag actions
The restricted resolution is not a bug.
Posted on Jan 20, 2012 | 11:32 AM EST reply Recommend (3) Flag actions
Maybe not, but when has content outside of Zune ever been 1080p?
Posted on Jan 20, 2012 | 11:37 AM EST reply Recommend (2) Flag actions
Vudu and Netflix are both available in 1080p on other platforms.
Posted on Jan 20, 2012 | 12:49 PM EST reply Recommend (2) Flag actions
If you read the link posted above I believe this is about your own videos played from the dashboard, not that of services like Netflix or Hulu.
Posted on Jan 20, 2012 | 2:42 PM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
What is your proof for this?
Posted on Jan 20, 2012 | 2:36 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
You have proof that it IS a bug? I mean in terms of taking no information and forming conclusions from them, I’m operating from the standpoint of MS own content being able to be 1080p with no issue as proof there is no bug restricting 1080p video. What do you have?
Posted on Jan 20, 2012 | 2:39 PM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
The guy said it appears to be a bug. There’s no proof either way that it’s a bug or not, but you said definitively that it is.
I agree with you that there’s a chance it could be a bug, but unless you have some actual knowledge, and not just guesswork, you can’t really state it is or isn’t a bug. The guy you replied to merely said it appears to be a bug.
You could also easily argue that Zune is more baked-in to the system than the apps that are restricted, so the bug could have to do with the way the Xbox is running third party apps. Or a bug was made in an API somewhere that third party apps use (and clearly first party integrated systems wouldn’t need to use).
So yes, it’s definitely possible that it’s a bug. We really can’t say anything definitively without more information, anything definitive is really just a form of FUD being spread.
Posted on Jan 20, 2012 | 2:47 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Meant I agree that it could NOT be a bug… don’t see an edit button.
Posted on Jan 20, 2012 | 2:47 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Again, and I’ve said this above (READ THE SOURCE) this is not services, but video they accessed from the dashboard I assume they accessed from the hard drive or the network. It wasn’t Netflix or Hulu. And those services are JUST as baked in as Zune, there is no difference at all. MS provided a framework, the same one they use and others build their services on top. Your belief they’re using something different means you don’t know what you’re talking about.
Posted on Jan 20, 2012 | 2:58 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
You’re right, I don’t know, as I don’t work for Microsoft and haven’t worked on the Xbox Dashboard. Have you?
Posted on Jan 20, 2012 | 3:03 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
I have and Xbox but I only watch videos/Netflix through my AppleTV, really has the best quality IMO.
Posted on Jan 20, 2012 | 10:42 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
iTunes content is only 720p. Zune and Vudu have been 1080p for a couple of years now. They are definitely higher quality than what you get on AppleTV.
Posted on Jan 20, 2012 | 12:38 PM EST reply Recommend (2) Flag actions
Well, that’s one way to make the Apple fanboy notice the Apple-glasses he’s been sporting.
Posted on Jan 20, 2012 | 1:02 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
He might’ve meant the UI.
Which would have really pointed out those brushed-aluminum-colored glasses.
Posted on Jan 20, 2012 | 1:03 PM EST reply Recommend (2) Flag actions
lol, the best looking UI for starting up a video =P
Posted on Jan 20, 2012 | 1:04 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
thanks, trolling always helps the conversation. He’s talking netflix.
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 4:38 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Netflix can also do 1080P as of a few months ago if your watching it on a PS3 or recent bluray player.
Posted on Jan 20, 2012 | 4:24 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Higher resolution does not necessarily mean a better or ‘higher quality’ video, especially when we’re talking different encoders and back-end work to produce that video for you home television. The Apple TV does have a well-deserved reputation for high picture quality as compared to competing devices.
Obviously, you just wanted to shit on Jalapeno’s apple-flavored cheerios, so feel free to ignore.
Posted on Jan 20, 2012 | 10:11 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
he’s not talking about iTunes content, is he?
Posted on Feb 02, 2012 | 4:37 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
I have and love my Xbox, but is this not edging towards monopolisation? Using their console (highest sold in the US) to gain an advantage over competitors in another market (music and video)?
Tell me how I’m wrong. I know I am somewhere, just not sure exactly :p
Posted on Jan 20, 2012 | 11:19 AM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
The Wii is the most sold console in the US; it also has Netflix abilities. Even if they were to count only the PS3 and 360 (which no one would), it still would be very far away from being considered a monopoly.
But yes, if the limiting of resolution for other video players is intentional, then that would be considered anti-competitive in a general sense. The jury is still out on what hardware providers can do to favor their own content solutions (every few years, you might see a suit against Apple and the App Store for limiting the apps it wants on its own platform).
Posted on Jan 20, 2012 | 1:02 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
There may be more xboxes in the US than Wii’s now. The Xbox has 40% marketshare, should be leading the US market.
Posted on Jan 20, 2012 | 1:03 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Not to be mean, but you’re wrong:
http://gamerinvestments.com/video-game-stocks/index.php/category/us-sales-data-npd/
Even though the XBox 360 lead the way for the year, the Wii still has the overall lifetime lead in the US.
Posted on Jan 20, 2012 | 2:57 PM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
The Xbox has 40% marketshare. Not exactly a monopoly.
Posted on Jan 20, 2012 | 1:02 PM EST reply Recommend (1) Flag actions
Well not yet, but it’s been the highest selling console nigh on every month in the last 18.
Not there yet, but getting there.
Posted on Jan 20, 2012 | 5:05 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
It’s as much a monopoly as Apple, for using their mp3 players to sell music (an industry they entered with iTunes) and then movies and TV shows as part of an ecosystem lock-in.
Posted on Jan 20, 2012 | 2:38 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
And people wonder why I refuse to buy an xbox
Posted on Jan 20, 2012 | 3:32 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Well of course we would for something as small as this.
Posted on Jan 20, 2012 | 5:02 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
YOU GUYS MADE IT TO THE FRONT PAGE OF REDDIT! WOOH!
Posted on Jan 20, 2012 | 6:26 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
Ha, thanks for the heads-up!
Posted on Jan 20, 2012 | 6:56 PM EST reply Recommend Flag actions
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