XBox Premium gets HDMI

[mas]

Microsoft has quietly updated its mid-range Xbox
360 Premium model with an HDMI output, making the game console
compatible with high-definition televisions and receivers. The HDMI
port had been a major selling point of the high-end Xbox 360 Elite,
which costs $100 more and features a larger hard drive.

A good move, but I have just one question as HDMI is already history....why not DisplayPort?

[el jopez]

HDMI spec is still 1.2 and not the standard 1.3+. Additionally what A/V gear other than monitors now utilize DisplayPort? That is to new of a tech to be used on the mass market. Were just now embracing HDMI..... if you can call it embracing.

[Canadian_Dude]

Any idea how long it will take for the big companies to start using DisplayPort? I was planning on buying a tv this weekend, but I might not if this will replace hdmi within the year...

[Professor.Ham.Slap]

It is HDMI 1.2, but do we really need 1.3 for a gaming system? I'd argue pretty heavily on no. Really only a handful of televisions will actively use all features of HDMI 1.3 (Deep Color being the primary example) and most consumers will not even be able to tell the difference. I'm thinking the key here is the source. Movies placed on HD DVD and Blu-Ray and the like can certainly benefit from it because they are shot in the real world or rendered using many powerful server farms. Any on-the-fly rendered image really won't benefit that much from the enhanced color, as it's just another layer that would require a lot more processing power to decide whether we're looking at red 48% or red 48.2%. Just IMHO.

[mas]

HDMI spec is still 1.2 and not the standard 1.3+. Additionally what A/V gear other than monitors now utilize DisplayPort? That is to new of a tech to be used on the mass market. Were just now embracing HDMI..... if you can call it embracing.

Whether you feel DisplayPort is too new is besides the point. DisplayPort is the new ratified standard interface supplanting HDMI.

http://www.geek.com/displayport-the-new-video-interconnect-standard/

You can purchase whatever you like, but the interface will determine if you have a future oriented piece of equipment where you can 'grow into it', or whether you have a limited pice of equipment which you 'outgrow'. DVI, HDMI and DP are all electrically compatible, but all do not necessarily support the various security protocols, making for a mean business for vendors selling conversion cables with various levels of supported compatibility.

For a variety of reasons, expect to see DisplayPort rather quickly become the standard interface replacing DVI in the PC game and laptop markets.

[Kid22]

I am currious to know the amount of people in america or any other industrialised, information aged country, That actually use all HDTV hdmi 7.1 optical "techyness"(hell i bet that alot of 360 owners wonder why thier xbox came with 3 extra cables). What my prediction is that yes people in my state have hdtv's but obviously not that many due to the fact that the best buy down the street from where i live do not display hddvd or bluray players. You have to ask for them. And the local cable company has 7 hd channels only 1 or them in my eye true hdtv,discovery hd theater. i seriously think that if microsoft used the display port who would buy it maybe 1% or lower of people who would even have a compatible TV. I own a 360 premium with the component cables and happy with it, i dont care to want the displayport. I guess for you few hardcore pavers of entertainment tech might want it but why? I just got a hdtv 7 months ago and a HT 8 days ago. my cable company is still working on upgrading thier lines to carry the insane amount of info needed to have 100 hdtv lins in place of 100 normal tv lines. If you buy all the baddest *** electronic gizmos you will be far infront of the infrastructure needed to supply your tronics. Im in okc so im not sure about the techyness of where your from but here my medeocre set up is probebly one of the nicer ones in my area. now mas has an idea close to mine about bluray, USEFULL for computers just to early for home video entertainment.

[el jopez]

@ Prof:

While I do agree that games do not need 1.3 sepc, movies on Blu-Ray and HD-DVD do. Keep in mind that though 1.3 does allow for a better picture with Deep Color tech with TV's that allow for it, 1.3 also allows the transmission of HD audio channels which otherwise cannot be accessed unless via multichannel analog connection with certain HD drive players. The 360 HD-DVD addon is a dud IMO for not incorporating 1.3 as you receive a great picture but DVD resolution sound.

@ MAS

I knew DisplayPort was coming but I had no idea of its current progression. And I agree about DisplayPort being big in the PC market like DVI was within the last few years. I suppose time will tell how much further it is widely adopted.

@ Kid

I agree, most Americans have the foggiest clue of what it takes to properly hookup an HD setup unless your tech geek. Engadget reported that quite a few consumers are unaware that their 360's and PS3's had the ablity to output in HD resolutions. I'll agree that component cables still get the job done and in HD might I add, however if MS decides to replace the HDMI port with a DisplayPort within a year they will do it. Who would have thought that the Premium SKU would receive an HDMI upgrade. Makes the Elite not so elite now and this has definitely ticked off quite a few early adopters. Oh the sin on buying fresh to market. BTW if you think OKC is bad, try Ft. Smith, AR. What a town....

[j-malotky]

A good move, but I have just one question as HDMI is already history....why not DisplayPort?

Great. Now there is another reason for me to put off upgrading my HT. I was waiting to find a good processor that could take HDMI uncompressed audio...[:'(]

JM

[mas]

Why not DisplayPort? The question is still legit, despite all of the crying and complaining.

Backwards conversion is easily accomplished from DisplayPort to HDMI or to DVI.

Forward conversion from DVI or HDMI to DisplayPort is not.

By selecting an intermediate interface, the new high end set capabilities are not supported.

By incorporating the latest interface, all of the previous compatible formats are supported, including the new standard high end sets. And for all of you who are not ready for it, all it takes is a $10 adapter! And if/when you upgrade your display, it will be compatible and we won't have to listen to the same folks complaining about having an older format display complaining that the unit doesn't support the new generation display! {Heck, it would be worth it for this feature alone!}

One approach covers all of the bases going into the future, the other does not. And if someone is marketing a high-end HD recorder &/or player, why would they not want to support the high-end display devices???

Considering the cost is ~ the same for either interface, it makes sense to standardize on the latest and give folks a bit more rather than underdeliver and provide less.

So, one wonders why they just didn't go with DisplayPort, save on royalty payments (as HDMI is not an open standard), and make it future oriented.

[Professor.Ham.Slap]

@ Prof:

While I do agree that games do not need 1.3 sepc, movies on Blu-Ray and HD-DVD do. Keep in mind that though 1.3 does allow for a better picture with Deep Color tech with TV's that allow for it, 1.3 also allows the transmission of HD audio channels which otherwise cannot be accessed unless via multichannel analog connection with certain HD drive players. The 360 HD-DVD addon is a dud IMO for not incorporating 1.3 as you receive a great picture but DVD resolution sound.

Actually as things stand right now, there's very little you can or will be able to do with HDMI 1.3 as far as True-HD and DTS-MA are concerned. Virtually all of the high def discs (HD DVD and Blu-Ray) are flagged with Advanced Authoring. What this does is determines that the sound format must be decoded inside the player and can in no way be decoded by your AVR. Also, since the 360 Elite came out and now that the Pro also has HDMI, the 360 HD DVD add-on is almost just as good as a standalone player (minus the fantastic upconverting capability.