Does anyone know if the x-box is a progressive scan DVD player? I have looked on the web and talked to the CC guy and nobody seems to know. They have an HD playback kit that supports 480i/p and 1080i but does not say anything about progressive scan.

I can't remember exactly, but think I heard DVD playback was interlaced.I was using it as dvd player for awhile.
DmC

Well, progressive scan is 480p, but I haven't ever heard of the X-Box being a progressive scan player (it would likely be a good selling point if it were). A quick google search turned up some confirmation : the X-Box supports progressive (480p) playback for games, but not for DVD-Video.

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gonk -- Saloon Links | Pre/Pro Comparison Chart | 950 Review

Gonk:

X-Box WILL support HD games, but they have to be specifically authored for HD. None like that yet, but a doggie can always hope.

But what do I know, I'm only a dog?

ARF ARF, says Iggy

Iggy

You're a handy dog to have around, you know?

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gonk -- Saloon Links | Pre/Pro Comparison Chart | 950 Review

Gonk:

THanks, but what DO I know, I'm only a dog!

ARF ARF, says Iggy!

I thought "Halo" was supposed to be HD... could be my memory, though.

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Matthew J. Hill
matt@idsi.net

Almost all the games can be played in 480p. Games like NFL Fever and NBA Hoops are in 720p. Dragons Lair is the first game to be in 1080i and is widely available already. If you look on the back of the game cases it will say whether it is HDTV capable or not. The 480p is just automatic, I tried it on my TV.

The Xbox outputs its game in 480p, unless stated otherwise. ALL games are atleast 480p, a few are 720p, and like JeffreyMercado stated, DragonsLair is 1080i.

However, it is NOT a progressive scan dvd player. The dvd video is purely interlaced. Why they opted to do that we will never know

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Play it LoUd!!

In it's stock configuration, the X-box is capable of running "most" of it's games in progressive scan mode, as stated before, with a few game's inexplicably being completely unable to run in progressive scan mode.

As far as DVD playback, I am not entirely sure why, but this mode has been limited to interlaced playback only.

Having said all of this, if you are the risk-taking type, have some electronics background and have an X-BOX that was made prior to September 2002, then you can get a $50 mod chip and install it in your X-BOX, like mine, and it will let you set the systems parameters so that you CAN use it as not only a Progressive DVD player, but also a Region Free DVD player, and also allow you the neat little skill of copying all of your games onto the X-Box hard drive (that is to say after you have upgraded it to something like a 120GB drive)! Now this isn't at all for the light of heart or non-technically minded individuals, but it does allow you to use the system in ways it truely was never intended. I even have a Linux operating system up and operational on the sucker,(take that Mr. Gates!! , as well as running multiple arcade emulators and home concole emulators. It is truely cool to play games like Galaga, Street Fighter 2 and F-Zero in 480 progressive!

They're getting cheaper, too... from $300 to $200 to $200 including two games.

Buy ten or twenty and you'd have a pretty nice Beowulf cluster... :-)

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Matthew J. Hill
matt@idsi.net