Play Halo2 in widescreen?

[Robor]

For example, Halo2 is "480p" according to the box.

I've got an Xbox with a generic HD adapter (component inputs and white/red audio cables), and a Sony 50" LCD projection (HD compatible) with component inputs. It just seems like a waste to play a modern game in 4x3 format. Is it possible to output Halo2 to widescreen or upconvert 480p? My receiver upconverts but when I hook up my Xbox all I get is a grey screen. I hear audio but nothing on output - I'm thinking macrovision might be the problem...???

 

[Anubis]

yea go ingo the dashboard on the xbox and change it to wide screen

 

[Robor]

Originally posted by: Anubis
yea go ingo the dashboard on the xbox and change it to wide screen

I did that - my TV will do all 3 optional formats listed in the dashboard and they are enabled but I still can't find any way to view Halo2 in widescreen (16:9).

 

[Anubis]

have you tried not upcnverting it? go straight from the xbox-TV

 

[Robor]

Originally posted by: Anubis
have you tried not upcnverting it? go straight from the xbox-TV

I haven't actually tried with Halo 2 because I don't own it. My friend has it and he's got a widescreen TV and he hasn't been able to get it to display widescreen on his.

I have tried all of my own games (Halo 1, NFL Fever 2003, NHL 2003, Splinter Cell, and NFL2K5). All of them were 4x3 no matter what I did (with and without upconverting).

Does your Halo2 display in 16x9 format?

 

[Anubis]

no idea dont have a 16x9 TV but i knows that do and they have it working fine

 

[Robor]

Are they zooming it to be 16x9? That's what my friend does as he's got an older TV and has to worry about burn-in. I mean, I looked on the Halo2 box and it said it supported 480p (which is a 4:3 format - right?). If it supported widescreens HD formats it would have to be either 720p or 1080i (which it doesn't support). I'm confused...

I guess I should just rent Halo2 from Blockbuster and see what happens?

 

[Anubis]

post in OT or Software, someone in 1 of them asked about this the other day, and IIRC it just works normally without zooming

 

[tweeve2002]

I dont Like how Halo 2 handles widescreen TVs in mulitplayer...instead of splitting the screen top and bottem, it splits it left and right :disgust:

 

[Robor]

Before I posted my thread I did a few searches like "Halo2 widescreen" and "Halo2 16x9" and didn't come up with anything that helped. Just a thread about if the component cables are worth it or not.

From what I've read in Google searches Halo2 doesn't support 720 or 1080 but it can do widescreen. If that's the case, how? I know a few XBox games support 720 or 1080. I wonder why Halo2 doesn't? Maybe the XBox can't handle Halo2 in a resolution higher than 640x480? That's the main reason I haven't purchased Halo2. I remember "choppy" scenes in Halo1 and it disappointed me to see that in a brand new console. I don't want to drop ~$50-ish for Halo2 if it's going to be choppy, 4:3 format, or distorted in a widescreen mode.

Thanks for the help Anubis!

 

[Anubis]

look here

http://forums.anandtech.com/me...8&threadid=1455022


just search for Halo

 

[TerryMathews]

Originally posted by: RoborI mean, I looked on the Halo2 box and it said it supported 480p (which is a 4:3 format - right?). If it supported widescreens HD formats it would have to be either 720p or 1080i (which it doesn't support). I'm confused...

480p doesn't mean 4:3... Just look at any DVD... 480p can be either 4:3 (640x480) or 16:9 (720x480). Technically, 480i can as well.

 

[Wingznut]

I own Halo 2 (and an RPTV) and it is 480p and it is 16x9... I'm not sure what your question is, Robor.

And no, the Xbox doesn't really have enough video ram to run most games well at 720+ resolutions. I suspect that'll change with the next gen.

I have tried all of my own games (Halo 1, NFL Fever 2003, NHL 2003, Splinter Cell, and NFL2K5). All of them were 4x3 no matter what I did (with and without upconverting).

Halo 1 and Splinter Cell are not 16x9... The other games you listed are.

http://www.hdtvarcade.com/xboxlist.htm

 

[Antisocial Virge]

Widescreen for me.

 

[Robor]

I haven't played Halo 2 yet - I'm basing my Halo 2 question on info from my friend who owns it and said he has to stretch his TV to do widescreen. I've tried the other games I listed and couldn't get any of them to go widescreen and apparently some of them are widescreen compatible.

I'm probably going to rent Halo 2 and see if I can get it to work and if it annoys me too much I'll be selling my Xbox. I still resent Microsoft delaying the original Halo for PC and not releasing Halo 2 on PC anytime soon. :|

Thanks for the help everyone!

 

[Lyfer]

Originally posted by: Antisocial-Virge
Widescreen for me.

Ownage.


What resolution? 720p?

 

[Wingznut]

Originally posted by: Lyfer

Originally posted by: Antisocial-Virge
Widescreen for me.

Ownage.


What resolution? 720p?

No, Halo 2 is 480p.

I guess I still don't understand Robor... Check hdtvarcade.com (I linked it above) and you'll see what games are programmed for 16x9. All you have to do is set your Xbox to display the HDTV resolutions, and in Widescreen mode, which it sounds like you already have.

Turn it on, insert the game, and it works. There's really nothing difficult about it.

Are you running your Xbox through your HD receiver and not straight to the TV? What "upconverting" are you talking about?

 

[Robor]

Originally posted by: Wingznut

Originally posted by: Lyfer

Originally posted by: Antisocial-Virge
Widescreen for me.

Ownage.


What resolution? 720p?

No, Halo 2 is 480p.

I guess I still don't understand Robor... Check hdtvarcade.com (I linked it above) and you'll see what games are programmed for 16x9. All you have to do is set your Xbox to display the HDTV resolutions, and in Widescreen mode, which it sounds like you already have.

Turn it on, insert the game, and it works. There's really nothing difficult about it.

Are you running your Xbox through your HD receiver and not straight to the TV? What "upconverting" are you talking about?

Yeah, that's the link to the HD games list I was looking for. Thanks!

I double-checked my owned games against that list and I see the problem. I actually have Halo1, NHL 2002, NFL Fever 2002, Splinter Cell, and NFL2K3. None of them but NFL2K3 are 16x9 compatible. I will have to hook my XBox back up and try it out.

As far as "upconverting", I mean is it possible to upconvert Halo2 like some of the newer DVD players will do with movies? I know the XBox isn't an upconverting DVD player but some higher end receivers will do the video upconversion. Mine is the Yamaha RX-V2400 and from what I can understand so far it will upconvert component to 720p or 1080i. I tried this with and without a game loaded but all I got is a grey 4:3 output.

 

[sirfergy]

I play Halo 2 in 480p on a 61" plasma and it is so sweet!

 

[w00t]

i play halo 2 in a 20in toshiba with a vcr! wowzors! i am mad cause i cant figure out how to make the screen to go widescreen.