It’s been a couple’a years since I had a bona-fide video game console. Since the holidays are coming up, I’ve been toying with the idea of getting one, hooking it up to my rear-projection Mitsubishi HDTV, and going totally bonkers for the winter.
Question 1: There’s been a lot of back-and-forth about the dangers of “burn in” with rear-projection TVs. What’s the Straight Dope?
Question 2: I know some systems and/or games now support the whole HDTV experience – progressive-scan, 720 or 1050 resolution, 16:9 ratio, all that. Where can I get a list of what games have what features? I’m inclining towards the PlayStation 2, but am open to see what the XBox and Gamecube have to offer.
Just FYI, but the next generation consoles are going to be hitting the market next year. Even if you don’t care enough about games to want the cutting edge gear, there will probably be a big price drop in the older consoles as soon as the new ones come out. I don’t know if any of the current consoles are HDTV compatible (my instinct is to say “no,” though) but I’m pretty sure the new ones will be.
The most definitive list I’ve ever seen is here, but it hasn’t been updated since April. Looks like the Xbox is the only current console that can output higher than 480p, or at least the only one with any games that support it.
A sad note about the Gamecube: They took the “digital out” port from the newer 'cubes (used for the component cable) because Nintendo said less than 1% of their customers were using it. I believe that they will trade a cube w/o a digital output for one that has one if you contact them, though.
But yeah, the new consoles coming out eventually will almost certainly fully support HDTV.
Burn in is tricky. Have you calibrated your RPTV or had someone do it for you, or as you still running with the settings that came out of the box?
By default, all CRTVs have their brightness and contrast way too high, or in “torch mode” as enthusiasts call it. Burn in is a real possibility if you’re running in torch mode. However if you have your contrast and brightness turned down, then you can be OK for gaming.
However, you need to make sure that your games don’t have stationary menus/displays that show up all the time. This does increase your risk of burn-in. Most TV manufacturers agree that for every 2 hours gaming, you should spend 6 hours watching normal TV.
The PS3, Microsoft Xenon, and Nintendo Revolution have no firm release date yet. Sony proclaimed way back when that the PS3 would come out in 2005 but with the PSP being pushed back I somehow doubt it.
On top of that, all 3 are supposed to be publicly unveiled for the first time at next year’s E3 (well, the Xenon will be at CES) and no console has ever first appeared at E3 and then released in the same year.
Finally, the PS2, Xbox and Cube all have strong scheduled support through the end of next year and some games are dated for 2006. So the current three aren’t dead yet.
I ran the video through Avia’s “Guide to Home Theater” DVD, which includes adjustment tests for contrast, color, tint, and everything else. The TV gets reset to factory defaults if there’s an extended power outage, but I just set them back when that occurs.
You mean like 2 hours gaming - 6 hours TV - 2 hours gaming - 6 hours TV? Or “Well, I played for six hours today, time for that 18-hour Star Trek marathon”?
And how about 2 hours gaming followed by six hours of having the TV off?
And thanks to everyone who’s posted so far. I thought the PS3 was slated for a 2005 release, but the last I heard of that was in 2002, so I have no idea if it’s slipped or not.