Anyone have a trial/buddy key or whatever they wouldn't mind parting with?
I'm interested in giving LOTRO a few days since it's released to check it out.
LOTRO Trial
Moderator: Dictators in Training
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Project DARC
- NT Froglok
- Posts: 305
- Joined: Tue Mar 09, 2004 2:23 pm
Quite honestly, I just couldn't get into it. I made a dwarf guardian and did all the newbie quests around thorin's gate. But once I got through that it was just more and more of the same.
I've decided to go back to EQ1 and play that in the free time that I still have.
Potentially will check out warhammer, but I just got my ps3 in so I'll be fooling around with that alot too.
I've decided to go back to EQ1 and play that in the free time that I still have.
Potentially will check out warhammer, but I just got my ps3 in so I'll be fooling around with that alot too.
The $50 a year for Live Gold gets you a lot more than online gaming with your friends.
I understand the MS hate but at the same time, I think they have made two of the best consoles ever and their online service is worth $4 a month. The ability to watch an HD version of some of my favorite movies that will probably never be released on high def media is worth the money alone.
I understand the MS hate but at the same time, I think they have made two of the best consoles ever and their online service is worth $4 a month. The ability to watch an HD version of some of my favorite movies that will probably never be released on high def media is worth the money alone.
You are vastly misrepresenting upscaling. It does not make normal 480p DVDs into 'HD' ones.
In fact, if you read most review sites, upscaling in almost all cases makes almost zero difference in picture quality, so that's bullshit. You are still watching a standard definition DVD, nothing remotely near HD.
Everything about Xbox Live is about sending more cash to MS. I'm sorry but it's a complete fucking to pay to use the Internets, in addition to paying 60 bucks per games, most with shitty online capability. Especially when your competition offers the same service for free. This is the same model as the old 'The Zone' which flopped for PCs. Live doesn't get you anything that isn't free on Wii, PS3, or PCs.
Also, the 360 failure rate is astronomical. I think MS said they lost a billion last year replacing them?
I liked my original Xbox, but despised the original Live concept. I like the 360, but there are some severe issues with it, and the only benefit MS has is Sony has been inept in it's handling of the PS3.
In fact, if you read most review sites, upscaling in almost all cases makes almost zero difference in picture quality, so that's bullshit. You are still watching a standard definition DVD, nothing remotely near HD.
Everything about Xbox Live is about sending more cash to MS. I'm sorry but it's a complete fucking to pay to use the Internets, in addition to paying 60 bucks per games, most with shitty online capability. Especially when your competition offers the same service for free. This is the same model as the old 'The Zone' which flopped for PCs. Live doesn't get you anything that isn't free on Wii, PS3, or PCs.
Also, the 360 failure rate is astronomical. I think MS said they lost a billion last year replacing them?
I liked my original Xbox, but despised the original Live concept. I like the 360, but there are some severe issues with it, and the only benefit MS has is Sony has been inept in it's handling of the PS3.
I'm talking about downloading 720P versions of classic films and TV shows. You do realize that you have access to a pretty impressive on demand service through the 360 right? The MS online service is so far superior to anything that Sony or Nintendo have put together that I question whether you have even bothered to browse through the services available. I understand that Sony has some sort of media extender capability but nothing on the scale that MS has put in to the 360. You get what you pay for and Sony and Nintendo have a half ass, "free" online service. I don't mind paying $4 a month for LIVE.
PS The upscaling of standard DVD results in a superior picture quality so again, I question whether you understand what you are talking about. If you are not using a VGA or HDMI cable on your 360, you are not getting an upscaled picture so, yeah, in your case, the results are not going to be impressive because you are not upscaling. Yeah, yeah, yeah, your brothers, wifes, uncles, best friends pool boy has an HDMI output on their 360 and your copy of On Golden Pond didn't look any better but in my experience, good DVD transfers look even better when upscaled to the HDTV's native resolution. And no, "most review sites" do not agree that upscaling makes zero difference. Most grannies probably agree that the difference is not noticeable but not most respected AV reviewers.
PS The upscaling of standard DVD results in a superior picture quality so again, I question whether you understand what you are talking about. If you are not using a VGA or HDMI cable on your 360, you are not getting an upscaled picture so, yeah, in your case, the results are not going to be impressive because you are not upscaling. Yeah, yeah, yeah, your brothers, wifes, uncles, best friends pool boy has an HDMI output on their 360 and your copy of On Golden Pond didn't look any better but in my experience, good DVD transfers look even better when upscaled to the HDTV's native resolution. And no, "most review sites" do not agree that upscaling makes zero difference. Most grannies probably agree that the difference is not noticeable but not most respected AV reviewers.
Due to my A/V component set up (back of the room near the couch whereas the TV is directly in the front of the room - cables run through the attic), I wasn't able to us HDMI and had to go the component route.
So far, PS2 games still look like ass so I'm having to wait until I can rent or buy a ps3 game to (hopefully) get the nice picture.
I don't know whether it was the monstercable component cables or my TV, but 720p / 1080i is the best signal transfer I can get right now even though my TV is a 1080p tv (sony kds-60a2000).
When I save up for an HDMI throughput receiver, I'll look into rewiring to move my components up front so I can use HDMI, but keeping my fingers crossed that the actual ps3 games and blu ray movies will look good.
So far, PS2 games still look like ass so I'm having to wait until I can rent or buy a ps3 game to (hopefully) get the nice picture.
I don't know whether it was the monstercable component cables or my TV, but 720p / 1080i is the best signal transfer I can get right now even though my TV is a 1080p tv (sony kds-60a2000).
When I save up for an HDMI throughput receiver, I'll look into rewiring to move my components up front so I can use HDMI, but keeping my fingers crossed that the actual ps3 games and blu ray movies will look good.
Sure, MS was first to the punch with the 360 and are slowly adding good content. The download selection though is still pretty woeful, and one doesn't have to have Live for it. I like the concept.
My point is as a gaming console one should not have to 'pay' to play when it's free on the other two. You can multiplayer game on your Wii or PS3 without paying. The games on the PS3 are the same as the 360, minus one or two each way, so why would someone want to pay? Not minding ain't a good reason. MS has enough cash already, in my opinion, and I mind giving them any more.
Again, you question my knowledge but miss some very basic home theatre tenets.
If one has an HDTV, it already has built-in scaling and interpolating to convert signals received into the native resolution of the display. Why would anyone think a couple hundred dollar gaming console with upscaling as an addon is going to do a better job of scaling than their thousand dollar HDTV is going to do?
All you are doing is having your 360 scale it to a high-def resolution, and then your TV will re-scale it to fit the display.
I have played upconverted movies, and the difference is not enough to make a big deal out of it. I'm sure it is with your home theatre projection setup, but with a 42" 1080p Westy it is not a big deal.
This is different from Bluray or HD which has AMAZING movie quality.
This also ignores the fact 360s die more often than Kenny on South Park. I'd not recommend using something so fragile with so many heating issues as a regular DVD player.
My point is as a gaming console one should not have to 'pay' to play when it's free on the other two. You can multiplayer game on your Wii or PS3 without paying. The games on the PS3 are the same as the 360, minus one or two each way, so why would someone want to pay? Not minding ain't a good reason. MS has enough cash already, in my opinion, and I mind giving them any more.
Again, you question my knowledge but miss some very basic home theatre tenets.
If one has an HDTV, it already has built-in scaling and interpolating to convert signals received into the native resolution of the display. Why would anyone think a couple hundred dollar gaming console with upscaling as an addon is going to do a better job of scaling than their thousand dollar HDTV is going to do?
All you are doing is having your 360 scale it to a high-def resolution, and then your TV will re-scale it to fit the display.
I have played upconverted movies, and the difference is not enough to make a big deal out of it. I'm sure it is with your home theatre projection setup, but with a 42" 1080p Westy it is not a big deal.
This is different from Bluray or HD which has AMAZING movie quality.
This also ignores the fact 360s die more often than Kenny on South Park. I'd not recommend using something so fragile with so many heating issues as a regular DVD player.
Upscaling in a DVD player is more advanced than what happens to the signal at the input on your TV unless you have a quality upscaler on the TV (which most do not). I guess I don't consider a $20 cable an "add on" but I suppose it could. The upscaling happens in the 360, not the cable but due to anti theft measures, the signal cannot be upconverted through component or any other connection besides HDMI or VGA.
Actually, upscaling is not advanced at all. Difficult to do, but not really advanced.
It's just trying to convert SD and upgrade it to HD resolution of 720p or 1080p.. All standard DVDs are recorded in 480i. Your 360 deinterlaces the DVD to 480p. Then the scaler extrapolates the extra resolution it needs -- inventing the intermediate pixels by kind of averaging the real pixels around them. The content is still base 480i, but ones mileage will vary.
This process has been going on for a while, and most good HD TVs do support this. A POS Costco 27" one doesn't, but I doubt the person buying that cares much, or he'd have something better.
This is vastly different from real HD, which isn't comparable to the 'upscaled' amplified DVD which are still at their base only zoomed 480i, and not nearly as good.
It's just trying to convert SD and upgrade it to HD resolution of 720p or 1080p.. All standard DVDs are recorded in 480i. Your 360 deinterlaces the DVD to 480p. Then the scaler extrapolates the extra resolution it needs -- inventing the intermediate pixels by kind of averaging the real pixels around them. The content is still base 480i, but ones mileage will vary.
This process has been going on for a while, and most good HD TVs do support this. A POS Costco 27" one doesn't, but I doubt the person buying that cares much, or he'd have something better.
This is vastly different from real HD, which isn't comparable to the 'upscaled' amplified DVD which are still at their base only zoomed 480i, and not nearly as good.