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Ask Engadget HD: Best home theater setup for gaming?

by Richard Lawler posted Oct 7th 2009 at 2:45PM Featured Story


As usual, this week's Ask Engadget HD centers around a particular home theater setup question, as Philip is trying to set things up for one particular purpose: gaming. Movies and TV are great source of high definition, but some of us just want to hook up the Xbox 360 or Playstation 3 and go. We'll let him flesh out the details:

"I'm finally ready to build the home theater I've always wanted, and while I'll definitely be watching TV and playing Blu-ray discs as well, it's going to be all about gaming. I've already got a PS3 and Xbox 360 hooked up to an old 20-inch LCD, but I need a real HDTV and surround setup now. I know some games support 7.1, is it worth the extra setup? Also, what HDTV in the $1,000 - $2,000 price range is best for games?"

While 7.1 may not be the immediate move for everyone, we're sure some Killzone 2 players may appreciate the extra speakers. Let Phil know what setup you're running, and if you want to throw in a Xbox Live Gamertag or PSN ID as well we certainly won't be mad at you. [Note: This isn't about which system is the best, we've been there and while we might revisit the question later, fanboys, this is about the surrounding equipment so try and stay on topic, k?

Got a burning question that you'd love to toss out for Engadget HD (or its readers) to take a look at? Tired of Google's blank stares when you ask for real-world experiences? Hit us up at ask at engadgethd dawt com and keep an eye on this space -- your inquiry could be next.

Modern Warfare 2, Halo 3: ODST are both not-quite HD games

by Richard Lawler posted Jul 31st 2009 at 2:40PM


It's been nearly two years since Halo 3 and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare were released and disappointed the "HD era" by not quite making it up to 720 lines of resolution. Two years later, it appears their sequels due this fall, Halo 3: ODST and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, won't be able to do any better. In separate articles, developers confirmed both will match the resolution of the original games (1024x600 for Call of Duty, 1152x640 for Halo.) Honestly, we have the same perspective we did then, there's a lot more to image quality than just resolution and a peek at a trailer for either game will reveal plenty of visual tricks to keep the eyes entertained (if you think a measly 120p's will pull Editor Emeritus Ryan Block away from CoD, think again) but, c'mon guys, the so-called HD era is four years deep, if Bizarre could figure out how to squeeze 720p res and better graphics while moving from Project Gotham Racing 3 to PGR4, why can't you?

[Via Evil Avatar & again]

Read - Halo 3: ODST not 720p admits Bungie
Read - Modern Warfare 2 will render at 600p

Watchmen Director's Cut movie / PlayStation 3 game Blu-ray combo now available

by Vladislav Savov posted Jul 21st 2009 at 8:24PM


If you have the dominant high-def optical storage format -- which can serve both movies and games with equal aplomb -- built right into your consoles, shouldn't you be leveraging that synergy? Well, the assimilation is now complete, as Watchmen Director's Cut launched today with The End is Night Parts 1 and 2 for PlayStation 3 in tow. The price of admission here is a penny under $50 before tax / shipping -- and considering both parts of the game cost $30 total on their lonesome, that's none too shabby of a deal. It'll be interesting to see what film and tie-in game make the merge next -- anyone up for a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory re-release?

Israeli cable TV provider tries its hand at streaming games on demand

by Ross Miller posted Jul 20th 2009 at 7:58PM

Although it won't beat OnLive out the gate -- assuming that company sticks to its winter 2009 target date -- Israeli cable TV provider Hot has unveiled its plans to provide streaming games on demand, with all the processing power done server-side so you can keep that weak cable box as is, thanks to technology from local company PlayCast. A trial program is in the cards for 1,000 customers, with access for everyone coming in early 2010. If this screen shot's any indication, it's not exactly looking to stream Crysis -- if anything, we're expecting something more comparable to what we saw on our last visit to Holiday Inn, which is still infinitely better than the nonexistent streaming gaming options our cable TV companies are currently offering stateside.

3D glasses included in two new Disney games for Xbox 360, PS3 & Wii

by Richard Lawler posted Jun 30th 2009 at 11:35PM


While you'll probably have to wait for James Cameron's Avatar for a proper stereoscopic 3D experience on consoles, Disney is readying two games this summer that will not only support anaglyph 3D (good news, it will work on any TV, bad news, it's the same low quality red/blue style 3D you've seen and ignored before), but come with two pairs of glasses packed in. Just continuing on the 3D hype its been dispensing to the kids with Jonas Bros. and Hannah Montana flicks both on the big screen and at home, highlighted most recently with Up and culminating in the upcoming Toy Story 1 & 2 3D remakes in October, Disney is clearly making an effort to work the technology in on every level with special 3D modes (no cheat codes necessary.) Toy Story Mania is a Wii-exclusive game due this fall based on the ride at its resorts, while G-Force brings spy guinea pigs to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 July 21.

[Via Joystiq]

Netflix on the lookout for gaming platforms engineering guru

by Ross Miller posted Apr 13th 2009 at 4:47PM

We've heard whispers of Netflix heading to other, non-Xbox 360 game consoles before, and now adding to the susurrus is a job listing from the company for Engineering Lead - Gaming Platforms. The description calls for someone familiar with the technical hurdles of current-gen consoles for building a small team to "rapidly prototype and iterate on a variety of platforms." Whether or not this means we'll be seeing PlayStation 3 or Wii services in the near (or even distant) future is anyone's guess, but with Microsoft's version so far a streaming success, we wouldn't be surprised if the company took a few steps to increase the probability that 3 billionth delivered flick is digital.

[Via Joystiq]

ESPN promises around 1000 games in HD this year

by Darren Murph posted Feb 11th 2008 at 1:30PM


As if this year wasn't looking big enough for ESPN HD, it seems that the network will be dedicating even more resources to high-definition programming than in years past. 2008 already marked / marks the channel's first Winter and Summer X-Games in high-def and the looming launch of ESPNews HD / ESPNU HD, and now vice president of strategic business planning and development Bryan Burns has claimed that sports addicts everywhere will be able to catch "around 1,000 games" in HD during the rest of 2008 on ESPN HD / ESPN2 HD, while "over 100 more" will be shown on ESPNU HD. For more on ESPN's future plans in regard to HD, hit up the read link below.

[Image courtesy of TVTechnology]

Analysts say only a fraction of gamers use video playback capabilities

by Erik Hanson posted Jun 30th 2007 at 6:15PM

PS3, Xbox 360, and WiiResearch analysts at The Diffusion Group have released an interesting study into the habits and knowledge levels of gamers in relationship to playing back videos, DVDs, and other video content on their consoles. Only 30% of console owners surveyed knew their game boxes were capable of playing back movies or other content, and only 13% were actually using it for that purpose. Read on for more.

Continue reading Analysts say only a fraction of gamers use video playback capabilities

Playstation 3 price: 500 euros ($600 U.S.)

by Richard Lawler posted Apr 5th 2006 at 11:06AM

Playstation 3That's what a few French websites are reporting, apparently stated by Sony Europe boss George Fornay in a radio interview. That would convert to roughly $613 American dollars and make the PS3 the most expensive videogame console out by quite a bit. He apparently confirmed that the Playstation was delayed to work out Blu-ray copy protection issues (that we still haven't seen a final design for the controller, system or a finished game does not appear to have been a contributing factor), and that it should launch in the range of 499 to 599 euros. He justified the high price by saying it was cheap for a platform capable of reading Blu-ray discs.

With no confirmation or official announcement from Sony U.S. or Japan this is still in rumor territory, but its a little late for an April Fools. Their main competitor, the Xbox 360 Premium system, launched at 399 euros. Well, I guess we'll ask you again, is around $600 your price for PS3 Blu-ray? Personally, I'm not buying one until they announce a Bob Ross videogame.

Previous Playstation 3 price news:

Playstation 3: Coming to North America (and the world) in 2006

by Richard Lawler posted Mar 15th 2006 at 2:40AM

PS3 Coming to America in 2006Check out Joystiq's continuing updates of Sony's Playstation Conference for more information, but lets get down the key facts:
  • Worldwide (Asia, Europe, North America) launch in early November
  • 1 million units shipped every month, total of 6 million shipped by the end of 2006
  • 100% backwards compatible with existing PS1 & PS2 titles, will upconvert to HD resolutions
  • Latest HDMI connectors (1.3?)
  • 60GB HDD "required", supports Linux, acts as a media server
  • All PS3 games will ship on Blu-ray discs to prevent piracy
  • PS3 online service will feature matchmaking, downloads; free "basic" service
  • Developers will get final kits in June
  • PS3 is "4D"
  • The conference is over, no games, no price announced
Well there we have it, more hardware details, and still so many questions. But at least it is launching in 2006, I don't know if we could survive another Christmas without "true" high definition. One thing is for sure, just when it looked like Sony might be slipping, they have come back with a big plan for continued worldwide dominance. Anyone want to place odds on if they can pull it off?

"Only in HD, Please"

by Richard Lawler posted Sep 19th 2005 at 6:43PM


Project Gotham 3 - Countach

It's official. I'm boycotting all things not high def. E3 was the start, and last weekend's Tokyo Game Show sealed it. The high definition gaming era is upon us, and I'm not squinting at low resolution photos and postage-stamp sized movie trailers anymore. I'm going to play it in high definition, why would I try to judge a preview of it in anything less? Microsoft and Sony have taken the right steps in person, displaying their wares on glistening high definition displays at each tradeshow, but finding proper quality trailers and screens is still much like panning for gold, a few shiny nuggets every now and then, but mostly just mud.

Bus passes for the revolution after the jump, along with links to the best sources for HD resolution trailers and pictures I've found.

Continue reading "Only in HD, Please"





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