By the way... NEW YEARS RESOLUTION #1....
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Even if no one reads it... maybe I can acquire a healthy sense of accomplishment....
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-Cody
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Input Woes, Gripes, and General Technological Rants....
Ok... so I've got the TV... I've the PS3... I've got the PC using the TV as the monitor... and I've got the Xbox 360 Elite... what more could a guy want, right? (besides perhaps the WII... yeah whatever) I have been plagued by multiple problems with this setup. Just when I think it's working, something else happens.
For starters, the TV itself has issues using HDMI inputs. For some reason, when all 3 inputs are plugged in, they won't all work individually. For example, if I want the PC to show up on the screen, the Xbox also has to be or you can forget it! If I unplug everything and just have the PC plugged in via HDMI.... no problems. What's up with that? Don't get me wrong, the TV is AMAZING... I LOVE IT! The ambilight gives me goosebumps. But this is ridiculous!
Also, it's a good thing I have decent 20/20 vision, because I can't get the PC picture to take up the whole screen unless it's on the ENORMOUS resolution of 1920 by 1080. Is this awesome? Of course it is! Who wouldn't want 47" of monitor bliss at a beautiful resolution like this? Is this practical when using it for media purposes and not as a monitor? No! I sit on the couch... I'm more than 4 feet away from the monitor... it sits on top of the entertainment center! Even with the text size increased, this is a pain. I'm learning to adjust... I'd rather go blind than have to put up with a black border around the picture. So what's the fix? I'm living with it... bleh! The only other alternative is give false hope to a different video card and my budget simply doesn't allow for that.
Next problem... the black Xbox 360 Elite, though uber in it's own right also has it's own set of issues. Randomly, streaming audio just quits working. Then... randomly... it starts working again. That's right... games, DVD's, the Ipod, etc. all work fine. However, ANY streaming audio... kaputsky... This means no Netflix and no Xbox live entertainment. No myriad of unplugging, input switching, turning on and off, voodoo rituals, pagan rituals, bloody sacrifices, mystical incantations, or tear jerking prayers will fix this problem! Is it the TV? Is it the Xbox? Is it the cable? What's the deal? After reading many forums and Q&A posts, (at least Google seems to work) the problem is (of course) the new NXE (New Xbox Experience) OS that has just been released. (Thank you SO much Microsoft!) Apparently, the new OS has a problem with HDMI! Of all the inputs to have a problem with, it would be the one I'm using which is also supposed to be the best available at this time! So, what's the fix? I had to rewire and bump down to a component input. Granted, it will still give me a 1080p picture, but in my head the quality is worse! It just pisses me off! I dish out all this money for the ELITE and 2 months after I set it up, Microsoft releases some incompatible crap that screws up my entire setup! I don't want a machine that's partially working! The whole damn thing better work like it's supposed to! *sigh*.................. *breath*.............. *vomit*............ ok... anyway....
Last on the list is the PS3. I gotta say... the PS3 was a great choice. It's great for entertainment. I LOVE the Blu-Ray. Contrary to some other opinions I've heard... it never skips. Blu-Ray movies are just BEAUTIFUL! No comparison! At this point, I feel like if I'm not watching Blu-Ray, I might as well be watching a Betamax! It's that good! I actually prefer the light and sleek controller over it's bulkier cousin on the Xbox. Although the game selection isn't as extensive, the graphics are beautiful and the selection is expanding. It hasn't given me any trouble... until I have everything else plugged in.
Just when I get the Xbox problems figured out, I realize the PS3 is giving me audio problems. If I play a game, the audio is there. However, sound on the menu doesn't work. What the crap!?!?!?!? This means the music I have on there doesn't work... Blu-Ray sound doesn't work... FRIGGIN USELESS! Resetting, unplugging, the same pagan rituals... all produce the same result as before... nothing! Finally, going through the set-up process fixes the problem. After more googling, I find that, if you hold down the power button when the machine is off, wait for it to beep a second time, and then let go, it will go through the audio/video setup automatically. This fixed the issue. FINALLY!
So now, I have a PC that works beautifully when I can see it, an Xbox 360 Elite that works perfect (but continually pisses me off, because in the back of my mind I wonder if the picture could be 1/1000000th better if it were running through HDMI), and a PS3 that works exactly as it should with no issues running through HDMI after some pain and heartache. One can only hope that these issues are resolved permanently. Will the PS3 continue to give me problems? Will the Xbox 360 start wigging out on my on the component input as well? (Very few people have had this problem going through the component input, but it has been reported) Who knows. After coming home from fixing everyone else's computer problems all day, I've spent a good 3 hours fixing my own entertainment center issues. Maybe now I can just sit back and enjoy things as they work like they're supposed to...
Hey... I can dream can't I?
-Cody
For starters, the TV itself has issues using HDMI inputs. For some reason, when all 3 inputs are plugged in, they won't all work individually. For example, if I want the PC to show up on the screen, the Xbox also has to be or you can forget it! If I unplug everything and just have the PC plugged in via HDMI.... no problems. What's up with that? Don't get me wrong, the TV is AMAZING... I LOVE IT! The ambilight gives me goosebumps. But this is ridiculous!
Also, it's a good thing I have decent 20/20 vision, because I can't get the PC picture to take up the whole screen unless it's on the ENORMOUS resolution of 1920 by 1080. Is this awesome? Of course it is! Who wouldn't want 47" of monitor bliss at a beautiful resolution like this? Is this practical when using it for media purposes and not as a monitor? No! I sit on the couch... I'm more than 4 feet away from the monitor... it sits on top of the entertainment center! Even with the text size increased, this is a pain. I'm learning to adjust... I'd rather go blind than have to put up with a black border around the picture. So what's the fix? I'm living with it... bleh! The only other alternative is give false hope to a different video card and my budget simply doesn't allow for that.
Next problem... the black Xbox 360 Elite, though uber in it's own right also has it's own set of issues. Randomly, streaming audio just quits working. Then... randomly... it starts working again. That's right... games, DVD's, the Ipod, etc. all work fine. However, ANY streaming audio... kaputsky... This means no Netflix and no Xbox live entertainment. No myriad of unplugging, input switching, turning on and off, voodoo rituals, pagan rituals, bloody sacrifices, mystical incantations, or tear jerking prayers will fix this problem! Is it the TV? Is it the Xbox? Is it the cable? What's the deal? After reading many forums and Q&A posts, (at least Google seems to work) the problem is (of course) the new NXE (New Xbox Experience) OS that has just been released. (Thank you SO much Microsoft!) Apparently, the new OS has a problem with HDMI! Of all the inputs to have a problem with, it would be the one I'm using which is also supposed to be the best available at this time! So, what's the fix? I had to rewire and bump down to a component input. Granted, it will still give me a 1080p picture, but in my head the quality is worse! It just pisses me off! I dish out all this money for the ELITE and 2 months after I set it up, Microsoft releases some incompatible crap that screws up my entire setup! I don't want a machine that's partially working! The whole damn thing better work like it's supposed to! *sigh*.................. *breath*.............. *vomit*............ ok... anyway....
Last on the list is the PS3. I gotta say... the PS3 was a great choice. It's great for entertainment. I LOVE the Blu-Ray. Contrary to some other opinions I've heard... it never skips. Blu-Ray movies are just BEAUTIFUL! No comparison! At this point, I feel like if I'm not watching Blu-Ray, I might as well be watching a Betamax! It's that good! I actually prefer the light and sleek controller over it's bulkier cousin on the Xbox. Although the game selection isn't as extensive, the graphics are beautiful and the selection is expanding. It hasn't given me any trouble... until I have everything else plugged in.
Just when I get the Xbox problems figured out, I realize the PS3 is giving me audio problems. If I play a game, the audio is there. However, sound on the menu doesn't work. What the crap!?!?!?!? This means the music I have on there doesn't work... Blu-Ray sound doesn't work... FRIGGIN USELESS! Resetting, unplugging, the same pagan rituals... all produce the same result as before... nothing! Finally, going through the set-up process fixes the problem. After more googling, I find that, if you hold down the power button when the machine is off, wait for it to beep a second time, and then let go, it will go through the audio/video setup automatically. This fixed the issue. FINALLY!
So now, I have a PC that works beautifully when I can see it, an Xbox 360 Elite that works perfect (but continually pisses me off, because in the back of my mind I wonder if the picture could be 1/1000000th better if it were running through HDMI), and a PS3 that works exactly as it should with no issues running through HDMI after some pain and heartache. One can only hope that these issues are resolved permanently. Will the PS3 continue to give me problems? Will the Xbox 360 start wigging out on my on the component input as well? (Very few people have had this problem going through the component input, but it has been reported) Who knows. After coming home from fixing everyone else's computer problems all day, I've spent a good 3 hours fixing my own entertainment center issues. Maybe now I can just sit back and enjoy things as they work like they're supposed to...
Hey... I can dream can't I?
-Cody
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