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PSN ID: broonor
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Battle: jpitner
PSN: broonor
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 In this world of 720p gaming (finally 1080i/p is hitting a lot of games), I feel left in the cold. Games custom tailor their graphics (most notably text) to HD resolutions, leaving the non HD screens with fuzzy, unreadable words confusing the player--did I just drink a lot of laced booze without knowing it?
The old assumptions still exist. [url=http://blog.wired.com/games/2006/11/capcom_fixes_lo.html]Capcom fixed Lost Planet's text[url], but most games and developers either don't know or just don't care about the SD gamers. So here I am, trying to play Folklore on my beastly 23" CRT-style tv I bought for my college dormroom. After 15 to 30 minutes of gaming on it; my eyes hurt from squinting to read the various chat boxes and menu items, stopping momentarily to wonder if I forgot to put in my contacts for the day. So I thought I was being a shrewd consumer and bought a HDMI -> DVI converter. Huzzah! I'll play in at least some form of HD on my monitor for my computer! It handles better resolutions than SD and at the very least can play 720p if not more. My cord arrives, and I plug it in, giddy to play games in the manner they were meant to be seen and played. Suddenly I crapped my pants as I found there was no display. Worried that I damaged my system, I headed to the Internet to solve my issue. Alas, my fears were confirmed. Some of you more astute robots would notice my fatal flaw. I didn't bother reading up on the latest and greatest info regarding video from High-Def sources. In this case: High-Def Copy Protection (HDCP). My monitor wasn't compliant (see: have decoder for encrypted HD signal) so I saw a screen full of nothing by design, not due to something breaking. 
So I'm out $7 from my experiment, and have lost a lot of enthusiasm for console gaming. I turned to consoles because I couldn't constantly upgrade my PC due to a lack of funds. But now, I can't even enjoy my console because I can't upgrade my TV? I'm hoping to win a contest with a tv some time soon. Having my first child on the way really limits my spending even with the "stimulus package" and my tax refund on the way soon. Looks like it's time for more flash gaming. DTD anyone?
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Living the dream since March 16, 2006
Wish some of these guys would realize that I spent most of my money on consoles and games instead of a new TV. Oh yeah, and student loan payments too. Curses!
Put one on lay-away or something man, when you see the difference in quality you will love yourself for buying one.
I feel your pain, jpitner...well, kinda. I have my own 26" LCD HDTV at college, but when I brought my PS3 home for the break, I had to hook it up over composite to my family’s eight-and-a-half-year-old 27" CRT. Luckily, I don’t play games with lots of text (I was mostly playing Rock Band, Warhawk, and Call of Duty 4), but it still hurt my eyes to try and read parts of the HUD in the shooters. What are you going to do?
Hell, perhaps try and sell your old monitor and your TV and put that cash towards the purchase of an HDTV/monitor, or simply a monitor with HDCP over DVI/HDMI. Who watches TV anymore anyway? Download your TV on your computer and watch it on your monitor. That or get a monitor that you can hook up to an old VCR for SDTV stuff. Otherwise, digital cable boxes and digital satellite boxes could easily be hooked up to a monitor over HDMI/DVI w/HDCP.
Money is tight. It always is. Expecting any sort of tax return? Could you work the corner for a weekend? Sell old shit on Craigslist/Ebay?
HD gaming and HD TV make it awful hard to watch SD games and SD TV. I think now that I fully understand why those with HD were complaining so hard when the Wii came out and was "just" 480p. Galaxy looks good, but on a big TV it looks like shit when compared to something like... Uncharted.
Good luck meng.
Allas, I can't really give you any advice. Technology moves forward. Some people are left behind. What I can say is that HDTVs are becoming more cheaper. Lucky for me I got a hand-me-down HDTV. It's not a flat screen or a DLP. It's a big screen (52 inches) and although it's massive, 1080i is awesome and I have nothing to complain about.
Just sit tight while the TVs continue to decline in price. If I may suggest Costco? They usually have great deals.
there are at least a few different kinds of dvi, so check your documentation on your monitor, and then make sure you have the right hdmi to dvi for your screen. hopefully that helps bc my xbox on my monitor DESTROYS my old sdtv, and I wouldnt want you to feel left out.
Works like a charm.
No. I had that problem too when I first got a PS3 (though my converter was 25$ because that's all Best Buy had :[). It was SUPPOSED to be only on movies but they ended up applying it to the entire system.
It's part of the reason I sold my PS3 actually.
The PS3 on the other hand only has the component input (thus no HD signal) or the HDMI which is protected.
http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-zp-77-5-49-en-15-ps3+hd+vga-70-2jp6.html
Granted I'd need 100% proof before shelling out another $40 on this so-far failing experiment, but it seems pretty solid to me.
What you could try is a component to DVI converter, since there's no way to put copy protection on what media companies call "the analog hole."
Make that three --- I'm still in the SD world, too. I don't have the funds for anything else right now.