360 Black Bars

[Psycho Yuffie]

A few of my 360 games have black bars on the bottom and top of the screen. Also, the text tends to be tiny too. This isn't the case for all the games, just a few. It's almost as if the games are trying to play in a 16:9 resolution on my 4:3 TV. Is there a way I can disable this?

[Satoryu]

No. Those games are designed to be played on HDTVs. If they had a 4:3 option, your 360 would likely resize it itself. PS3 games have the same problem, and there even are a few Wii games that are 16:9 only.

[Protoman Blues]

We like to call it "dick moves" on the part of the company.

[OBJECTION MAN]

Having black bars or not is up to the company who made the game, not console settings. They assume people getting the game have an HD tv. Next gen graphics is all about being HD, so I'd say that's a valid assumption. Get an HD tv.

[Bag of Magic Food]

or get a previous generation console

[Police Girl]

We like to call it "dick moves" on the part of the company.

Capcom is guilty of that a ton aren't they?

[Psycho Yuffie]

Having black bars or not is up to the company who made the game, not console settings. They assume people getting the game have an HD tv. Next gen graphics is all about being HD, so I'd say that's a valid assumption. Get an HD tv.

Sorry, I don't really have $500-700 on me at the moment. If you're offering to pay, then that's fine.

[borockman]

Oh, Star Ocean 4 is very guilty of this....

Damn can't read small texts!

[Flame]

Get an HD tv.

Sorry, but Central Air conditioning weighs in much heavier on the scales. Those summers can be brutal.

I often am reminded of the fact when I pass by the TV section at Sears and admire the crispness of the liquid crystal displays...

[Gotham Ranger]

[tornado fang] this HD Generation [parasitic bomb]

[Kieran]

You know, if you look around online you can find some decent, small-sized HDTVs for like the price of a Wii.  Hell, I've got a 24" one and I only paid 300 dollars for it brand new.

[Emiri Landeel]

Or buy a widescreen PC monitor, it's way more cheaper than HDTV. 360 can connect to PC monitor via VGA or HDMI.

[Kieran]

Or that, yeah.  Hell, a 19" LCD PC monitor plus a DVI converter for the 360 would probably only be like $150 at most.

[Psycho Yuffie]

You know, if you look around online you can find some decent, small-sized HDTVs for like the price of a Wii.  Hell, I've got a 24" one and I only paid 300 dollars for it brand new.

Yeah, but what resolution is it? My guess is 720p, which isn't much better than standard definition. All of the cheap ones are 720p. Plus, an HDTV smaller than 30" isn't worth it because it'll be harder to see anything than on my current TV. A 24" HDTV does not equal a 24" SDTV in terms of screen size. My current widescreen monitor is 23" and it's tiny compared to my 20" TV.

[Kieran]

My TV?  It's 1080p.  And yeah, it's small--but it's close enough to my computer desk that it's not a problem.

[Flame]

Yeah, my folks dont like buying online. They're paranoid about it and avoid it if they can.

[Setsuna F. Seiei]

I don't really have much of an issue with the black lines as much as I have with the [tornado fang]ing small ass text that's impossible to read without a giant TV. Tekken 6, Borderlands, Mass effect 2, Dead rising.

Can't read [parasitic bomb]

[Psycho Yuffie]

One of my friends has a 42" HDTV and the text looks tiny even on his TV, especially PS3 games. PS3 games have to be virtually illegible on HDTVs 24" and smaller, unless you're sitting with your face against the screen. It's as if game developers make games with the assumption that everyone has 50" TVs.

[OBJECTION MAN]

Capcom is guilty of that a ton aren't they?

Dead Rising was a heavy offender there. The text was small, even for an HD TV. I can't imagine what it would be like for an SD TV.

[Setsuna F. Seiei]

yeah, out of most of the developers, crapcom easily takes the cake. Especially with the text.

[Psycho Yuffie]

I've been looking around and it seems like Vizio was some outstanding prices for their HDTVs. Does anyone know anything about them? Seems a little too cheap, but all of the reviews seem to be good.

[Turian]

If you can find a cheap, small, 720p TV, then I say go for it. I had a 720P TV and they are MUCH better than standard def. Besides, most games are native 720P.

[Satoryu]

I've been looking around and it seems like Vizio was some outstanding prices for their HDTVs. Does anyone know anything about them? Seems a little too cheap, but all of the reviews seem to be good.

I've heard Vizios are pretty good for the price you're paying. I think Samsung is the best brand, though.

[Psycho Yuffie]

I've heard Vizios are pretty good for the price you're paying. I think Samsung is the best brand, though.

Samsung is also the most expensive brand, and the most cheaply made (they break a lot).

If you can find a cheap, small, 720p TV, then I say go for it. I had a 720P TV and they are MUCH better than standard def. Besides, most games are native 720P.

Oh, and as I stated earlier, I wouldn't buy a 720p TV. If I'm going HD, I'm going all the way. If I'm investing hundreds of dollars into something, I'm going to try to find the best possible quality.

[Satoryu]

I have three in my house, all about a year old. No problems with them at all.