1080p: a card up Microsoft's sleeve?
By Kevin C. Tofel 
posted December 16th 2005 11:16AM
posted December 16th 2005 11:16AM
A
ton of chatter on the 1080i vs. 1080p gaming debate was generated these
past few months. Sony is touting the dual-output at 1080p spec, while
Microsoft figured 1080i was good enough for the masses. There are are
so few sets capable of handling a 1080p input, that the argument is
kinda, sorta moot right now. Eventually, this could be a big deal and perhaps Microsoft has a hidden Ace up the sleeve.Our peers over at Xbox360 Fanboy caught some info from a source that indicates the 360's GPU was planned for 1080p output. Granted, this data is from months ago, but perhaps there's a method to this madness. Not that we care right now anyway, since 99% of us don't have an HDTV for it, but if true, do you think this will impact the market? Did Microsoft plan ahead for the ultimate in their "home entertainment hub?"
Read [via Xbox360 Fanboy]
I imagine they'll want to have an HDMI interface when/if 1080p comes out for the 360. I don't really see MS touting 1080p since 720p/1080i are standard HD right now (and will be for a long time due to OTA broadcasters). It's not so much a problem generating 1080p as it is keeping the frame rates high enough when you have high action scenes. Even right now at 1080i PDZ can get choppy at times. That could just be poor coding but there might be performance limits on the graphics card.
I think having HD DVD in the Xbox is more important than 1080p from a sales perspective. I still have not decided if I'll buy a 360, but I will definitly buy a PS3 solely because it doubles as a blu-ray HD DVD player...two birds with one stone...gotta love it. However, if Xbox adds HD DVD or blu-ray to the Xbox, then I would choose the Xbox over the PS3 most likely. Plus, I think HD DVD in the Xbox 360 is Toshiba's only chance at being competitive against Sony blu-ray.
I think they will eventually come out with a digital ouput capable of 1080p, but why spend the time on it now with so few sets available. It makes plenty of sense. I dont know the statistics, but I would imagine a huge majority of HD owners have sets cable of 720p, as well as 1080i. Hell, even a huge number of xbox360 owners are still playing them on SD tvs..