Posts Tagged xbox
Monitor Meltdown
About a month ago, I bit the bullet and decided to buy an Xbox console. I ordered an Xbox 360 Pro from Newegg, along with GTA IV and Mass Effect. I also ordered an HP LP2475w from Provantage, based on good reviews from this Hard Forum thread. The Xbox 360 Pro was $100 cheaper than the Elite with the same specs, with the exception of hard drive space. I didn’t need to pay $100 for 60 gig of extra space, and the Pro model had an HDMI output, which I wanted to use to hook up to the monitor which had an HDMI input. I planned to run the analog audio from the Xbox to my PC sound card and use the PC as my amplifier.
Around the end of January, everything comes in and I start to set it up. Lots of headaches ensue:
Problem 1: The Xbox 360 Pro analog and HDMI jacks are right next to each other, preventing the simultaneous use of HDMI and analog audio. Both plugs don’t fit at the same time since they bump into each other. I guess the MS designers thought that most people would use exclusively digital or analog AV, but not digital for video and analog other for sound. There were plenty of complaints about this on the internet, and there are a few posts about tearing apart the Xbox analog plug so both HDMI and analog outputs can be used at the same time. As it turns out, the Xbox 360 elite has space between the HDMI and analog jacks so both can be used simultaneously, but to me this “feature” isn’t worth the extra $100. So, I’m using component instead, since the HP monitor has component input and I can’t tell the difference between that and HDMI. On the internet, there are also arguments abound about HDMI versus component, so it seems that one is not necessarily better than the other. I’ve heard that HDMI is noticeably better for really large TVs, but at 24 inches, my monitor doesn’t even come close.
Problem 2: I got the wrong adapter for the analog audio to mini-stereo. I ordered the adapter I thought I would need to convert the analog output from the Xbox to the line in on my PC sound card. As it turned out, I needed an additional analog AV female-female connector to make the whole thing work. I also got a Sennheiser DSP 360 to act as a standalone amplifier, but so far I haven’t used it since the computer seems to be working fine.
Problem 3 (The Big One): The monitor came with a bent stand. After I set it up and began using it, I noticed the monitor had a slight lean to it and the whole thing shook when I typed. This was really annoying. Provantage required that I call HP to try to resolve the problem first, and then go back to them for an exchange if necessary. So, after two hours of phone tree hell and calls transferred between India and the US, I finally reach someone who handles the monitor I got. Fortunately, the monitor I got is serviced by the small business department (not home), so the support I got was pretty good. I got a case number to give to Provantage, since the HP tech said it would be faster if Provantage did the exchange and not HP. I filled out an RMA request on the Provantage website, hoping this would be the case. The monitor with the bent stand had no stuck or dead pixels and I asked the Provantage customer service agent if I could just replace the stand, but I wasn’t permitted to do that. The whole thing had to be returned, which would come back to kick me.
Fortunately, the RMA went through and I didn’t have to pay for return shipping, but the whole process took forever. It took about a week for the RMA to go through from the day I got the monitor, another week for the RMA to be processed, and another week still for the replacement monitor to arrive. Last Friday, the replacement came and I picked it up, set it up (fortunately, the stand was not bent on the replacement), and turned it on. As soon as the backlight came on, a red splotch appeared in the middle of the screen about the size of a quarter. A smaller one the size of a dime was right below it. On light backgrounds, I couldn’t see the splotch, but with anything dark or black, it was plainly visible, like glare from the sun. It was really bad playing GTA IV, where it seems to be night almost all the time.
This time I decide to deal just with HP and forget about screwing around with another return from Provantage. I’d read on the Hard Forum thread that a few other people who bought the monitor had recieved exchanges from HP, with a tech coming right to their door with a replacement. I went throught the HP phone tree mess once again and talked to someone who said a tech would be dispatched with a replacement on Monday. Monday came and went, but today, the guy showed.
The tech wheeled the monitor into the apartment and opened the box. As soon as he opened the box, I knew something was amiss. The stand was different. When the tech took all the foam and packaging off the screen, I saw it was a different model: a 2465, not LP2475w, like what I had. The specs were clearly inferior and didn’t have all the inputs of the 2475, so the guy said he would order the correct model and come back. I wonder how long that will be…
So, overall my new setup is great: with two monitors I have tons of desktop space for work, and the monitor works great with the Xbox, except for the red spot, of course. Aside from the spot, the monitor is way brighter than the 20 inch Dell, even at 75% brightness. The colors are much more vibrant.
This has been the biggest mess I’ve dealt with regarding ordering stuff online. Poorly designed audio jacks and monitor defects have gotten the better of me, but I’m not giving up.
Upgrade Headaches…
Posted by Matt in development, general, info on January 29, 2009
Yesterday I installed Intrepid Ibex 8.10 on my aging (now ex-gaming) desktop machine in an attempt to breathe new life into it. I wound up biting the bullet and ordering a new monitor and Xbox 360 for games, so now I’ve got two monitors. Neither the Lenovo nor the Mac laptop I’ve got support two external monitors, so I thought I would give the desktop a try. Though the installation went fairly well, two really annoying things weren’t working correctly, and a third I’m still dealing with.
First, the mouse. I have a Razer Copperhead USB mouse that’s been great for years and when I first booted after the installation, it didn’t work. The lights came on, but I couldn’t move it. If I unplugged it and plugged it back in, it worked fine. This would happen every time I rebooted the machine: no movement, unplug, plug back in. After some digging around, I found the problem was that the mouse firmware had to be upgraded. Of course, Razer only has the update software for Windows, so after some screwing around with that, I rebooted with the Linux machine and it worked fine without having to unplug the mouse.
Second, the dual head support for my ATI video card was lacking after the initial install, just mirroring my primary monitor onto the other. I was able to fix this by installing the proprietary ATI drivers and using the ATI Catalyst Control Center to “merge” both screens into one. Of course, this didn’t entirely fix the problem since every time I rebooted, the mirroring came back. I finally found out that after I set the displays correctly in the ATI Control Center that I had to open up the Ubuntu Display Settings panel and hit “Apply”.
Both of these problems were really annoying, kept me searching and frustrated for hours, and have rather quirky solutions. While I really like Linux, stuff like this doesn’t seem to happen as much with Mac or Windows. However, community support is pretty good so after some extensive research I was finally able to find others with my problems that had found solutions.
Now everything seems to be working well, except that the stand for my monitor arrived bent. It’s only a couple millimeters out of shape and the box it came in seemed undamaged, so I’m not sure what happened. It’s bad enough that when I type sometimes the monitor wobbles. It’s something I could probably live with, but the wobbling is annoying and I paid for a new product (not refurbished) so I don’t feel like letting it go. So, I spent two hours with phone tree hell HP tech support about returning it and then filed an RMA request from the online vendor. It would be best if I could just replace the stand since the monitor is fine — there’s only one stuck pixel. Shipping the whole thing back is going to be expensive if the RMA is approved. I guess the question is if the bent stand is worth another $30.
I still haven’t gotten to the Xbox yet because of all this (and some other annoying legwork type stuff for a research proposal that is due this week). It also turns out that I got the wrong RCA to mini-stereo adapter and will have to try to exchange that so I can plug in the Xbox sound to the line in on my PC. The whole thing is kind of funny because part of the reason I went with an Xbox was to avoid dealing with putting together a new system and troubleshooting the whole thing when a bunch of stuff doesn’t work. Instead, I got more than I bargained for.
PC vs. Console: I think I’m crossing over to the dark side…
Over the past few years I’ve lost some of my interest in gaming and as a result my desktop PC is several years old and rusting under my desk. I don’t use Windows for anything anymore and I’ve heard so many bad things about Vista, so I’ve been using Mac and Linux exclusively for awhile.
I would really like to get back into more games, but I just can’t see myself throwing out $2000 for a computer that I would use exclusively for games and be unable to carry around anywhere without a lot of effort. It just isn’t worth it anymore. So, I’m pretty sure I’m going to get an Xbox.
It seems that a real shift is taking place with developers placing emphasis on console games over PC, making most PC games a buggy port of their console counterparts. Most new PC games are packed with nasty copy protection rootkits that are nearly impossible to remove. Finally, new PC games all seem to have extremely steep system requirements, meaning you have to undertake a massive and expensive upgrade in order to get acceptable performance. All these are things I don’t want to deal with, especially when I can get a top of the line Xbox for less than the price of a halfway decent video card.
My main concern over console games is the controller. I started on PC games and feel natural with keyboard and mouse. At my height of gaming, I became one with the computer, leveling the crosshairs on an opponent and blasting away without the slightest thought of what keys to press and how much to move the mouse. I’ve played on a fair number of consoles and I’ve never adjusted to the controllers. I always feel sluggish and usually have to remember where the buttons are and what they do. Because of the controller, many RTS and simulation games are exclusively developed for the PC, which is a drawback in and of itself.
Regardless, I think I’m going to make the switch anyway. With enough practice, I can adjust to the controller. It’s also going to be a huge cost savings since it’s far easier to shell out $400 every four or five years for a new console compared to several thousand for PC upgrades. The additional money for PC upgrades would be more justifiable if I were to use the computer for work, but Windows is useless for development and the lack of portability is also detracting.
This leads into my proposed setup: get a new monitor with DVI and DisplayPort for my laptops and HDMI input for consoles. This way I can use the monitor for computing and for games. My current external monitor has a 4:3 aspect ratio with only one digital input and I would also prefer something widescreen. With only one digital input, it’s a real pain when I want to switch the Mac laptop for the Linux one or on the rare occasion that I want to boot up the desktop.
It seems that 16:9 1080p monitors are rare and are pretty limited in terms of functionality. The only one that remotely interests me is the Dell S2409W and I’ve it uses the poor quality TN panel which gets a lot of complaints. It may be okay for the Xbox, but I don’t know about using it with the computers. So, it seems 16:9 monitors are out since all the other ones I can find are also TN panels. Larger 30+ in TV-style monitors are also out since the cheapest of those runs about $800, which is out of my price range, especially for something that may not fare well as a computer monitor several feet from my face.
So, this means PC-oriented 16:10 aspect monitors. I would prefer something at least 24 inches and I can’t really get anything with a resolution greater than 1920 x 1200 since my laptops have terrible video cards. Being 16:10, it means that when I plug in the Xbox, I’ll get 100 pixel black bars on the bottom and top of the screen, but that’s something I can live with since the screen will be large enough. Two 16:10 monitors interest me: the Dell 2408WFP and the HP LP2475W. Of those, the HP seems the better buy since its panel is the highly coveted IPS and it also seems to be nearly $100 cheaper depending on the vendor. Both have an HDMI input, two DVI inputs, and a DisplayPort input.
Then, I can pick up a Pro Xbox for about $300. I can’t see the advantage of the Elite except for the 120 GB hard drive (vs. 60 on the Pro). Games are a bit more on the expensive side compared to the PC, but it’s probably all worth it not having to worry too much about endless installs, wasted hard drive space, and hardware-specific bugs.
So, I get an XBox Pro for about $300 and a 24 inch monitor for about $600, which is quite the savings over a massive PC upgrade. But there’s one problem: sound. Consoles are oriented towards those with dedicated 7.1 surround receivers to make it sound like a battle is being fought in the room. I don’t have that — I would prefer to just plug in some headphones, but the Xbox doesn’t have a headphone jack. This leaves me with three options, none of which I really care for:
1) Get a receiver. My dad’s got an old receiver that could handle the analog AV from the Xbox. I would really like to avoid this because it means yet another large piece of electronic junk sitting in my room. Furthermore, it would do nothing except provide me with a headphone jack for my games. This seems like a waste.
2) Connect the analog AV cables from the Xbox to a pair of headphones with some adapters. This isn’t really a good option either since there is no way to control the volume. I’ve heard of at least one person doing this and having it work, but as he said, there’s no volume control. You’re just stuck at whatever volume the Xbox puts out.
3) Connect the analog AV cables to the line in on my Macbook. I can also do this with some adapters and then plug the headphones into the Macbook and use the laptop as an amplifier. I’m not sure how well this would work either in terms of losing signal clarity and whines from the laptop making their way into my headphones. Also, I’m not even sure if the line in on the Macbook is stereo. I really don’t care about surround on headphones, but I would at least like to have stereo.
At this point, the third option is probably the best bet, and if that doesn’t work, try the others. I can’t seem to find many others on the Internet with this kind of setup. Most who use a PC monitor with their console still connect their sound to a dedicated receiver or a powered set of PC speakers.
I’ll probably wind up doing more research before I settle on something. Or, I might just forget it if it really looks like this won’t work.
September
Posted by Matt in Uncategorized on September 26, 2007
Since I started school I practiced with the team for a week and a half or so, did two fairly easy workouts and then the left achilles gave out. I guess I really screwed myself up over the summer.
I started biking last week and the last time I biked was right when I got home from California. I noticed I felt a lot stronger this time. Before I would go up a small hill and feel exhausted after I got to the top. Now, I get tired, but then recover quickly.
I noticed recently that I am becoming more motivated again. For awhile I didn’t feel like doing anything but now I’m getting back into doing schoolwork, games are becoming more entertaining and can hold my attention, and little itch-scratching project ideas are returning. For example, I wish RSS feeds/sites would display the full text of their articles. That way I don’t have to look at a page jammed with irritating ads flashing crap all over the place. In addition, links and other text and images that I don’t want to see would also be gone. I could create a condensed report from all my favorite sites, print it out, and read it when I am somewhere with no computer. So, the challenge would be to recognize news/post article text while discarding everything else. The RSS partial feed would help identify the start of the full text, but some web pages cram in ads and other formatting inside the article text. An HTML parser would help some, but some kind of language recognition would be needed to detect something that doesn’t fit with the rest of the text.
So, I’ve been on my own most of the time since school really seems to have picked up. Biking takes a lot more time than running and it’s nice to be able to do things when I want to (in the morning if I can) and not screw around. At the same time I really miss going to the meetings and talking to everyone. It’s a lot easier and more enjoyable to run and bike if there are other people to go with.
I got a bunch of stuff to do for class projects which has been taking up a big portion of my time, but it’s better to get started early than to cram everything in at the end. I also spoke with one of my professors about a Master’s project which I can get started on anytime. I’ll probably wait until winter break when I don’t have all the other classes bearing down on me. Everything is about set up to work with the people at Ames from school and I’ll get some kind of plan as to what to do this week. Unfortunately, everything got set up just as all the school work started.
So, I am starting to get things done. It’s hard to get started on stuff, but once you get going it isn’t too bad.
Over the past month, I’ve played and beat Bioshock. It was the first game I’ve played through in a long time. It was a solid game, but was missing much of the RPG element I expected. System Shock 2 had much more of that in it. I liked the game mostly because the atmosphere and gameplay were different than the average FPS. The plasmids and weapons were unusual and made things interesting. The ability to hack stuff and change your abilities with different plasmids made things fun too. Some of it was dumbed down from System Shock though. The plot, however, was almost exactly like System Shock. The same exact plot twist happened at the same exact point in the game. I knew it was coming from the start.
I also started on Tiberium Wars this weekend and so far it’s another sequel that keeps the spirit of the original. The cut scenes really help with the whole C&C vibe and I recognize a ton of the actors from other TV shows/movies, which usually isn’t the case in a video game. I’ve played a few missions as GDI and so far it feels very similar to the first C&C as well as Red Alert. Tiberium Wars seems to be a bit faster paced, if not chaotic. I tend to build a bunch of units and then wind up hurling them at the enemy base or protecting my own if I’m under attack. Many times I find it hard to build a reasonable strategy since it seems things happen so fast. Air support is underrated, though. I’ve used it several times to sneak past enemy lines and take out objectives and win without a direct assault on the enemy base.
Apparently my dad got an Xbox along with Halo 3 so that might be the impetus to go home again this weekend, given my achilles holds up. Home cooked food is another enticement. I’ll also be able to see Sarah again. I just have to make sure I am on top of my work. I get most of my computer games from him when he finishes them, but I’m surprised he got a console. The xbox is probably the best choice out of all the consoles in terms of hardware and games that interest me, especially since most cross platform games seem to run and look better on the console from what I hear. Then they do a crappy port to the PC.
That brings back another memory. I remember we were the first household I knew of to set up a LAN, I think it was in late 1995 or 1996. It used that coaxial cable like the TV cable uses and was decentralized in such a way that you didn’t need a hub or router, 10 Base-T I think. The first thing we did with it was play games. I remember Mechwarrior, Quake, and Red Alert took on a whole new level of excitement with multiplayer, especially since dial-up was so slow for stuff like that. It’s probably why I liked the original C&C games so much. I would play long battles with my dad and middle school friends and it was a huge change from playing against dumb AI opponents. Plus you could hear the screams of someone in the next room when you pummeled them with a rocket launcher or steamed a fleet of cruisers alongside their base. But now, multiplayer is the norm, and so some of that excitement has worn away. I just wish some of the people I knew played computer games. Plenty of them play console games, so maybe I should convert.
It’s Time
Posted by Matt in Uncategorized on March 29, 2006
Back to California, where my college running career began.
It was a good way to start, nearly four years ago. I hope I can at least repeat my effort, and it had better be a lot better than when I was there two years ago.
In the meantime, school has been handing it to me over the past couple weeks. I haven’t had much time for anything else. I’ve had all kinds of stuff to do, including busting my butt on this computer science project and now the presentation. I like how everything converges down to one weekend: a tough Econ Stats test, then I go away to race, and then give my big presentation based on my string matching/sequence comparison project on Monday. After that, I have another test, more problem sets, another presentation, and a paper to tackle. Then, there’s finals. I’m wondering if I’ll even graduate.
I got Oblivion last week, but I’ve only had time to play it sporadically. It’s a lot of fun and the immersion is insane. This time, unlike in Morrowind, I’ve been playing a character that uses magic. It’s great hurling fireballs and making weird potions. It’s a beast to play on my computer though. The game thrashes my computer at high settings and a resolution of 1024×768. It’s time for another upgrade. I was thinking of getting an Xbox, but I really like having a top of the line computer. I would prefer to wait until the summer, when AMD releases AM2 and Intel releases their Conroe core. I also haven’t heard much about D3D 10 video cards yet.
Registered for classes today
Posted by Matt in Uncategorized on November 9, 2004
For some reason I wasn’t able to get in to East Asian History 1600 – Present; it gave me a ‘Major Restriction’ or something like that. After asking around it seems that for the first few days of registration only history majors are allowed to sign up for that course. Apparently it’s because by that point they are in their Junior or Senior year and need it as a required class. I signed up for East Asian Religion instead, since it was the only other class that fulfiled the non-European history GER that fit into my schedule. A few people I know have taken that class say it’s really good so I think I’ll keep it. So now my schedule is pretty much the inverse of what I have this semester. On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I start with East Asian Religion at 9, followed immediately by Finite Automata and Software Engineering. On Tuesday and Thursday I have the intro physics class at 9:30 and then the lab at 2 PM on Tuesdays only.
The Physics lab could be a problem because it is supposed to run until 3:50, but practice starts ten minutes before that. From what I have heard, if you work fast, you can get out early most of the time. It will also be quite a walk from East Asian Religion to Finite Automata, but then I stay in the same room for both my computer science classes. With the exception of the lab, I’ll be done by 11 or 12 each day, which is the earliest time I start class this semester.
The temperatures took a nose dive so far this week. Today it was like 45 while last Monday and Tuesday it was in the high 70s. At this point, it might as well get cold because it’s better off adjusting to it now than (hopefully) in two weeks.
Almost everywhere I went today everyone was talking about Halo 2. In the halls, in class, and at practice, that’s all I heard. Even my Software Development professor was talking about it. I’ve played a handful of Halo 1 multiplayer matches on the xbox because most everyone on the team is into it and are constantly playing it. Needless to say I ususally get it handed to me when I do play against them. I could really use a keyboard and mouse as well as a higher resolution screen when I play them. A couple of the guys went out to EB Games or something and stood in line to pick up their pre-ordered copy. Apparently after playing it today they say it’s lived up to the hype.
I was looking at DVD writers again to see about some kind of backup solution. There seem to be some that are labeled ‘double layered’ and are more expensive than the others, I wonder if this is the same double layering that is used with the movie DVDs. I’ll have to look at that as well as some reviews to see what is good and what isn’t. Then there’s the whole +/- issue, but it seems that most of the writers that are double layered can write both + and – DVDs.
The inevitable crunch period is coming up and seems to slowly build, starting this week. I’m probably going to be gone nearly every weekend until the end of the semester and I’ve got two computer science projects, a test this Thursday, next Tuesday, plus who knows how many quizzes and homework assignments. It’ll be hard, but I’ve done it all before. It wouldn’t be worth it if it was easy.
Well, they say
Posted by Matt in Uncategorized on September 27, 2003
That MP 2 is to be released in Mid-October. I’ve heard all sorts of speculation on the HL 2 release date, from early November through February of next year.
Halo is out in three days, but I don’t see what sets it apart from any other FPS — I’ve played it a little on Xbox and don’t see what all the hype was about.
UT 2004 is supposed to be released in late November.
Deus Ex 2 has a tentative release date of early December.
And then there is Doom 3.
Halo…
Posted by Matt in Uncategorized on May 9, 2003
I just got owned by my teammates. I really wish you could plug a mouse and keyboard into the xbox. Then they would see who the real ragemaster is…
And it’s finished!
Posted by Matt in Uncategorized on May 7, 2003
My freshman year, that is. It went by quickly too. I’ll still be here in the ‘burg for another three and a half weeks until we race at regionals. But no work! In between training and racing I’m going to catch up on my gaming. Vice City and Enter the Matrix are coming out next week. I’ll try to get one or both of them after IC4A’s. Maybe someone on the team who has a car can drive me down to the CompUSA in Newport News. We’ll all be moving into Camm next week, which has A/C too. It’s going to be both fun and annoying making our own meals over the next few weeks. Pasta, Easy Mac, cereal. Maybe we can cook some steaks too. I don’t get much red meat from the Caf.
We were going to try to set up this huge Halo game for the Xbox, but Doherty and Wolak, who have one, went out to see X Men 2. In that case, we couldn’t play. Not that I have much skill at a console anyway. I tried suggesting to everyone that we should play more computer games. Everyone seemed to be interested at that, so maybe I’ll be on a level playing field soon.
Most of the time over the past few days I have been taking exams and studying. I had four exams in three days — it was pretty rough. For the most part, they went pretty well. I’ll see how things turned out.
I also downloaded and started America’s Army. For some reason I’m having a real tough time qualifying for sniper school. It’s real tough to shoot the 36 required targets. I switched my mousepad, tried different shooting tactics, and so far I have been able to get 35. I’ll keep working on that in the meantime. The game itself is pretty good. It’s a lot like CS combined with Rainbow Six. You die pretty quickly and usually don’t have much time to react.
It’ll be nice not having any school or work for a while.
Recent Comments