Xbox360 Dashboard is fugly!

[2real4tv]

The 360 dashboard is a soar eye imo and it needs to be changed, ps3 interface is much user friendly by miles...never knew there was a thread started about this I always wanted to start one. I like the way ps3 presents the user the game when selected.

 

[betan]

XMB is fast, responsive and makes frequent items very easy to access as it should be.

Unless you need to change a different setting every day or so, it's really hard to complain.

I have a two input monitor and most of the time I use XMB without switching input to PS3. That, for me, means usability (and accessibility obviously).

 

[sevanig]

A few hints/tips... In the Ps3 XMB the Triangle button is like a right mouse click...
Also during movie/music playback press the PS button to access the XMB and keep your movie,music and visualizations playing...

 

[Silent]

I don't think the 360 dashboard is ugly. But I (and i've witnessed that my brother has the same problem on his 360) sometimes get lost. The first version of the dashboard weren't that cluttered.

The XMB in here current state is very intuitive. I had some reservations at first, but after working with it I certainly can appreciate it. It is just amazing how fast I can go through all the possibilities that the PS3 offers. The only thing I didn't like (and disabled it) was the RSS thing that was introduced a couple of months ago.

 

[Lucid_Dreamer]

One thing I can't stand about the PS3 is how when you select a game, the music takes a few seconds then starts playing. For whatever reason, the PS3 is much louder than my Wii/360 (in terms of audio), so when I turn on my PS3 and start navigating the menu, it always startles me with the loud sounds (the current game it always defaults to has some loud annoying drum sounds, too).

If you have a A/V receiver that accepts HDMI directly, that could be the reason it's "much louder" than your Wii and Xbox 360. The PS3 has lossless audio via HDMI. It is of a much higher quality than the DD (Dolby Digital) on the Xbox 360 and HiFi on the Wii.

 

[Asher]

If you have a A/V receiver that accepts HDMI directly, that could be the reason it's "much louder" than your Wii and Xbox 360. The PS3 has lossless audio via HDMI. It is of a much higher quality than the DD (Dolby Digital) on the Xbox 360 and HiFi on the Wii.

It could be that the bitstream is at a higher dB than DTS/DD (which themselves differ...), but the volume is definitely unrelated to the "sound quality". You seem to be very confused.

And I also strongly disagree that it's of a "much higher" quality. I can't hear a lick of difference between games. It could be it's my speakers (they're just some Yamahas), but if you need $10000 speakers to hear the difference I think that refutes the "much higher quality" argument.

The Wii's is technically Dolby Pro-Logic II, BTW, not HiFi?

 

[Lucid_Dreamer]

It could be that the bitstream is at a higher dB than DTS/DD (which themselves differ...), but the volume is definitely unrelated to the "sound quality". You seem to be very confused.

And I also strongly disagree that it's of a "much higher" quality. I can't hear a lick of difference between games. It could be it's my speakers (they're just some Yamahas), but if you need $10000 speakers to hear the difference I think that refutes the "much higher quality" argument.

The Wii's is technically Dolby Pro-Logic II, BTW, not HiFi?

I'm not confused. Most A/V receiver don't do level matching, therefore the fidelity AND volume is increased via a better output (lossless via HDMI).

I call anything that only comes out via a L/R RCA cable...HiFi. The Wii clearly does NOT produce DD. The difference I is still the same. It goes from highest to lowest quality (PS3 to Wii respectively).

I guess you missed the message. BTW, your reply doesn't help clear up the situation at all. Does your A/V receiver that accepts LPCM via HDMI?

 

[Lucid_Dreamer]

That first line should say better "INput"...not OUTput. You perceive the difference via output.

 

[hey69]

I bought a new xbox360
falcon with hdmi and benq drive .
anyway, when setting it up at 1080p (trough component on my philips 42PFL5530) i have flashing litle dots here and there (only dashboard) anyone has the same? did not try yet to put on hdmi

 

[Asher]

I'm not confused. Most A/V receiver don't do level matching, therefore the fidelity AND volume is increased via a better output (lossless via HDMI).

No, you are most definitely confused if you think that LPCM "quality" is why there is volume differences. We're talking about two digital streams of bits, so volume does not come into play here. It's quite possible that the sound levels are encoded differently across different protocols, but to imply that the difference has to do with "lossless quality" is very much misinformed.

I call anything that only comes out via a L/R RCA cable...HiFi. The Wii clearly does NOT produce DD. The difference I is still the same. It goes from highest to lowest quality (PS3 to Wii respectively).

I think there's a big difference between stereo sound and Pro Logic II -- not necessarily in quality, but definitely in positional audio. I think it's important to draw a distinction, especially in this context.

BTW, your reply doesn't help clear up the situation at all. Does your A/V receiver that accepts LPCM via HDMI?

My A/V receiver doesn't do HDMI audio, I am using TOSlink. I'm just trying to point out that "quality" and "volume" are not the same thing, like you are implying.

 

[Lucid_Dreamer]

No, you are most definitely confused if you think that LPCM "quality" is why there is volume differences. We're talking about two digital streams of bits, so volume does not come into play here. It's quite possible that the sound levels are encoded differently across different protocols, but to imply that the difference has to do with "lossless quality" is very much misinformed.

I'm pretty sure me post has "and" in it. I think you got "confused" and left that out. I guess you have never changed from one type of input (from one connector to another) with the SAME source and noticed a big difference, huh? I guess you haven't experienced that because you haven't dealt with modern A/V receivers with TOSlink and HDMI from the same source. I've used Denon, Pioneer Elite, Yamaha, and Sony high-end A/V receivers (most models), so I know it well.

It happens for different reasons. It is mainly from the source device. Different connector can be connected through a different DACs. If it's multiple sources, it can be that one is decoding internally and sending it to the receiver as LPCM. The other source could send it via bitstream to the receiver to be decoded (those are usually louder). All from a standard DD track off of the same disc.

The case I talking about was dealing with two different audio streams. That's why I asked you about your A/V receiver. If you were hooked up to the PS3 via HDMI, the default would have been the lossless audio intro through the HDMI connection. The Xbox 360 only has a DD output and can not output a lossless/uncompressed audio intro (or anything else for that matter). Therefore, the audio from the PS3 would be LOUDER and have better quality than the XBox 360 to your A/V receiver. And, the Xbox 360 audio intro should be louder and have better quality than the Wii's intro audio. I hope that clears up your confusion.

I think there's a big difference between stereo sound and Pro Logic II -- not necessarily in quality, but definitely in positional audio. I think it's important to draw a distinction, especially in this context.

Yes. Actually stereo sound can be of MUCH greater audio detail per channel than anything else on the market for consumers (DSD would be an example). The average person only knows of stereo as an older technology of inferior quality. That's why I used "stereo" in the context that I did. But, to be technically accurate, stereo ONLY refers to how many channels there are. However, Pro Logic II is of a MUCH lower quality codec than any other audio codec alive today.

My A/V receiver doesn't do HDMI audio, I am using TOSlink. I'm just trying to point out that "quality" and "volume" are not the same thing, like you are implying.

I never said the audio quality (fidelity) and volume were the same thing. I just said they BOTH would increase via HDMI from the PS3 (by default). It's just the way it is.

Just to added a little about the PS3 via HDMI to A/V receivers (for others that are reading). Your volume WILL increase if you bitstream DD to your A/V receiver than if it is decoded by the PS3 internally and sent to your A/V receiver as LPCM. However, fidelity (audio quality) will not (can not) increase.