Please feel free to also write a "HOW-TO setup and use XBMC with HDTV displays and videos" guide in our
'Tips And Tricks section of the WIKI' 
hint hint wink wink
PS! More comments about XBMC and HDTV can be found at these links:
http://www.xboxmediacenter.com/info_faq.htm#hdtv
http://xboxmediacenter.com/wiki/index.ph...an_I_do.3F
http://xboxmediacenter.com/wiki/index.ph...nformation
Quote:Posted by: Boyd at Oct 13, 2004 3:17:49 PM
Most TV-shows video-files that I see on the web (on peer-to-peer networks and torrect/bitrorrent sites) are encoded with the XviD video-codec in AVI format (.avi extention) do not actually have native HDTV (720p or 1080i) reqolution, even though the title of the show may include "HDTV" in it. The only part of the 'HDTV' that you get is the format 16:9, as most of the times "HDTV" there means that the original source was in HDTV (1280x720 progressive for 720p, and 1920x1080 interlaced for 1080i), the video has then from that source been down-converted to standard-definition video of 720x480 pixels or less. The result picture quality is the same as any well encoded XviD shows from a digital standard-definition stream or a DVD-Video movie. XBMC is what I use to watch all my downloaded shows from the web. I download a couple a day from the UK. My XBMC connects through SMB to my computer and I watch them directly from there by 'streaming' them, without burning any CD's or FTPing them over, etc.. Some say HDTV and some don't. One 45-minute episode of a TV-series is usually 350MB in size. They always look the same, and all are 720x480 pixels or less in reolsution.
If you download shows and want to watch them on a TV then the price of an XBOX and a chip really can't be beat.
It's all answered in the XBMC FAQ but let me try to clarify; XBMC/Xbox can playback 480p (720x480 progressive) "HDTV" downloadable files just fine (that's 720x480 progressive media files), XBMC/Xbox can even upscale 480p (and standard DVD-Video movies) to 720p and 1080i without problems and at great quality, (as the upscaling gets done by the video-out chip and not by the CPU). XBMC/Xbox only 'chokes' when you try to play media files that have 720p or 1080i in native resolution (that again is 1280x720 progressive and 1920x1080 interlaced) which is too much for the Xbox CPU (and the Xbox 64MB of RAM memory), ...but then again, fortunatly there are not many media files out there in native 720p or 1080i resolutions, (as again; most HDTV media available for download on the internet today are 'only' in 480p resolution)
XBMC capability on a standard Xbox (Intel 733Mhz PIII CPU):
720x480p video output to 720x480p = OK! (eg not upscaled).
720x480p video output to 1024x720p = OK! (eg upscaled to 720p).
720x480p video output to 1920x1080p = OK! (eg upscaled to 1080i).
1024x720p video output to 1024x720p = FAIL! (eg native 720p).
1920x1080i video output to 1920x1080i = FAIL! (eg native 1080i).
Note! All above that sais FAIL don't actualy fail to play, it's just that the Xbox CPU is to slow to decode and render the high resolution so they will play so slow (dropped frames) making it unwatchable.
Know this; there are not many DVD-players out there today that can upscale normal DVD-movies to 720p or 1080i, and those that can do it are much more expensive than a modded Xbox ;-P
