I'm gonna take the blogging format to its egocentric roots to tell you about my new PC and Xboxing set-up. This isn't meant as a bragging post (there are far nicer setups out there), but I hope it shows what can be done on the gaming and A/V setup front.
- The projector: Toshiba TDP-S20U Mobile Projector
- This is an office projector doing a great job for PC and Xbox gaming. It has 2000:1 contrast, 14 lumens, supports HDTV and widescreen, and supports two VGA inputs, which gives me flexibility to have both my PC and consoles plugged in at the same time, with passthrough (if needed, but I've moved passed that). Is it true HDTV? Nope, it's native 800x600, but it scales pretty cleanly up to 1600x1200, so it does a great job, at a fraction of a cost of "true" HDTV projectors. The downside of a projector is it's not as sharp or bright as an LCD, plasma, or other display, but it's close, and great for four-way, same screen gaming, theatrical DVD watching, and sports events.
- This is an office projector doing a great job for PC and Xbox gaming. It has 2000:1 contrast, 14 lumens, supports HDTV and widescreen, and supports two VGA inputs, which gives me flexibility to have both my PC and consoles plugged in at the same time, with passthrough (if needed, but I've moved passed that). Is it true HDTV? Nope, it's native 800x600, but it scales pretty cleanly up to 1600x1200, so it does a great job, at a fraction of a cost of "true" HDTV projectors. The downside of a projector is it's not as sharp or bright as an LCD, plasma, or other display, but it's close, and great for four-way, same screen gaming, theatrical DVD watching, and sports events.
- The screen: Panoview DS-3100PM 100" Diagonal
- This is an awesome, cheap (I got mine for less than $100) screen, with decent quality. I actually started with an 84", but returned it (seriously, size matters). Even though it's on the lower end quality wise, and requires a little more light control in the room, it's a solid retractable projection screen that can be wall or ceiling mounted, and has various stopping points to support 4:3 or widescreen (not perfectly, but watchably).
- The audio: Altec Lansing XA3021 (desktop); Spherex Inc. Xbox 5.1 Surround Sound System (Room); Sony MDR-RF975RK (headphones)
- I got the Altec Lansing XA3021 when Buy.com was having one of their crazy one-day sales. I thought these things would be good for ancillary audio, but the sound is so great from this little package that I use them as my primary audio. When using my PC or piping my Xbox 360 through my monitor and using analog sound, I use the Altec Lansings.
The Sony's a good rechargeable set of wireless headphones, and operates on the 900 MHz band. These things have served me well (without even having problems with cordless phones). I had a brief problem when I swapped out my wireless network for a cheap 108mbps, and the interference was finally a problem, so I returned that setup.
For my surround sound system, I finally picked up the Spherex Inc. Xbox 5.1 Surround Sound System when they dropped from their $400 list to $200, with a rebate on top (you can now find them even more cheaply). My first set had a bum speaker, so I swapped out the set, and haven't had any problems since. The sound from these little bad boys is amazing, but more importantly, the omnipolar feature gives me (and anyone sitting in the room), a richer, more flexible sound envelope for gaming and movie watching. And pumping up the bass on Halo 2 rocketball is a thing to experience. Additional upsides include the incredibly connectivity options, the built-in amplifier, and their sexy look. Downsides are thought Spherex gives a 10-year warranty, I get a bad vibe from Email interactions with the company, making me wonder how long they'll stay afloat. - The cables: Monster Gamelink 400 X - Component Video (Xbox); Xbox 360 Component HD AV Cable and Xbox 360 VGA HD AV Cable (Xbox 360);
- Monster cables are nuts -- 10-foot, "Nitrogen injected dielectric", 24k gold contact connectors. I bought these at Hastings in a clearance bin for $10 (yeah, they didn't know what they had). The NEC Adapter lets me get the component signal mapped to the right VGA pins, to keep the color separation, and the widescreen data. I use the Xbox 360 Component HD AV Cable that came with the Xbox 360 Premium SKU for the projector, and the Xbox 360 VGA HD AV Cable when playing on the 19"monitor (my computer uses the DVI, so there's no swapping needed on the monitor side).
- Monster cables are nuts -- 10-foot, "Nitrogen injected dielectric", 24k gold contact connectors. I bought these at Hastings in a clearance bin for $10 (yeah, they didn't know what they had). The NEC Adapter lets me get the component signal mapped to the right VGA pins, to keep the color separation, and the widescreen data. I use the Xbox 360 Component HD AV Cable that came with the Xbox 360 Premium SKU for the projector, and the Xbox 360 VGA HD AV Cable when playing on the 19"monitor (my computer uses the DVI, so there's no swapping needed on the monitor side).
- The computer: Sony Vaio PCV-RZ 44G
- Sony was offering competing Media Center-like PCs, and this box was one of the first of Sony's actual Microsoft Media Center Edition PCs. I've kept the thing upgraded to MCE2005 (thanks to a MSDN Universal License (no thanks to Sony). What makes this box cool is it has both the Window Media Center software, and the Sony software on the same box -- lot o' options. It's gotten a bit dated over time, despite topping out the RAM and upgrading powerpacks, video cards, and the like. Once the first or second Microsoft Vista Service Pack comes out, I'll look at replacing the machine.
- The seating: Chair-and-a-half, or Desk chair
- I finally graduated from the pear bean bag and folding camping captains chair (the folding chair was cool -- uber comfy with two cupholders for a beer and a bottled water; or two beers). Now, I use a chair-and-a-half when using the projector, and the desk chair when, um, gaming at the desk. I also got a few mini-ottomans from IKEA that I can build into Tetris-esque footrests, or they can be used as extra seating for LAN and big football game parties.
- I finally graduated from the pear bean bag and folding camping captains chair (the folding chair was cool -- uber comfy with two cupholders for a beer and a bottled water; or two beers). Now, I use a chair-and-a-half when using the projector, and the desk chair when, um, gaming at the desk. I also got a few mini-ottomans from IKEA that I can build into Tetris-esque footrests, or they can be used as extra seating for LAN and big football game parties.
- The A/V management: Pelican S-1037S System Selector PRO
- An upgrade from the previous wired version I had, this sleek little jobby let's me hook all of my component video sources (PC/HDTV, Xbox, and Xbox 360) and non-component sources (extra cable box, SNES, etc.) into one switch, as well as multiple types of audio (digital optical, digital coax, composite), and switch those out to the projector. I had great luck with the first one, and this one has slightly improved video quality, has a remote, an LCD screen, and better A/V and ethernet switching functionality. The catch on this last one is it's a switch, not a hub. Where I could run into problems is when I want to network play my Xbox and 360 in Halo 2. I get around this by switching to my Xbox on the Pelican (and projector), and running my 360 through the VGA cable/monitor. Since the A/V switch has connectivity turned off for the 360, the wireless adapter kicks in without a hiccup (nice job, Microsoft).
- The games: (Multiple)
- I like games that support at least 480p (most Xbox games), but 720p/1080i and widescreen is a great experience.
Games that give a sense of scale of which a big screen projection can take advantage are pretty cool, and both Lost Planet: Extreme Condition and Dead Rising do this, for massive baddies (the former) or a sea of baddies (the latter). Even a game like Marvel: Ultimate Alliance plays great on the projector, and I'm not sure I could do same-screen multiplayer on a standard TV. I'm really looking forward to Turok: Next Gen, for bigscreen dinos.
For last gen, I play Halo 2, X-Men: Legends/II, ESPN NHL 2K5, MechAssault 2: Lone Wolf, and Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy. Halo 2 is cool, because it supports widescreen and horizontal splitscreen. X-Men Legends/II just rocks at 720p and widescreen.
- I like games that support at least 480p (most Xbox games), but 720p/1080i and widescreen is a great experience.
- What's Missing
- OK, so nothing's really "missing", per se. This setup already borders on "beyond what I ever thought I would have". But there are some things I wouldn't mind.
HD splitting -- I'd actually like to run the component out from my Pelican S-1037S System Selector PRO to a component video splitter, so that I could switch between my projector and my monitor, without swapping cables. This would likely require another NEC ADP-CV1. If you have a suggestion, let me know.
A universal remote -- Right now, the Logitech Harmony Advanced Universal Remote for Xbox 360 (or the 550 on which it's based) actually supports everything in my house.
Headphones -- Though they're wired, I'd like a set of the Tritton Audio Xtreme 360 Headphones. These give you true 5.1 surround sound, and built-in Xbox Live microphone capability.
HD DVD -- I'm thinking about the Xbox 360 HD DVD Player. The thing is I want the HD DVD functionality to show up in discs, because since I'm using a projector, I'm not sure I'll notice the 1080p fidelity.
Projector -- I don't know that I'll ever spring for a top-tier home theater projector. But I do plan on upgrading my current projector someday, and I'll probably go to a projector that does native 720p, and scales to 1080i/p. I suspect this will probably be from Panasonic.
- OK, so nothing's really "missing", per se. This setup already borders on "beyond what I ever thought I would have". But there are some things I wouldn't mind.
Anyway, it's a lot of fun to bigscreen game. Besides, if you're in my geographic area, you're invited to play ... ;-)
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