Hi-Def console roundup

Well, today I received the final cables which require me to connect all of the current Gen consoles up to my TV through the component inputs and I have to say that overall the results are pretty good.

Gamecube

The official Nintendo Gamecube component cable isn't generally sold in Europe, so I had to track one down on the net, finally opting for £20(+p&p) from Lik Sang.

PAL games don't support Progressive Scan at all, so you'll need a Free-Loader or NTSC Cube and a Japanese/American copy of the game to get the full benefits. There are a fair few games (including most Nintendo first party titles) which will run at 480p, although none that I know of run at higher resolutions.

The only NTSC game I currently own is Shikigami no Shiro II, a nice little shooter. Enabling Progressive Scan requires holding the A button as the cube boots, but since the menus are screwed on Shikigami no Shiro II when booting through a Freeloader it took a couple of attempts to getit to work. The main improvements in Shikigami no Shiro where on the menus and sides of the screen, I have to say I noticed little difference in the main gameplay window.

One thing I would say about the Gamecube component cable is that PAL games which don't support Progressive Scan look a shitload better on my TV through the cable than they do through the standard composite cable. Ikaruga, Monkey Ball and Viewtiful Joe all suffered in the move to LCD, but with the component cable the colours are solid and vibrant and the picture seems sharper than before.

Pros:
+ Even non-progressive scan games look good.
+ Relatively easy to switch on.

Cons:
- Requires NTSC versions of games.

XBOX

When it comes to the hi-def gaming, the XBOX is definately one of the better systems. A large number of titles support 480p, and there are a few out their which support 720p and even a couple which will do 1080i. Again, the official Hi-Def pack is a little hard to get hold of in Europe, but Game sell their own Component Cable on the high street for £20, downside being there is no optical out.

Halo 2 and Project Gotham looks smooth and slick at 480p. Soul Calibur 2 is simply stunning at 720p and even Amped 2 looks pretty nice when running at 720p. One comedy thing to mention is that Dance UK supports 480p despite the fact that it is aimed at the PAL market and PAL gamers can't get 480p without modding their XBOX.

Setting up Progressive Scan on the XBOX is a little trickier though, although PAL games support it, you need an NTSC XBOX or a PAL XBOX which has been modded and had the Enigmah Videomode Switchdisk used to turn it into NTSC. This can be a little fiddly.

Pros:
+ Good range of titles supported.
+ PAL titles support progressive scan.

Cons:
- Faffing involved to get XBOX to work properly

Playstation 2

There are only a few titles on the PS2 which support Progressive Scan, I've heard Burnout 3 does, but I couldn't get it to work. Ghosthunter was the only other game on the list I owned, holding Triangle and X while it loads gives you the option and although the screen was offset far to the right when the game booted I was able to fix this and have to say it did look sharper. The widescreen option didn't appear to fill the whole screen either.

With Gran Turismo 4 supporting up to 1080i, there is obviously the capability there to do higher resolutions, but not many games support it.

The most disappointing of the 4 in terms of availability of compatible games and difference between composite and component; although a 3rd party cable can be picked up for £3 from Lik Sang, so a far cheaper option than the others.

Pros:
+ Works with a PAL PS2 and PAL games
+ Easy to set up and use

Cons:
- Limited choice of games

Dreamcast

Finally, the Dreamcast; a bit of an odd one out, no component cable is available but the Dreamcast can natively produce a 640x480 VGA signal without the need for an upscan converter. So with a little help from eBay, I purchased a 3rd party VGA box for £17 and plugged it into the DSUB input on my TV. After trying the box on the TV and 2 different monitors, I finally realised I was being a muppet and that the switch on the back was set to the wrong position.

I didn't have the correct cable to get sound, but I can say that the Dreamcast looks very nice at 480p and with most games supporting the VGA adaptor and no issues between PAL and NTSC games it seems SEGA got it right.

Ikaruga looks very nice; definately better than the cube version and without the horrible porting issues which plague it. Zero Gunner 2 is also sharp with bold colours and although the lo-res characters models in Capcom vs. SNK 2 look a bit rubbish, the backdrops and special moves are vibrant. Overall, a huge step up from the RF adaptor I've been using on my Dreamcast until now.

Pros:
+ Supported by most games
+ Easy to Use

Cons:
- Cables required a bit annoying.

Roundup

Overall, the XBOX is probably the console which has the best Hi-Def support followed by the Dreamcast which deserves a special mention for doing things properly with no fannying around. The Cube is ok if you want to play Nintendo games at 480p and the PS2 trails the field with few games supporting Progressive Scan.

One thing I have to mention is the fact that as PAL gamers we have been shafted on this yet again. Having had to put up with dodgy release dates and decades of nasty borders and a 17% slow down in our games we now have Microsoft deliberately limiting the XBOX despite the fact that PAL games and hardware can support progressive scan; Nintendo removing options from PAL games despite the fact the hardware can do it; Sony removing the option from some PAL games. The only one of the 4 who seem to cater for the PAL gamer are SEGA and they no longer make hardware which is a damn shame.