Xbox setup question.

[human_male]

Hello. I'm in the process of setting up my Xbox360 and it's prompted me to set either Pal-50 or Pal-60. What the heck is that and how do I know what to set it to?

There is nothing in the manual about this whole part of the setup process. The first thing it mentions is language and "other settings" then the family settings. I looked on the xbox website but it doesn't elaborate there. I could just leave it and see what happens but I don't want to mess something up not knowing what I'm doing.

There are no instructions at all about onscreen controls or settings. Do I need to know anything else like resolution for example? Are there any setup/help guides for technically challenged old people like me?

Thank you very much.
If it's important I live in New Zealand and have a fairly old (about nine or ten years) Philips 21' tv.

 

[nakedphriend]

according to this site:
http://www.high-techproductions.com/pal.htm
you want to select PAL50.

 

[bsbrian]

Pal-50 and Pal-60 refer to the Hz of your TV. Pal-50 is 50 Hz and Pal-60 is 60 Hz. I'm in the US so I don't have any practical experience with these (we us a different TV standard), but according to a little research it looks like 50 Hz is more common for standard definition and 60 Hz is associated with high definition. If you're using a component, HDMI, or a VGA cable you're most likely Pal-60. If you are using an S-video or composite cable it's most likely Pal-50. Check out these pages on the xBox website...

http://www.xbox.com/en-NZ/support/xbox360/console/pal60.htm

http://www.xbox.com/en-NZ/support/xbox360/console/troubleshootingFAQconsole.htm

 

[human_male]

Thank you. I put it on 60 for now, and the game I got, Alone in the Dark said it would only work if set to 60 so I suppose that makes the question moot. It seems to run fine and everything.

That brings me to a couple of other questions if you'll indulge me. When I first ran the game it said it had to be updated to play. I assumed it would download a patch like a PC game. I hadn't got around to hooking up the internet cable though so I assumed it would give me an error message to that effect, but it carried on and the game started. So did it actually update or do I need to do it again? How did it update if it wasn't hooked up to the internet?

I think I will need a new tv. My current one has only one AV channel which I've currently got the vcr set to. So I have to unplug the Xbox to use the vcr and vice versa. So instead I plugged the Xbox right into the vcr, which I've got plugged into the stereo. I don't know if that's the best way to do it. The sound isn't that hot. I don't know if that would cause degradation of sound and/or video piping it through the vcr like that.

I played around with the sound settings, and tried Digital Stereo and Dolby 5.1. Since I'm using headphones I figured stereo would be the best bet, but did you guys just leave it at Dolby 5.1 or is that just for multiple speakers?

I'm really pleased with the unit I got. I researched how I could check for a Falcon and made sure I got one of those, and also checked the build date and was pleased to see it's less than three months old. A quiet BenQ drive as well. I am surprised how quiet it is. The graphics look fine on my old tv but the text on the menus is difficult to read. That and the other issue and I'm thinking about getting a new HD set. So would you guys happen to know what I should check for when choosing a tv? For instance resolution, response time, a particular make or model, anything at all?

A lot of questions but I just want to get the best experience possible and I'm curious how other folks, who have more experience with it have got it set up.

So thanks.

 

[Amy_gurl]

You don't need to download the patch to play offline, but if you're connected to Xbox Live, it's pretty well mandatory to download it if you want to stay connected. If you select no thanks, it will keep you signed out of xbox live, until you download the patch.... silly, but the patches are important enough to Microsoft's servers I guess.

If you check the xbox.com forums, there's a forum just for technical questions, and the community is pretty decent, so they'll be able to point you in the right direction when purchasing a new tv. There's also a regional forum just for residents in New Zeland, so that might also be a good place to check out

http://forums.xbox.com/

Just scroll down to almost the bottom of the page for the New Zeland forums

 

[human_male]

You don't need to download the patch to play offline, but if you're connected to Xbox Live, it's pretty well mandatory to download it if you want to stay connected. If you select no thanks, it will keep you signed out of xbox live, until you download the patch.... silly, but the patches are important enough to Microsoft's servers I guess.

If you check the xbox.com forums, there's a forum just for technical questions, and the community is pretty decent, so they'll be able to point you in the right direction when purchasing a new tv. There's also a regional forum just for residents in New Zeland, so that might also be a good place to check out

http://forums.xbox.com/

Just scroll down to almost the bottom of the page for the New Zeland forums

Most helpful. Thank you kindly.