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Running the Xbox Devlopment Kit in PAL High Definition

The Xbox is the first video game console to output in HDTV on supporting software. It supports a variety of output resolutions, including 1280×720 (720p/D4) and 1920×1080 interlaced (1080i/D3).

Many games offer progressive scan mode (480p/D2), similar to VGA mode Dreamcast and to a lesser extent D2 on the GameCube (and even less so, the PlayStation 2). However a select few are capable of running at the higher resolutions, primarily 720p/D4.

XDK Dash

Unlike the consumer Microsoft Dash on all factory standard Xbox units, the development kit’s dashboard will run at a variety of resolutions internally and also output in various HD formats.

XDK Launcher – Options: AV Region

Just to prove that the Xbox can run in HDTV resolutions at 50Hz (ie. for PAL regions) I’ve taken the screenshot below from an official development kit. Normally the PAL BIOS has the HD options removed. This mainly affects consumers in Australia right now since Europe has limited uptake of HD, while in Australia there are several hours broadcasted daily on free terrestrial channels.

The XDK is first set to PAL region / 50Hz, then changed to 720p resolution.

Hopefully the next generation of video game consoles will be able to embrace HD gaming