After Microsoft's announcement in Tokyo that the Xbox 360 would support 1080p natively this Fall (we already knew it was capable of it), the FUD hit the fan. Was this "native" 1080p? Was it just upsampled? Would it work with DVDs over component? Wouldn't the long-rumored HDMI cable be appropriate now? Though they didn't answer all of the above, IGN got a hold of Microsoft to try and clear some of the smoke in the air in a short Q&A. So now that we know it can handle "true HD" at 1080p, what about that HDMI cable. MS says, "Our platform is flexible enough to allow support of a digital connection in the future should we choose to do so. When the Xbox 360 was being developed HDMI was nascent and with our current connections we support what the overwhelming majority of consumers have available to them."
Yup yup. True. The reality is, 1080p over component ain't really happening, and 1080p over VGA is only possible for an even smaller minority of HD television owners than the already small 1080p subset. If 1080p support is going to be more than a bullet point, we're going to need to see some HDMI love in the near future. Microsoft on releasing a cable: "We are watching the market closely and will continue to evaluate our solution in the face of consumer demand, but have no announcements regarding additional cables or connections."
We've all been dismissing 1080p as a marginal standard, and a convenient rallying cry for Sony's latest and greatest, but now that we've got the carrot dangling just in front of our gnashing teeth will we actually run for it? Have we gone from "1080p, who cares?" to "give us our damned HDMI cable so we can experience true HD"?
[Via digg]
