Microsoft confirms Xbox dash video issues, is working on a fix

@Mrblonde57 Is normal, some people never move the color, sharpness or that stuff form the TVs in the first place, so a lot of people never notice this stuff, the people who notice this stuff is people that have perfect settings for the HDTV model, and the Xbox settings, some people can have that gray effect just by buying a cheap HDTV....

@Mrblonde57

It's a huge difference. I have two Xboxes. One on the previous dashboard and one on the new dash. When both are hooked up to the same TV the difference in color between the two is huge.

@baby sea tuna It's subtle, but it's there. Basically the colors are going to look more washed out than they did before. Honestly, it hasn't been enough for me to start watching things on my PS3 but I'm glad that MS is finally doing something about it.

@baby sea tuna Every Xbox 360 with the update is affected by this bug, regardless of model or region. Whether it's a problem you'd notice is the question. There are defined video standards that the previous dashboard's video playback was compliant with that the new dashboard no longer maintains. The result is that black in video is now a dull gray and whites are compressed into the gray range as well, giving the overall video quality a horrible washed-out look. Most people are so accustomed to streaming video looking bad that they didn't notice (or didn't care), or they set their television's brightness/contrast by eye, ignoring the correct defined levels. However, black/white level test patterns played back on the dashboard's video player (which is NOT streaming) clearly show that the new method of rendering on the Metro dashboard is altering the video levels such that they are inconsistent (and woefully incorrect) from the rest of the dashboard and gameplay. And worse, the Reference Level control in the system settings no longer complies with the 0IRE/7.5IRE standards AND often seems to change for no apparent reason.

If you don't notice it, don't look for it. Ignorance is bliss. Once you know what you're looking for, it will bug the hell out of you. I'm glad Microsoft is FINALLY owning up to it, because it was only reported to them MONTHS AGO.

@(Unverified)

Huh, I guess I just never noticed. Now I'll have to look at it more closely when I go home...not that it really matters since, you're right again, my internet sucks so badly that all streaming videos look "good enough, but not fantastic" anyway. I guess it also helps that I watch a lot of sitcoms and am probably playing with an iPad or 3DS at the same time. ADD wins again!

@DericLee

same here. I'm just a visual nerd though. The first thing I did with my new xbox was put a calibration disc in and run some quick tests and made sure all of the display options were set correctly on the xbox itself.

I shed a tear each time I go to my friends' houses and they have the sharpness and brightness jacked up to like 85 out of a 100 and contrast is up all the way.

@DericLee

Noticed it lately as well. I completely forgot about this bug. It needs to be fixed immediately.

@(Unverified)

I am convinced that they never check that "tips" email address.

@baby sea tuna
me too

@baby sea tuna

Yeah, I've tipped them off several times in the past only to be ignored and then the story appears 3 days later with a "via [insert other news site here]"

I don't know why they bother having the feature. However, it could be related to the issue where my comments don't always post or else take hours to appear.

I've sent two items in that got published, was thanked for both. The address works.

@jsx92 Well, I'm sure it works in some manner... but myself and several others sent both Eurogamer articles in and Joystiq curiously never covered it until now. Fortunately, other sites like Kotaku did.

Of course, I can't even get my damn comment account to stop saying UNVERIFIED, so who knows?

@Altairio probably wont happen, it was a major complaint in beta but nothing came of it either. Its mainly because all the app's now are required to have some kind of kinect support to them. Though I do wish they would change the browsing.

@Jing2487
If people continue to complain about it (take a look at Netflix' facebook page) then it most certainly will happen. They need to put back in the functionality they removed.

@Altairio

They need to fix it. The Netflix interface is disgusting. You want to select a certain episode of a TV series? Sorry, you have to first start up an episode to get to the menu. You want to rate a series? You have to start up an episode to do that. I hate it so much.

@Altairio
Hell, not even just the interface, how about the ability to skip by "chapters" and jump back to the beginning or the end of a program like we used to? The Netflix app is absolutely terrible now.

@darkinchworm

If you haven't already, do yourself a favor and pick up a cheap used dvd calibration disc and spend a few minutes doing the main tests like sharpness and brightness. It'll make your tv look a few hundred dollars better

@darkinchworm

I think it's cute that you call your Xbox "honey." ;p

@baby sea tuna
I had to suppress my excitement for the first few months, but over the years we've become so affectionate toward one another. She may change as time goes on but oh, she's just as fun.

@Patricio87

I can't say I'm a fan of it either. What I want most is for the Netflix arrangement to go back to the way it was- this new one is clumsy and slow.

@Dlord
The way I understand it, that wasn't even a beta, more like a preview. They didn't fix any of the issues people found.