Xbox One Won't Support SDTVs

[Lazy Kitty]

Fantastic.
On top of all of the reasons I wouldn't want to buy this console, now there's also a reason why I couldn't use it even if I got it.

Congratulations Microsoft, upgrading to Xbone is officially too expensive as I'd have to get a new tv, which probably doesn't even fit in my bedroom.

Along with that other thing I need a bigger bedroom for... Kinect.
Well, they've killed all the chances of me even considering getting it.

 

[Callate]

As of 2011, two-thirds of American homes have HDTV of one form or another.

Source: [link]http://www.avsforum.com/t/1341539/nielsen-two-thirds-of-all-tv-homes-now-have-an-hd-set[/link]

And I'd be surprised if the SD segment hadn't shrunk by now.

But still, when you cross that with homes that don't have access to the always-on Internet access that most, if not all XBone usage seems likely to require... That's not a trivial segment of the market to leave out. And that's only in the United States.

The dumb keeps comin'.

 

[Doclector]

To be honest, I understand this. I've been struggling a little with SDTV for a while, though mostly with ridiculously tiny text, but still, it's about time I upgraded.

However, this is yet further alienation. This is a lone reasonable request in a sea of completely absurd demands that the xbox one will push on gamers. Not having SDTV options is the very fucking least of it's problems.

 

[CardinalPiggles]

If you can afford a £200+ console and £40+ games then I'm sure you can afford an 18 inch HDTV.

 

[PoolCleaningRobot]

Personally, sdtv resolution makes me vomit and it's horrendously outdated, but I know plenty of people who hang on to them. Smooth Microsoft. If becoming a lot more affordable in the last few years wasn't enough to get people to switch to HD, what makes Microsoft think their console can force people to switch?

 

[Formica Archonis]

My TV's standard def because I watch a half-hour of TV a day; it's not worth buying an HDTV until my SDTV dies. Of course I wasn't planning on buying one of these things anyway....

So the TV Box won't even let you watch TV on your television?

Very good, sir!

 

[Bigeyez]

It's funny how people are so condescending in this article. Yeah I guess I'm one of the "few" people who don't own an HDTV. What about people who's console isn't hooked up to their HDTV? I guess none of us matter huh? Sure I could buy a tiny 20" HDTV for 200 bucks but for that I'd rather just play on my computer that already has a 20" a monitor. So this is probably a deal breaker for me. Not going to drop close to or over a grand just for a Xbox and tv that's a decent size.

 

[Trishbot]

Well, as someone with ZERO HD TVs in my household, because they're all 90's era, big screen SD ones, this is certainly unfriendly news.

I actually think the last poll found that nearly 30-40% of TV owners still owned SD TVs as their primary television... so that seems like a lot of the market they'll still miss out on.

Sorry, but for the people who actually want to use next gen consoles anyway, you'd be in the extreme minority if you wanted to use it on an SDTV. So let's talk about that poll, eh? 30-40% is statistically a large spread of difference. I'd be curious to find out when/where that poll was conducted and how accurate its numbering is, because 30-40 just isn't an accurate enough figure - it leaves a lot of wiggle room, because that 10% difference could be a LOT of people.

I was going off memory, but looking it up, it's at 30% based on the Nielsen ratings from Fall 2012. Granted, it's still dwindling year by year as costs lower and accessibility rises... but that number is vastly lower on a global scale in markets where HD TV has not penetrated as hard (because MOST people in the world are not wealthy Americans).

Beyond that, I've actually found that HD games look, at times, BETTER on SD because many imperfections in game graphics and texturing are smoothed out and obscured. It does not look as DEFINED, but it looks BETTER (just as a pretty girl can be pretty until you put her in high definition and can now see every pore and minor imperfection on her skin).

 

[Vegosiux]

So, why do I get this feeling that if Xbone bombs because of all this, it's somehow going to be our fault because we're too backwards to truly understand the distilled awesomeness that is the Xbone?

 

[thethird0611]

Oh lord, please dont be apart of that 'Xbone' group. Every time I see a post with that word in it, I immediately throw out all credibility of that post and stop reading. This also include M$ and the such. It feels sooooooooooooo immature.

But about the original topic... I cant specifically say anything good or bad about this. Many people are using Neilson ratings as their go to stat, but we also dont see how many of those people who use SD TV's actually connect an Xbox to it. With the current population, we have a LARGE amount of older adults compared to younger, and they are the most likely to have those older SD TV's.

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

This is a bad call. A lot of people still don't have an HDTV. And if they do it's not really a good one. I have an HDTV that I bought just last year, although I'm not fuckin' interested in Xbox One. But a lot of people I know don't have an HDTV and they don't want one. They just don't see the purpose yet and it's too expensive for them. Jim Sterling is right. This console is for the rich and privileged.

 

[Scars Unseen]

Heh... almost everyone is complaining about the lack of SD support, while my first reaction to the news was "what? No DisplayPort?"

 

[Xan Krieger]

I can't see the difference between HDTV and SDTV so I have my SDTV and enjoy it. Just another reason I'm glad I'm upgrading my PC this year.

 

[Whytewulf]

This is the first of the controversial points about the XBone that I think is fine. Running a high-end computer to play on a 1280x720 screen is already dumb, so running on a 640x480 screen is just beyond stupidly outdated (yes, that is the resolution of an SDTV, no matter how big it is). I haven't even used that resolution on a computer since 1996!

Agreed, this thing is going to be released in late 2013, most people would probably buy it in 2014 at the earliest. At some point you can't rip XBOX for everything that is based on new technology. How much 2010 technology do you want in this thing? And though I sympathize with people who can't afford to upgrade their tv right away, but they have to build this for now and the future, at least another 5 to 10 years? Plus I assume if they added SDTV support, it would make the whole thing more expensive for the majority of people who don't need it.

 

[Hero in a half shell]

I only recently (past 2 years) got a HDTV, before that I was still playing on a SDTV. So while HD is more the norm, I'm fairly confident there are a number of people who still use a SD.

Yep, Our house is SD TVs, the proper big ones we got cheap when flatscreen just started to become all the rage, I had an original Xbox, funny that they actually restrict themselves in such a big way

Also am I the only one who thinks Xbox Bum is a better degradation of Xbox One than Xbone?

 

[Midniqht]

I was going off memory, but looking it up, it's at 30% based on the Nielsen ratings from Fall 2012. Granted, it's still dwindling year by year as costs lower and accessibility rises... but that number is vastly lower on a global scale in markets where HD TV has not penetrated as hard (because MOST people in the world are not wealthy Americans).

Beyond that, I've actually found that HD games look, at times, BETTER on SD because many imperfections in game graphics and texturing are smoothed out and obscured. It does not look as DEFINED, but it looks BETTER (just as a pretty girl can be pretty until you put her in high definition and can now see every pore and minor imperfection on her skin).

You have a point, but keep in mind that if we're still talking about the Xbox One and SDTVs together, the people who don't have an HDTV are probably far less likely to even consider an Xbox One. I know they want everyone to be their target audience, but SDTV isn't the target they're aiming for. It's a piece of technology that will continue to decline, as you said, and there's no point in them trying to make it work.

 

[unstabLized]

Just keep bringing them in.. This train-wreck is getting funnier and funnier to watch.

 

[Ishigami]

Are you guys serious?
You can afford several new games a year, planed to apparently invest ~500? for new console on release, most here surely have decent gaming PC of some sort as well not to mention maybe change their smart phone every 6 to 12 month and yet so ?many? in this video game enthusiast board don't own nor can afford a HDTV in roughly 2014?
When did you guys plan to upgrade your TV anyway? When 4k HDTV become mass market products roughly around 2018?
Well bad luck for you guys I suppose. Fine with me I have no need of stuff that outdated...