New HDTV... kinda dissapointed...??

So me and my roommate have a new HDTV in the game room. 37 inch. 1080p.

Long story short I'm not happy with it so far. All the games I play look very.. stretched.. tons of jaggies.. even some blur.. maybe the games have always looked back and its magnified by the size of the tv.. but idk. Surely its not like this. I have the tv set to 1080p. My games like BFBC2, COD, GTAIV.. anything really.. have horrible jaggy edges around the geometry.. and the textures are pretty meh...

If this is just the games themselves... ok.. but I'm pretty sure its not supposed to look the way it does now.

edit: for the record this is my first time to have an HDTV

You're not using a 360 with the older composite/component cable are you?

Forget to switch the cable to "HDTV" mode?

You're not using a 360 with the older composite/component cable are you?

Forget to switch the cable to "HDTV" mode?

Installing

I'm using the HDMI cable. Not component cables. Its one of the new xboxs.. so I don't think there is a hd/sd switch or whatever. Idk... maybe I'll upload a picture of it if I can get a decent one...

edit: the console setting are set to 1080p. I just guess its the games. Idk though... they are pretty dang jaggy.

Yep When I got my first HDTV I was disappointed as it just seems that the colors were brighter. The flat screen is nice. The novelty wore off quickly.

Unless youm really watch a lot of TV. The HDTV is a big deal. The effect is nice for playing Playstation 3 games.

That's the nature of most console games. Only a selective few console games support 1080p (not just upscale) or have AA.GhoX

This is exactly what it is. You aren't using 1080p material since most console games are only 720p then being upscaled, or aren't even HD at all. You need sources like Blu Ray or PC games to get the full effect.

Welcome to the wonders of console gaming ;)

Your only options realistically is to move further back form the TV, or upgrade to a gaming PC.

OR wait and hope to see if the next gen consoles will finally catch up to PC technology.

Its cause your gaming on consoles which are mainly 720p with little to no AA and a good chunk are sub-hd so your image is being scaled up to 1080p resulting in worse image quality. That being said your t.v is not setup correctly for maximum picture quality turn the sharpness down to a lower value this isn't need on hdtv and turn the contrast and backlight down most hdtv have these 3 settings way to high as the presets and look like crap if your not happy then you have to buy a higher quality t.v that is preferably 720p so it doesn't have to scale the image at all or for sub-hd games will do alot less then scaling to 1080. And how far is your usual viewing distance you may not even being sitting close enough to a t.v to notice te diffrence between 720p and 1080p personally if i was you i would return your lcd and go with a 42" 720p plasma preferably from panasonic.

You should always tell what model and brand of Tv.
A good calibration should do wonders and will make you appreciate your tv much much more, trust me.Turn off anything like edge enhancment or noise reduction (they have different names depending on the brand) or any of the picture enhancers likeblack level or dynamic contrast.
Also you said 37" so it'sobviously anLCD. (hate backlighting and motion blur) Some people are ok with LCDs shortcomings... not me though.

You should always tell what model and brand of Tv.
A good calibration should do wonders and will make you appreciate your tv much much more, trust me.Turn off anything like edge enhancment or noise reduction (they have different names depending on the brand) or any of the picture enhancers likeblack level or dynamic contrast.
Also you said 37" so it'sobviously anLCD. (hate backlighting and motion blur) Some people are ok with LCDs shortcomings... not me though.

YoungSinatra25

My thoughts exactly. I'm surprised no one else suggested this before.

To the OP, have you or your roommate even tried calibrating your new HDTV or did you just hook it up & let it rip? Because if that's the case, then that's more than like what's up w/ your tv. HDTV aren't like SDTV were you can just plug it in right out the box & be on your way. With any and all HDTVs you have to truly calibrate your settings to suit your viewing/gaming tastes. Also, if it's the gaming side of things you're having issues w/ the most, you'd might want to also look into your 360's audio/video settings and adjust those accordingly. Just because your system recognizes you have a HDMI hookup doesn't mean that specific settings don't need to be changed/tweaked. This is especially so if you upgrading from SD to HD.

I remember when I first got my HDTV it took me a few good tries (w/ calibrating) between going back & forth w/ my PS3 (hooked into one HDMI port) & my Directv HDDVR (hooked into the other port) before everything looked 'just right'. Luckily what made it a bit easier for me was having a few bluray movies that actually had a special built-in mode that helped me calibrate my tv. Hell, if you have cable or satellite & you get some HD channels try tuning into those and then use that as a basis for tweaking you picture quality (if you don't/can't get to a bluray player or PS3), that may help as well.

Of course...it should also be noted (as others have mentioned) the brand and quality of your tv also plays a roll in how good you'll be able to get it looking as well. If you only sprung for the lowest-end, no-name brand, then to be frank....don't expect much 'wowness'.

You have a console that is upscaling from 720p to 1080p. So it's stretching the image to twice its size, you can imagine how ugly that would look. ocstew

SOmething that may help with the jaggies. Turn the Sharpness setting in the tv WAY down... like to almost nothing. My tv's are at 10/100.