Strange orange "flicker" with XBox 360

[cncb]

I just purchased a new TV (Samsung plasma) and thought there might be something wrong with the TV since when watching a football game in WMC on the XBox 360, most orange objects (first down markers, end zone pylons) had this strange shimmering/flickering effect when displayed. I have determined it is the XBox 360 and not the TV because playing the same clip on my WD TV Live player using the same HDMI connection and resolution to the TV produces no flicker effect (the orange objects in the clip are out-of-focus and blurry but don't have the distracting shimmering of the 360). Likewise with the built-in DLNA player in the TV.

Here is a small clip (26 MB, .ts) that shows the effect. Look at the first down marker on the sideline and end zone pylons as the players go by: http://1drv.ms/1zssg0o. To clarify, this is a sample of video that causes the effect on my TV, not a video of the TV displaying the effect because I was not able to capture this in detail by taking a video of my TV.

I have tried both 1080p and 1080i output with the 360 but it makes no difference. I tried changing the Reference Levels and Color Space settings but it seems to make no difference. Any ideas here? Thanks for any help.

[LuckyDay]

It could still be a setting within the TV that is detecting the input from the 360 and adding an effect like Dyanmic Contrast, smoothing, interpolation, etc.

I would turn the 360 on, go into the settings on your new TV and turn off any post processing effects that may be enabled on the input (one by one if you have to, to determine which may be the culprit).

Occasionally newer TVs have a "Game mode" setting on an input that turns off any and all extra effects. You want to use this anyway, because the enhancements can introduce lag and unwanted effects.

The only other thing I can think of that may be an issue is the refresh rate on the 360 being set incorrectly, but I don't know if that can even be changed.

[dmagerl]

I have a Samsung LCD. If your plasma is like mine, make sure you dont name the HDMI connection anything with the word "PC" in it. The TV presets & disables a lot of settings when that happens, none of which result in a good picture. And make sure that picture size is set to "just fit"

[cncb]

Thanks for the ideas. One of the first things I tried was to disable all picture processing/enhancements but it unfortunately doesn't make a difference. I also tried to go straight to the TV bypassing the AVR but it also didn't make a difference. I was hoping there was a setting on the XBox 360 that I was missing.

[soapdishbandit]

Thanks for the ideas. One of the first things I tried was to disable all picture processing/enhancements but it unfortunately doesn't make a difference. I also tried to go straight to the TV bypassing the AVR but it also didn't make a difference. I was hoping there was a setting on the XBox 360 that I was missing.

Could this be a manifestation of the 29/59 bug? For me, the 360's doesn't get rid of it (the shaking picture). The only channel that works perfectly for some reason is FOX (local broadcast through cable). I know because I can play football thru plex and it is 60 fps. Other 60 fps programs (i.e. News, Weather, Sports) on other networks only show 30 fps on plex (because of the jumping back and forth of 29 and 59 fps). Just my two cents.

[cncb]

This is OTA 1080i MPEG2, so I don't think so. I thought that bug manifests itself in cable broadcasts but I'm not sure.

[soapdishbandit]

This is OTA 1080i MPEG2, so I don't think so. I thought that bug manifests itself in cable broadcasts but I'm not sure.

I think you are right.

I will add it to my recorded TV folder and see if I can replicate (I use 2 Xbox 360's as extenders...one for living room and other for bedroom). The living room is HDMI and bedroom is using a VGA cable (1680x1050). Also, I will check to see if my Echo does it (downstairs, HDMI 720p tv). I don't see it on my PC though.