Hardware Blog

Hardware Blog

In college for the past couple of Thursdays we have been fiddling with hardware (in terms of platform technologies, so consoles) which consisted of an Xbox 360, Playstation 2, Playstation 3 as well as two DS Lites, two PSPs and a Nintendo Wii.

We are required to blog the processes that we went through when connecting up and operating the platform technologies. That is what this post is, I will go through the many different things I had to do to make the hardware operational and to play the games under the required criteria; i.e. via network play or versus on the same platform.

The first major thing I was tasked with is taking the Xbox 360 platform and hooking it up to a TV and making it operational with a wireless controller and demonstrating game play on it. The first thing I did was unpack the Xbox 360 from its box along with the cables and controller.

I took the Xbox to a TV and connected the power cable to the back of the Xbox 360 console, into its power pack (which is huge may I add!) which had a separate cable that I plugged into the wall socket. I then took the composite cables, plugging the audio-visual connector end into the Xbox 360, and then plugging the 3 colour coordinated RC components into the respective slots. The red RCA component is right-side audio, the white is left-side audio and the yellow is composite video. This is what allows you to see and hear your Xbox 360 console in action, whether you’re playing a game of Call of Duty 6 or listening to your new Take That CD.

It’s pretty much the same process when plugging in any games console, however when wanting to take it further and play your games online with people across the world, there are further steps you must take. There are multiple ways to connect online on consoles; the Xbox 360 for example has two options – wired, or wireless.

The method I used for this example was wired. Using an Ethernet cable which plugs one end directly into the Xbox 360, the other end plugs into a modem which then gives the console direct access to your internet connection, allowing you to connect to Xbox LIVE, providing you have an account set up, more commonly known as a ‘Gamertag.’

You can also use an extra piece of equipment that plugs in to the back of your Xbox 360 console – it is a small wireless network adapter which is extremely useful when the modem is further from the Xbox than an Ethernet cable can reach, plus it’s more convenient to be constantly connected. However you can only use this wireless adapter when you have a wireless router set up, which takes the connection request from the adapter and passes it onto the modem allowing you connection to the internet via your Xbox 360 console.

There can be issues when working with wireless though, for example the router or your computer may reject the Xbox 360’s connection request, and you would have to go into your Router’s settings and apply MAC address filtering to your Xbox 360 console’s MAC address. Not everybody knows how to do this and would frustrate them more when they try to connect via wireless and it doesn’t work for unexplained reasons.

I also had to setup a Nintendo Wii which worked on the same principal in terms of connections, however there was one difference. The Nintendo Wii has a sensor bar which picks up the Wii Remote’s movement. There can be issues when figuring out the best place to put this especially if you are playing with people of varying sizes or if you don’t really have anywhere good to put it.

Just like the process of connecting an Xbox 360, I had connected a Playstation 3 up too. The one difference I encountered when connecting this console was that I decided to get it up and running with widescreen and HD too.

This can mean a difference in cables, for example when using HDMI for your high definition gaming, you will need to use a HDMI cable instead of the standard SCART connections or component. Although HDMI cables are so much easier to connect the console with the TV, as there is only one thing you need to plug in, whereas the SCART connections has the different coloured jacks.

You also need to make changes on the TV and within the consoles settings. The first change you need to make is to change the output source on your TV to view your HDMI output. This is simply changed by a button on the TV remote usually labelled ‘Source’.

You then have to go into your consoles settings and change it to display in HD and change it to the highest resolution your TV or cable can display; usually 1080p. On the Playstation 3, if you scroll to the left on the main dashboard to settings, and scroll down to display settings. In there you can change many settings, like what resolution to display in (720p, 1080i, 1080p etc), what refresh rate it should use (usually 50 Hz or 60 Hz), and also allows the changing of normal sized screen or widescreen, as well as the obvious standard or high definition settings.

So, to summarise, when connecting consoles up to your TV, the process is usually the same. If you are connecting in Standard Definition (SD) then just use a SCART and connect the colour coded component jacks (red, white, yellow) to the respective slots in your SCART connections (or connect them to the SCART adaptor and plug it straight into the adaptors slot on your TV) or if you are connecting in High Definition (HD) then connect using a HDMI cable or using component.