XBOX 360 - cannot get it connected in HD mode?

Lally

wolfman wrote:

Here's the one I got:
http://www.play.com/play247.asp?pa=sr&page=title&r=X360&title=741485

Not too badly priced. Was considering going for the official version (it's around £18), but I must say the Joytech does feel quite solid. I've been very happy with it, works great with my 32" LCD.

I got one today. They had an unofficial one for £15 and an official one for £20, I just went for the official one to be safe. I will hook it up later!

Lally

Aiadi wrote:

So are you guys saying that the Xbox 360 Component HD-AV Cable is actually useless for LCD TVs?????????? I bought one instead of the VGA HD AV Cable thinking that it would be full proof for my future flat panel TV.

In my case, I could use the lead on the TV. But it just plugged in the side the same way the PS2 does. Using the red/white/yellow leads. Not an HD connection.

In order for it to be seen in HD mode, I would have needed the red/blue/green leads to be plugged in the TV. But I didnt have any spaces for them.

SO....I bought the lead that I needed. It goes into the Xbox, and then plugs into the TV - one into the DVI space, and the red/white for sound go in the side. Et voila! it is now an HD connection.

Aiadi

wolfman wrote:

Not all LCD Tv's. Some have it, others don't. It all depends upon the tv. I've got a decent 32" Panasonic but it seems to have everything but Component. I made the mistake too of getting the cable before the tv.

So if I get a HDTV with component input will that mean that I will still get a high definition picture using the HD component cable despite not using the official HD inputs (DVI or HDMI) on the TV?

slowen

Aiadi wrote:

So if I get a HDTV with component input will that mean that I will still get a high definition picture using the HD component cable despite not using the official HD inputs (DVI or HDMI) on the TV?

I presume you get HD signal by using the component connections as I could not see Microsoft providing the lead otherwise and as far as I know there is no HDMI or DVI connection for the xbox 360 but I might be wrong.

On the part that plugs into the 360 there is a swithc that says "TV" and "Hi-DEF" if you are playing through the HD settings and flip the switch to TV it loses the pciture so i preume a high def sigal is carried through the component connectors but am not a techie so would not know 100%

Lally

slowen wrote:

I presume you get HD signal by using the component connections as I could not see Microsoft providing the lead otherwise and as far as I know there is no HDMI or DVI connection for the xbox 360 but I might be wrong.

There is! Thats what I eventually found, its on the first page. I bought this one. Not from Play though, I got it in the high street. All the shops I went into (Game, HMV etc) had the official one plus various branded ones.

slowen wrote:

On the part that plugs into the 360 there is a swithc that says "TV" and "Hi-DEF" if you are playing through the HD settings and flip the switch to TV it loses the pciture so i preume a high def sigal is carried through the component connectors but am not a techie so would not know 100%

You would eaither use that lead, switch it to HD and plug in all the cables in the spaces they should go on your TV....or if like me your TV doesnt have space for them all, then ditch it and get the cable (with the link to it) above.

wolfman

Lally wrote:

There is! Thats what I eventually found, its on the first page. I bought this one. Not from Play though, I got it in the high street.

That's a d-Sub (VGA) connection, not DVI. d-Sub is still an analog connection. This doesn't mean it's not as good though. d-Sub is the type of connector that has been used for monitors (generally CRT's) for the past decade or more. Unless you have poor hardware there's barely any difference between DVI and d-Sub. DVI is generally more accurate with regards to colour accuracy.

This is what I've got. My tv has a DVI port though, so I've got a d-Sub to DVI convertor so that the d-Sub cable can connect up. It allows the 360 to run at a higher resolution, hence the games look sharper and much more detailed.

The component cable will give very similar results too. VGA (d-Sub) or DVI are preferable though.

Lally

wolfman wrote:

That's a d-Sub (VGA) connection, not DVI. d-Sub is still an analog connection. This doesn't mean it's not as good though. d-Sub is the type of connector that has been used for monitors (generally CRT's) for the past decade or more. Unless you have poor hardware there's barely any difference between DVI and d-Sub. DVI is generally more accurate with regards to colour accuracy.

This is what I've got. My tv has a DVI port though, so I've got a d-Sub to DVI convertor so that the d-Sub cable can connect up. It allows the 360 to run at a higher resolution, hence the games look sharper and much more detailed.

The component cable will give very similar results too. VGA (d-Sub) or DVI are preferable though.

Where did you get the converter from? I *think* I got one with the TV...but after hooking it all up tonight it didnt work. I got picture but no sound. And strangely, it worked through the PC mode on the remote rather than the HD mode. When I selected te latter it said "does not support video mode" or something similar. Why cant things just be simple?????

wolfman

I got it with the graphics card for my pc. They are quite common to pickup, check on eBuyer or Microdirect, or at a local computer fare.

Mine too runs via "PC" mode on the tv. As it's running through a DVI connection the TV treats it as a computer (which it is).

This is still effectively HD as it'll run at 1366x768 (or something like that). I think you can check this setting in the dashboard. Mine defintely runs at a much higher resolution, it's easy to tell by the clarity of the text on the screen.

With regards to sound, this'll be a different cable (it won't travel down the VGA cable). With the VGA cable I got, it had the d-Sub connection, and two phono plugs. The phono's are for the sound. Annoyingly, my tv has a 3.5mm jack input for the sound, not phono's (!) so I had to buy a convertor for that too (actually had one lying around).

This is what the VGA to DVI convertor I have is like:
http://www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?TabID=1&criteria=vga%20dvi&ModuleNo=37198&doy=21m4

And this is the phono to 3.5mm jack:
http://www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?TabID=1&criteria=phono%20jack&ModuleNo=44057&doy=21m4

The whole process was a bit of a pain, but is basically due to there being no official standards as to what inputs a tv should have. On a good note though, I can hook my 360 up to my PC now as I have all the neccessary parts.

Lally

Wolfman, that adaptor looks like the one I have. And I also have the phono jack too! Will give it a bash over the weekend : )