UPDATED: 3/27/08
Judging by my own traffic patterns and given the number of questions I see on the Intartron, there’s much confusion regarding the Xbox 360 and its support of high definition. This has only increased recently with the release of the HD-DVD addon, the Elite models and the various dashboard updates. I’ve gathered the various pieces of information into one, easy-to-find, well-spidered place.
Q. Is it true that I have to use a high definition television with the Xbox 360?
A. This is false. The Xbox 360 supports many different connections to many types of televisions, from composite connections for standard televisions to component, VGA and, with an Xbox 360 Elite, HDMI connections for high definition televisions and computer monitors.
Q. Do all games for the Xbox 360 support high definition?
A. Yes, all games that are genuine Xbox 360 titles must support at least 720p. Every indication from Microsoft is that every game that is ever released for the platform must support at least 720p. Please note that some games render internally to a smaller framebuffer — most notoriously Project Gotham Racing 3 which renders to a 1024 by 600 framebuffer — so take this with a grain of salt.
Q. Do I need any kind of set-top box to play games in high definition on my Xbox 360?
A. No, you need no external hardware to enjoy Xbox 360 games in high definition. The only “extra” thing you’ll need is either the Xbox 360 Component HD AV Cable, the Xbox 360 VGA HD AV Cable or the Xbox 360 HDMI AV Cable if you have an Xbox 360 Elite.
Q. I have an HDTV, I have an Xbox 360… how do I get high definition?
A. First you need to plug everything in. If you’re using the component HD AV cable you plug the red, green, and blue RCA cables into the respective inputs on your display. With the HDMI AV cable, plug in your HDMI cable. If you’re using the VGA HD AV cable, you’ll plug the single connector into the respective input.
If you’re using component, be sure to flip the switch on the Xbox connector side to the “HD” setting. If you don’t, you won’t get high definition resolutions available in the dashboard.
Once you’re plugged in, turn on the Xbox 360 and navigate to the System blade of the dashboard and go to the Console Settings. Here, select the Display option and choose the Resolution. The available resolutions depend on which cable you’ve installed.
Q. What about Xbox games like Halo and Halo 2 played via the backwards compatible mode? Will they be displayed in high definition?
A. Yes. Actually, all backward compatible games will be upscaled and support FSAA. That said, there is some confusion whether Bungie has done something additional with Halo and Halo 2 to have it actually render to a 1280×720 internal framebuffer instead of merely being upscaled. However, it is almost certain that it is only upscaled as direct questions to Bungie regarding the precise process have gone unanswered.
Q. Will games look terrible on anything but high definition televisions?
A. No, games will not look terrible on standard televisions. Given that the graphics in Xbox 360 games will have greater overall detail in terms of polygon counts and texture sizes, Xbox 360 games will almost certainly look better than games from previous generation consoles, even on standard televisions. As an example, Xbox games look considerably better than, say, Playstation 1 games due to the amount of detail the Xbox was capable of producing in comparison with the Playstation. Similarly, Xbox 360 is more capable of producing detail than any preceding console.
Q. Are all games displayed in widescreen or letterboxed on all displays?
Some games will be displayed in letterbox format on standard 4×3 displays. Game developers can choose to support widescreen and full screen in their games, it’s entirely up to them.
Q. Can I use my computer monitor as my display for the Xbox 360?
A. Yes, depending on the type of monitor you have. And you will likely be able to play games in high definition too. The Xbox 360 supports the following resolutions when using the VGA AV connector: 640×480, 848×480, 1024×768, 1280×720, 1280×768, 1280×1024, 1360×768, and 1920×1080. In order to use your monitor you will most likely need to purchase the Xbox 360 VGA HD Cable or the Xbox 360 HDMI AV Cable and connect it to the respective port on your monitor.
If you don’t have a free VGA port on your monitor, you will either need to switch back and forth or purchase a VGA switcher.
Support for 1920×1080 was added during the Fall Dashboard Update in October 2006. There are many reports of some incompatibilities with various nominally 1080p displays including the Dell 2405.
Q. What about my laptop? Can I plug the Xbox 360 into my laptop and use its screen?
A. No, you cannot plug the Xbox 360 into a laptop and use the screen. If your laptop has a video input, you can plug the composite cable from the Xbox 360 into it and view it, but it will not be in high definition making it likely worse than even a moderately sized standard television.
Q. But if I use my monitor, how will I get sound?
A. With speakers, of course 
. Both cable packages provide a pair of stereo RCA cables for standard stereo sound as well as an optical digital audio connection (optical digital audio cable not included). You will therefore need at least a set of powered, stereo speakers that accept a pair of standard stereo RCA connections or a fancier surround sound model (e.g. the Logitech z680) that can accept an optical input for the sophisticated gamer.
Another option if you have a sound card available on your PC is to use an external converter and plug the stereo sound output directly into the sound card. That way all of the sound from your Xbox 360 is routed through your computer’s standard sound interface.
Q. My HDTV only supports 1080i but I’ve heard that most games are programmed for 720p. Will I be able to play games in high definition?
A. Absolutely. Some HDTVs do not include a built-in scaler to handle non-native resolutions. The Xbox 360 has the needed built-in scaler that will scale the output to any resolution you need. In the case of HDTVs that only support 1080i, the game might render to an internal 720p frame buffer, but the output scaler will scale that output up to a 1080i signal that your HDTV can display. Yes, it will still be gorgeous. As an example, both ABC and ESPN-HD broadcast their high definition content in 720p, so if you’re receiving that content there’s scaling being done somewhere in your equipment chain.
Q. Do I need anything else to play DVDs from my Xbox 360 (like the DVD remote and dongle for the original Xbox)?
A. No, the Xbox 360 plays DVDs out of the box with no additional purchases required. You can control the DVD player with the game controllers, with the included media remote in the $399 Xbox 360 package, or with the expanded remote available separately.
Q. Does the Xbox 360 upscale standard DVD movies?
A. Absolutely, but only if you’re using the VGA or HDMI connection. During the so-called “Spring Dashboard Update” Microsoft enabled DVD upscaling over the VGA connection — and upscaling over HDMI has been there since the introduction of the HDMI AV cable — so if you’re using VGA or HDMI you’ll see movies in whatever resolution you’ve set in the dashboard. However, this is only over VGA or HDMI. Also, with Fall Dashboard Update, standard DVD movies will be upscaled to 1080p on displays that support it, again only over the VGA connection or the HDMI connection.
Q. What does the Xbox 360 HD-DVD Player do for me?
A. Why, play HD-DVD movies, of course . The Xbox 360 HD-DVD Player is a software-based solution, meaning all of the decoding and other tasks are all performed on the 360′s triple-core processor. This has its advantages and disadvantages. It’s easy to update the software over Xbox Live if needed as compared to a hardware solution and it should be fairly flexible. It will, however, work the Xbox 360 harder than just about anything on the market as the entire process of using an HD-DVD in software is actually fairly complex, requiring 4.7 million lines of code solely for the HD-DVD processing.
You still use your built-in drive to play games on the Xbox 360. Microsoft continually states that they will not use the HD-DVD drive for game discs in the future. You’re welcome to play your standard DVDs in either the built-in drive or the HD-DVD drive, there’s no functional difference.
Note also that with the HD-DVD Consortium dropping out of the race, the HD-DVD player will eventually be most useful for holding cups and weighting down papers.
Q. What kind of resolution do I get out of the Xbox 360 HD-DVD Player?
A. Everything up to 1080p, depending on various factors. If you’re using the VGA or HDMI connection you’ll get up to 1080p on everything from games to standard DVDs to HD-DVDs. If you’re using component you’ll get up to 1080p on games, but only up to 1080i on HD-DVD movies and only up to 480p on standard definition DVDs.
Q. Can I use the Xbox 360 HD-DVD Player to play my games?
A. No, all games are still played using the internal drive on your Xbox 360 console.
Q. Can I use the Xbox 360 HD-DVD Player with my computer?
A. Yes, though it requires some work. Please see this reference for more information.
Q. Is the Xbox 360 HD-DVD Player region-free?
A. For HD-DVD movies, yes as are all HD-DVD players. For standard DVDs, no. A lot of people were hoping the HD-DVD drive might provide a loophole to watch out-of-region standard definition movies on the Xbox 360. However, the Xbox 360 HD-DVD Player assumes the region of the console itself when it comes to standard DVDs.
Q. Do games look that much better on an HDTV compared with a regular television? Is it worth the money?
A. Yes, most people that have experienced HDTV resolution would say it’s worth it. High definition television displays a 1280 x 720 progressive picture in 720p, a 1920 x 1080 interlaced picture in 1080i or a full 1920 x 1080 image in 1080p for up to six times the overall resolution compared with standard 480i. To make an example, think of playing a game on your computer in 640×480. That’s approximately like playing at standard resolution. Now change the resolution to 1280 x 720 or 1600 x 1200 (or 1920 x 1080 if you have it). The amount of information in the picture is vastly greater. In addition the connection technology used for high definition — component, VGA, or HDMI — is traditionally capable of transporting a clearer, sharper image than composite or S-video.
Q. Will there be an HDMI/DVI connection on the Xbox 360?
A. Yes, there already is one available on the Xbox 360 Elite models. The Xbox 360 Elite (black) comes with the HDMI cable bundled.
Q. Can I use an HDMI connection with my original (non Elite) Xbox 360?
A. No, HDMI is only supported on the Xbox 360 Elite model.
Q. Why not?
A. Microsoft hates you? No. The original Xbox 360 models didn’t support HDMI on the motherboard. The Elite models propagate the appropriate signals to the built-in HDMI port. The original models are completely incapable of this.
Q. Which cables support digital, multi-channel surround sound?
A. All of them except the composite cable have connections for an optical digital audio cable. The optical digital audio cable itself is not included in any package.
Q. Which cable should I get? Which one has better quality?
A. In general VGA and component are about the same in terms of picture quality. If you have an Xbox 360 Elite model, the HDMI connection, being a completely digital signal chain, will provide a better image especially at higher resolutions. In most cases the VGA or HDMI connection provides more options, especially when viewing movies on DVD or HD-DVD.
A special caveat about the VGA implementation: if you have an HDTV that only accepts a 1080i input signal, the VGA connection will not work for you. The 360 will not output a true 720p or 1080i HD signal over VGA, only computer resolutions of 640×480, 848×480, 1024×768, 1280×720, 1280×768, 1280×1024, 1360×768 and 1920×1080 (progressive).
358 Responses to “Xbox 360 High Definition and HD-DVD FAQ”
Hello! How come the xbox 360 will display in HD if component cables do not support more than 480p? I am really confused with this so please help me
Thanks!!!
Component cables are capable of supporting any HD signal, actually. Maybe you’re confusing component with composite?
I have a 15″ LCD monitor w/ 1024×768 resolution. Will I be able to play in some sort of HD format.
I have a 15″ LCD monitor w/ 1024×768 resolution. Will I be able to play in some sort of HD format. will it look clean on my lcd?
My TV is Progressive scan capable but does not have a component connection it has composite. How will Xbox360 convert my signal to 480p without utilizing a component input from TV?
Likely you will be able to play in 720p. You will almost certainly need the 360 VGA HD Cable. They’ve been notoriously quiet about the supported resolutions when using the VGA cable, but I believe you’ll be okay.
Do you have a link to your TV? Without some kind of high bandwidth connection, you’re never going to get a progressive signal into it. Composite and S-Video are incapable of transmitting a progressive, 480p image.
i have preordered a xbox 360 and have a new HD TV. Will i need to buy a component HD AV cable to use HD?
If you purchased the $399 version and not the $299 Core version it comes with the component AV cables. If you purchased the $299 Core version you’ll have to buy the component AV pack. See the comparison here.
I have a 36inch Sony Wega that is not HDTV compatible but it does have a hook up for compoment cables. Will these cables work for this hook up and will they look better then on the standard outputs?
I have an Alienare 51m 7700, a top of the line gaming laptop. Will i be able to use the screen for my 360 or will i have to buy a separate monitor. I am in the navy and need something portable. Thanks.
I’ve got a 21″ CRT that’s 4:3. Does this mean that the image will look stretched or be running i some sort of letterbox image?
I’ve got a 21″ CRT VGA that’s 4:3. Does this mean that the image will look stretched or be running in a letter box?
Yes they will work just fine and yes they will be better than either composite or S-Video.
Unfortunately no, you won’t be able to use a laptop screen. Laptops typically do not offer video inputs. Yours appears to have the option of composite video input but I can’t find a connector for it. Even if it did, the best you’d get out of it would be 480i as composite doesn’t support high definition resolutions. Sorry.
You’ll have the option of letterboxed output or, likely, “squished” output. Stretched is for widescreen displays trying to display 4:3 material. Oddly, we don’t really know yet what resolutions will be supported over the VGA connector.
My 17inch LCD TV has 1280x1024pixels which to me is not enough for 1080i but is at least 720p,but manual says 480p. Why are my TV’s resolutions above the minimum for 720p HD but manual says TV supports 480p ED. Should I just try to receive the HD signals? or be satisfied with 480p?
Re: What about Xbox games like Halo and Halo 2 played via the backwards compatible mode? Will they be displayed in high definition?
According to Kotaku, “play both games in wide screen at 720 p with full scene anti-aliasing”.
http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/bungie/bungie-announces-halo-halo-2-360-details-136351.php
Halo and Halo2 are compatible. check bungie.com for this story
One time I was in kind of a jam so I hooked up the Xbox sound outputs using that exact converter the author mentioned to my notebook’s mic input, and set it to rout to my 2.1 PC speakers. Let’s just say that Halo 2 was a little less than compelling on the bass end, even for my speakers. My notebook doesn’t have a line in, so others’ results may vary with a line in port. I would recommend just getting a cheap amplified speaker system or in that case.
Q1: Will I be able to play divx/xvid files from a home-burned DVD or CD?
Q2: Will I be able to STREAM divx/xvid files from my PC?
Q3: If I need a Media Center PC to stream files from, what formats are supported? Will divx/xvid/VOB file formats be supported??
Thanks!
Divx and Xvid will likely be unsupported. I don’t know what precisely will be supported.
If 360 will display games in atleast 720p, but not movies in 720p, has Microsoft created a new laser for this console? I know that this unit does not have Blue Ray or HD DVD, so how will this be able to play a HD standard, when no previous DVDs (are encoded in 720p) or DVD players that can play “TRUE” HD. Is this just some kind of modified upscaling player????
No new laser is required to read standard DVDs. Even if it did upscale — which, as you said you knew, it doesn’t — it’s still reading the same, standard video from the DVD.
In terms of it generating 720p content, that has nothing to do with the DVD medium aside from storage of game code and media like cinematics, graphics, and sound. Even so, it’s relatively easy to store a 720p media stream that could then be displayed by the 360.
Great FAQ..
But it still has not answered a question I have.
I have just purchased a new LCD HDTV (mainly for 360!)
Will the 360 be able to output to its native resoultion of 1366×768 using the VGA connector ?
I am hoping so as this will be much better than the TV up-scaling standard 720p resolution.
Thanks
It’s doubtful, Greg. While we do not know precisely which resolutions will be supported using the VGA connection, it’s doubtful that such an esoteric resolution will be one of them. The problem is regression testing. If they have to test all games in all resolutions, it doesn’t make sense to support every possible resolution. The burden would be too high. That goes for MS as well as the development houses.
I’m not sure if it’d work. 720p is 1280×720, while most 17″ monitors support a max resolution of 1024×768. horizontally, there aren’t enough pixes to support 1280, even if you were to use one of the 3rd party software to customize the resolution.
I could be, and have been known to be, wrong.
Oh my, Saleh is right. I totally misread that, I really thought he said 1280×768. Yeah, the original poster will almost certainly be limited to 480p. My apologies for the misinformation and thanks for the catch.
saleh said: I’m not sure if it’d work. 720p is 1280×720, while most 17″ monitors support a max resolution of 1024×768.
Oh my, Saleh is right. I totally misread that, I really thought he said 1280×768. Yeah, the original poster will almost certainly be limited to 480p. My apologies for the misinformation and thanks for the catch.
no problem. hey, i misread the 15″ as 17″
sorry, meant to say 15″ in the original post. most 17″s support 1280×1024, which’d be enough to support 720p.
Hi! Im a little bit confused, i have a 1280×1024 monitor, so from what I gather its certainly capable of supporting the 360, right? But… it doesnt have any ports on it…i dont know if i am just being a bit thick, but with my monitor, theres one power cable that goes into it, a port for audio, and thats it… The way it gets it signal is by plugging into my graphics card. So am i going to be able to play my 360 on it? And if so, how? Is there something i will need to buy? and if so, where can I get it from? Thanks
That’s exactly where you’d have to plug in the 360 as well, Mike, into that same standard VGA port (I assume it’s VGA because very few if any monitors ship with only a DVI port). So you have two choices. The free choice is to just switch back and forth between your PC and your 360 when you want to use it. The more costly choice is to purchase a VGA switcher such that you can simply press a button to switch between the two.
Just an update on the 1360×768 issue. I found this link which suggests that it will support it..
http://www.gamespot.com/features/6139672/p-2.html
Quote The system allows you to set your display resolution and aspect ratio depending on the type of video cables you use. VGA cables will give you six different resolution options: 640×480, 848×480, 1024×768, 1280×720, 1280×768, and 1360×768. Component cables will give you 480p, 720p, and 1080i resolution choices. Games are actually rendered internally at 720p, and the ATI video engine scales the video up or down to the desired resolution.
Cheers for that, but I’m still a little confused…my graphics card has only got the one port, so i understand the switching thing… but how is the signal gonna go to my monitor, if the 360 is plugged into my computer – the only vga port on it? my comps gonna be gettin the signal, but my monitor isnt gonna be plugged into anything at all. sorry if i’m being really stupid on this one.
No worries, we’re almost there. Your Xbox 360 doesn’t plug in to your computer at all. It will only plug in to the monitor. They are two separate entities so there’s completely no need — nor would it make any sense — to plug the 360 into your PC. The only connection other than from your 360 to the monitor would be an Ethernet connection to a router in order to get online.
Do i need to set my monitor’s resolution up to its max at 1600×1200 in order to get high def or can i just keep it at 1024×768? Does the high def depend on the monitor’s max resolution or what it is currently set at? –or does this not matter at all and i don’t need to worry about it b/c my monitor exceeds the minimum level for hi def >.>
Check your facts, you only get High Def with the component cables, VGA cannot carry a high def signal. Also there is a HUGE difference in picture quality between VGA and Compnent.
Thanks for that input. Given even cursory investigation — even at Microsoft’s own description of the 360 VGA HD Cable — it’s easy to discount your mistaken belief. Perhaps you should follow your own advice.
It’s still up in the air precisely what resolutions the 360 will support over the VGA connection, though some evidence suggests that resolutions from 640×480 up to 1360×768 are supported and selectable. That conflicts with Microsoft’s own page (above in this comment) listing 480p, 720p and 1080i.
Regardless what resolutions will ultimately be offered, you shouldn’t have to do anything to your monitor aside form plug it in. Almost certainly the 360 will default to a 480p image and then your can select the actual output resolution you want in the dashboard. I’ve heard that resolution switching is instantaneous somewhat like in windows such that if you don’t say “accept” after 15 second — for instance if your monitor can’t support the selected resolution — it will revert back to the previous resolution.
will i be able to get a component picture with the 360 on my standard def tv with component inputs. can i use the component cable with 480i like i do with my xbox 1? i really hope so! all i’m saying is that i hope i’m not stuck having to use the composite av cables when i have component inputs on the back of my standard 27 in. panasonic.
Will the vga hd cable work with the original Xbox.
Absolutely.
No, the end that plugins in to the 360 is a completely different format than the Xbox.
Will the cable plug into my DVI/HDCP port on my HDTV capable tv or is it component only?
This is part of the FAQ above:
Q. Will there be an HDMI/DVI connection on the Xbox 360?
A. No, not at launch. Microsoft has said that they will provide one “when it makes sense.â€
So you’ll need to use component.
If my TV is “HDTV ready” but not “HDTV built-in” can I still make use of the Xbox 360′s HD picture quality, considering I have the HD cable included in the 360′s PREMIUM package?
Last question. I have been using a small portable tv to play xbox in my bedroom because I don’t like tying up the big screen in the living room. I am trying to cheap out on a new tv for the bedroom, however I am undecided about purchasing a LCD flat screen with high resolution or will the quality be good with a CRT tv HD ready. I don’t understand what determines the resolution of the TV. Excuse my ingnorance.
Will the xbox360 have a seprate port for an optical digital audio cable? Will the cable supplied with the 360 have an optical jack on it? or Will you need to buy an adition cable for the 360 as well as the optical cable itself?
HD-Ready merely means that there’s no built-in tuner for receiving HTSC HD signals over-the-air for display. Meaning you’d need to buy an external tuner to view any nearby stations broadcasting content over the airwaves. As such, yes, your HD-Ready will be fine for the Xbox 360 and will display HD games. The “premium” 360 package comes with component cables so make sure your HDTV has a high-def component input free or available.
I don’t quite know what you’re asking. LCD displays make fine gaming displays as do HD-Ready CRTs. The manufacturer determines the resolution of the displays, so investigate the model you want to buy and you’ll be able to find the resolutions it supports.
It’s part of the FAQ above:
Q. Which cables support digital, multi-channel surround sound?
A. All of them have connections for an optical digital audio cable. The optical digital audio cable itself is not included in any package.
What I can’t seem to understand is LCD gives u resolutions like 1024/768 how does that relate to a CRT Tv? What are the resolutions on CRT TV’s
But here the unknown question was not asked – I want answers:
The real rendered image resolution of the PS2 is only 320 x 200 and then stretched to NTSC size.
Is the xBox 360 doing this trick as well – maybe rendering the real images in buffers at 640 x 480 and then stretching the image to 1024i ?
Compare playing Counter Strike in 1024 x 768 on a fast PC and then look at the xBox 360 on a HDTV –
Looking at the comparisons – the xBox 360 is rendering to buffers at 640 x 480 max…Then simply blitting the image to the screen at 1024i or 720p – what a scam and fraud.
Also note: You will need the entire system to play older xBox games – the xBox core will not play the older games…
Shame on you Bill – I bet you did not even know.
== Ken
I have purchased a Samsung DLP TV (HL-R5064W) and would like to hook up an XBox 360. I have heard that there are “time lags” with games such as PS2 and the XBox. Does anyone know if this is also the case with the 360? If so, how bad is it? This is what Samsung says: http://erms.samsungelectronics.com/customer/ca/jsp/faqs/faqsview.jsp?PGID=3&ATID=20012&PRODSUBID=41&PRODID=-1
Hi. I would just like to know the difference between connecting my 360 to an hdtv or connecting it to a computer monitor. It’s just that i don’t have the money for an hdtv and am going for the budget choice of a 17″ 1280 by 1024 resolution computer monitor. Will there be any noticable difference or am i making a good choice. Please reply. Thanks. Greg
hey, I have an HD 4:3 ratio television and i was wondering whether or not it would be possible to play 360 games in high def, but still display them in full screen 4:3 ratio because I really hate those black bars on the top and bottom of the screen.
I don’t know which Xbox 360 games you’re talking about, but the only launch title suspected of being rendered internally at anything other than the actual output resolution is Project Gotham Racing 3, and that’s rumored to be rendered at 1024×600. All of the other Xbox 360 titles are rendering full framebuffers.
If you’re talking about the backward compatible Xbox games, yes, they’re upscaled from their original 480p framebuffers. Nobody has ever said any different so I don’t know why that would be a fraud.
LCDs have a single native resolution and then support scaling to reach other (lower) resolutions. CRT HDTVs support some maximum resolution (like 1280×720) and can display lower resolutions typically without detriment.
Playing on a nice LCD monitor shoud provide with a good experience. Obviously HDTVs will typcially provide a larger picture, quite often brighter as well. However, since you typically sit closer to a monitor the size difference might not make as much difference.
I don’t think we have a concrete answer to this at this time.
Hello! I have a LCD monitor that can display 1280768 with vga, but when I try to output 1280720 from my laptop I only get a black screen. Will I still be able to use it with a Xbox360?
What is left from the original xbox that would be compatible. Will the wired controllers, live headset, racing wheels ……..etc work?
hi… i am living in europe… i have an panasonic TH-42PA40E (i think in america the same model is called TH-42PD50U) my tv is only hdtv compatible and i have this Component Video Input [Y, PB(CB), PR(CR)] would the quality of the image be better then with s-video?
I see that none of the Splinter Cell games are listed on the compatibility list. Is there some problem with Ubisoft? The graphics in those games are wonderful.
Hi. I feel terrible asking this because I’m sure it has been asnwered 15 times but even after reading through all the posts I still can’t convince myself. I have an LCD monitor that runs at 1280×1024. With the purchase of a VGA cable can I play the games on HI-DEF…not just high resolution, but HI-DEF just like an HDTV?
If I buy a tv that is only 480p/1080i compatable…..will the xbox 360 bump up to 1080i or down to 480p if the game is a 720p format? I don’t wanna play my 360 in 480p!!!!
I am looking to buy an HDTV that displays in 480p and 1080i but not 720p….Will the xbox 360 bump my game playing display to 1080i or downgrade it to 480p progressive scan if the game I am playing is 720p? I don’t wanna buy it if the best I am going to be playing my games at is Enhance Definition!
Hey! I read what you said about the y-adapter for connecting the red and white composite cords of the VGA Monitor Set-up…However, I plug the y-adapter into the black port of my sound card while the green port on my sound card is still connected to my speakers right? (The green port is for my pc speakers which I am trying to use to hook-up my xbox)
Thanks
I would like to hook up my monitor to my xbox using the VGA set-up you described with a y-adapter. I plug the y-adapter into the black port of my sound card correct while the green port is still for my pc speakers which I am trying to use? Thanks.
Hi,
I am the webmaster for PacificCable.com. We sell home theater, computer and networking cable and accessories.
Due to our customers requests we have made a page on our website dedicated to helping them use their Xbox 360′s with DVI monitors/TVs/screens. The Xbox 360 currently only has cables for S-Video, Component, and VGA (The VGA cable is sold seperately from the included cables with the Xbox 360)
Xbox 360 owners can order the cables and adapters from PacificCable.com that will allow them to use their Xbox 360′s with the most advanced monitors/TVs/screens!
Could you check out our website page and consider letting your readers know about it?
http://www.pacificcable.com/Xbox-360-VGA-DVI-Converter.html
Thanks,
Cliff Knopik Webmaster PacificCable.com
CORRECTION: RCA cables are NOT able to transmit either Progressive Scan or High Definition video. Component Cables are required for Progressive scan and HD. And VGA is NOT equivalent to Component in terms of video quality. Component cables provide better color, sharpness and luminance than both VGA or S-video. So, go with Component.
NVM, figured out where my line-in port was….thanks anyways and great blog!
My HDTV only supports 480p but I’ve heard that most games are programmed for 720p. Will I be able to play games in high definition?
I have a projector with a 800×600 resolution that can simulate 1024×768 (both component and VGA in. How will the games look the best? In which resolution?
Jay – If your “HDTV” only supports 480p then its not an HDTV at all so no you cant play games in High Definition. You will have to set the Xbox to scale to 480p (EDTV – Enhanced Definition).
Who said anything about RCA cables being able to transmit video? The only mention of RCA in this entire article including comment are for the stereo audio outputs.
You should be able to use the VGA cable and play in high resolution.
No, none will work.
Not sure what you’re asking, but the 360 over VGA supports your resolution natively.
That’s part of the FAQ above.
Sounds correct.
A TV that only supports 480p is not by definition an HDTV. It’s an EDTV. You will only be able to play games in 480p.
I’d use the native resolution of 800 x 600 if you use the VGA cable. If you use the included component, your best option will likely be 720p.
Sage,
You information is incorrect on many accounts. RCA describes a connector type. It can carry sound, video, or any other electrical signal. It is frequently used for audio, composite, and component video. The type of cable between the RCA connectors determines the bandwidth the cable is able to carry, and therefore the type of data it will handle without loss. If you had said “composite output” instead of “RCA cable” your statement would be correct.
VGA in this context means a 15-pin D-sub connector. It can carry either component or RGB signals just fine. Component signals are not superior to RGB. They are simply different ways to encode the same information and are easily converted from one to another. Both VGA and component are generally superior to S-video, which is superior to composite.
I have a LCD monitor with a native res of 1280×1024, and i can display a res of 1280×720, but it will only show on the monitor with “fixed aspect ratio scaling” turned on(black bar on top and bottom). Does any one know if the 360 will do the same so it will show 1:1 pixels at 1280×720 as a fixed aspect ratio?
Will Xbox 360 games play on the old Xbox?
termides asks:
Will Xbox 360 games play on the old Xbox?
Nope.
Any update on whether you can get 480p out through a VGA cable? If I can find a cable anywhere tonight (they seem to be sold out everywhere around me, anyway) I’ll let you know.
termides asks:
Will Xbox 360 games play on the old Xbox?
Nope.
Any update on whether you can get 480p DVD output through a VGA cable? If I can find a cable anywhere tonight (they seem to be sold out everywhere around me, anyway) I’ll let you know.
(Sorry if this double posts — I left out the key term DVD the first time, but I’m not sure if it got submitted anyway….)
Yes it appears you can.
Actually, here are the supported resolutions (I have mine hooked up via VGA now): 640×480, 848×480, 1024×768, 1280×720, 1280×768, 1280×1024, and 1360×768.
Woo-hoo! I was just logging on to let you know that the VGA cable does indeed do 480p DVD playback, but it appears you know that already.
I am pleased.
Does anyone know whether or not the vga connector will work with my monitor. It is a dell 15″ lcd flat panel and the connector is a 15-Pin D-Sub. Will the VGA be compatable with this computer monitor??
Hi,
I would be interested in using my laptop’s monitor with an Xbox 360 but was wondering how well it would work. My laptop’s monitor is WSXGA+ (1680×1050) and still looks great when playing PC games at 1280×720.
My question is would I need a TV-tuner to get the X360 to display on the screen? And if so would it support 720p?
Thanks in advance, Chris.
I have a older model hdtv from sony the KP53HS10 and It seems It can only put 1080i. It has only one set of true component hdtv inputs(It has one other set but the manual says that It’s not for true high definition). I had my progressive scan dvd player In the hd inputs(I don’t have a Hd tuner yet), so I went out and brought a component video switcher, so I can hook up the 360, dvd player and any other future hardware I get that has Hd outputs. I have the 360 and 3 games, project gotham3 which looks beautiful, perfect dark0 and NBA2k6. The problem Is during play I get blackouts on the tv screen as If the HD signal was lost. It doesn’t happen during play and Is very minor with PRG3 and PDZ but NBA 2k6 Is unplayable. It’s fine on the selection screens and with fmv but as soon as I play the screen blacks out. I appreciate any help or suggestions on what the problem may be and I’m trying not use the other component inputs on my tv because It won’t be in true 1080i. Thanks In advance.
If the 360 games won’t play on the old xbox then it has less value than a toaster. I assume they will not continue to make new games for it so it becomes obsolete. Slick marketing by microsoft, not so good for some of us.
I own a Phillips 55 inch widescreen rear projection hdtv and tried to hook up my xbox 360 with the composite cables and all i get is green red blue lines with great audio. I had a tech come over and he couldnt even figure it out. the 360 is on the hdtv settings so is the cable. i had hook up the cable to my av4 outlet where it says it supports hd 480i 480p 720p 1080 i. cant get it to work please help.
I want to know if xbox360 has hd cables with it so you can make your tv 720p because my dad said he knows that it needs a hdtv to show the graphics more better but going to make us play on our sonytrintion Xbr tv and i don’t know how much p it has but i know its not 720p but we do got a hdtv but its in my mom and dad room so they go to sleep in their my mom said she might buy me the hdtv but also for ps3 you need a tv of 1080p too why come on i need to ask my mom to buy two tv’s but what kind of tv produce 1080p a hdtv right yeah this will be good
hey my resolution is 1280 by 1024 will that be able to support the 360 on the high def thing please write back.
I downloaded a update on my Xbox360 and now Halo only plays in 4:3 and no longer 16:9. I told MS and Bungie about this bug, I hope this can fixed real soon. It only affects Halo, not Halo 2 .
Q1: I have a 17″ CRT monitor which is capable of displaying 800×600, 1024×768, 1152×864, 1280×720, 1280×768, 1280×960, 1280×1024, Will I get 720p quality if I plug this to my xbox 360?
Q2: Are the following thwo things equal? i) Monitor with native resolution 1280×720 ii) Monitor supporting resolution 1280×720 If not same, which better? I don’t know what my monitor’s native resolution is, so anything I need to worry about?
THANKS!
Q3: For all the resolution supported for VGA cable: 640×480, 848×480, 1024×768, 1280×720, 1280×768, 1280×1024, and 1360×768, which one gives the BEST quality of pictures? Is it 1280×720 (720p)? Since there is no resize of images as the games are rendered at 720p.
THANKS!
I have a 61 inch sony kp61hs10 hd ready tv. when i connected my xbox 360 with it using hd connection, the only color visible was green. i checked and i have connected matching rgb of xbox 360′s hd cable with the video 5′s rgb. what am i doing wrong.
thanks for the help..
Arjun
Will the xbox 360 allow me to play games in letterbox if i have a 4:3 tv?
Yes. In answer to your other questions, if you have a monitor with a native resolution it will display that resolution more clearly than other resolutions with no scaling or interpolation. Hence, providing its native resolution should yield the best picture.
Either you did connect something incorrectly (note that there should only be 3 connections unless you’re including the audio connections) or your 360 is malfunctioning. Sounds like you may have hooked your audio connections into your HDTV’s video inputs. Make sure to just plug the red, green, and blue connections into the red, green, and blue inputs of your HDTV.
I believe this was left up to the developer, but I don’t know for certain.
OK, that composite cable didn’t work on my TV. but the VGA cable did. My problem now is i can only get 480p.
I never got an answer to my question last week. Will the new xbox 360 games play on the old box and if not will there be additional games for it?
No, 360 games will not work on the original Xbox. Yes, there are still games in development for the original Xbox but no one knows how long that will last.
hey i cant find a vga cable any where in stores can someone tell me where to get one.
I Guess Ill solve my own problem. I never get answers here.
John, I got my VGA at eb games, But game stop also has them.
I do my best to answer peoples’ questions, but I don’t know everything. Perhaps if you provided the model number of your Phillips HDTV something would shake loose, but without knowing your HDTV’s capabilities, I don’t know how to help you.
The 360 over VGA supports a maximum resolution of 1360×768. If your HDTV only accepts a 480p, 720p, or 1080i signal over the VGA connection, then you’ll be stuck with 480p as the 360 doesn’t output a true 720p or 1080i signal over the VGA connection.
Component should have worked for you. I’d double-check that everything was configured correctly and if that fails see if a different component cable helps.
I read the question about the DVI/HDMI, but I’m not sure what type of connection this is; it looks like a DVI-I, DVI-I+HDCP?
It’s described as: “DVI-I Input Connector (for Digital signal with HDCP function)”
Here’s a picture: http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/6425/dviihdmi9eu.png
I read the question about DVI/HDMI support, but will it support this type of connection?:
The connection looks like this: http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/2952/dviihdmi6tf.png
It’s described as either: “DVI-I Input Connector (for Digital signal with HDCP function)” or “DVI-D w/HDCP” There’s two descriptions not sure which one it is.
I’ve hooked up my Xbox 360 to my reciever via the optical digital audio cable and there is no sound. I tested the optical cable with my dvd player and the optical cable is OK. I also replaced the HD cable and still no sound. Any ideas? Burt
i own a toshiba, model no. 50A61. Its like 3 years old and i have the green,blue, and red inputs on the back of my tv but im not sure if that automatically hooks up to my 360 to get hdtv quality?
That’s a DVI connection, hence the answer remains “not at this time.”
Make sure the optical cable is seated firmly into the back of the adapter. Some of them are tight and don’t click well. Check in the 360 “System” blade and check your audio settings to make sure that Dolby Digital Surround is enabled. Other than that, perhaps the AV cable is faulty, but that seems unlikely.
That model is not a high definition set. Therefore, no, you won’t get a high definition picture out of it.
hello , obviously the plasma or HDTV is of an extremely better quality compared to the normal standard television when using the Xbox360. but how does it compare to the larger LCD televisions? i.e 34inch. would you suggest i buy a smaller 26inch HDTV or should i stick with my larger 34inch LCD ????? many thanks
I have hooked the 360 up to a high def tv. The initial dashboard looks great, but when I play call of duty there seems to be blue and purple contrast(?) lines battling across the picture. The switch is deffinatly set to HD and I cant figure out what is wrong with it, has anyone ever heard of this. My 360 crashed the third day I had it, so overall Im not completly confident it isnt defective. Thanx.
When will you beable to get a 360 if you didnt preorder?
Will the XBox 360 display the games in true widescreen – with more pictureinformation added to the sides, and NOT just the 4:3-image squeezed/distorted and adjusted to a wide setting?
I was wondering actually about LCD monitors
I have the Acer Al1913 19″ Flat Panel LCD. I was wondering about MS response time and contrast ratio. Mine has a 20ms response time and 800:1 contrast ratio. Will I have problems running at 1280X1024. It is my monitors native.
Lion
Oh definitely.
It will certainly run at that resolution, but with a 20ms response time you will likely get some ghosting.
I do already play Halo Pc online with no ghosting at all. Maybe there will be ghosting but playing the xbox 360 in high def without spending more money for a high def tv is worth it.
How long does anyone think this xbox 360 shortage will last
Lion
i dont know but i want one,near me people have queued up since 6am waiting 18 hours in line!!!i need to get a job,i was wondering what an ideal hdtv would be,at the moment i have a pretty big normal tv and will be dissapointed to get a smaller hdtv only to find it was the same,i dont know much about hdtvs so if any1 could reccomend a particular hdtv in england and even better the shop where its from i would be thankful.im gonna need a job to fund my future hdtv.
i really want to get the x box 360 but i don’t want to play it on a shitty standard television. if someone would be grate full enough to have a search on my monitor to see if it will support Xbox 360 at its max performance i will be grateful to give them access to my websites members area where u can download albums directly. my monitor is: Lacie electron 19 IV
Hi! When running old Xbox games on the xbox 360 in hd 720p I get a 50hz signal (using only Xbox360 dashboard – no game active – I get a 60hz signal). This causes the plasmascreen to flicker somewhat. Can this be changed so that old Xbox games run in 60 Hz as well. Fyi: I live in Europe (in case this matters re the frequency)
does any one know about the controller delay on large (60”) HDTV’s? I hooked my regular xbox to my 60” and there was a lag from when i pressed a button, until the action was performed. Does any one know of a solution? I was using red yellow white cables. Will this problem also occur on the xbox 360?
I will be purchasing a xbox 360 along with all the other unlucky children in late december/ early march….my question is what are peoples opinions to the types of HD televisions out there, what would be my best bet concerning size, burn in issues, clarity… etc. I was looking at the Samsung 40″ LCD because it is NOT a plasma (having heard so many burn in issues and life expectancy issues), the size should not create a lag issue, the resolution during an explosion will not start to get all choppy and square looking but rather stay smooth and fluid. Any answers or experiences? Thanks
What is the best HDTV to get with my new Xbox 360? I have looked at the samsung simply because that is the display t.v. Xbox has been using. It is a 40″ LCD HDTV. I heard that was the best, if you can afford it. I also heard that it does not burn in and that it is still very smooth and clear even when there is explosions and rapid movement in-game. Any ideas as to the best AND the best for your money.
I have an HD Samsung… it supports 480,720 and 1080 res. Which would be the best setting for my 360.
hey what is better crt monitor or lcd 4 360?
I’m gonna play my X360 on my computer monitor, at least i think so, depends on my monitor, if it is good enough. It should be though, rather expensive one. So I’m asking if anyone of ya know if i can play X360 better on my View Sonic VG700b that on a standard TV? Thx…
Hi.
At the moment, i’m using a standard 28″ widescreen television. I’m unsure as to whether the difference between HD and standard televisions is substaintial, my old xbox looked pretty good in a 4:3 ratio on my current tv.
Well, basically, I have the choice between a standard television, or a monitor displaying HD. :-/
I’m just confused, argh!
I have the choice between a standard 28″ widescreen television, or a 17″ monitor displaying HD. I just wanted to know whether the difference between standard and HD is substantial, and which I should play on.
hi i have a 19 inch (1280 X 1024) Samsung Syncmaster 193v, will this play games in high def?
i recently got an xbox 360, but the component inputs on my hdtv are being used by the dvd player and the digital cable. if i use the composite inputs, should i switch the xbox cables to hdtv or leave it on standard?
and yes, i know i could scrap the dvd player and just used the 360 for dvds, but thats not an option
Tough to say with a 17″ monitor over a 28″ SD set. Yes, an HD picture is notably better. But, display size can increase the relative “impact” of the image. I’d probably go with the monitor.
Well, it will play them in 1280×1024 at least
. That’s higher def than standard definition.
Leave it on standard if you’re going to be using composite. I’d seriously look into a component switcher, though, as composite is about as low as you can get on the video signal chain. I’d even manually switch cables back and forth as needed rather than give up an HD signal over component if you have an HDTV.
Please help…I own a flat screen 15 inch LCD Display that supports both 720p and 1080i. However the aspect ratio is 4:3. The only way i can find is to set my Xbox to high def widescreen. This creates a horrible vertical stretching on my TV. Is there any way to play games both in high definition and 4:3 aspect ratio without using wide screen mode? If not, is there any way to get letter boxing to avoid the stretching?
A potential solution to playing in HD though a DVI input is to either purchase (or as I have done) use the DVI cable that comes with you TV; its a cable with the DVI male socket at one end and the three video (blue, green and red) male outputs on the other end then buy 3 adapters (RCA couplers) to enable both sets of male video cables to be joined; the other set being those on the standard Xbox cable. The adapters are about £5 for 2 and you can get them from Richer Sounds, Guildford, UK tel 01483 449222 or any of their other UK stores.
i have a question..i bought this cable http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=4196275 and it has a hook up for i thnk a monitor can i use my laptop lcd screen as a monitor cuz it has that video port on the back or is that fro an external monitor for the laptop itself….???i have a Dell Inspiron 2200
That’s part of the FAQ.
That connection is a VGA output not input, just like every other laptop.
Hi
I bought a Projector for home use, but it has no Component input, only VGA. The VGA input supports Component-Signal and the projector supports 480p 720p and 1080i … so far so good.
When I connect the VGA Cable I bought for the 360, the only resolutions I can choose is settings is “PC resolutions” that you mentioned… HOW do I get the 360 to send and Component signal through a VGA cable?
I’ve heard that you can solder a component cable to a vga connector and then send the signal from component cable hooked up to the xbox. That way, I will get a “true” 720p resolution and “fool” the projector to think that it is actually a Component signal. (This should work on the projector anyway…)
BUT do I have to do that? The projector supports 720p, but will I see any difference if I put the projector on 1280×768, and run on the VGA cable?
Great site to stumble upon.
Read a lot but still wondering.
I have a 4:3 ratio Samsung HDTV 1080i. Hooked up 360 component ins. Now on the 360 setup menu it seems i can only choose 480? 720p doesnt work picture gets nutty and distorted. If i set to 1080i the only option included is widescreen. It looks crisper but its squashed/stretched since my set is 4:3. So my question…if I’m on 480 setting in the actual 360 output menu is that what I’m getting??? Or are there some conversion going on to give me a better picture? Would it benefit me getting a widescreen LCD or plasma set to get better res?
I played my xbox 360 on a high definition tv and put it into high definition tv via the main menu. I then took it back home and played it on a tv that was not a high definition tv. I cannot get any picture to show know as i did not take it out of high definition mode…what should i do?
Just please clairify. I have a Benq T701 17″ monitor. It is VGA. I have no audio plugins on my monitor. So when I hook up my 360 to my monitor how will I get sound. Do I hav eto plug in the other cables on the VGA connector into my sound card or subwoofer. Please Help
I know that X360 games are developed to be played in 720p. So what happens with framerate when I plug my X360 into PC monitor and set 1280 x 1024 resolution( which is higher than 720p)? Will I notice any framerate drops or slowdowns? Will games have right screen proportions ( no screen squeezes or sth like that) ?
can i use the vga cable of a 360 w my old xbox so i can see it in hdtv..
hi i have a philips 50″ projection tv. model# 50p8341 it has the blue green and red input on back. when the xbox360 is set to tv it works. but when i switch it to hdtv the screen is scrammbled. i want to play games in hd. i called xbox360 support and they said its sound like its not a faulty switch. is there anything i can do or try?
The game is still rendered internally to a 720p (or, sometimes, a 1080i) framebuffer regardless of what your resolution is set to. Then the scaler scales it up or down to the displayed resolution (e.g. 1280×1024). So no, you won’t see framerate drops.
No, the connection to the 360 is different than the original Xbox. You’d need an X2VGA+ or something like it, and then it would only be high def for those few Xbox games that support it.
That’s not a high definition TV, so it’s not going to work.
Ive got a 19inch lcd monitor will i be able to connect it to the monitor as soon as i can get my hands on one of them here in the uk?
I read earlier that the 360 will play in high definition on an HD READY television. Just wanted to double check. Also, do you have any recommendations on a tv like this(hd ready). hopefully relatively cheap and with a screen size of 15-21 inches. thanks.
OK… I have a question…I have a 19″ HP f1905b with brightview technology.. and the games look kick ass on it.. BUT!.. I have noticed that most of the resolutions on this cable only support widescreen, yet this monitor has no controls for screen height or width shrinkage… (it will only MOVE the screen horizontally or vertically) so these resolutions look all stetched out. Whats gives? and this monitor natively supports 1280×1024@60 Hz. when set at that resolution on the 360 dashboard, everything is fine and in 4:3 aspect ratio, but games are NOT played in HD. For instance, when in that resolution.. the EA | HD logo that is suppose to play when playing Need For Speed most wanted in any HD resolution(besides 480p of course, cause that isnt HD) does NOT play.. and the game is played in normal 480p from the looks of it. However if i switch to the 720p res on the monitor.. its in HD.. but in widescreen.. this sucks.. how come 1280×1024 only upscales the dashboard.. it seems the games can override the resolution on here.. sucks balls i tell ya!..
I just recently bought a Toshiba 34hf85 HDTV, when I hook my 360 up to HD, it looked great. But when I set the 360 to 720p it looks great with no problems, but if i set the 360 console settings to 1080i the screen flickers a lot in NBA 2k6 and the dashboard…My TV only supports 1080i so is the 720p I set it to actually 1080i?
If so, why am I having problems when I set it to 1080i?
If i plug the audio leads into the sound card can i get sound some how?
Yes it will and no I don’t. There are many better sites out there that might have recommendations for you.
I honestly don’t know. I use 1024×768 on my HDTV via VGA and it appears to work just fine. My HDTV won’t support 1280×1024 so I can’t test that resolution.
Actually according to the spec your TV will accept a 720p signal just fine so I don’t know why you were under the impression that it only support 1080i. I couldn’t tell you why you’re having problems at 1080i, but if it works at 720p, leave it on that.
Yes if you plug it into a free sound input on the card. You may need an RCA-to-minplug adapter though which you can likely find at Radio Shack.
thanks
Question: 1.CAN XBOX 1 SYSTEM LINK WITH XBOX 360? no satisfactory answer in the internet yet. 2. USING A VGA CONNECTION ON XBOX 360 TO VIEWSONIC 3250W LCD. with higher definition SLOW THE FRAMERATE WHEN PLAYING GAMES?
hi nice faq there
heres a link to my tv with a component video input however i recieves a signal of only 1125i so i want to find out if the xbox 360 component hd av cable will be compatable with my tv
heres the link http://www.jvc.co.uk/product.php?id=HV-32P37SJE&catid=100058&lid=
Yes.
No.
Yes, 1125i is the European/Asian equivalent of 1080i, so it should work.
i have a hd ready tv and an lcd monitor for my computer, and i have absolutely no idea which cable to buy, is it the hd av or the vga av cable
I have a KP61hs10…im having the same problem as Arjun Krishna earlier…The only color i see is green, i hooked all the wires correctly and it still wont work, i went to the display settings and tried the the different settings. It wont let me do 720p, but 1080 and 480 come up green, i dont now if my tv is hd, the specs say it is 1080i. Please help me!
Thanks
I have a 108″ lcd projector in m basement. I can use a vesa to component connector and get 480p, or i can get the vga cable and get 1280×1024 resolution. Which is better?
My tv is a philips lcd and the only connections on the back are 2 scart sockets a DVI in and a DVI audio in. On the side of the TV are 2 audio in sockets and a video in socket a s-video socket and a SPDIF socket. I would like to connect my xbox 360 to the TV to make use of the HD capabilities but I have no idea what leads to use as microsoft don’t seem to supply anything. The only options I’ve read about seem to cost the earth, is there any other way to connect it on a tighter budget? I’m at a loss as what to do so any advice (in simple terms please) would be really welcome. Thanks
how do i know if my tv is high definition or not o yea and today is my bday yea!! please let me know thanks kory
I’ve decided to go for a crt monitor with my xbox 360, but there is one problem. The VGA HD adapter is a male and the crt monitor I plan on buying doesn’t have a vga input, it has the vga connection wired to it like almost every other crt. Any suggestions? Is there a female-female adapter, and will this lower the quality? Am I better off going for a lcd? What native resolution am I looking for? anyways I appreciate the help and stuff.
I have a MAC 20″ screen that runs at 1680 x 1050 res – anyone running 360 off this screen yet?
The closest specs I can run it at that you have posted is at 1024 x 768.
Is it really worth trying to use my screen or should I say good bye to my cold hard cash and buy a 23″/30″ HDTV and save myself the stress of wondering whether my set up is going to work or not?
Will the xbox 360 hi def pack work with the old xbox?
i have a high def t.v. i just dont have enough of the colored outlets to get high def. how can i get my 360 into high def?
when you have the hi def cables there are six red,yellow,white,blue,green,red. what cables do you use all or just the blue,green,red?
Depends on the HD ready TV and monitor. If you have a VGA input available, get the VGA cable. If you have a component connection available, get a component cable.
Sorry, no clue what could be wrong.
Higher resolution is almost always better.
Until Microsoft comes out with a DVI AV cable, there is no cheap way to get HD into your set.
Check the manual or look up the model number online.
Yes, you can get a female-to-female VGA gender changer and it shouldn’t affect the signal quality to any significant degree.
I say give it a shot. If you hate it, then spend the money on the HDTV.
Already answered.
The red, green, and blue cables provide the high-def component video signals (well, high def if you have the switch on the adapter set to high def and select a high def format in the video settings blade). The yellow is composite video that you don’t need and the white and other red one is stereo audio.
Ok, I just got a new HD tv, which can do both VGA and component inputs. Which should I use? Which is better quality?
Daniel said: I have a KP61hs10…im having the same problem as Arjun Krishna earlier…The only color i see is green, i hooked all the wires correctly and it still wont work, i went to the display settings and tried the the different settings. It wont let me do 720p, but 1080 and 480 come up green, i dont now if my tv is hd, the specs say it is 1080i. Please help me!
I may have a suggestion for you. Do you have multiple component inputs on your tv? For example, some tv’s have 2 component inputs, one which supports HI-Def, and one which does not. It is possible you are using one of the inputs that DOES NOT support hi def, causing your picture to look all scrambled when its trying to display something it can’t. Check your manual.
hey i was wondering if any body can help me with this problem i have. when playing perfect dark zero using a vga cable, the game looks great, but sometimes as i move or look around my screen flickers for some reason, so i was wondering if anybody had any ideas why. cheers
and also, i have the normal cable that came with the 360 premium pack, the one with the six wires, but i have no rgb slot on my tv, but i do on my dvd player, so would i be able to run it through my dvd player as opposed to using crappy vga, i have no idea about electronics
does selecting different resolutions(720p or 1080i)on the dashboard affect the framerate of games in any way
can any game be upconverted to 1080i or are certain games not compatible with that resolution(including games in the future if they have commented on that)
hey danish bagel i had a similar problem hooking up component cabes on my brothers tv only it was black and white. there were only two colored inputs for the component cables and the yellow(composite)input doubled as the third input. the problem was that i thought i should have the tv set on video 2 but the component input uses its own channel. try pushing the tv/video button(on the remote or tv) to cycle through the inputs to see if this is the case. if you dont have a tv/video button try looking in the tv menu to switch the input source. hopefully this helps.
In general they are equal. However, the Xbox 360 supports true 1080i definition — for the games that natively support 1080i and not simply upscale — only via component video. The highest resolution supported via the VGA cable is 1360×768 (or 1280×1024 if you like). That’s lower than the 1920×1080 of 1080i HDTV resolution. So, go with component if you have the option.
You’re witnessed what’s referred to as “tearing”. It happens when games do not force something called “vertical synchronization”, which forces screens to refresh only at the refresh rate of the monitor. Therefore, the screen can be refreshed in the middle of drawing a current screen which results in this “tearing”. There’s nothing we as consumers can do it’s up to the game developers. Generally if they’re having trouble reaching a certain framerate they’ll disable v-sync so as to get what some people feel is more performance.
No, sorry.
Supposedly no. Games are supposed to render internally at a single, native resolution — typically 720p — then scale down or up if necessary. Scaling is a free operation for the video output chip.
Yes, all games support 1080i. Most will be upscaled from 720p, though some are reportedly native 1080i.
I got a RCA v-series plasma television, if i hook a fucking satelite transponder, 4 prong unit to that bitch will i still get the hd expierence my momma gives me in her 5 bedrom ranch?
i have a lcd pc monitor i use vga cable with the xbox 360.THe resoltion i used at the start was 1024×768 ,then put it up to 1280×1024 is that regared as being an hd resoltion and is that that the best one to pick from??i wnat to make sure im chosing the best resolution possible??
I was under the impression that 1920 x 1080 is 1080p (progressive) and that 1360 x 768n IS the equivalent to 1080i(interlaced). Not 100% sure, just throwing that out there.If I’m wrong, can someone please tell me the 1080p resolution? And what do you think, should I just buy a crt monitor or should I save up for a small HDTV or an lcd? (19″) thanks, and sorry if I’m wrong about the correction.
I have a 62″ Toshiba 1080p (native with upscaling – a 62MX195) and have hooked up a 360 using component cables. Everything works great in widescreen 1080i, except DVDs. I have the xbox set to widescreen 1080i. I put in a widescreen DVD, and when it plays, it comes out as “widescreen” squished into 4:3 resolution. I’ve tried changing the xbox down to 720p widescreen. Nothing seems to work. I can only get widescreen by manually using the “FULL” stretch mode of the TV. The old xbox handled this fine.
Am I missing something? Is there a patch or something? I have to play my DVDs zoomed in at the moment. Did nobody test a 1080p television? Am I the only one with this problem?
I have a 62″ Toshiba 1080p (native with upscaling – a 62MX195) and have hooked up a 360 using component cables. Everything works great in widescreen 1080i, except DVDs. I have the xbox set to widescreen 1080i. I put in a widescreen DVD, and when it plays, it comes out as “widescreen” squished into 4:3 resolution. I’ve tried changing the xbox down to 720p widescreen. Nothing seems to work. I can only get widescreen by manually using the “FULL” stretch mode of the TV. The old xbox handled this fine.
Am I missing something? Is there a patch or something? I have to play my DVDs zoomed in at the moment. Did nobody test a 1080p television? Am I the only one with this problem?
According to others, I just have to manually use the Full stretch setting, since its not auto-detecting the correct aspect ratio in this case. Its strange that the old xbox works, but the 360 doesn’t detect. I don’t seem to be losing any of the screen or any resolution by stretching anyway, so this is a bit annoying, but has an easy work around. I hope the external 360 HD DVD player that will be released (around Christmas, I’m guessing) will not have this same issue.
Thanks, Andrew.
I have an older HD set (Toshiba – purchased 3 years ago) which has no HDMI or DVI inputs. My question is, do you think the HD-DVD drive that Microsoft is talking about for the 360 will be able to output through the same component cables that I am using now for my 360 (since 360 apparently has no HDMI output)? IF so, MS would have effectively saved us older HD early adopters since my 360 runs gloriously on my set. I wanted to buy one of the new Toshiba HD-DVD players until I heard that I couldn’t since it only outputs HD via HDMI.
When I connect the HD component video cable from a xbox 360 to my Phillips EDTV, I receive audio but no picture. But when I connect to cable (the one that came with the xbox 360 core system), I do receive audio and picture. Do you know why I could receive picture with the HD component video cable? Please help. Thanks.
i have connected my 360 to my HD READY tv using the vga cable i recieve agreat picture, but even with the white and red RCA connectors connected i recieve no sound..
when i hooked up my 360 to the hd, the color on the games are too pink. what did i do wrorg?
I’ve hooked up my XBox 360 to my HDTV via the component cables, but the XBox will only play when switched to the regular TV mode. How do I play in HDTV mode?
Im getting a new Rear Protection TV this week (Samsung SP42Q2hlx)which Supports component in at 1080i/50Hz. Will I be able to just plug my Xbox 360 into the corresponding component in jacks and play at 1080i HD?
If that’s the highest resolution you can get to work on your monitor, than yes, it’s the best resolution for you. When you’re using the VGA cable, the term “HD” no longer applies… HD refers to running at 720p or 1080i (or 1080p, I suppose) which you won’t do with the VGA cable on the 360. That doesn’t mean you’re not getting a higher resolution experience. Don’t get yourself wrapped up in the “HD” terminology.
No. 1920 x 1080 is the resolution for both 1080i and 1080p. It’s just that 1080i is an interlaced resolution where every other of the 540 lines are drawn at each refresh whereas 1080p is a progressive resolution where all 1080 lines are drawn each time.
No clue. Smart money says no. Well, let me rephrase that. Yes, you might be able to use it but like every other HD-DVD player that will be introduced, it will only output 540p out the component inputs. Which is, effectively, useless. Thank Hollywood for that one. I, too, will be left out of the HD-DVD/Blu-ray loop for the foreseeable future as I don’t have HDMI on my set either.
Flip the switch on the HD adapter from HD back to TV. If it works it means your EDTV isn’t displaying 480p as it should.
No idea.
Sounds like you don’t have an HDTV, or you have the component cables plugged in to a set of component inputs on your HDTV that aren’t high bandwidth inputs and only support 480i. If you have another set of component inputs, try those.
Yes.
HOW DO I KNOW IF MY TV IS HIGH DEFINITION OR NOT SOMEONE PLEASE PLEASE HELP
HEY DO ANY OF YOU GUYS KNOW HOW TO TELL IF YOUR TV IS HIGH DEFINITON OR NOT AND HOW MUCH BETTER ARE THE GRAPHICS ON HIGH DEFINITION
Can the 360 support resolutions up to and including 1680×1280, and could it be upgraded via a download, or is it hardware locked to only go up to 1360×768?
Hey, been reading through these posts, but still have a question of my own to ask: Ok, the 360 launches here in 2 weeks. I want to get a new LCD Monitor for the 360, but am confused as to the best one to get. I found what looks to be a decent one (Benq FP202W 20″ widescreen) that has a native resolution of 1680 x 1050. However, the 360 doesn’t support it this high, and because this monitor is 16:10 (not 16:9) the highest resolution I can get with this aspect ratio is 1280 x 768, correct? My understanding is that if this is the case, then the monitor will be displayed as a stretched picture (because the highest resolution is lower then the native). So should I opt for a lower resolution monitor? And does it matter what aspect ratio I get? I was originally going to get a 19″ monitor, with native resolution of 1280 x 1024, but if it’s worth getting a bigger one then I will. The whole aspect ratio thing is throwing me off a bit…like if I get a monitor that’s 4:3 then all the games I play will have the black bars (or stretched)? Or does the 360 support both widescreen and 4:3? Thanks in advance.
I already posted this, didn’t seem to get through, i’ll try again… I wish to get a new LCD monitor ready for when I get my 360. Currently, I have found one which is a 20″ widescreen (16:10) with a native resolution of 1600 x 1050. Since the 360 only supports up to 1280 x 768 at 16:10 aspect ratio, then my resolution will only be displayed at this, or I can display 1360 X 768 with no problems, no stretching or anything? Also, if this is the case, won’t the screen look stretched anyway, because the native resolution is higher then what is being displayed? Would it be better to get an LCD Monitor that has a lower native resolution (like 1280 x 1024)? And does a 4:3 monitor display 360 games with the black bars, or does it support different aspect ratios directly, so 4:3, 16:9 etc are displayed without stretching etc? Thanks in advance.
Hi,
I recently gota wvga DLP projector with a native resolution of 854×480 that has a component input through a vga input (via an adapter). I want to know specifically if 1. Connecting the the xbox360 component to vga produces a simular picture to if if was component to component or if it produces the picture as if I had connected it just by the vga cable. I remember reading that vga won’t produce a picture if it is interlaced – it has to be progressive. This contradicts the statement that vga cannot produce a progressive signal, only higher resolution. I basically want to know which way I should go – I can either keep my projector or get one with a regular component input that also has a native res of 854×480.
I wish to get a new LCD monitor ready for my xbox360. Should I get one with a higher native resolution than what is supported by the vga cable, or is it better to go for one that has a native resolution that is supported by the vga cable. Also, does it matter what aspect ratio the monitor displays in? ie if I get a 4:3 monitor, will the games that I play have black bars, or will all games support different aspect ratio’s, with not stretching etc?
Erik said: Im getting a new Rear Protection TV this week (Samsung SP42Q2hlx)which Supports component in at 1080i/50Hz. Will I be able to just plug my Xbox 360 into the corresponding component in jacks and play at 1080i HD?
Coldforged said: Yes.
I have switched the selector from the TV setting, to HD and conected the component leads to the correct tv component imputs. In the 360 settings I have selected the 1080i option (as my new samsung tv supports 1080i) and the screen goes blank? no joy? any idea’s?
many thanks
Hi,
Im using my 360 with a westinghouse 32″ HDTV lcd. I just got the VGA HD cable for it and game wise it looks a lot better to me in native vga res then compo inputs. Now the problem im having is that DVD’s will not playback. I can hear sound but the screen is black and a bit messy. I tried other res no luck. Any ideas why comp is working but vga isnt for dvds?
thanks!
EVERYONE DO NOT BUY A SAMSUNG SP42Q2 MODEL RPTV for the Xbox 360 if you think its 1080i compatible! Just got off the phone with Samsung, and it’s a known problem that it doesn’t work with the 360. There looking into a fix but cant guarantee a timescale for this.
Quick question…I have a Mit. HD tv that I bought in 2002. It supports 480p and 1080i…here’s my question. I currently use the DTV/1080i jacks for my cable so that I can get the HD channels. THe HD component jacks next to it only say 480p…I have been switching my cables back and forth when wanting to play XBOX 360. Can I use the 480p component jacks next to the DTV jacks? Will there be a difference? Or are the componet 1, componet 2, and DTV jacks all the same resolution when playing? THe reason I ask is because when setting up the visual section on the xbo 360…the 1080i only works on the DTV jacks and not the comp. 1 & 2…I need to use 480 p for those. Thanks!
Ok I have a tv that does 480p and 1080i. I always thought it did 720p native nut it doesn’t. My question is should I set my xbox 360 to 1080i in the dash since the tv doesn’t do 720p. I have always had it set to 720p and was wondering if that means I’m losing pic quality on 1080i games.
Arise, thread!
Hi all
Does anyone know if the VGA cable and 360 can support higher screen res more than 1360 X 768, or would that cripple the 360 when playing games? Im hoping MS will introduce more options for users with bigger screens, and higher native res.
Thanks!
If I got a HDTV with a revolution of 1680 x 1050, will it look just as good as a 720p?
QUOTE I already posted this, didn’t seem to get through, i’ll try again… I wish to get a new LCD monitor ready for when I get my 360. Currently, I have found one which is a 20″ widescreen (16:10) with a native resolution of 1600 x 1050. Since the 360 only supports up to 1280 x 768 at 16:10 aspect ratio, then my resolution will only be displayed at this, or I can display 1360 X 768 with no problems, no stretching or anything? Also, if this is the case, won’t the screen look stretched anyway, because the native resolution is higher then what is being displayed? Would it be better to get an LCD Monitor that has a lower native resolution (like 1280 x 1024)? And does a 4:3 monitor display 360 games with the black bars, or does it support different aspect ratios directly, so 4:3, 16:9 etc are displayed without stretching etc? Thanks in advance.
I second this. I am deciding between a 20.1in widescreen LCD monitor (1600×1050) or a 1280 x 1024 19in LCD non-widescreen. I heard on IGN that the best VGA resolution for the 20.1in widescreen was 1280×1024. My question is why buy the widescreen LCD if the best looking resolution on it is the max resolution of the non-widescreen normal LCD?
I recently got a Xbox 360, I hook it up on HD and I plug it in on the back of the TV and swith the Xbox to HD, but lt is allways blurry and My TV says “Unusable Signal” but when I still have it pluged in the back of my TV as HD and I turn the Xbox360 to TV it comes up? any help why I cant do HDTV?
Thanks Skyler,
Where can i buy an LCD TV compatible with xbox 360 (less ghosting as possible)
My tv dosent hace AV ports on it.Can i still play xbox 360 on it?
A Samsung 26″ Widescreen LCD HDTV Is an excellent TV To Use with The XBOX 360. It Has A Response Rate Of 8ms, So Ghosting Is Eliminated. Also, It Has A Game Mode In Which The Picture Is Fine Tuned Here And There, In Which Gives It A More Polished Appearance.
I found the way to search websites on an xbox 360 using windows media center its the best! u can actually see google and everything on an xbox 360.
i noticed that you said that all of the cables of the xbox 360 include a digital optical audio out. that is not true. the composite cables (core package) do not contain the output. every other cable does, though.
XBOX 360 will ONLY display TRUE 720p or 1080i with a composite cable. This is for videogames, but the only way to enable scaling to wtahc DVD’s at 720p or 1080i will be through a VGA cable? Do I have this right?
What if u have a high definition widescreen laptop, if u connect the xbox 360 to it, wouldn’t it be in high definition
i only have a shit tvand cant afford a HDTV. Is it worth getting the Xbox 360
Hi, thanks for all the useful information you’ve gave to all of us. I’m curious if you could tell me what kind of performance i could expect using my samsung sync-master 955df? Here is a link to its specs http://www.samsung.com/Products/Monitor/DiscontinuedModels/AN19JSBL.asp?page=Specifications
My second question is would my audio benefit from using this ( http://www.buildyourowncomputer.com/page/B/PROD/P4A4/392926 )device into my soundblaster live 24 bit sound card instead of the splitter you spoke of earlier? Also would I actually be able to achieve surround sound game play? For instance say a bomb is exploding to my left would i be able to get that impression from audio alone? Thanks again for all of the useful information -pappy
Thanks again
Should be just fine… the 360 supports 1280×1024 which your monitor appears to support.
Unless you have a SoundBlaster 5.1 system you won’t get surround sound. You’ll get stereo which is adequate for stereo placement of sounds (e.g. you’ll be able to tell the explosion came from your left but not whether it came from in front or behind). I wouldn’t bother with the external digital audio input box, you wouldn’t get a whole lot out of it without a SB 5.1 setup.
Can the Xbox 360 play hd dvds like any other hd dvd player?
I’ve just bought a 40″ LCD HD Ready Sony Bravia with HDMI and VGA, the native resolution of this screen is 1360×768. Will games look better using VGA at full resolution than with the component cable at 720p?… I’ve heard and read that 1080i is not worth using as fast moving imagery gets distorted or cut sometimes…
Should I definetely go for VGA?.
Any suggestions will be appreciated.
OK…i don’t care about money, i just want to know what is the best TV out there to play my 360 on????
hi, i got a Benq 20inch LCD wide screen, when i play xbox360 games on 1280×1024, there is this slight lagging problem with those fast running games such as NFS most wanted, NBA 2006 etc. Its not obvious but certainly noticable? wat’s wrong? thx!
Isn’t 1280×720 the exact specs of “true 720p”(ie is 720p not just a euphemism for 1280×720 specifically used in HDTV-circles)? So when the VGA cable sends the aforementioned “computer resolution” to the TV, wouldn’t that be 720p, since it is being viewed on a HD-capable television ? Secondly, would “true 720p” [@ 16:9 thru the component cable to a HDTV] deliver a higher quality picture than 1280×1024 [@ 4:3 thru a VGA cable to an LCD monitor (with a native resolution of 1280x1024)]? 1280×1024 actually has more pixels than 1280×720 (obviously) — several hundred thousand, in fact — so it would stand to reason…
Just to add to my previous comment:
http://www.mysupportcenter.co.uk/viewtopic.php?p=358#358
If it supports 1080p (and I’m assuming it’s true 1080p by the way they refer to it) over VGA to an HDTV, my guess is that they support the lower resolutions as well.
Isn’t 1280×720 the exact specs of “true 720p”? Isn’t 720p just a euphemism for 720p used in HDTV circles? Secondly, would “true 720p” [@ 16:9 thru a component cable to an HDTV] be higher quality than 1280×1024 [@ 4:3 thru a VGA cable on an LCD monitor (native res. of 1280x1024)]? 1280×1024 has more pixels than 1280×720 (obviously) — almost 400,000 more — so it would stand to reason…
http://www.mysupportcenter.co.uk/viewtopic.php?p=358#358
I assume that since it is capable of sending 1080p (also assuming it is true 1080p b/c of the way they refer to it) to an HDTV via VGA, that 720p and maybe 1080i are also possible.
turns out I’m a retard and posted the same comment twice (in my defense, b/c it didn’t show up right away, and I’m a n00b to WordPress, or maybe just your blog specifically… I like it btw). Feel free to delete 206 if ya wanna.
tl…
One would think. All I can go by is when I set the 360 to output 1280×720 over the VGA connection my HDTV does not sync well with it at all. Whereas other VGA outputting devices have successfully pumped a 720p signal out to the set with no problem.
One would think that the higher resolution would, by definition, provide a higher quality picture. I haven’t run comparisons between them.
I’d say go VGA for the reasons mentioned above, especially if you do not have a 1920×1080 resolution set.
I’d say this one.
Extremely useful article! Thanks a LOT! Quite likely i’ll be purchasing a new widescreen TFT monitor soon, but I had some doubts whether it would be capable of displaying good X360 images, but your article took away the doubt! Very cool!
OK, I’ve been trying to solve this problem for a few months now. My XBox is running Media Center and that handles all my TV,
I’ve recently bought the Sony KV-36XBR400 TV. It handles 480i, 480p, and 1080i signals. This is a 4:3 aspect TV and I want to watch my SD television in full screen. I want to run Media Center in 4:3 480p. When I switch the XBox into 480p mode my screen is full but slightly stretched vertically. Both the media Center and XBox Dashboard have this problem, a slight vertical elongation. In 1080i everything looks great, but SD TV has letterbox and pillbox (bars on top, bottom, left, and right) and that’s not cool on a 36″ CRT.
Any ideas?
Has Microsoft announced with resolutions will be available over which outputs when they release the fall update for the HD-DVD player?
I have a Samsung HL-S5687W. I presently have my 360 connected to the VGA at 1360×768, which looks exceptional. I wondering what resolution I will get with the new dash, and whether I will be better off with Component of VGA.
This display does do 1080p over HDMI, Component, AND VGA, so I honestly do have a choice.
i need help
does anyone know if i need a tv drive to play the xbox 360 in hd. Can i go and buy a hdtv set it all up and play straight away with no tv drive. I have telewest cable and to get the channels in hd i need tv drive but can i just play the xbox 360 without one
email me andyismafia@hotmail.co.uk
It is possible to play a 360 on a laptop. You will need a ATI Tv Tuner to do it, but with that you can plug the 360 into the tuner and then plug the tuner into the laptop.
IS A XBOX 360 BETTER THAN A LAPTOP? I NEED KNOW
will all 360 games run in just 16:9 widescreen or will they be fullscreen on a 4:3 TV i don’t like letterbox. i have gears of war and it”s fullscreen on a 4:3 TV will most new games use 480i
Note for those subscribed: I’ve updated the main article with answers to some common questions asked.
Q. Will there be an HDMI/DVI connection on the Xbox 360? A. No, not at launch. Microsoft has said that they will provide one “when it makes sense.†There are many rumors about Microsoft releasing an HDMI cable sometime in the Christmas 2006 timeframe, but there’s been no confirmation of this.
If there is no HDMI conncetion – how do I connect the 360 to my hdmi port, in other words how do I play games in HD?
HD is supported currently over the VGA connection and the component connection. I’d be very surprised if your HDTV didn’t have at least a high definition component input, so use that one.
can u play xbox games on the xbox 360
Hi, I have a Samsung SyncMaster 955DF, will my xbox360 work on this monitor?
hi, i had a cable company come over and install the hdtv , it uses the component part for the hook up, how will i hook up xbox 360
Hello i am about to buy a Xbox 360 and a new HD ready t.v. What is HDMI and do you need this to play either the Xbox 360 or the new playstation 3?
HDMI is merely a type of connection. You do not need an HDMI connection in order to play either the Xbox 360 or the PS3.
Sure.
You’ll either use a different connection if your HDTV has one, or switch every time between the cable box and the Xbox 360. You could buy a component switcher, but those can be pricy.
hi, i have the hd cord that have multiple coloured chords that u need to plug in and switch on. I did this and went to the display menu. There were 4 types of hd. there was 1080p and 1080i. When i choosed the higher one which is 1080i(not sure). it says that if you are able to see this picture the it will set. if not it will be sent back to the normal settings. When it does that my tv screen doesnt show anything it just gets static and show a bunch of lines.. Why doesnt that setting work.. and is it beter then the other hd settings? and how can i possibly make it work?
The complete list of options for using component inputs includes 480p, 720p, 1080i, and 1080p. Sounds like you enabled 1080p on your HDTV and your HDTV does not support it. Few consumer HDTVs do at this point, though the number is growing. Simple solution is don’t enable 1080p, it won’t work on your HDTV.
If in doubt about what your HDTV supports check the manual. It will list the supported HD resolutions.
Just a question…I know to get TV shows in HD, I need my cable company to give me access to HD signals. Do I need this to play HD 360 games, or will I just need an HDTV, and follow the directions on this FAQs?
Basically, my problem is this…Q. I have an HD Ready TV, I have an Xbox 360… how do I get high definition?
I have a few questions:
(1) If an HDTV set has a 15-pin RGB (VGA) connection, then according to your statements in this article, the Xbox 360 should be capable of displaying a 1920x1080p resolution. However, the instruction manual of the HDTV does not list 1920x1080p as a resolution that the 15-pin VGA connection is compatible with. According to the instruction manual of the brand new JVC HD-61FN97, it says that it is compatible with 640×480 and 1024×768 resolutions only for the 15-pin VGA input. It is like this almost all HDTV sets from nearly every manufacturer, including JVC, Sony, and many others. The only manufacturer that seems to have a resolution that would work with the Xbox 360 is Samsung, on the HDTV set HL-S6187W, which will work with resolutions up to 1920×1200. Could you please tell me if the Xbox 360 has some sort of feature that overcomes this limit in the television? I just can’t believe that brand new televisions released in September and October from JVC and Sony can only work with VGA signals up to 1024×768, while Samsung televisions that were released six months earlier in April work with VGA signals up to 1920x1200p. Please tell me if a true 1080p HDTV is capable of displaying a the 1920x1080p resolution using the Xbox 360 VGA cable, even if the HDTV instruction manual clearly says that it will only work with signals up to 1024×768 with the VGA input? I know that this JVC HDTV definitely is capable of receiving a direct 1080p signal from something like a Blu-ray player using a HDMI 1.3 cable, but I want you to tell me if this JVC television will display the 1920x1080p resolution from the Xbox 360 when using the VGA cable, even though the instruction manual of that JVC television says that the highest supported PC resolution is 1024×768?
(2) The new JVC HD-61FN97 uses JVC’s Genessa upconversion technology so that ALL signals are upconverted to 1080p resolution, regardless of what input or cable they use. According to something I read from Mitsubishi, when you use the resolution of 1080i and convert it to 1080p, there is an almost perfect conversion that takes place, because the resolution is literally the same–pixel for pixel–but the scanning is changed from interlaced to progressive. If this is accurate, do you think it is better to set the Xbox 360 to 720p or 1080i when using the Xbox 360 with the JVC television?
(2.1) Do you think that the JVC upconversion from 1080i to 1080p will be as good as the Xbox 360 upconversion? My friend has the Samsung HL-S6187W, which also upconverts everything to 1080p. That Samsung HDTV Accepts 1080p through the Component video inputs, so we literally spent time looking at games in 1080p on the Xbox 360, and then we would change it to 1080i, and we literally could not tell any difference at all. Do you think it will be that way with the JVC HDTV?
(3) Samsung started releasing HDTV sets that could Accept 1080p signals with a Component cable in April of 2006. I thought for sure that competitors such as Sony and JVC would do the same after that, but they didn’t. I see the rainbow effect and have seizures from color wheels, though, so I couldn’t purchase those Samsung DLP televisions. I had to choose between the LCOS technology used by JVC and Sony. The performance and price was definitely better with JVC, so I decided to buy that one. But I am literally scared to open it because I am nervous that there will be a new HDTV set released that will Accept 1080p signals through Component inputs. When you consider that Sony and JVC had six months time to analyze what Samsung had released on the market, and they still didn’t include HDTV sets that Accept 1080p signals via the Component inputs, then I thought there were excellent chances that they would probably never include that feature in their HDTV sets–especially because HDMI is probably the kind of cable that you would want to see 1080p in, anyways. Do you think I did the right thing by purchasing that HDTV? Or do you think that at the January 2007 CES companies like JVC will talk about new models that will be released shortly that include inputs that Accept 1080p signals via Component cables? I know it isn’t a good idea to keep waiting to buy products or you will be waiting forever…but I found a nice 720p HDTV for only $1,000…and I would be happy to buy that and keep it for a few years until they get their crap together with 1080p…What do you think about this? Should I buy that 52″ LCD 720p for $1000, or should I get the 61″ 1080p that I got for only $2200 with a free stand.
(4) The HDTV sets I have seen have different kind of Zoom modes. You can do things like stretch the 4:3 to a 16:9, and zoom in on other things like that. But the HDTV sets that I have looked at say that you can’t zoom in on or change the aspect ratio of a 1080p signal. Do you know why this is?
Thank you for all your help.
Unfortunately there is no magic. The manual is the last word on the capabilities of any particular set. Why any manufacturer would choose to hamper their set on an input is beyond me, though it may have to do with the differences in the A-to-D converter in the set.
Tough call, but I’d probably go with 1080i. More horizontal resolution — especially on native 1080i games like Geometry Wars — and nominally greater vertical resolution. There’s a case to be made for setting the 360 to 720p mode as that’s the native resolution of most games then let the HDTV’s likely higher quality scaler deal with conversion. Best guess? It’s a wash.
I’d have to suspect that a $2000 HDTV has a better scaler than a $300 console, but the 360′s scaler is quite adept. If they tout their scaling though it’s likely to be better than the 360′s.
Forecasting the market is almost impossible. You have to consider why they wouldn’t include the feature versus why they would. If they think their competitors are getting sales due to the missing features, they’ll seriously consider including them if there’s no technical reason not to. I think consumers are demanding more connection choices. As such, it would only make sense for manufacturers to follow Samsung’s and Westinghouse’s leads in this area.
I don’t know what you should do. How important is 1080p to you? How important is that extra thousand to you? Put it this way: they’ll almost certainly put something out in January that will tempt you more, whether it’s 1080p over component or 65″, high contrast, low-latency panels for $1500. Only you can decide if that wait is worth it.
A wishy-washy answer, but honestly I can’t decide for you and I really have no insight into the industry for you to make any more of an informed opinion.
I do not. If they truly don’t support these features I can only assume that the video processors can’t handle the bandwidth of dealing with 1080p images in this way, but that’s only a guess.
This is actually covered in the FAQ…
Q. Do I need any kind of set-top box to play games in high definition on my Xbox 360?
A. No, you need no external hardware to enjoy Xbox 360 games in high definition. The only “extra†thing you’ll need is either the Xbox 360 Component HD AV Cable or the Xbox 360 VGA HD AV Cable.
Thanks for the information on the 360 HD DVD…it was nice to get so much information in one place. I wish I would have found your site sooner!
My Plasma or Audio Video controller, doesn’t have a VGA connection, so I am running component…I currently have the 360 set up for 720p…in your opinion am I missing out not using 1080i?
I was glad that M$ put out this device for $200…how can you go wrong?
I still think all of the hype about boo ray and HD DVD are all a waste of time. Download is the wave of the future…just like music. I think MS knows that…and that is why this thing is a sepearte component.
See you on Xbox live…thanks again!
Most welcome.
There’s a level of detail technically missing between 720p and 1080i, certainly. A 1920×1080 image — even if the 1080 is really 1080 fields interlaced into two 540 fields — has more capacity for detail than a 1280×720 image. On HD-DVD movies and games that are 1080i/1080p native, you could be seeing more detail. But, that’s only if your display actually contains 1920×1080 pixels. If you have a native 720p device, you’re not missing anything.
I was unclear why exactly you weren’t using 1080i, but just know 1080i is supported on component, it doesn’t require VGA.
Hey, I love your FAQ, very informative, but I have a question:
I’m considering hooking up my 360 to my widescreen 19″ comp monitor. The thing is that my monitor displays natively at 1440×900. Will the image I get from the 360 be degraded in quality or blurry due to this? I realize that 1440×900 is an odd rez, but I’d like to get the best possible image and my television certainly won’t provide it.
Thanks in advance, jake
You’ll have two options, really. Having your monitor blow up whatever resolution you select — likely 1360×768 — so it fills the monitor, or if it supports it have it run in 1-to-1 mode using the centermost 1360×768 pixels. Will it look as good as something running in native 1440×900? No. Will it be slightly “blurry” from interpolation? Yes. Will you be disappointed? Almost certainly not.
Especially compared to your standard definition TV.
Put it this way. I run at 1280×1024 on my Dell 2005FPW widescreen LCD (native 1680×1050). I have it fill the screen. I prefer it over running on my CRT HDTV. I’m fairly picky. It could be better but I’m very happy with it.
Hi, thanks for the FAQ. My question: The only thing that annoys me about my UK X360 is that I can’t play half of my DVD’s on it as I’ve imported loads from the US and Canada – region 1. As HD-DVD’s are currently not region locked, could I import a US HD-DVD X360 drive and use it for region 1 DVD’s and HD-DVD’s and the internal drive for region 2 DVD’s? That would be awesome… Tol
It would indeed. Unfortunately, while the HD-DVD accessory isn’t region locked for HD-DVDs, it is for standard DVDs.
Nice idea, though.
So if I imported a US HD-DVD drive, between the built-in drive and the imported one, I could play my whole collection?
Tol
I don’t believe so. Apparently the region is determined by the software of the 360. Therefore, it will work as though both players are in the same region.
To be honest, there’s very little information about this out there. Some people say it should work, but I have yet to see an account that it actually does work.
Hi im trying to figure out how to change the 1080i from widescreen to normal or is there a way??
ok, so i’m using component and my hd movies are showing at 720p right, and my standards are showing 420p. but your saying that VGA will up convert them to 720?
There’s a setting in the dashboard that will select whether your TV is widescreen or normal. However, many — if not most — games will then simply letterbox on 4×3 TVs.
Your standard def movies are showing up at 480p, actually. And yes, VGA will upscale everything to your configured resolution including standard def content.
Q: Is there any kind of HD cables I can buy to get hd graphics, or do I have to buy and hdtv to get graphics like that.
You need an HDTV — with either the Xbox 360 component HD cable or Xbox 360 VGA cable — or a computer monitor — with the Xbox 360 VGA cable — in order to get anything better than standard definition.
Hello, Im thinking of buying a Sony KV-36XBR400 at a local shop for $400. It displays in 1080i but not 1080p. Is this a good tv for the 360? Also I watch alot of DVD’s and TV, will my full screen dvds play in widescreen because of the tv?
It should be fine, though I’d prefer a widescreen HDTV for gaming and movies. I honestly don’t know what that Sony will do for your movies or TV, though I imagine that you’ll either have full-screen or letterbox depending on the title.
Would that Sony be a good replacment for my old SD Sanyo while I save for the 42″ Plasma that I want? In other words, it wont be perfect, but it’s not going to suck? Please remember that its only $400!
my hdtv has a 720p native resolution, but can also do 1080i… which is better to set the xbox 360 at,,,, 720p or 1080i… i know most games are at 720p, but if i set it to athe 1080i on xbox 360 will it look better/worse/same on tv if you play a game with max 480p, will it get upscaled to 720p/1080i setting of the tv if you set your xbox 360 at either 720p/1080i
I have a new HP laptop that has an S-Video out, and a VGA – 15 pin HD D-Sub (HD-15). Its a 14.1″ WXGA widescreen (1280 x 800 max resolution). Can I plug my xbox 360 into this? Thanks.
Tony,
If your HDTV set has a Native Resolution of 720p, then that is what you should set your HDTV to output.
Although your HDTV says that it will accept a 1080i signal, it will actually just convert that signal to 720p. So, it is actually better to send a true 720p signal.
If your HDTV set has a Native Resolution of 1080i, then it is better to set the output of your HDTV set to 1080i. The 720p signals will be converted to 1080i in a way that is fine.
If you have an HDTV with a 1080p Native Resolution, and your HDTV set will Accept 1080p signals through either Component or VGA connections, then you should set the output of the Xbox 360 to 1080p.
However, some HDTV sets only Accept a 1080p signal through HDMI 1.3 input jacks. If you are using the high-defintion Component cables that came with your Xbox 360, it is best to use the 1080i output, because the Xbox 360 will be outputting a resolution of 1920×1080, which is identical to the Native Resolution of your 1080p HDTV set. Your HDTV will be using a technology called 3:2 Pulldown to convert the interlaced signal to a progressive one. This is the reason why HD-DVD movies and High-Definition movies seen on Cable TV and Satellite TV look identical to 1080p, even though they are 1080i…they are literally converted to 1080p.
Also, you need to remember that the human eye has a very difficult time telling the difference between 720p/1080i/1080p. That is the reason why all of them are referred to as, “HDTV.” The resolution of 480i and 480p are very different in terms of the way the human eye perceives them; that is why 480i is referred to as SDTV (Standard Definition TV), while 480p is referred to as EDTV (Enhanced Definition TV). But 720p/1080i/1080p are all referred to as HDTV (High-Definition TV), because the human eye can tell virtually no difference between them.
The brochures may try to make it sound like 1080p has a lot more pixels than the other resolutions, which may be true, but the fact of the matter is that those pixels eventually reach a point where the human eye literally cannot tell the difference unless the HDTV sets are sitting right next to each other, and even then it is often times difficult to tell the difference when both TV sets have their settings such as Color, Tint, Detail, Contrast, Picture, and Iris optimized in the proper ways.
if i use my monitor will i get the same graphics as if i use a HDTV??
If I already have an HD tv and an xbox 360 do I need the VGA HD cable?
I have a 17″ Samsung 710V LCD flat panel display. It has a 25ms response time. Will this be a problem for playing the xbox 360 on it using the vga cable?
I’m sorry to ask this, but I haven’t found a reply coment or post that actually confims this.
With the regular dvd drive in the xbox 360 NOT the hd-dvd drive. USING THE VGA CABLE. Does the xbox 360 upscale REGULAR DVD’S???
Once again…If I’m using the xbox 360′s standard dvd drive and playing a normal dvd with the vga cable connected to my projector that has a vga input will the xbox 360 using the standard dvd drive upconvert the standard dvd to 720p or 10801 or 1080p??
Also, will I actually see a difference in the picture quality. I understand that most tv’s, projectors handle the vga input differently. I’m just wondering if buying the vga cable will make a difference in quality. I know that it not be much but every little thing helps.
Sorry to put my comments in such a “specific way” but I honestly haven’t found a good answer….I only get wishy washy answers.
Thanks
Actually, this was part of the FAQ.
Note that resolutions for VGA are different than over component. There’s a section up there that lists them. As for quality, it’s pretty subjective. People with quality setups with quality 480p DVD players would likely prefer their 480p setup to the 360′s DVD playback. People used to inferior DVD players might be able to notice increased quality on the upscaled display — especially if they’d only seen 480i.
Not necessarily. You might get some ghosting compared to lower response time monitors.
Sorry, I don’t know how to answer your question. If you’re already playing games on you 360 in high def, you don’t need another connection.
WHY DOES XBOX360 HD DVD DISPLAY IT’S MOVIES CONTENT IN WIDE SCREEN AND NOT FULL SCREEN? AS I HAVE A 32 INCH HDTV, AND I HAVE BLACK BARS TOP&BOTTOM
While the specs on the manufacturers website say my 17″ Samsung SyncMaster 710V has a response time of 25ms, an article review which ran their own tests concluded that it ran more like an LCD with a 16ms response time.
I read somewhere, possibly here, that 16ms or lower should be fine with minimal ghosting if any. What do you think?
The specs on the mfr website say my 17″ Samsung 710V LCD flat panel display has a response time of 25ms. But an online article concluded that from the tests they ran, it was more like a 16ms response time.
I read somewhere, maybe here, that 16ms or under is preferred and should have minimal ghosting if any. What do you think? Thanks again.
Hello.
I have a 19″ Gateway computer monitor hooked up to my Xbox 360. The monitor’s native resolution is 1440×900, while the specs says it’s “720p ready.”
I’m not sure what to set for the screen resolution. The options are 640×480, 848×480, 1024×768, 1280×720, 1280×768, 1280×1024, 1360×768 and 1920×1080.
No matter what I pick, the monitor displays a notice that says the resolution I’ve chosen doesn’t match the monitor’s optimum setting, and to hit the Auto button on the monitor, which I assume translates what I have picked through the Xbox to a resolution supported by the monitor. As a test i picked 640×480, and the picture looks the same as if I had picked 1360×768.
I’m confused and don’t know what’s going on and what to choose. Any help would be appreciated.
I run on a Dell 2005FPW which is a 12ms panel. I have absolutely zero complaints, and I doubt that 4ms slower would make enough negative difference to turn you off.
That’s very, very odd. Exactly the same? You didn’t say which monitor exactly, but I assume from the specs that it’s the Gateway FPD1975W which supports 720p only through the DVI connection. That should be neither here nor there, but it’s possible that the monitor’s interpolation is particularly poor. I find it hard to believe that it looks exactly the same as 640×480, though. Truly, I don’t have a great answer for you.
First, thanks for the helpful responses.
I just read something about people being annoyed how some 360 titles look on a 4:3 LCD or CRT monitor. My LCD has a 1280×1024 resolution, which is close (5:4).
Is there a real problem with not having a widescreen LCD? Some were upset with stretching in games like project gotham 3, while others were fine and said there was simply less screen; no vertical stretching.
If widescreen is the best, would it be preferable to go with the 1280×768 option or use the native resolution of the monitor? Or does it depend on the game? I’d imagine using the widescreen resolution would have to use “black bars.”
have hdtv & 360 wot cable would i use vga of composite
Depends on your HDTV. If you have a VGA input that would be a good bet. Otherwise, component is likely your best bet. Your email address is in the UK and I truly know nothing about the TVs in that market, so my usefulness to you is limited.
Yes, though I think it’s primarily limited to launch titles. I believe since then they’ve worked the kinks out of the system. Of course, both of the displays I play on are 16:9, so I can’t tell you for sure.
In terms of what you should play in, that’s up to preference. I know there’s a 1280×1024 resolution available so you would likely be fine for most titles anyway.
Yes, it is the FPD1975W. I’m using the VGA connection since there are no component inputs. So if it only supports 720p through the DVI connection, what am I getting through the VGA connection? Is it even HD, or just SD bumped up in resolution?
Gateway’s manual and support site are a joke. If I’m not even getting HD, can you suggest a low-priced monitor that supports 720p through the VGA connection?
I have a samsung 720p hdtv. would my xbox 360 look better using the component wires or the vga cables. And also which would be better for playing dvds.
I have a samsung syscmaster 931c and when i play games in widescreen at the native resoultuion it looks streteched. When i play without widescreen the image looks great but letter box takes from it. If i play the game at 720p on widescreen will the image be scretched. Or can you tell me what the best approach to get the best quality image would be. thank yuo
What is better 720p or 1080i
What is HD
Hello. I recently bought an Olevia 32″ LCD HDTV that displays 720P. I have a Samsung DVD player that upscales to 720P or 1080i, and it is plugged in using HDMI. My question is for the 360 is the AV composite cables better or the VGA? My tv supports both. Also, I want to but the HD DVD player, but dont have any HD DVD’s, will my normal DVD’s look better on this then on my Samsung?
Have you fixed this problem? If so how because I have the same issue!
I have a Samsung 931b. Your screen is not a widescreen aspect, so there’s no reason to select the “widescreen” option. Run it at 1280×1024 and live with the letterbox. However, if you get Gears of War, that will play full-screen at 1280×1024 (so far the only game I have that does that). The reason it looks stretched in widescreen mode is because your 360 is scaling a widescreen image into a non-widescreen aspect resolution.
i was wondering ive the componet cables that came with me 360 were good enough or would i need to purchase a cables ? what kind of sound system would you recccomend ?
Hi, I have a 40″ Sony Bravia and a 360 hooked up using VGA. The image quality for games is outstanding but when watching movies black levels are quite unsatisfactory and images, specially in dark scenes, look washed out. When I hook up the 360 using component cable the situation is the opposite, games look worse and black levels improve, though not dramatically…. Is there any hope we’ll be getting a HDMI cable somewhere in the near future?, I assume this would really improve the picture quality… Am I mistaken?
I have a Phillips HD ready tv that gives DVI output, i bought an adaptor that allowed me to connect the red, green and blue connections, i then connected the red and white connector to the av ports. I have a picture that appears to be a better quality but cannot get any sound? Any thoughts please
My TV only supports 480i. I noticed on the back of game case that they only go down to 480p. Will this still work? Will the system automatically downgrade to 480i? I don’t want to buy cables and find out that it won’t work. Thanks for any feedback.
Hello. I recently bought an Olevia 32″ LCD HDTV that displays 720P. I have a Samsung DVD player that upscales to 720P or 1080i, and it is plugged in using HDMI. My question is for the 360 is the AV composite cables better or the VGA? My tv supports both. Also, I want to buy the HD DVD player, but dont have any HD DVD’s, will my normal DVD’s look better on this then on my Samsung?
the laptop doesn’t support the input of the xbox 360 vga cables it says. i dont know is this is an old faq but is there anyupdate on this. also if there is a possible way can someone plz tell me. again my problem is i need to put my xbox 360 into the laptop vga input. thx in advance
You can still play games in 480i, but it won’t look nearly as nice. The resolutions it shows on the game case (e.g. 480p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p) are only the hdtv resolutions.
Bunch of questions about the 360 Elite. Would appreciate feedback:
Will the current HD-DVD drive work with the 360 Elite?
Will the HDMI connection up-rez standard def DVDs like the current VGA connection does?
Is the same DVD watched through a VGA connection and an HDMI connection going to noticeable to the average person.
Would LOVE some feedback so I can figure out if I stick with my current system or pay another $80 for HDMI and the bigger hard drive.
Thanks a lot.
hi i bought an hd tv it has componet connections, and vga for xbox 360but there is no connection for my audio input cables( solid red and white ones) please can u help me because i need sound
yo i have a bush lcd26tv005 the tv resolutions are:1280 x 768 x 3 pixels but no HDMI ports because its not HD lol but if i brought the VGA HD cable would that give me some kinda HD feedback?
I have a Samsung HL-S5687W that is 1080p with my Xbox 360 and Xbox HD-DVD player. I currently use the component video cables. I am getting 1080p from the xbox on gaming, but not on HD movies. I am reading that this can be solved by using the VGA input which will allow 1080p.
Does anyone have any input on this? I really would just like to get the best picture possible.
I was messing around with my hd settings on console where it asks you if you can see the picture. Well somehow it got stuck and now i just get a blue screen. It’s in the hd setting on the componet cable so it’s not like its on TV. Wondering if anyone knows how to get this back to normal.
My XBOX 360 only displays about 25% of movies correctly when played, the rest have fuzzly line patters all over the screen. I had it replaced and still does the same. I have also tried through the normal yellow cable and tried setting the cable to TV and lowering the resolution. It is running through a conia 101cm LCD HD ready TV CLCD 4080. Has anybody else had this problem?
Is the graphic of Xbox360 better than PS3 or same? When do the price go down in Xbox360? How about the comparison between Xbox360 using HDTV and normal TV? What’s the difference between 720p and 720i ? How much is HDMI? Should we need?
I will answer your questions one at a time.
(1) Yes, the Xbox 360 has graphics that are better than the Playstation 3. Every game ever released for both systems has received higher ratings on the Xbox 360 than the PS3.
Even games appearing at the launch of both systems have better graphics on the Xbox 360, which is ironic because the Xbox 360 launch was rushed in a way that forced developers to use “Pre-Alpha” Development Kits that used only one-sixth of the General Purpose CPU power, while the PS3 launch was delayed by 8 months, which allowed PS3 developers to use Final Development Kits that used 100% of the General Purpose power for over six months development time.
Early games on both systems, like Ridge Racer, have graphics that are noticably better on Xbox 360. The lighting is noticeably better in the Xbox 360 versions of Ridge Racer and Fight Night Round 3. Sailboats appearing in the Xbox 360 version of Ridge Racer do not appear in the PS3 version. Waves move under bridges in the Xbox 360 version of Ridge Racer, but in the PS3 version, the waves never move.
This is because the Xbox 360 Graphics Processing Unit is much more advanced than the PS3 GPU. Xbox 360 can display over 500,000,000 polygons per second, while the PS3 can only display 275,000,000 polygons per second.
The gap in graphic performance for the Xbox 360 and PS3 continues to widen in favor of the Xbox 360. For example, PS3 games like Tony Hawk Skating Project 8 look MUCH BETTER on the Xbox 360, and the PS3 version didn’t even offer any online play, like the Xbox 360 version does.
Call of Duty 3 is a game from Treyarch that appeared on both the Xbox 360 and PS3. It was Treyarch’s first game for both systems, so it can be considered first-gen on both systems. The Xbox 360 version of the game has noticeably better textures with more sharpness that allow you to see further in the distance. The Xbox 360 version runs at a constantly smooth 60 frames per second, just like Call of Duty 2. But the Playstation 3 version of Call of Duty 3 is one of the many Playstation 3 games with a framerate that is very choppy and has a negative effect on both graphics and gameplay.
Also, the PS3 version of Call of Duty 3 is one of the many Playstation 3 games that don’t let you use Online Voice-Chat to talk to other people while you play online. The Xbox 360 version of Call of Duty 3 lets you talk with the 24 people you are playing online with! Xbox 360 comes with a headset that lets you talk to other gamers, but the Playstation 3 doesn’t, so that is why almost every Xbox 360 third-party game includes the Online Voice-Chat feature, while almost all PS3 third-party games do not include Onlince Voice-Chat.
The gap in graphic performance continues to widen over time, in favor of the Xbox 360. If you want some good proof of this, just look at the review of F.E.A.R. from 1up.com.
The PC and Xbox 360 versions of F.E.A.R. won lots of awards for great graphics and gameplay. The Playstation 3 version was released over six months later than the Xbox 360 version, and the graphics are terrible on the Playstation 3!!! The PS3 version often drops below 20 frames per second, which causes the graphics to go into slow-motion so much that it has a very negative effect on gameplay!
In the Xbox 360 version of F.E.A.R. it is cool the way you can talk to people online using Online Voice-Chat, but the Playstation 3 version doesn’t offer that feature, which really takes a lot of the replay value away from the game.
You can read about how bad F.E.A.R. is for the Playstation 3 is here: http://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=3158930
There is no better example than F.E.A.R. that shows how games are better graphically on the Xbox 360. Games like Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 2 and Rainbows Six: Vegas are already available for the Xbox 360, but not the PS3. F.E.A.R. is a pretty good indication that the Playstation 3 version of Rainbow Six: Vegas won’t be worth waiting for, though, because the Playstation 3 just doesn’t have the “Videogame” Graphic processing power, or the General Purpose CPU power for that kind of game. That is why Ubisoft recently said they are not developing Splinter Cell: Conviction for the Playstation 3. Ubisoft said the PS3 doesn’t have the graphic ability to display Splinter Cell: Conviction.
The Playstation 3 versions of games don’t even have a controller that rumbles, because Sony wasn’t willing to pay the royalty and licensing fees to include the vibration features in the controller of the Playstation 3.
(2) Nobody knows for sure when there will be a price drop for the Xbox 360. Some people say Microsoft is waiting for the new factory production of a .65nm (smaller) and less expensive version of the CPU to be used in the system. The performance is 100% the same, it’s just they will be able to build the system cheaper. That was scheduled to have begun this spring, but was delayed until the fall of 2007.
Other people say Microsoft is simply waiting for Sony to drop the price of the Playstation 3, because the PS3 is their direct competitor. If Sony doesn’t drop the price of the PS3 this year, we may not see a price drop for the Xbox 360. Considering the Xbox 360 didn’t see a price drop it’s first year available, it’s reasonable to assume we won’t wee one with the PS3, which would mean we won’t see one with the Xbox 360 this year.
One other situation is based on when certain key games are released. Microsoft knows they have BY FAR the BEST software lineup of games for 2007. Today Shadowrun and Forza Motorsport 2 are being released. Having games like that come out on the same day in May is AWESOME!!! Some people say Microsoft is waiting for Halo 3, Mass Effect, and Bioshock to be released, because those are amazing games that will draw a lot of attention. Halo 3 already has over 4 million preorders at Gamestop in North America!!! That would be a smart time to drop the price, but nobody knows for sure if it will happen.
(3) The difference between an HDTV and a standard-definition TV is very noticeable. If you don’t have an HDTV the graphics of your Xbox 360 will still look absolutely incredible, especially if you have a TV that has Component video inputs, because then you will actually be seeing the game in EDTV, which stands for 480p Enhanced-Definition TV, rather than 480i SDTV, which stands for Standard-Definition TV. HDTV means High-Definition, and it represents resolutions of 720p, 1080i, and 1080p.
The Premium version of the Xbox 360 comes with an excellent cable that is actually two cables in one. It is both a Composite cable for connecting to a standard TV, and also a high-definition Component cable, for connecting to an HDTV.
I recommend buying the Premium version of the Xbox 360.
(4) You ask what the difference between 720p and 720i is. I have never seen 720i used as a resolution; I think you mean 1080i. But, that is a good question. The “i” stands for “Interlaced” and the “p” stands for “Progressive.” To make a long story short, each individual frame of Progressive data is a complete picture made up of all the even and odd horizontal lines of resolution. Each individual frame of Interlaced data alternates between whether or not it carries even or odd signals to the screen. At lower resolutions of 720×480 the difference between Interlaced and Progressive is very noticeable, that is why 480i is called Standard Definition and 480p is called Enhanced Definition.
However, as the pixels get smaller in high-definition, a point is eventually reached where the human eye can’t tell the difference between Interlaced and Progressive. Usually it takes a screen of over 50 inches to tell the difference between 1080i and 1080p, but even then it is difficult for the human eye to tell the difference, especially if you are sitting further than 10 feet away.
If you have an HDTV with a Native Resolution of 720p, I recommend setting your Xbox 360 to ouput a resolution of 720p. If your HDTV has a Native Resolution of 1080i, set your Xbox 360 to output a resolution of 1080i. If you have an HDTV set that accepts a 1080p signal through the Component video inputs, then set your Xbox 360 to output a resolution of 1080p. If your HDTV set has a Native Resolution of 1080p, but does not accept a 1080p signal through the Component inputs, then set your system to output a resolution of 1080i, and the HDTV will then upconvert that signal to 1080p. It is much easier with the Xbox 360 than the Playstation 3.
The Playstatoin 3 does not have a dedicated hardware upscaling device, like the Xbox 360 does. All Xbox 360 games have a Native Resolution requirement to run in at least 720p, and they are upconverted by the Xbox 360 to run in 1080i or 1080p, depending on the kind of HDTV set you have.
But with the Playstation 3, almost all of the games only run in high-definition if you are using an HDTV with a Native Resolution of either 1080p or 720p. If you are one of the millions of people with an HDTV set with a Native Resolution of 1080i, then you will actually end up NOT SEEING your PS3 games in high-definition! That is a terrible shame to have paid all that money and still not see the PS3 in high-definition! Almost all CRT Picture-Tube, CRT Projection, and a huge percentage of Plasma HDTV sets have a Native Resolution of 1080i, which means you end up seeing your PS3 games in only 480p, which isn’t high-definition.
The reason for that is because the PS3 sends a 720p signal to the HDTV set, but the HDTV doesn’t recognize it, so it tries to transform it into a 1080i signal, but can’t, because the PS3 won’t allow it, because the PS3 doesn’t have an upconversion chip like the Xbox 360 does. So, the HDTV set is forced to downconvert the resolution to 480p for PS3 games.
You should also know that the Playstation 3 does NOT come with high-definition cables, like the Xbox 360 does.
(5) The HDMI cable is included with the Xbox 360 Elite system, so it won’t cost you anything. There is virtually no visual difference between an HDMI cable and a high-definition Component cable, like the one included with the Xbox 360 Premium system. Both of those are high-definition cables that carry high-definition signals up to 1080p. The HDMI cable’s main advantage is that it carries both video and audio signals all in one cable, for the sake of convenience. In all honesty, it isn’t that much of an advantage, because the Xbox 360′s high-definition Component cable already has an input for a digital Optical cable that will allow you to play all your games in 5.1 digital sound.
I hope all this information helps you. There is no doubt about it, the Xbox 360 is BY FAR the best game system available, and it will continue to get better in the future. Xbox 360 has sold over 8 million more systems than the Playstation 3, and each day that sales lead continues to grow for the Xbox 360, because the Xbox 360 has so many more great games.
Question i have a sony that is 720p but like quoted above i can set the xbox on 1080i is that good for my xbox or my tv? And my other question is I have the hd dvd player for the 360 and it works great when i play regular hd dvds but when i play documentaries such as planet earth, chronos, or even relentless enemies it wont play them. Why is this are they only compatible on 1080p it doesnt make any sense because like i said it will play regular hd dvd movies but not these? Anyone out there with an answer please email me at ericcrouch@yahoo.com
my pc moniter is 1400 x 900 and if i buy a vga cable….will the 360 work?? becasue the story doesnt mention my resalution
Answer: Yes, your PC monitor will work fine with the Xbox 360 VGA Cable. Set your Xbox 360 to output a resolution of 720p. You will end up seeing a resolution of 1280x720p, and it will look AWESOME!!!
i was wondering how you can set up 360 so you can record either your television screen or play the 360 on the computer….
in other words im wondering how to make a gears of war montage.
idk what i need to do. cause i want to record the tv while i play.
If I have a tv that accepts up to 720p hd resolution, the vga cord will not be able work on it will it? Also if I play a regular dvd in the 360 using the vga cord will it in play in hd or do i need the hd dvd player with it? One more, If regular dvds can be upscaled to hd in the 360 will it work with the vga cord and a tv that only accepts up to 720p.
I need a component cable for my Xbox 360 that is 15ft or longer. I bought a 12ft cable at Best Buy, but I simply can’t find a 15 footer in the store or online. Someone must make these cables???
i have a WXGA HD tv which only has the standard ‘yellow, red and white’ component connectors, so how do i play my xbox 360 in HD when i have no HD components in my tv and microsoft haven’t made a HD WXGA cable? do i need a certain convertor or cable?
I am seriously bummed that I cannot conect to my laptop, why is this? It has an LCD screen with a res of 1680×1050 so it would make a huge difference compared to my (very old) tv. How depressing!
@ James:
you may be able to with an HD tv-tuner that has YPbPr in’s
I’m trying to use the HDTV setting. I plug red, green, and blue in and when I try to start it up I can’t make out the screen. I’ve tried memorizing and clicking all the different settings but no avail. I tried this on two different high def TVs and its still not working. What could be the problem?
so i don’t need a HDTV to play a Xbox 360
So do I need a HDTV to play a xbox 360?
Read the first FAQ answer.
Why does my screen split in 1080p but my LCD samsung tellys says it supports 1080p
dave
i have a standard definition plasma television it displays all of the resolution settings but its seems to run a bit “jerky” at times even on 720p. Is this because I only have a standard def telivision? what can i do ? It displays the picture crystal clear but runs bad
i have a standard definition plasma television it displays all of the resolution settings but its seems to run a bit “jerky” at times even on 720p. Is this because I only have a standard def telivision? what can i do ? It displays the picture crystal clear but runs bad
i have a standard definition plasma television it displays all of the resolution settings but its seems to run a bit “jerky” at times even on 720p. Is this because I only have a standard def telivision? what can i do ? It displays the picture crystal clear but runs bad
I have my xbox 360 connected to my LCD televison and when I try to play in HD I have no sound. Why is this happening?
When I plug my xbox 360 into my vcr and turn it to the correct channel I only get sound but then I plug it into my HDTV I get sound and picture
Xbox 360 will not allow me to switch from wide screen to full screen. Really dislike the vertical split screen for HALO2. I have read how to change this, but as I have said in 360 Dashboard the option is Unavailable.
Hi i have 40″ Samsung HD LCD TV and i set the Xbox360 settings on the following resolution when using the VGA AV connector:1360×768 but the picture is disappear and i don’t know how to get it back??? and i can’t see any thing to fix it, even when i fix the normal AV connector i can’t access the resolution settings??!!! Could you help me please.
does rbg mean the same as vga
Hi, My Xbox 360 wont show on the T.V screen. Every time i turn on my Xbox 360 it only shows black nd little statics going across. I have this problem for a couple of weeks now and barely can play my Xbox 360 because of this problem. Can you please help me. Thanks.
Someone (2 comments) - August 8th, 2007
It doesn’t ‘mean’ the same thing, but both are essentially the same. Both analogue; Component(rgb) has a connection for red, blue and green and a vga cable has a pin for red, blue and green.i dediced to watch a movie, and usually when i watch a movie on Xbox 360, my HDTV will automatically put on the “420p” for standard movies. Well, yesterday, i put a movie in….. 1) The picture didn’t switch 2) the HDTV display say I was watching 1080i ….. My question did i bought an Elite Xbox 360, does the hdmi upscale my previous movies to 420 to 1080?
If you use an Xbox 360 with an HDMI cable, then the Xbox 360 can upconvert the signal to true high definition signals such as 1080i or 1080p. Based on what you said, it sounds like you have an HDTV set with a Native Resolution of 1080i.
The High-Definition Component cables included with the Premium Xbox 360 system can carry gaming video output signals up to 1080p if you have a TV that can display those sort of high-definition signals. However, the Component cables can only carry up to a 480p signal when used for standard DVD video output signals. The reason for this is because of Copyright legal issues. With HD DVD and Blu-ray technology, the highest form of resolution supported by Component cables is 1080i. In order to see HD DVD and Blu-ray in 1080p, you need to use an HDMI cable.
The Xbox 360 has always included an HDMI Output, and an HDMI cable.
The Xbox 360 Premium has been redesigned so that it now includes an HDMI Output. The Xbox 360 Premium includes HD Component, and Composite cables.
It’s nice that the Xbox 360 comes with the cables you need to see games in high-definition. Other systems, such as the Playstation 3, only come packed with low-resolution Composite cables. That means a system as expensive as the PS3 ends up costing you up to $50 more, becuase you need to buy the correct form of cables.
Here are a couple other things you should know. The VGA output for the Xbox 360 will also allow DVD and HD DVD movies to be seen in resolutions up to 1080p.
And there is also an HDMI converter cable that is about to be released for Xbox 360 systems that have been available for the last 1.5 years before HDMI Outputs were a part of the Xbox 360 design.
You should know that the difference between 1080i and 1080p is virtually unnoticable, especially on TVs 50″ or smaller.
The cool thing is that ALL Xbox 360 games are now upconverted to 1080p resolution in order to be optimized for your HDTV set. For example, according to Gamespot reviews, NCAA Football 2008, and John Madden Football 2008 on the Xbox 360 “run smoothly at 60 frames per second in modes of 1080p, 1080i, and 720p.”
That is GREAT news that make me 100% happy I bought an Xbox 360 system!
I have a friend who recently sold his Playstation 3 because of the poor software performance it is now known form. For example, Gamespot was reviewing those football games and said, While the Xbox 360 version runs smoothly at 60fps at 1080p resolution, the Playstation 3 version “struggles to run at 30 frames per second at a resolution of 720p.”
The Xbox 360 hardware uses its ability to upconvert resolution to make sure that it is fully compatible with all forms of HDTV set: 1080p, 1080i, 720p.
Xbox 360 is also fully compatible with all forms of EDTV with a resolution of 480p, and all forms of SDTV (Standard Definition-TV).
The main problem with the Playstation 3 is that it does NOT have the hardware ability upconvert Playstation 3 games to high-definition.
Recently, a firmware update for the PS3 made it so DVD movies on the PS3 can be upconverted to high-definition, IF you use an HDMI cable. HOWEVER, that had absolutely no effect on actual Playstation 3 games.
Very few games on the PS3 run at a resolution of 1080p. Virtually all PS3 games have a Native Resolution of 720p. The problem with this fact is easily found if you are one of the millions of owners of an HDTV set with a Native Resolution of 1080i.
If you are trying to play a PS3 game with a Native Resolution of 720p, on an HDTV set with a Native Resolution of 1080i, then you will actually end up seeing that game in only 480p resolution. That is obviously a HUGE disappointment!
The reason this occurs is because the Playstation 3 does NOT have the ability to upconvert actual PS3 games to high-definition. So, when the 1080i HDTV set receives the 720p signal being sent from the PS3, it will recognize that the PS3 does NOT have the ability to upconvert the signal. From that point on, the 1080i HDTV set will DOWNCONVERT the PS3 signal to only 480p resolution. That means you paid all that money for PS3, but you are NOT seeing it in high-definition!
If you have a Plasma HDTV set, there is an excellent chance that it has a Native Resolution of 1080i. Also, if you have a CRT (Picutre Tube) or CRT (Projection) HDTV set, it is virtually guranteed to have a 1080i Native Resolution. In other words, it is NOT a good idea to buy a PS3 if you want to see games in high-definition, because those HDTV sets will not allow it.
I hope I answered all of the questions you had about the Xbox 360, cables, and other systems. Those are common questions that people ask. I really do hope I hellped you out. Feel free to ask anything if you want more information.
wow great post Wayne . . . you are right …. i just watch 2 more standard movies and the were upscale to 1080…. and looks great…. it must be the Elite HDMI
thank you for your post … always a great gesture to get an answer, but your answer was AWESOME!
Oh one more thing, Wayne, you stated “And there is also an HDMI converter cable that is about to be released for Xbox 360 systems that have been available for the last 1.5 years before HDMI Outputs were a part of the Xbox 360 design.”
I wouldn’t have to get this right? i know have a 42″ Song HDTV but don’t know what type, and i dont think it can convert to 1080p, just convert to 1080i (the max) . . . is there a way to find if i could get 1080p? I doubt i can, but its worth a shot to find out
My LCD monitor only has DVI and RGB port. Realizing that XBOX360 doesn’t support either, I’ve thought of getting a VGA AV Converter. But then I read somewhere else and it says, “A lot of people in the audio-visual scene have been complaining about the lack of HDMI or DVI connections on the Xbox. Since HDMI and DVI are true digital connections, it would make sense to include these – especially if you intend to run games in high-definition. However, analog VGA and Component outputs are supported and should provide excellent quality for the vast majority of gamers wishing to take advantage of the system’s HD capabilities.” I’m pretty much confused over the comment. Are they saying YOU CAN PLUG VGA CABLES INTO DVI PORTS? I don’t want to spend money on the converter if my question is true. I’m not so good with these kind of things so pardon me if it sounds really stupid.
Can the Xbox 360 Hd dvd player play burned dual layer Cd’s? in other words, can it play hd dvd movies that has been downloaded
If I am not able to use my laptop as a monitor for my 360, then what features can I access between my laptop and 360?
Hi great article. I have an old 360, I didn’t get the elite system, so no hdmi output on my system. I am currently using a component lead to attach it to my 1080p TV. My Tv won’t accept a 1080p signal from the Xbox (say a game) over composite, only via it’s DVI or hdmi inputs. My question is how can I get games, up scaled DVDs, and HD movies (from the HDDVD drive)displaying at full 1080p? Do i have to buy an elite, or can I get a VGA lead from my core system instead, and is there then a lead to take that to HDMI, and is there any loss of quality or problems I may occur? Your article talks about VGA being the best quality? Is not the HDMI + optical audio adapter from the elite the best option? What is my best opiton, if I want the best quality without having to buying an elite? Thanks
Im having a problem… I bought a HDMI to DVI cable, to hook my 360 elite to my widescreen computer monitor. It works, but i don’t see any HD resolutions, only standard. and if i play about 800×600, it gets choppy.. I’ve had no problem playing in HD on my HDTV..
I have a LCD monitor with HD component cable hookups and a spot for a VGA HD hookup. Im curious to which hookup would give me the better picture and overall quality “game wise” for the XBOX 360. Thanks.
hey my hyundai q995 monitor doesnt have a vga input is there any way for me 2 hook the xbox to it?
Just get the vga cable and a vga to dvi adapter, that should sort it for you
I just bought a big screen TV and now all my Xbox games lag. Some games have an option to calibrate the lag, however many of my other games such as halo do not. How can i fix this problem?
If I have a tv tuner for my laptop can i hook up my xbox 360 to my laptop?
Hi, i am getting an xbox 360 full system for christmas and was wondering if i get the VGA or Component leads with it? or will i have to ask santa for that too :p
Without in-game calibration and no available adjustments on your set, you’re likely out of luck.
No.
You’ll get component connections with the box. If you need VGA you’ll need to buy it separately.
hi, i’m about to buy a new projector for my 360, is 1280x720p resolution good?
and which is the minimal resolution to have a good gameplay anyways?
Hey Ritch:
720p is the minimal resolution you need for High Def game play. Your games should look great at that resolution because every 360 game should output in 720p. Many older games also output 1080i, while the newest games usually output 1080p as well.
I have a Vizio VX32L (LCD) and couldn’t be happier. It has a native resolution of 1366 x 768, supports all resolutions except 1080p (1080i HD, 720p HD, 480p DVD, 480i standard TV) as well as a number of PC formats, and accepts every input possible (Composite, S-Video, Coax, Component, RGB/VGA and HDMI).
Best of all, it was only about $600.
Hope that helps.
if i get the xbox 360 cable for a computer screen will it work if i don’t the audio cables in for now, as i am getting an adapter
The information is incorrect that the XBox HDMI cable will somehow upgrade first flight XBox 360′s to HDMI. It is nothing more than an HDMI cable and a audio cable that connects the A/V port to either RCA or optical output. The 360 doesn’t spontaneously generate a HDMI port.
Thanks, I was unclear on that. I’ve updated the FAQ.
hey i was wondering what do you need to get or buy to get your standard tv to have high definition so when you play games you play them in high def on the xbox 360
umm…where can I get av hd cable?? i been looking at stores like wal mart and such, never founded one. PS: I got the first xbox 360 that were out…how come I dont have a pluggin for Hd..I found this weird
i have a sony multi scan 520 monitor. it has both a vga connection to plug my xbox 360 into but it also has component connections also. i want a component connector to compare the difference but the component connection on the monitor are female with a pin inside. is there a cable i can get for this as i havernt seen any
Can i play my x-box360 threw the back of the computer because it has the holes the yellow, white, and red ones?
About 4 or 5 months ago I bought a seconded 360 and it came with an HDMI port and it’s not an Elite.
You need to buy a high def tv. You can’t upgrade an old tv that isn’t high def
Every Xbox 360 since september 2007 has a hdmi port as standard, due to a motherboard revision (now uses the same one as the Elite).
Hey guys i bought a new LCD(Sharp AQUOS 1080i) i connect into component With HD cable,when i turn on my xbox360
I dont have a hdtv but i do have a flat screen monitor with digital and analog inputs. The digital goes to my pc 8800gtx cards. Is the a way to hook the xbox 360 60gb hd to the monitor using the smaller plug IE : hdmi to vga on monitor or some other way to use the 30 inch monitor
hey there, i have bought a panasonic 46″ plasma that is 1080P ready and i have the xbox360 premium console without hdmi im considering buying the elite console to get the hdmi output,is it worth buying or is component the same apart from the fact that its audio and video? and also can the xbox itself play 1080p or is that why we have to purchase that damn addon?. im currently using component which im happy with but if i can get better picture quility ill be happy to know of any other options availible. Thanx for support. P.s i also play lots of dvd on it and it makes my dvds look horribble cause the tv is so great is that normal?
Damn, just bought a HD VGA cable only to find that it won’t work with my laptop.
Component is analog, HDMI is digital. It’s similar to the difference between Dolby Surround sound and Dolby Digital. I’d definitely recommend upgrading to HDMI.
Xbox 360 has the ability to output 1080p resolution for videogames useing both the HDMI cable and the high-definition Component cables.
The copyright laws for movies are different than videogames. The Xbox 360 does have the ability to upconvert standard DVD movies to 1080p with the HDMI cable. However, the highest resolution that Component cables can carry for movies is 1080i, not 1080p.
I watch a lot of movies on my Xbox 360, and it does an EXCELLENT JOB of upconverting standard DVD movies to 1080p; the movies look virtually identical to their high-definition counterparts. Even lower budget movies like American Ninja 2 look as if they are in high-definition on the Xbox 360. I was watching that one the other day and was AMAZED at the level of quality.
There are a couple other things you need to be aware of.
For example, I have a Samsung and JVC HDTV set. My Samsung HDTV set will “Accept” a 1080p signal for videogames from the Xbox 360 with either the HDMI or the Component cables. However, my JVC HDTV set will only accept 1080p videogame signals from the Xbox 360 using the HDMI cable.
Panasonic is owned by the same company as JVC. Both are owned by the BIG Japanese company known as Matsushita. So, the HDTV set you have may not “Accept” 1080p signals from videogames from the high-definition Component cables. You may need to use the HDMI cables.
Also, you should know that ALL models of the Xbox 360 include the HDMI output. It isn’t just the Elite that supports that feature. The thing that makes the Elite special is that the Elite compes with the HDMI cable, while the Pro comes with the high-definition Component cable.
You should also know that the Xbox 360 is currently using a model known as “Jasper.” This is a generation beyond “Falcon.” So, the current Xbox 360 models on the market are much more quiet, and very nicely designed.
Finally, you need to realize that the settings you use when watching a standard DVD on your Xbox 360 need to be different than when you are playing an Xbox 360 videogame. In particular there are two areas where this is significant:
It is going to be necessary to lower the “Sharpness” or “Detail” on the HDTV set. If you don’t do that there will be lots of unnecessary “background noise.” Lowering the Sharpness/Detail will make the images look more crisp, and it will eliminate the jagged lines and pixels that can be seen.
Sometimes it helps to lower the Color a little bit. You can get away with raising the level of Color when watching true High Definition sources, because the pixels are actuall there. But when you are raising the Color too high when watching a standard DVD on an HDTV, it increases the chances that you will see a “bleeding” look from where the colors run together.
Also, I think you should know that a lot of times the Xbox 360 will select 1080i as the best resolution, rather than 10880p. The reason for this is because 1080p does not allow any type of Autofilter features of your HDTV to function. When you output the 1080i resolution, your HDTV will be able to modify the signals so that there is actually less video noise than when you output the resolution of 1080p. The human eye can almost never tell the difference between 1080i and 1080p, but it can tell the difference between video noise and less video noise. That’s the reason why the Xbox 360 sometimes selects 1080i as the better resolution. You can see for yourself which one you like better.
I hope this helps you out.
Can the Xbox 360 Pro up convert standard DVD’s to 720p on my HDTV using the supplied component cables?
From the FAQ above:
hi,
I just have a few queries about the xbox 360 premium 60gb, as im confused between the differences of each one. So does this one have a dvd upscaler to 1080p? and only if you use a hdmi connection, not the component?
And i dont have the internet to connect to xbox live, does it matter if the games are xbox live enabled? I mean like, am i missing out on anything?
Much appreciated if anyone could help =)
What can i do if I hace silver live? Can i multiplayer onlin? And what the heck is a male-male cable? Is it true u can use them on your laptop to do xboxlive because thats all i got,haha, And whats the easiest way for xbox live silver on the laptop for free or cheap?
I’ve got a HD ready TV. All is good with the HDMI cable though it works on my Dad’s TV and gives 1080p resolution. The problem is on my TV I can’t get an AV input for HDMI. Would I need a DVI to HDMI adapter to give me the option of HDMI for my AV input. It is definitely an option but has no siginal! Any help will be much appreiated.
I have a PCI graphics card on my pc, but i have an LCD monitor. how would i connect the xbox 360 to it if i dont have the vga?
I recently got a xbox 360 for christmas. I have a fairly old tv in my room and i can only play my xbox 360 i black and white. I tried switching the switch on the video cable from hdtv to tv and it is still in black and white. Does anyone have any solutions to how i can get my xbox 360 to work in color. Also my tv does support color and is not just black and white. Thank you, Mitchell
B/W sounds like you are plugging a component cable into a composite socket. Search the differences between component and composite, how to tell the difference, so you know which you have on the XBox output and the TV input.
thank you so much for this. really helped out
ok, I had my setting to 1080i and i had HD at that setting, I try to set it at 1080p and now, my tv gets no signal from HDTV settings only normal TV setting, please someone reply to a fix for this issue. On how to put it back so i can use 1080i again. I put it normal TV and xbox works but no HD and I say to switch it to 1080i again but says HDTV cabal disabled cuz the switchy thing.
so, i had my xbox working at 1080i hd, then i try set it to 1080p and then my screen said no signal, now i can only play on normal tv component…. please help i wanna play high detail 1080i again. respond to me at marcos_0wnz@hotmail.com if anyone has the problem and fixxed it.
You need to reset your Xbox 360 display settings. Follow these directions.