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Best HD lead for Xbox360

danhammer

danhammer

Champions League
Joined
23 February 2004
As per the title lads, can anyone help i want to get the best picture possible from my new HD TV

Cheers
 
What he said, VGA cable all the way. The component cable gives you a blurry picture in comparison.

And if I were you I'd get the official one. I bought a Gameplay one and a MadCatz one, both gave the graphics fuzzy outlines, especially text - but because they were both the same I thought it was normal. Someone bought me an official Microsoft one for my birthday and boom, sharp as a pin.
 
Depends on your TV, some TV's handle different inputs better than others, though component is generally considered superior to VGA, though neither give a digital signal and so are far poorer than HDMI.

Get on some TV related forums, find someone with the same TV as you and ask for advice, though the way I see it definately stick with component since it already came with the console.

VGA used to suffer from poor compatability with games, and wouldn't output in widescreen with certain resolutions making it a much worse choice, however they were fixed with a recent update, and you have to take into account using the VGA cable will mean your DVDs are upscaled, which is a definate plus.
 
good thread. i may look into getting a vga cable. i have the samsung 26inch hd by the way if anyone else does?
 
I think the general consensus is that VGA is better. I still use component, but I'll be upgrading soon, have been saying that for nearly a year now LOL!

And after the new update, the VGA is better now!
 
RuneEdge said:
I have that TV too. VGA looks lovely.
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I have it too! We're cool! Be my friend?

Seriously though, I do. And you can't beat VGA - well, apart from HDMI, and after reading several reports of watching a 360 running on VGA and then on HDMI there isn't enough of a difference to pay out for an Elite 360.
 
They're probably all different TVs seeing how they do many 26" ones. :lol:
 
woah hold on sec are you lot saying i can get a better picture if i buy a VGA cable?

so i have been playing for over a year with a picture that isnt the best?

god damn all these connections

btw i have HDMI on my PJ can i use that?
 
You can only use HDMI if you buy an Elite 360.

From the various sources I've read, VGA is practically as good as HDMI to the naked eye on TVs less than 40", and the difference between component and VGA is huge on my TV (26" Samsung, component is blurry, VGA is pin-sharp). But on bigger televisions (including projectors I should imagine) there will be a quality increase with HDMI - unless you're up for paying for another 360 though, you're best sticking with a VGA cable.

Please do get the official one though, as I've said above I've had two utter crap unofficial ones (Gameplay and MadCatz).
 
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Even on a big screen, the difference between HDMI and VGA is minimal, if any especially if you don't wear glasses/contacts lol!

Some people buyt the Monster VGA cable, very pricey, anyones views?
 
Excellent guys, many thanks. I shall probably be buying the official VGA cable tomorrow! :)

The VGA cable:

Video outputs settings of 480p or 720p


The Component cable:

High-definition gaming output of 720p or 1080i
Progressive-scan DVD playback in 480p

Reading that I am slightly confused... Surely using the component cable we get higher resolution and quality gaming?
 
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The cable will lead to "higher resolution and quality gaming", you're not an advertising executive by any chance are you? :lol:

The maximum resolution you can get on the 360 with a VGA cable is 1920x1080, which is the same resolution that 1080i/p uses. So I don't know where you're getting your stats from! But trust me, I still have the component cable here (which you need to run Xbox 1 games, unfortunately) and when you use it on either Xbox 1 or 360 games, you get a blurry edge on EVERYTHING. With the VGA cable everything is pin-sharp, in 1360x768, let ALONE 1920x1080 (which my bedroom TV doesn't support, but my living room TV does and it's astounding).

Just as a little side note, I've always been taught that, in general, the more pins or connections something has, the better the quality (as there's more avenues for the information to be sent down, meaning less guesswork by the console - i.e. this bit is red so the bit next to it should be red, which isn't always right and results in blurring - and more accuracy, meaning a sharper image).

Component = 3 connections (minus the 2 audio connections)
VGA = 21 pins
 
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thats the cable yeah

but i have another question, does anyone use the adaptors that come with it?

i mean the the audio 2 into 1 connector and the female to female adaptor

becuase you can pick just the cable up on ebay for 8-12 quid without them
 
Check your equipment to see if you need them. I do because my TV's audio inputs are taken up by my Wii's audio cables, and so I need them to be coupled into one connector to plug into a different input. But if you have two audio connectors (white and red) free on your TV/equipment, then you don't need it.
 
Good thread, will be getting the vga later and then i can connect the 360 with the digital audio out to my surround set :D

Shame ive sold my tv and havent gotten the new one yet.....however the parents are away on holiday so ill be using the 40inch bravia for my forza2 sessions this week :D
 
Jack Bauer said:
Just as a little side note, I've always been taught that, in general, the more pins or connections something has, the better the quality
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No wonder my american products with two pin plugs are worse than my UK 3pin pugges products.... :roll: :lmao: :lmao:
 
My sides have split, I'm suing. I was talking about video/audio connections. Think about it, it's like a processor in a PC. If you have a dual-core processor there's more paths to the rest of the computer, the more paths there are the more information can be sent and received. If there's 3 lanes of data travelling to a TV and 21 lanes of data travelling to a TV then obviously you're going to get better quality with the latter. Data is data, whether it's analog or digital.
 
There is quite a flaw in your argument Jack, although i do get were youre coming from. Look at it another way, 3 telephone(copper)lines vs fiber optic cable. Its not the amount, its the quality of material used, so two red/white audio cables isnt better then one digital fiber glass cable. How many pins does a hdmi connection have? Just looked and counted 19, and that includes audio......with a vga that would mean 21 plus 2 audio connections is 23 so vga wins.

However i cant wait to test out forza with my new official MS hd vga cable ;)
 
True, but as a rule of thumb (i.e. in most situations) I think it's reasonably accurate. But of course now that we're modernising there's ten built-in connections being put into one visible connection, so it's all going to change as time goes on. Was just mentioning it as a point of interest.
 
danhammer said:
iv'e got a sony bravia, thanks for the info chaps
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I've tested a 360 with both component (at 720p) and VGA on a Bravia, and I think the component is better. Although VGA gives you 1 to 1 pixel ratio, the colors look washed out, and with the component the image quality just seems better with superior colors and contrast.
 
That was before the Spring Update - you now have adjustable VGA options, and the full option gives you black blacks and the same colour brightness as component. Without it I'd agree with you (even though I'd prefer dull and sharp to bright and blurred - although I've seen people say it's not blurred on their TVs, it certainly is on mine). But thanks to the update it's VGA all the way now for those who have compatible TVs. :)
 
I have bought the cable...

And there is a difference :) It definately clears up the blur. Runs at 1366 x 768 and it is a clearer picture. Pretty much as simple as that! Colours and brightness may need a little adjusting, but it looks sharp as ever :mryellow:

Great stuff. Thanks very much guys :thumbup:
 
If you have the spring update installed on your Xbox 360, go into the system blade on your 360 and look at the graphical settings. You'll see a new bit, not just resolution etc. but a bit called "reference levels". Depending on the HDTV you have you may have to choose a different option to mine, but I use the maximum setting - "expanded". This configures everything pretty much perfectly on mine.

Told you that you'd love the sharpness. :)
 
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