Xbox High Definition AV Pack

danbhala

im looking to pick this up for my modded xbox

http://www.xbox.com/en-US/hardware/highdefinitionavpack.htm

anyone have any experience with it? does it improve picture quality? i wouldnt mind getting xbmc a bit crisper on my lcd

skywalker

I got a normal component cable off ebay, and it does make a fair bit of difference alright, particularly if your using it to play a lot of video.

lardboy

The official MS ones are as rare as rocking horse shíte, so I wouldn't hold my breath. You can get generic ones on eBay for cheap, but these don't have optical outputs. The only 3rd party cable with an optical output is the Monster cable, but then you will need the Monster specific optical adapter to use it, which is a bit of a cheek. You can pick both the component cable (400x) and the optical (Lightwave 100x) on ebay for about €40 inc. shipping from the states.

The picture quality on the Monster cable is absolutely top notch, and if you have a chipped box and HD telly, then you can enable the 480p, 720p and 1080i options in the dashboard by using the Enigmah region switcher to change it to NTSC. Many US games were high def enabled (list available: here, and can look stunning even now.

Edit: That doesn't quite read right. You can set the HD options without the Monster cable, any component will allow you to do that.

Calibos

This is the one I got though I can't remember if this was the seller I got it from:

http://cgi.ebay.ie/High-Def-Component-Optical-Cable-for-XBox-BRAND-NE_W0QQitemZ120078985831QQihZ002QQcategoryZ20385QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I have 3 xboxes running XBMC. I bought 3 of these cables but atm only use one. The other 2 spares are for when I upgrade the 2 current 28 and 32in CRT Tv's to 37 and 42in Plasmas this year sometime.

As for the one I do use. It connects one the the XBMC's to my Projector via a Joytech Component switcher. Works a treat and I can't seen any problems with the image at all which should be noticable especially on a 100in screen. One thing to note is this is in effect a breakout box so you need to supply your own component cable and Optical and/or stereo phono cables. Unlike the monster it is a standard optical output so you just need a standard optical cable rather than a proprietry monster one.

On a sidenote Monster are the most overhyped overpriced cables in my opinion and have been proven to cheat in their instore demo's. ie One of their component cable demo's enables you to switch between a lower priced component lead and the monster one to show you the difference component makes....except the other lead wasn't component it was composite!!

danbhala

cool, thanks alot

where's the best place to get the seperate component cables then? ebay? anything specific i shoul steer away from?

lardboy

I'd agree that the Monster cables are overhyped and definitely overpriced at original retail prices, but if you can pick one up for cheapish on eBay, it's the best 3rd party cable available, bar none.

I've seen reports of dodgy boxes on eBay, including the one linked to above. That thread on AVforums goes on for aaaages about the different options; some people have gone down the Monster route, and others have gone the eBay box route, with differing degrees of success. Your mileage may and probably will vary, of course.

vibe666

strangely enough, there's a big ol' thread on the xbmc forums that after loads of people trying every one going on ebay, the one you linked to just there as the best of the lot.

here's the (well worth reading actually) 10 page thread: http://www.xboxmediacenter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=20699

K.O.Kiki

If you don't need optical audio out on Xbox, consider these cables. (Just a suggestion)