optical and xbox 360

Headshot

its not a big problem but im wondering how come the xbox 360 still has sound coming out of the tv when an optical is in the back of the 360

its not like my ps3 at all

Jip

How is your Xbox connected to the t.v. ? If you're using component and still have the left and right audio connected you'll still get audio from the t.v.
I use my t.v. for both the 360 and Wii but permanently leave the L&R connected for the Wii as I always use the surround sound system for the 360.

Julez

Thats a good thing btw, just mute your tv if your using surround sound, the ps3 is annoying because you have to go into the settings to change which you want to listen through. Sometimes I don't want surround sound and its just handier the way the xbox works!

ROC1977

I use DVi to TV and optical to home cinema. Ditch the components, and use DVI/VGA get best res this way. Yes better than HDMI.

Ciaran500

ROC1977 wrote: »

use DVI/VGA get best res this way. Yes better than HDMI.

DVI is HDMI, they're an identical signal.

Also most screens will give a better picture from a digital source although any decent screens will show no noticeable difference between the two.

ROC1977

The signal is the same. But HDMI max res on a 720pTV is 720p. DVI is 768p

Zonda999

I imagine the difference would be absolutely minimal, though.

ROC1977

Well not when connecting with an optical cable. Because to connect via optical cable to a home cinema system you have to have the dvi or component cable plugged into the 360. HDMI cable doesn't have a optical output on it. So unless you have a home cinema with a HDMI input, which not many have under 700 euros, you need optical for 5.1. So if you want to connect to your TV and home cinema, why have the HDMI (picture) and VGI cable (for optical plug) plugged in together. When DVI and HDMI are more or less the same image quality, just use DVI with optical out instead of both.

mossym

where did you find a dvi cable for the xbox 360? thought the only ones were vga, component and hdmi ( oh and the original composite cable)

Jip

ROC1977 wrote: »

I use DVi to TV and optical to home cinema. Ditch the components, and use DVI/VGA get best res this way. Yes better than HDMI.

Minimum difference if any between component, HDMI and VGA.

mossym

Jip wrote: »

Minimum difference if any between component, HDMI and VGA.

depends on your tv, and the processing it applies to each input. some tv's havea noticable difference between the connections, but it is down to the tv, not the 360

ROC1977

mossym wrote: »

where did you find a dvi cable for the xbox 360? thought the only ones were vga, component and hdmi ( oh and the original composite cable)

Vga with DVi adapter.

mossym

which is just the vga signal. most tv's don't even have a dvi port, it's typically vga and HDMI. Even if you do have a dvi port, it will need to support DVI-A(analog only DVI), or DVI-I (analog + digital) to use your method.

all you really have is a VGA signal converted to pin compatability with DVI. it's not a DVI signal as people would be familiar with from a dvi output on a pc, it's vga changed so that the pinout is compatible witha dvi-i or dvi-a connection. most tv's won't even support this, and the only advantage may be with a computer monitor that doesn't have a vga input but does have a DVI-I input so that you can connect your vga input, or with some old tv's that predat HDMI, and some of those won't support DVI-I or DVI-A

it is not the same signal as HDMI, it is analog, and on a lot of tv's the HDMI will be a far better picture than vga.

telling people to use the dvi output from a 360 is misleading as no such thing exists.

oh and max input for a 720p tv is not 720p. my 720p will take a 1080p signal no problem. It will scale it back to the native resolution of the tv, but it will take 1080p no problem. in fact, depending on the actual true resolution of the tv, the 768p from vga may end up being scaled as well.

EDIT: Unless you are using a powered VGA to dvi adapter, which amy be giving a digital picture, but the quality is going to be totally dictated by the converter.

ROC1977

My Tv has both DVI-A and DVI-I. Miss leading, probably was to be honest. VGA/DVI is what I should have been posting.
Ya VGA is analog, but a HD analog picture is just as good as digital HD. Analog sound and digital sound is a different story. And optical is the best digital sound. So my point from my earlier post edited. VGA with optical cable to home cinema is the best option. Unless you have a home cinema with two HMDI ports. But I'd still stay with VGA as you can set it to a higher res on both TV's and monitors.

I never said max res for a 720p tv was 720p. I said with HDMI the max is 720p which it is. But in fairness you should read post first.Yes change your settings on your 360 to 1080p and you'll either have an over scaled imaged or your tv will down scale it again to your Tv's max res. Which is somewhere between 720p and 768p. Your 720p Can not display a 1080p image. You statement is false. Ya it might take a 1080p image but it can't display the 1080p. So whats your point. Now your statements are miss leading.
For some reason people think HDMI is the greatest thing since sliced bread. I You need to do your homework, HDMI = DRM.
you need to upgrade all your home cinema equipment to support HDMI. Like I've posted before you need to get a home cinema with at least 2 HDMI ports, to connect a 360 or Ps3 to a TV and get 5.1 or DTS sound. But these home cinemas cost two to five times the money for a similar system with only 1 HDMI port.

And don't forget about the different types of HDMI either. And how they contantly update HDMI . Older versions can't play DTS HD or dolby HD sound. And new HDMI versions can display higher res images than older ones.

Riesen_Meal

ROC1977 wrote: »

Well not when connecting with an optical cable. Because to connect via optical cable to a home cinema system you have to have the dvi or component cable plugged into the 360. HDMI cable doesn't have a optical output on it. So unless you have a home cinema with a HDMI input, which not many have under 700 euros, you need optical for 5.1. So if you want to connect to your TV and home cinema, why have the HDMI (picture) and VGI cable (for optical plug) plugged in together. When DVI and HDMI are more or less the same image quality, just use DVI with optical out instead of both.

I got one of these with my elite, so I have it connected through optical to my surround sound system, HDMI from Xbox or Ps3 in the back of the TV, works a treat....

ROC1977

Fieldog wrote: »

I got one of these with my elite, so I have it connected through optical to my surround sound system, HDMI from Xbox or Ps3 in the back of the TV, works a treat....

Ya I know about them, but my point is you still have to plug in to different an extra lead to have 5.1. Where as with the VGA cable you just have the one, and no difference to the picture.

Riesen_Meal

I see what your talking bout now, pain in the arse alright, luckily all my cables in my room are out of sight!!!!

I have 3 optical cables, one for 360, PS3, and one for the starbox, i mean NTL box (ahem)

ROC1977

Same here I've too much connected to my TV, I've two xbox 360's a Wii, Sky, Chorus(box super!!lol) Home cinema. The amount of cabling behind my TV is stupid. Including my router and modem I think I've 14 plugs plugged into a surge plug board. Recently moved in to my house so my TV unit is only a piece of sh1t, waiting for the misses to pick out a coffee table so I can get a nice unit that hides everything inside it.

And we won't even get started on the remotes I think I'm up to 6 or 7 not including joypads. lol I think Santa will have to bring me a Harmony remote.

You think this day and age TV's DVD players and consoles would be wireless-ly connected to each other.

mossym

ROC1977 wrote: »

But I'd still stay with VGA as you can set it to a higher res on both TV's and monitors.

rubbish, it's only better if the native resolution of the tv matches what you're sending over vga.if it's a true 1280 by 720p tv then sending it 768p does nothing only force the scaler to scale it back to 720p. there are some tv's that handle vga very well, and it may be the best connection for those tv's, but to say that in 100% of the cases that vga is better is ridiculous. don't forget, all that happens with a vga input is it goes through adc's before being fed to the exact same circuitry as the hdmi input. in fact component inputs probably use the exact same adc's to convert the signal to digital, so in reality there should be little difference there. but in real life there is due to manufacturers implementations. to claim vga is always better is just wrong.

ROC1977 wrote: »

I never said max res for a 720p tv was 720p. I said with HDMI the max is 720p which it is. But in fairness you should read post first.Yes change your settings on your 360 to 1080p and you'll either have an over scaled imaged or your tv will down scale it again to your Tv's max res.
.

hang on read what? okay, phrased wrong by me, i should ave said max hdmi input, not max input. but read what you just wrote. first you say max for hdmi is 720p, then you say change your settings on your 360 to 1080p. if the max is 720p how can i change the settings to 720p? and my 720p dispolay will downscale a 1080p image no problems with no overscaling, testing using various test patterns. you're welcome to call and check for yourself if you like.

ROC1977 wrote: »

Your 720p Can not display a 1080p image. You statement is false. Ya it might take a 1080p image but it can't display the 1080p. So whats your point. Now your statements are miss leading.

where did i say it could? exactly what i said was, and read again
my 720p will take a 1080p signal no problem. It will scale it back to the native resolution of the tv,

nowhere did i state my TV would display a 720p image. my point is you are making a totally inaccurate comment that the max resolution carried by hdmi is 720p. it's not.

ROC1977 wrote: »

I said with HDMI the max is 720p which it is.

maybe i'm reading that wrong too?


my homework? i work on hdmi, vga, component input, scart,CVBS boards all day. no homework required mate

i don't argue that on some tv's vga can look better than other connections. but to go around telling everyone it is the best for all tv's is just wrong. (especially for the sake of not using an extra optical cable). and most of the other information you posted is just wrong.

mossym

actually roc, just to point out, hope you're not taking any of this personally..just a good old fashioned debate...no personnal insults meant or implied..:)

ROC1977

No offense taken.
I think your taking some of my comments out of context.
Let me clear it up for you. (what I mean not right or wrong).
The max res over HDMI is 720p on a HDTV that is 720p. Where as VGA can display 768p.
Not the max res over HDMI is 720p for all inputs. I think the max on HDMI 1.3a,b,c is 2560 x 1600.
I haven't said that 100% of TV's are better with VGA. I said I'm staying with VGA (as it suits me as I've too many cables about the place).

"oh and max input for a 720p tv is not 720p. my 720p will take a 1080p signal no problem"
lol I think we are just miss reading each others post to be honest. Input/output seems to be whats causing it all. Ya your TV can take a 1080p input but can't output 1080p. Would that be fair to say?

We aren't the first to have these differing opinions for or against HDMI. looking around the web, there is no YES or NO which is better digital or analog pictures. DVI, component, VGA, or HDMI. It all depends on the video sources, encoding, the TV, the quality of cables being used,the distance from the video source to the display. Basically plenty of variables.
From what I've read HDMI over a distance of 40feet is a more or less is a no no. (and god knows how much a HDMI cable that lengh would cost lol)

mossym

ROC1977 wrote: »

No offense taken.
I think your taking some of my comments out of context.
Let me clear it up for you. (what I mean not right or wrong).
The max res over HDMI is 720p on a HDTV that is 720p. Where as VGA can display 768p.

this i don't get. the max res over hdmi for a 720p is not 720p. you can send it anything you want, 1080p, 1080i(although this is less bandwidth than 720p). the tv will then scale it to it's native resolution, which is 720p. there may be no point in sending it more than 720p, but there is no limitation which says you can't. if you're referring to a 1320*768 tv that you can get more lines from a vga source than a 720p source, then feed it 1080i/p and let it scale it to 768. in truth anything *768 native resolution are a curse on technology and are only a result of tv manufacturers taking a cheap solution to make hdtv's

and yup, saying my tv can't display 1080p is true, no arguement, in fact i've said that in all my posts, that my tv would have to scale a 1080p signal to display it. that doesn't mean it won't accept it and process it. easrly tv's couldn't handles 1080p at all, in fact even most of the early 1080p tvs didn't have video decodes that had the bandwidth to handle 1080p signals, so tey had to take 1080i signals and send them through an I/P process to make the 1080p

ROC1977

ok lol we're getting there. Right HDMI can carry up to 2560 x 1600 signal. But my 720p TV can only display 720p. So the TV scaled the 2560 x 1600 to 1280 x 720.
My Tv is 1320 x 768 native. And with VGA I can choose my 360 to display 1320 x 768. My TV is a few years old now, its a LG 37LP. I think its a good TV, not the best black levels, but bright and suits my living room coz of all the natural light. And it doesn't lag and I think its a nice piece of furniture. Only 37 inch but as big as most newer 50inch screens. Not screen size, but chassis size, its a big TV.lol I paid I think 2800 euros for it when I got it.
It sickens me to when I see 70inch TV's now for the same or less money. But can say that about anything a suppose.

mossym don't start slaggin my TV now you hear me!!! lol:D

mossym

ROC1977 wrote: »

ok lol we're getting there. Right HDMI can carry up to 2560 x 1600 signal. But my 720p TV can only display 720p. So the TV scaled the 2560 x 1600 to 1280 x 720.
My Tv is 1320 x 768 native. And with VGA I can choose my 360 to display 1320 x 768. My TV is a few years old now, its a LG 37LP. I think its a good TV, not the best black levels, but bright and suits my living room coz of all the natural light. And it doesn't lag and I think its a nice piece of furniture. Only 37 inch but as big as most newer 50inch screens. Not screen size, but chassis size, its a big TV.lol I paid I think 2800 euros for it when I got it.
It sickens me to when I see 70inch TV's now for the same or less money. But can say that about anything a suppose.

mossym don't start slaggin my TV now you hear me!!! lol:D

now i see your mistake, yourt tv won't scale hdmi to 1280*720, it can't. you have a fixed pixel display. it will scale hdmi to 1320 by 768, the exact same as your vga input. it cannot do anything else. so if you feed it 1920*1080 it will still scale it to the exact same resolution as your vga input which is 1320 by 768. in fact, on your tv, and everyone elses HD tv, every picture input is scaled to the native resolution of the set, whether it be rf input, cvbs, scart, component, dvi, hdmi, anything. your tv does not show 1280*720p for hdmi and 1320*768 for vga, that's impossible. it may have a limitation that it cannot accept anythign more than 720p over hdmi, but when you give it that 720p it will then scale it to 1320*768

and just becuase that limit to 720p applies to your tv doesn't mean it applies to any tv, in fact most tv's these days will gladly accept 1080p over hdmi, and scale it to their native resolution if they are less then 1080p. so, agreed, if you sendit vga @ 1320*768, you have more resolution at source(360). But on your tv you will end up with exactly the same 1320*768 resoltuion as the hdmi will be scaled to 1320*768. So, what if i send the tv 1920*1280 over hdmi, and the tv scales it to 1320*768? that's even more resolution at the source, sure the tv scaler will have to scle to to 1320*768, but you'll have just as much resolution as vga when you finish

and i'm not saying anything about your tv in particular, i know most tv's have soem limitations, and no slaggin of any tv. what i have an issue with is blanket statements like HDMI max res on a 720pTV is 720p. DVI is 768p are just wrong

ROC1977

I changed my display settings on my 360 to 1080p and connected it by HDMI a while ago and it didn't rescale it at all? The image was bigger than the screen, if you know what I mean. Cropped. So my Tv will except a 1080p image but doesn't know what to do with it. lol.

I should have made it clear that my statements were based around my own TV. But if I did that we'd have nothing to talk about on here the past couple of nights! lol Kept me from getting bored at work anyway!:D