360 - Is it ready for the HD?

[Dogg Thang]

I mean, I know it is but what I'm asking is do the cables that come with it work in full HD? The one with it has a HD switch but I'm not sure if that means it's the setting for HD tv without actually being HMDI or whatever it is.

I'm clueless when it comes to HD but I'm thinking of getting a HD telly in the very near future and I'm wondering if I'll need any other cable for the 360 or is what I got in the box all I need to get a full HD picture?

[Rossco]

Yeah mate, you get component cables which give an HD picture but aren't really as good as VGA/HDMI.

[Dogg Thang]

Cool, so HDMI would be better but the component is okay?

[sj33]

There's very little real-world difference between Component, VGA and HDMI. It's a misconception that there is, for loads of reasons. You certainly don't need HDMI to have HD looking at it's best, however much the Hollywood studios would like to convince you otherwise (HDMI has certain 'protection' mechanisms see).

What *does* make a difference is how well each of those are supported by your TV, since different TV's have different capabilities and some have better implementations of certain things than others. I would stick with Component, and if you're not satisfied, look into HDMI. VGA can be great if you suffer from overscan, and is actually my preferred connection method.

[Dogg Thang]

Cheers, thanks for the info.

[Escobar]

Yeah mate, you get component cables which give an HD picture but aren't really as good as VGA/HDMI.

VGA and component are the same, there is no quality different. HDMI is theoretically better but you'd have trouble being able to tell the difference unless your TV is gash.

[sj33]

Depends what you mean, they're certainly not the same technically, all 3 send very different types of signal. Whether there's a real-world visible difference however, that would be a no.

[andrewfee]

VGA and component are the same, there is no quality different. HDMI is theoretically better but you'd have trouble being able to tell the difference unless your TV is gash.

Not true. While VGA and Component are analogue, VGA is the better connection. Component uses 4:2:2 colour, which means that it uses half the resolution for the Cr/Cb signals [the actual colour] which results in a somewhat soft image.

VGA on the other-hand is RGB [4:4:4 colour] which means that it uses the full colour resolution just like HDMI and is sharper. Often, VGA can actually look better depending on the display, as VGA generally bypasses any overscan or other processing a set might do, whereas not all displays will do that with HDMI.

HDMI has the potential to look the best, but may not depending on the display/settings.

[Charlie]

VGA certainly looks better than component on my display. No question.

[Daragon]

Whereas VGA looks like total **** on my Toshiba, very washed out and lacking in definition (might be the 4gamers brand cable but I doubt it as it looks fine on my PC monitor).

Common sense really, but make sure you know which output the TV you want does best and buy your cable accordingly if necessary

[huxley]

Isnt the 360s hdmi output only profile 1?
Oh I dont think that matters now that hdhdvd seems to have died a bit.
New profile is for hd audio and br live innit? Dont spose that matters unless a br drive does come out on the 360

[sj33]

Well, it's HDMI 1.2 is that's what you mean. No support for HD Audio codecs

[huxley]

Kinda pointless then, I think MS lost the plot when stated they wanted the 360 to be a media hub.
Hd movie downloads that arent really hd
only 5.1 sound not even dts
10/100 lan
capped divx size
HDDVD was a fab format, but the playback via the 360 over any choice of lead is ****. Plug your hddvd drive into your pc to see.


bit of a rant but all facts, besides another console died today after only 3 hours!

[Salsa Party Animal]

Component can be better than VGA but it all depend on how good is your display. I use VGA for Dreamcast as it is better for this than XBOX 360 which I used component.

[randombs]

...I'm not sure if that means it's the setting for HD tv without actually being HMDI or whatever it is...I'm clueless when it comes to HD...

Component uses 4:2:2 colour, which means that it uses half the resolution for the Cr/Cb signals [the actual colour] which results in a somewhat soft image...VGA on the other-hand is RGB [4:4:4 colour]

lol i love these threads

I'd say go with HDMI because

a) it's the least hassle, and I'd reckon the chances of it looking worse on your telly compared with component aren't that high. VGA is a different matter, though*

b) the connector is nice and small and does everything, no five connectors like component, or VGA+headphone socket thingy for VGA, and it'll leave the component connections free for another console (PS2/Wii/etc) and VGA for a PC or similar (according to your setup)

c) your PS3-owning mates (assuming you don't have a PS3) will have less to cuss you about (quite a few people will cuss component/VGA without understanding them

d) 360 upscales dvds over HDMI. It also does this with VGA but not over component

Try and get an Elite if you can, as you'll get both HDMI and component cables in the box (although unofficial HDMI cables are pretty cheap) so you can test them out yourself, and at the end of the day, what looks best or is the least hassle for you is what you'll end up settling for anyway. If you can't, see if you can borrow a HDMI cable from someone and see for yourself, it's the best way. But yeah, the 360 is pretty HD

* Personally, I love VGA on the 360, it just looks much nicer to me than both component or HDMI. I have a 32" Bravia I bought last year, and at first I thought HDMI was horrendous, until I realised the telly had set the sharpness pretty high. Once I turned it down it was better, but I still preferred VGA, but since getting a proper PC hooked up to the telly, I've decided I can live without VGA on the 360 and will get one with HDMI next time to save hassle.