xcm 1080p vga vbox - opinions welcome

[wod]

does any one have the xcm 1080p that play asia sell, this one https://_http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eB...MEWA:IT&ih=017

as i would like to be able to connect a ps3 up to my lcd monitor and play in 720p

Can anyone recommend this or another product to be able to do this ?

also on this vga box it has the input for the pc and wondered if this could be used to connect the 360 to it and use the ps3 through the component input ?

would that work ?

as this would be an easier soultion than to unplug my pc from its dvi connection and mess about with hdmi to dvi connection for the ps3

thanks

wod

[smshun]

Hi, this one should be cheaper and better in spec:

http://www.hdboxpro.com/eng/public.htm

[EvilBoris]

Does your monitor have a DVI input?
My friend used an HDMI to DVi adapter that cost about £8 to plug his PS3 into his monitor.

[VR46]

I do as Boris said, PS3 picture is fantastic, think DVI-D is the only variant of DVI that works though, oh and paid about £20 for my adaptor (from Maplin I think).

[wod]

Does your monitor have a DVI input?
My friend used an HDMI to DVi adapter that cost about ?8 to plug his PS3 into his monitor.

yes i have a dvi input which is currently used by my pc and a separate vga input on the monitor which is used by my 360 at the moment.

the dvi input is hdcp compatible incase i need that to view the ps3 on the monitor.

[VR46]

It does need to be HDCP for PS3 usage yes.

Why not get a good quality DVI switcher - if such a thing exists.

[wod]

thats what i'm now thinking of doing as the vga box i dont think would allow me to view bluray movies on it

i originally thought of the vga box so i could play ps2 and gamecube on the monitor as well

with the hdmi to dvi cable i would need to feed the audio through my pc speakers, can i use the left & right audio out at the same time as using hdmi ?

[briareos_kerensky]

Why not get a good quality DVI switcher - if such a thing exists.

Yup, they do. However, they're relatively hard to find, most only go up to 1600x1200 and there are only a few HDCP compliant. In fact, the only HDCP compliant DVI switch I remember is a DVI-D dual link switch that costs around 500 euros and comes with KVM capabilities over IP.

Go for a quality HDMI switch instead, but be sure to read twice the maximum DVI resolution they support, as with DVI switches it's easy they only go up to 1600x1200 over DVI.
I suggest Atlona or Gefen products, they are relatively inexpensive and are great units. The Atlona switch also supports 1440p (according to their site) but the Gefen switch is much more compact and easier on the eye...I'm using a 4:1 Gefen switch with my PC monitor on DVI with two HDMI-to-DVI cables and everything's fine.

It does need to be HDCP for PS3 usage yes.

Even for games?

[wod]

briareos_kerensky, can you recommend a place to buy from ?

also i think i need to check my lcd monitor as i'm sure there is two types of dvi, dvi-i and dvi-d and the resolution of it is 1680 x 1050 so it will do 720p which my 360 accepts over vga.

all this trouble to connect it up and i haven't even got it yet, shall be getting it soon as theres that new 80gb model out 29th aug, 2 days before my birthday.

[EvilBoris]

you can send the audio out via the normal av socket

[wod]

you can send the audio out via the normal av socket

excellent, i just thought the ps3 would think the sound would go out over the hdmi cable as it was plugged in.

on the idea of dvi splitter i've seen one on maplins which looks quite good for 30 pound but that might give some picture quality loss and interference

[briareos_kerensky]

briareos_kerensky, can you recommend a place to buy from ?

Nope, I've bought my switch from an Italian shop, I wouldn't know any UK shop except for amazon or other big dealers.

also i think i need to check my lcd monitor as i'm sure there is two types of dvi, dvi-i and dvi-d and the resolution of it is 1680 x 1050 so it will do 720p which my 360 accepts over vga.

In fact, there are three...DVI-A for analog only signals, DVI-D for digital signals only and DVI-I for both analog and digital signals. I'd say that all consumer monitors offer a single link DVI-I interface, so there's little concern on what kind of DVI you have on your monitor...as long as the cable you're using has two groups of 3x3 pins plus a 2x2 group you're fine.

I'm using a 1680x1050 monitor too, and it's moslty used for graphics (it's a S-PVA panel) and I didn't want to spend anything on cheap units that could degrede video quality, so I went for the Gefen switch, which support 10bit color depth...personally, I'd stay away for extremely cheap units, especially the one you pointed at Maplin: it does not state maximum DVI resolution and there are many HDMI units capable of 1080p switching but no more than 1600x1200 on DVI; if you can, test the unit before buying, or go for something better altogether.