Xbox 360 graphics question.

[HaRuMaN]

My new LCD TV arrives tomorrow.  It has a VGA input, as well as component video inputs.  I have both cables for my Xbox 360.  My question is, which will give me the better picture quality?

[Samstag]

VGA is better.  How much better may depend on your TV, but definitely go with VGA if you have both.

[pointdablame]

definitely VGA

[HaRuMaN]

Alrite, one more question.  Is there an output cable for the 360 that does HDMI?  And if so, would that be the route to go for the best graphics?  It is my understanding that HDMI > Component > Svideo > Composite.

[pointdablame]

The Xbox360 Elite has an HDMI port, and is (AFAIK) the only way to get an HDMI connection with the 360.  I've never seen a  cable for the Core or Premium system that converts to HDMI.

To be fair though, I don't have an HDTV, so I've never bothered to really look.

[Malenko]

really VGA will give a better pic then component at 1080p ?  I have the VGA Cable, guess I'll give it a whirl, but I'll be damned if  Forza 2 and NHL 07 dont look down right amazing as it is.

Ive been trying to located a 360 Elite for the HDMI out put for my TV, and the bigger HardDrive would be awesome sauce, but if I can just drop the cheddar on a 120GB HD I'll do that

[Scott84]

http://www.teamxtender.com

That site is working on a 1080P box for those without the elite...

You might want to check it out.

VGA versus Component depends on your TV. If you can get a VGA Cable to test before you buy that would be your best bet. On my friends TV.. component ended up being better. Even after we calibrated the tv for it.

If you got the money, return the premium and spring for the elite.

[Samstag]

http://www.teamxtender.com

That site is working on a 1080P box for those without the elite...

You might want to check it out.

VGA versus Component depends on your TV. If you can get a VGA Cable to test before you buy that would be your best bet. On my friends TV.. component ended up being better. Even after we calibrated the tv for it.

If you got the money, return the premium and spring for the elite.

Unless they're doing some kind of internal mod, it's not worth the money.  The advantage to HDMI is that your signal stays digital from generation to display, eliminating the noise of analog cables and amplifiers.  If they're taking the VGA output and digitizing it, the only benefits you'll see are slightly better video on long cables, and the HDMI plug (if you don't have an available VGA/component input).

[Malenko]

well I hooked up the VGA cable to my 360 and the picture wasn't as good at any resolution as it is over component.

Is there any advantage of HDMI over component?  I planned on getting a 360 elite cause its black like my TV and stand, and for the HDMI, then my girlfriend would get my old 360. Shame the HD DVD drive I had doesnt come in black..maybe a vinyl skin will suffice.

[HaRuMaN]

Well, I have both cables already (VGA and component) so I'll give both of 'em a try and see which one works better on my TV.  I'll probably leave the VGA connection for my computer anyhow but we'll see.

[Malenko]

What kinda TV you getting?
I have a 61" Samsung DLP LCD HDTV was about  $3,000 with the stand (pictured)
even the Dreamcast looks good over Svideo with it lol

[HaRuMaN]

An Olevia 37" LCD.  Got really good reviews on Newegg, and I couldn't beat the price...  $700.   

[Samstag]

well I hooked up the VGA cable to my 360 and the picture wasn't as good at any resolution as it is over component.

Is there any advantage of HDMI over component?  I planned on getting a 360 elite cause its black like my TV and stand, and for the HDMI, then my girlfriend would get my old 360. Shame the HD DVD drive I had doesnt come in black..maybe a vinyl skin will suffice.

Is that a 3rd-party cable?  I've heard bad things about some of them.

The advantage of HDMI over component (and VGA) is that the signal is always digital and not subject to interference.  When you use an analog cable between two digital devices (modern console and a an LCD/plasma TV) you have to convert to analog, transfer over a lossy cable, and then convert back to digital for display.  Each step along the way degrades the signal a little, depending on the quality of the electronics and cables.  When you use HDMI, the video should look exactly as it was intended with no interference.

One other thing I noticed about VGA versus component on the 360 was the much wider range of resolutions available.  When I used component I had to stick with 720p because 1080i looked awful and 1080p didn't work on my monitor.  When I switched to VGA it looks about the same in 720p but I was able to select 1920x1080 (full resolution 1080p) and it looks great.

[Malenko]

Is that a 3rd-party cable?  I've heard bad things about some of them.

:EDIT:

One other thing I noticed about VGA versus component on the 360 was the much wider range of resolutions available.  When I used component I had to stick with 720p because 1080i looked awful and 1080p didn't work on my monitor.  When I switched to VGA it looks about the same in 720p but I was able to select 1920x1080 (full resolution 1080p) and it looks great.

M$ cable, not third party, when it comes to cables and controllers I never get anything except official gear. I went through all the resolutions available via VGA but I found 1080p over component to be the best, in all honesty the whole point of me droppin so much on this TV was for the 1080p resolution and its worth every penny.
NHL is unfreekincredible.

[boykster]

I'm also in the component is better than VGA camp (on my display).  It is REALLY going to depend on the display.  You are doing the correct thing by testing them both, then prioritizing your inputs.  My projector is 720p native and doesnt' accept 1080p input, so that's also a consideration.

[Felice]

On my Samsung LCD-TV 26 inch component at 720p looks much better then VGA (at 1366x756 or something).

[Sir Auros]

Another factor to consider for VGA vs. component is whether or not you want your regular DVDs to be upscaled. I prefer VGA because then my DVDs are upscaled to 720p and some of them almost look like they're high-def.

[JHFerry]

I can add to this.  I have a Samsung DLP and had both the Premium and Elite 360's.  The Spring update just added a feature that added to the VGA picture so it wouldn't look washed out.  On the Gaming side, you will be hard pressed to see the difference between component and HDMI.  DVDs are a different story but $479 is an awful lot for an upscaling dvd player.  Even then its not a great dvd player.  VGA will let you upscale as well giving a better picture than component and depending on your set, on par with HDMI.  Dont get caught up on all this digital signal stuff.  It all marketing from the movie studios trying to justify DRM and forcing HDMI down everyones throats.  Try the VGA, use the Expanded feature under reference levels.