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[Stinkles]

I've been tooling around with one for ages, and was unhappy at the seemingly uncorrectable stretching it was doing to the 16:9 pic (turning it into hi res, but squishy 4:3)

Turns out, obviously, I am a retard. I was supposed to select "normal" 4:3 because the interface wants to know what your display is, not what you want it to be.

So now, on my 4:3 Sony KV HDTV, my Philips 30 inch widescreen HD LCD, AND my Sony 17 inch VGA LCD, I have perfect 16:9 HD at all times.

So for non HD types out there with even remotely new VGA monitors, you are saved. No need to bust out a grand for an HD set, just get the VGA cables. Make sure your display exceeds 1280x720 and you won't have any probs at all. I wish they'd put a headphone socket instead of just RCA and optical audio, but it's still fantastic for folks with no HD.

Next gen for everybody!

 

[CB3]

Im thinking of getting a VGA box for my 360. The TV i use for games has a problem with the projection, and besides that is kinda small. I remember using a VGA box for the DC and it looking great. Looks like ill be going that route with the 360 as well

 

[DSN2K]

great news.

 

[The Faceless Master]

I wish they'd put a headphone socket instead of just RCA and optical audio

 

[Beer Monkey]

You'd still need to feed that into an amp. Line level does not drive headphones.

 

[Sho Nuff]

Hot! Hot! Hot!

 

[Suikoguy]

You'd still need to feed that into an amp. Line level does not drive headphones.

Yeah, you can bearly hear it without an amp

 

[Aruarian Reflection]

Hooray! I gotta say, when I found out last month I could just use a VGA cable and bypass buying a HDTV, my interest in the 360 skyrocketed 1000%

 

[FFunit]

you silly rich people with your video/audio quality fetish.

 

[The Faceless Master]

You'd still need to feed that into an amp. Line level does not drive headphones.

oh really, didn't know that...

i never tried headphones directly, as i feed the audio into the line in on my PC, then if i use headphones, plug my headphones into the headphone port on my center speaker...

 

[Stinkles]

oh really, didn't know that...

i never tried headphones directly, as i feed the audio into the line in on my PC, then if i use headphones, plug my headphones into the headphone port on my center speaker...

I use a $4 RCA to 3.5mm (male) coupler to plug into my PC monitor's audio - it has speakers - and it works great. Same thing is true of headphones.

 

[Uncle Dukey]

Does this only work with the VGA cable? I've got a 1280x1024 LCD monitor which stretches all resolutions to fit the screen. When I use a Component -> VGA transcoder with the regular Xbox, 720p games have the vertical stretching you mention.

 

[acidviper]

It sucks balls that you can't have digital sound without buying the component pack and the optical audio shit. So pretty much MS has fucked us cheapies over, unless some 3rd party makes a VGA + Digital audio output.

 

[Stinkles]

It sucks balls that you can't have digital sound without buying the component pack and the optical audio shit. So pretty much MS has fucked us cheapies over, unless some 3rd party makes a VGA + Digital audio output.

Pay attention. The VGA cable has RCA stereo and optical audio out. We just think it's odd there's no 3.5mm, since all PC speaker setups use that.

 

[Deg]

I've been tooling around with one for ages, and was unhappy at the seemingly uncorrectable stretching it was doing to the 16:9 pic (turning it into hi res, but squishy 4:3)

Turns out, obviously, I am a retard. I was supposed to select "normal" 4:3 because the interface wants to know what your display is, not what you want it to be.

So now, on my 4:3 Sony KV HDTV, my Philips 30 inch widescreen HD LCD, AND my Sony 17 inch VGA LCD, I have perfect 16:9 HD at all times.

So for non HD types out there with even remotely new VGA monitors, you are saved. No need to bust out a grand for an HD set, just get the VGA cables. Make sure your display exceeds 1280x720 and you won't have any probs at all. I wish they'd put a headphone socket instead of just RCA and optical audio, but it's still fantastic for folks with no HD.

Next gen for everybody!

Yes htis was announced ages ago. Way to go living under a rock.

 

[raYne]

Pay attention. The VGA cable has RCA stereo and optical audio out. We just think it's odd there's no 3.5mm, since all PC speaker setups use that.

^ What he said. All 360 cables have the optical audio out located on the end that you plug into the system.

Great news about the VGA status. I'm considering going that route.

 

[Stinkles]

Yes htis was announced ages ago. Way to go living under a rock.

Yes, but I was giving impressions, and following up the unresolved VGA stretching/widescreen shenanigans. Don't be mean. It is cold and dark under this rock.

 

[Ghost]

Hopefully i can plug the optical out into my PCs optical in and not have to play around with the sound cables every time i want to play 360 through the monitor..guess it depends how good my motherboards sound card is (I dont hold out much hope).


Mind you then id lose DD sound so maybe its worth playing around.

 

[Deg]

Sorry man.

 

[Stinkles]

Hopefully i can plug the optical out into my PCs optical in and not have to play around with the sound cables every time i want to play 360 through the monitor..guess it depends how good my motherboards sound card is (I dont hold out much hope).


Mind you then id lose DD sound so maybe its worth playing around.

You can test this right now. Get a DVD player, plug it into your soundcard ad if the sound passes through, then bam! Winar = you

 

[Stinkles]

Does this only work with the VGA cable? I've got a 1280x1024 LCD monitor which stretches all resolutions to fit the screen. When I use a Component -> VGA transcoder with the regular Xbox, 720p games have the vertical stretching you mention.

Has more to do with the 360's scaler than the cable itself.

 

[DenogginizerOS]

I would love to hear what an XBOX 360 looks like running in a 16:9 mode on a non-HDTV like my 27" SONY.

 

[THE DUCK]

Thanks for the info. So in the end, to summarize for people...

On your 4:3 montor you get a letterboxed 16:9 display, correct? What resolutions are selectable?

On your widescreen monitors, you get full screen, 16:9. What resolutions are selectable for that mode?

I'm assuming if I run the vga cable with my dell 2005 which is 16:9, I will end up with very slight letterboxing in 16:9 mode.
But what resolution would be best for this monitor with the 360 and what is selectable is a mystery for me....

 

[Stinkles]

Thanks for the info. So in the end, to summarize for people...

1. On your 4:3 montor you get a letterboxed 16:9 display, correct? What resolutions are selectable?

2. On your widescreen monitors, you get full screen, 16:9. What resolutions are selectable for that mode?

3. I'm assuming if I run the vga cable with my dell 2005 which is 16:9, I will end up with very slight letterboxing in 16:9 mode.
But what resolution would be best for this monitor with the 360 and what is selectable is a mystery for me....

1. 480, 720p, 1080i - through component.
2. 480, 720p, 1080i - through component - too many to list through VGA.
3. You will natively see a half inch or so of letterboxing, but I believe your Dell has a slight zoom - most 16:9 monitors do.

 

[Nikashi]

It sucks balls that you can't have digital sound without buying the component pack and the optical audio shit. So pretty much MS has fucked us cheapies over, unless some 3rd party makes a VGA + Digital audio output.

Um, the Premium Xbox 360 pack comes with component and composite connections, as well as a plug for TOSlink/Optical Digital Audio

 

[Yusaku]

So I can have it run on my LCD at 1280x1024 in 4:3? I have an HD set, but this will be perfect for when Halo 3 comes out. My LCD has headphone jacks, too. 360 lan parties, here I come.

 

[Stinkles]

So I can have it run on my LCD at 1280x1024 in 4:3? I have an HD set, but this will be perfect for when Halo 3 comes out. My LCD has headphone jacks, too. 360 lan parties, here I come.

Yeah you can, but most shit will look better in 16:9 - although I get why you'd want to use all the 4:3 real estate.

 

[THE DUCK]

Yeah you can, but most shit will look better in 16:9 - although I get why you'd want to use all the 4:3 real estate.

Thanks for your reply to my questions.

He has to have it in 4:3 mode to get the right aspect ratio, it will have the black bars though, no choice really on a 4:3 monitor.

 

[Stinkles]

Thanks for your reply to my questions.

He has to have it in 4:3 mode to get the right aspect ratio, it will have the black bars though, no choice really on a 4:3 monitor.

You do have a choice - you can "pretend" your 4:3 monitor is widescreen, then you get full screen, with some distortion. Or you can select 4:3 and get the black bars, but the correct ratio.

 

[DenogginizerOS]

Has anyone played an X360 on a regular TV yet? I really would like to know if it is a HUGE difference.

 

[Yusaku]

Yeah you can, but most shit will look better in 16:9 - although I get why you'd want to use all the 4:3 real estate.

I want to use 4:3 because my LCD will just stretch the 16:9 image to 4:3. I'd have to fuck with the vertical squeeze and guess the proper aspect ratio. Unless the 360 can output 1280x1024 letterboxed to 1280x720, then that would be perfect.

 

[Pachinko]

DenogginizerOS - Gamespot stated they played Need for speed most wanted on a regular tv inthe last preview of the game and it didn't have quite the same impact. Of course need for speed is one of the ugliest 360 games coming for launch so I'd bear that in mind also.

 

[DenogginizerOS]

DenogginizerOS - Gamespot stated they played Need for speed most wanted on a regular tv inthe last preview of the game and it didn't have quite the same impact. Of course need for speed is one of the ugliest 360 games coming for launch so I'd bear that in mind also.

I read that, too. I have a flat-screen Sony that can run in 16:9 mode that looks pretty amazing for a non-HDTV. I pray.....

 

[Stinkles]

I want to use 4:3 because my LCD will just stretch the 16:9 image to 4:3. I'd have to fuck with the vertical squeeze and guess the proper aspect ratio. Unless the 360 can output 1280x1024 letterboxed to 1280x720, then that would be perfect.

That is what the whole thread is about. The 360 can output a letterboxed "720p" to your 4:3 VGA if your VGA is high enough res. Winar = u.

 

[KingJ2002]

are the VGA cables better than the standard component cables that come with the system?

i have to use VGA or HDMI cables to use the picture in picture option of my TV

 

[Stinkles]

are the VGA cables better than the standard component cables that come with the system?

i have to use VGA or HDMI cables to use the picture in picture option of my TV

In terms of image quality, VGA and component are literally identical. VGA frees up a component in, and your 360 will properly scale to LCD widescreens with 768 resolutions through VGA.

I just got mine working through HDMI, but it's going through a Pioneer receiver to get there...

 

[Naked Snake]

That is what the whole thread is about. The 360 can output a letterboxed "720p" to your 4:3 VGA if your VGA is high enough res. Winar = u.

What about VGA monitors that allow you to adjust the "vertical size" of the image? Almost every CRT VGA I've used let's you do that, you could set the XBox to output in 16:9 and adjust the vertical size to focus the electron gun to a widescreen aspect ratio, effectively doing an "anamorphic squeeze" and getting a higher quality image.

 

[Yusaku]

What about VGA monitors that allow you to adjust the "vertical size" of the image? Almost every CRT VGA I've used let's you do that, you could set the XBox to output in 16:9 and adjust the vertical size to focus the electron gun to a widescreen aspect ratio, effectively doing an "anamorphic squeeze" and getting a higher quality image.

Have fun guessing the aspect ratio.

 

[ToD_]

Have fun guessing the aspect ratio.

I'm sure you can get close enough on feeling alone. Make sure there is a circle (which will then appear as an oval), and resize it so it's a circle.

The problem here is... some monitors can't stretch far enough.

Oh and let me guess the aspect ratio... hmmm that's a tough one.. ok I think I got it! 16:9!

 

[Eel O'Brian]

In terms of image quality, VGA and component are literally identical. VGA frees up a component in, and your 360 will properly scale to LCD widescreens with 768 resolutions through VGA.

I just got mine working through HDMI, but it's going through a Pioneer receiver to get there...

Sort of off the subject, but have you played any DVDs on it yet? I seem to remember someone from MS making the claim that the 360 will be "the best DVD player you'll ever own" (or something along those lines). What of the rumored upscaling?

 

[Project Midway]

Stinkles, or anyone else with access to Xbox 360, does Xbox 360 have a setting for 1366x768 displays? Its a very common resolution for LCD displays, at least here in EU. Is the scaling done with Xbox 360 hardware? Or should I just hunt down a 1280 x 720 tv just to be sure&safe? Thanks!

 

[Stinkles]

Stinkles, or anyone else with access to Xbox 360, does Xbox 360 have a setting for 1366x768 displays? Its a very common resolution for LCD displays, at least here in EU. Is the scaling done with Xbox 360 hardware? Or should I just hunt down a 1280 x 720 tv just to be sure&safe? Thanks!

I believe it does, yes. It certainly has more than one "768" setting.

 

[Dr_Cogent]

Hey Stinkles, I just got a KV-32HS500 from my bro for 300 bucks.

The picture when running in progressive scan is fucking beautiful. What model is your 4:3 Sony?

 

[Beer Monkey]

does Xbox 360 have a setting for 1366x768 displays

1360x768, which seems to work on some '1366' displays.

 

[Beer Monkey]

What about VGA monitors that allow you to adjust the "vertical size" of the image? Almost every CRT VGA I've used let's you do that, you could set the XBox to output in 16:9 and adjust the vertical size to focus the electron gun to a widescreen aspect ratio, effectively doing an "anamorphic squeeze" and getting a higher quality image.

Many years ago I played through all of Rayman 2 on the Dreamcast like this. I still have that monitor, and it still can squeeze all the way down to 16:9. These days I have an HDTV, though.

Have fun guessing the aspect ratio.

http://www.cavecreations.com/tv2.cgi

(Will tell you the 16:9 letterboxed area aspect ratio of a 4:3 device of a given size. Got a ruler?)

 

[Shawn]

I'll tell you one thing -- it was primarily because of the VGA box that made Dreamcast my favorite console of all time.

Although I have no plans on buying a 360 at this time, I'm happy that there's a true VGA cable for it. It's about damn time.

 

[Apharmd Battler]

Hooray! I gotta say, when I found out last month I could just use a VGA cable and bypass buying a HDTV, my interest in the 360 skyrocketed 1000%

Yeah, I had top buy a new vehicle, so this delays my HD re-work of my living room for early 2006. I would like to get a decnet 4:3 HDTV ti hold me over until we go for the gusto (i.e. 62 inch DLP, or something along those lines), but my wife argues that we have too many TVs (i.e. one in just about every room), so why buy another when we're planning on getting something grand later? Becuase I need HD goodness up in my gaming loft. :lol

But at least I feel comfortable knowing that I can hook my XBox360 up to my 21 inch Viewsonic monitor and get a feel for how the games are supposed to look. Anybody know if there are plans (1st or 3rd party) to release a DVI cable for the console. That would be a nice compliment to my Viewsonic monitor.

 

[Stinkles]

Hey Stinkles, I just got a KV-32HS500 from my bro for 300 bucks.

The picture when running in progressive scan is fucking beautiful. What model is your 4:3 Sony?

Sob. That one. the KV-32HS500. Only mine was $1100 new, two and a half years ago. Cry!

 

[Dr_Cogent]

Sob. That one. the KV-32HS500. Only mine was $1100 new, two and a half years ago. Cry!

:lol Sorry man, wasn't trying to make you feel bad about it. Was just curious. I think thats about what my bro paid and about how long ago he did as well.

I got a hell of a deal. I gotta take my bro out to dinner I think.

That TV is bad ass. I am still in love with CRT technology.

 

[Joates]

Ok I have what may be a dumb question. If you were to manually squash the image to 16:9, where the black bars are, would those just be black pixels. So say if you put your 4:3 monitor at 1280x720 to create a stretched image and manually squished it, would you be getting less res than the full 1280x720?