Xbox360 Audio/Video F.A.Q.
If you have trouble understanding some of the terms you should check out my General A/V FAQ.

If you're looking for multimedia features please read the Xbox 360 Multimedia FAQ

--=VIDEO=--

Can I use my Laptop Screen to play Xbox 360 Games?
No... That's the simple answer, The video connector on your laptop is output only, you cannot use your laptop to play games from a console

Can I play games on my PC monitor if I use a capture card?
NO.... Capture cards are designed for recording Video ONLY. the processors in most cards are slow and produce anywhere from 1 to 4 seconds worth of lag making games completely unplayable. Professional cards with the speed you need run in the $500-$600 range and your PC might not even be able to handle them. At that point you might as well just buy an HDTV.

HELP! I get audio but no Video, what do I do
First try using a non-HD cable, try switching yours to regular TV mode and use the yellow connector, if that doesn't work borrow a known working cable from a friend, if that doesn't work try your console on your friend's TV. If that doesn't work then your console is f*cked and you should send it back to MS for repair... If you can't do that for whatever reason then there is limited success doing the X-Clamp Replacement.

How can I change my PAL 360 from 50Hz to 60Hz if I can't see what's on the screen
To change the setting "blind" follow this guide: http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?showtopic=608089

What Resolutions Will the Xbox 360 Support?
The output resolution can be set in the dashboard. The supported resolutions is largely dependent on the cable being used and the type of content you intend to view.

The chart below shows the supported output resolutions for the type of cable and the type of content:

Note: this chart only reflects North American Xbox 360 consoles, I don't know the AV standards for Europe, Japan, or any other region, though I'd be more then happy to make additional charts if someone could provide me with that data.

Support for these modes in games is dependent on the game. Some games (like PGR3) have been found to not support some modes.

What resolutions will game developers be required to support?
Game developers are only required to support 720p.

Does this mean I need an HDTV that supports 720p to play all of the Xbox360 games?
No. Despite the fact that developers are only required to support 720p the video encoder chip built into the Xbox360 has the ability to up-scale and down-scale games to any of the resolutions supported by the Xbox360. This means that even if a game was only developed in 720p you will have the ability to play it in 480i, 480p, 1080i or 1080p as well as 720p.

What about people with 4:3 screens? Isn't 720p a widescreen format?
Unfortunately the Xbox 360 is limited to the aspect ratio of your screen, if you have a 4:3 screen the picture will display in 4:3, if you have a 16:9 screen (or a 4:3 HDTV) then the picture will display in 16:9 There are currently no options to letterbox, stretch or crop the image (despite the fact that MS claimed there would be). Whether a game stretches, or plays letterboxed, or natively supports a 4:3 aspect ratio is left up to the game developers and changes on a game by game basis.

Why is the picture from the VGA cable washed out?
The VGA output of the Xbox 360 is naturally washed out. The reason has yet to be determined. There's nothing wrong with your Xbox 360, VGA cable, or display, that's just the way it is. Some believe that the washed out image has to do with how your display interprets color-space.

Q: I'm using a VGA cable and when I try to play games BC I get a message that says:
"This game does not support your current display setting"
A: VGA support for BC games is based on a profile to profile basis. Most Xbox 1 games will not play through a VGA video connection.

Q: When I try to play PGR3 in letterboxed mode it displays all stretched out, what's wrong?
A: There is a bug with PGR3 where it wont play letterboxed at particular resolutions, there is nothing you can do about it but use a different resolution.

--=AUDIO=--

What Audio formats does the Xbox360 Support?
Currently the Xbox360 supports mono, stereo, Dolby Pro Logic II, Dolby Digital 5.1, and Windows Audio

What Audio formats are Developers required to Support in their games?
Developers are required to support at least Dolby Digital 5.1. The other formats can be derived from that if the developer has not explicitly encoded their game in one of those formats.

--=CABLES=--

What official A/V cables are available for the Xbox360?
At launch the following cable formats will be available:
For video: Composite, S-Video, Component, SCART, VGA, "Japanese" D-Terminal, and HDMI*
For Audio: RCA (Stereo), Optical, and HDMI*

*Only on Arcade, Elite, Halo, and specially market Pro Models manufactured after July 2007

What about Digital Formats like DVI or HDMI?
Launch consoles do not support HDMI or DVI... newer models such as Arcade, Elite, Halo, and specially market Pro Models manufactured after July 2007 do offer an HDMI v1.2 port which can be converted to a DVI-D connection with a simple adapter cable.

If your console does not have an HDMI port and you want HDMI the cheapest option is to buy a new console. The circuity needed to convert VGA or Component is low quality and expensive enough that you're much better off just buying an Arcade Unit with HDMI built in and selling you old console.

What is the best Cable to use to connect my Xbox to my TV?
In General the pecking order looks like this, with the lower quality connections to the left and the higher quality to the right.
RF Modulator << Composite (Yellow RCA) < S-Video << SCART <<< VGA/DVI-I/D-Terminal < Component (Red Green Blue RCA) < HDMI/DVI-D

A single < represents a minor superiority while << represents a slightly larger quality gap and <<< represents an enormous quality gap

How do I connect my Xbox 360 to my PC monitor?
You'll need to use the VGA cable. The Official VGA cable also includes a female/female adapter to connect the VGA adapter to a monitor with a hard-wired VGA cable. It is recommended that you avoid used or 3rd party VGA cables since they are often missing many of the small adapters necessary to hook the cable up to you monitor and whatever money you save in the initial purchase will usually get wasted buying these items separate. Some 3rd party adapters are also known to have major quality issue that diminish the image clarity and some are even missing the optical audio port necessary for surround sound. If you do decide to buy used or 3rd be sure to do your research before you make your purchase.

If you've got an HDMI equipped Xbox 360 and your monitor supports DVI-D then you can use an HDMI to DVI-D cable or adapter to hook it up. You can purchase HDMI/DVI-D cables at http://monoprice.com

Be warned that if you purchased a console other than the Elite you will either need to use HDMI as your audio source or purchase a separate Audio adapter to get audio output from the standard AV port. Elite units come with an audio adapter already. Regular Xbox 360 cables will not work because they are too "fat" and will not fit in the port at the same time as an HDMI cable. Alternatively you could modify a regular AV cable to fit by trimming away the plastic to make room for the HDMI cable.

How do I switch between my PC and the Xbox 360 if I only have 1 monitor?
You'll need to use a device called a "KVM Switch". These devices are made to switch 1 set of peripherals between multiple computers. Because of they they will typically switch a vga cable in addition to keyboard an mice, you can use them simply for their video switching capabilities.

Most LCD monitors that support DVI will have more than one port and an input switch button on the monitor itself If you hook up one device with VGA and the other with DVI you can use this built in function to switch inputs.

How do I connect my Xbox 360 to my PC speakers?
For surround sound you will need to purchase an optical audio cable and plug them directly into your surround sound speakers, if your surround sound speaker don't have an optical or coax audio port, you cannot use those speakers for surround sound and will need to buy new speakers. If they have a digital coax port you will need to buy an "optical to coax converter". If you don't have surround sound speakers or simply want to use analog audio you will only need a 3.5mm stereo female to two RCA Female.

What refresh rates does the VGA cable support?
The VGA cable can output at refresh rates of 50 or 60Hz.

My monitor has a hardwired VGA cable, will I need an adapter to use the Xbox 360 VGA Cable?
The Official Xbox 360 VGA cable includes a female-female VGA coupler for use in those situations. Not that buying a used or 3rd party unit this female-female adapter will most likely NOT be included.

What A/V cables are included with the Xbox360?
The Pro and Halo Xbox360 package comes with a single A/V adapter that includes both composite and component output, as well as stereo RCA output. It also has a socket in the connector for a digital toslink audio output for surround sound. There is a switch on the dongle to select component or composite.
The Core and Arcade Xbox360 package comes with a standard composite A/V adapter with stereo RCA outputs for audio and does not include an optical output for surround sound.
The Elite Xbox 360 package comes with 3 cables: The first is a single A/V adapter that includes both composite and component output, as well as stereo RCA output. It also has a socket in the connector for a digital toslink audio output for surround sound. There is a switch on the dongle to select component or composite. The Second is a standard HDMI cable, and the Third is an Audio breakout cable for connecting Stereo RCA and digital toslink audio while using an HDMI cable.

How do I get Digital Audio out of the Xbox 360?
All of the AV Cables (with the exception of the Standard, Composite, AV cable the comes with the Core version) have an Optical Toslink port on the dongle that plugs into the back of the Xbox 360. You will need to supply your own optical cable to connect it to your surround sound system.

My PC speakers don't have an optical port, instead they have 3 headphone jacks, or a large round connector, how do I hook up my Xbox 360?
You can't, buy a new surround sound system with an optical port... it's your cheapest option.

Are there any native A/V connections available on the Xbox360?
No, all connections are made through a proprietary port similar to the current gen Xbox. The only exception is newer units with an HDMI port do have native HDMI out though

Can I use my Xbox1 A/V Cables on the Xbox360
No the AV cables are completely different.

--=DISPLAYS=--
What's the difference between the different display technologies? Which one is best for me?
The article on Audioholic's website has a good current coverage of the different display technolgies availble today, what their benefits and shortcomings are. If you're buying a new TV soon, READ THESE FIRST :http://www.audioholics.com/techtips/specsf...logiesguide.php
http://thoughthead.com/55

What's the Best TV to use with the Xbox 360
The article on TeamXbox's website is hands down the best for picking out a quality HDTV for use with your Xbox 360. You can read the article here: http://features.teamxbox.com/xbox/1427/The...ide-to-HDTV/p1/

Any further HDTV discussion should take place in the new HDTV forum here on Xbox-Scene:
http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?showforum=358

--=TECHNICAL=--

What's the Pinout of the AV port so I can make my own cables?
http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?showtopic=596642

How do I convert the Japanese "D-Terminal" cable to VGA?
http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?showtopic=472728

--------------------------
If there are any inaccuracies, or pressing questions that should be added please let me know and I will make the appropriate changes

www.ms.com = Morgan Stanley not MS

GAH! that always get me

All i want to know is this:

Will the UK get HDTV capable X360's? Or will ours be locked down to 480i

Well, you will definitely NOT be locked down to 480i... PAL resolution is 576i/p

Considering MS is requiring developers to make all games in 720p I can't imagine that they would force you to use a lower resolution. The video encoder scales up and down from that.

Most likely you will have the options of 576i, 576p, 720p, and 1080i.

The real question is will the 720p and 1080i resolutions be 50Hz or 60Hz.... from what I've read it would seem europe is resistant to adopting HD standards and the standards that they'll be using haven't been completely locked down yet. From what we know so far you WILL get HD games... we just don't know all the specifics yet.

Well, with the current XBOX we can't enable anything other than 576i, 576i 60hz and 576i widescreen. Which sucks.

Yeah I know Though from what I understand the current gen PAL Xboxs are capable of outputting in HD it's just that they don't provide the options on screen to change them (do to cost cutting through licensing). So if you temporarily softmod it you can change the option and then undo the softmod... viola you have an un-modded PAL xbox with HD capabilities
more in-depth tut here: http://www.xboxworld.com.au/forum/showthre...89&page=1&pp=30

MS is REALLY pushing for a strong following in Europe. They understand they have little to no chance in Japan so they see concentrating on Europe this next generation as one of their top goals. With that in mind they can't afford NOT to support HD in europe

updated the FAQ with new info from here:
http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/xbox360_inside.asp

-Confirmed 7.1 audio support (though not required for developers).

-Confirmed that you will be able to connect to a regular windows XP machine through "Windows Media Connect"

-Confirmed the ability to use streamed music (from a LAN source or USB device) as in-game soundtrack.

-Confirmed that the Xbox guide would allow you to view media information about a DVD or CD that is currently playing.

I don't know about licensing? I have a different theory.

The MS dash is universal software that can be updated via Live, its the same for all regions, its merely the eeprom that dictates which features are enabled/disabled in the dash software. MS saw the potential problems of allowing people to change between PAL and NTSC (a crucial feature needed if PAL users where to be able to access the HD resolutions). If consumers were able to change from PAL and NTSC, without multiformat capable displays, then MS was going to be landed with a enormous amount of calls for help by people who could no longer see their displays (after all, people do like to fiddle with settings they know nothing about). So the feature was abandoned. The HD packs that were available in PAL markets, although capable of 576i were not HD as advertised and quickly recalled.

So once again, the same issue arises with the 360. How will they deal with this? Will they have a little setup wizard that runs and asks the user what they would like for display settings? Will they have a dialogue that asks the user to confirm that they can see their displays after a change from PAL to NTSC, or vice versa and then have it time out and return to default if no response is made (much the same as Windows does with refresh rate changes etc). Or will a PAL console only work at 576i/576p@50Hz, 720p@50Hz and 1080i@50Hz?

These are still unknown questions and without seeing a screenshot of the 'System' page of the dash, its all just guesswork, but peoples HD buying decisions in PAL territories depends on this vital information. It can't come soon enough.

Why would the need to include a pal/NTSC switch to allow for HD resolutions in pal regions?

they could have simply labeled the resolutions 480p60 720p60 and 1080i60
they wouldn't have to confuse anyone with terms like NTSC and PAL.

Not to mention if the video chip is capable of outputting 576i50 then I'm sure if they wanted to they would have no problem making it output HD resolutions at 50hz...

besides don't most European HD sets handle both 50 and 60Hz?

Believe me NO company is going to take away a feature like HD resolutions because they're worried about getting a few phone calls

Many HDTV sets emerging in the European market (including Australiasia), only support 576p/720p/1080i@50Hz. That caters fine for broadcast, but is useless for gaming. People are getting caught out and will continue to do so as more and more people purchase HDTV's prior to the consoles launch. Thats why MS needs to hurry up and tell us what is going on. Ideally, the 360's video encoder, will be able to output anything and everything whether it be 50 or 60Hz, but at this point, its likely to only be 60Hz.

You're labelling example is fine, yes, PAL and NTSC need not be mentioned.
So why wasn't that example implemented on the current Xbox then? Licensing? How?

In the current gen MS didn't care very much about the European market (it's not speculation, it's a fact. If you look at their business plan for the Xbox around it's launch they outright said they weren't putting much effort into that region). The amount of hoops any company has to go through to release a product in Europe is ridiculous when compared to the US and Japan...

It's a licensing/cost issue because for every format they want to support (progressive scan, 720p, 1080i, etc) they have to pay royalties. Considering they're lack of a strong European commitment, and the fact that they'd have to pay a separate set of royalties for those formats at 50Hz then they would at 60Hz... added to the fact that they'd need to get all those signals approved by the European governments... it wasn't worth it to include HD as a feature in Europe.

Fast forward to today looking at the next generation, they see Japan as an unobtainable market (or at least one that they're not able to completely conquer for another generation or two), they however see Europe as a very viable region to take the #1 spot. They've changed their tune and plan on placing heavy support in Europe next gen to swing the region in MS's favor over Sony.

720p, 1080i, 50 and 60Hz - these are all video standards, not brands. They are industry standards, not tied to lobby groups that require membership and paid royalties, like MPEG and DVD.

The reason MS has including HD for PAL this time is simply because of the outrage of PAL gamers when they were denied part of the Xbox's basic functionality, thanks to poor design decisions, ie. the universal dashboard software and its relationship to the eeprom.

How about the VGA output. If I choose to output 720p, what will appear on a computerscreen? or can I choose a XGA/SXGA resolution myself?.

Say the game supports only 720p. If I connect it to my SXGA LCD monitor, which natively only supports SXGA. I sincerely hope the X-box sends the 720p as a SXGA signal in a letterbox format (with black borders above and below) so my monitor doesn't have to stretch it.

Or will the games alternatively also support SXGA/XGA?

SVGA = 800 x 600 pixels
XGA = 1024 x 768 pixels
SXGA = 1280 x 1024 pixels

Outputting in 720p and having your monitor interpret that depends COMPLETELY on your monitor's ability to interpret HD signals...

Though recent reports site that with the Xbox360's VGA adapter the video encoder will be able to scale the game's resolution to any standard resolution from 640x480 all the way to 1920x1080.

So if your monitor supports 1280 x 1024 and you have the 360's VGA cable you'll be able to output at that resolution. Also much like the current gen Xbox (except now supported throughout ALL games, not just select games) you'll be able to choose fullscreen, widescreen, or letterbox for your output.

So in short yes you'll be able to output at 1280x1024 letterboxed.

Yeah, they are taking the monitor guys into consideration. It's not going to be the sloppy vga stuff we see with the current gen xbox.

True, but the xbox was never supposed to support vga. It is all done through 3rd parties via a transcoder, or hacked vga bios.

That being said, the xbox still looks damn good on my 19" sony crt flatscreen.

Does anyone know if the XBOX 360 will support the Native resolution of many of the new HD LCD TV's ? = 1366x768.

The main problem with this resolution is that it is not 720p or 1080i and also does not match any standard PC resolution!

I am about to purchase a 37" set but I am worried that the Xbox 360 will not support it. (I dont want the TV to have to scale up from 720p! yuck!)

Does this picture answer any questions for the 50Hz vs. 60Hz guy? Look at the fourth picture down.

Xbox 360 news

Any references for this, twisted; particularly the 360 scaling to different res's on a computer monitor? That would be awesome if it upscaled 720p to 1280 x 1024 or 1920 x 1080. I would just like to read more about this.

All of the official documentation released so far with the VGA cable only lists 480p/720p/1080i.
At a guess, the VGA is nothing more than transcoded component. The signal could be sent from the graphics chip as component and go through built in transcoding if an appropriate cable is connected, ie. the VGA cable. We'll have to compare the pins and wiring on the HD and VGA cables. So I'm thinking, no need for me to ditch my VD-Z3 just yet?

Not true... the WebTV video encoder can scale the image to whatever VGA rez you want... (just like it can scale to any TV res you want)... All VGA resolutions come out at 50Hz or 60Hz (depending on what you want) meaning that they're all TRUE VGA signals.

The info we have so far says it can provide any standard 4:3 or 16:9 resolution between 640x480 all the way through 1920x1080. Early info on the VGA cable (like the link a few posts up with the slides from the show in Spain) specifically point out a resolution of 1024x768.... so we know that it will DEFINITELY support 640x480, 1024x768, and 1920x1080. I'm sure there are many many more supported resolutions between those and I think MS would be foolish NOT to include 1280x1024, considering when letterboxed it works perfectly with the 720p most games are built around.

Most of those details were released in an interview I'll post the link if I can find it.

Well that would make the VGA cable well worth having then.

im gonna need a Standard A/V CAble for the Xbox 360 when it comes out.duz any1 know if its gonna come in the $399 package?or do i have to buy it?(if i do have to buy it,how much is it gon cost me?)someone that knows tell me.

I'd harp on you for asking that question, but you did manage to get it in the FAQ without starting a new thread so...

The premium package will come with HD cables that have SD cables on them. It's like a hybrid. I dont' know why they don't just include these in ALL packages, but I don't run MS.

And Twisted, this FAQ needs a bit of updating. There need to be distinctions between the Core and Premium packages.

updated!

thanks for reminding me

VGA is what i'll be using..

VGA is a good option for a lot of people. Not many people have HDTVs but almost everyone has a PC monitor

I'm tempted to get a VGA adapter as an alternative to Component for connecting to my projector because it's a better quality signal.

Either that or Hack the VGA output (cheaper and prettier that way)

any support of SACD's? I see that DVD-A is supported...

Than useing sxga resolution will be the bestoption for me too

and in future, it'll be much cheaper to upgrade monitor than to upgrade a big expensive HDTV....

for example, when OLED or SED displays come out, i can just replace my monitor with one of those....which i cannot say for big HDTV....

SACD is supported by the PS3, I don't think the 360 will support it.

On the xbox, selecting 720p and letterbox doesn't run games in 1280x1024 mode. Instead, games will either run at 480p instead or ignore the letterbox option and still run in 1280x720. I suspect the letterbox option is meant mainly for dvd movies or is something ignored by games. I'm not hopeful that this will be fixed in xbox360, which means by going the vga route, I'll have to run it at 480p or have my monitor horribly stretch 1280x720 to 1280x1024.

So so far on the xbox for vga:
4:3 = 480p
16:9 = 720p, 1080i

I'm hoping they add this for xbox360:
4:3 = 480p, 720p+letterbox, 1080i+letterbox

Someone please prove me wrong! I want my black bars.

Thats because there is no such thing as 720p letterboxed... and the current Gen xbox doesn't actually support VGA.

There is no TV in existence that doesn't interpret 720p as a widescreen only signal. Even the 4:3 HDTVs know that it's widescreen and automatically letterbox it.

On the 360 you won't be selecting 720p or 1080i... you'll be selecting things 1280x960 and 1920x1024... Because it will ACTUALLY support VGA and know how to display those resolutions.

Hi I have a question thats been bugging me ever since I laid down my deposit for the xbox360 and is concerns how the xbox360 will display on a standard 14inch PAL UK 4:3 portable TV.

I have terrible visions of black borders at the top and bottom of the screen leaving me with a small display area on top of having a crap TV. To be honest Im not that bothered about getting a high def TV at this point as they cost an arm and a leg over here but I do not like the idea of not having 4:3 display for Xbox360 games, surely all developers with any sense will make there games compatible with 4:3, I imagine quite a few console gamers would be in a similar situation to me...

Lastly, what do you think of the HD CRT televisions? they are not as dear and some people seem to think they are better for gaming than the LCD ones?

Things were never this complicated in the SNES days, thanks very much for any help you can provide!

Top Posted Updated

I'm been reading all this stff about VGA and 1280x1024 and letterboxed picture and so on.
But i'm having a hge problem:

I bought the VGA xbox360 cable to connect the 360 to my 19" Samsung 913N LCD, as i can't afford a HDTV right now.
But some weird shit is happening:
With exclusion of 640x480 and 1024x768, every other resolution that i choose gets upscaled to the full screen of the monitor!
With 1024x768 i get a correct ratio, with black bars on top and bottom of the screen, but if i choose 1280x1024 is stretches the image once a race starts (i only have PGR3).
Weird is that in the menus of the game the ratio is ok, it just stretches once i go into a race.
I would really like to use 1280x1024, as it is the native resolution of my LCD and is more HD than 1024x768

Anybody knows what's going on?

Thanks

did you actually read the FAQ?


how games handle letterboxing and cropping is dependent on the actual game. The reason PGR3 behaves the way it does is because that's how Bizarre programed it... sucks don't it

Yes, i read it....
But i said that in 1024x768 it IS LETTERBOXED!
So whats your point?

ok, someone just gave me the answer at another forum:

Here's the real answer you need. Apparently the support is not there for 1280x1024 on PGR3 (bug they didn't catch), it works fine on every other game, but not that one. So, just switch your resolution to 1024x768 whenever you play that game, and it'll work fine.

I just found out the hard way that the 360 doesn't support WM High definition DVD movies. I should have verified it here in the pinned topic, but I just figured it would considering they said it would initially, and that there would be no fee's for MS to do so.

I wonder what gives? I know that it takes a pretty heftly pc to run WM HD DVD's good; could it be the 360 cannot handle it? I should hope not.

it definitely can handle it, there are some reports of people using the kiosk disc to play rips of WMVHD DVDs

my guess is it's completely political and they don't support them because they don't want to hurt HD-DVD in any way. it could be part of the reason there's no upscaling of DVDs either/ using no digital out as a cheap excuse.

OK guys, I apologize if this question is out of line, be nice... it's my first post (but hopefully not my last!).

I just ordered my first HDTV which is a 37" Sceptre 1920 x 1080p from Costco.com. It's supposed to be delivered today. My 360 should be here in a week or two. My problem is which connection to use with my 360. The tv only has 1 component input, and that is going to be used by my Time Warner HD cable box (that's the only connection I can currently use to pass HD through), it also has a VGA input, but I've read various things about the 360's VGA output. First, how bad is the quality as described here? Is it significantly worse then the component cables? I read the whole FAQ and saw that the VGA is currently the highest recommended connection, but how does that mesh with the reports of washed out colors? Just not that bad? Second, this FAQ is the only place I have seen reports that the VGA will support 1920x1080 resolution, and those posts are all from prior to the actual launch of the console. So, has anyone confirmed whether this is true? I suspect not, and if it won't, how will it display on my tv? Is it in a 1:1 pixel map? Or will it scale to fit the 1920x1080 resolution from whichever is closest?

Sorry again if I am out of line with posting this here. Please direct me if so, and I'll slink away with tail between my legs!

Thanks in advance for any help though.

Oh, and one quick follow-up. If the VGA is not recommended, is there such a thing as a component to VGA cable that I could use instead to send the 360's component output to the VGA input on my tv?

1st... why would you buy a TV, particularly a 1080p TV without an HDMI or DVI port? That's just ludicrous. A display with only 1 component video port is even more ridiculous. Honestly if it was me I'd take Costco up on their no-questions-asked return policy and return that TV for one with some digital inputs with HDCP. Without it you wont be watching any HD movies with HD-DVD, Blue-Ray, or even upscaled DVDs on that thing EVER.

2nd... the VGA picture is washed out, that's really its only problem. I would not recommend it unless you're using it on a computer monitor, even then people claim to have better results using an external trans-coder.

3rd... no where in this FAQ does it recommend using VGA over component, nor does it say the VGA supports 1920x1080. Before Launch MS claimed the VGA cable would be able to output in 1920x1080 once the console was launched that option was not available.

4th... if you're going to spend money you'd be best to spend it a component video switcher because 1 analog HD input will not be enough

Thanks for taking the time to respond.

I must have mislead you when I said the only way I could pass through HD signal from my cable box was through Component. The TV does have an HDMI (w/HDCP) input, but I had been told by TimeWarner that the HDMI output on my cable box was disabled. After posting on another forum, I found that there was a good chance the HDMI output would work and tada!, it does. So now I have the cable box connected through HDMI and the 'box through component. I also found a Philips component video switcher with 4 inputs for $20 at Walmart. So I now have another 3 component inputs if I need them.

As for the VGA being recommended, I guess I misunderstood the part of the FAQ that had the list of cables in order of quality... i.e. Composite<S-Video<Component<VGA

Thanks again for the help.

By the way, this TV looks pretty incredible... and at 1920x1080 for $1499 (after $100 rebate), it's a steal.

Glad to hear you've got your cable going through the HDMI...

as for the quality listing Composite<S-Video<Component<VGA etc. that's in GENERAL terms, meaning most of the time that's the pecking order of quality video cables...

The Xbox 360 has problems outputting in VGA so it's like comparing a Toyota (component) to a Ferrari (VGA) only the ferrari has been smashed into a wall a few times. so you might as well go with the Toyota because the Ferrari is busted and the Toyota runs better, but if the Ferrari ever gets fixed it will be the better option.

Hahaha... perfect analogy! Thanks again...

I just ordered that TV and yes, it is an incredible bargain! 70+ pages on that LCD at AVS forum now. I just hope I get the 2+ firmware. Though, you didn't mention the DVI. From what I understand, it also has a DVI input no? I'd actually like to see more tvs with less component inputs on the market. I's going to die anyway, so better sooner than later, and let MS hurry the F up with a DVI and/or HDMI dongle. Or at least fix the issue with the RGB washout because that's what I'd like to use for the 360, use the HDMI for an upscale DVD player, and possibly the DVI for a future STB. For now, I'll enjoy the OTA though.

Are any of you using RBG with LCD? If so, can you tweak it for a decent (at least on par with component) pic yet?

Shazaam! The answer to the lack of component input for that LCD occured to me. Twisted, how does the Xbox 1 look with the X2VGA dongle? Is it on par with or better than with component video? The reason I ask is that I want to upscale with the xbox 1 now but I also want to run the 360 via component video as there doesn't really seem to be any other choice atm. That way I could do 360 -> component, xbox-> vga, stb (later on) -> dvi, and perhaps hddvd/blu-ray (even later) -> hdmi. Though not sure on the Sceptre's DVI. Jack Ryan, do you know if it's a DVI-D? I"m guessing so since the ad states HDCP compliant.

I've never used a component/vga converter with an Xbox 1 but I've heard the picture comes out great. Be forewarned though, only games that support 480p will work. Alternatively you can also use a component/vga converter with the 360, I've heard that works very well also. Doing that you'd get the compatibility of the component output but through vga, and unlike the Xbox 1 it will always be the same resolution and ever game will support it. You might want to talk to Foe Hammer though, he seems to have a good level of experience with VGA stuff.