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Home > Archive > Xbox forum > November 2004 > HD Xbox adapter?
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| M.Siler 2004-11-29, 12:49 am |
| I just got an HD TV and went to get the Xbox adapter to allow it to display
in HD. There was an Adv. AV adapter for $19.99 at Best Buy but the guy at
the store said I needed the Compoent adapter that was $59.99. I'm not sure
what I need to get. Can someone point me in the right direction?
| |
| AshVsAOD 2004-11-29, 12:49 am |
| You need the high def kit.. the Adv AV adapter will not provide a HDTV
image.
"M.Siler" <unknown@tampabay.rr.com> wrote in message
news:u4wqd.97406$6w6.5426@tornado.tampabay.rr.com...
quote:
> I just got an HD TV and went to get the Xbox adapter to allow it to
display
quote:
> in HD. There was an Adv. AV adapter for $19.99 at Best Buy but the guy at
> the store said I needed the Compoent adapter that was $59.99. I'm not sure
> what I need to get. Can someone point me in the right direction?
>
>
| |
|
|
"M.Siler" <unknown@tampabay.rr.com> wrote in message
news:u4wqd.97406$6w6.5426@tornado.tampabay.rr.com...
quote:
>I just got an HD TV and went to get the Xbox adapter to allow it to display
> in HD. There was an Adv. AV adapter for $19.99 at Best Buy but the guy at
> the store said I needed the Compoent adapter that was $59.99. I'm not sure
> what I need to get. Can someone point me in the right direction?
>
You don't have to spent $60! I bought an Intec 8238 Advanced AV Pack
http://tinyurl.com/6htq8 at Toys'r'us for $10. Mine was on sale, but the
regular price is $19. It comes with the three component cables you need, as
well as an S-Video cable if you want to hook it up that way instead. Also
has the optical line out you need for hooking your Xbox to a 5.1 surround
amp. It's well made and has everything you need in one package. I'm sure
you can find it online. JLC
| |
| Nicholas Andrade 2004-11-29, 12:49 am |
| AshVsAOD wrote:
quote:
> You need the high def kit.. the Adv AV adapter will not provide a HDTV
> image.
While that's true, there's no reason to spend $60 for a HD adaptor. MS
sells one for $20, the same price as the Advanced AV Pack, which has
component out and optical audio out (for DD5.1).
| |
| AshVsAOD 2004-11-29, 12:49 am |
| True, I must admit I didnt read the pricing, 60$ is a way too much for the
hd adapter.
"Nicholas Andrade" <sdnick484@nospam.yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:nDxqd.26289$zx1.16746@newssvr13.news.prodigy.com...
quote:
> AshVsAOD wrote:
>
> While that's true, there's no reason to spend $60 for a HD adaptor. MS
> sells one for $20, the same price as the Advanced AV Pack, which has
> component out and optical audio out (for DD5.1).
| |
|
| > I just got an HD TV and went to get the Xbox adapter to allow it to
display
quote:
> in HD.
Congratulations! Welcome to the wonderful, yet still chaotic and
content-lacking, world of high definition!
quote:
> There was an Adv. AV adapter for $19.99 at Best Buy but the guy at
The "Microsoft Advanced AV Pack", if I remember right, gives composite
(yellow, red, white) and S-video feeds out. This will not allow you to pass
HD to your television. What you need is the "Microsoft High Definition AV
Pack", which also is only $20 (IIRC, perhaps it may be $30?) -- this pack
gives component (red, blue, green) output, along with a fiber output should
you plan to hook up your sound to a Dolby/DTS receiver. It also includes
all the cabling required for hooking up the XBox to your HDTV. (It doesn't,
however, include a fiber optic cable for 5.1, but those can easily be found
for $10.)
quote:
> the store said I needed the Compoent adapter that was $59.99.
> I'm not sure what I need to get. Can someone point me in the right
direction?
He was correct in saying that you needed a component pack, but let me
guess -- this particular component pack was a "Monster Cable" brand? Save
your cash and just get the Microsoft HDTV AV adapter. In fact, if you don't
care about having Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound, you could even just pick
up the Mad Catz XBox/PS2 combined component cable. It is only $10 and
allows both an XBox and a PS2 to be hooked up to a single set of component
inputs on the TV. (The PS2 is capable of 480p.) I used this adapter with
an XBox and PS2 for quite a while. The only reason I switched to
Microsoft's HDAV Pack was to take advantage of my Dolby receiver, which
required the sound to be brought in through fiber. I noted ZERO difference
in video quality between the $10 Mad Catz cable and the Microsoft HDAV Pack.
Off-topic: For other cabling needs that you may have with your new HDTV
(i.e., DVI and HDMI cables) forget all the large mortar and brick electronic
retail stores (Best Buy, Circuit City, and even Radio Shack). "Monster
Cable" (huge rip off) must have some sort of contract with them that
prohibits them from selling other brands. Either look online or go to
Walmart and buy Phillips brand cables -- which are constructed very well and
cost only a 1/5th the price of the Monster crap. (I.e., I just bought a
Phillips DVI cable for $18 at Walmart.)
I bet SDTV doesn't look the same anymore? :^) I hate watching SD
broadcasts after being spoiled with what little HD content there is right
now.
| |
|
| > While that's true, there's no reason to spend $60 for a HD adaptor. MS
quote:
> sells one for $20, the same price as the Advanced AV Pack, which has
> component out and optical audio out (for DD5.1).
He was in "Best Buy", would you expect anything else. They probably pointed
him towards a Monster rip-off. I bet they probably also asked him if he
wanted to buy an "extended warranty" for it too..
| |
| M.Siler 2004-11-29, 12:49 am |
| Hey Eric,
Thanks for all the good info. No joke about HD being... everyone has the new
best thing. And what really pissed me off is that TiVo doesn't have an HD
box for cable, only DirectTV. I'll take a look at Toys-R-Us as JLC
suggested. And as far as Monster Cables... Monster Prices!! I need to start
a cable business. They same is for some network cables. Is the fiber optic
cable worth it? Not the price, but the improved sound?
Thanks,
Mark
"Eric" <none@nospam.not> wrote in message
news:10qlaluh324pr3a@corp.supernews.com...
quote:
> display
>
> Congratulations! Welcome to the wonderful, yet still chaotic and
> content-lacking, world of high definition!
>
>
> The "Microsoft Advanced AV Pack", if I remember right, gives composite
> (yellow, red, white) and S-video feeds out. This will not allow you to
pass
quote:
> HD to your television. What you need is the "Microsoft High Definition AV
> Pack", which also is only $20 (IIRC, perhaps it may be $30?) -- this pack
> gives component (red, blue, green) output, along with a fiber output
should
quote:
> you plan to hook up your sound to a Dolby/DTS receiver. It also includes
> all the cabling required for hooking up the XBox to your HDTV. (It
doesn't,
quote:
> however, include a fiber optic cable for 5.1, but those can easily be
found
quote:
> for $10.)
>
> direction?
>
> He was correct in saying that you needed a component pack, but let me
> guess -- this particular component pack was a "Monster Cable" brand? Save
> your cash and just get the Microsoft HDTV AV adapter. In fact, if you
don't
quote:
> care about having Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound, you could even just
pick
quote:
> up the Mad Catz XBox/PS2 combined component cable. It is only $10 and
> allows both an XBox and a PS2 to be hooked up to a single set of component
> inputs on the TV. (The PS2 is capable of 480p.) I used this adapter with
> an XBox and PS2 for quite a while. The only reason I switched to
> Microsoft's HDAV Pack was to take advantage of my Dolby receiver, which
> required the sound to be brought in through fiber. I noted ZERO
difference
quote:
> in video quality between the $10 Mad Catz cable and the Microsoft HDAV
Pack.
quote:
>
> Off-topic: For other cabling needs that you may have with your new HDTV
> (i.e., DVI and HDMI cables) forget all the large mortar and brick
electronic
quote:
> retail stores (Best Buy, Circuit City, and even Radio Shack). "Monster
> Cable" (huge rip off) must have some sort of contract with them that
> prohibits them from selling other brands. Either look online or go to
> Walmart and buy Phillips brand cables -- which are constructed very well
and
quote:
> cost only a 1/5th the price of the Monster crap. (I.e., I just bought a
> Phillips DVI cable for $18 at Walmart.)
>
> I bet SDTV doesn't look the same anymore? :^) I hate watching SD
> broadcasts after being spoiled with what little HD content there is right
> now.
>
>
| |
| Nicholas Andrade 2004-11-29, 6:46 am |
| M.Siler wrote:
quote:
>Is the fiber optic cable worth it? Not the price, but the improved sound?
>
Totally, you can pick up a 6ft toslink cable for about $10 at your local
Radio Shack.
| |
|
|
"M.Siler" <email address not provided> wrote in message
news:O78ZBUd1EHA.2876@TK2MSFTNGP12.phx.gbl...
quote:
> Hey Eric,
>
> Thanks for all the good info. No joke about HD being... everyone has the
> new
> best thing. And what really pissed me off is that TiVo doesn't have an HD
> box for cable, only DirectTV. I'll take a look at Toys-R-Us as JLC
> suggested. And as far as Monster Cables... Monster Prices!! I need to
> start
> a cable business. They same is for some network cables. Is the fiber optic
> cable worth it? Not the price, but the improved sound?
>
> Thanks,
> Mark
Do your movies sound better in 5.1 surround or Pro Logic? Same reasoning
applys to Xbox games. Most games are encode in 5.1 Dolby Digital and the
improvement in sound is simply amazing. Especially if you have a descent
home theater setup. All of the games I have sound great and make good use of
the extra channels. Nothing like having the subwoofer kick in when your
blasting the hell out of something! JLC
| |
| Brian The Demolition Man Little 2004-11-29, 6:46 am |
| Eric wrote:
quote:
> Off-topic: For other cabling needs that you may have with your new
> HDTV (i.e., DVI and HDMI cables) forget all the large mortar and
> brick electronic retail stores (Best Buy, Circuit City, and even
> Radio Shack). "Monster Cable" (huge rip off) must have some sort of
> contract with them that prohibits them from selling other brands.
> Either look online or go to Walmart and buy Phillips brand cables --
> which are constructed very well and cost only a 1/5th the price of
> the Monster crap. (I.e., I just bought a Phillips DVI cable for $18
> at Walmart.)
No, its just that Monster = higher profit margins.
Brian The Demolition Man Little
| |
| RnR Lesnar 2004-11-29, 5:48 pm |
| So the HD av pack is all I need? I bought one this week, it was the last one
at my local ebgames. I'm getting a 42 inch Sony LCD rear projection HDTV
for Christmas. Can't wait to see Halo 2 on it!
--
RnR Lesnar
It's True, It's True- Kurt Angle
Bush/Cheney 2004
"Eric" <none@nospam.not> wrote in message
news:10qlaluh324pr3a@corp.supernews.com...
quote:
> display
>
> Congratulations! Welcome to the wonderful, yet still chaotic and
> content-lacking, world of high definition!
>
>
> The "Microsoft Advanced AV Pack", if I remember right, gives composite
> (yellow, red, white) and S-video feeds out. This will not allow you to
> pass
> HD to your television. What you need is the "Microsoft High Definition AV
> Pack", which also is only $20 (IIRC, perhaps it may be $30?) -- this pack
> gives component (red, blue, green) output, along with a fiber output
> should
> you plan to hook up your sound to a Dolby/DTS receiver. It also includes
> all the cabling required for hooking up the XBox to your HDTV. (It
> doesn't,
> however, include a fiber optic cable for 5.1, but those can easily be
> found
> for $10.)
>
> direction?
>
> He was correct in saying that you needed a component pack, but let me
> guess -- this particular component pack was a "Monster Cable" brand? Save
> your cash and just get the Microsoft HDTV AV adapter. In fact, if you
> don't
> care about having Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound, you could even just
> pick
> up the Mad Catz XBox/PS2 combined component cable. It is only $10 and
> allows both an XBox and a PS2 to be hooked up to a single set of component
> inputs on the TV. (The PS2 is capable of 480p.) I used this adapter with
> an XBox and PS2 for quite a while. The only reason I switched to
> Microsoft's HDAV Pack was to take advantage of my Dolby receiver, which
> required the sound to be brought in through fiber. I noted ZERO
> difference
> in video quality between the $10 Mad Catz cable and the Microsoft HDAV
> Pack.
>
> Off-topic: For other cabling needs that you may have with your new HDTV
> (i.e., DVI and HDMI cables) forget all the large mortar and brick
> electronic
> retail stores (Best Buy, Circuit City, and even Radio Shack). "Monster
> Cable" (huge rip off) must have some sort of contract with them that
> prohibits them from selling other brands. Either look online or go to
> Walmart and buy Phillips brand cables -- which are constructed very well
> and
> cost only a 1/5th the price of the Monster crap. (I.e., I just bought a
> Phillips DVI cable for $18 at Walmart.)
>
> I bet SDTV doesn't look the same anymore? :^) I hate watching SD
> broadcasts after being spoiled with what little HD content there is right
> now.
>
>
| |
|
| > Hey Eric,
quote:
>
> Thanks for all the good info. No joke about HD being... everyone has the
new
quote:
> best thing. And what really pissed me off is that TiVo doesn't have an HD
> box for cable, only DirectTV. I'll take a look at Toys-R-Us as JLC
> suggested. And as far as Monster Cables... Monster Prices!! I need to
start
quote:
> a cable business. They same is for some network cables. Is the fiber optic
> cable worth it? Not the price, but the improved sound?
>
> Thanks,
> Mark
No problem. I hear that (Monster Cable). As for DD5.1, it just depends on
the game. Some games give awesome DD5.1 surround sound while others, well,
I can't tell much difference between DD5.1 compared to when I was just using
RCA stereo inputs (and doing one of the SS emulations on the reciever;
"Movie, Music, ect"). As for DTS, the Xbox can only output DTS from video
DVD's and some FMV's within games.
Cheers,
-Eric
| |
|
| > Hey Eric,
quote:
>
> Thanks for all the good info. No joke about HD being... everyone has the
new
quote:
> best thing. And what really pissed me off is that TiVo doesn't have an HD
> box for cable, only DirectTV. I'll take a look at Toys-R-Us as JLC
> suggested. And as far as Monster Cables... Monster Prices!! I need to
start
quote:
> a cable business. They same is for some network cables. Is the fiber optic
> cable worth it? Not the price, but the improved sound?
>
> Thanks,
> Mark
No problem. I hear that (Monster Cable). As for DD5.1, it just depends on
the game. Some games give awesome DD5.1 surround sound while others, well,
I can't tell much difference between DD5.1 compared to when I was just using
RCA stereo inputs (and doing one of the SS emulations on the reciever;
"Movie, Music, ect"). As for DTS, the Xbox can only output DTS from video
DVD's and some FMV's within games.
Cheers,
-Eric
| |
|
| > So the HD av pack is all I need? I bought one this week, it was the last
one
quote:
> at my local ebgames. I'm getting a 42 inch Sony LCD rear projection HDTV
> for Christmas. Can't wait to see Halo 2 on it!
Yep, thats all you need, unless you want DD5.1 then you'll also need a cheap
$10 (Walmart, Radio Shack) fiber cable.
No need to replace the component cables that come with the HD pack, they
work perfectly fine.
I get a kick out video/audiophiles that feel that they have to use the most
expensive cabling possible. They would have a heart attack if they saw how
my progressive DVD player was hooked up to my HDTV. I'm using a composite
cable to hook up the progressive DVD player's component out to one of the
HDTV's sets of component in. Works just as good as a component cable.
Although, I did ohm it out first, just to ensure the three cables did share
the same physical properties. Sometimes composite cables have a different
impedence for the video (yellow) than the audio (red/white).
With cables, the most important factor is simply just adequate shielding --
at least for most home applications. At work, I've run into issues where
stranded-wire was necessary to carry higher frequency signals. (At higher
frequencies, signals travel along the outside region of a conductor due what
its known as "skin-effect". Stranded-wire simply just gives more surface
area.)
My arguement against the Monster nonsense is simple. If they were superior,
then why don't you find them in work centers? There isn't a single Monster
cable in the company I currently work for. I work with a wide range of test
equipment (power meters, signal generators, spectrum analyzers,
oscilloscopes) at work, yet don't use a single Monster cable. When I was in
the military (Air Force) and worked communications, guess what cables were
used at the "weak point" (patch panel) for mission essential circuits -- 50
cent patch cables.
One thing I have carried over to home, however, is the use of BNC
connectors. I've made many cables over the years with BNC connectors for
home use. I like BNC because its rugged, inter-locking, plus cheap
converters can be found for just about anything -- allowing the cables to be
usable for just about anything.
-Eric
| |
|
| > So the HD av pack is all I need? I bought one this week, it was the last
one
quote:
> at my local ebgames. I'm getting a 42 inch Sony LCD rear projection HDTV
> for Christmas. Can't wait to see Halo 2 on it!
Oh, btw, congrats on your new HDTV. The XBox is going to look incredible!
If you have a PS2 and/or GC, they also look great at 480p. You'll have to
track down a GC component cable on the web (got mine from Ebay for less than
the Nintendo online store), but it's well worth it if you have a 480p
capable TV.
Cheers!
-Eric
| |
| RnR Lesnar 2004-11-30, 12:47 am |
|
"Eric" <none@nospam.not> wrote in message
news:10qmvtl9lb5dm74@corp.supernews.com...
quote:
> one
>
> Oh, btw, congrats on your new HDTV. The XBox is going to look incredible!
>
> If you have a PS2 and/or GC, they also look great at 480p. You'll have
> to
> track down a GC component cable on the web (got mine from Ebay for less
> than
> the Nintendo online store), but it's well worth it if you have a 480p
> capable TV.
>
> Cheers!
> -Eric
Thanks!
I got a set of component cables for my dvd player from walmart for about
$20. They're Philips brand and I'm sure they'll work fine. The TV has two
imputs for component cable, so I was going to pick the DVD and Xbox to use
that and just let the Gamecube and PS2 use S video. Is there a component
video switch box that would allow me to hook up all 4 things to the tv
without losing quality?
--
RnR Lesnar
It's True, It's True- Kurt Angle
Bush/Cheney 2004
| |
|
| > I got a set of component cables for my dvd player from walmart for about
quote:
> $20. They're Philips brand and I'm sure they'll work fine. The TV has two
> imputs for component cable, so I was going to pick the DVD and Xbox to use
> that and just let the Gamecube and PS2 use S video. Is there a component
> video switch box that would allow me to hook up all 4 things to the tv
> without losing quality?
>
For a short period, I was using just a simple old composite A/B switch box
for two component feeds. It was just a cheap $5 passive switch that I had
picked up from Radio Shack many years ago. All it did was just allow
switching between two physical connections. I didn't see any lost of PQ
while using it. Having recently picked up a DVI-HDMI cable, I'm no longer
using it since that cable freed up one of the sets of component inputs. I
think active switches and even pass-throughs are more inclined to degrade
PQ. My cable company provided HD STB has a horrible pass-through for
component, which was another reason I recently switched to using a DVI cable
with it...
| |
| Nicholas Andrade 2004-11-30, 12:47 am |
| RnR Lesnar wrote:
quote:
>
> I got a set of component cables for my dvd player from walmart for about
> $20. They're Philips brand and I'm sure they'll work fine. The TV has two
> imputs for component cable, so I was going to pick the DVD and Xbox to use
> that and just let the Gamecube and PS2 use S video. Is there a component
> video switch box that would allow me to hook up all 4 things to the tv
> without losing quality?
>
As Eric mentioned, a composite switch will work (component uses the same
impedance) but chances are it's shielding will be poor and you may lose
some quality (or more accurately you will lose quality it but it may be
unnoticable). I believe Pelican offers a decent priced switch for
component cables, but most component switches are way overpriced.
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