Xbox 360: No HDMI or Optical audio.

[Ruff_Ryder]

The 360 does not support HDMI, OK I can live with component video.

 

*Upon further review the Xbox 360 does support optical audio, so the only thing missing is HDMI.

Edited December 21, 2006 by Ruff_Ryder

[akaM2]

9/10 people cant notice a diff between hdmi and component.

 

btw ps3 makes you buy the hdmi cable

[appalachian_fox]

Glad you cleared that up...I would have had to have a very serious talk with my stereo receiver, which is currently accepting an optical cable from my XBox 360. For a second, I thought there was some honest-to-goodness witchcraft going on.

 

No HDMI cable yet, fo' shizzle, but is it honestly that big a deal? It may not be fair to compare first-run games with games that have come out on a console that's had a year to "mature", but until the PS3 games start looking better I'm more than satisfied with my component video.

[[LaW]Maverick]

Honestly, the human eye is only capable of seeing so much

 

In other words, 9/10 people might say that they can't tell the difference, but 9/10 of those people that said they could tell the difference are just saying they can.

 

That means .1/10 people can actually perceive a difference between the two

 

An interesting side note: at my brother's house, his dvd player is hooked up to his 52" Pioneer Elite Plasma TV (drool) via HDMI...I plugged my 360 in up there and he seemed to think that the picture was a little clearer through it than it was through his DVD player (I used component)

 

In other words, the component has a great deal to do with how the picture looks, not just the cable

 

personally, I would be surprised if the ps3 managed to pass the 360 up graphically...however, is Sony does things right, they should be able to have significantly more content.

 

Besides, if that is a digital signal coming out of the back of the 360 (I don't know whether it is or not) then HDMI cables could be in the future? However, I doubt it, because..if it were digital, there'd be a digital cable option by now.

 

I came in to comment on the optic audio comment by the way, because my 360 too is hooked up to my surround sound via optic out...hehehe...was going to politely correct and inquire as to where you got your info

[appalachian_fox]

Speaking of which, does anyone know if component cables can carry 1080p? As I recall, they cannot, but they carry 1080i just fine.

 

Also, is there any recourse for someone who doesn't have HDMI inputs on their receiver? Like, for example, some kind of splitter or converter that will let you bring the digital video to the monitor/TV and the audio to the stereo in some configuration it will accept? I've never heard of such a thing, though I honestly haven't looked, and that's another thing to consider. Surround-sound to the TV just seems like a complete waste to me.

[anonymo]

Speaking of which, does anyone know if component cables can carry 1080p? As I recall, they cannot, but they carry 1080i just fine.

 

Also, is there any recourse for someone who doesn't have HDMI inputs on their receiver? Like, for example, some kind of splitter or converter that will let you bring the digital video to the monitor/TV and the audio to the stereo in some configuration it will accept? I've never heard of such a thing, though I honestly haven't looked, and that's another thing to consider. Surround-sound to the TV just seems like a complete waste to me.

This is exactly why most major Audio Visual professionals (yes I'm talking about me) have boycotted HDMI. You have to put stuff in the signal chain that really isn't needed and will cause signal degradation.

 

Now...some tricks. Component cables will handle 1080p, BUT...most component inputs on current generation TVs can't handle it (isn't it wonderful?). I mentioned tricks didn't I? Well...they are all pretty tricky and really only apply to people who have RGBHV connections on the TVs.

 

Explain to me the benefits of having HDMI on the 360. I (ok...really app_fox) have already mentioned a reason why you wouldn't want it. If your answer includes HDCP then try again, because it may never become reality and if it does it won't be for another 3 years minimum. VGA cables (and RGBHV) are more than enough. Plus, have you ever looked at the pin-out of HDMI cables or have learned how they work? HDMI converts (obviously not the cable itself...just trying to keep it simple) analog signals to digital to send over the cable. CONVERTS!!!??!?!?! HELLO! Any time you have to convert a signal there is chance of signal degradation. It's silly and unnecessary.

[[LaW]Maverick]

always wondered about that...'cause I know the signal that originates from the TV is analog.....

 

By the way, for comparisson's sake, the dvd player my bro has is a $300 Dennon, so it's niiiiice

 

Anyway, Component looks great, so yeah, I'd definitely call it HD gaming :-)

[Penty]

My 360 is connected to my stereo with an optical cable as well. The optical connector is located on the cable connector. look at the following link

 

Component Cable

 

bah stupid link, hit view all once the window pops up.

[appalachian_fox]

Explain to me the benefits of having HDMI on the 360.

 

To play Devil's Advocate (not the pinball game), I would love to have fewer cables running around my system. It's not that they're unmanageable so much as I'd rather spend less time managing cables when I install something new, especially since I go a bit cheaper on my components than enthusiasts, and it can be frustrating when I have just so many Dolby optical inputs, so many Dolby coax inputs, so many other types of outputs, no upconversion on my receiver for video signals, and if I get a new component that requires some special combination of the above to get maximum benefit I might be rearranging two or three other devices to fit. If I could get one cable (for example, HDMI) that would carry all of my signals in their native format with no noise/crosstalk, I'd love it, not just for the reduced cable count but for the single "standard" connector with which I can connect any components together without having to juggle inputs.

 

Yes, I understand that the both the Laws of Physics and Marketing preclude such a possibility, and I could just buy a nicer receiver with more input diversity, but I don't think anyone would disagree with the idealistic notion that a single, standard cable with a single, standard connector that could carry everything a piece of A/V equipment could/should receive that is audio or video in nature would be really nice.

 

It's also worth noting that that reason does not apply strictly to the XBox 360, either.

 

Of course, I'd also like to see a move toward entertainment center power conversion/"cleaning" centers that handle not only surge supression and voltage level fluctuation/noise issues but also handled the line conversion. This would be nice for several reasons, and is becoming more of a possibility with the increasing presence of power bricks. Again, the real world intrudes as components are not designed with standard power requirements, but it would be nice.