Xbox 360 Connection Options

drhazard

I'm considering buying a 360 in the next few weeks. However, I cannot decide how I want it to connect to my TV. This is my TV. The 360 comes with component connections; however, I currently have my Wii and PS2 connected by the only two component connections on the TV. It also has an HDMI connector, but that is hooked up to my computer at the moment and I do not want to change that, either. I'm looking at a VGA connector, but that's $40 and I want to know if there's a cheaper way to do it while keeping at component-or-better quality. (And is VGA even that high quality anyway?)

Would a VGA connector sacrifice any video quality from my 360? Is there a better option? And is there, say, a PS2 VGA connector that's cheaper? Thanks in advance, everyone.

Glaeal

Run the PS2 S-video.

drhazard

But then the PS2 won't run in progressive, which'll make replaying SotC and eventually playing God of War 2 annoying.

bigpanda

You might want to check out www.avsforum.com. A couple guys over there have connected it via VGA and have reported on it. I think they might have mentioned some of the colors being a little washed out but I'm not sure if that's correct.


If you don't mind waiting for the 360, there's a rumor of them releasing a version with the HDMI connector. It's a rumor though so take it with a grain of salt.

Trashie

Try this.

vonPoonBurGer

drhazard wrote:

And is VGA even that high quality anyway?

Depends on what you mean by VGA. That term is a catch all that includes both the original VGA resolution (640x480), and a huge number of variants ending in "GA". According to the manual for your TV, it supports up to WXGA. WXGA includes the resolutions 1280x720 and 1920x1080. Given that all the VGA variants support at least a 60Hz refresh rate, that basically means that the VGA port on your TV can handle up to 1080p. The only knock against using VGA is that it's analog instead of digital, but then again so are the component connections.

If you want all of your game consoles to support their maximum resolution without a switchbox, you'll need to get a VGA adapter for one of them. A VGA adapter for the 360 should be sufficient to do high def with no noticeable effect on quality, as long as the VGA adapter isn't crappy.

TM2 Rampage

Gamestop has a 3rd party Mad Catz-made component cable for PS1/PS2, Xbox, and Xbox 360.

Also, online there is a 3rd party component cable that supports PS3 (and PS1 and PS2 I assume), Xbox 360, and Wii.