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Thread: 360 - Component or HDMI?

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    Pac-Man (Level 10) FantasiaWHT's Avatar
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    Default 360 - Component or HDMI?

    Just got a 1080p 32" LCD HDTV for my graduation present from my wife!

    NOT a technophile at all - should I use the HDMI cable that came with my TV or the Composite that came with the Xbox 360?
    Last edited by FantasiaWHT; 05-15-2009 at 08:57 PM.

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    HDMI is pretty much a zillion times better than composite, go with that.

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    Pac-Man (Level 10) FantasiaWHT's Avatar
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    Er, this is how bad I am. I meant Component - the R + G + B + L + R cables.

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    Just use the HDMI already. Also when you do you'll get that "optimal" setting in the menu when setting your resolution. You dont see that when you use component.

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    Still use the HDMI; leave the component free for another console (Wii?!) or a DVD player.

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    Crono (Level 14) Pantechnicon's Avatar
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    I'm curious about this myself as I'm running my 360 on component (which, I know, is different from composite) and I'm quite content with it. Is HDMI really going to give the 360 that much of a push over component? Cable cost isn't the issue for me. I just don't want to go through the hassle of pulling out everything from the wall and going to HDMI unless it's really, really that much better. For reference purposes, I'm using a 42" plasma TV.

    Quote Originally Posted by Mayhem View Post
    Still use the HDMI; leave the component free for another console (Wii?!) or a DVD player.
    ...or get a component switchbox from Gamestop for $20. I've got 360, PS2 and DVD all running into one of these.

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    Strawberry (Level 2) ncman071's Avatar
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    you could always get the vga cable... which i think is just as good as hdmi

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    Yeah, the other thing is I've been using a switch box and sending the video to the TV and the audio to a nice stereo system. Is there such a thing as an HDMI switcher? If not I'll just use a component one

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    Kirby (Level 13) Leo_A's Avatar
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    There are HDMI switchers.

    Component and HDMI on the 360 give comparable results. Go with the one that best suits your setup. Some televisions work better with one or the other, some televisions can't do 1080p through component but can through HDMI, component won't allow DVD upscaling, etc.

    I doubt you'll notice any differences, so unless you want a sucky upscaling DVD player (The 360's DVD playback gets a ton of criticism at places like AVS), or your tv needs HDMI to run in whatever resolution you prefer, decide by going with the one most convenient for your setup (Like going with HDMI to free a component input for another console for one example).

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    Pear (Level 6) retroman's Avatar
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    HDMI is better im told, but to the naked eye. I dont see much a difference if any at all. Picture wise that is. But still sound in picture in one cable is nice.

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    Kirby (Level 13) Leo_A's Avatar
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    Comparisons at places like AVS don't show the superiority of HDMI in regards to the playback of 360 games. Comparisons that I've seen are equivalent to what your experiences have been.

    Places like AVS with videophiles give the recommendation I passed along, use the one that best suits the need of your own hardware and situation.

    I don't have a HDMI enabled 360 to do any first hand test, so beware of taking my advice since its only as good as the sources I've looked at.
    Last edited by Leo_A; 05-15-2009 at 10:15 PM.

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    It isnt a big difference what really makes the difference with HD video/graphics is display resolution take the jump from a 1080i set to 1080p there is a difference! But HDMI is abit better and of course is less clutter

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    You'll get better audio with HDMI, unless you're using optical TOSLINK or whatever it is. It's also one cable as opposed to five for component, or four if you're using optical audio but that also leaves two hanging.Your wife may thank you for avoiding a mess behind the TV.

    As for cables, if you need any more, look on Amazon. HDMI is digital, so cable quality doesn't directly affect picture quality. Don't spend more than $15 for a cable, which is what I paid for my 25' HDMI that connects my PC to my entertainment center. The individual 6' cables were ~$6 each. That includes shipping.

    Enjoy your TV, and do it without the mess of wires that component video creates.

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    Kirby (Level 13) Leo_A's Avatar
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    Monoprice is where a lot of people get their HDMI cables from if you want another option other than Amazon.

    Whatever you do, if you go with HDMI, don't pay retail prices for one at a place like Wal-Mart. You'll easily be paying 4 or 5 times what the cable is worth.
    Last edited by Leo_A; 05-15-2009 at 10:40 PM.

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    I made this question previously. If a game is made for 480 resolution, does it look worse in 1080p or does it look better? The average game. The PS3 itself upscales all DVDs that go in it and forces them to play back at 1080p, this includes PSX and PS2 games.

    Overall it looks better, but on character models it seems to give an outline type/jaggy look to the characters(probably since the graphics are so close together in a higher format.)
    Everything in the above post is opinion unless stated otherwise.

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    I bought a new tv about 2 months ago mainly to game on and I have both the component and an hdmi cable for my 360 and I found the HDMI to be inferior compaired to the component. For me, my tv will custom fit the output from the xbox to the tv but if I use the hdmi it's besically like using higher quality A/V cables but the tv doesn't recgonize it as anything different. Not only that but the colors weren't as vivid and the depth perception wasn't as defined with the hdmi. I'm just going to hang on the the hdmi cable for when I end up getting a bluray player or something like that.

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    Let me put it this way.. I had 2 360's hooked up to the same TV and I hooked up one via HDMI, and one via component. I popped in the same game in each one put it at a scene and then A/B'd it right there on the spot.

    Quick answer:

    Is there much difference? No.
    Is there a difference? Yes.

    There WAS a difference. Hard to describe and honestly I couldn't say one was "better" than the other. Perhaps the HDMI one had a little move minutae in color that was visible.. maybe the smoke was clearer, but not really. At the end of the day both pictures were just fine. And unless you sat there and A/B'd them immediately like I did, you couldn't tell a difference.

    However, for me.. HDMI = 1 cable, Component = 5 One's far easier Pick up a $4 hdmi cable off monoprice.com and go to town.

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    Doesn't matter...

    I'd use HDMI if your going through a receiver and it has HDMI - you may get superior audio. Else it doesn't seem to matter much. Depends what else you are connecting. If you component for something else, use HDMI. Most people have more use for compenet then HDMI currently so you might use HDMI and save the component for something else, a Wii maybe...

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    HDMI will give you a better picture and is less cluttery thanks to the single cable you need to attach. However, I have noticed some sound descrepances during loud explosions in games. This is something that I've only had a problem with on my hdmi hooked up 360. My component hooked up original xbox does not have this problem. And my tv is a 32" lcd wide screen hdtv.
    ALL HAIL THE 1 2 P
    Quote Originally Posted by THE 1 2 P
    Why? Once you've seen one partially-exposed butthole you've seen them all.

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    Chaos Knight
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    Quote Originally Posted by Pantechnicon View Post
    ...or get a component switchbox from Gamestop for $20. I've got 360, PS2 and DVD all running into one of these.
    Switchboxes can introduce degradation in the signal quality... I try not to use them where possible.

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