Xbox 360 Sound

I

IHL

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Mar 4, 2007
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Ok, bear with a newbie. I'm considering buying an Xbox Elite. I've never had a console before. I'm more of a pc gamer. I have two questions..

I have a 22" Samsung 226BW monitor. No HDMI input but I understand I can get the adapter and run it into the DVI input. I also use this monitor for my pc. Will I have to manually switch the cables from xbox to pc all the time? Could I run the HDMI into the VGA connector on the monitor with the proper adapter or would that just defeat the purpose.

I want to put the xbox by my pc. The only speaker in that room are my pc speakers - surround sound - so I'd like to use them. Is there a way I can do that? Will I have to go through a bunch of cable switching for that too or do I need to get another set of speakers and some sort of stereo receiver in there?

Thanks for the help and I hope these aren't stupid questions.
 
As far as 360 -> monitor you can get an xbox 360 vga cable and hook it up that way. There is no cheap cable solution that I can think of.

For dolby digital you will need an optical input on your computer or speaker setup that decodes dolby digital.
 
Yes, you can run it into the 22" monitor with the converter, but do you not have a regular TV to hook it up to? It sounds like you're trying to get the 360 working with your current computer peripherals, and with this seemingly the case, do you have a receiver that can decode the DD? If not, you may be looking at some odd cable runs and wiring situations.
 
Here's an option for hooking it up to your monitor, I use the same one and it's great. Look and see if your monitor has a input/source button or option so you can switch between digital and analog. I have my pc plugged into the analog input and my xbox in the digital input on my monitor. Whenever I need to switch I just hit the button and bingo it switches.
http://www.mycablemart.com/store/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=333
As far as the sound goes I would get an inexpensive receiver and plug your xbox and pc into it while using your pc speakers.
 
Personally I used a KVM switch box and have one 15 pin going to my monitor and switch the inputs via the KVM (Xbox included). Howerver, to save some cash your monitor should have 2 inputs on the back (DVI and 15 Pin). Connect your computer via DVI to the DVI input, and just get a VGA cable for the xbox 360 (I picked up a OEM Microsoft one off ebay for 15$). Your monitor should have an input selection from analog (15 pin) to DVI (Digital).
Should be set via that method with minimal cost.
 
vga output on the 360 kinda sucks in my experience. I was in the same boat as you for a while, I used my Dell 2405 as my display and ran the audio through my computer. I ran the audio through the line in on my sound card. I used the onboard audio(intel badaxe mb) and it never really sounded that good. It was like the gain was too high and everything had this distortion to it, even when all the input levels were as low as they could be. Try it out though, maybe the line in just sucks on my computer. All you need is a mini-to-stereo cable and gender changers, should be able to pick those up at Best Buy or wherever.
 
I have heard a difference with 3rd party VGA cables, but never heard any complaints with the official microsoft. Which one did you have experience with? Looks very clean on mine (22 LCD TN panel).
 
I used the microsoft ones to my 2405fp, I already had something going into component and didn’t want to switch stuff around (lazy). A buddy of mine said Microsoft released a patch that gave the 360 better vga support, but I broke down and switched component cables around before that. Could be better now, but before, comparing vga to component was a world of difference.
 
You do have a point if you are referring to resolutions. They are lacking on resolution, example missing the standard resolutions for 22 and 24 inch wide screen panels. To avoid that you can choose one close to the default and change viewing to wide.
Also in one of the updates you had the option to turn on "enhanced blacks" which is a god send for LCD panels.
 
101998 said:
vga output on the 360 kinda sucks in my experience. I was in the same boat as you for a while, I used my Dell 2405 as my display and ran the audio through my computer. I ran the audio through the line in on my sound card. I used the onboard audio(intel badaxe mb) and it never really sounded that good. It was like the gain was too high and everything had this distortion to it, even when all the input levels were as low as they could be. Try it out though, maybe the line in just sucks on my computer. All you need is a mini-to-stereo cable and gender changers, should be able to pick those up at Best Buy or wherever.
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I have official MS xbox vga cable and I think it looks GREAT. But I don't have elite, so no option for hdmi or dvi. So, I say, vga over component as the upscaling for movies is nice anyways.
 
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