Using my xbox 360 on an LCD monitor

[holcar]

Can I except to see good quality picture from my xbox 360 if I was to play it on a monitor using an official 360 VGA cable?

Would it be displayed in HD? And how would the video compare to a display that used to component cables or HDMI? Not that my xbox has HDMI but I am considering getting a newer/elite one with the HDMI.

I was thinking of this monitor.

http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/125099/rb/0

If someone could suggest something better for the price that would also be appreciated, but this looks a great monitor. Just want to know how good the xbox 360 would look on it on a VGA cable and if it would be displayed in HD?

Thanks

 

[cleeve]

The short answer is that you wouldn't really be able to see a difference between HDMI, DVI, or VGA cables.

 

[holcar]

Thanks, but will that monitor I linked be able to play it HD? I admit I don't know much about displays etc, but I want the picture quality to be in HD because there is a noticeable difference in a lot of games. Especially with fine detail and stuff like text.

That monitor should be able to play my xbox 360 good?

 

[boredatcanon]

I use the vga cables with my 360 and its good. Try to get a high contrast and low speed lcd moniter. Mine is a LG 19" Widescreen 3000:1 contrast and 2ms.

 

[FeareX]

That 3000:1 isn't that dynamic contrast?

But i wondered about this same question... i have a samsung syncmaster 931bw (226's little brother) and how can you connect it to an xbox/playstation 3

 

[holcar]

will it be in HD though? In Dead Rising for the 360 if you don't have HD you can't even read the text..

FeareX you can use the microsoft VGA cables for the 360:

http://hardware.teamxbox.com/reviews/xbox-360/40/Xbox-360-VGA-HD-AV-Cable/p1/

What I really want to know if the Samsung 226 can display the xbox 360 in HD over VGA cables.

Thanks

 

[busta_k]

Yes, it will display in HD. Although, since that monitor has a resolution of 1680x1050. You will not be using the native resolution of the display. So the picture may not be perfectly clear. Also, PC monitor's have an aspect ratio of 16:10 instead of 16:9 such as TV's. So you will have the top and bottom black bars. Doesn't look bad if you scale it to full screen anyway.

Edit: Also, if you want to use HDMI. I would go with one of these for the monitor you are looking at.

http://www2.dvigear.com/dvihdmicables.html

I'm not really sure how much of a difference it would make though.

 

[cleeve]

Yes. VGA, DVI, and HDMI are all HD capable.

As I said, you wouldn't really be able to see a difference between HDMI, DVI, or VGA cables.

If your monitor is 1680x1050, you can either do 720p (which will scale up) or 1080i/p (which will scale down). Either will look very nice, you might not even see much of a practical improvement of the 1080 signal because of the scaling...

720p will be easier for the Xbox360 to push out though, and will probably play less choppily...

 

[prodystopian]

That monitor is sold in three or for different panels, and you will not know which one you get before you buy it (unless you see it in person before you buy). There is a lot of talk about this matter on the LCD/Flat Panel forum. The short version is that the S panel makes this the best 22" monitor out of the box, while the others require tweaking and still may not measure up to some of the other good 22" monitors. I did see one article alledging that Samsung is only shipping the S panel now, but I don't know how true that is.

If you can afford it, I would suggest the Dell 24". I just purchased one for $570 US on sale and it is an amazing monitor.

 

[holcar]

Ok thanks for all the help.

So the cables are HD capable. That monitor is definitely capable of HD ?
I don't quite understand what would make the monitor capable of displaying HD or not. Will my current 10 year old CRT monitor be capable or CRT through VGA? Quite clueless about displays you might have noticed.

But if that SM226BW can display my xbox in HD which I have been told it does then it looks like a nice buy .

Just now I need.. decent sound system to play the xbox

 

[prodystopian]

HD isnt really defined so it is no surprise that you are a bit confused. 720p is considered HD while 1080p has recently been called Full HD. The 226 can't do 1080p (1920x1200) but can do 720p (1366x768). The difference between the two is not noticable on such a small screen (the difference becomes apparent above about 50"). Finally, the source material from the 360 will primarily be 720p so that size monitor should be fine, in fact anything with resolutions above 1366x768 should be able to display the games properly.

 

[Heyyou27]

1080p is 1920x1080, and 720p is 1280x720. 1920x1200 is a 16:10 monitor format, while both 1080p and 720p are 16:9 aspect ratios. Also, 1366x768 is a popular resolution for plasma screen HDTVs, but it's not a standard HD format.

 

[prodystopian]

wow, long day, heyyou27 is correct about the resolutions, I was wrong. In short, that monitor can do 720p but not 1080p.

 

[Annisman]

Look, enough with the exact specificiations and such...... I have the 226 BW Samsung.....C panel ( poor me = ( .....) An xbox 360, the vga cable attachment and I can honestly say it looks breathtaking at 720P. it looks better than on my 27' 1080i Television. Just get the dam thing it works and looks nice.

 

[kingoftherings]

will it be in HD though? In Dead Rising for the 360 if you don't have HD you can't even read the text..

Monitors display text much better than TVs. If you hook a PC up to a TV, you cant read the text at all.

The only problem I see is that VGA caries an analog signal, whereas HDMI is digital.

And depending on the native resolution of your monitor, it could be in HD. 720p is 1280x720, and most 19" Widescreens are 1440x900 which exceeds 720p.