xbox 360 HDMI?

HDMI is for 1080p. Component cables don't have the ability for it. HDMI can also handle the latest 7.1 sound formats on top of 1080p, so if you can, go with that model.

When the Elite came out, they sent out a patch that allowed 1080p over component. There really is no advantage of HDMI over Component unless you are watching movies and want 7.1 audio, or you just don't want to futz with 4 cables for video and audio.

You would be surprised how quickly 20 GB fills up. Especially once you start downloading trailers, demos, and live marketplace games.

lastly, both the Premium and the Elite now have HDMI. Just make sure you get one of the newer revisions. From what I understand there are still a few old premiums on the market that don't have HDMI.

Just go for the Premium. 20GB is enough.

You get better picture quality with HDMI over Component.
HDMI is a digital connection while Component is an analog one.

Games and movies will look crisper regardless of the HD resolution.

If your TV has a free HDMI connection then you definitely should get a HDMI X360.

Actually, 1080p can be done through component cables, however most displays simply won't accept 1080p through component. Also, the Xbox360 uses HDMI 1.2 which does not support 7.1 surround sound, but 5.1.

HDMI does not necessarily provide a better picture, but is better due to the convince of a single cable and having it be HDCP compliant.

Both component and HDMI will give a 1080p resolution, the cable itself won't make as much of a difference as the XBOX/TV. If your TV is useless with component it will show, but it'll be down to the TV, not the cable. I don't know how well the 360 sends picture down the different outputs so can't help I'm afraid.

This article gives a good long explanation and has no fixed conclusion:

http://www.bluejeanscable.com/articles/dvihdmicomponent...

All 360s now come with HDMI ports - even the lowly arcade model (I should know, i recently bought one). However i would not advise buying the arcade - the lack of the hard drive is killer (The only reason i got the Arcade was that i wanted HDMI to plug into my AV receiver as the component slots were full and i was fed up of swapping the cables round. So i had the hard drive leftover from my Premium model).

I would recommend getting a 360, they're great fun especially when you get a few mates round, crack open a few beers and start on Pro Evo 2008.

I don't agree with better picture quality HDMI over Component. It's all the same crap to me. If you do get DMI, yayy that's about it. It's really for the 7.1 audio experience. I have a PS3 and a 360 and the only difference between the two playing GTA4 is the loading time. The PS3 loads faster because it pre downloads to your HD while the 360 has a much longer load time. I prefer 360 for gaming and PS3 for media.

2 cents!

Once again, the Xbox360 only supports HDMI 1.2 which DOES NOT support 7.1 surround sound. You will require HDMI 1.3 and up to support 7.1 surround sound and to use Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD Master Audio.

I would get the elite. Microsoft stopped shipping Elites for a while after Christmas to clean out their stores of the old kind and then shipped the brand new ones (Falcon, if i remember correctly). Your pretty much screwed if the 20 gig gets filled up on the premium and you have to buy a new hard drive. Imagine having to switch out the hard drive every other time you play. With the premium, your also screwed if you get one of the older ones, which is more likely with it than the Elite. With the Elite, your essentially guranteed a new one. It has a 120 gig hard drive that will last until the next Xbox comes out, trust me. Your call though.