Best (non-hi def) Xbox picture

drdavewatford

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Tempted to do hi def now I've got a hi def plasma, but have decided for now to stick with "out of the box" connection options as I don't fancy all the fiddling about, chipping, mods etc. I need the best possible "non hi def" pic however as the new screen is big.

Can anyone advise of the best way to connect, e.g. RGB SCART, component etc. ? It certainly won't be the "SCART" that came in the box, nor s-video. Don't mind spending some casht on a good quality cable, but I want to make sure first how bewst to connect. Oh yeah - I want to use optical for the 5.1

So please, any suggestions re : best way to connect, and where to get the best quality cable to do it with ?

Many thanks,

Dr. D.
 
The Official Advanced Scart lead is what you're after. Has an optical connector for your 5.1 too.

The order of quality is roughly (best to worst):
Component (HiDef)
Component
RGB Scart
Composite (what you get with the Xbox)
RF Aerial

The component (non-HiDef) and RGB output similar quality, and have heard opinions saying either are better.

If you can, take the soft-mod route to enabling HiDef, it is by far the best quality and does not involve doing anything too dodgy to your Xbox. There's loads more info on this in other threads, like "PAL Xbox and HiDef". Of course, to do this, you need a component connection, so if you're planning to do this in the future, then get a component connection, its the same price as a RGB Scart (£20ish). I have an official MS hidef component cable from Lik-Sang which I use on my unmodded PAL Xbox to output Hidef to my plasma.

Hope this helps :thumbsup:
 
Great stuff, Lorenzini - thanks !

So in summary, it IS possible to connect using component leads (obviously if you've got component inputs on the media box which I do) even if I've not got Hi Def ? If so, that's great. Next question, can anyone recommend a good quality cable for this ? Incidentally, I did have an advanced SCART, and the pic wasn't too bad, but it's died (can only use the s-video output now for some reason). Would rather replace with component if possible.....

Re : soft-modding, other than the hassle (I'm hopeless with things like that)my main concern is that I use Xbox-Live and don't want to get kicked - heard that this can happen and don't want to risk it.

Thanks again for the help, and for full marks, a good supplier of a component cable for the Xbox would be great !

Cheers,

Dr. D.
 
Well, I have to earn my brownie points then. You can use a component connection to output a non-hidef image, works just fine. I've heard the MS HiDef component is the best, but they don't sell them in the UK unfortunately. I got mine from Lik-Sang, but be warned, it comes from Hong Kong and mine took 3 weeks to arrive and came with a customs charge too. Have a read of the Lik-Sang thread on here about peoples experiences with them and alternative suppliers.

And as for soft-modding and Live - not a problem. I was online just last night in HiDef, no probs atall. Its only mod-chips that get banned in my experience.
 
Good work, Munkey Boy - you earned them big time !

I'll ask a friend to bring one from the U.S.

Looks from the pics on the U.S. MS site like they don't actually supply the cables which go from the component output on their cable to the media box. itself Ho hum, more expense if this is the case.

Never mind, crystal clear on the options now.

Dr. D.
 
What games are compatible with this soft-mod option? Please say that PGR2 is!!!!
 
so idiots guide to how its done required!!!!!

come on lorenzini you know it makes sense
 
You really MUST go down the Hi-Def route. I was in two minds about chipping my Xbox but the difference is Jaw Dropping.

Evey game is much cleaner, the blurry mess has all gone. And when you see the games that run in 720p and even 1080i you will really be amazed.

If you have just forked out for a Plasma you would be crazy not to make the best of it.
 
drdavewatford said:
Good work, Munkey Boy - you earned them big time !

I'll ask a friend to bring one from the U.S.

Looks from the pics on the U.S. MS site like they don't actually supply the cables which go from the component output on their cable to the media box. itself Ho hum, more expense if this is the case.

Never mind, crystal clear on the options now.

Dr. D.


This is what I thought as well, I ordered mine from DVD Box Office, took about a week from canada. At the same time I ordered some new component leads to be used with the MS Hi-Def Unit.

But . . . . . . . . when it arrived it was totally different to what I expected, it had the 5 required cables all as part of the main cable, with the Optical out situated on the Main plug that goes into your xbox.

So now I have a spare component cable, and my old optical cable that use to reach does'nt anymore because it can't stretch all the way to the back of the xbox. :suicide:

Giz. :D
 
my xbox hd kit did come with cables. it's a joined up flat lead with the 3 component leads and 2 leads for stereo all in one mold, with RVA connectors.
 
i'm not really sure about all this stuff. i use an s-video input at the moment but looking in my tv manual i can also have "Full 21 pin RGB AV". is this better than the S-video and is it worth getting a cable. can i pick up one of these cables in game or only on the net.
 
rahulkohli said:
i'm not really sure about all this stuff. i use an s-video input at the moment but looking in my tv manual i can also have "Full 21 pin RGB AV". is this better than the S-video and is it worth getting a cable. can i pick up one of these cables in game or only on the net.
Get an official Microsoft Advanced Scart lead. It is a vast improvement on S-Video. You can get them in most places that sell Xboxes for £20ish.
 

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