Game Consoles and my new monitor

[tomster2300]

I know this is similar to the other person's thread, but my problem concerns different hardware. I went ahead and bought the samsung combo monitor - link's below.

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Samsung-SyncMaster-Monitor-910MP-/sem/rpsm/oid/118807/catOid/-12965/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

I've been playing my xbox on it but it seems a little pixelated. Is there any way I could set it so that the picture could be any sharper? Would setting the pc's resolutionon affect the resolution on xbox's source? Can you set display options in the xbox? I've always just played on a regular television, so I don't know how to set anything up.

Thanks.

[RJ]

Hi,

look into the settings of the XBOX, if you can choose 1280x1024 as the resolution.
If not, you can't get a sharp picture in full screen.

Only way to get a sharp picture would be if the monitor has an option to not stretch lower resolutions to full screen. Then you'll have a smaller, centered, image, but it'll be sharp.

RJ

[tomster2300]

Alright, thanks RJ. I'm talking about the original xbox, not the new one. I figure I can do better on my own pc then anything the new 360 can put out.

EDIT: The monitor has a RGB port on the back - is that SCART? In the instructions manual it says it is mainly used in Europe, so I'm guessing that's what that is. Is SCART also called RGB?

[BlackFurredBeast]

I'm not so sure whether the connector or the wire standard is called SCART (maybe Wikipedia can answer this), but I DO know that many european game console cables carry an RGB signal and have a SCART plug. In fact, I made sure that, for my old TV set, all consoles DID have high-quality RGB cables. That's why I was so appalled at the lack of picture quality on the new, big LCD :-)

[RJ]

EDIT: The monitor has a RGB port on the back - is that SCART? In the instructions manual it says it is mainly used in Europe, so I'm guessing that's what that is. Is SCART also called RGB?

No, SCART is not called RGB. It's sometimes called Euroconnector. It can carry RGB signals as well. SCART is a connection that combines composite, S-Video, RGB and stereo audio. So, it can carry RGB so there might be an adapter for your RGB port. But where do you live ? SCART does not exist in the US.

That's why I was so appalled at the lack of picture quality on the new, big LCD :-)

Yeah, but it's mainly the resolution issue. . that scaled pictures become blurry.
And most LCDs don't have as intense colors as CRTs do. The few that do (with LED backlight) are very expensive and it'll take a couple of years till they'll replace the current ones.

RJ

[tomster2300]

I live in the U.S. What is the RGB used for then? Also, is there no way that I can make the xbox look better on my monitor?

[tomster2300]

Bumping to the top.

[BlackFurredBeast]

I just noted that you asked about "setting display options" on the Xbox.
If you haven't already tried, boot up your Xbox without a game in it. You should be brought to the Dashboard, with labels like "memory", "Xbox Live" etc.
Visit the "Settings" tab and try out the Video option.
AFAIK, you should be able not only to change the wide screen settings, but the HD resolutions as well.

I presume you have a US Xbox, so you _might_ need a "High Definition" cable by M$ or a third party.

As you can see, I did my homework, googling up stuff and such. Man, I'm jealous. EU Xboxes won't go into HD mode easily...

[tomster2300]

Checked the box and it looks like I'll need one of these.

http://www.xbox.com/en-US/hardware/x/xbox360componenthdcable/

I only have three composite ports on the back of my monitor - where do I plug the remainder of the cords?

[RJ]

red, green and blue are component. red, white and yellow are composite. You connect using either composite or component, but not both.

RJ

[tomster2300]

Alright, thank you R.J. Sounds like it will work - I'm going out right now to pick one of those up and will post back when I get it working.

[Stuey]

There will be R-G-B which will be your component video AND you HAVE to use the other R-B cable for audio. Your monitor should have a stereo speaker input (red and white plug). So you'd plug the R-G-B in for the video and the other R-B cable in for your stereo audio.

Don't worry, they will be grouped differently, but just disregard the yellow plug.

[tomster2300]

Alright, I'm confused. Nobody had the actual xbox ones in so I bought these instead.

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Psyclone-Component-Video-Analog-Audio-Cable-PYX20-/sem/rpsm/oid/124078/catOid/-13863/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

It has two red plugs, one blue, one white, and one green, and they're all grouped together. Even with Stuey's explanation I'm still confused. Which do I plug in?

Thanks.

BTW: I'm plugging this into my new samsung monitor. It only has three composite ports, not the five that it looks like is required. Is this just not going to work?

[Stuey]

I looked at this model before, but didn't suggest it as you were already out on your way to buy your cable. Anyways, I assume that the cables are grouped together side by side as opposed to a jumbled bundle.

If this is true, lay the cable flat on a table or floor. If the cables are aligned in the fashion shown on circuitcity's product photo, the green, blue, and red cables go for video. This red cable should be directly next to the blue. There will be a white cable next to a red cable. These two cables go into your speaker input.

From the picture there appears to be labelling around the color band of each cable. This might give you insight about which cable is what. The only confusion you should have is how to tell the two red cables apart, but one red should be on the outside of the bunch, and the other should be in the center (that is, if the cables all flatten out side by side).

EDIT: I hadn't looked at the monitor specs before, but I did so just now. On Amazon, it lists the inputs as 15pin D-sub, CVBS, S-Video and TV. It only lists "Analog RGB" because it mentions SCART. I assume that since your monitor doesn't have a SCART connection, it doesn't have analog RGB either.

If you do not have component input (R-G-B), then you most likely have at least S-Video. This should be a black connection with 4 female pin connections. There should also be a rectangular guide.

I'm not familiar with the xbox but I assume that you have to buy an adapter for S-Video output. That adapter should have the same stereo audio connections.

I'm sorry, but it looks like you're going to have to go back to the store. You're probably going to need something like this. (http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Microsoft-Xbox-360-S-Video-AV-Cable-882224037297-/sem/rpsm/oid/138279/catOid/-13233/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do) There are of course going to be other brands available as well.

I'm not sure how much better your performance is going to be on the LCD with this type of connection.

[tomster2300]

Here's a diagram.

http://www.psyclonecables.com/PYX20install.html

On the back of my monitor I lack the three ports on the left - I just have the three ports meant for composite (yellow, red, white). I do have some kind of odd port beside it labeled EXT (RGB) but it's not meant for component. It looks like something you would plug a VGA cable into (it has many small holes). I guess what I bought isn't going to work then, huh.

When I plug the green plug into my yellow video composite port it displays the xbox image and lets me choose my HD resolution (480, 720, etc.) but it's all in black and white. I guess I need those other two cables for the other color hues...

Oh well...this monitor is the only thing in the house which I could potentially play xbox in HD on - is there any other way to do it?

[tomster2300]

EDIT: Found a better picture. The bottom two pictures at this link show the ports on the back of my monitor.

http://www.xyzcomputing.com/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=376&Itemid=2&limit=1&limitstart=2

[Stuey]

Yup. I just found that image too. You may be able to achieve the clarity you want with the S-Video connection, but I'm not to familiar with the xbox or different connection capabilities. Sorry buddy.

When did you purchase the monitor?

[RJ]

EDIT: Found a better picture. The bottom two pictures at this link show the ports on the back of my monitor.

Ah, I see. Your TV does have SCART. The "EXT(RGB)" is the SCART one. Never seen a SCART labeled RGB, though. The VGA port is called RGB as well on your TV. . . never seen that either (it's usually called VGA or D-SUB).
Anyway, get a fully wired SCART cable to hook up XBOX and TV.

RJ

[Stuey]

I just googled for a bit and I saw that there are some D-Sub adapters but they're expensive and the site mentioned that they're more compatible with CRT monitors than LCDs.

With the SCART... I have no idea what a "fully wired SCART cable" is or even looks like. That said, he's not going to be able to find one easily or at all.

In addition, his XBOX may be incapbale of being connected to a SCART signal.

Tomster, I recommend that you take a look at your LCD's manual and your xbox's manual and see what they say.

It seems like we're all on a different page, and that led you to purchasing something you cannot use. I suggest that before you go back to circuit city, figure out exactly which connections you can and cannot utilize, although I am fairly confident that S-Video connection is 100% allowable. HOWEVER, I'm not sure if that will give you an improved signal, you have to consult an xbox manual or website on that manner.

[tomster2300]

Would a scart cord give me HD?

[Stuey]

That's the thing, some products are altered slightly depending on location. U.S. xbox units might not even allow this kind of a connection even if it were possible. SCART isn't a standard or even an option in the U.S. therefore it's not going to be readily available EVEN IF your xbox unit AND LCD BOTH support it, which I highly doubt.

I think that your best bet is finding out whether or not an S-Video signal will give you the High-Def signal that you want.

[RJ]

Alright. I forgot tomster lives in the US as well. SCART does not exist in the US.
When I saw the SCART I thought he lived in the UK. . it gets confusing sometimes :(

HD is component only. SCART, which includes RGB, S-Video and Composite, does not allow HD.

Looks like the VGA port is the only one that is capable of HD resolutions.

RJ

[tomster2300]

Do they make a VGA cable for the xbox? I don't think they would since 1080i is 1920x1080 and only possible through DVI. I guess I just can't achieve HD with this monitor.

[Stuey]

I did a quick search yesterday for xbox D-Sub adapters and checked out a few products. A few of them were amateur hacks while one was a completed product. The website mentioned that it was compatible with nearly all CRT monitors but only specific types of LCD. The site was up over 2 years ago which suggests that the product may not be compatible with your LCD.

I'm still not sure what RJ means by RGB (RBG = component video??), but yea, it seems like you won't be able to achieve HD with that hardware combination.

[RJ]

RGB = red, green, blue. The three basic colors, with which all other colors are created.
With RGB you transmit the values for red, green and blue separately. Like VGA and DVI as well, they also transmit RGB values.

Component is YUV. It derives from RGB, but it's a different colorspace.

VGA can also transmit HD resolutions. The thing is, your TV can't display 1920x1080, so the question is: Will it automatically downconvert 1920x1080 to 1280x720, or would you have to feed the monitor with a 720p signal.
But if you can't output a VGA signal with the XBox it doesn't matter anyway.

RJ