XBox 360 Setup Question

[Seven]

Hey OCers,

So I'm looking to buy an Xbox within the next few weeks, maybe tonight. I'm kind of confused on what version I should get though. I'm stuck between the regular one and the elite, and below are a few of my reasons.

-My Sony 56" HDTV has an HDMI port (I really don't know what this does besides audio and video on 1 cable)
-I hear HDMI has better quality than anything else...can anybody confirm this?
-For only $100 more, if I were to buy an elite, I'd basically get better processors, a bigger harddrive, better cooling, and an HDMI cable. If I would upgrade to HDMI anyway, this is negligible.

A few points about my setup:
56" Sony HDTV (pretty new, i think it does 1080i, maybe 1080p)
Sony Receiver connected to Klipsch 5.1 Setup

Could I possibly use the HDMI cable for video, and then use toslink to connect my xbox to the receiver? I want to use it since the sound will probably be better anyway.

If anybody could help with this, I'd appreciate it.
7

[Blue Jester_2112]

Actually, you can get the regular version with an HDMI out now as well.
The only difference between the elite and the premium w/HDMI is the color and the hard drive. Everything else should be the same as far as I know.
Will HDMI give you better video quality over component? No, not really. It's such a short cable run that you won't need to worry about any signal degredation. The big plus to HDMI on the 360is that you'll be able to upscale DVD's and you'll be able to take advantage of any 1080p content (provided yours is a 1080p television). Less cables is always nice too.
You should be able to set it up so that video is delivered over the HDMI cable and the sound is delivered over the toslink cable. I believe they have an adapter that comes with specifically for people that want to do this. It's how I have my PS3 setup currently.

[Surfrider77]

Dont have an Xbox, but I am fairly certain with all systems you need HDMI to get your 1080p output. Some people claim they cant tell the difference, but I think they need their vision checked if they cant honestly see the difference in the two.

I use my PS3 via HDMI to my Sony 46" and its night and day differene when viewing 1080p vs lesser resolutions.

I have my sound coming out of my TOSLINK to my Harmon Kardon receiver and it also comes out the TV via the HDMI. I dont see why the Xbox would be any different.

[tresmonos]

Dont have an Xbox, but I am fairly certain with all systems you need HDMI to get your 1080p output. Some people claim they cant tell the difference, but I think they need their vision checked if they cant honestly see the difference in the two.

I use my PS3 via HDMI to my Sony 46" and its night and day differene when viewing 1080p vs lesser resolutions.

I have my sound coming out of my TOSLINK to my Harmon Kardon receiver and it also comes out the TV via the HDMI. I dont see why the Xbox would be any different.

You can get 1080P with component. The only difference is how the signal is transmitted/divided up. The difference is negligible. There is a visual difference, but its very hard to tell which is 'better.' It really depends on your application.

With respect to the 360, Blue Jester is correct in the difference between the two HDMI units. I recommend getting the HDMI unit manufactured after July of 2007 to avoid hardware failure issues.

[Blue Jester_2112]

Dont have an Xbox, but I am fairly certain with all systems you need HDMI to get your 1080p output. Some people claim they cant tell the difference, but I think they need their vision checked if they cant honestly see the difference in the two.

I use my PS3 via HDMI to my Sony 46" and its night and day differene when viewing 1080p vs lesser resolutions.


I meant the difference between HDMI and Component would be essentially indecernable with respect to a 360, especially since most 360 content is 720p or 1080i anyway.
As far as seeing a difference between 1080p and 720p, in my experience that really depends on how good your TV and your video source are, the size of the TV and how well calibrated you have it. If you have it set up right, 1080p can look incredible.

[Seven]

Okay, most of that was helpful.

FYI:
-The Premium DOES NOT come with an HDMI cable, the Elite DOES
-The Cable is $50

$50 is essentially negligible to me for better video quality and utility. Still worth it is what I'm saying. I'm looking to purchase one of these systems pretty soon, so I just want to know what to buy.

I'm going to go check if my HDTV can even do 1080p, if it can then I think the elite is definitely worth it.

[Seven]

My HDTV does up to 1080i

With that in mind, should I go for the premium or the elite?

[Blue Jester_2112]

Check out monoprice.com, you can get a 6 ft HDMI cable for ~$4. Its a digital signal so you'll see no difference between a $50 official MS cable and a monoprice brand one. I use one I bought from monoprice with my PS3 and it works perfect and the build quality is very nice. its inexpensive, but by no means cheap.
The only difference I see between the two is hard drive size and color. If I were making this decision for myself, I would probably do a little research on all of the online content (demos, TV shows, movies) that can be downloaded over Xbox live and see how much of it I would be really interested in to see if I really need the extra hard drive space.

[rainless]

My HDTV does up to 1080i

With that in mind, should I go for the premium or the elite?

You're missing the point:

Both systems have an HDMI port (though one doesn't have the cable) and both display the same resolutions. Both will come with the new cooling system.

So the reason you'd be getting the elite over the premium would be the hard drive space... not the resolution or anything like that.

[Seven]

Ah thanks rainless.

I believe they just updated the Premium (as of August 2007) to come packaged with an HDMI cable. And the processors are the same now.

Thanks for the help guys! A toslink cable shouldn't be too bad either, am I right? Only about $20 for a nice one from what I've seen.

7

[kayson]

Ah thanks rainless.

I believe they just updated the Premium (as of August 2007) to come packaged with an HDMI cable. And the processors are the same now.

Thanks for the help guys! A toslink cable shouldn't be too bad either, am I right? Only about $20 for a nice one from what I've seen.

7
I got one off of newegg for $5 shipped and the sound quality is outstanding as far as I can tell. Also about the HD resolution, I can't tell the difference between 1080i and 1080p, nor can I tell the difference between HDMI and component. I would just go with a premium. The elite probably isn't worth it.

[VinnyTAMU]

I just got an elite holiday bundle (buy.com) two games and the elite for $444 (had a $15 off coupon). I am glad that I got the Elite, because for me I think 20Gb is just too small.

[rainless]

I just got an elite holiday bundle (buy.com) two games and the elite for $444 (had a $15 off coupon). I am glad that I got the Elite, because for me I think 20Gb is just too small.

I'd go for the Elite myself. I got my 360 HDMI because I had a replacement plan at Gamestop and I just gave them the old RROD system and they gave me a brand new HDMI one. If I'd have waited I would've gotten the two games and HDMI cable as well... but I can't complain.

I'm a lot better off now than a lot of other 360 owners.

[Blackstar]

Check out monoprice.com, you can get a 6 ft HDMI cable for ~$4. Its a digital signal so you'll see no difference between a $50 official MS cable and a monoprice brand one. I use one I bought from monoprice with my PS3 and it works perfect and the build quality is very nice. its inexpensive, but by no means cheap.
The only difference I see between the two is hard drive size and color. If I were making this decision for myself, I would probably do a little research on all of the online content (demos, TV shows, movies) that can be downloaded over Xbox live and see how much of it I would be really interested in to see if I really need the extra hard drive space.


Yeah, just like Blue said, you can get 6 foot HDMI cables from 4-10 bucks. Only *&#$%^#'s pay $50 or more for HDMI cables. Plus if you want to get the optical audio adapter instead of using the HDMI for audio, just call 1-800-4MYXBOX and they will ship you one for free. I got mine is less and 5 days.

;)

http://www.cables4sure.com/proddetail~prod~1A%2D233006%2D06.htm

- Blackstar