I have a question about the new Madcatz xbox 360 hdmi converter

[yoda313]

Xbox 360 HDMI Conversion Kit contains:
One Optical Audio Cable
HDMI Cable

http://www.gamestop.com/product.asp?product%5Fid=802814

Hi,

THis comes out on 1-7-08. This is the link at gamestops website. I was unable to get a preorder link at the madcatz website. I see there looks to be an adapter box of sometype in the package. However there isn't much specifics on it. Is this a component to hdmi converter kit? If so would this work on all component cables?

This is a bit pricey and I may not get it if it works just on the 360 - though I could use if for my hddvd addon drive since I am going to leave it with my 360 instead of the pc (too much stuttering on the pc side none on the 360 so that's where it will stay). I have a component switcher for my 360, wii, and ps2. I would invision using this adapter to convert the single component out from the switcher to the hdmi converter and then to the tv. However both of my hdmi inputs are taken so I'd have to get an hdmi switcher as well.

Would this be worthwhile? Also would a direct hdmi conversion allow for the 360 to be converted to 1366x768 to match my lcd hdtv? Or is that limited to 720p/1080i/p?

Also is this a direct connect cable to the back of the 360? If so than I would only be able to use it with the 360 and hddvd drive. Would the signal upconversion from analog to hdmi be worth the $90 plus an hdmi swithcer? (fyi I have a high def cable dvr and my vista pc connected to my two hdmi ports on the tv - yes I only have two hdmi ports but I also have two component connections).

Any insight would be valuable. Are there press reports or tech articles on this device? Links would be appreciated too. Thanks.


EDIT:



Ok here is a close up of the device. It is indeed a direct connectin to the 360. So that said it won't do any good for regular component cables. Would this be worthwhile for hddvds and 360 games?

There is an ongoing blog on this site blogsmithmedia.com about the adapter but ended at dec 21st with no further posts. The debate is whether or not this actually takes a pure digital signal to the tv or is simply converting the component to dgital. Would this be worthwhile if it was a a-d converter rather than a true digital signal?

Also there is talk about the vga port. I do have a vga port on my tv. Someone mentioned its resolution maxes at 1024x768. My lcd is 1366x768. Am I better off getting the microsoft vga conversion cable rahter than this expensive adapter? Would running at 1024x768 be better than 720p or 1080i on my set?

Any experience is welcome.

[edDV]

What is the point of doing this conversion? I would assume this is for people who lack enough component analog inputs to their TV and have excess HDMI. Is this ever the case?

Your TV already has component analog to digital and upscale processing. If your TV accepts VGA, the XBox360 VGA output allows output sizing to 1360x768. I'd look to VGA as the highest quality solution. Converting 1280x720 componnet analog to HDMI 1280x720 is not going to increase quality. It most likely will decrease quality vs. the TV's built in componnet to digital processing unless your TV processing has very poor quality.

In other words, the options are:

1. XBox360 D/A to 1280x720 analog component out. A/D,matrix to RGB and upscale in the TV to 1366x768.

2. XBox360 upscale to 1360x768 RGB and D/A to VGA. TV does A/D to 1360x768 RGB for direct display.

3. XBox360 D/A to 1280x720 analog component out. Device does A/D to 1280x720 YCbCr HDMI*. TV does YCbCr to RGB matrix and upscales to 1366x768 for display.

* or the device does matrix YCbCr to RGB HDMI. If the device does any scaling, it would be crude at the $80 price point.

[yoda313]

Thanks eddv I just edited the post and did not see your response.

About the option 2- Is the vga option the best route for the 360? Would that improve hddvds? I do have a vga port on my tv so that would be a possiblility. Actually I would not need my component switcher if I did that. I would leave my ps2 and wii direct connected to the tvs two component jacks and then the 360 to the vga port.

Is there any hdcp hddvd issues with a direct vga connection?

Edit - I saw this post on a review of the 40.00 vga cable at gamestops website:

Reviewed By: Dale Bo Date: Friday, May 11, 2007
This cable is excellent! Plus it comes with a mini jack plug adaptor for the RCA audio, I didn't know this until I looked in the little green bag. lol, excellent product though. Vizio LCD monitor looks GREAT! 1366x768 resolution now


So that would suggest that using a cheaper vga cable to the tv would enable me to go with a 1:1 pixel quality on the 360 and hddvds correct? That would seem to be the best choice wouldn't it?


EDIT 2 - I think the vga cable looks to be the best option then. At only 40.00 it will do direct pixel mode according to the above post. Also it has a optical out port just as my current component adapter does. That way I would be able to simply swap out the two cables and go for it. It also has analog audio so I could do a direct input to my tv so I can play games on the tv without having to have my receiver on.

If anyone has other suggestions for maxing out the resolution on a non hdmi 360 I think this will probably be my cheapest and simplest solution for maximum quaility on what I have available. Thanks eddv.

[edDV]

I think VGA is the best option for an analog output XBox360 for game play. I can't comfirm if HD-DVD playback is better with VGA or analog components.

To get HD-DVD output to HDMI, I assume the HDMI version of the XBox360 would be required. Again I don't know if this would provide any better picture quality for a 1366x768 HDTV.

[yoda313]

Thanks eddv. I will buy the vga adapter to get better game play.

I will say the hddvd looked great at 1366x768 on my pc through my dvi-hdmi cable. However the usb drive lagged too much on my single core amd pc. My bluray looks great with almost no stuttering and it is an internal drive. That is why I'll be leaving my hddvd drive connected to my 360 - no lag. Though my internal bluray rom is very smooth.

I think this probably will be the best bet for both gaming and hddvd with my current hardware.

I appreciate the insights...

[yoda313]

BUMP!

I never updated this thread. About two weeks ago I finally bought a vga adapter for the xbox. It has a port to use the fiber optic output just like the component adapter. It also has stereo rca outputs to hook up to your tv for use without an amplifier (my tv just has a headphone jack input for the vga port so I used one of those headphone splitter jacks and some couplers to hook it up).

I must say it blew me away!

I never knew what I was missing using just compononent on the 360. Since mine is not an hdmi model I though the compenent at 720p or 1080i was the best I could get. WRONG!

The 1360x768 option is the best I can do through the menu. There is no 1366x768 option that I can find in the xbox menu. That is a minor annoyance that I can't get 100% resolution matching but 98% is pretty close.

The first thing I noticed while playing halo 3 over vga was how much sharper the text was. Also the blues in the game were just outstanding. They were slightly muddier on the component connection. And the overall detail level is much better in gameplay.

Also this makes the 360 a perfect upconverting dvd player. I have the basic xbox remote that came with my hddvd drive so that works out a little better than using my pc as an upconverting player (note I gave my insignia upconverting dvd player to my sister and brother in law - it was extaneous with the pc and I only had two hdmi ports so this worked out well).

HDDVD'S seem slightly improved. It's hard to quantify any significant gain. Regular dvd's were noticeably improved since the component cables only offered 480p on sd dvds. With that said hddvds still look very good on the hdtv. Probably a little better since its now 768p instead of 720p.

Thanks eddv for the input.