360? LCD TV? Read this!!

i have a 52" sony lcd with native 1080p....and component is much better then VGA on my tvXraven33

[QUOTE="RabbidDawg"]Ive got a 32 inch Samsung LCD HDTV that has VGA and Component, and I use component over VGA. The VGA cable does seem to fx some anti-aliasing issues and have deeper colors, and some textures look smoother but the text and small details are REALLY pixelated, and it doesnt appear to have the clarity and brightness that component has.

VGA just has a dull, "cloudy" look to it.
foxy42

I have a sony 32'' lcd, KDL-V32XBR1.  Is there a way to check if the using VGA would be better without having to buy the adapter itself or would I have to just buy it and see?  I'd like the better quality and I'm short one component connection right now so freeing one up would be great...DrewBlood08

seeing as how many of you guys seem to know what your talking about, could you lend a hand to a hd noob? I am thinking about buying a hdtv for my 360, i dont have cable or satalite in my room so thats not a factor this tv is going to be for gaming . unfortunatly i have a budget of around 500 dollars and i know thats nothing when looking for a good hd set. while looking for something in the 20inch range i stumbled accross this set on bestbuy.com and was wondering if this would suit my gaming only needs. http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7601491&type=product&productCategoryId=pcmcat95100050013&id=1130981881933I personally dont have a clue if this is good or not. all i saw is that its hd and 27 inches and under 500. if im totaly wrong please let me know.also if this set is ok, is there anything else i need i have the cables that came in the premium bundle. thanks for any help.also if anyone has a suggestion of a good hd set that fits my budget post a link.

Hmm...I also have a 32" Samsung HDTV....this will give me something to consider investing in. fore_runner

I have both cables and basically for me its a trade off.Colours and contrast are noticably superior thru component.My tv's native res is 768p so vga fits the pixels better elimating jaggies.When im watching hddvd's some small detail is affected by the few off pixels over component but the colours like rich blue skies or purple/orange sunsets are incredible looking.Thru vga the small details come across perfectly meaning things like costume design and texture gradients look incredible but the colours and contrast,like in cityscapes at night or sunsets just dont pop off the screen like they do with component.Its an annoying trade off to be forced to make and its the most dissatisfying thing about the 360 in my opinion.

Thanks for starting this thread its one of the more useful one's.

seeing as how many of you guys seem to know what your talking about, could you lend a hand to a hd noob? I am thinking about buying a hdtv for my 360, i dont have cable or satalite in my room so thats not a factor this tv is going to be for gaming . unfortunatly i have a budget of around 500 dollars and i know thats nothing when looking for a good hd set. while looking for something in the 20inch range i stumbled accross this set on bestbuy.com and was wondering if this would suit my gaming only needs. http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7601491&type=product&productCategoryId=pcmcat95100050013&id=1130981881933I personally dont have a clue if this is good or not. all i saw is that its hd and 27 inches and under 500. if im totaly wrong please let me know.also if this set is ok, is there anything else i need i have the cables that came in the premium bundle. thanks for any help.also if anyone has a suggestion of a good hd set that fits my budget post a link.

Mastachief2552

can anyone who knows about hd tell me if this is a decient hd set, all i want to know is will this actually look beter than the sdtv i am currently using.

VGA is a digital output, like HDMI, any digital output will increase quality, but i have my lcd hooked up with component (booo no vga input) and it looks crisp.

VGA is a digital output, like HDMI, any digital output will increase quality, but i have my lcd hooked up with component (booo no vga input) and it looks crisp.

vodshuggah

VGA is not a digital output......its analog.

VGA is a digital output, like HDMI, any digital output will increase quality, but i have my lcd hooked up with component (booo no vga input) and it looks crisp.

vodshuggah

I feel compelled to make this post about my recent experiences with HDTVs and my 360, as I have discovered a gem of information that some of you may already know, but I think most of you may not...if you can plough this essay of my lifes story, you might find it worth your while.

Short version for lazy people - Using component input for 720p or 1080p? TV has VGA input? Try the VGA cable, maybe it will make your experience MUCH better! Read more to see why...

Firstly, I bought my 360 relatively recently (few months), and when I bought it I did not have an HDTV. However, I'm a senior tech for a living, so I DO have lots of monitors. So of course I bought the VGA cable straight away. Plugged it into an old 19"CRT (the old big, deep ones) monitor. When you're connected via VGA, the Xbox dashboard lets you set a generic resolution for the dashboard AND any games/DVDs that are played through the xbox. So, I set the dashboard res at 1024x768 (monitor was not a wide, unfortunately), and started playing. Of course the display was small and 'letterboxed' cos no widescreen, but the graphics were very nice and I was impressed. All was well in foxy's office until...

A few days ago, I bought a 32" Samsung LCD just for the Xbox (we have bigger plans for the living room, but more on that in a later post ;)), I eagerly dug out the old component cable I had never used and set the little switch to HD, booted up the dashboard, set it to 720p (fully supported by the LE32R32B) and loaded up Test Drive (nice trees n stuff). I was shocked how crap it looked. I was so shocked I was convinced there was something wrong with the TV.

Now, this TV (as most LCDs these days) also has a VGA input, so I thought 'hmmmmm, have to try that, can't be any worse!', so I plugged in the vga, and booted it up. Went to dashboard to see what resolutions I could choose from, and lo and behold, there it was, my TV's native resolution (the same native res of most 720p compatible TVs - 1360x768 ), so I set it to that and booted up Test Drive again. WHAT A DIFFERENCE!!! It's amazing, sharp, beautiful colours, contrast, I was happy, but I still beleived that there must be something wrong with the TV for the component to look so bad in comparison, so I went searching on the 'net and found this...

http://forum.ecoustics.com/bbs/messages/5/150612.html

Very helpful, many knowledgable people, most stating the same thing...that VGA is much better than component!! I never knew this! As you can see there are some people who disagree, but this is most likely due to the fact that their TVs are not all that compatible or don't process VGA signals correctly. In the end it makes perfect sense, in your Xbox is a PC graphics card with a chipset most likely optimized for digital and analog VGA displays.

So, my point is...if you have a TV that has a VGA connector, but you are using the component input at 720p, TRY THE VGA CABLE!! Probably it will make a HUGE difference to the quality of your gameplaying.

foxy42

I really appreciate that this topic was posted and it comes at a great time for me.  I am hearing a lot of talk about component vs. VGA for LCD HDTV's which is great!  It will really help me out when I get one.  However I am not hearing anything about LCD monitiors that are video equipped, meaning, they have DVI, VGA, component, s-video, and RCA's but are made to be computer monitors.  These monitors are becoming more and more popular and, coincidentally, I bought one.  A very nice one at that, the 22 inch Gateway FPD2275W, which is HDCP compliant, has all of the above inputs and has a native res of 1680 x 1050.  Currently I am running the monitor from computer through VGA, the Xbox360 is going through the component line. 

The picture for the 360 looks incredible for just about anything!  I first started it at 1080i since the native res could accept it and then downscaled to 720p at the advice of a friend who said it looks less fuzzy if I did that.  I'm telling you guys a great game to test how awesome 360 looks is Prey!  Anyways, if I am reading you guys correctly then I will get a more true res if I switch to VGA inputs ( I had given this thought before and decided to go component) for the 360, right?  But how can that be if the component looks so awesome!  If anyone has any experience with these monitors and has any advice regarding the res of my monitor and what would be best, let me know, and thanks again for this topic.    

By the way this monitor is all part of my new 360 (birthday) setup, which includes, Xbox360, Gateway FPD2275W 22"  monitor, M-Audio Studio Pro 4 studio monitor speakers, and all in an office of my own.  Yea me!  Will post pics if anyone wants to tell me how.  Thanks again!

Nice story, but I think a lot of it depends on your TV. VGA isn't always above and beyond better than component. VGA might be sharper but also have less vibrant colors on some TVs, etc. I'd love to see what my TV would look like witha VGA cable, but I'm not willing to drop 40 bucks on a cable which may or may not have a major impact. Now, when I go from a 20 inch LCD to a 60 inch DLP I'll almost certainly for for VGA cables.jmartinez1983

Yes VGA is always better then componet no questions asked.  So you will spend a ton of cash on a TV,  but not even $40 bucks on cables.  Yeah that makes a lot of sense.  That is like putting regular gas in your porsche.  If you are that cheap then you should not be driving the porsche. 

Also, I noticed in the item description for the 360 vga cables, it only lists "Video outputs settings of 480p, 720p, or 1080i". I was just curious because it dosen't say it supports 768p. thanks. pizzavideogames

1366 x 768 is 1080i.  When using VGA cable that is how they are displayed.

1920 x 1080 is 1080p

Before you argue do some reseaech because I am right.

[QUOTE="pizzavideogames"]Also, I noticed in the item description for the 360 vga cables, it only lists "Video outputs settings of 480p, 720p, or 1080i". I was just curious because it dosen't say it supports 768p. thanks. VladTheImpaler

1366 x 768 is 1080i.  When using VGA cable that is how they are displayed.

1920 x 1080 is 1080p

Before you argue do some reseaech because I am right.

component is the better choice.....only low-end hdtv's will look better using VGA......if your tv looks better using VGA, its because it a cheap tv that doesn't have quality component......component will allways look better on a decent HDTV.......skitzofraen