So I plan on getting a 360 soon (Elite), and I was wondering whether to use HDMI or the component cables. I don't really understand the difference between the two. My TV is 42". I was also wondering whether I should use 1080i or 720p for my resolution.
If your TV supports 1080p and you want to use 1080p you will have to use an HDMI cable (or VGA). The difference is, component is anolog and HDMI is digital and 1080p requires a digital signal.
If you are not going to use 1080p then there is no real noticable difference between the 2 (and if you could use component for 1080p then the same would go for that).
I have an Elite, and I wondered the same thing, so I experimented. I have a 52in. Hitachi 720P/1080i Rear Projection, and I haven't seen any difference between the two. The only difference would be if the TV was over 40in. and 1080p to see a jump in quality. I played GRAW at both 720p and 1080i and they both looked great. I think you'd be better of with 720p though, lines just are a bit crisper.
So what should I use, HDMI or the component cables? Either or?shiftbourne
I've got both an Elite and a Premium. I did a side by side comparison. No visible difference (to my eyes, or three of my friends' eyes) between HDMI and component. Noticiable improvement from either of those by using the VGA cable (on my LCD displays, 24" 26" and 32", tried them all) if your display supports it.
Use the HDMI cable. Since your TV doesnt support 1080p then you wont notice a difference if you were using the component or HDMI, so just use the one you only have to plug in once, not 3 times.
if you have an hdmi port use it but if you only have a component port then just stick with that because if you are not going to have 1080p then hdmi will not be helpful at all for you.
Use the HDMI cable. Since your TV doesnt support 1080p then you wont notice a difference if you were using the component or HDMI, so just use the one you only have to plug in once, not 3 times.
andrewhateme
yea ^ I agree, but is there even HDMI ports for 1080i and 720p hdtvs?
I have an Elite, and I wondered the same thing, so I experimented. I have a 52in. Hitachi 720P/1080i Rear Projection, and I haven't seen any difference between the two. The only difference would be if the TV was over 40in. and 1080p to see a jump in quality. I played GRAW at both 720p and 1080i and they both looked great. I think you'd be better of with 720p though, lines just are a bit crisper.FunkWeasel
i means interlaced picture meaning that the image is only partly scanned to make a sharper picture while p means progressive scan so it will have a better picture, so thats why 1080i will be not quite as good as 1080p. but 1080p will be quite a bit better than 720p or 1080i.
So what should I use, HDMI or the component cables? Either or?shiftbourne
To answer your question shiftbourne, if your TV supports the HDMI cable, use it. It may not show on all games, but the cord is ment for true HDTV, component cables are modified V cables that support up to 480i but can make a good looking 720p or 1080i picture.If you want to watch a blue ray disc movie and have a HD DVD player,HDMI WILL make a difference between the component cables and the HDMI cable. Don't forget to set your Xbox360 to Optimal Resolution as your 360 will determin the best settings for your games and movies when you play or watch them.
Doesn't the 360 Premium pack come with Component cables that can output 720p? I'm planning to buy a 360 soon and although I don't currently own an hdtv, I plan to pick up a 32" Samsung lcd in the future that is 720p.
So I plan on getting a 360 soon (Elite), and I was wondering whether to use HDMI or the component cables. I don't really understand the difference between the two. My TV is 42". I was also wondering whether I should use 1080i or 720p for my resolution.shiftbourne
Given you are using a tv that is 1080i at best, you will not see the full benefits of 1080p unless you run a full HD screen. The hdmi cable will carry more digital signal than this tv can display. Use hdmi if you have the connection and set the console to 1080i. This will give you better colour depth than running the console using component & 720p.
If you only have the component connection, then definately run the console at 720p. 1080i doesn't do as well down a component cable, so you won't see an improvement in picture quality. Remember, most games are native 720p on the 360, if you run them at 1080i you have to atificially upscale the image to meet the tv's resolution. Sometimes this can degrade the picture quality.
I have had this debate with myself for a long timeand finally decided to buy both the high quiality end Compnent cable*the one with the split goldtips* and an HDMI cable. I set both to 720p and 1080i and in both the HDMI did make a differenece in them. So i stuck with the HDMI. It might just be my tv though(23 inch samsung LCD HDTV) as for the resoultion, i set it to OPTIMUM RESOLUTION. it looks a lot better to me and it makes sence as it will send out the signal to match the TVs resolution. hope this helps
Both hdmi and component can do 1080p!! But most tvs does not accept 1080p trough component. Imo they look the same. The benefits with hdmi is that you can upscale dvd movies to 720p,1080i and 1080p and cut the crap about hdmi being true hd or what not. The only difference is that component is analog and hdmi is digital thats it. All new hdtv's have hdmi it doesn't matter if its a 1080p tv or a 720p tv.
Both hdmi and component can do 1080p!! But most tvs does not accept 1080p trough component. Imo they look the same. The benefits with hdmi is that you can upscale dvd movies to 720p,1080i and 1080p and cut the crap about hdmi being true hd or what not. The only difference is that component is analog and hdmi is digital thats it. All new hdtv's have hdmi it doesn't matter if its a 1080p tv or a 720p tv.tony_fjellborg
 Finally, someone who knows what they're talking about! I have both a PS3 and 360, PS3 uses HDMI and my 360 uses component (my TV supports 1080P through component) and the different in picture isn't there. I just don't notice it. I have a 47in HDTV and sit about 6 feet away. Use HDMI if you wanna use your 360 to upscale DVD's...if that's not a priority, just use the component cables that come with the 360!
Use the HDMI cable. Since your TV doesnt support 1080p then you wont notice a difference if you were using the component or HDMI, so just use the one you only have to plug in once, not 3 times.
dark_raven_claw
yea ^ I agree, but is there even HDMI ports for 1080i and 720p hdtvs?
Does anyone even change the display settings on their tv's or 360? jesus I changed the resolution by a few frames (my output is 1080i w/ HDMI cable) on my 360 and had a very noticble difference. And no cause it depends on how many HDMI ports the tv has, wether its 720p or 1080i is determined by the system cause my tv automatically picks up what resolution my system is playing and both my 360 and PS3 play in 1080i or 720p if the game doesn't support 1080i
well hdmi does look better than component. alot sharper. use 720p. resolutions with i are what you use for video. games dont look as good in interlaced resolutions as they do in progressive resolutions. it may be a smaller number but the graphics do look better. get a hdmi lead. they only cheap the picture is better trust me. you get better colours and the black level on my tv looks much better on hdmi. where before when i had black on my tv it wasnt as good as on hdmi. i definetally notice a sharper picture as well. not a million miles more sharp but deffinetally better. if you got the choice out the two and can afford $10 for a hdmi lead then go for it. its defineatlly the best type of cable you can use for your tv and games system
Both hdmi and component can do 1080p!! But most tvs does not accept 1080p trough component. Imo they look the same. The benefits with hdmi is that you can upscale dvd movies to 720p,1080i and 1080p and cut the crap about hdmi being true hd or what not. The only difference is that component is analog and hdmi is digital thats it. All new hdtv's have hdmi it doesn't matter if its a 1080p tv or a 720p tv.tony_fjellborg
Thats a good point about compenent being analog and hdmi being digital. the major advantage is that the system reads it andprocceses it as digital and the tv also in digital. so using a hdmi will make it slightly easyer as the TV doesnt have to convert it from analog to digital. thats why there is a slight difference between compnent and hdmi. the main one that i can see is that hdmi makes the image much sharper, and the black levels are much better as well. i can also make more image inhancments on my tv with it.Â
That's right but it much depends on your tv, if you have a good tv it will make a analog signal look just as good as a digital. But if you have a tv that is bad at this the picture will of course look much better with hdmi.
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