What HDMI cable... and where from?

Just bought my first big-ass HD LCD TV (full HD). Looks like I need an HDMI cable to get my 360 running on Hi-Def, and just wanted some opinions on what the best cable is, and a good place to purchase in the UK.

I'm new to the HD world - so any advice much appreciated.

Thanks.

Monster cables have a very good reputation, iv'e owned 3 of them and there very good, (expensive tho)

but the monster 200 hdmi cable is cheap as hell on play atm. http://www.play.com/Electronics/Electronics/4-/5983521/Monster-200-HDMI-1-Metre-Cable/Product.html I have one myself it's a quality cable, i payed £70 for it not too long ago. When using HDMi you want the cable to be as short as possible, (nothing over one metre) have you checked your xbox has a hdmi port?

the older ones arn't compatible. Which tv have you bought? if you don't mind me asking.

Damn... just had a read - and noticed, as you mention, that my 360 (being an early model) has no HDMI port!

So I'm guessing I'll need the component HD AV cable (which might be in the box if I dig it out)?

I've bought a Toshiba Regza... which seemed to have prety good review, several from people using it with a 360.

Yeah the component cable that comes with the xbox is capable of HD, i don't know much about your tv im affraid,

Does it support 1080P? only some tv's support 1080P through component, only the high end ones do.

Can you look at your tv for me and tell me if it supports 1080P (full hd) and if it has a vga input, thanks.

Ok iv'e had a look at your tv, it supports 1080p so you need to hook up your xbox via the component cable,

go to the settings on your xbox menu and see if you can select 1080P, if you can't you need to see if your tv has vga input,

vga is the connection pc's have, so look for one at the back off your tv, you will definetly be able to get 1080p through vga,

you will need to buy a xbox to vga cable but they are quite cheap.

Thanks for the help.

No mention of VGA port... but it does list WXGA - PC input on the spec... would this be of any use?

Not got the TV yet... so can't mess about with it at the moment.

First off, all HDMI cables are the same (they transmit a digital signal) so do not go to a Best Buy or such to buy them. Check out monoprice.com. You will save tons of money.

Secondly, their is an aftermarket component for older 360's that will allow you to use an HDMI cable. I have not used it and have not seen it used, it may allow you to display your games in 1080p.

Hope this helps.

Oh yeah and just FYI- DO NOT buy Monster HDMI cables. Any $5-8 HDMI cable from monoprice will work. Anything over $15 is a rip-off.

Damn beaten to it lol.

Thanks for the help.

No mention of VGA port... but it does list WXGA - PC input on the spec... would this be of any use?

Not got the TV yet... so can't mess about with it at the moment.

gobes

Gobes, that's probably the same as vga... should be a larger blue port on the back of the tv kind of in the shape of an isosceles trapezoid

Yes well done you know more about hdmi than me (starts a slow clap) yes it's obviously a digital signal and therefore won't have any interference. But if you you can get a quality monster cable for cheap then you should, i spend £1400 on a tv, im not gonna buy a cable for £2.99. Don't buy the 6mtr cable someone mentioned, you should never go above 1 metre. If you can use vga then I would suggest that over the aftermarket cable someone mentioned, vga looks better than component, even if you can get 1080p.

i spend £1400 on a tv, im not gonna buy a cable for £2.99. greendisk

See that's how they get you. You walk into a store, buy an expensive TV, and then the sales person will say something like-

"You are going to need an HDMI cable to really use this TV's potential."

"How much will that cost?"

"Just $130.00."

"Oh well that's not bad. I have already spent $2,000 on this TV anyway!"

For connecting your 360 to your TV any cheap HDMI cable will do. You can spend $5 or $150 and you will not notice any difference with your 360 and TV.

Sure Monster cables offer lots more features on their list - but they are only useful if the device outputting the signal supports those features. Some top of the range HDDVD or BluRay player might support those features, but a 360 just uses a cheaper version of it.

As gonzales1 said - the reason they can charge so much is becuase they play on how much you are spending on the TV, convince uninformed buyers that they need the expensive cable to get the most out of their new TV when in reality they get no improvement.

The standard set of cables the 360 comes with can connect in either composite mode (SD) or component (HD). You can also buy another cable - the 360 VGA cable which allows you to connect via a VGA port (look at the back of your PC monitor), which allows more resolutions on HDTVs