I have a budget of about $2000, and I am looking to buy an Xbox 360 and an HDTV.

I need some suggestions for what version of the Xbox 360 to buy, and also some recommended HDTVs (1080p if it fits the budget).

Thanks.

Hi! Welcome to the Forum!

First, give us some information:

1. How far are you sitting from the TV?
2. Plasma or LCD?
3. TV size?
4. Room environment? (size of room, how much ambient light, etc.)
5. Purely for gaming, or movies, TV (SD vs. HD), etc.

Help us to help you!

1. How far are you sitting from the TV? About 10 ft
2. Plasma or LCD? I don't know, I heard DLP was nice
3. TV size? The largest I can get on my budget
4. Room environment? Not much ambient light, room size is 12ft x 20ft
5. Purely for gaming, or movies, TV (SD vs. HD), etc. Using for gaming, movies, and HDTV

Buy the Xbox 360 Elite and this TV:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7992684&st=LCD&lp=7&type=product&cp=1&id=1155069968903

I would go with either an Elite, or the new premium with HDMI, and this TV.

http://www.nextag.com/samsung-hls5687/search-html

Its the 56" Samsung 1080p DLP. They support 1080p over VGA, HDMI, and component so you can't miss. I think it would be the perfect size for 10' viewing distance. I have the 61" and sit 11-12' back and its just right! Most bang for your buck, IMO.

+1 on the samsung. i got my HLS-6187W through PC richards. the HLT's were out so teh HLS is an odl model.

the older models they let go really cheap if you dont care about having the newest TV

Get a panasonic plasma or a sony sxrd rear projection sets. Both are the best picture you can buy for the money as well as both being under 1500 also.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I really like the DLP TV's that use LEDs. The cheapest I could find for those was the $1600 Samsung HLT5087S (http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-HLT5087S-Slim-Engine-1080p/dp/B000N50RLO******pd_bbs_sr_1/103-1707742-3972621?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1188907434&sr=1-1).

If I decide that I don't want to spend all this money on an HDTV, could I use a computer LCD monitor with the 360? My monitor right now is the Dell 2007WFP (1680x1050). Would there be any compatibility issues?

Also, could my computer speakers be used with the 360?

Aggie, your Dell LCD should be fine. I assume it has a VGA/RGB input? If so, you would need to buy the VGA cable for the 360.

I doubt your PC speakers could connect directly to the VGA cable but I don't know. You may need to connect your 360 to your receiver, then to the speakers.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I really like the DLP TV's that use LEDs. The cheapest I could find for those was the $1600 Samsung HLT5087S (http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-HLT5087S-Slim-Engine-1080p/dp/B000N50RLO******pd_bbs_sr_1/103-1707742-3972621?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1188907434&sr=1-1).

If I decide that I don't want to spend all this money on an HDTV, could I use a computer LCD monitor with the 360? My monitor right now is the Dell 2007WFP (1680x1050). Would there be any compatibility issues?

Also, could my computer speakers be used with the 360?

You may be able to connect sound output from the 360 to your PC using Optical in (surround - best) or composite in (stereo - worst). Just look for the line in on the back of your PC and unmute it in the Volume Control Panel. You may need a RCA/composite (red & white plug) to 3.5mm (small headphone jack) converter which you can find for cheap. If you have optical in on your PC then by all means use that.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I really like the DLP TV's that use LEDs. The cheapest I could find for those was the $1600 Samsung HLT5087S (http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-HLT5087S-Slim-Engine-1080p/dp/B000N50RLO******pd_bbs_sr_1/103-1707742-3972621?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1188907434&sr=1-1).

If I decide that I don't want to spend all this money on an HDTV, could I use a computer LCD monitor with the 360? My monitor right now is the Dell 2007WFP (1680x1050). Would there be any compatibility issues?

Also, could my computer speakers be used with the 360?

I use my Dell 2005fpw when I go on vacation, or to friends houses for LAN's, works great through the VGA, or via HDMI>DVI if you have HDMI on your 360. Like mentioned earlier, you can run the sound through your PC or directly into the speakers depending on how its all setup.

Aggie, your Dell LCD should be fine. I assume it has a VGA/RGB input? If so, you would need to buy the VGA cable for the 360.

I doubt your PC speakers could connect directly to the VGA cable but I don't know. You may need to connect your 360 to your receiver, then to the speakers.

You can run the 360 directly to the PC speakers, though you won't be able to get sound from the PC in that case. You also may be able to run the 360 through your PC's line in/mic in.

My monitor has VGA and DVI, so that is not a problem. I am going to get the elite xbox 360, so it will have HDMI. What resolutions will I be able to run if I use VGA? What resolutions if I use an HDMI to DVI cable?

My computer sound card is an X-Fi Extreme Music, and it has a Digital I/O.

chrisherbert, what do I need to run the 360 directly to my speakers? The speakers only have a stereo 3.55mm plug.

My monitor has VGA and DVI, so that is not a problem. I am going to get the elite xbox 360, so it will have HDMI. What resolutions will I be able to run if I use VGA? What resolutions if I use an HDMI to DVI cable?

My computer sound card is an X-Fi Extreme Music, and it has a Digital I/O.

chrisherbert, what do I need to run the 360 directly to my speakers? The speakers only have a stereo 3.55mm plug.

HDMI to DVI and VGA should offer the same resolutions. I don't remember them all. Basically all 360 games are rendered at 1280x720, so unless your monitor's scaler is really bad you can probably just use that.

This will work to connect your speakers to your xbox, if the speakers don't have a cable handwired:

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10218&cs_id=1021804&p_id=666&seq=1&format=2&style=

The Microsoft VGA cable come with a similar adapter.

HDMI to DVI and VGA should offer the same resolutions. I don't remember them all. Basically all 360 games are rendered at 1280x720, so unless your monitor's scaler is really bad you can probably just use that.

This will work to connect your speakers to your xbox, if the speakers don't have a cable handwired:

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10218&cs_id=1021804&p_id=666&seq=1&format=2&style=

The Microsoft VGA cable come with a similar adapter.

My monitor can do 1:1 pixel scaling, and also maintain the aspect ratio to fill the screen and have black bars on the sides, but I don't know if it will work for 16:9 aspect and put black bars on the bottom and the top of the monitor.

Does that audio adapter let me insert a male 3.55mm jack? I haven't been able to find one that takes the male connector on my speakers. I need a cable that has a female plug for the jack.

My monitor can do 1:1 pixel scaling, and also maintain the aspect ratio to fill the screen and have black bars on the sides, but I don't know if it will work for 16:9 aspect and put black bars on the bottom and the top of the monitor.

Does that audio adapter let me insert a male 3.55mm jack? I haven't been able to find one that takes the male connector on my speakers. I need a cable that has a female plug for the jack.

You have to use the adapter, plus a female-female headphone jack....

My monitor can do 1:1 pixel scaling, and also maintain the aspect ratio to fill the screen and have black bars on the sides, but I don't know if it will work for 16:9 aspect and put black bars on the bottom and the top of the monitor.




It should do that without any problem.

1:1 pixel mapping isn't going to work in this case, since the xbox probably won't output the native resolution of the monitor. Xbox games render in 720p anyway, so there will be scaling going on no matter what.