Hi all... i am new here, and thanks in advance for any advice. Here is the situation: I have a older xbox pro with HD-DVD player without any HDMI port, and i am in the process to upgrade my AV system. New set of 5.1 speakers have just arrived, and the receiver is coming in few days. Now, the fact of the matter is that there is no HDMI cable for the older xbox, so I have to use the component cable to connect to my new receiver (use to connect to my TV directly and use the TV speaker only). I believe the xbox output is 720p, and I wonder, can i use the new recevier to upscale to 1080i or 1080p for a 'better' quality? Also, in the case of playing HD-DVD, will I get a better picture quality? How I can get all 7.1 (or 5.1) sound out from the xbox? I know there is a optic link port - will all the sound channel automaticly send to the receiver and get decoded? Is there any setting I need to change in my xbox?

Please help! Thanks in advance!

Use component directly to your TV, as well as the RCA audio. Run optical to your receiver for 5.1 sound. That way you can use the TV speakers when there's no need for full 5.1 sound.

You neglected to mention the native res of your TV. If it's a 720 panel, using your receiver to upscale will get you no better picture....in fact it *could* degrade the picture. The more stops the signal makes from source to display, the more chances that you'll get a degraded signal. Best to just run it direct.

You won't gain any quality by scaling at the receiver from 720p to 1080i. You may see a quality improvement if you set your Xbox 360 to 1080i, depending on your display.

You can't get 7.1 channel sound out of the Xbox 360 without an HDMI port, and even with the HDMI port, I believe it's not supported.

Also, in the case of playing HD-DVD, will I get a better picture quality? How I can get all 7.1 (or 5.1) sound out from the xbox? I know there is a optic link port - will all the sound channel automaticly send to the receiver and get decoded? Is there any setting I need to change in my xbox?




You can just plug the optical into the receiver and it'll work fine. You might need to make sure that the xbox is outputting 5.1 rather than stereo. It's in the setup blade somewhere. It doesn't do 7.1, but your receiver should do a fine job converting 5.1 to 7.1.

Hi guys,

Thanks for the tips. I have a panny 50" (2.5 yrs old model) with max 1080i display. Someone long time ago told me that I better off with 720P since it is 'P' but not 'i'. Anyway, I really don't see much different after sitting 10' away. What I really want is the sound effect from the HD-DVD, and since optical cable is my only hope, and I hope that the new system will go well with my existing xbox.

Thanks again.

another option if your tv supports it, would be to get the VGA cable. I have been debating a new console and decided to try the VGA cable as the bigger hard drive is not a need for me at this time (wanted an Elite). I am really liking it, it upscales my SD DVD's and I was surprised at how well they looked. I ran an optical cable to my Onkyo Receiver.

Give it try or do some searches for your model tv and see if others were successful with the vga cable.

yeah just do what mike ls said. component to the tv and toslink to the receiver. set it to 720p and you'll be golden.