[overtime]

I got the monster component cables yesterday to use with my old Sony 32XBR400. I never thought the deinterlacer in the TV was that good but I had a really hard time seeing any difference in either Burnout 3 or Chronicles of Riddick.


Has anyone else had this experience? I'm sure I will probably see the difference with 720p but I have not tried a game that supports that yet. Do some games perform better than others in 480p (I mean I saw NO difference with Riddick)?


I guess I'm just trying to see if its going to be worth the hassle. The cables were not cheap and its a PITA to switch them around on the back of the set. My old receiver is not a component switch, my tv has two component inputs and I already have component running from the dvd and HD STB into the set. The one time I forget to rehook the DVD player up my wife is REALLY going to let me hear about it .


Are YOU really seeing a significant difference between 480i and 480p with your given TV?


overtime

 

[JuiceRocket]

I saw a difference on my tv, the easiest place to really tell is in the Xbox dash, when you switch it from 480i to 480p.


I also notice a difference between using composite and using component, but I don't think your cable brand will make much of a difference. personally, I'd return the Monster cables and go purchase ones 1/3 of the price. You will have no degredation in PQ.


If your tv has a PC/15 pin input, you could buy a component to PC/15pin cable, that way you wouldn't have to change the cables everytime you play.


-JR

 

[eawil]

Yes, you will notice a difference between composite cables at 480i, and component cables at 480p. Most of the time it is much better, but, as I am (probably) infamous for saying, it depends on the game you're playing. Sometimes developers try to hide diry little secrets by assuming that you have composite cables. This means that some pixelizations, and jaggies might be hidden under normal circumstances. However, when you remove the noise of a component cable these ugly features can be seen crisp and clear. Don't be shocked if this happens to you.

 

[overtime]

Thanks JR. So either my eyes are worse than I think or my deinterlacer is better than I think . I'll look closely at the dashboard tonight to see what kind of difference I'm getting. Oh yeah...Burnout 3 is a blast but I can't blink or look at the pretty scenery so maybe I just don't have the time to enjoy that 480p signal.


I got the monster cables just because the other ones are almost impossible to find. I did see the the Madkatz cables but I haven't heard good things about them. What is irritating about the monster cables is I need an adaptor (a Monster adaptor of course!) in order to connect the digital audio. Guess what? That cable is hard to find as well (at least in a B&M store) and it costs $35. Argh.


Has anyone else not seen much improvement from 480i to 480p? That would just seem to be very dependent on the TV...


overtime

 

[JuiceRocket]

It could definitely be your tv. In the dashboard, keep your eyes on the thin wire that goes across the top, when you switch to 480p, you should see a pretty big difference, it'll become nice and smooth. The round sphere thing on the lower right of the screen will also smooth out nicely, and get rid of some of the jaggies.


The interlacer in my tv is pretty decent, but there are tons of tv's out there with a better interlace, yours cold easily be one of them.


I bought the MS HD pack, easy to install and has an optical input built in. The component cables I use are Acoustic Research component.


What eawil mentioned about some games appearing a tag more jaggie is correct. Even though you'd think things should look smoother in 480p, sometimes it kinda...well...makes one part of the graphics better, but makes another part of the graphics worse. Also, it could be your gamma/contrast/brightness settings that make things look bad.


For example, if you have Splinter Cell: Pandora tomorrow, and you have your contrast/brightness settings improperly set up, the glow on Sam Fishers back looks blocky and gradiated. No matter if you have that game running in 480p or 480i, it still looks chunky/bad. The only way to smooth that out is to adjust the in-game gamma/brightness contrast settings.


I've only played the demo of Chronicles of Riddick, and that game (in demo form) was packed full of jaggies. I can't imagine playing it at 480p will make much of a difference.


-JR

 

[shaneotool]

IMO - the main benefit for the component cables is so you can play widescreen compatible games on a widescreen tv - plus with the "HD Pack" you get 5.1 sound. On a 32" 4:3 TV I don't think the difference would be that huge.

 

[JuiceRocket]

Quote:

Originally posted by shaneotool On a 32" 4:3 TV I don't think the difference would be that huge.

I was under the impression the 32XBR400 is a 16x9 tv?


-JR

 

[overtime]

It is a 4:3 set but I can 'squeeze' the picture if I want (for a 480p signal). That actually makes it very good for xbox where not all games support widescreen (whether 480p or 720p). A 720p signal that is not widescreen does present a problem in that the TV automatically squeezes 720p so I get a little letterbox. I'll try to avoid 720p non-widescreen games.


I'm not sure why there would be a big difference between 4:3 and 16:9 sets in terms of a PQ upgrade for 480p.


overtime

 

[shaneotool]

Quote:

Originally posted by overtime I'm not sure why there would be a big difference between 4:3 and 16:9 sets in terms of a PQ upgrade for 480p. overtime

I don't think there is. I think it's just that if you have a widescreen tv, you have to have component inputs from your xbox to play widescreen games - otherwise they are stretched and funny looking. Also 16:9 tv's are usually bigger so you can notice the slight improvement more.

 

[spoggly]

overtime,


I also had the same situation as you with only 2 inputs. I bought the Monster cable and had to pull the cords each time i wanted to go between XBox & DVD player. I've used it for about a year, and last week the cord must have broke, because it stopped working. I mentioned it to a guy at work and he had the MS HDTV adapter. I hooked it up and was completely amazed how much better the colors looked.


Either I had a faulty cord, or the Monster adapter is horrible. Personally, I am happy that it broke.


Has anybody else directly compared the Monster adapter w/the MS adapter. I just wonder if my Monster adapter was faulty or are all of you Monster adapter owners missing out on the true potential of the XBox.

 

[ChrisFB]

1) Have you enabled 480p in the dashboard? You will only see it in games after this is done.

2) You need a fairly modern dash to see 480p on it as the old dashes were 480i only. If you have Xbox Live you should be fine. Hold down both triggers and simult. click both thumbsticks to enable "in-dash" 480p.

The difference should be very significant.


As for the Monster vs. the MSFT HD packs, there are tons of threads on it. A lot of people see no difference no matter what they do. Some people have upgraded the MSFT cables to decent ones and see a significant difference. Some people have compared the stock MSFT and prefered the monster. Some have compared the MSFT with upgraded cables and either prefered the Monster or saw no difference. I have never heard of anyone rating the Monster worse unless they had a bum pack which happens on bth MSFT and Monster HD units as the acutal connections that detect and enable in the XBox can be finicky. There are large threads on this here and there is a big one comparing upgraded cable options in the A/V forum at www.xbox-scene.com if you search for it. Most people that notice any difference have large well setup screens (smallest I've heard of being 42" with most over 50"). General disclaimer on cable stuff - your mileage may vary buy the cheapest thing that works well enough for you. Your wallet, your eyes.

 

[mrcalypso]

There was a noticeable difference going from composite to component on my sony vega even though it's not high def.

 

[overtime]

Thanks guys...I did enable 480p in the dashboard but it is still pretty hard to see the difference. I've tried both widescreen (not letterbox) 480p with the tube 'squeezed' and full screen 480p without any squeeze.


Does anyone know where I can find good information on a super cheap but decent quality component switch? I found a very small unit made by MadKatz today for $30 that was made to switch component signals (up to 4 of them!). That is the sort of thing I'm looking for but I don't want to buy something that is going to crap on the picture either.


overtime

 

[ChrisFB]

I've seen some people really rave about the Pelican switch - I believe there is a thread on here about it and from what I recall it has good capacity for inputs and no one detected signal degredation.