Just got HDTV, do I need new cables for my XBOX360, quality is bad?

Question

I just got a LCD HDTV (moderately expensive, not the high end though) and the quality looks bad on XBOX360 games. Reading online, it looks like I need component video. I can't tell if it is the quality of the TV or not. Also, is there a big difference between S-VIDEO, composite and component. I haven't been into audio/video in like 5 years. Things have changed.

Answer 1

Well, yeah, you might want to upgrade to better cables. It will probably improve your quality a lot!

Answer 2

Depends what kind of X-box you have, if you have the Elite (the black one), it will have HD cables with it, if you have that make sure the switch on the cord is flipped to "HD"

If not, then yes you need to buy new cords. XBox was meant to work with a 1080p HD tv, anything else and you will lose clarity

Answer 3

EXCELLENT QUESTION!

Okay.

First of all, you don't need to buy expensive cables. And it IS worth seeing how much better the component video output is (a LOT!)

Component video will look absolutely fantastic on your LCD TV.

Good luck and let me know how it turns out!

Answer 4

I recommend getting component cables. Look at your xbox cables. if it's just red white and yellow, that's the low end of video quality. If those are there along with purple, green and red, that's component. If you have that cable, there's a switch on the 'box' that you connect to the xbox. Make sure that's toggled to the HDTV setting. Then plug in all those cables. That's the best quality kind-of.

If both your TV and XBOX support HDMI (the connection looks like a long, flattened USB port) then use that. If your xbox is older like mine, component is as good as you can get.

If you're looking for a comparison between S-Video and composite....On Madden 2008, lower quality (S-vid and AV cables) it looks ok, but with HDMI, and component (RWYGPR) you can see sweat and blades of grass. Much better quality

Answer 5

try components or hdmi