Will Xbox 360 make the right connection?
by Kevin C. Tofel 
posted Aug 19th 2005 at 2:14PM
There appears to be a fog around the Xbox 360 and its HDTV cable connections. Let me go on record to say that Microsoft should seriously reconsider how they intend the console to connect to digital TVs. Four years ago, it was acceptable to provide an "HD A/V Pack" with component cables. In 2005 and beyond, that option simply is not acceptable for several reasons.Component video is certainly needed for the Xbox 360; digital sets that are a few years old were built before DVI and HDMI became mainstream inputs. There's no issue with including component video connections for that reason alone. But why be shortsighted or require add-on connectors for the future?
If one of the biggest selling points of the Xbox 360 is the "all games in HD", why not showcase those games with a pure digital connection? Pumping the video output though either DVI or HDMI will only enhance the razor sharp gaming experience that Microsoft is touting. Why limit the experience with component video?
What about the potential for high-definition DVDs? Microsoft recently indicated they were considering an HD-DVD drive for the console. The add-on would likely be an external drive because HD-DVD requires an HDCP-compliant connection for copy protection reasons. Sorry folks, you can't use component video for that. Sure, Microsoft will likely provide any HD-DVD drives as an external add-on, so the required output jack will be on the drive itself. If they put the right output jack on the console in the first place, however, they could retool and add an internal HD-DVD drive for less.
What a shame that the "forward thinking" department in Redmond took a vacation. Instead of truly innovating as a market leader, Microsoft seems content to use old technologies for now and provide expensive add-ons later. If you want to become a dominant force in the overall home entertainment space, don't you think you would try to lead the pack?
What about the potential for high-definition DVDs? Microsoft recently indicated they were considering an HD-DVD drive for the console. The add-on would likely be an external drive because HD-DVD requires an HDCP-compliant connection for copy protection reasons. Sorry folks, you can't use component video for that. Sure, Microsoft will likely provide any HD-DVD drives as an external add-on, so the required output jack will be on the drive itself. If they put the right output jack on the console in the first place, however, they could retool and add an internal HD-DVD drive for less.
What a shame that the "forward thinking" department in Redmond took a vacation. Instead of truly innovating as a market leader, Microsoft seems content to use old technologies for now and provide expensive add-ons later. If you want to become a dominant force in the overall home entertainment space, don't you think you would try to lead the pack?
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Kunal T. Nakodkar @ Aug 19th 2005 5:42PM
It's a great site..
hmnmm @ Aug 19th 2005 5:42PM
microsoft say all games will be in HD (720p or 1080i). people who buy the core pack at $299 who will get standard cables probably dont have a HD tv so theres no point in adding the HD-cable, but people who have HD tv's will most likely (if not definately) will buy the $399 pack which includes basically everything you need (exept an extra pad) and the $399 pack which comes with hard drive is fully backward compatible with xbox1 (go to www.xbox360news.com and find it somewhere on that page)
joe @ Aug 19th 2005 4:58PM
Micro$oft is on crack.
Steve @ Aug 19th 2005 9:58PM
I am right with you man... since when is a mediocre component video cable, HD?
VGA, DVI, or HDMI are an absolute must to get the signal quality and bandwith high enough for the picture quality HD can display!
Byran @ Aug 19th 2005 9:15PM
You gotta be kidding me. Forward thinking on the PS2 brought the DVD to the mainstream- people who wouldn't have ordinarily bought a DVD player, suddenly had one. Remember when Blockbuster and Hollywood Video stocked VHS's as their main fodder? HD/BluRay DVD's are poised to do the same thing, but it will take console gaming to push it to the level that is accessible to the normal household.
Microsoft doesn't want to include an HD-DVD immediately? Fine. But make it an option for later, or lose the battle to the BluRay ready PS3's. To demand that all developers demonstrate their games in HiDef at E3, and then to take a backwards step with their analog outputs back here in the real world, is unnacceptable. My penchance for buying an Xbox360 is rapidly diminishing. I have a nice TV, a nice stereo system, and want the best console I can get for showing off both. Sorry MS, thank you Sony.
James @ Aug 20th 2005 12:40AM
Microsoft is making a perfectly sensible choice to not include HD connections with their base "core" model. This is a website for HD television. Let's remember that the vast majority of the rest of country/world does NOT have an HDTV. By eliminating the HD option from the core model, they make the xbox360 more accessible to people.
David Barry @ Aug 20th 2005 3:36AM
My main concern is that the absorbed webtv team that created the chips for xbox360 developed a poor output chip. The xbox had no way to output vga easily it didn't have direct pinouts. I think they made same mistake this time with xbox360 and a DVI and HDMI direct pinout isn't possible.
Etali @ Aug 20th 2005 4:50AM
Hmm, I think they'll get away with it, if they are going to sell the extra stuff as add-ons later. After the price difference between this and the PS3 is taken into account, a lot of people will probably opt for a XBox 360 then only find out they need other stuff later. By then they probably won't want to make the jump to a different console.
Thats just my speculation, but I think they'll get away with it as another money spinner.
Scott T @ Aug 20th 2005 8:21AM
Component outputs would circumvent the DRM methods that Microsoft is proposing in HD-DVD. They'll want encrypted data going directly to the HD set.
murphy Shallahan @ Aug 20th 2005 5:50AM
Best critique of Microsoft's plan to "takeover" I've read. None of what they have planned seems at all prepared to last the next 4 or 5 years. The only way the Xbox 360 at the moment beats the PS3 is by price, and the console you get for $299 is lacking any real staying power due to how much money people will need to spend in order to bring it up to speed with what's to come.
Tracy Milburn @ Aug 20th 2005 6:11AM
You're all crazy. Unless you've got a TV with a crappy digitizer, component HDTV is beautiful. Stunning, in fact. HDMI offers significant value only when you've got an HDTV like an LCD with a crappy built in converter. Component outputs are more than capable of running the show. Its your TV that sucks and forces you into the expensive HDMI realm.
Charlie Lehman @ Aug 20th 2005 11:08AM
This is an issue with the upcoming HD Media Center OS. While Microsoft sets certain standards for Media Center PCs there is no requirement for HDMI or PCI.
Paul_A/V @ Aug 20th 2005 6:11PM
Any conversion from analog to digital will degrade the resolution of the original signal. So in theory a digital connection like DVI and HDMI would result in higher quality image. That being said as can be seen in the performance of some dvd players digital connections don't always produce the better image. However in most cases they do. I am disappointed that Microsoft dropped the ball on this one. Regardless, the whole entertainment package including hardware, software, services, and games that the 360 will provide far outways the degradation in image quality the extra conversion will introduce. I would bet that Microsoft felt the cost of adding the circuitry to enable the digital video output was an easy one to cut.
College Student @ Aug 20th 2005 8:16PM
I think MS will consider putting it, maybe in the Delux version?
Ian Dixon @ Aug 21st 2005 3:24AM
to the average consume it will make no difference, but to the Media Center enthusiast using it as an extender for the home theater PC connected to a huge plasma it make make a difference
Maybe it will be a optional add on?
ReS @ Aug 21st 2005 4:46PM
im confused, i know verry little of the whole hd erra, and currently use s video, i want the optimal gaming experince when 360 comes out, but am broke. what do i do?
deeman196 @ Aug 27th 2005 6:44PM
i have a hd tv but it only supports 1080i and not 720p will the xbox 360 still work or should i buy one that 720p also
Kevin C. Tofel @ Aug 28th 2005 3:52PM
deeman196, if you have a TV that ouputs in 1080i, it more than likely upconverts signals to 1080i. If you tune in to a 720p program such as those on ABC or FOX, you can still see them, correct? That's because your HDTV is upconverting to 1080i output. You should be fine with Xbox360.
Chris Wickersham @ Sep 15th 2005 3:25PM
The problem that I have, and I believe the previous poster who says his set won't do 720p has the same problem, is that some sets (Mitsubishi sets for example) won't upconvert analog signals (i.e. component video). I, unfortunately, didn't find this out until after I had bought my set. On my tv, in particular, when I put in a DVD or play my Xbox the TV will only display 480p. Any digital signals (HDMI or DVI or firewire) are automatically upconverted.
Richard Lawler @ Sep 15th 2005 12:43PM
Also, Xbox Liv'es major nelson mentioned in one of his podcasts that the microsoft engineers were aware some TV's cannot display say a 720p signal, and that the console should be able to upconvert to work with all TV's. Hopefully that will be the case.
Mark Russum @ Sep 30th 2005 4:41AM
I have a HD ready Sony Wega TV It does not have a HD converter built into it. i have an Xbox it does not display the games that suport 720p in that res with the hd conector. my question is will the Xbox 360 have a built in converter for hd ready TVS? to covert to the higher res for TVs without built in converter?
Jeff Johnson @ Oct 13th 2005 10:33AM
hmmm. i wouldnt dis the component video output itself as a problem for anything. On my 37" 1080p LCD monitor a great 1080 source signal looks pixel perfect on all the hd input/outputs. i like hdmi/hdcp/dvi mostly because the cable is just cleaner... and honestly the monitor is not doing my sound, another nice audio system handles 5.1 for me.
IMHO the importance of a HI Def PLayer with hard-disk DVR store/replay is where i'm worried that xbox-360 will be sub-par without a lot of external junk hooked into it, and really what i hate the most is having 9 remotes to deal with all this. Not one of the so-called unersal remotes actually does its job.
bleh.
Jason @ Oct 17th 2005 1:35PM
The biggest thing people are overlooking with the XBOX360 is the fact that Microsoft has spent the last 5 years finding out what is important to consumers and games... there is no reason for the XBOX360 to be the best possible HD component in your rack. If you are that crazy about HD then you are going to buy a quality HD DVD (or BluRay) player when they come out... why put the extra cost into the XBOX when it will only be important to a small percentage of the people. Sony on the other had is taking the other route with the PS3... I have a decent HD DLP TV... I have a great DVD player and will get a good DVD player when the next gen format is figured out... why would I want to get a new XBOX to play my DVDs on?
If microsoft could make a 'future proof' XBOX that anyone could afford I am sure they would... it's just not possible... it costs money to put 3 different kinds of cables in the box... they put in the stuff they KNOW their main audience wants... then they added some stuff to attract a little bit more of the audience they didn't have before...
Besides... with Fios coming from Verizon and Cable modems getting faster everyday Gates is right... if HDDVD/BluRay get to the market they are not going to be around for very long... people will just start buying content online and downloading it to their device... I stopped going to the video store when Comcast added ONDemand to their service!
Check Ur Six @ Oct 26th 2005 4:38PM
Wiht the PS3 supporting two HDMI ports, XBOX 360 looks behind the times and wrapped up in the paradox of trying to integrate too many divisions. Let a game station be a game station!