pc monitor for 360

[Palom]

Sometime this week I plan on getting my wife a 360 to play XI on to replace the ps2 ver. she uses, but she wants a Monitor to play on and not a HDTV so I come to you guys for advice of course I was looking along the lines of a "19 widescreen but I'm not sure


what kind of Monitor should I get for her?
does the 360 use DVI?
would DVI be the best choice?

thanks again for the help
Palom

[kuu]

Re: pc monitor for 360

360 has a vga to their whatever port for xbox360. I think it's like $30.

I don't believe 360 can do any DVI. Don't think they spent money for a digital signal, and definitelly didn't really buy into the DVI-HDCP thing, ps3 has.

Sony's PS3 high end is a hdmi which is bascially dvi+sound, so there's definitelly a cost hit there, the 360 tried to save.

I suppose if for some reason you must use dvi...you can get a converter,unless your monitor doesn't support dvi-I(which is digital and analog) But big pain in the rear, so get a monitor with vga.

2nd thing is aspect ratio. 360 can do 16:9, and clasic 4:3. There are a bunch of other format, so don't go with weird aspect ratio monitors. (There are a bunch out there for LCDs). You can punch in calculator from there rez. 800x600=4:3.

3: Get one with a decent color accuracy. Bargin bing monitors tend to skim on that. It's a pain in the rear if not impossible to get proper color, even if it's hooked up.

Basically stay away from no names without valid factory profile definitely pays off in the end, instead of trying to tinker in hopes your red doesn't look like purple.

P.S. A HDTV is just a monitor with specs and connections geared towards TV anyway. So for simplicity, a HDTV is a monitor.

[Caspian]

Re: pc monitor for 360

HD-DVD upgrade is coming out later this year. I would think they would put in a hdmi hookup at that point. So, if thats something you want down the road, then you may want a monitor that has both capabilities.

[Palom]

Re: pc monitor for 360

doh sorry I forgot to ask
what about max display for 360
it is 1080i right so getting a monitor higher then that is point less correct?

[kuu]

Re: pc monitor for 360

HD-DVD upgrade is coming out later this year. I would think they would put in a hdmi hookup at that point. So, if thats something you want down the road, then you may want a monitor that has both capabilities.

Yea...it's Microsoft's short sighted bastardized upgrade path.

There is no phyical way to get DVI-HDCP into current Xbox360s. That's the whole point of the scheme. Both HW and SW secure line.

You would have to litterally resolder the logicboard(motherboard).

And HD-DVD is a usb2 interface...which I have to wonder. Is 480bps(therocial max) going to be enough to play HD? Not sure if it can do 1080p. That's a lot of bandwith you have to stick through a usb2.

Anyway you look at it, even if ps3 is expensive as the next medicare, at least it's built with the future in mind.

I see no real way to make 360 the media powerhouse except to remake it.

Sticking HDMI or a best DVI into a 360 might be even more difficult then a v2 logicboard depending how they did their own I/O interface. It may require a lot of engineers laughing at management for a good while.

doh sorry I forgot to ask
what about max display for 360
it is 1080i right so getting a monitor higher then that is point less correct?

360 is not qualified for 1080i nor 1080p.

Both specs, and games are being release at 720p. (1280x720) Some people claim(fanboys usually) it's theorically possible to do 1080i, but since no one is supporting it or even attempting it, it's a moot point.

Besides if you're getting a PC monitor, it will most likely not support interlaced. HDTV's do on the other hand.

[Palom]

Re: pc monitor for 360

I see thanks for the help

Kuu..you really are a Brain of Knowledge lol!

[Caspian]

Re: pc monitor for 360

So the HD-DVD drive is going to be totally external?
W
T
F

I also don't see them going 1080p. I think you're right Palom, 1080i is as good as it gets. MS didn't put in an HDMI output, there's no way they're going to 1080p. I've only been able to find a handful of components with 1080p compatibility, and they're all in the 7k-10k dollar range.

[kuu]

Re: pc monitor for 360

So the HD-DVD drive is going to be totally external?
W
T
F

I also don't see them going 1080p. I think you're right Palom, 1080i is as good as it gets. MS didn't put in an HDMI output, there's no way they're going to 1080p. I've only been able to find a handful of components with 1080p compatibility, and they're all in the 7k-10k dollar range.

http://www.engadget.com/2006/05/09/h...-hd-dvd-drive/

As you can see, the 360 doesn't have big enough speed holes to fit that in, nor did it have the foresight to give any kind of faster connection to push it through.

Obviously HDCP, is impossible, since anyone that knows what to look for has cracked opened the 360 to double check.

I don't know for sure if it can send digital connection, since MS has their own propritety output system. But due to all we've seen, it's only analog, and MS own licencing scheme prevent 3rd party to try fill it without their consent.