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Xbox 360: VGA or component?

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voltron

Member
Im positive there would be a similar thread somewhere but I couldnt find it.

Anyway, I just bought the 360 VGA cable off a friend. Im using it with a DVI to VGA cord as my TV doesnt have a VGA connect.

My question is will the fact that Im using a half-metre DVI cord + the VGA cord result in image quality loss? And going from component to VGA what exactly are the standout benefits I should be able to notice?

I heard that you get less jaggies and better black levels using the VGA, and I know that alot of people I know use them over component.
 
You should try them both out to see if there's any difference in image quality. Some sets may do better with a certain type of connection, but it shouldn't be too much of a difference. One benefit of VGA is upscaled DVDs, so that's why I use it over component.
 
madmook said:
You should try them both out to see if there's any difference in image quality. Some sets may do better with a certain type of connection, but it shouldn't be too much of a difference. One benefit of VGA is upscaled DVDs, so that's why I use it over component.
Click to expand...

Awesome I forgot about that. So the 360 upscales everything to 720p if using VGA?
 
It's mostly TV dependant, some older TVs have awesome component inputs but shit VGA inputs so you'll never know for sure until you try.

I'd go VGA for upsampling if my 360 wasn't so noisy, as it is I couldn't use it as a DVD player.
 
Yeah right all DVDs upscaled. Cool. as far as watching movies on the 360, ever since I got mine back from repair its a hellavalot quieter, although Ive never really noticed it being too loud in movies. Dont expect it to be as loud in movies as it is in games. Its quite a bit softer.
 
For me with VGA, you get a slightly clearer picture but the colours are bad. This is even after setting it to 'expanded'. It might make the blacks somewhat blacker, doing that but it doesn't bring back the great colours of component on 720p.

So I switched back to Component, for the better colours. I'd really like to stick with VGA but not until Microsoft puts out an update that brings the colour back to life.
 
Poona said:
For me with VGA, you get a slightly clearer picture but the colours are bad. This is even after setting it to 'expanded'. It might make the blacks somewhat blacker, doing that but it doesn't bring back the great colours of component on 720p.

So I switched back to Component, for the better colours. I'd really like to stick with VGA but not until Microsoft puts out an update that brings the colour back to life.
Click to expand...

Just messing around with it now I did notice that.... really washed out. Ive a 1366x768 TV and surprisingly enough when I set it to 1360x768 I get a big black bar up the right hand side. I have to set it 1280x768 to get a full picture. After doing that standard looks terrrrible. Expanded just looks a tad weird and intermediate seems the best. Still notice the washed out colours though. Having the upscaling of dvds is a big advantage too so Ill probably keep it on VGA for a while until I get sick of the colours. Hopefully MS add more functionality in the next dash update.
 
Poona said:
For me with VGA, you get a slightly clearer picture but the colours are bad.
Click to expand...

Which TV?

Woo-Fu said:
VGA all the way.
Click to expand...

Which TV?

My 32" Hitachi plasma was washed out with VGA, even with the new dash update color range, whereas my 40" Bravia LCD loves the VGA. Just loves it.
 
Once they updated the black level options for the 360, using the VGA on my 32" Westinghouse 720p LCD looks pretty good compared to component and atleast on my TV the contrast and color separation is better (i.e. the amount of detail and color visible on the character's armor in Gears is more noticeable using VGA). The upscaling is pretty nice to have as well.

If you're getting black bars when you put it to 1360x768 maybe you're TV doesnt really support that resolution, I have mine on 1360x768 and it works perfect. It may also be that the settings on the television may change the aspect ratio and be giving you that black bar so check that as well.
 
ok now im confused as shit... i just found an option in my TV menu called xga mode, and the following resolutions as choices...

1024x768
1282x768
1360x768
1368x768

So I figured Ill just switch it to 1360 and set the 360 to 1360 too, thinking it would match up. After doing that I got a black bar up the side. So I used the TV auto config option and it filled the TV up with the image.... my fear now is i I will be losing any benefit of less jaggies now as the image might be stretched.
 
voltron said:
ok now im confused as shit... i just found an option in my TV menu called xga mode, and the following resolutions as choices...

1024x768
1282x768
1360x768
1368x768

So I figured Ill just switch it to 1360 and set the 360 to 1360 too, thinking it would match up. After doing that I got a black bar up the side. So I used the TV auto config option and it filled the TV up with the image.... my fear now is i I will be losing any benefit of less jaggies now as the image might be stretched.
Click to expand...

What brand/model of HDTV do you have? Maybe some just have better luck with the VGA inputs than others, because given what you've done I dont see how there can still be those bars on screen.
 
Voltron does your TV have different aspect ratios? ie can you change from WIDE/ZOOM/PANORAMIC/STRETCH/FULL or any of those other standard size changes? Coz I'd say you'd want your TV in FULL mode or whatever its equivalent is.
 
Do the 360 VGA cables come with a gender changer? I bought it for cheap used but all I got were the cables, no adapters
 
My TV is a 26inch LG. 1366x768 native AFAIK.

The weird thing is when I set both images(360 and TV) to 1360x768 I got the black bar. Auto config on the TV fills the whole screen. And no I only have 16:9 or 4:3 option.

Anyway cheers for your help... like you say every TV is different so Im just going to have to stuff around until Im convinced its worth it.
 
Wario64 said:
Do the 360 VGA cables come with a gender changer? I bought it for cheap used but all I got were the cables, no adapters
Click to expand...

Yes mine did. In the ridiculous MS peripheral packaging with the cable. It was lucky it did too otherwise I wouldnt be able to use the DVI/VGA cord as my TV doesnt have a VGA input. The gender changer is used in the middle.

I really want to stick with the VGA. The prospect of upscaled dvds has me all excited:D (subtle as it may be)
 
Ah, I guess I didn't get lucky. I got a cable for $10 though so it was pretty cheap compared to the what stores are selling. The Microsoft brand. The adapter is usually cheap in stores, right? I'm gonna need to pick one up
 
Does anyone know where I can get some cheap microsoft ones? Monoprice doesn't have any 360 VGA cables and I was hoping for some microsoft brand ones.
 
Wario64 said:
Do the 360 VGA cables come with a gender changer? I bought it for cheap used but all I got were the cables, no adapters
Click to expand...

Yes the official cables come with a gender chager.

Also VGA allows for upscaling up to 1080p for those of us lucky enough to have a set that accepts this like me!
 
There shouldnt be. The only difference between hdmi and vga is that hdmi also carries the audio, whereas vga has a separate audio lead.

(I could be wrong there)
 
I think the sharpness and color separation is about the same but where HDMI shines is that it carries sound and most HDTVs let you do all the fine adjustments you want. All picture/color options are available to you via HDMI. VGA on most sets lock out many picture adjustment features with the exception of contrast and brightness. It all depends on the HDTV though!
 
Go component, it looks great. Wasn't there some sort of colour fading when VGA was used?

God damn, use something decent to Upscale your DVD's! High-powered HTPC FTW.
 
voltron said:
There shouldnt be. The only difference between hdmi and vga is that hdmi also carries the audio, whereas vga has a separate audio lead.

(I could be wrong there)
Click to expand...

HDMI is a fully digital connection whereas VGA is analog like Component, in theory HDMI should be the better connection, but I see no difference on my xbox elite hooked up using either cable at 1080P.
 
Component on any HDTV. I save VGA for when I need to play at my desk at work (helps on slow days when I technically have to be there but Ive already finished everything ahead of schedule).
 
I tried both VGA and Component on my Samsung M87 and VGA just looks that much better at 1080p with "Game Mode" on. Whether that is anything to do with the 1:1 pixel mapping or not I don't know.
 
ascully said:
HDMI is a fully digital connection whereas VGA is analog like Component, in theory HDMI should be the better connection, but I see no difference on my xbox elite hooked up using either cable at 1080P.
Click to expand...
Ok thanks for your feedback.

I'm just helping a friend who owns a Sony 1080p TV that tried his connection over VGA and component.

He wanted to save up money for an Elite.
 
Francias Castiglione said:
I tried both VGA and Component on my Samsung M87 and VGA just looks that much better at 1080p with "Game Mode" on. Whether that is anything to do with the 1:1 pixel mapping or not I don't know.
Click to expand...

Oh! I know what you're saying. That's the placebo effect.
 
voltron said:
There shouldnt be. The only difference between hdmi and vga is that hdmi also carries the audio, whereas vga has a separate audio lead.

(I could be wrong there)
Click to expand...

I think you got DVI mixed up there. HDMI is just DVI with audio.
 
I prefer VGA although the colours aren't quite as good (less saturation), the blacks are now fixed and you get a far sharper image overall. There is also less overscan, meaning you see more of the image, and an additional result of this is less aliasing as you get a (or near to) pixel-to-pixel display.

However, there are some issues. For example, if you like Capcom games, component is still the way to go. Dead Rising and Lost Planet have major tearing issues in VGA which are almost non-existant in component. Also, Alien Hominid and Halo 3 BETA had aspect ratio issues when using VGA resolutions (set to widescreen) of 1024x768 or 1280x1024.
 
Seriously voltron, ignore 90% of the shit in this thread, you really won't know which is better on YOUR television until you do a bunch of A/B tests between your component cables and your DVI<-> VGA cable. Tweak the TV settings as you go too, make sure to get the best picture possible from each interconnect until you're satisfied that either one of them is noticeably better or that there's bugger-all difference between them.

You should consider pswiis comments about tearing too, be sure to test those Capcom games if you have them.
 
Fusebox said:
Seriously voltron, ignore 90% of the shit in this thread, you really won't know which is better on YOUR television until you do a bunch of A/B tests between your component cables and your DVI<-> VGA cable. Tweak the TV settings as you go too, make sure to get the best picture possible from each interconnect until you're satisfied that either one of them is noticeably better or that there's bugger-all difference between them.

You should consider pswiis comments about tearing too, be sure to test those Capcom games if you have them.
Click to expand...

I discovered something that made things a lot less confusing... My TV has a stealthy little option in the input screen - on the DVI setting I can select either DTV or PC. The PC setting is horribly washed out and has a big black border up the right hand side for whatever reason. Switching that back to DTV made things seem to act the way they should.

And Manzo youre right - I did got DVI and VGA mixed confused. Thanks for clearing that up.
 
The black bar is supposed to be there, it's tiny and unnoticable. But it means that your TV has 1:1 pixel mapping which is very important for VGA, it means that no scaling is going on inside your TV, only your Xbox which reduces scaling artifacts and gives a clearer cleaner picture.

LG TVs are really good for VGA inputs, I have it set up on mine, looks great.
 
If your TV is an LCD HDTV and offers 1:1 pixel mapping over VGA then that's probably the way to go. It means that your TV doesn't need to do any scaling which is probably good since most TV scalers are pretty poor. It all depends on your particular TV though, but I would say to go with the official cable as there are some poor quality cables out there.
 
VGA is essentially the EXACT SAME as component! The extra pins are for PC monitor use, such as for setting the vertical and horizontal refresh. VGA sends the video signal the same way as component....hence why you could take a component output and hook it onto a VGA adapter and get the same quality.

Go with either one....it really doesn't matter. Component would probably provide a higher bandwidth (due to a generally heavier wire), which would be useful for longer stretches....but otherwise, with short runs of 6-10 feet...the difference should be minimal.
 
ex0du5 said:
VGA is essentially the EXACT SAME as component! The extra pins are for PC monitor use, such as for setting the vertical and horizontal refresh. VGA sends the video signal the same way as component....hence why you could take a component output and hook it onto a VGA adapter and get the same quality.

Go with either one....it really doesn't matter. Component would probably provide a higher bandwidth (due to a generally heavier wire), which would be useful for longer stretches....but otherwise, with short runs of 6-10 feet...the difference should be minimal.
Click to expand...

No, VGA uses a different colour method, RGB.
 
pswii60 said:
No, VGA uses a different colour method, RGB.
Click to expand...

Actually I guess you're right, though you can usually set component to RGB.

Actually, from what I remember.....the 360 really oversaturates the colors over component (look at all the 360 vs PS3 screenshots, and you'll see). If oversaturation is your thing, then go with component. Otherwise, seems like VGA will provide you the image with higher fidelity.

I always laugh when people say how the 360's graphics are better, when all they're seeing is color saturation and black crush. (though sometimes the graphics really are better....colors have nothing to do with it).
 
ex0du5 said:
I always laugh when people say how the 360's graphics are better, when all they're seeing is color saturation and black crush. (though sometimes the graphics really are better....colors have nothing to do with it).
Click to expand...
Right, and we all know how good that Cell processor is for game developers, especially for PC gaming.

Anti-aliasing? Antiscopic filtering?
 
HaloFans said:
Right, and we all know how good that Cell processor is for game developers.
Click to expand...

WTF does that have to do with anything? Don't turn this into a console war. I simply pointed out that component is oversaturated, and that he should use VGA.

And notice how I never claimed the PS3's graphics to be superior...as 90% of the multiplatform titles are equal or superior on the 360 (with the exception of Oblivion, and Dirt in the near future).
 
ex0du5 said:
WTF does that have to do with anything? Don't turn this into a console war. I simply pointed out that component is oversaturated, and that he should use VGA.

And notice how I never claimed the PS3's graphics to be superior...as 90% of the multiplatform titles are equal or superior on the 360 (with the exception of Oblivion, and Dirt in the near future).
Click to expand...
Oh, sorry, I just woke up and was reading GAF before work.

That's true how you see with multi-platform titles. Since the Xbox 360 has three cores that can handle instructions whatever you put in it, it's easy to develop. Notice how developers are always taken longer with the PS3 versions because they need to convert three core instructions to one core with optimized features; thus, that process lengthens development time.
 
Honestly to the casuals (like myself) there's not that much of a difference on a 720p/1080i Sammy 42" DLP.

Even with the color fix, I prefer component vs. vga.
 
Totally depends on the TV. I have a sony A2000 1080p but over VGA it will accept only 1366x768. All manner of stretching/zooming never gets it to fill the screen, so I just use the component input and let the TV upscale. If I had an elite I would probably use HDMI.
 
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