How you connect the Xbox 360 to your TV could mean the
difference between brilliant visuals and mediocre picture
quality. If you have an HDTV you're going to want to use
component cables to hook up the Xbox 360. For normal televisions,
your best bet will be S-Video. Should you have an older-model TV
that doesn't have an S-Video input, composite video might be your
only option. Lastly, if your TV has only an RF input and you
bought an Xbox 360, you probably should have bought a new TV
first.
Radio Frequency Composite S-Video Component VGA The
Take Home
After fighting your way through mile-long lines to get an Xbox 360 system, you arrive home to finally crack open the box and start participating in the next-gen gaming experience. You peek behind your HDTV and discover an ocean of free video input connectors. You think to yourself, "Heck, I've got an open RF connector, I'll just plug the 360 in there and daisy chain it with my NES. What's the worst that could happen?" Wrong! Even though you have an HDTV, connecting the Xbox 360 to an RF jack could constitute criminal behaviour. This finely tuned gaming machine generates graphics at glorious resolutions of up to 720p. In comparison, RF verges on the quality of a Flintstones camera.
Mad Catz graciously sent us its entire Xbox 360 cable lineup for our image quality testing. We're going to show you the visual difference between all these cables on our TVs and monitors, as well as explore the different settings that some displays offer. We used the Sony 60XBR800 HDTV as our test display, along with a Dell P1130 Trinitron monitor. We took sample pictures of NBA 2K6 using a tripod-mounted Canon S400 digital camera. The final images were resized, but the majority of the image quality differences are still noticeable. Hopefully, we'll demonstrate the benefits of using the right cables -- and in some cases, the right settings -- for the job.
Radio Frequency
In terms of quality, consider RF to
be your least desirable option. The acronym itself stands for
"radio frequency." You probably used an RF modulator to connect
your old Nintendo Entertainment System to the television. The
modulator device takes in the original signal generated by the
game console and outputs the RF-modulated signal to the
television. You might be forced to use an RF connector if you
have an older television with only an RF input. The Xbox 360
doesn't have support for RF out of the box, nor can you buy an
Xbox 360-specific RF adapter, like you could with the original
Xbox. Instead, you'll have to spend around 20 to 30 dollars on an
RF modulator that converts composite or S-Video signals to RF.
However, we recommend getting a newer television instead --
upgrading to a used TV that provides for composite or S-Video
connections might cost just as much.
In the name of gaming science, we went out and purchased an RF modulator just to see how our 360 looks using the connection. Unsurprisingly, the RF cable offered the worst image quality of all the cable types we tested. Even with our Canon S400, the colours appeared noticeably more faded, akin to a '70s-esque sepia effect. That might look OK if you're taking shots of your friends discoing out to Saturday Night Fever, but it doesn't fly while playing Xbox 360 games.
RF/Composite Comparison - Put your mouse cursor over the image to compare the difference
Image details visible with other cables can't be seen in the RF image due to information loss inherent in the signal conversion. One more observation, which we cannot actually show via still pictures, is that the RF cable introduced crawling artifacts into the image. We could literally see pixels shimmering while the screen was paused or set to a single frame. Please shield younger viewers from such horrendously bad image quality; it could corrupt their tiny minds.
Composite
You probably recognise the
composite video cable as the yellow cable in the white, red, and
yellow RCA cable trio. The composite video signal breaks down
into three parts (Y, U, and V), but one wire carries them all.
The Y signal sends out a monochrome picture that determines
brightness, also called luminance. The U and V signals, also
known as chrominance, send out colour information. Composite
video is better than RF, and most televisions should have
composite input connectors.
The composite cable offered great improvements over the RF signal in our 360 testing. The shimmering effect disappeared and the image was crisper, with sharper blacks and more vibrant colours. In comparison to the RF signal, it was as if somebody injected all the colour back into the picture. Other details, like text and lines, became more visible.
S-Video
S-Video is the next rung in the
image-quality ladder. S-Video separates the video signal's
luminance and chrominance into two separate channels, thereby
reducing interference. The separation of these two signals yields
better colour and darkness levels.
S-Video and composite images look very similar, but the S-Video cable produced fine details, a better colour gradient, as well as improved brightness, due to the separation of the video signal into two separate wires. The easiest place to see the difference between the pictures is along the edges of the lines. Composite video introduces bumps, while the S-Video image looks quite smooth.
Composite/S-video Comparison - Put your mouse cursor over the image to compare the difference
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Gilbert D.
11/03/2006 09:53 AM
This is a great basic article, but it doesn't answer my question. I have an xbox 360 and a HDTV. Do the supplied MS AV cables allow the presentation of the best image on my 61" Samsung HD tv with S video and HDMI inmputs or are there other cables available that will allow me to see a better HD picture?
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MARK
26/03/2006 05:41 AM
A WELL WRITTEN AND THOUGHTFULL ARTICLE. MY THANKS. RE HDTV OUTPUT,I THINK THAT MICROSOFT SHOULD ALSO HAVE CONFIGURED THE 360 TO RUN AT 576P, AS MANY HDTV'S, PARTICULARLY EARLIER ONES, HAVE THIS SETTING. ONE TWEAK THAT IS RECCOMMENDED IS TO SET THE 50HZ SETTING IN THE XBOX SETTINGS DASHBOARD TO 60HZ, EVEN THOUGH THIS IS AN ANALOUGUE SETTING(YOU MUST SET UNIT ON HDTV CABLE SLIDE SWITCH TO TV TO VIEW THIS MENU)IT STILL AFFECTS THE DIGITAL SIGNAL,AS SOME GAMES WILL NOT RUN PROPERLY BOTH AURALLY & VISUALLY.AFTER DOING THIS RESET SLIDE TO HDTV.
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Buggerlugs
27/04/2006 12:55 AM
As someone considering buying a xbox360 without a hdtv in the house I found your article interesting. But here in the UK you forgot about the ability to use RGB Scart which are available for the 360. Any chance you could do a comparison for those aswell in the future?
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bvl
25/04/2007 10:42 PM
re: the uk guy-quick q-why are u on aussie cnet? just out of interest
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