Xbox360 & 2405FPW

A

Allos

Limp Gawd
Joined
Oct 13, 2005
Messages
472
Hi folks,

I am using 2405FPW to play Xbox360. My connection is via component cable.

The graphics are "decent" but not "crystal sharp" as I wanted it to be, like when I view it via DVI from my computer.

I have tried 720p and 1080i, with or without "Video Mode" on.

Will the graphics be sharper if I buy the VGA cable? I heard that you can choose resolution if VGA cable is used, is that true? What kind of resolutions are available?

Also, is it possible to use 1 set of speakers for both pc and xbox? Any recommendation? How to connect?

Thanks in advance for any input :)
 
I have the exact same setup, and it looks fine to me.

Make sure your component cables arn't running in parallel to power cables. Try to keep the 2 sets of wire as far apart as possible, and if you haft to cross, do so at right angles. Component video is still analog, so you need to be carefull with electromagnetic coupling from 60Hz power or other sources.

Run the Xbox 360 at 1080i and the 2405FPW at 1:1 scaling (under Image Settings), there will be some letter boxing (16x9 vs. 16x10) but its very thin.
 
Just out of curiosity...is everything set-up correctly in your Xbox dashboard? Widescreen, correct resolution, A/V switch turned to HDTV?
 
The reason things don't looks razor sharp is because of scaling. When you use 720p, the monitor basically has to stretch a 1280x720 image to fit it's native resolution. When you use 1080i, the monitor will have to scale and deinterlace the 1920x1080 image, therefore causing some bluriness and picture degradation. Only if you use a monitor that has an EXACT resolution of 1280x720 will you get a "pixel perfect" image every time. Otherwise, the monitor will have to scale, and the picture will never have a pixel ratio of 1:1.
 
lesman said:
..... Otherwise, the monitor will have to scale, and the picture will never have a pixel ratio of 1:1.
Click to expand...

I told him how to turn off the scaler in the monitor so that it is 1:1. And for this display, 1080i is better than 720p becuase the horizontal width of 1080i happens to be exactly the same for the 2405FPW's native resolution (1920x1200). You do end up with a fairly thin letterbox (60 pixels top and bottom) but, everything is displayed at full 1080i resolution with NO SCALING, and the de-interlacing isn't noticable.
 
SCSI-Terminator said:
I told him how to turn off the scaler in the monitor so that it is 1:1. And for this display, 1080i is better than 720p becuase the horizontal width of 1080i happens to be exactly the same for the 2405FPW's native resolution (1920x1200). You do end up with a fairly thin letterbox (60 pixels top and bottom) but, everything is displayed at full 1080i resolution with NO SCALING, and the de-interlacing isn't noticable.
Click to expand...
That would likely help, but the monitor still has to deinterlace the 1080i image, which would cause some picture degradation. Now, how sensitive one is to it, or how how noticable it is to an individual is a totaly different story.

The point I was trying to make is that if the OP wanted a pixel perfect 1:1 ratio, with no degradation whatsoever, then they'd have to have a monitor with a resolution of 1280x720.
 
Actualy Lesman, you could display a 720p signal on this monitor with no scaling, but you are sort of right in that it wouldn't be fullscreen, and not be too pleasing to look at. It works well enough to see if the de-interlacing that is done for 1080i is bothersome, but in my tests on my own 2405FPW, I found it not to be.

I encourage the OP to try it out for themselves, and ignore the fact that 720p doesn't fill the screen when evaluating picture quality. If you happen to prefer 720p, then you might need to start looking at monitors that have a native resolution of 1280x720 like Lesman suggested.
 
SCSI-Terminator said:
Actualy Lesman, you could display a 720p signal on this monitor with no scaling, but you are sort of right in that it wouldn't be fullscreen, and not be too pleasing to look at. It works well enough to see if the de-interlacing that is done for 1080i is bothersome, but in my tests on my own 2405FPW, I found it not to be.

I encourage the OP to try it out for themselves, and ignore the fact that 720p doesn't fill the screen when evaluating picture quality. If you happen to prefer 720p, then you might need to start looking at monitors that have a native resolution of 1280x720 like Lesman suggested.
Click to expand...
I totally understand that.;) I would hate to look at an image with a box all the way around it. It would just be...bothersome. Perhaps the OP will be happpy with the 1080i signal. As far as that, when I used the 360 on a 1920x1200 monitor, the picture looked great to me.:)
 
Thanks for all the input.

Yes, I know that is a huge thread concerning this and I have read them all :) However, I would like to know if the VGA quality is improved after the recent patch as I read that component looks better than VGA before.

As of 720p vs 1080i, I have tried both. They look almost identical to me. And both are not razor sharp :p

Just want to know best image possible at the moment that I can get on 2405fpw. Seems like for now best image will be 720p with "fill".

Does the VGA connection offers different resolution to choose? Does the image look better than component?
 
Allos said:
Does the VGA connection offers different resolution to choose? Does the image look better than component?
Click to expand...

The resolutions offered do change, and even thou they are all progressive offerings, none are close to the resolution of 1080i. (read here and here)

Theoreticaly, a VGA cable should be a slightly better has the horizontal and vertical sync signals are seperated, where in comonent they are combined with the Luminus signal. (RGBHV vs YPbPr) But in the end, is still analog, and a VGA cable suffers from all the same signal degredation effects as component. The reviewers seem to think its better, but I wouldn't expect it to be like night and day like it is going to full digital with DVI or HDMI.

For some, the VGA cable might be a good buy, adspecialy if their display matches one of the offered resolutions. But for me, the loss of any resolution anywhere near the native resolution of my 2405FPW makes it a no go for me.
 
Allos said:
Thanks for all the input.

Yes, I know that is a huge thread concerning this and I have read them all :) However, I would like to know if the VGA quality is improved after the recent patch as I read that component looks better than VGA before.

As of 720p vs 1080i, I have tried both. They look almost identical to me. And both are not razor sharp :p

Just want to know best image possible at the moment that I can get on 2405fpw. Seems like for now best image will be 720p with "fill".

Does the VGA connection offers different resolution to choose? Does the image look better than component?
Click to expand...

Well I think we can discuss the finer points of 2405 HDTV, but the best judge for your settings is you. If you can't tell the difference between 720p and 1080i, then is the knowledge of knowing what is superior helpful in games? If you want to debate over different HD resolutions then I understand, but if you want to find the best settings just experiment and choose. I personally would say try 1080i.

I don't think the price of the VGA cable will justify a better image. Plus, when you are killing nazis in COD2, the last thing you will be thinking about is the image quality.
;)
 
Thanks!! Read the reviews. And decided to stick with the component cable.

Best forum in the world. /salute
 
Sorry I didn't read this post earlier. I have the 2405 and use component cables as well. I have the VGA adapter, and I like the component cables better. The VGA adapter makes everything a little bit too dark. Although it makes the blacks look better for some reason. I'll use the VGA adpater once I get a better TV. :)
 
I was hoping to know if I would get better image quality by switching from component to VGA cable. Seems like this will not be the case if the monitor is 2405FPW.

Lets cross fingers that we will get a HDMI cable :D
 
Just to make your decision even more difficult, I bought the VGA cable to use with my 2405FPW.

IMHO, it definitely looks better. The jagged edges I had with the component cables are gone. The colours are definitely not washed out.

YMMV.
 
LOL!

Oh what the heck, let me shell out the money and tell you what I think!
 
Before I got my new telly I had my 360 hooked up to my 2405 via component. I had it set to 1080i unscaled so that i had the two black bars, top and bottom. To my eyes, it looked great, didn't see any probs with the deinterlacing.

I think like that it looks its best, but thats just my opinion.
 
Just to clarify, I'm comparing VGA and component with the only 2 games I had at the time. Namely DOA4 and NFS:MW.
 
I concur - I used the component cables with DOA 4, and was stunned at how bad the colors were. This wasn't a 2405FPW, though.

However, since the VGA cable is hardware, you shouldn't have too hard a time finding a place that'll let you return it "no questions asked" within a certain time frame if it doesn't fix your issues. I'd give it a shot.

-Erwos
 
2405 + component picture is excellent, 1080i full scale.

Did the same on my 46" HDTV and was disappointed with the color.
IMO the LCD 2405 does a better job with the 360.
 
Bought the VGA cable. :p

Image is not crystal sharp BUT I like it more than the component. May be a taste thing but I found it looks much better :)
 
Cool :)

Did you set the 360 to 13something x 768 (widescreen flag on)? Did you change the 2405 to "fill" under 'image settings' ?

Enjoy!
 
Allos said:
Bought the VGA cable. :p

Image is not crystal sharp BUT I like it more than the component. May be a taste thing but I found it looks much better :)
Click to expand...
It won't be ever be razor sharp, because it has to upscale internally to 1920x200 from 1280x768. While I can't speak for the 2405FPW, I know the 2005FPW's internal scaler didn't always impress me so much (for instance, composite looks just awful compared to running it through D-Scaler).

-Erwos
 
erwos said:
I concur - I used the component cables with DOA 4, and was stunned at how bad the colors were. This wasn't a 2405FPW, though.

However, since the VGA cable is hardware, you shouldn't have too hard a time finding a place that'll let you return it "no questions asked" within a certain time frame if it doesn't fix your issues. I'd give it a shot.

-Erwos
Click to expand...

I'm currently running the component cables that came with the X360, and have been nothing but stunned at how beautiful DOA4 looks on my HDTV in 720p. The colors are just amazing.
 
I am using 1280x768. 1368(?) x 768 is fuzzier than 1280 x 768, not sure why.

Image is "stretched" to fill the screen but I can live with that. It looks more "clean". I have to admit that for some reason the component cable image is "crisper" though.

All in all, still very happy for this purchase :cool:
 
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