Xbox A/V Connections
This tends to get asked about quite alot, so perhaps this thread or another similar could be made sticky? DC? Rommer?
Connection types are in order from lowest quality to highest quality.
Titles are clickable.
1. RF Adaptor
This adaptor is for use with televisions that have no A/V inputs.
It allows the Xbox to be plugged into an aerial port sending both the video and audio through the one connection.
2. Standard (Included) A/V Adaptor
Yellow - Coaxial cable with rca connector carrying a composite video signal.
White - Coaxial cable with rca connector carrying stereo left channel signal.
Red - Coaxial cable with rca connector carrying stereo right channel signal.
(The white cable can be used alone for mono sound).
3. Advanced A/V Pack
Black - Svideo cable with 4 pin male connectors carrying video split into Y & Cr signals.
- Y - brightness or "black & white" information.
- Cr - colour or "red, green, blue" information.
White - Coaxial cable with rca connectors carrying stereo left channel signal.
Red - Coaxial cable with rca connectors carrying stereo right channel signal.
Optical Output - An opitcal cable is required should you choose to use the optical output for dolby digital 5.1 surround sound. There is not one supplied with this pack. See below.
Video Output - A coaxial cable is required should you choose to use the standard video output. (The Svideo option will give better picture quality). You can use either of the white or red stereo cables if they are not in use.
4. Hi Deff A/V Pack
Firstly, the facts.
US/Japan = NTSC = 480 lines horizontal resolution on a television screen. (525 lines including overscan).
480i = interlaced lines = standard video = Standard A/V Pack & Advanced A/V Pack
480p = progressive lines = high deffinition video = Hi Deff A/V Pack
Australia/NZ/UK/Europe = PAL = 576 lines horizontal resolution on a tv screen. (625 lines including overscan)
576i = interlaced lines = standard video = Standard A/V Pack & Advanced A/V Pack & Hi Deff A/V Pack
576p = progressive lines = high deffinition video = N/A
For a detailed explination of Interlaced and Progressive Video click >HERE<
- The Hi Deff Pack was recalled from all PAL retailers not long after the Australian Xbox launch.
- This is because it would not function AS ADVERTISED.
- It will work perferctly with the PAL Xbox, but will only output a 576i signal, not a Hi Deff signal (576p).
- The reason for this being, Microsoft had to cancel 576p output on PAL Xbox's because the 576p video standard had not yet been approved for use in PAL countries.
- It was approved approximately 6 months after the Australian release of the Xbox.
- The 576p (PAL progressive scan) standard is now an Australian High Deffinition digital television standard (broadcast by channel 7 and SBS) & is becoming more common in dvd players.
- The Hi Deff Pack is still widely available to the NTSC market and is available to be purchased online.
- Hi Deff Packs are not region specific. They are not rated as NTSC or PAL, and can be used with any xbox anywhere.
- There are many after market makes available, some cheaper others more expensive. Quality of the connectors, cables & construction can play a part in the picture quality.
- Some people report "jerkyness" when playing dvd movies with the Hi Deff Pack, although games remain perfect. Don't know how common this is.
Component - 3 coaxial cables with rca connectors carrying (interlaced) video signal split into Y, Cr, Cb.
- Green (Y) - Brightness (black and white information)
- Blue (Cb) - Colour (blue information)
- Red (Cr) - Colour (red information)
(Green colour information is mathmatically calculated using the existing colour & brightness information)
White - Coaxial cable with rca connectors carrying stereo left channel signal.
Red - Coaxial cable with rca connectors carrying stereo right channel signal.
Optical Output - An opitcal cable is required should you choose to use the optical output for dolby digital 5.1 surround sound. There is not one supplied with this pack. See below.
Video Output - A coaxial cable is required should you choose to use standard video output. (The component option will give better picture quality). You can use either of the white or red stereo cables if they are not in use.
** There is also another type of component connection labeled Y Pb Pr. It is exactly the same as the one above, except it is capable of receiving a progressive video signal.
This would not effect the Hi Deff pack in any way as the same cables can be used no matter what the type of component connection. **
5. VGA Packs
- VGA Packs take a component video signal & convert it into a Red Green Blue (RGB) progressive signal to be output through a 15 pin d-sub connector.
(The same type used to connect most computer monitors).
- Some VGA packs may lower the resolution from our PAL standard of 576x768 to a more computer friendly 480x640 (NTSC resolution).
- Others can output a resolution of 600x800 which will fully cover our PAL resolution.
- Some VGA packs do not support widescreen resolutions (PAL widescreen 576x1024, NTSC widescreen 480x853).
- Some VGA packs offer an Optical Output for dolby digital 5.1 surround sound.
Again an opitcal cable is required. There is not one supplied with the packs. See below.
One of the most popular and high quality VGA boxes available is:
- Ken's VGA Adaptor
Others include:
- X2VGA+
** Some VGA adaptors are specifically built for either the PAL or NTSC regions. Always check with the supplier.
Some games may not run properly when used with VGA adaptors. Again, check with the supplier for incompatability issues. **
Others
- RGB
Red Green Blue is the video signal primarily used in Europe and the UK.
RGB video works similarly to component video and technically is of slightly better picture quality due to component video's compression.
- SCART connectors are simply that, connectors.
They are a 21 pin multi-standard connector that will allow the transmission of
- composite video >click for Microsoft product<
- svideo
- RGB video >click for Microsoft product<
- component video
- audio left (stereo)
- audio right (stereo)
although not all at once!
It works like this, a TV may have 3 scart inputs.
Scart 1 (A/V 1) - composite video, svideo & audio left/right stereo (a tv menu option will allow you to select between composite video & svideo).
Scart 2 (A/V 2) - composite video, svideo & audio left/right stereo (a tv menu option will allow you to select between composite video & svideo).
Scart 3 (A/V 3) - RGB video & audio left/right stereo
==================================================
Optical Output and Dolby Digital 5.1 Sound
To obtain Dolby Digital 5.1 sound you will need:
- Xbox A/V Pack thats supports optical output
- Optical cable
- Amplifier that decodes Dolby Digital and has an optical input
- 5 speakers and subwoofer connected to amplifier
While a full blown theater system will sound fantastic, excellent surround sound can be had for relatively small expense.
One example of this is the >Logitech Z-680< surround system.
This tends to get asked about quite alot, so perhaps this thread or another similar could be made sticky? DC? Rommer?
Connection types are in order from lowest quality to highest quality.
Titles are clickable.
1. RF Adaptor
This adaptor is for use with televisions that have no A/V inputs.
It allows the Xbox to be plugged into an aerial port sending both the video and audio through the one connection.
2. Standard (Included) A/V Adaptor
Yellow - Coaxial cable with rca connector carrying a composite video signal.
White - Coaxial cable with rca connector carrying stereo left channel signal.
Red - Coaxial cable with rca connector carrying stereo right channel signal.
(The white cable can be used alone for mono sound).
3. Advanced A/V Pack
Black - Svideo cable with 4 pin male connectors carrying video split into Y & Cr signals.
- Y - brightness or "black & white" information.
- Cr - colour or "red, green, blue" information.
White - Coaxial cable with rca connectors carrying stereo left channel signal.
Red - Coaxial cable with rca connectors carrying stereo right channel signal.
Optical Output - An opitcal cable is required should you choose to use the optical output for dolby digital 5.1 surround sound. There is not one supplied with this pack. See below.
Video Output - A coaxial cable is required should you choose to use the standard video output. (The Svideo option will give better picture quality). You can use either of the white or red stereo cables if they are not in use.
4. Hi Deff A/V Pack
Firstly, the facts.
US/Japan = NTSC = 480 lines horizontal resolution on a television screen. (525 lines including overscan).
480i = interlaced lines = standard video = Standard A/V Pack & Advanced A/V Pack
480p = progressive lines = high deffinition video = Hi Deff A/V Pack
Australia/NZ/UK/Europe = PAL = 576 lines horizontal resolution on a tv screen. (625 lines including overscan)
576i = interlaced lines = standard video = Standard A/V Pack & Advanced A/V Pack & Hi Deff A/V Pack
576p = progressive lines = high deffinition video = N/A
For a detailed explination of Interlaced and Progressive Video click >HERE<
- The Hi Deff Pack was recalled from all PAL retailers not long after the Australian Xbox launch.
- This is because it would not function AS ADVERTISED.
- It will work perferctly with the PAL Xbox, but will only output a 576i signal, not a Hi Deff signal (576p).
- The reason for this being, Microsoft had to cancel 576p output on PAL Xbox's because the 576p video standard had not yet been approved for use in PAL countries.
- It was approved approximately 6 months after the Australian release of the Xbox.
- The 576p (PAL progressive scan) standard is now an Australian High Deffinition digital television standard (broadcast by channel 7 and SBS) & is becoming more common in dvd players.
- The Hi Deff Pack is still widely available to the NTSC market and is available to be purchased online.
- Hi Deff Packs are not region specific. They are not rated as NTSC or PAL, and can be used with any xbox anywhere.
- There are many after market makes available, some cheaper others more expensive. Quality of the connectors, cables & construction can play a part in the picture quality.
- Some people report "jerkyness" when playing dvd movies with the Hi Deff Pack, although games remain perfect. Don't know how common this is.
Component - 3 coaxial cables with rca connectors carrying (interlaced) video signal split into Y, Cr, Cb.
- Green (Y) - Brightness (black and white information)
- Blue (Cb) - Colour (blue information)
- Red (Cr) - Colour (red information)
(Green colour information is mathmatically calculated using the existing colour & brightness information)
White - Coaxial cable with rca connectors carrying stereo left channel signal.
Red - Coaxial cable with rca connectors carrying stereo right channel signal.
Optical Output - An opitcal cable is required should you choose to use the optical output for dolby digital 5.1 surround sound. There is not one supplied with this pack. See below.
Video Output - A coaxial cable is required should you choose to use standard video output. (The component option will give better picture quality). You can use either of the white or red stereo cables if they are not in use.
** There is also another type of component connection labeled Y Pb Pr. It is exactly the same as the one above, except it is capable of receiving a progressive video signal.
This would not effect the Hi Deff pack in any way as the same cables can be used no matter what the type of component connection. **
5. VGA Packs
- VGA Packs take a component video signal & convert it into a Red Green Blue (RGB) progressive signal to be output through a 15 pin d-sub connector.
(The same type used to connect most computer monitors).
- Some VGA packs may lower the resolution from our PAL standard of 576x768 to a more computer friendly 480x640 (NTSC resolution).
- Others can output a resolution of 600x800 which will fully cover our PAL resolution.
- Some VGA packs do not support widescreen resolutions (PAL widescreen 576x1024, NTSC widescreen 480x853).
- Some VGA packs offer an Optical Output for dolby digital 5.1 surround sound.
Again an opitcal cable is required. There is not one supplied with the packs. See below.
One of the most popular and high quality VGA boxes available is:
- Ken's VGA Adaptor
Others include:
- X2VGA+
** Some VGA adaptors are specifically built for either the PAL or NTSC regions. Always check with the supplier.
Some games may not run properly when used with VGA adaptors. Again, check with the supplier for incompatability issues. **
Others
- RGB
Red Green Blue is the video signal primarily used in Europe and the UK.
RGB video works similarly to component video and technically is of slightly better picture quality due to component video's compression.
- SCART connectors are simply that, connectors.
They are a 21 pin multi-standard connector that will allow the transmission of
- composite video >click for Microsoft product<
- svideo
- RGB video >click for Microsoft product<
- component video
- audio left (stereo)
- audio right (stereo)
although not all at once!
It works like this, a TV may have 3 scart inputs.
Scart 1 (A/V 1) - composite video, svideo & audio left/right stereo (a tv menu option will allow you to select between composite video & svideo).
Scart 2 (A/V 2) - composite video, svideo & audio left/right stereo (a tv menu option will allow you to select between composite video & svideo).
Scart 3 (A/V 3) - RGB video & audio left/right stereo
==================================================
Optical Output and Dolby Digital 5.1 Sound
To obtain Dolby Digital 5.1 sound you will need:
- Xbox A/V Pack thats supports optical output
- Optical cable
- Amplifier that decodes Dolby Digital and has an optical input
- 5 speakers and subwoofer connected to amplifier
While a full blown theater system will sound fantastic, excellent surround sound can be had for relatively small expense.
One example of this is the >Logitech Z-680< surround system.
