Some Cable/Adapter Help

[Exeson]

Hey, this is a question for the more hardware savvy people in the playground.

I possess a Veiwsonic va2010wb monitor for my computer and I was thinking if I moved my Xbox 360 into my room that it might be possible to connect it to that monitor instead of having to buy a new one.

My question is this, is it possible to do that? I have no idea of they are compatible or indeed if compatibility is an issue.

The follow up question to an answer of yes is this, how would I go about connecting them (as in, what adapters and cables would I need?)? The monitor has 2 ports,

1 x VGA - 15 pin HD D-Sub (HD-15)
1 x DVI-D - 24 pin digital DVI

The 15 pin one is being used by my computer at the moment.

[Keld Denar]

You can get a video card adapter with an HDMI connection. It plugs into one of the PCI slots in your mobo and sticks out the back near where your ethernet and sound ports are. Then it should just be a simple matter of plugging in you XBox360 to the HDMI port and switching the active display adapter. The drivers for the hardware should handle the rest. HDMI cords are REALLY cheap if you buy them online from amazon marketplace or such. NEVER buy any cords at a retail store like Best Buy. Ever. Talkin about 2000% markups. And thats probably an underexaguration.

I think.

[tyckspoon]

You may be able to get by with acquiring an HDMI-DVI adapter and then running DVI-DVI into the monitor. Note that such a connection will not support audio, and you will have to use the XBox's other audio outputs to hook up to either another set of speakers or the monitor's onboard speakers.


NEVER buy any cords at a retail store like Best Buy. Ever. Talkin about 2000% markups. And thats probably an underexaguration.

If you have an actual electronics/computer store around, like a Fry's or a Future Shop or Tiger Direct outlet or whatever, then you can get generic cable there too. Places like Best Buys and Staples just happen to only carry the brands with the rediculous markups, because they're not computer stores. They're appliances/gadgets/office supply stores that happen to carry a few computer items, so they don't generally assign much space to computer stuff, which means they want to stuff it with things that make them as much money as possible.

[Don Julio Anejo]

It's possible. I've done that. The downside? You won't get any sound as I'm guessing your monitor doesn't have built-in speakers (since then it would have an HDMI input).

It's also possible to buy an HDMI to VGA or DVI adapter and use a normal VGA or DVI cable, may be cheaper although there isn't very much space to plug the adapter into on the back of the XBox.

[Tirian]

If you have an actual electronics/computer store around, like a Fry's or a Future Shop or Tiger Direct outlet or whatever, then you can get generic cable there too.

Shop around carefully and then check online stuff too. I walked into a Radio Shack thinking that they would count as an electronics DIY-friendly store, but they had the same horrible Best Buy prices and choices.

When I finished my hunting, I found that the cheapest long cables came from my father's mail order ham radio supplier. But maybe Tiger Direct is in line with those prices.

[tyckspoon]

*Long* cabling? Yeah, if you need a significant length you buy it online. The cost-per-foot goes up 3 or 4 times over when you break about 10 feet, even with the stuff that has no brand on it at all.

[Tirian]

It's sad that that counts as unusual, because I don't think there should be anything unusual about wanting your console next to the couch instead of next to the television. But you sure get to feeling that you're the first person who ever thought of that when you go shopping in stores for 15' RCA cables. I think wiring my whole house with Cat-5 cost less than what Best Buy was charging for that.

[Keld Denar]

I bought gold plated HDMI cables on Amazon Marketplace from some home-store-vendor guy. Paid $1.99 each for 2 six footers, and $9.99 for a single 15 footer. At Best Buy, I paid ~$50 for a 3 foot cable that I ended up taking back because it was too short to reach from one tray of my entertainment center to another.

$50 for half as much as I got for $2...do the math...4900% markup, on top of whatever markup the guy selling the $1.99 cables was making. Thats not even "trying to make as much off a small shelf space" thats highway robbery.

Anyway, yea, you'll need something to support your sound. If you have an audio receiver that runs your surround sound (what? who DOESN'T have surround sound?), you can run sound off that. 5 channel receivers tend not to be tooooo expensive.

[Jimorian]

Obligatory link to the $500 Denon digital audio cable (http://www.amazon.com/Denon-AKDL1-Dedicated-Link-Cable/dp/B000I1X6PM).

(The original cable is no longer available new, but you can get it "used" for $2500. :smalltongue: The reviews are the best part.)

[Exeson]

You may be able to get by with acquiring an HDMI-DVI adapter and then running DVI-DVI into the monitor. Note that such a connection will not support audio, and you will have to use the XBox's other audio outputs to hook up to either another set of speakers or the monitor's onboard speakers.

I have a set of very good speakers that plug into my computer via the headphone port, how would I go about hooking them up to my xbox? (If that is even possible)

[Archonic Energy]

one of these (hhttp://www.amazon.co.uk/Earphone-Coupler-Extender-Cable-Mountain/dp/B002GXN2MM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1277207189&sr=1-1) and one of these (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Xxion-Value-Gold-Adaptor-Contacts/dp/B001UJO1UA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1277207145&sr=8-2)

i worked in Maplin for far too long!

[Exeson]

I'm slightly confused as to what I plug into what. (I really have no clue when it comes to electronics)

I'm guessing you plug the jack and the adapter into opposite ends of the coupler, but then what?

[IonDragon]

I generally buy my cables via ebay from China. Last time, the guy mailed me a lanyard so he could tick the box that said it was a gift rather than he was selling me something. That was about $1.50 for a DVI to HDMI cable that I use to connect my desktop to my TV. Having a big screen computer is really cool for watching movies, but it makes it virtually impossible to type on.