Currently, I have a 60" Hi-Def Mistubishi DLP TV. It has a problem, but one that usually doesn’t bother me too much (usually). The TV is limited to two inputs: Basic cable/antennae coax input and one HDMI input. A board or something must be blown out, because the other half dozen or so inputs won’t work, or even be offered as options on the input menu. The repair is in the hundreds of dollars and not worth it, because these Mitsus also suffer from Green Light of Death (GLOD) syndrome (another repair costing hundreds).
So, I can watch TV in high def because of the HDMI input, and I don’t use my DVD because FIOS has all I need… except I want to game with my XBOX 360 on it… and the 360 comes with component cables. Ergo, no place to plug them in. It’s HDMI cable for Hi Def only.
Simple, I just buy and HDMI cable for XBOX… but the XBOX 360 HDMI cables have some hokey HDMI output cable** and** audi cables coming out of the dongle made for the 360.
If I buy the XBOX HDMI cable/contraption, which has the HDMI plug and audio plugs made to plug into the TV, am I screwed because I have to use the audio plugs? What I need is to be able to just plug in a darn HDMI cable from the 360 to the TV’s only HDMI input?
Remember, no RCA and/or component inputs on the back work. It’s one HDMI input or one coax input. That’s it.
For example, my TV has HDMI inputs but no way to output digital audio to my receiver so I hook up my PS3 (don’t have an Xbox 360) with both an HDMI cable (for video) and an optical audio cable. You shouldn’t have to do anything with the optional separate audio hookups, just use the HDMI.
You may want to check out an HDMI switch like Munch suggested so that you don’t have to unplug cables when switching between FIOS and the Xbox.
HDMI also runs sound; an HDMI cable is all you need. You might want to check this, but I think the 360 has a proprietary HDMI in-port, so you might have to buy one from them. (Or any game vendor) I’m working overtime, or else I’d check for you.
The audio is mostly for people like me who run separate audio systems not necessarily hooked up through the TV. The 360 doesn’t have a dedicated sound out, see.
I HIGHLY recommend monoprice.com from buying HDMI cables. HDMI is a purely digital signal so a super high quality monster cable will have a perfect signal and a $4 off-brand cable will have… a perfect signal.
You don’t need the Microsoft HDMI cable. There is nothing special about the Xbox HDMI port just buy a cheap cable from somewhere and you are good to go. That cable is for people like me who run their Xbox into a monitor with no speakers ( and I didn’t know it existed, thanks.)
Ah, now I understand. Yeah that’d be handy. It’d also be handy for people who just need to separate their A from their V. One of my Xboxes doesn’t have an HDMI out, maybe I’ll get one of those converter things myself.
The previous posts are correct: HDMI carries both video and sound, which means Philster doesn’t need to buy Microsoft’s special cable; any HDMI cable will do, without needing any extra audio connections.
But for folks who want to run audio separately, say to a receiver, there’s a problem. Microsoft is devious. On Xboxen with HDMI ports, they’ve designed it so that you can’t have both an HDMI cable plugged in and any kind of A/V connector at the same time; they purposely put the ports too close together and make their A/V connectors super-fat. So, if you want to run HDMI to the TV and optical audio to your receiver, you either have to shell out for Microsoft’s special HDMI cable, or do surgery on an A/V cable, stripping the casing off to allow them both to be plugged in at the same time.
I cheat. My TV has an optical out port for sound, so it’s Xbox-to-TV by a single HDMI cable, and an optical cable from the TV to the receiver. I use no Microsoft A/V cabling whatsoever. Fight the power!
Edited to add: Were your TV’s inputs working at some point and then stopped? On many TVs, inputs aren’t selectable unless there’s something actually plugged into them. I don’t mean to imply that you don’t know how to work your own TV, I’m just askin’ is all.
Unfortunately, my receiver is one of those “home theater in a box” affairs, with nothing in the way of video inputs. Someday, when I can afford better equipment, I’ll have a receiver that can truly be my home entertainment hub. sigh, to dream…
I’ve owned a few A/V receivers in my life, but my current one, although not the top-of-the-line, is by far the coolest one I’ve ever owned. Plenty of inputs, 7.1 speakers, three zones, auto-detection of inputs, upconverts, cool remote. It just seems to figure out what I’m trying to do all by itself. I highly recommend.
Mine is a few years old now and not that exact model, but the same price range. It has speaker outputs for Rear Surround Left and Rear Surround Right. Mine only has three HDMI inputs though. I’d love to have an excuse to upgrade to a newer one someday.
I just bought a Marantz NR1501. I love it. It’s not the most powerful with 50 Watts/channel RMS at 0.07% distortion, but it’s plenty loud enough for a modest room. With 4 HDMI inputs, 7.1 channel sound, and auto calibration, it has enough bits and pieces to suit an average set up.
What I really like about it is that it’s about half the size of a typical AV receiver, so it’s much more versatile in terms of where you can put it. A lot of nice looking timber entertainment units don’t have adequate shelf space for a full size receiver. That was our problem and why I decided on the Marantz.