360 HDMI looks poor

Nathan · 24 Mar 2008 at 15:09

Hardware:

360 HDMI
32" technosonic
V. Expensive HDMI cable

Using component cable COD4 looks really good, nice bright vibrant colours and the text is clear. This is in 1080i as it looks better imo than 720p.

I put in the HDMI cable thinking to get the same or a little bit better and it looks a little grainy

The text is also slightly blury. This is in 720p and 1080i.

Why is this? I was hoping to get rid of the messy component but it looks like its staying. Perhaps I have missed an option on my tv or something?

Simon · 24 Mar 2008 at 15:14

Adjust the sharpness

Kreeeee · 24 Mar 2008 at 15:17

Should have got a £4 HDMI cable, what a waste!

I found VGA far better than component and HDMI anyway.

JUMPURS · 24 Mar 2008 at 15:19

HDMI is crap on 360 and PS3, tooooooo sharp

Nathan · 24 Mar 2008 at 15:19

Kreeeee said:
Should have got a £4 HDMI cable, what a waste!

Why is this relevant? I bought the xbox for a bargainous 190 quid with 10 games, charging dock, 2 wireless pads, remote, plug and play, wireless headset, wifi and a £60 hdmi cable.

I would never pay over 4 quid for a hdmi cable

Nathan · 24 Mar 2008 at 15:20

I use VGA for my pc but could swap them over if they look better, perhaps its what im used to

Yoko · 24 Mar 2008 at 15:20

there is no need for an expensive hdmi cable at all

adjust your settings - contrast etc

720p will give you best results - assuming your tv can only accept a 1080i input and doesnt actually display it properly ie it does not have 1080 horizontal lines but 768

Kreeeee · 24 Mar 2008 at 15:24

JUMPURS said:
HDMI is crap on 360 and PS3, tooooooo sharp

And lowering the sharpness doesn't give the nice VGA look in my experience. I have no idea why and it's definitely not my TV as my PC looks amazing via both VGA and HDMI.

Inazuma · 24 Mar 2008 at 15:34

You just need to adjust your TV colour/sharpness settings.

Psymonkee · 24 Mar 2008 at 15:36

could be your cheap name tv has a poor hdmi input?

Nathan · 24 Mar 2008 at 15:38

Psymonkee said:
could be your cheap name tv has a poor hdmi input?

Yes I think this could be the reason. I may try the 1080p sharp in the living room. Its quite annoying

Kreeeee · 24 Mar 2008 at 15:48

Nathan said:
Yes I think this could be the reason. I may try the 1080p sharp in the living room. Its quite annoying

It's worth trying but the HDMI on the 360 is far from amazing.

james.miller · 24 Mar 2008 at 15:50

JUMPURS said:
HDMI is crap on 360 and PS3, tooooooo sharp

there's nothing wrong with it on the ps3. its supposed to be pin sharp, but theres a difference between pin sharp and over sharp.

Simon · 24 Mar 2008 at 15:53

I use a Phillips 32". HDMI looks awesome

oweneades · 24 Mar 2008 at 16:16

JUMPURS said:
HDMI is crap on 360 and PS3, tooooooo sharp

Depends entirely on the tv. Both my 360 and my ps3 look fine through HDMI on my TV, I can't tell the difference between my elite over hdmi and my old premium over component (this is running them both at the same time on the same tv)

VGA isn't that good on my TV however my premium is now plugged in upstairs onto the same monitor that my main computer uses and it looks perfect on that.

geordie10 · 24 Mar 2008 at 16:17

HDMI is a lot better than VGA on my samsung.

Margaret · 24 Mar 2008 at 16:19

HDMI is identical to VGA on my TV even when set to 1920x1080, however on my PC VGA was very blurry compared to HDMI!

But my 360 through VGA looks perfect.

Vegetarian · 24 Mar 2008 at 16:25

On my HTPC VGA looks so much sharper and colourful than HDMI... I just stick with VGA.

JUMPURS · 24 Mar 2008 at 16:27

oweneades said:
Depends entirely on the tv. Both my 360 and my ps3 look fine through HDMI on my TV, I can't tell the difference between my elite over hdmi and my old premium over component (this is running them both at the same time on the same tv)

VGA isn't that good on my TV however my premium is now plugged in upstairs onto the same monitor that my main computer uses and it looks perfect on that.

Tried it on a 32inch Sammy at 720p and a 1080p Sony Bravia, doesn't look as nice as VGA on either, no matter what i do with brightness and sharpness levels.

The VGA is the best connection, component is overly sharp too.

Raymond Lin · 24 Mar 2008 at 16:29

I've tried HDMI and Component on a Sony 40", and Official VGA on a 1680x1050 Philips TFT monitor. By far the best is the HDMI, and that cost me £3.50 !