Attention Xbox360 Owners

[Farmer]

I recently purchased one of the new Premium X360 with HDMI out.

I want to use the HDMI-out video only, so I'd like to output audio from the component out still. With your Elites, there was a small cable that allowed this:

http://assets.xbox.com/en-us/s...t/na-console-elite.pdf

It's displayed on page six of that manual.

I'm wondering if you know anywhere to get such an item from?

 

[bucwylde23]

Well here's an ebay auction for one, though it appears to be quite pricey. (In my opinion). I guess you could search aroudn but that's the quickest thing I could find.

http://cgi.ebay.com/New-Micros...VWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Try to call MS and see if you can buy one from them directly. That would be my first step.

 

[Farmer]

chrisg22:

Seems like there is an option: MS sells an HDMI cable (with the adaptor) for, get this: $50!.

For an HDMI cable, essentially, or for me, just the dongle. So, for how much I'd have to pay for the Premium and this cable, I could've gotten an Elite for $16 more...

I knew MS would find a way to screw me over.

 

[tatteredpotato]

I take it either your TV doesn't have audio out, or you want more than stereo sound.

 

[mlm]

Can you just use the normal A/V dongle to get optical?

 

[tatteredpotato]

Originally posted by: mlm
Can you just use the normal A/V dongle to get optical?

That's a good idea, worth a shot at least. The only potential problem would be that AV plug overriding the digital output, might as well give it a shot though.

 

[Farmer]

ObscureCaucasian:

I'm trying to play on an LCD monitor, which has no audio support at all. I am using an HDMI-to-DVI-D cable, so I essentially lose the HDMI audio signal in the wire.

I honestly just want to connect some stereo audio, because that's the only speakers I have.

mlm:

You mean use you component HD cable that comes with the Premium? Yes, I could do that, but I'd have to buy a $30 component-to-vga adaptor, and I lose HDMI functionality.

Have I tried connecting the HDMI and the component cable, but only using the component cable to connect audio? No, not yet, I'll give it a go, though I don't know how to set the Xbox to output audio-only on the component out, and output video through the HDMI (which, I assume, is what the dongle does).

 

[mlm]

Originally posted by: Farmer
Have I tried connecting the HDMI and the component cable, but only using the component cable to connect audio? No, not yet, I'll give it a go, though I don't know how to set the Xbox to output audio-only on the component out, and output video through the HDMI (which, I assume, is what the dongle does).

There's a spot on the component dongle for you to plug in an optical cable.

 

[Farmer]

mlm:

I don't need to use optical. I want to use those two RCA jacks that come with the audio dongle. I'll see what happens when I plug both component and HDMI cable in. If I don't connect the component video, the video feed, hopefully, should still come through the HDMI.

 

[mlm]

Sorry, I got your issue mixed up with somebody on another forum who was looking for a way to use optical

But yeah, there's no logical reason the 360 wouldn't allow you to do that.

 

[bucwylde23]

Maybe you can find someone with an Elite that is nice enough to give it to you cheap. If I had it I'd sell it to you damn near free because I'd never use it

 

[Farmer]

chrisg22:

That's a good idea.

Maybe I should just put it out there: if is anyone out their with an Elite L/R/Optical dongle who does not need it, can you help me out? Boston-area folks (or Chicago area folks from 26 Aug to 31 Aug) would be easiest.

 

[CKDragon]

I have an Elite. I wish I had an HDMI switching receiver or a TV that passed the HDMI audio through optical out back to my receiver so I could help you out.

But if you have a TV or receiver with the aforementioned capabilities, I'd totally trade you the dongle for it.

Good luck with your problem.

 

[CKDragon]

Originally posted by: Farmer
chrisg22:

That's a good idea.

Maybe I should just put it out there: if is anyone out their with an Elite L/R/Optical dongle who does not need it, can you help me out? Boston-area folks (or Chicago area folks from 26 Aug to 31 Aug) would be easiest.

Did you try your above experiment (using the component cable just for the audio alongside your HDMI for video)?

It looks like there's another ebay post for the dongle this morning, but that's already >$25 shipped. ebay link

 

[bucwylde23]

Originally posted by: CKDragon

Originally posted by: Farmer
chrisg22:

That's a good idea.

Maybe I should just put it out there: if is anyone out their with an Elite L/R/Optical dongle who does not need it, can you help me out? Boston-area folks (or Chicago area folks from 26 Aug to 31 Aug) would be easiest.

Did you try your above experiment (using the component cable just for the audio alongside your HDMI for video)?

It looks like there's another ebay post for the dongle this morning, but that's already >$25 shipped. ebay link

I would try that also. I can't pull up the page now (it's blocked at work), but I think that dongle has the same connector as the component cables (on the xbox side), which means it's probably the same cable minus the video connectors. So just plug that in, use the audio, then leave the rest dangling while still using HDMI. I think the 360 will probably "override" the HDMI audio when it seems an optical input.

 

[Farmer]

CKDragon:

Not yet, but whatever I do, I will need an adapter to plug in my PC speakers (I.e., from RCA L/R Audio to mini 3.5mm jack, if I want to use the 360 component cable, which outputs audio in L/R stereo RCA plugs), and I really doubt my local RadioShack as anything that specific.

If I get the dongle, I still need to get a RCA L/R to stereo mini, but this time plug-to-jack, not jack-to-jack.

 

[Farmer]

OK I'm going to RadioShack right now to see if it works.

 

[Farmer]

Originally posted by: chrisg22

Originally posted by: CKDragon

Originally posted by: Farmer
chrisg22:

That's a good idea.

Maybe I should just put it out there: if is anyone out their with an Elite L/R/Optical dongle who does not need it, can you help me out? Boston-area folks (or Chicago area folks from 26 Aug to 31 Aug) would be easiest.

Did you try your above experiment (using the component cable just for the audio alongside your HDMI for video)?+

It looks like there's another ebay post for the dongle this morning, but that's already >$25 shipped. ebay link

I would try that also. I can't pull up the page now (it's blocked at work), but I think that dongle has the same connector as the component cables (on the xbox side), which means it's probably the same cable minus the video connectors. So just plug that in, use the audio, then leave the rest dangling while still using HDMI. I think the 360 will probably "override" the HDMI audio when it seems an optical input.

Update:

Well, the component cable provided does not fit if you also plug in the HDMI cable, the plug is too large...

So I guess the only solution is to buy the dongle or cable set, at this time (Or hack up the component cable).

I'm pretty certain that if the cable did fit, it would work: since the video feeds are not connected, the 360 has no tendency to feed any current into that circuit in the first place (there is no voltage relative to itself).

I got a 3.5mm to 3.5mm female to female adapter and a male RCA L/R to male 3.5mm mini cable, and a female to female RCA adapter, none of which have been put to use.