Xbox 360 HDMI

[Supermercado]

Up until today, I had my 360 connected via VGA video and optical audio. I had the VGA cable running directly to my TV (Pioneer 5080) and the optical audio running to my receiver (Harman Kardon 247). I got an HDMI cable today and just swapped the VGA/optical for the HDMI and to say that I'm disappointed would be a huge understatement. With the VGA, everything with really bright and clear; with the HDMI, everything's just dark and crappy looking. I've tried changing the picture mode on my TV from the settings I have for normal TV viewing to the game mode but that doesn't really make much improvement. I also tried the reference level settings in the 360's system blade and can't tell any difference at all using those.

Has anyone else made the change from VGA to HDMI and knows something I don't? I'm pretty disappointed right now.

Edit: Also, assuming I can become happy with the HDMI picture, the 360 does upscale DVDs via HDMI, correct?

 

[Rage187]

I actually had the opposite thing happen. VGA was dull and HDMI is bright an shiny.

 

[Supermercado]

I guess I should maybe note that I was trying the dashboard and Forza 2 when I made my assessment. I'm playing the Mirror's Edge demo right now and it seems a lot better. Granted, I never tried the demo on VGA and I've played the hell out of Forza 2 and know what everything "should" look like.

 

[Supermercado]

I've been messing with the output resolution settings on the 360. When I first started it up, I had it outputting 720p, which is what my TV is. When my receiver gets a signal that's less than 1080i, it processes the video to add the onscreen display (volume, menus, etc.). I tried changing that to 1080i to eliminate the receiver processing as a source of the problem since it should just be passing the signal through at that point. No difference. I then tried the "optimal resolution" setting and now it's back to nice and bright and beautiful. The optimal resolution is 1360x768, which is different from the resolution of 720p. I guess the optimal setting is outputting at the resolution that my TV runs at and isn't having to do any scaling to account for that 6 pixel difference? Could that really be the source of the darkness?

 

[CKDragon]

My first and only 360 is a launch-day Elite hooked up via HDMI, so I don't really have a frame of reference for you. I've always been happy with the HDMI output, but maybe ignorance is bliss?

 

[nismotigerwvu]

Logic would say that the image should be equal between the HDMI output and the VGA output. The difference more than likely lies in the processing that is going on. My bet is on the TV handling analog signals differently than digital ones. If you made tweaks to the color/brightness settings of your TV check and make sure they are the profile selected when you use your HDMI in. When I switched from component to HDMI on my set I was dissapointed at first (waaaaaaaaaaay too bright) then I realized the set reverted back to the default "torch mode" on the digital in. A few taps on my remote and everything was fine again.

 

[Supermercado]

I'm happy with it now that I've got the optimal resolution set. It's using 1366x768, which is the same resolution it was set to (manually, I think) when I was using the VGA cable. There's a huge difference between when it's set to 720p/1080i or optimal. Scaling is the only thing that makes sense. I just wish I could get the onscreen display for volume but that may be a product of my TV's native resolution not being exactly 720p and my receiver not liking it as a result. I guess in the end, I'm no worse off than I was with the VGA cable since that didn't get the onscreen display either since the video went directly to the TV. I guess that's just something that would be nice to have.

 

[Schfifty Five]

Sometimes you just need to reset settings or do another auto-detect kind of option to fix the problem.

 

[tatteredpotato]

VGA on the 360 is notorious for being washed out, perhaps you were too used to that look?

 

[Supermercado]

I suppose that's possible but comparing the two, the HDMI was really dark when I had it set to 720p rather than optimal resolution. I never really thought the VGA looked washed out but not knowing any different, it's certainly a possibility. If I had a good camera, I'd see about taking pictures of each to post here. I don't know if taking a screenshot in a game would show what I actually see or not.

I'm happy enough with it now, I suppose. I think the "issue" I'm having now with the onscreen display is more related to my receiver than anything. It's a nuisance, a nice to have, more than anything, though, and I never had it with the VGA so worst case, I'm where I was.

 

[spidey07]

You'll have to match your 360 output settings to the settings on your TV. HDMI supports blacker than black or digital black levels so you'll have to calibrate your display and input device accordingly. Google around for recommended settings but for many TVs the VGA provides a better display. Maybe move to audio/video forum because it's display dependent on how you set the 360 and the display.

To say that VGA and HDMI are completely different would be an understatement.