Slow Plan Questions

[BlubberBuns]

Have some questions for the more experienced Xbox owners here. Ever since I saw Halo on the Xbox Christmas shopping a couple of years ago, I've been (slowly) hatching my Xbox plan. The first step was to get the wife to agree to broadband. Got that, though it is a cable modem with a surfboard cable modem. Next came the Kenwood home theater system with a digital optical input, two s-video inputs and one s-video output. She insisted on the one with the powered sub-woofer. That just about broke my heart :cry:. It doesn't have a DVD/CD player though ... but I explained that could be fixed by adding a Xbox, except she calls it an "E-box" instead. So far so good. I've gone through some of the FAQ's ... and it looks like I still have a little work to do.

1. Looks like I need the high definition A/V pack, to connect the optical audio out of the Xbox to the receiver. The receiver does digital dolby, DTS, and prologic, so I think I got that covered correctly. Maybe I can get away with just a standard Optical cable to do the connection?

2. My TV is a bit old, and the next major target after the Xbox itself. It only has a yellow RCA plug, no s-video. I'm not sure how much of a difference that will make. I presume I can just run the normal connection from the Xbox to the TV, being sure not to connect the component audio. Anybody know if the RCA/v-port is worth anything or not? I suspect not, but wanted to ask anyway.

3. I think I'm going to have to surrender and learn about hubs, so the Xbox or the computer can be online, but not at the same time. There should be less performance penalty this way, correct?

Anything else I should worry about, that I haven't mentioned? Thanks for the comments!

[Dre]

Hi there and welcome to XBA!

1) You'll need the Advanced AV pack (not the hi-def). This pack allows you to have 5.1 with an optical cable, but also allows for RCA and S-video outputs to the tv. I use this as well, and am using the Mad Catz one. I've never had a problem with it and it came with an optical cable.

2) Same as 1.

3) Try looking at routers... usually you can find them for pretty cheap and that will allow you to get on both the computer and Xbox at the same time. As for any performance penalties with this setup, it all depends on how much bandwith your computer is using at the time. I myself stream internet radio @ 128 Kbps and play XBL without any lag and I have an average cable connection.


Hope this helps!

[Zion]

Yeah, pretty much what Dre said. I just wanted to emphasize what he said about routers..you want a router and not a hub. A hub does not act as a 'traffic cop' for your data so you will get high ping times and lots of collisions with a hub.

I also just wanted to add that if you're getting a new TV you might as well get one with component connections. It's actually hard to find a good new TV without component inputs. This will run circles around the picture quality of the yellow RCA video plug, and is quite a bit cleaner than the S-video. If you go that route, you'll need the HD A/V pack. If not, you just need the Advanced A/V pack. Both use a standard optical cable.

V-port is nothing special, it's just a component connection with a proprietary connector on it.

[BlubberBuns]

Dre, Zion, thanks for the points. Nope, I didn't recognize the difference between the HiDeF and Advanced A/V pack. Gonna have to bite the bullet and read up on routers, too.

[ShannonX]

Originally posted by BlubberBuns
Have some questions for the more experienced Xbox owners here. Ever since I saw Halo on the Xbox Christmas shopping a couple of years ago, I've been (slowly) hatching my Xbox plan. The first step was to get the wife to agree to broadband. Got that, though it is a cable modem with a surfboard cable modem. Next came the Kenwood home theater system with a digital optical input, two s-video inputs and one s-video output. She insisted on the one with the powered sub-woofer. That just about broke my heart :cry:. It doesn't have a DVD/CD player though ... but I explained that could be fixed by adding a Xbox, except she calls it an "E-box" instead. So far so good. I've gone through some of the FAQ's ... and it looks like I still have a little work to do.

1. Looks like I need the high definition A/V pack, to connect the optical audio out of the Xbox to the receiver. The receiver does digital dolby, DTS, and prologic, so I think I got that covered correctly. Maybe I can get away with just a standard Optical cable to do the connection?

2. My TV is a bit old, and the next major target after the Xbox itself. It only has a yellow RCA plug, no s-video. I'm not sure how much of a difference that will make. I presume I can just run the normal connection from the Xbox to the TV, being sure not to connect the component audio. Anybody know if the RCA/v-port is worth anything or not? I suspect not, but wanted to ask anyway.

3. I think I'm going to have to surrender and learn about hubs, so the Xbox or the computer can be online, but not at the same time. There should be less performance penalty this way, correct?

Anything else I should worry about, that I haven't mentioned? Thanks for the comments!

the RCA V-Port is just a standard Component (the best video connection) in a funny shape. Its neither better or worse from what i've read, but i believe if i read right, it lets you do one cable for component and stereo audio (though if you want 5.1 you need the optional optical cable with it).

if i had the money, i'd probably pick one up, but i'm poor now after i wrecked my car so i have to wait awhile for that. *sigh*