I'm looking into buying a complete Xbox 360 setup within the next month or two, including speakers, decent display, etc. I would like to use some kind of LCD monitor instead of one of the crappy big fuzzy CRT TVs I already have.
I'm wondering what I should use for the sound and display, though. 1080p LCD monitor, or lesser display resolution? HDMI vs. component? Analog or digital audio? I also find very little information online about what kind of outputs the Xbox 360 is capable of out-of-box, which is troublesome.
I've tentatively chosen a few items, but I really don't know if the setup will work properly or if there's a better set of hardware for the task.
For the display, I picked out the ASUS VH242H. It uses HDMI, carrying both video and audio through the cable, and has speakers attached (or built in?) to the back of the display. I am concerned the audio quality will be poor, but I'm not sure if the Xbox supports HDMI video + some other audio output at the same time. I also have concerns about price, and most digital speakers I could find were very expensive and designed for much more elaborate setups.
Anyone know what outputs the Xbox has, and which audio/video outputs would be best to use? And what should I be looking for as far as speakers go? I seem to only find big expensive digital ones designed for home media centers or tiny analog ones for office workstations.
I also elected to add a spare wireless controller. I wonder though, how long do the batteries last? Do controllers lose the signal at all? Would it be better to buy a couple wired controllers instead?
Thanks for your help in advance!
Best Answer
I currently use a setup similar to what you're going for. I'd say as long as the monitor supports HDMI and 1080p, you should be fine visually. Not all games run at 1080p, but for those that do you'll get the best image possible.
The Xbox 360 does support audio over HDMI, but you can opt to use either RCA or digital audio instead if you want. All of the manuals for Xbox 360 hardware are available at http://support.xbox.com/support/en/us/nxe/hardware/manuals/InstructionManuals.aspx (although I don't see a manual for the new Xbox 360 S that was released a few months ago, but I'd guess that as far as you're concerned the Elite manual should give you the info that you need). The manuals go over the various combinations of audio and video that are supported, so hopefully that would be able to answer your questions.
For speakers, I'm currently using a 2.1 Logitech system that I've had for a long time. They meet my needs, but I'm no audiophile. I'd suggest not using your monitor's built-in speakers, since those types of speakers tend to not be very good.
I also have a Turtle Beach headset which is much better than the headset shipped with the console - both game audio and voice are sent to it, and it auto-balances the sounds during game play so that voice chat doesn't get lost among the game's audio. Since the headset is wireless, it requires two AAA batteries, but I use rechargeable batteries and they last for a long time.
As for controllers, the only time I've noticed a loss of signal is when the batteries are getting low (but then again, I'm sitting at my desk only a few feet away from the console). I've also noticed that battery life is quite good, but I use standard rechargeable AA batteries rather than the Microsoft battery pack.