Would component video from "fat" xbox need upconversion in receiver?

grunthos

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Hi
I just started my hifi buying process for a AVR + 2.0 floorstander this weekend. It was a great day listening to some wonderful speakers yesterday

I still have to listen to a lot of other speakers, but I thought I'd settle on the AVR first and carry it to auditions. The two I am considering are the new Yamaha V475 and the Denon X-1000
(I have been assured by various outlets like Alliance 4 and The Shop that they both can drive the budget floorstanders that I am looking to buy)
The difference between the two (quoted) is also minimal (2k)

I plan to connect all my sources to the AVR and one video out to the TV using HDMI. But what I cant find the answer to is - will my old xbox 360 (referred to as the "fat" model on the internet), which has component output (1080p) need the upconversion feature in the AVR for carrying the video over output HDMI ? For both the Denon X1000 and the V475 do not have the upconversion feature - it is in the next higher version - the X2000 and the V675 respectively. And both the Denon and Yamaha websites list the feature as "Upconversion : Analogue to HDMI / HDMI to HDMI"

Now I understand I dont need upscaling - the xbox video is already 1080p. But it is analog - will the V475 and the X-1000 convert the analog into digital and output through the HDMI ?

PS - I just realized the Denon X1000 doesnt have component input. So its the V475 only.
 
Component connection's bandwidth is limited to 720p or 1080i not 1080p.

But I believe Yamaha 475 does not pass component video on its HDMI output. You may want to consider 673 or 675 or buy a converter, which is too expensive to justify the cost.

You may ask if the AVR does not do analog to digital conversion, then why they include component inputs. Well there are component outputs also. No video processing happens.

My question is why do you need to connect your xbox through AVR? You can directly connect them to your display I suppose.
 
Component connection's bandwidth is limited to 720p or 1080i not 1080p.

Thank you for the correction - its 1080i

But I believe Yamaha 475 does not pass component video on its HDMI output. You may want to consider 673 or 675 or buy a converter, which is too expensive to justify the cost.
More than costs, it is another piece of equipment - its difficult to fit :)

You may ask if the AVR does not do analog to digital conversion, then why they include component inputs. Well there are component outputs also. No video processing happens.

My question is why do you need to connect your xbox through AVR? You can directly connect them to your display I suppose.

I want to connect the xbox to the receiver because I want to have great sound while gaming too.

So now I have two choices
i) Upgrade to X2000 or V675 by paying 15k extra to convert analog 1080i to digital
ii) Leave the component connections to the TV as it is. Take the optical audio out from the TV into the receiver. It would mean fiddling with the TV options everytime I play games, but I am a casual gamer, so its not so bad

Comparing the costs, I think I will take option 2. Saves a lot of money

Thank you for clearing that up.
I will update once I pick up my equipment
 
Component out does not support audio, so you won't get 5.1 from the avr. Better connect it directly to the tv and connect digital audio out of the xbox to the avr.
 
How are you currently connecting the xbox with your TV? Are you not running an analog audio connection?

You would want to connect components through your AVR only for the following reasons:

1. You want AVR's GUI on your display
2. You do not want too many cables running to your display

Otherwise you are better off connecting analog out of your xbox to your AVR and components directly to the display.
 
Here is the diagram of the xbox component cable
360_component_cable.gif


Audio channels are only 2 - L+R. Can I plug them directly into an AVR ?

The cable also has a optical audio port. Dont know if I it will automatically mute the analog lines if I use the digital ones Xbox 360 Component HD AV Cable - Xbox.com
 
Don't get confused. It's pretty straightforward, just pick a receiver which switches both analog and digital video inputs to its hdmi out port ( I have the onkyo 609 e.g.), and for sound simply skip connecting the red white 2 channel connectors to the avr and instead connect a normal optical wire to the avr, which will go into the port on the xbox component cable itself...after that in my onkyo I simply have to assign that optical port to the input where you have connected the component cable in so the receiver will recognise that the sound for this video input has to come from a particular sound input and you are set

And you don't need either upconversion or upscaling, all you need is video switching. Look up the manual of the receiver that you are interested in on the net and you will easily find your answer, don't depend just on the sales guys. Time permitting I will try to check out the two receivers manual in question to see if they do switching
 
Thank you koushikp. I didnt know you could assign a separate optical port to a separate component video input and name it "xbox".

As for upconversion, I understand I dont need upconversion. What I meant to say was that in AVR ranges, the basic models dont have either analog to digital or upconversion feature. In both Yamaha and Denon, these two features are added together when you step up from a lower model to a higher.

Anyway, the question about the value of this feature persists though. There is a 15k difference between the V475 and the V675 for example, and this conversion of analog to digital is the only thing I'd be paying it for. Hence considering connecting component video directly to TV and optical out to AVR. Do you forsee any problems in this arrangement ?
 
Thank you for the correction - its 1080i


More than costs, it is another piece of equipment - its difficult to fit :)



I want to connect the xbox to the receiver because I want to have great sound while gaming too.

So now I have two choices
i) Upgrade to X2000 or V675 by paying 15k extra to convert analog 1080i to digital
ii) Leave the component connections to the TV as it is. Take the optical audio out from the TV into the receiver. It would mean fiddling with the TV options everytime I play games, but I am a casual gamer, so its not so bad

Comparing the costs, I think I will take option 2. Saves a lot of money

Thank you for clearing that up.
I will update once I pick up my equipment

hi Grunthos,

I m saying this from my limited knowledge.Give the component connection directly to the tv and connect digital audio out of the xbox to the avr. If your TV is 1080p, the Tv has in-built upscaling chip which will upscale any video source to suit the display.Pair a decent speakers with the AVR, to get great sound.

I recently took a demo of Denon avr 2113 with Polk tsx 440t(39K / pair) and tsx 330t(30k / pair) at Profx. 440 was fantastic even with out a sub. with sub 330 too sounded good.
later I took demo of onkyo receiver with jamo and Sonodyne. Jamo S426(19 k /pair) and s428(31k/pair) sounded soft. Sonodyne 2605 V3(33k/pair) was a full range speaker and it sounded great.
From My demo experience, I would say spend less on AVR and buy a pair of decent speakers.
 
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