Print

[lowendfrequency]

Well, I have a pretty nice flat glass TV but it's not HD and I don't plan on upgrading it anytime soon.  But I feel that if I'm not watching my 360 in HD that I'm missing out, so I'm hoping to connect it to my monitor.  Now, I'm a graphic artist and 3D designer so I have a pretty damn good monitor.  It's a Samsung SyncMaster 1100DF 21" CRT.  Now, I know I could just buy the VGA cable and be done with it but this monitor has component hookups in the rear (kind of). It has 5 extra plugs, 3 are labeled as RGB, one is labeled H/V and the other is labeled V.  The problem is that these are not RCA jacks.  They are similar, but they look like the center prong should be very thin, almost like a pin, while the outer metal ring looks like it would fit inside this plug instead of outside like a regular RCA style plug.   I've searched all over for info on these plugs but haven't been able to find anything useful.  

Here is a picture of what they look like :
(IMG:http://www.pctv.co.yu/hardware/slike/samsung1100df_3.jpg)

When I look up my specs for my input signal it looks like this:
Video signal
RGB Analog
Sync signal
Separate H/V, Composite, SOG
Horizontal Frequency
30-121 kHz
Vertical Frequency
50-160 Hz
Pixel Frequency
340 MHz
Signal Connection
15pin D-Sub+BNC


So I guess my question would be this... Is there some sort of converter or a simple male/female conversion connector I can place at the end of my component cables so I can view some HD360 glory?

Thanks in advance.

[lowendfrequency]

OK after some more research I've found that they are called BNC jacks.   I have the ability to switch the input on my monitor from D-Sub to BNC.   So now I need to know if I can run a female RCA to male BNC connector on each of my componant cables.  Would it cause any quality loss?  There's no actual conversion going on correct?  Does anyone know where I can purchase these connectors?

[IAmCanadian]

yes, RCA is one of the lowest grade connections, as ALL video (sync, color, brightness, etc.) is all shared on one cable.

going from low quality - high quality cables, with the same signal, doesn't improve quality.

I beleive you still wont be HD. Although I may be wrong, I don't know much about video and stuff.

[lowendfrequency]

QUOTE(IAmCanadian @ Dec 7 2005, 09:36 AM)

yes, RCA is one of the lowest grade connections, as ALL video (sync, color, brightness, etc.) is all shared on one cable.

going from low quality - high quality cables, with the same signal, doesn't improve quality.

I beleive you still wont be HD. Although I may be wrong, I don't know much about video and stuff.

No no, you misunderstand.  RCA is not a type of cable or signal, it is merely a style of jack/plug.  You're thinking of composite cables which are yellow, white and red with RCA jacks.  I'm talking about sending an HD signal through component cables which are red, green and blue with RCA jacks (the premium HD cable) through a RCA to BNC adapter to my monitor.  I wanted to know if I would experience quality loss with the adapter.

[RocketMBA]

You'd need to seperate the composite sync signal on green into H and V. Then you'd need to get the RGB to the respective ports - if the Xbox 360 supports outputting RGB and component at the same time. You'd be better off just using the supplied H and V on the AVIP (or whatever it's called on the Xbox 360).

[lowendfrequency]

QUOTE(RocketMBA @ Dec 7 2005, 12:19 PM)

You'd need to seperate the composite sync signal on green into H and V. Then you'd need to get the RGB to the respective ports - if the Xbox 360 supports outputting RGB and component at the same time. You'd be better off just using the supplied H and V on the AVIP (or whatever it's called on the Xbox 360).

Sorry, could you be a bit more clear?  I appreciate your post but don't understand what you mean exactly. Why would I need to seperate my green signal?  I though to transmit HD all I needed was the red green and blue cables?  What do the H and V mean?  Also, what is an AVIP?

Wouldn't something like this work?
http://www.cablestogo.com/product.asp?cat%...=2037&sku=40144

This post has been edited by lowendfrequency: Dec 7 2005, 07:13 PM

[Foe-hammer]

Normally, all you would need is a BNC to RCA adapter to connect the RED, GREEN, and BLUE RCA plugs of the 360 component cable, and then to your monitor.

Click here for BNC to RCA adapter.

The only problem is, the 360 component cable does not have seperate H&V sync in it, so you could not add a BNC to RCA adapter to it, and then to your monitor.

Your only possibility is to buy a vga cable, or mod your 360 component cable to have a seperate H&V sync cable coming from it.  A tutorial for the 360 avip pinout is here on this forum

[lowendfrequency]

QUOTE(Foe-hammer @ Dec 7 2005, 01:45 PM)

Normally, all you would need is a BNC to RCA adapter to connect the RED, GREEN, and BLUE RCA plugs of the 360 component cable, and then to your monitor.

Click here for BNC to RCA adapter.

The only problem is, the 360 component cable does not have seperate H&V sync in it, so you could not add a BNC to RCA adapter to it, and then to your monitor.

Your only possibility is to buy a vga cable, or mod your 360 component cable to have a seperate H&V sync cable coming from it.  A tutorial for the 360 avip pinout is here on this forum

Thanks for the reply.  So, I won't get a picture through BNC without having the H/V Sync hooked up ?  Is there some sort of signal convert I can purchase that would extract the H/V sync from the signal?  Or would I be better off with the vga cable?

[Foe-hammer]

Without a seperate H&V sync signal, you will not get a picture.

A component cable does not even carry a H&V sync singal to extract, so a converter would not apply.

If you are a compitent solderer, you could extract the seperate H&V sync yourself, from the avip plug of the 360 component cable.  If not, buy the vga cable.

[lowendfrequency]

I do feel pretty confident in my soldering abilities.  I think I'll attepmt to add my own H/V Sync cable.  I've looked at the pinout and I see where the H and V sync are, but I'm not sure which way to wire them into a BNC jack.  Does the horizontal go to the inner pin or the outer shielding?  Also, my monitor has the extra BNC that's labeled as just V.  Is that signal neccesary for any of this?

[RocketMBA]

Errrr... The outside of the H and V connectors are grounded. The inside are the H and V signals respectively.

[fahrenheit]

Or you could combine a transcoder (like the VD-Z3) with the 360 component cable and a DB15 to RGBHV cable if you wish to leave the mobo untouched for now.

[RocketMBA]

One thing I feel the need to add... Don't let me stop you soldering wires to the motherboard to get H/V, but there's no need because they're on pins 5 and 21 of the Xbox 360 video output socket respectively. Just chop the Xbox end of a video connector off and tap those pins for the H and V.

[JNasty4G63]

Your better off just getting a VGA to RGBHV cable for your PC input, and just using the VGA input for the 360.   Thats the setup I'm using, and its fine.   My monitor also has BNCs, and I've been using VGA to RGBHV for my normal PC input for a few years.   It looks good, but nothing drastic over the standard VGA input.

High end applications use RGBHV cables over VGA because by separating the cables into the individual signals, they can be better shielded, and will transmit a better signal.   But, thats in extreme situations where the extra shielding is needed.   In homes or other general uses, they don't offer much of anything better than what you'll get with standard VGA.   But, many CRT monitors still offer them just in case.   I've seen my PC input from both the VGA and the RGBHV, and neither looks any better than the other.

So, just get a standard VGA to RGBHV (BNC) cable for your normal PC input.   Then, get one of the VGA cables for the 360 for the VGA input.   Then, you'll have both hooked at the same time for easy switching.   Thats the setup I'm running mine with right now, and its great.

Hilg

[lowendfrequency]

QUOTE(RocketMBA @ Dec 7 2005, 07:58 PM)

One thing I feel the need to add... Don't let me stop you soldering wires to the motherboard to get H/V, but there's no need because they're on pins 5 and 21 of the Xbox 360 video output socket respectively. Just chop the Xbox end of a video connector off and tap those pins for the H and V.

Actually, I was planning on simply opening the casing on the 360 HD cable plug and tapping into each signal without damaging anything. I guess I don't really understand these BNC jacks.  I thought they had a ground and a signal. How do I get both the H and V signals into a single H/V sync BNC cable?  Or am I missing something?  

QUOTE(JNasty4G63 @ Dec 7 2005, 11:46 PM)

Your better off just getting a VGA to RGBHV cable for your PC input, and just using the VGA input for the 360.   Thats the setup I'm using, and its fine.   My monitor also has BNCs, and I've been using VGA to RGBHV for my normal PC input for a few years.   It looks good, but nothing drastic over the standard VGA input.

High end applications use RGBHV cables over VGA because by separating the cables into the individual signals, they can be better shielded, and will transmit a better signal.   But, thats in extreme situations where the extra shielding is needed.   In homes or other general uses, they don't offer much of anything better than what you'll get with standard VGA.   But, many CRT monitors still offer them just in case.   I've seen my PC input from both the VGA and the RGBHV, and neither looks any better than the other.

So, just get a standard VGA to RGBHV (BNC) cable for your normal PC input.   Then, get one of the VGA cables for the 360 for the VGA input.   Then, you'll have both hooked at the same time for easy switching.   Thats the setup I'm running mine with right now, and its great.

Hilg

You know, now that I think back to when I was interning at a post production company, I remember them using BNC occasionally on their HD projects.  I didn't know what they were called at the time but it was regarded as inferior technology and they were upgrading everything to HDMI.  Aaanyways. the reason I didn't want to just run vga in the first place was so I wouldn't have to keep swapping the cables to my monitor... So I guess the question now would be, is your solution cheaper than running a vga cable and a switch box?  It would be nice to have that vga there incase I ever brought it over to a friends house.

This post has been edited by lowendfrequency: Dec 8 2005, 03:05 PM