Print

[Xbox-Scene]

Mad Catz HDMI Conversion Kit Posted by XanTium | December 19 23:49 EST | News Category: Xbox360

It looks like Mad Catz is about to release a HDMI-kit for older Xbox360 consoles without HDMI port. No miracle here (those older 360s without HANA chip can't output a digital video signal), it's similar to XCM's HDMI cable for regular Xbox360s ... they convert the analog Xbox360 output to a digital signal, but the Mad Catz device comes with full 1080p support: Product Features: HDMI port on your HDTV or receiver but not on your Xbox 360? Problem solved with the Mad Catz HDMI Conversion Kit. Now you can finally play your 360 games the way they were meant to be experienced: in true 1080p HD. Simply plug the adapter into the A/V port on the back of your 360 and run the included HDMI cable from the adapter to your HDTV and you're ready to play. The optical audio port provides an alternative setup solution and everything you need to get full HD output from your Xbox 360 is right inside the box. Convenient, simplified HDMI connectivity makes the Mad Catz HDMI Conversion Kit the ideal choice for getting the most from what your console has to offer. Mad Catz promises innovative, quality products for all your gaming needs. (IMG:http://pictures.xbox-scene.com/xbox360/madcatz/hdmi-conveter_s300.jpg) * Convenient right-out-of-the-box HDMI solution * Upgrades console for digital signal transmission * Supports screen resolutions up to 1080p * Optical audio port for versatile connectivity * Supports stereo and multi-channel surround sound * Dolby Digital and DTS compatible * BONUS! Includes HDMI & Optical Cables * Everything included inside - just plug and play

[ramzeva]

very nice, aslong as it doesnt cost 100 dollars.

[Nailed]

If its any less than $30, it's got me interested.  I suspect it'd be hard to discern the difference from the built-in HDMI port.

Update: the pre-order is available for a whopping $89.99!    (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ohmy.gif) They're out of their minds.

This post has been edited by Nailed: Dec 20 2007, 07:33 AM

[M1ndL3sS]

Question, is HDCP supported?  You can't really have true HDMI without that..

[Zod5000]

89 bux? you're almost better off being patient and waiting for an insanely hot deal on an xbox arcade model.

I'm guessing this thing is a vga to hdmi convertor?  Its the only way I can think of that you can get 1080p out of a non-hdmi xbox 360.

[Nailed]

QUOTE(M1ndL3sS @ Dec 20 2007, 06:36 AM)

Question, is HDCP supported?  You can't really have true HDMI without that..

Or better yet, is it stripped?

[apexad]

QUOTE(Zod5000 @ Dec 20 2007, 07:39 AM)

89 bux? you're almost better off being patient and waiting for an insanely hot deal on an xbox arcade model.

I'm guessing this thing is a vga to hdmi convertor?  Its the only way I can think of that you can get 1080p out of a non-hdmi xbox 360.

If your TV supported it (Samsung does, Sony doesn't) the Xbox 360 can do 1080p over Component.

QUOTE

Question, is HDCP supported? You can't really have true HDMI without that..

From Wikipedia:

QUOTE

If an HDCP-enabled player is connected to a non-HDCP-enabled television set with a non-HDCP-compliant analog connection (VGA or Component), and the content is flagged, the player will output a downsampled 960x540 pixel signal. If using a non-HDCP-compliant DVI connection (with an HDMI-to-DVI cable), the user will not get any picture at all. Many older high-definition television sets currently in use are not HDCP-capable, and this would negate some of the key benefits of HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc for those consumers. Also, the Microsoft Xbox360 game console, for which there is an HD-DVD add-on available, is only capable of analog non-HDCP-connections, although a new model of the Xbox360 called the "Xbox 360 Elite" has HDMI support, which enables it to play such protected content at full resolution.

 If ICT would be forced, Microsoft's flagship console (note that MS is an integral part of the HD-DVD camp, currently providing the VC-1 codec that is used in over 90% of all HD-DVD releases) would only be able to display a quarter of the actual resolution of the media, so movie studios are apparently in agreement not to include the ICT flag on any HD-DVDs or Blu-ray Discs in the immediate future.

Basically, what it says is that Analog (Component or VGA) cannot do HDCP and this includes original Xbox 360's.  So, the only way that this device could 'support' HDCP is if it stripped it or was some how forcing original Xbox 360 consoles to output a digital, HDCP supporting signal.

However, according the 2nd paragraph on wikipedia it's a mute point as HD-DVD releases don't have the ICT flag set yet, and thus don't require HDCP to be enabled.

[tribalnoise]

whoa whoa whoa.  will this upconvert my standard dvds to 1080p?

[xxYoDaddyXX]

Correct me if I am wrong, but can't you get 1080p over VGA on a older non-HDMI 360?

To someone who knows more about a/v stuff, what advantage (if any) does this give you over using the VGA AV cable on an older 360?

[apexad]

QUOTE(xxYoDaddyXX @ Dec 20 2007, 08:32 AM)

Correct me if I am wrong, but can't you get 1080p over VGA on a older non-HDMI 360?

To someone who knows more about a/v stuff, what advantage (if any) does this give you over using the VGA AV cable on an older 360?

Yes, old Xbox 360's can do 1920x1080 over VGA, so the advantage this device has is: None. At least for right now.

However, that assumes the box is in fact just converting the analog signal of VGA or Component to a digital HDMI signal.  If this box is somehow actually getting a digital hdcp enabled singal from older Xbox 360's then it could be better. Although, that will only be the case when studios start forcing movies to downsample over analog and non-hdcp digital signals and as my previous post said, they have yet to do this.

[PaddyPat]

From the reports I've read it's nearly impossible to tell the difference between 720p and 1080p unless your tv is 50" or larger. If you can afford a tv that size you can probably afford a new Xbox 360. Otherwise 720p should do...unless you have eagle eyes or something.

[SaTaN2k]

I have a 24" Dell LCD Monitor (2405FPS) currently connected to the xbox. It can do 1920 x 1200, but with the xbox the best I can get is 1080i. I know if I get a VGA cable I can probably go higher, but I have to mess with colours and what not. Will this cable make me do the same??

[sheepie]

QUOTE(SaTaN2k @ Dec 20 2007, 10:19 AM)

I have a 24" Dell LCD Monitor (2405FPS) currently connected to the xbox. It can do 1920 x 1200, but with the xbox the best I can get is 1080i. I know if I get a VGA cable I can probably go higher, but I have to mess with colours and what not. Will this cable make me do the same??

vga on the 2405 is not bad and i didnt adjust the colours at all

[SasquatchRVC]

QUOTE(PaddyPat @ Dec 20 2007, 02:42 AM)

From the reports I've read it's nearly impossible to tell the difference between 720p and 1080p unless your tv is 50" or larger. If you can afford a tv that size you can probably afford a new Xbox 360. Otherwise 720p should do...unless you have eagle eyes or something.

Look on AVS Forums. They would be the experts, and they say you definitely can tell the difference between 720p and 1080p, even under 50". That is, of course, if you're the sort of person who's into having the best you can get, even at greater cost, for marginal gain. Ya know, a PC gamer (). Of course, this is 'converting' the signal, so who knows how great it is. I'd like to see a comparison, maybe-side-by-side pics, of standard, 720p, 1080p, each on component, VGA, HDMI, and this. It would be a really helpful post. Would probably get linked to allover.

[Flagg3]

You can absolutely see the difference between 720p and 1080p on a screen much smaller than 50".  What the claim is is that when sitting at a certain distance, the difference is undetectable.  1 foot away from the screen, you could see the difference on a 20 inch monitor.  It's just that most people sit much further away than 1 foot.

And incidentally, you CAN get 1080p using component cables on some televisions.  I can use 1080p with no problem over component on my Vizio 47" 1080p LCD television.