AND HDTV ADVICE

[b4rs]

hi guys, its my birthday today and i got call of duty for the 360, so hopefully will be having a bash on there with some of you guys, but does anyone know where i can get a 19" hdtv or higher for less than £200, as money is very short at this time. the lowest ive seen is sainsburys and tesco both at £159.99. thanks!

[matdodd]

For that size thats about as cheap as you will find, but dont expect the picture quality to be that good!

Try price runner or digital direct to see what you can find.

[Richard Lowe]

If you're just using it for the 360 get a computer monitor instead, display's with tuners in get charged some kind of import tax or something when they come into the country I think, so a monitor which is the same price as a TV will be much better quality.

Don't worry too much about resolution at that size, unless you're a couple of feet away I bet you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference between normal PAL 576 lines and 'HD' (720 lines + ).

This will be much better quality than any 'TV' you will get at the price
You can either connect it with the VGA connector or a HDMI-DVI cable if your 360 has HDMI.

[b4rs]

hmmm, i heard about using a monitor, but i dont know how to connect it all up and what cables to buy, and with the tv from tescos it comes with hdmi and freeview. but i suppose i could get a monitor, ill have a look into doing that, thanks.

[Richard Lowe]

If your 360 has HDMI then you just need an HDMI-DVI cable, that would only be video though as the monitor doesn't have speakers (a good thing IMO, TV/monitor speakers are a complete waste of time).
Just about any cheapish set of PC speakers would be fine and again, better than the ones that would be built into the Tesco special TV.

[budgio]

i use a samsung 940mw via component at 720p which is the best you will get on a 19 inch.
loads on the bay

[matt]

WHAT HI FI gave this tv 4 out of 5 stars the Acer AT1921 at £200.

[b4rs]

well what about if the xbox doesnt have hdmi, as i think its scart lead. what do i need then, as i am really beginning to think about doing this, but then again i wont get t.v channels for it.

[VintageRacer]

It wouldn't cost much to add an set top freeview tuner though

[b4rs]

Originally Posted by budgio

i use a samsung 940mw via component at 720p which is the best you will get on a 19 inch.
loads on the bay

theres 3.

but i am really confused as i dont know wht stuff i wil need. basically i want to connect my 360 to the monitor but also use the monitor as a hdt.v
and want to keep everything HD. i dont want a analog tv tuner as this will ruin the whole point to the t.v, also with monitor you need speakers setup to it, so can anyone tell exactly how i am gonna do this? it will be greatly appreciated.

what connects to what, what converting adapters ill need and every part, thanks.

[Richard Lowe]

You only really get HD broadcasts through Sky or Virgin and need a set-top box, you won't get it free yet as there's no terrestrial HD broadcast standard.

On a 19" screen it won't really matter TBH, proper HDTV doesn't really start giving you any gains unless your screen is 32" plus or so unless you are sat very close.

Look at my posts above ^^^ to connect a HDMI equipped 360 to a DVI monitor is 1 common cable
You only need a 'TV' instead of a monitor if you have an older Xbox that only has component output.

[tc2k]

Dont see the benefit of HD, seen some HD stuff and the quality difference, I cant make much out of it even on our 50" screen. be better just getting a regular flat screen if theyre cheaper, the difference is minimal, especially at that size.

[b4rs]

but its digital and everything, in 2010 we are all having to move over, so i might aswell. but if someone gave me the instructions on how to make a monitor into a t.v and then how to also hook it upto a 360, then i would opt for a £149.99 22" monitor, but i really need to know how to do it.

[tc2k]

For the digital switchover, isnt it just you need a £20 freeview box?

[b4rs]

i am gonna buy a 26" monitor and convert it to a tv using a tv tunerbox, then hook up a freeview and my xbox 360 to tht.

[tc2k]

Also, up here in Teesside, we dont have the digital switchover till 2012 so long way off.

[Colinevan]

Just to let you know, i have a nice Hp 2207 22" flatscreen monitor which doesnt have a hdmi connection and the only way to connect my 360 elite to it was too buy lead which has the same monitor type connection on etc .

i bought the lead off ebay and tbh the pic wasnt what i expected, The monitor only has mono sound as well as i use desktop speakers direct from the soundcard output (pc) and so sound through the monitor isnt great either.

I now run my xbox through a sony 40" lcd 1080p and the pic is superb. Deffo imprrovement than the monitor with vga output.

My advice is try and see your chosen tv or monitor in use. i suppose my reccoendation would be to save a little more and spend on something like the samsung jobbies that they have on display in the likes of comet and pc world etc. iv learned my mistake in the past, usually if you buy to save money or compromise, you usually end up buying twice. save up the extra and you will be much happier with your purchase.

Col.

Ps - i also have sky hd and in fairness the pic is a fantastic improovement over std broadcasts.

Col.

[chris_dono]

Originally Posted by b4rs

well what about if the xbox doesnt have hdmi, as i think its scart lead. what do i need then, as i am really beginning to think about doing this, but then again i wont get t.v channels for it.

You can get HD pictures (up to 1080i on most things, but dependant on the display, maybe 1080p) using the component cable that the xbox comes with.

To connect to a monitor instead of a TV you'll need a DVI or VGA cable (you can pick up xbox ones from ebay or somewhere like Game, Gamestation, PC world etc)