james2025a

I am picking up a 360 in the next week or two and i was wondering how best to view it. I don't have a HD-TV yet and probably won't have for a while. At the moment i have a 20" PC Monitor or a 50" Standard TV. What would be the best for gameplay in your opinions?

Thanks for your suggestions.

McHawkson

It all depends on what game... Some games are designed for HD (but it will work on HD).

If your monitor has serial port, then go for monitor.

taffer

I have my 360 hooked up to my 19" monitor, and the difference between it and my 27" standard TV is very noticeable. I could never go back to playing on the standard TV.

Your situation is a little different though since your TV is a whopping 50". If sheer size is important to you, go with the TV. Otherwise, go with the monitor.

Xbox69

Use component inputs wherever possible no matter what TV screen size you choose.

Also, get the premium system since the core comes packed with only the composite AV cable.

ScottReynolds

Just to extend on this a little bit - always use component cables or a vga cable if at all possible.

I've played my 360 on a 42" lcd (via component and vga), a 19" 4x3 lcd monitor (vga), and my projector (infocus 4805, component), and all have looked fantastic. I have heard others suggest that if at all possible, use VGA as the first option.

(Of course, the vga does cost extra - I lucked out and got mine for like $16 from a CompUSA that was closing last year)

And I second the premium system bit, but I would say that the component cables are the least of the reasons for that choice.

To answer your question directly - the 20" monitor would definitely be my answer.

RudeBoie

I don't think 20" is a bad route as long as you still have a comfortable environment to play in. Also, if you have a Home Theater setup, that's important to consider in terms of switching to a monitor vs the 50" tv

james2025a

Well my TV is set up to a logitech sound system, so that would be cool. But my PC also has a half decent sound system. I am gonna try it on both and make my mind up after seeing the differences. I am going to pick up the cables that people recommended.

I am itching to get my hands on the 360 now. There have been very few games that i have bought in recent months (its been damn slow) and there are a few games out for the 360 that i can't wait to play.

taffer

Do you plan to get Dead Rising? That is one game that will definitely show a big difference when you compare SD to HD. The text in the game is made only for HD with no option for SD, so it looks very tiny and blurry on a SDTV. That game will probably be best for a comparison test to see if you can stomach the blurry text.

killershark

If your tv has 5.1 then go with the TV (IMO). Otherwise, just make sure that whereever you buy the VGA cable from has a no-hassel return policy. Play a week on the TV then switch over to your monitor for a week. See which one is better. If the TV wins return the VGA cable.

Drexl

The VGA cable can be had for a fairly low price ($15-20) on ebay. I would go ahead and try it out. It's not a bad idea to have it around if you want to play on the monitor at certain times.

xmiyux

I went from playing on a 32" standard TV to a 17" monitor using a VGA cable and the difference was amazing. Now i do sit close to my screen due to having a small living room - but it was like Call of Duty 2 was a new game entirely. People were laughing at me because i kept commenting things like - "So the headshot icon is actually a little red target on a head?!"

In standard def it just looked like a head silhouette with a solid red background. Dead Rising was nigh unplayable in standard def but lovely to look at on the VGA monitor.