This is the key to a beautiful display. Use the VGA cable to hook it up to your monitor with a vga input and you'll see glorious 720p and 1080i resolutions from most of the Xbox 360 games. Also makes viewing movies a sight for the eyes.

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Product Description

Showcase stunning Xbox 360 high-definition graphics on your PC monitor or HDTV using the VGA input. Play high-quality audio with the included Stereo connection or utilize the Optical Audio port for digital sound.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1330 in Video Games
• Brand: Microsoft
• Model: VAMSFT 882224036955
• Released on: 2005-11-15
• Platform: Xbox 360
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: 2.50" h x 5.25" w x 8.50" l, 1.05 pounds

Features

• Sold Individually

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Customer Reviews

Works perfect on my Samsung LNR238W!
The reason that I ended up buying the VGA cable was due to the fact that the component signal (both 720p and 1080i) is subject to overscan. This means that the screen "zooms in" slighty so that you are sure to see a complete picture with no black or static edges. This is a problem though with the Xbox 360 because it ends up cropping the image. For example, the HUD in GRAW is cutoff on the corners when using the component cables. This really bothered me so I gave the VGA a try and viola!

I can now go into the dashboard settings and specify 1360 x 768 which closely matches my LCD's native resolution of 1368 x 768. Thus, I am able to see the whole screen without any overscan/cropping. The only downside is that the overall image gets "washed out" when using the VGA cable. However, this is not really a big deal because most of the newer games (GRAW, Oblivion) have an in-game setting for brightness which you can turn down to eliminate the washed out look.

I highly recommend that you at least give the VGA cables a try. Depending on your TV, you may or may not like them. No big deal though because you can just return them. However, you may find that you really like them and will be glad that you tried them out! Check out my VGA vs Component pictures at http://spaces.msn.com/theshepherdsbag/photos/ and read about my detailed testing on my blog at http://spaces.msn.com/theshepherdsbag/blog/ and you can check out this xbox forum thread for further insights at http://forums.xbox.com/2885313/ShowPost.aspx

Lastly, I have the Samsung LNR238W and there is NO ghosting issues when using the VGA cable.

The best cable to get for your 360
I read all sorts of reviews about this cable providing a "washed out" image compared to component. This has nothing at all to do with the cable but everything to do with the display being used.

If you examine the XBOX 360 output, you'll find that the same RGB pins are used to create component or VGA outputs. VGA adds the HSYNC and VSYNC pins already present in RGB signal for component.

So why do people complain about the "washed out" effect? That's because they haven't calibrated the display properly or their display can't be calibrated properly using the VGA input (my display and probably most displays have different calibration settings and processing hardware for each input). My display only allows me to set contrast, brightness, sharpness and color temperature on the VGA input, however, the hue and saturation are almost spot on from the factory so the VGA cable is the best for me since I can make use of the DVD upconversion and the XBOX 360 seems to do a better job of scaling 720p/1080i to the 1360x768 resolution of my display than the display itself using component.

If Microsoft allowed brightness, contrast, saturation, hue and temperature adjustments from the 360, this cable would truly be the best to get the highest quality output from the 360 for everyone with a VGA capable HD display.

Do yourself a favor and purchase/rent the Avia Guide to Home Theater DVD or Digital Video Essentials DVD and use this to calibrate your display for the best results using any cable.

A Must Have
I, too, am a college student (seems to be a trend, eh?) and don't have a 50-inch X brand HD whatever. I got this cable to hook up to my flat-panel computer monitor which is of course better than my TV. My monitor isn't big, mind you, but the improvement is definitely noticable. I can harness my XBox 360's potential much more than with standard AV cables.

Also, as far as sound is concerned, if you're hooking this up to your computer system: the cable comes with a Y adapter that can be plugged into your standard audio card (the green, blue, and pink colored slots in the back). I have awesome speakers on my comp (not Dolby surround but a 200-watt 2.1 system) and had to look everywhere on the internet to see if this cable would be able to connect to them. I finally found it somewhere. In short, yes you can hook the audio adapter into your computer for sound (your computer has to be on to do so). My comp speakers plug into the green slot then the VGA cable (via the adapter) plugs into the blue one. Bingo, seat-rattling explosions and gunfire.

Even if you're not like some of the Richie Riches that are using this cable for their $2,000 TV and want to hook it up to your computer system, then you absolutely MUST buy this cable. You're really cheating yourself out of the full gaming experience if you stick with standard AV.