Best VGA Cable for Xbox 360?

[Lawfer]

Anyone know which is the best quality VGA cable for the Xbox 360?

I know there are two official Xbox 360 VGA cables, one that came out in 2005/2006 who's grey in color and one that is black which came out in 2011/2012.

Then there's also all the other VGA cables from Third Parties such as Monster, KMD, Madcatz, Intec, Hyperkin and such.

[Fudoh]

The grey one by MS is flawless.

[nmalinoski]

Does either of the official VGA cables have optical output, or just 3.5mm TRS?

[Fudoh]

The first (grey) one does, but I think it was removed on the second (black) one.

[BazookaBen]

I have the Monster VGA cable, which has the 2.5mm TRS (same as original Xbox monster cables). But I have the Xbox 360 slim, so I just use its optical out. The 2.5mm could be useful if you have RCA digital on your stereo.

Build quality is great by the way

[Lawfer]

The first (grey) one does, but I think it was removed on the second (black) one.

Really? Wow that sucks, I didn't know the slim Xbox 360 had optical digital out from the console itself?

I have the Monster VGA cable, which has the 2.5mm TRS (same as original Xbox monster cables). But I have the Xbox 360 slim, so I just use its optical out. The 2.5mm could be useful if you have RCA digital on your stereo.

Build quality is great by the way

Does the Monster one come with the 3.5 to Toslink adapter or it's something you have to buy seperatly?

[Blue_Ray]

Ha, I was like "What are they talking about? I don't remember an optical out port on my grey cab....Oooooooh!" Think because I just plugged it in and never looked at the little paper manual that it came with. Learn something new!

Didn't know there was a 2nd revision. But what made the black cable worse than the grey one besides the axed optical out port?

[Steamflogger Boss]

The grey one by MS is flawless.

I will second this. I have one and it's great.

[Lawfer]

Didn't know there was a 2nd revision. But what made the black cable worse than the grey one besides the axed optical out port?

No idea, curious about that too.

[Hoagtech]

It has its benefits actually. Newer 360 models have hdmi and can pass audio through it.

The grey cables block the hdmi port on newer models. The black one does not which comes in handy if your passing hdmi through your chain instead of toslink

I own both and have not witnessed a picture quality difference between models.

[BazookaBen]

Does the Monster one come with the 3.5 to Toslink adapter or it's something you have to buy seperatly?

It's actually a 2.5mm, not 3.5mm. So smaller than a typical headphone jack. I can't remember if it came with the VGA cable, you'll have to look around on Amazon. It may have been sold separately with an optical cable.

But like I said, if you have a an Xbox Slim, just use its optical out on the back of the console

[Blue_Ray]

It has its benefits actually. Newer 360 models have hdmi and can pass audio through it.

The grey cables block the hdmi port on newer models. The black one does not which comes in handy if your passing hdmi through your chain instead of toslink

I own both and have not witnessed a picture quality difference between models.

Interesting! Thanks for clarifying! I guess if these cables somehow stop working one day, I can fall back on those. I sill rock a JP 360 Jasper unit, so no built in optical output, and the HDMI output is blocked on this one too. Since I use headphones anyway, I tried it out with my DSS2 Dolby Surround Processor and it works and Dolby is detected just fine! Also made me notice how some CAVE releases had Dolby while others didn't.

[Lawfer]

I tried it out with my DSS2 Dolby Surround Processor and it works and Dolby is detected just fine! Also made me notice how some CAVE releases had Dolby while others didn't.

I have yet to see a single Xbox 360 release that doesn't have Dolby Digital output? Are you sure you aren't mixing things up with PS3?

[Blue_Ray]

I tried it out with my DSS2 Dolby Surround Processor and it works and Dolby is detected just fine! Also made me notice how some CAVE releases had Dolby while others didn't.

I have yet to see a single Xbox 360 release that doesn't have Dolby Digital output? Are you sure you aren't mixing things up with PS3?

I'm actually going by the game cases. Some have it noted, others don't. But your right, looking at the "Game Details" for my disc based games reveals they actually are.

[Lawfer]

I tried it out with my DSS2 Dolby Surround Processor and it works and Dolby is detected just fine! Also made me notice how some CAVE releases had Dolby while others didn't.

I have yet to see a single Xbox 360 release that doesn't have Dolby Digital output? Are you sure you aren't mixing things up with PS3?

I'm actually going by the game cases. Some have it noted, others don't. But your right, looking at the "Game Details" for my disc based games reveals they actually are.

As far as I know all Xbox 360 games have Dolby Digital output, however on PS3 that's where there is no pattern, some games support Dolby Digital, DTS and LPCM (Tales of Graces f, Final Fantasy XIII), some games only support LPCM but not Dolby Digital nor DTS (Last Rebellion, Steins;Gate), other games only support Dolby Digital but not LPCM nor DTS (Trinity: Souls of Zill O'll, Knights Contract), while some other games support none of the above (Tears to Tiara II, Dragon's Crown).

[maxtherabbit]

I have yet to see a single Xbox 360 release that doesn't have Dolby Digital output? Are you sure you aren't mixing things up with PS3?

I'm actually going by the game cases. Some have it noted, others don't. But your right, looking at the "Game Details" for my disc based games reveals they actually are.

As far as I know all Xbox 360 games have Dolby Digital output, however on PS3 that's where there is no pattern, some games support Dolby Digital, DTS and LPCM (Tales of Graces f, Final Fantasy XIII), some games only support LPCM but not Dolby Digital nor DTS (Last Rebellion, Steins;Gate), other games only support Dolby Digital but not LPCM nor DTS (Trinity: Souls of Zill O'll, Knights Contract), while some other games support none of the above (Tears to Tiara II, Dragon's Crown).

even the Hulu app on PS3 doesn't do DD and the 360 one does, inexcusable

[Blue_Ray]

As far as I know all Xbox 360 games have Dolby Digital output, however on PS3 that's where there is no pattern, some games support Dolby Digital, DTS and LPCM (Tales of Graces f, Final Fantasy XIII), some games only support LPCM but not Dolby Digital nor DTS (Last Rebellion, Steins;Gate), other games only support Dolby Digital but not LPCM nor DTS (Trinity: Souls of Zill O'll, Knights Contract), while some other games support none of the above (Tears to Tiara II, Dragon's Crown).

even the Hulu app on PS3 doesn't do DD and the 360 one does, inexcusable

That's true, when my PS3 worked, I didn't know if a game supported any audio standard and I think that's true with the PS4 too. Dragon's Crown Pro still doesn't indicate what it supports. Where as Monster Hunter Fiv....erm....World does indicate it has Dolby support.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

Does the Monster one come with the 3.5 to Toslink adapter or it's something you have to buy seperatly?

It's actually a 2.5mm, not 3.5mm. So smaller than a typical headphone jack. I can't remember if it came with the VGA cable, you'll have to look around on Amazon. It may have been sold separately with an optical cable.

But like I said, if you have a an Xbox Slim, just use its optical out on the back of the console

Monster Game sold the 2.5mm jack to Toslink adapter separately for use with their own Monster Gamelink Xbox 360 VGA cable setup (they weren't included together as a bundled set). Here's the link to Monster Gamelink 360 VGA cable: https://www.amazon.com/Xbox-360-Monster ... r+gamelink

This is the Monster Gamelink Xbox 360 Toslink cable with 2.5mm headphone jack to Toslink adapter for use with the above listed Monster Gamelink 360 VGA cable setup: https://www.amazon.com/Monster-Cable-Ga ... dpSrc=srch Had to do a bit of searching around to find this one as it's not as common to find these days, especially brand new nowadays.

I, too, have one of these Monster Gamelink 360 VGA cables and it's quite nice. Unfortunately, the big plastic "Monster Game" themed plug that surrounds the backside of the 360 Slims' A/V port will block the Toslink port and you will have to use the optional Monster Gamelink 360 Toslink adapter anyways in going this particular route. Sad but true.

The 1st-gen gray colored official Microsoft 360 VGA cable already has a handy Toslink output from the get-go.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[BazookaBen]

the big plastic "Monster Game" themed plug that surrounds the backside of the 360 Slims' A/V port will block the Toslink port and you will have to use the optional Monster Gamelink 360 Toslink adapter anyways in going this particular route

Well damn, I never noticed this. I guess I've never had my surround sound setup when I was playing Xbox 360.

But one advantage, is that with a 2.5mm>RCA cable, you can use the monster cable to run to your (most likely unused) RCA digital port. Freeing up the Toslink inputs for PS2 or whatever.

[Lawfer]

I have the Monster VGA cable, which has the 2.5mm TRS (same as original Xbox monster cables). But I have the Xbox 360 slim, so I just use its optical out. The 2.5mm could be useful if you have RCA digital on your stereo.

Build quality is great by the way

It has its benefits actually. Newer 360 models have hdmi and can pass audio through it.

The grey cables block the hdmi port on newer models. The black one does not which comes in handy if your passing hdmi through your chain instead of toslink

I own both and have not witnessed a picture quality difference between models.

Do you know if the Monster VGA cable blocks the HDMI port on the original Xbox 360 consoles like the official Microsoft grey VGA cable does?

[Hoagtech]

I have the Monster VGA cable, which has the 2.5mm TRS (same as original Xbox monster cables). But I have the Xbox 360 slim, so I just use its optical out. The 2.5mm could be useful if you have RCA digital on your stereo.

Build quality is great by the way

It has its benefits actually. Newer 360 models have hdmi and can pass audio through it.

The grey cables block the hdmi port on newer models. The black one does not which comes in handy if your passing hdmi through your chain instead of toslink

I own both and have not witnessed a picture quality difference between models.

Do you know if the Monster VGA cable blocks the HDMI port on the original Xbox 360 consoles like the official Microsoft grey VGA cable does?

The monster ones looks thick. I would say possibly with a skinny hdmi casing.

[Dochartaigh]

Do you know if the Monster VGA cable blocks the HDMI port on the original Xbox 360 consoles like the official Microsoft grey VGA cable does?

If you're trying to plug in both HDMI and the VGA cable at the same time, it'll default to HDMI when both are plugged in (tried to do that to run on my flatscreen in 480p along with my Corio2 downscaler for 240p to my CRT's - there's simply no way to do it, not even a mod...and I researched this pretty darn long).

You can however take the case of the regular Microsoft one so it's easier to plug in a HDMI cord...(don't know about the monster one specifically).

[Lawfer]

Do you know if the Monster VGA cable blocks the HDMI port on the original Xbox 360 consoles like the official Microsoft grey VGA cable does?

If you're trying to plug in both HDMI and the VGA cable at the same time, it'll default to HDMI when both are plugged in (tried to do that to run on my flatscreen in 480p along with my Corio2 downscaler for 240p to my CRT's - there's simply no way to do it, not even a mod...and I researched this pretty darn long).

Basically I want VGA for the video and HDMI for the audio, I am sure it would be possible with a receiver?

The monster ones looks thick. I would say possibly with a skinny hdmi casing.

I see, let's hope it fits.

[Dochartaigh]

Basically I want VGA for the video and HDMI for the audio, I am sure it would be possible with a receiver?

Won't work - as soon as HDMI is plugged in, the video will switch over to HDMI - as I understand it the motherboard itself will NOT let you use both at once for video.

BUT, I think people were taking the case off the VGA plug (or other non-HDMI AV plugs) to make it smaller so they could pull the audio from the VGA cable or whatnot (through optical/toslink?), so if you wanted to do the opposite it sounds like that may work.

[Lawfer]

BUT, I think people were taking the case off the VGA plug (or other non-HDMI AV plugs) to make it smaller so they could pull the audio from the VGA cable or whatnot (through optical/toslink?), so if you wanted to do the opposite it sounds like that may work.

Sounds weird, why would they need to take the casing off to make it smaller so they could get sound from VGA? The cable already has an audio out.

[maxtherabbit]

BUT, I think people were taking the case off the VGA plug (or other non-HDMI AV plugs) to make it smaller so they could pull the audio from the VGA cable or whatnot (through optical/toslink?), so if you wanted to do the opposite it sounds like that may work.

Sounds weird, why would they need to take the casing off to make it smaller so they could get sound from VGA? The cable already has an audio out.

so you can get video over HDMI and audio over toslink

[Lawfer]

BUT, I think people were taking the case off the VGA plug (or other non-HDMI AV plugs) to make it smaller so they could pull the audio from the VGA cable or whatnot (through optical/toslink?), so if you wanted to do the opposite it sounds like that may work.

Sounds weird, why would they need to take the casing off to make it smaller so they could get sound from VGA? The cable already has an audio out.

so you can get video over HDMI and audio over toslink

Isn't there already an official Microsoft HDMI cable that does just that?

[nmalinoski]

Sounds weird, why would they need to take the casing off to make it smaller so they could get sound from VGA? The cable already has an audio out.

so you can get video over HDMI and audio over toslink

Isn't there already an official Microsoft HDMI cable that does just that?

Yeah, this thing: https://www.ebay.com/itm/153116546477

[Lawfer]

Yeah, this thing: https://www.ebay.com/itm/153116546477

Didn't even knew that thing existed, but what I was referring to was an HDMI cable with an optical toslink wire breakout. I tried to look for one on ebay but doesn't look like any are listed now, it might be pretty rare now though as I think only Microsoft ever made these, probably specifically for their original Xbox 360 with HDMI models which started coming out in 2007.

[Fudoh]

Basically I want VGA for the video and HDMI for the audio,

why ? What audio(-only) sink is there that supports HDMI but doesn't support toslink ?