Xbox360 users who plug their consoles to their precious LCD monitors (such as myself) through VGA input and feel 'cheated' because of the poor black levels and washed out colors MIGHT not need to worry anymore.

Upon reading this little news update on the AVS forums, there might be solution to our problem. Here is a short snip of the news:



I did a little research on the 7.5 IRE and 0 IRE black levels and came out with this:

http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/cgi-bin/sho...function=search

http://www.digg.com/gaming_news/Xbox_360_s..._Stunningly_Bad

http://forum.teamxbox.com/showthread.php?t=516186&page=5

Okay enough of the lecture, here's the summary for you lazy readers:

1. LCD TV/LCD monitors uses a 0 IRE black level.

2. Xbox360 outputs a 7.5 IRE black level (the black level used in US [NTSC US], instead of 0 IRE [NTSC Japan].

Therefore, due to a mismatch of black level profiles, those who use VGA through LCD TV/Monitors will have 'brighter' black levels and as a result, lead to 'washed' out colours.

As a Dell 24" 2407 A04 user myself, I had to access the Service Menu and manually change the colour levels to produce a 'pure black' black, instead of the 'grey' black.

I hope this little compilation of mine will give other Xbox360-LCD users a sigh of relief.

DISCLAIMER: Please remember, this is not a 100% confirmed fix for our washed out colours problem. I'm merely coming to my own theory and conclusion after some thorough research. If the spring update doesn't fix this problem, too bloody bad.

This post has been edited by Gurdian: May 10 2007, 10:18 AM

err ori vga cable how much???

i wonder if VGA output from the 360 has a "digital vibrance" color setting like most geforce cards?

i'm using a really old model of lcd screen, even normal pc VGA looks "washed out" on it. i up the digital vibrance" by quite a bit on my pc.

what is a "digital vibrance" ?

See attached pic.

It has absolutely nothing to do with my current discussion btw.

This post has been edited by Gurdian: Apr 2 2007, 12:58 PM


Attached thumbnail(s)

ah thanks.. so its more for color fixing ?

Are you referring to the Digital Vibrance thing? If you are, it doesn't really fix anything.
What it does is just over-saturates all the colours and makes it look unnatural.

If you're talking bout the upcoming Spring update which might fix our Xbox360 vga washed out colours, then yeah, i hope the update does some 'color fixing'

This post has been edited by Gurdian: Apr 2 2007, 01:05 PM

oh? so digital vibrance is not related to the IRE stuff? sorry, really no familiar with the technical stuff behing the VGA signal.

i think old model LCD screens do have a problem with colors, contrast and stuff, correct?


p/s: i love to "oversaturate" my old tv when playing ps2 games unnatural gamecolors FTW !

This post has been edited by acougan: Apr 2 2007, 01:06 PM

I"m totally blur about this . Time to read and googling,,,

Gawd.

Your NVIDIA control panel which is supposed to be used with your NVIDIA graphic card has absolutely nothing to do with the Xbox360 IRE issue i posted about.

Xbox 360 owners using LCD monitors will know what I'm talking about and will benefit from this little piece of news.

Washed out colors? I'm a LCD user but didn't really notice anything Must go do some comparison.

Have you tried play on a normal tv? seriously, the colours are much more vibrant than monitor/lcd. If this update indeed fix this, im gonna be one happy mofo

if you play on normal tv component video..
and LCD.. u will see significant differences..

o_O now that you mentioned about this, now only i notice that the color problem...

One more thing, hope that you dont mind... i think my xbox is very sensitive to power/em inteference, everytime there is a electicity spike, or turn on/off switches near xbox, or i move a powerful em source (ie transformer) near the vga cable, the screen will go black a while (like turn off a while, 2-3sec) or artifacts will appear... so is it the problem of xbox360 itself or the vga cable (3rd party)?

I have the same problem, some interference will occur when I connect my powered external HDD to my pc usb port, but its gone after I take it off. Weird.

Thanks for the link, dude..and a VGA connection for 1080p resolution for HD-DVD viewing on my Sharp G7...will surely resist my temptation to get the Elite...Now, where did i put my Monster VGA cable......

This post has been edited by silencer: Apr 2 2007, 08:55 PM

No problem silencer. Good to see my effort put to good to those who can relate to the problem.

I'd be one happy dude too if I don't need to tinker with my 2407 settings anymore.

edit: You still need to buy an Elite for the HDMI. Just gimme the monster cable so it won't go to waste.

This post has been edited by Gurdian: Apr 2 2007, 10:10 PM

I've played on TV & CRT b4, yea they do look better compared to when played using LCD, but it doesn't bother me that much. Of course if they do fix it then it will be good.

As i have mentioned before when I first try my X360 on the Dell 22" LCD, the color is not as good compare to my old CRT TV... hopefully the patch is coming out soon... or will it come out at all?

It's the Spring update. If I'm not mistaken, spring in the states is during March, April and May.

Since it's already April, chances are it'll be the end of this month or somewhere in May.

Let's keep our finger crossed that an update will come AND that it fixes our VGA problems.