playing last gen consoles on monitor??

[john9521]

http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid ... DT&cat=MON

I am considering buying that monitor, however I have a concern of how to hook my xbox and gamecube system to the monitor, it has hdmi, dvi-d, and vga ports. I know rgb/componet to hdmi cables exist, yet how well do they work/ What is the cheapest option and number two, what is the best option for the lowest price but moderate to high quality?
Thanks!

[noiseredux]

we've talked about this a lot in other threads, but I don't have links. At any rate, I use an Innovations VGA box for my Gamecube and I like it a lot. Although I will say that it looked a little better on a CRT monitor than on an LCD because on the LCD there are vertical lines somewhat present on solid black areas sometimes. But really, I have no major complaints. I love the Cube on a widescreen monitor and it saves me space. There's other posters that can explain the technicalities much better than I.

[Mod_Man_Extreme]

Hi there, welcome to the forums!

Please try to use the search bar next time as this and many other questions have been answered multiple times before.

Here are some great threads that can help you out:

http://www.racketboy.com/forum/viewtopi ... &sk=t&sd=a
http://www.racketboy.com/forum/viewtopi ... 17&t=13141

Anyhow while it's possible to play your old-school hookups on an HD-Monitor nothing beats a good old SD-CRT anyday!

[john9521]

Thanks but I looked at those posts before, the options are too expensive, so for the Innovations VGA box is the quality would you say the same as that of an ordinary tv? Because all I care about is replicating the image weather it be a simple 5 dollar cable or a 30 dollar box, I live in a small apartment and I want my monitor to be my tv as well.

[Mod_Man_Extreme]

When it comes to VGA, DVI-D HDMI there really isn't a cheap or decently priced option:

VGA is an Analog RGB signal of very high quality that runs at 480p minimum so you'll need to upconvert whatever SD signal is coming into the monitor through it. The X-RGB is your best option for this to avoid lag and RF quality picture.

DVI-D is a 100% Digital RGB signal that also runs at a minimum of 480p, but where this differs from VGA is that you'll have to convert the incoming Analog SD signal to a Digital signal at a minimum of 480p. There aren't any easy solutions here, and you'll probably drop something in thee neighborhood of $75-$100 minimum for a converter.

HDMI is the standardized DVI-D-esque connector on all current HD displays and is 100% digital with a minimum resolution of 480p. This means that you'll have to drop big bucks on an upconverter as HDMI adapters tend to go in the range or $100+ minimum.

Honestly if you want a good picture and the ability to hook up multiple systems at once then the X-RGB is really the best option in this situation.

[noiseredux]

Thanks but I looked at those posts before, the options are too expensive, so for the Innovations VGA box is the quality would you say the same as that of an ordinary tv? Because all I care about is replicating the image weather it be a simple 5 dollar cable or a 30 dollar box, I live in a small apartment and I want my monitor to be my tv as well.

No, it's not as good.

If yr playing a Gamecube game it may be as good, but sometimes not quite. Meaning, there's slightly noticeable pixelation, or discoloration. Again, refer to people who know more about the technicalities.

But if yr playing Gameboy/GBA games through the GBA player, it may look better than a TV, since some monitors naturally stretch the image to fullscreen. So my GBA games look better on my LCD in a way than on my TV.

Anyway, others can (and have) gone into greater and better detail regarding weakest links to a chain, etc...