HDMI, DVI, 360, 8300HD

Ever since the 360 arrived, I’ve had a problem: one too many devices outputting component signals. But now I have it working in such a way that I don’t have to switch cabling in the back, which is what I’ve been doing for the last month.

Devices:

• Explorer 8300HD DVR/cable box
• Sony DVD changer
• Sony VCR (not that we use it for anything anymore)
• Sony CD changer
• Sony dual-desk cassette player
• Sony receiver with 4 video ins and 4 audio ins
• XBox 360
• PC running MAME, Atari 8-bit emulator, and a music collection
• Dreamcast
• Playstation 2
• Gamecube
• XBox
• Samsung 50″ widescreen DLP

I had put the PC running in via DVI, cable and DVD running in via component, VCR on RCA jacks, and all the game machines on an S-video switcher. The audio, in every case, runs to the surround sound system, but we only have one digital audio in on that (it’s old), so we use it for the DVD player since that’s the most likely case to want it. Everything else just runs stereo.

Now, I have it set up this way:

The VCR goes in on regular RCA video. Unchanged. I don’t think we are set up to record video on the VCR anymore, but who cares?

The PC goes in on the regular PC monitor jack — the picture is indistinguishable from the DVI output from the video card anyway, because DLPs aren’t the sharpest for text anyhow. This frees up the DVI jack. The audio for the PC currently runs into the receiver directly.

The cable box goes into an HDMI to DVI converter, and then in via DVI. The sound was already running separately into the receiver, so the lack of an audio signal on the DVI cable is no worry. The TV does have an HDMI input, and I could have gone HDMI straight through, but I already had a DVI cable, and Circuit City wanted a minimum of $130 for an HDMI cable. Ugh. I am sure I can find them on the net for more like $50, but the adapter was only $34.99 and the picture looks great at 1080i, so…

This frees up a component input for the 360’s video signal, which I run at 1080i.

PS2, GC, DC, XB, and the 360’s audio all run into a 5 jack S-Video switcher. I have the S-video cables for all of those consoles, so the S-video signal then runs into the TV and the audio to the receiver.

I also now have the Atari 8-bit emu running as a bootable Dreamcast disc, so that’s easier to get to. In fact, I have a bootable M.U.L.E. disc configured for four players. Far more playable than using the PC to run the emulator… and playing M.U.L.E. on a 50 inch widescreen with controllers from a few feet away is definitely the way to go!

CD and cassette (yes, we still have 500 cassettes we occasionally listen to, many of which are obscure singer-songwriters unavailable on CD) run into the remaining audio jacks on the receiver.

Now, no more cable swapping. And I can hold out hope that the PS3 will have an HDMI output, so there I have room to grow.

But when the Revolution comes out, I think I’m screwed. 🙂