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General discussion

Help with Xbox wiring set up

May 3, 2010 2:04PM PDT

I have a 360 Elite about 5 months old. I just bought a Kenwood VR-405 off CraigsList for surround sound but I am confused about how to do my wiring. Currently I just have my Xbox wired to my SONY KDF-550E2000 which has 2 HDMI's and is 1080i capable.

My receiver does not have a lot other than RCA plugs. Its does have an optical av I think it is associated with the CD/DVD box on the back. I dont have a DVD hooked up yet but plan to but I would use the Xbox more than I would for DVD's is that helps with the one plug.

I see monoprice has like a HDMI/composite cable system do I need that? How would I get the Xbox audio to my surround sound that is the biggest thing I want to do.

I see an Xbox HDMI/AV cable that allows the red and white audio to plug into the HDMI and I assume the other end of the HDMI would go to the Xbox and the red and white to the surround receiver? I can't find a 3rd party one of those items however.

What do you suggest for the simplest set up that will give decent graphics and sound?

Thanks.

Discussion is locked

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What inputs
May 3, 2010 4:30PM PDT

What inputs does your TV have? It sounds like your receiver doesn't have anything like HDMI passthrough, which complicates matters a bit, so what kind of inputs does your TV have, and how important is graphics quality to you? Are you absolutely intent on having 720p or 1080i?

Also, are you fine with upmixed, or simulated surround, or do you want the full 5.1 experience?

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Should be an easy fix...
May 7, 2010 12:42AM PDT

Since the receiver doesn't have any HDMI connections, you'll need to use the HDMI cable and plug that directly into your TV. Then use an optical cable to connect the Xbox into the receiver. Since you only have one optical connection on the receiver, you're kind of limited on what you can do. I would personally use the Xbox to play DVDs as well, unless you're planning on getting a Blu-Ray player. Then you'll just need to upgrade that receiver too. Don't use the red/white RCA connections. They sound horrible and you'll use your surround sound experience... and isn't that the only reason to get a receiver in the first place?