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General discussion

Xbox 360 video splitting?

Apr 13, 2007 1:25PM PDT

Can anyone please tell me if there are any consumer products that can effectively split the video from an Xbox 360 console? There are many games that offer local multi-player which can be great fun for families and friends. However, sharing a single screen has it's draw-backs. For instance, often the aspect ratio of visible play area can be affected by splitting the image on a single screen. Also, it can be a detraction to reduce the area you're accustomed to using. I want to split my video and possibly audio signals to more than one screen, locally, from one console. I am aware that this can be accomplished with multiple consoles and live accounts, but I'm not buying expensive consoles and live accounts for everyone in my home! I can't help but think that this would be a great product idea for Microsoft, or an aftermarket accessory company.

Discussion is locked

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Not Recommended but...
Apr 13, 2007 3:24PM PDT

Video signals are not meant to be split and if it's a high def signal you want to split, I don't know of any options. However if you route your 360 through a VCR you can output through composite cables to one television and output through coxial through another.

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360 video splitting
Apr 14, 2007 12:41AM PDT

I know I've seen events where a single video output signal was split to a wall of televisions, composing one large image. I would asssume that this requires a component that can define how much of the image is split and to how many outputs. There's got to be a good way to do this... Whether or not it's feasible without expensive equipment is another story. I know it's possible with today's technology. Various organizations have been splitting video to a wall of televisions for many years now.

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Yes and no
Apr 14, 2007 1:02AM PDT

You could split the signal, but all you'd get is two copies of the same split screen display on each TV. The game itself has to be able to drive two independent displays, and that's not going to happen with a console.

The only way to do what you want, is to have two consoles, each connected to a different TV, and connected to each other via a LAN. I don't know if Xbox games can operate online if they're not connecting through Xbox Live. The original Xbox could use Xlink Kai if you had a softmodded or chipped system and didn't want to get banned from Xbox Live, but I don't think that will work with the 360.

Your problems are further compounded by the fact that it seems Microsoft doesn't allow multiple Xbox Live logins from the same IP address. Or at least that's how it appears from an earlier discussion on this forum, of someone being unable to have both their Xbox and Xbox 360 connected to Xbox Live at the same time, despite each having a unique gamertag.

So the real problem you're facing is the way in which the game encodes the video signal to be sent to the TV. There's really not a whole lot you can do about that. Until game consoles can drive two, or more, independent displays, you're going to be SOL on this is the long and short of it.

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Using a separate 'demultiplexer' device
May 7, 2007 4:06AM PDT

Games such as "Call of Duty 2" can have multiplayer local split screen. Simply put, a large screen can be split to 4 equal sections of the screen.

Wouldn't it be feasible to then be able to split this to 4 separate screens? There must be some device which takes a signal & simply chops it to 4 equal parts. You see this, as the above commenter noted, on "television walls". I don't know what device accomplishes this sort of thing, but it would be a starting point to find out. The XBox wouldn't know the difference. The signal goes out as if to one screen, the "demultiplexer" device cuts the signal into 4 squares, and sends each image to a different monitor.

Then each player could have their own screen, unable to be seen by the other players. This kind of setup has the advantage of being able to focus on your own screen without distraction, and not being able to "cheat" by looking at someone else's screen. All around, it would make for better game play than a single split-screen. And way cooler. (shoot, link up another XBox over a LAN and make 8 screens aligned in an octagon ;.)).

Furthermore, the whole set up should still be cheaper than a big screen TV. Checking the latest prices, 21" LCD monitors (overly-capable of 1080p) are going for ~$225 (meaning 4 of them would be around $900). Combining these together would constitute the same screen space as a 42" 1080p LCD HDTV. Those TVs are still going for upwards of $1500.

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Theoretically
May 7, 2007 5:48AM PDT

It's theoretically possible, but you'd have to calibrate the device for each and every game, and the number of players. Then you'd have to do this for every resolution you wanted to use... 480i/p, 720p, 1080i... Each would have different pixel boundaries depending on the number of divisions in the screen.

And even then, you wouldn't be able to take that say quarter or half of a screen and convert it to some other resolution without stretching effects. Assuming you're playing at 480i resolutions, for standard def TVs, you'd have a 240i resolution for each half of the screen... You'd then be taking that 240i resolution and blowing it up to 480i again on another screen. So things would tend to look jagged and pixelated as a result.

It would also likely be quite expensive... Prohibitively so. Just easier, and likely cheaper, to get a bigger TV. You can follow the Corner Gas method, whereby a man's (or woman's) age should reflect the size of his TV. If you're 15, 15", 24, 24", etc.

The only real good way to do this is if you have a game that can be played either via Xbox Live or via a LAN, where each player has their own console. And seeing is how adding multi-head abilities to a game console would mean fewer units sold of the very expensive hardware, which is sold at a loss for most of the console's lifecycle, I don't see that being added as a feature any time soon.