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Does anyone here use their computer monitor for XBOX?

TSE

TSE

macrumors 601
Original poster
Jun 25, 2007
4,079
3,730
St. Paul, Minnesota
I am looking to buy a monitor to go along with a MacBook Air for college next year.

I am going into the design program so a good quality monitor is a necessity. I really like the Dell Ultrasharp U2311H.

My questions go as follow:

1. Is it possible to use the U2311H with my XBOX 360?

2. What additional cords/accessories do I need to use the U2311H with an XBOX 360?

3. How do I get sound to work with the XBOX?

4. Is the refresh time of 8 ms going to be a problem? Is there going to be ghosting?

5. Also, assuming the MacBook Air gets Thunderbolt, do DVI to Mini displayports still work so I can use the U2311H as an external monitor for the new MacBook Air once it comes out?

Thank you!
 
TSE said:
I am looking to buy a monitor to go along with a MacBook Air for college next year.

I am going into the design program so a good quality monitor is a necessity. I really like the Dell Ultrasharp U2311H.

My questions go as follow:

1. Is it possible to use the U2311H with my XBOX 360?

2. What additional cords/accessories do I need to use the U2311H with an XBOX 360?

3. How do I get sound to work with the XBOX?

4. Is the refresh time of 8 ms going to be a problem? Is there going to be ghosting?

5. Also, assuming the MacBook Air gets Thunderbolt, do DVI to Mini displayports still work so I can use the U2311H as an external monitor for the new MacBook Air once it comes out?

Thank you!
Click to expand...

1) Yes should do.
2) Try this cable, it should work ok, but there may be some blurring ghosting.
3) That kit should allow you to connect sound cables out (via another adapter) to connect to pc speakers.
4) Could possibly be ghosting because of the cable, not because of the screen response time.
5) You should get a mini-displayport to Displayport cable to connect your laptop separately so you can have both plugged in at once and switch between them.

I know my solution seems a bit convoluted, but I'm pretty sure it should work because I've got almost exactly the same setup except I have my 360 plugged in via VGA (+adapter) and my MBP via DVI (mini-displayport adapter).

I didn't really look into your screen specs apart from the connectivity, but I would advise that the easiest solution would be to find a monitor with both HDMI and DVI/VGA inputs to work with 360 and macbook.

EDIT: Forget all that I said above. I didn't read the cable spec properly, the cable on Amazon is HDMI which your screen doesn't have. Taking a quick look, I don't think there is a way for you to connect your 360 to those inputs, but you may want to take a better look for cables elsewhere.
 
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Use the VGA cable for the xbox. I do it all the time. I do video via VGA and the red and white audio cables are hook up to an old DJ mixer that I have. You can you some kind of mixer at guitar center to do that.
 
TSE said:
My questions go as follow:

1. Is it possible to use the U2311H with my XBOX 360?

2. What additional cords/accessories do I need to use the U2311H with an XBOX 360?

3. How do I get sound to work with the XBOX?

4. Is the refresh time of 8 ms going to be a problem? Is there going to be ghosting?

5. Also, assuming the MacBook Air gets Thunderbolt, do DVI to Mini displayports still work so I can use the U2311H as an external monitor for the new MacBook Air once it comes out?
Click to expand...

Well I don't know much about the dell but I have a ASUS VH236H 23 Inch Widescreen LCD Monitor which is currently $169 on Amazon which is cheaper than the dell on Amazon and I think it's a great monitor though i'm not an expert on monitors.

The monitor is full HD and it has DVI/VGA and HDMI inputs. I currently have my Windows 7 PC hooked up to the VGA and I use the HDMI interchangeably. Sometimes I hook my MBP up to it using a Mini Display to HDMI and my MBP has the thunderbolt port and works just fine. Because the monitor is full HD and my TV is only 720p I hook my PS3 to the HDMI to watch Blu Ray's and play games and then sometimes I hook my 360 up using the HDMI port as well. So all I need is an HDMI cord which transmits both picture and sound to the monitor so I don't have to worry about using another source for sound. I don't know about the 8ms refresh time but my monitor has a 2ms refresh time and there's no ghosting and the picture quality is just great.
 
As a design student, your priorities for the monitor should likely be accurate color reproduction and wide viewing angle, so an IPS display like the 2311H should be a requirement. Any displays going for less are likely to have TN panels, which are terrible for any design work. However, TN panels are more suitable for gaming with the faster refresh times. It's not a big deal playing on a display with an 8ms refresh time, so it shouldn't be a problem.

The 2311H IMO is the cheapest option out there for a monitor suitable for design work, and it's fine for gaming as well. I fully recommend it.
 
You should consider the U2410 instead. It has built in HDMI and Component ports so you can plug your xbox in just like you do on your tv with no new cables or adapters. It displays more colors with higher contrast which basically means better looking image. It depends on the person, but I tried a cheaper Dell monitor and the colors looked way too muddy for me to enjoy my games and blurays so I upgraded to the more expensive one. If you can afford it, I recommend you do so too.

Also, you'll need to get external speakers to connect to your monitor otherwise you'll be playing with no sound. Headsets/headphones work but get something with a volume control knob/buttons.

Any modern Mac will best connect to it through the display port. You'll probably need a mini display port to display port adapter for a Mac book air. I think thunderbolt is backwards compatible with mini display port but don't quote me on that.
 
If you don't have the HDMI, use a VGA adapter.
Buy a red/white audio to 3.5mm in.
Hook Xbox up to monitor.
Hook audio up to speakers OR buy 35mm in to in adapter and hook up headphones.
Play in HD.
 
I have an off brand VGA adapter for my 360 hooked up to a KVM switch that I also use my MBP on. The display is an Acer X138h with only one VGA input. For audio I bought a component to 3.5mm audio adapter. My setup works brilliantly.
 
TSE said:
I am looking to buy a monitor to go along with a MacBook Air for college next year.

I am going into the design program so a good quality monitor is a necessity. I really like the Dell Ultrasharp U2311H.

My questions go as follow:

1. Is it possible to use the U2311H with my XBOX 360?

2. What additional cords/accessories do I need to use the U2311H with an XBOX 360?

3. How do I get sound to work with the XBOX?

4. Is the refresh time of 8 ms going to be a problem? Is there going to be ghosting?

5. Also, assuming the MacBook Air gets Thunderbolt, do DVI to Mini displayports still work so I can use the U2311H as an external monitor for the new MacBook Air once it comes out?

Thank you!
Click to expand...
1. Is it possible to use the U2311H with my XBOX 360?

I used my Dell U2311H with my 360 and it works great.

2. What additional cords/accessories do I need to use the U2311H with an XBOX 360?

This for video:
http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10419&cs_id=1041902&p_id=2029&seq=1&format=2

This for sound:
http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10830&cs_id=1083005&p_id=7526&seq=1&format=2

http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10218&cs_id=1021804&p_id=5612&seq=1&format=2

3. How do I get sound to work with the XBOX?
See above.

4. Is the refresh time of 8 ms going to be a problem? Is there going to be ghosting?

I've never had an issue.

5. Also, assuming the MacBook Air gets Thunderbolt, do DVI to Mini displayports still work so I can use the U2311H as an external monitor for the new MacBook Air once it comes out?

Use this instead:
http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10246&cs_id=1024606&p_id=6007&seq=1&format=2

It works great and doesn't give me any of the sleeping issues I had with various adaptors.
 
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