Customer Reviews

Xbox 360 Monster GameLink Component Video & Fiber Optic Audio A/V Kit

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I bought this cable to use ONLY FOR THE OPTICAL AUDIO. I'm using a standard HDMI cable in my 360 for 1080p resolution and needed an Audio Out option which this cable has. Its not a pure optical audio out but a 1/8" stereo mini to optical audio adapter--no problems though the sound is super clean in my 5.1 system. The fit on the 1/8" mini cable is a little loose, especially if you're orienting your 360 vertically--which is recommended for increased cooling. Simply use a tie wrap to bundle all the cables together to reduce the gravity drag and loosening of the cable. So far no problems.

My main concern was whether or not the bulky plug would allow room for my standard HDMI cable adjacent to it (the AV cable which came with my Halo 3 Xbox 360 does NOT allow for simultaneous use of 2 cables side by side). You need to remove one of the gray tabs on the side of this cable in order to make the 2 cables fit side by side (the tab is held on by a cheap adhesive and can be pried off with a simple knife without damaging anything). Once the tab is off both cables can be inserted into your 360. Its a tight fit but it does work.

If you're happy with 720p resolution then simply use the included component video dangle. But if your TV is full HD and your sound receiver doesn't have an HDMI input then this cable is one option for having both 1080p and optical audio together. Hope this helped. Cya online in my sniper scope @ 1080p !!!!

Some people say better cables improve your picture, others say they waste you money. So I took the dive and bought these Monster 360 Cables. After hooking them up I instantly noticed a slight improvement in my 100" picture from my DLP projector. The difference wasn't huge, but the picture was definitely a little sharper. That alone was worth the cost of the cables. Throw in the fact that the Monster cables are much higher quality...they feel better, are thicker, sturdier, and the optical cable doesn't fall out...and this is a no brainer to get. The optical cable of course is the same as any other 'cheap' optical cable in terms of performance, but the quality of the cable itself is higher and looks nicer.

I'm no expert on cables, but these cables do the job well. Both video and audio are crystal clear; no interference from any other sources (and in my house they are run right by other electronic equipment, so the potential is certainly there).

One interesting thing about these cables is the material used for the exterior. I'm used to plastic/rubber exteriors. The exterior of these feel somewhat metallic. I'm not sure if this is the reason, but these cables are much more flexible than the plastic/rubber ones. This makes it a bit easier to run them in places with a lot of twists and turns. However, I would be careful in dragging them over a finished surface; I would think they might scratch it.

Overall a very nice package for the 360!

I upgraded to these so that I could use the optical to connect to my Logitech Z-5500. Since there is plenty of discussion about optical cables not staying plugged in to the Microsoft cables I decided to go for the Monster package.

The picture appears to be a little better and the digital sound is great. However, the optical cable does not fit tightly into the Logitech's control panel. So I am not sure if this is the Monsters fault or Logitech's? If it becomes an ongoing issue I may try another optical for a better fit, but for now the Monster is working so I am happy.

PS - These cables look really cool though :) and shipping is currently free from Amazon! I got them in three days using regular 3-5 super saving shipping.

UPDATED 4/20/06: I am now using the VGA cables!
The reason that I ended up buying the VGA cable was due to the fact that the component signal (both 720p and 1080i) are subject to overscan. This means that the screen "zooms in" slighty so that you are sure to see a complete picture with no black or static edges. This is a problem though with the Xbox 360 because it ends up cropping the image. For example, the HUD in GRAW is cutoff on the corners when using the component cables. This really bothered me so I gave the VGA a try and viola!

I can now go into the dashboard settings and specify 1360 x 768 which closely matches my LCD's native resolution of 1368 x 768. Thus, I am able to see the whole screen without any overscan/cropping. The only downside is that the overall image gets "washed out" when using the VGA cable. However, this is not really a big deal because most of the newer games (GRAW, Oblivion) have an in-game setting for brightness which you can turn down to eliminate the washed out look.

I highly recommend that you at least give the VGA cables a try. Depending on your TV, you may or may not like them. No big deal though because you can just return them. However, you may find that you really like them and will be glad that you tried them out! Check out my VGA vs Component pictures and read about my detailed testing on my personal MSN space. Just go to Google or to the MSN Spaces website and search for "The Sergeant's Space" and you will be able to pull up my site.

Lastly, I have the Samsung LNR238W and there is NO ghosting issues when using the VGA cable.

There is a reason why this Monster Cable product is expensive: quality. Connectors, cabling, and fit/finish are of the highest grade. I highly recommend this product, especially if you have your 360 connected to a home theater system. The difference between the standard audio connections that the 360 comes equipped with and the fiber optic cable is night & day.

I didn't notice a great difference in the video compared to the the standard 360 component connections. The audio connection is why you must have this cable system. Truly mind blowing. My A/V consists of the following: Sony KDE 50XBR 50" plasma and the Sony DAV-10W 5.1.

High quality connector on the XBOX side, and high quality component connectors. In between, a high quality well-shielded cable.

The XBOX can send 1080p (better than 1080i) via component to a TV that supports that.

For owners of the XBOX Elite, which has an HDMI socket underneath the big XBOX AV socket: The XBOX plug on this cable is slim enough that you can also fit an HDMI cable in, and connect via HDMI instead of component if you wish. The optical audio will work no matter the video connection you use. I tried both ways. HDMI provides a slightly sharper image over component, but not discernible to most (and it's a per-pixel sharpness, a edge sharpness, not more detail or higher resolution)

Love the Audio Digital Optical Cable but couldn't tell the difference with the componenet cables

the picture quality is what you would expect from monster but the only reason i would reccomend this item is for use with the fiber optic sound cable it made a world of difference in the sound quality and realisim in the games and movies so for anyone with a good reciever this is a must have but if your sound is played out through the t.v. dont bother

I got this for my home theater (old fat 360 sans HDMI to go with old receiver that doesn't switch HDMI), and it works great. The cable has plenty of length, and while there's quite a bit of insulation/shielding, it's flexible enough. The TOSLINK cable is a separate affair, and mine did come with the emmiter that others seam to be lacking. Having it as a separate cable (unbundled to from component) works best for many uses, so this was nice. Video looks great, and the audio does as well (TOSLINK doesn't exactly benefit from better cables, but component can to a point). Depending on the price you find this for, it can either be a deal, or perhaps an overly pricey alternative to Microsoft's offering, especially since a new 360 with HDMI can be had so much cheaper these days.

This is a great cable I bought this for my newer setup. I ended up returning it since the new Xbxo has a optical cable slot on it. I didn't know that since my Xbox 360 Elite didn't have the slot. But if you have an older system and want the optical this is what you need. I have it on my older setpu.