And Then There Were Cables

We've left no stone unturned in our quest to discover every last tidbit of Xbox 360™ info. Our quest today brought us to the office of one Dave Stavoe to discuss what's new in the world of cables.

Dave began his career at Microsoft® in PC hardware development, but ended up moving over to the Xbox® group in 2001, where he worked on the Xbox Live® Communicator headset and the Xbox DVD Movie Playback Kit as a development manager. So every time you slide the headset over your ears or settle back with a cold beverage and a DVD in your Xbox, you know who to thank. Now on to Dave's current work ...

Xbox 360 and Xbox 360 Core System
We now know that there will be two different bundles available at launch: Xbox 360 (fully loaded) and Xbox 360 Core System (fully upgradeable), and each will be outfitted with a different set of basic cables.

• Xbox 360:
  o Xbox 360 Component HD AV Cable: Xbox 360 games now offer widescreen formatting and 720 progressive scan as a standard for TVs that support them. This set of cables get you up and running in high-definition on your HDTV.
  o Xbox 360 Ethernet Connectivity Cable: This made-for-the-Xbox 360 Ethernet cable gets you connected to Xbox Live through your broadband modem or router.
• Xbox 360 Core System:
  o Xbox 360 Composite AV Cable: Ready to stream next-generation graphics on standard-definition TVs, this set of cables comes standard with the Xbox 360 Core System.

The Component HD AV Cable delivers incredible graphics.

System Link No Longer
After handing me a sheet of paper with a few details regarding the cables, Dave glanced at it and said "I can see one mistake on there already. There's no System Link cable anymore. They're standard Ethernet cables now."

Xbox 360 is not just next-generation gaming,
it's next-generation cables as well.

That might be six of one and a half-dozen of another where you and I are concerned, but the distinction is important. The old System Link setup meant that only the System Link cable (also known as a cross-over cable) could be used to hook up one Xbox to another. It worked, but the technology was antiquated. You can now be satisfied that any current network cable should get the job done for you.

RF is Dead
While it should shock no one, we've finally seen the last gasping breaths of the RF switch generation. Old TVs that don't sport even the Audio/Video jacks (those with the red, yellow, and white plugs) will not be getting cable adapter love this time around.

Like your computer monitor? Pick up this VGA HD AV Cable.

Monitors Rejoice
For those that scoff at the TV or simply have a badass computer monitor, Dave has some good news for you. There's now a fully supported first-party option for hooking up the Xbox 360 to your computer monitor. For those that need a tad more detail, here's a quick rundown on the new Xbox 360 VGA HD AV Cable:

• Sports a custom AVIP connector.
• Includes two audio RCA plugs.
• Features a digital optical audio cable connection port.

Other Cables
Of course, there's more to the cable setup than network cords or component video and VGA cables. Your standard SCART adapter will be available as well as an advanced SCART, plus an advanced version of the standard AV cables that supports S Video.

Cables make the console go 'round, and Xbox 360 is in good hands with Dave Stavoe at the helm. Whatever you need now or may need to upgrade to in the future, the Xbox 360 team has got you covered: standard definition, component HD AV cables, Ethernet cords, SCART adapters—you name it. It's not just next-generation gaming, it's next-generation cables as well.

Article by Alex McLain

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