Why the hell didn't the Xbox include a digital output!? (1 Viewer)

[Micheal]

I'm starting to wonder if anything negative that is said about a praticular platform is frowned upon. I love my Xbox! It was just a dumb ass move to include 5.1 but not include the optical output to use it. Doesn't anyone see that!? I don't care how you try and weave around it, it's the dumbest thing I've heard in a while...

At least the Xbox is capable of real time 5.1!! A $20 fee for the extra part is not that much, in my opinion.

Of course it's not but just think of all the people that want 5.1 and multiply that by $20.00
I'm done ranting, I don't want to beat a dead horse so to speak...
I'll be buying the second AV pack...
Micro$oft wins this round!

 

[Scott FP]

Just to be a devil's advocate at this point Micheal. I really do see your point but then I thought about all the different home theatre setups or lack there of.

Say you have a plain old 25" TV, no rca jacks, nothing. You get the generic xbox and buy the RF adapter. You are set to go.

I'm not a engineer and I can't even begin to tell you the cost of adding a digital out to a xbox, or componet, s-video etc...

But I can state as a FACT that not everyone will need digital out. We are in a Home Theatre forum here where the biggest problem is trying to hook up 5.1 and figuring what the best set up is for HDTV. But MOST people don't have this problem.

Would I be totally wrong if I bet that most of the xboxes in use now on average are using just the RCA jacks for everything? Then figure some using RF only and others going with the HD pack.

I wonder how many thousands of xboxes, if the digital out was installed, would be doing nothing? That may add up to some capital that is just not being used.

I think the Xbox is taking the Burger King approach. Here is the burger and the bun, YOU decide what you want on it. Thus keeping the price of the base model down.

I mean why not argue that the xbox should have component, RCA, S-video, RF, and digital 5.1 output all mounted direct?

I'm sure MS is making extra money somehow (would like to see the markup on all these adapters) but I think they are getting it from the savings they keep by not adding everything to one box.

They put out the Xbox for the same price as the PS2. For some of us, are setup will require spending much more money, some none at all, and for others just a little to get the RF adapter.

To add all these parts to the base Xbox would have probably priced it higher then PS2.

Just my thoughts, nothing concrete here fact wise

 

[Micheal]

Well, if we're going to compare it to the PS2. The PS2 can do 5.1 and you can also play DVD's on it without having to buy a remote.

I come from the days of buying a system and having everything ready to go including a couple of controllers.

Like I said, I'm buying the extra AV cables. I just thought it was silly to offer 5.1 without the optical output on board. Just my opinion... nothing more.

 

[DavidAM]

Thanks for the help guys. After that my brain clicked that just because my receiver accepts the component inputs, it doesn't mean it will convert it to composite outs. Tell me this, if I use the AV Pack and do S-video for the inputs, will it convert to composite out? My TV has no inputs whatsoever, so I'm going through my VCR which goes through coaxial to send the sound and video to the TV. If I get the AV Pack and go from my xbox to my stereo via S-video and Toslink (I need both correct?), how will I get sound and video to my TV? I guess I would do AV outs to the VCR's inputs and the VCR will send it to the TV? Right now I'm using a front set of AV inputs on my VCR and it works fine, but I'm not sure how to hook it up if I get the AV Pack. Since my VCR is on Video2 and my cable box is on Video1, would I hook my xbox to video3 and send the outputs to the front AV jacks on my VCR which is what I'm using now? The thing there is the front jacks are composite so this brings me back to the question if S-video converts to composite or not. Can you tell I'm confused?!!!! The whole purpose of this is to get true 5.1. If I can't work it out, then I'll just wait till I get my HDTV early next year and do it correctly then. I hope all that made sense and let me know what you guys think. Here is the .pdf to my receivers manual if it helps:
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