Optical cable with hdmi?

[mw2 pro]

I use an hdmi cable to hook up my xbox to my tv. Is it possible to use the optical cable with an hdmi hookup or would i have to downgrade to the standard xbox cable in order to use it? And does the optical cable really enhance the sound that greatly that i should sacrifice picture quality for sound quality?

[ASTRO Warblade]

Well if you TV has an optical out (which most HDTV's do), you can use that optical out to your mixamp.

Using the optical cable rather than the stereo RCA cable is much better, as RCA (red and white inputs) just provide a left and right channel, and not necessarily translates the 5.1 surround sound that travels through via the optical connection.

When you say the "standard" xbox cable, are you referring to the component cable? (Red-Green-Blue connections, along with the red and whtie rca audio connection). If so, that provides just the same picture quality as HDMI. Both can support1080p graphics, but you would want to use the optical out portion to your mixamp, and not use the RCA cables.

[mw2 pro]

Thank you very much i didn't even realize my tv had an optical output in the back so i guess i can use my hdmi cable too. :)

[PreFLecT]

buy the HDMI adapter for xbox

[ASTRO Warblade]

The xbox 360 has had the HDMI output standard since the Zephyr units launched in 2007. There is no "adaptor" for HDMI. What you may be thinking is an "optical" output adaptor, called the "Xbox 360 HDMI Cable with Optical Audio" for $50. Crazy price for this, as an HDMI cable can be bought for less than $6.