Noob needs help! Xbox 360 HDMI audio skipping!

[strube]

If your good at soldering you can replace the HDMI port if it's just the port, now if it's a problem with the circuit your somewhat boned.

It's a good thing to know how to solder, saves you a good bunch of money, I learned when I was younger, just got a cheap soldering iron, a battery and some LED's then I went garbage hopping for old VCR's and such that had boards I could solder to.

I don't think that is good advice.

Even a good solderer can toast a printed circuit board, which is what the HDMI port is almost certainly connected to. Plus there are 19 wires in an HDMI port and they are TINY, which I am sure the connections to the PCB are too. I think it is a job for a machine in most cases.

 

[jbagley77]

Do you only have 1 HDMI port on your TV?

I would just shut off HDMI audio and use the audio dongle that had other audio output options that came with your Microsoft HDMI cable (if you got one), it plugs in underneath the HDMI. If you are only doing stereo to your TV it doesn't really matter if you use analog audio.

If you have a 5.1 system use the optical audio on the same box and enjoy surround gaming.

As to # of ports, yes, I only have one HDMI.

I didn't get an HDMI cord from Microsoft, but I still have the big grey plug that has a "TV/HDTV" switch on it -- don't know the name of it. How do I shut off HDMI audio and still have audio if the HDMI cord is the only cord that's connected to the 360? For that matter, how do I shut off HDMI audio to begin with?

And most confusing of all, why the f##k don't my DVDs skip the same way when I connect my upconverting DVD player to the same TV via HDMI? Argh.

 

[strube]

I didn't get an HDMI cord from Microsoft, but I still have the big grey plug that has a "TV/HDTV" switch on it -- don't know the name of it. How do I shut off HDMI audio and still have audio if the HDMI cord is the only cord that's connected to the 360?

The adapter you are talking about probably won't work at the same time as the HDMI cable, it is too fat. Is your TV 1080p or less? Because if it is less, there is minimal difference between using HDMI and the component video adapter (I am assuming that is what you have - Red/Green/Blue RCA connectors plus a red and white for stereo audio?) for the Xbox. HDMI is the only cable that has the bandwidth for 1080p, but component video will do up to 1080i.

For that matter, how do I shut off HDMI audio to begin with?

There is surely a menu option in your TV to shut off audio from HDMI, or select a different audio source for that particular video source.

If you still really want to have HDMI, you really should buy the Microsoft HDMI adapter because it can do non-HDMI audio. The only other way to do it is to butcher your other adapter - not a good idea IMO.

http://www.amazon.com/Xbox-360-HDMI-AV-Cable/dp/B000UODATY/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1228847673&sr=8-1

And most confusing of all, why the f##k don't my DVDs skip the same way when I connect my upconverting DVD player to the same TV via HDMI? Argh.

That I cannot answer. Digital things are tricky. It is possible your HDMI port is a very old revision that is not 100% compatible. It is possible the frequency/noise floor/error correction/something else of the digital audio output on the Xbox is just not communicating with your particular port.


Hope I helped some. Good luck.

EDIT: If you are really handy you could butcher your other adapter to work with an HDMI cable. There are DIY guides on doing this; it will require a Dremel and a steady hand. At $42 for the adapter from amazon, you can decide. I personally think the $42 would be well spent, I don't like the looks of butchered plastic, even if it is at the back of my Xbox.

 

[jbagley77]

I'd been holding off on doing that hack, but I went ahead and did it, so now I am able to plug the A/V cord and HDMI cord in at the same time without having to Dremel at all.

Am I understanding you correctly that I can adjust my TV settings to opt for audio from....what? The A/V cord? How do I do that? Sorry this is such a simple question, but I really don't know what I'm doing.

FWIW, I switched my "Digital-In Audio" setting on my TV from Digital to Analog and lost all sound. I am certain I have all three (red/blue/green) cords connected, and the A/V cord is connected to the 360. Do I need to change a setting on the 360, or just the TV? I'm confused.

 

[strube]

The red/green/blue is for video - don't even plug those in; the red/white cable is what you need to plug in, there has to be an analog audio (red/white) plug that corresponds to the HDMI port. It is hard to say because I have no idea what TV you have and they are all different.

There should be a setting in the TV's menu to change from HDMI audio to analog audio. It sounds like you got that part.

 

[jbagley77]

Found the red/white plugs that seem to correspond to the HDMI. I have them plugged in correctly. However, now the sound comes via HDMI regardless of whether I have the TV set to "Analog" or "Digital." It's still skipping, but now it seems like I can't bypass it no matter the setting.

FWIW, I have a JVC HD61z585, to my knowledge.

What now? BTW, I really appreciate your assistance.

 

[strube]

Found the red/white plugs that seem to correspond to the HDMI. I have them plugged in correctly. However, now the sound comes via HDMI regardless of whether I have the TV set to "Analog" or "Digital." It's still skipping, but now it seems like I can't bypass it no matter the setting.

FWIW, I have a JVC HD61z585, to my knowledge.

What now? BTW, I really appreciate your assistance.

At this point I would toy with Xbox audio settings - then TV audio settings some more. I am to the end of my ability to assist with the HDMI issue, unfortunately .

If you can't get it working, I would just hook up component video and the red/white audio and ditch the HDMI cable completely, unless someone else has some ideas for you. I am not sure you would even notice the difference in video quality.

 

[jbagley77]

So how's this for a resolution of the problem. With nothing but the HDMI connected, I took COD4 out of the 360 and we put in a Scene-It DVD (Seinfeld -- fun game, btw). No skipping. After wondering why, for the love of God, it wasn't skipping, we put COD4 back in. Can you guess what WASN'T happening?

That's right...skipping. Not once. Oh well, I guess Seinfeld is the cure for what ails ya. Works for me. Thanks to everyone who lent their advice and assistance.

 

[zhiangX]

How do I get downloadable content from Xbox Live? I recently bought a game for the Xbox 360 and loved it. I have now found out that they have released a new level or something on Xbox live. Now I'm not on Xbox live (yet) but I'm considering going on because this game is such quality. How do I get this downloadable content from Xbox live? Do I need to pay to access the marketplace to buy it?