XBOX 360 problem with hdmi and AV

Hi there, AQUEEL, thanks for reaching out.

We have some steps for you to try if your Xbox 360 console is powering off unexpectedly. Please give those a try and let us know if that helps out
with what you're experiencing.

Is it not possible to connect the Xbox to an AV Receiver via HDMI (for audio) and then output HDMI from the AV Receiver to a TV (like discussed in

this thread on another forum)?

Yes, the standard Xbox 360 AV cable and any HDMI cables will work with the Xbox 360 S.

The reason why the regular AV cable is designed to block the HDMI port is that the Xbox 360 cannot output analog video and HDMI at the same time. The differences in between the supported resolutions and the limitations on outputting some video content in
analog HD means they have to shut the analog video output off when HDMI is connected.

There is only one use to having both connected on a traditional Xbox 360, which is using the optical audio output of the old-style AV plug to get 5.1 audio on non-HDMI receivers while sending the picture over HDMI. With the newer Xbox 360 S, this is not necessary
as it already has a dedicated optical audio output on the back. The newer-style AV plugs also lack an optical output from what I know.

If using the regular AV cable this way, there are some problems that can occur. The AV cable identifies itself as such using ID pins in the connector. When the Xbox 360 senses this at the same time as an HDMI connection is active, it gets confused. If the HDMI
connection is dropped - for instance by temporarily switching over to a different input on the TV - the Xbox 360 reboots and starts outputting analog video instead. It may also prevent the Xbox 360 from establishing an HDMI connection when booting up, unless
the TV responds instantly.

There used to be an official audio adapter sold to get optical audio out of traditional Xbox 360s at the same time as HDMI. Those had their ID pins connected to identify themselves specifically as an audio-only dongle. This avoided the Xbox 360 rebooting if
it temporarily lost the HDMI handshake. However, they are no longer made by Microsoft. There are unofficial third party ones, but their ID pins may be wired like the regular AV cable and cause the same booting/rebooting problem.

So if you want to swap between HDMI and regular AV output, the only solution is to plug in only one at a time. If you need separate audio out, try to get hold of an audio dongle that's been proven to work correctly - which may be a bit tricky.

[quote user="Die xMannequin"]How about if I broke apart the standard AV cables for the xbox,[/quote]No. The incorrect pinning of the AV port connection will still cause problems for the 360 should you switch HDMI inputs. HDCP's also disabled.