X Box connection to computer monitor instead of TV ??

[Dsg]

My son is off to university soon. He would like to take his X Box but does NOT want to watch the TV & so be forced to buy a TV licence. Can an X Box be connected to a computer monitor ?? And if so - what would we need to make the connection ?

Many thanks in advance.

[chazza55]

Depending on your son's computer, he may already have the inputs needed (on the graphics card he may have a "component" connection. These are 3 RCA plugs. 1 for video and 2 for audio.)

If not, then there are plenty of adapters on ebay. You could probably buy them new from a computer game shop too (but more likely to be expensive).

here are some on ebay to give you an idea:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/xbox-ps2-xbox-360-ps3-tv-monitor-a dapter_W0QQitemZ8218414469QQcategoryZ20385QQrdZ1QQcmdZVi ewItem

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VGA-BOX-Any-Video-Source-to-PC-Mon itor-PS2-Xbox-DVD_W0QQitemZ8217859858QQcategoryZ11319QQr dZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Logic-3-VGA-Adapter-XBOX-PS2-CUBE- to-PC-Monitor_W0QQitemZ8218435843QQcategoryZ20385QQrdZ1Q QcmdZViewItem

good luck

[fo3nix]

they can be, but I'd recommend not doing so unless the monitor is of pretty high quality. otherwise monitors don't tend to produce the kind of quality that a regular TV can for videogames (especially if it's an LCD).

however, why not just take the TV and not the aerial?

[Hammer]

You don't need a TV license for playing xbox or watching dvds. Proving you're not watching TV may be a different story however...

[chazza55]

You dont need a license so long as you are not receiving tv signals through an aerial.

As you say proof can be a tricky thing. But if you dont have any sort of aerial, then you shouldnt be put into that situation. As I understand it, when receiving tv signals through an aerial, a special signal is emitted than can be detected, this is not present when only using a games console etc.

*not 100% on that TV detection bit* - so i apologise if that is wrong.

I would advise you not to try to "steal tv" though. Lots of people do this at university, and although most will get away with it, in my 1st year of uni, the girl in the room opposite me was fined �1000 for it.

[tomd]

fo3nix - are you having a laugh?

The resolution of  TV is well below that of a computer VDU.

[Mobius1]

I answered a question just like this not long ago, with a person in the exact same situation, with a son, going to uni and wanting to use his Xbox on a monitor to avoid the TV license. Are you not one in the same person and was my answer not adequate? I recall it being quite in-depth.

Even if you're not the same person, surely it would have come up on the pre-question submission search?

[Dsg]

Mobius1

Your previous reply did not come up on the pre-search - I do check !! But I have now tracked it down.

Thanks to you and all other Answerbankers that replied.

BTW even if you do not have an aerial attached to a tv, it is still deemed to be "capable of receiving TV transmissions" & is therefore required to be licenced.

[Hammer]

"BTW even if you do not have an aerial attached to a tv, it is still deemed to be "capable of receiving TV transmissions" & is therefore required to be licenced."

Don't agree with you there. Being capable does not require a license, actually receiving them does. Manually un-tuning all the stations would further strengthen your case for proving you don't receive transmissions. Check out this site for lots of info on TV licenses, particularly the "Info on TV licensing" link.

[fo3nix]

tomd: no, I wasn't having a laugh. I know that computer monitors have a far greater resolution than a TV's. But as discussed in a similar thread regarding a laptop display, it's not just about the resolution. Depending on what the questioner has, it may be that the monitor in question is quite old and has a low response rate or something like that.