The Sims Bustin' Out - Xbox Pound HDMI Cable
This video shows the video quality provided by the Pound Technology HDMI cable for the original Xbox. Definitely a huge improvement in audio and video over the cheap Chinese component cables.
Pros:
Cheaper than OEM Component Cables.
HDMI compatible, more likely to support newer TVs.
Cons:
No Optical Audio support. Audio is Linear-PCM derived from the analog line-level 2-channel output. This means Dolby Digital (AC-3) or DTS output is not possible with this cable. However, Dolby Surround still works as that is matrix based and therefore works over the 2-channel output. The audio conversion is very high quality, no buzzing and squeaky clean.
Video quality is also ever so slightly worse than OEM Component Cables, but it's so minor it's almost not even worth mentioning.
There is definitely input lag added by this cable. However, most people will not notice it. The lag is somewhere between 1-2 frame latency.
Other things:
Video is not upscaled by the cable, the cable passes through 480p, 720p, and 1080i directly. However, 480i seems to get deinterlaced by the device into 480p. This is probably for the best as not all TVs can support 480i over HDMI. I don't imagine most people will be using the 480i mode over HDMI anyway.
The Sims Bustin' Out runs in 720p on the original Xbox.
This video has been altered to better fit your screen. This game normally runs in a border on 720p.
Presented in Dolby Surround.