New X Box 360 Elite with HDMI Just a Pretty Paint Job

The reviews are starting to come in about the new X Box 36o Elite with the HDMI connection. Engadget posts about their test between HDMI 1080p and Component 1080p:

But to tell you how subtle it was, we didn't even notice it until we literally started flipping back and forth as fast as we could. Fast motion, spinning, action, all the rest -- it looks almost identical on both consoles.

The truth is you are going to have to know what you are looking for and have an advanced setup to see the differences. Going back and forth between HDMI and component on your 42 plasma (probably not calibrate properly) ain't going to get you there. Since most people aren't going to notice the difference then it's probably not worth going.

(Before you leave a comment and tell me that you can absolutely see the difference and that I don't know what I'm talking about, make sure to tell me that you can tell the difference in a CD recording at 128kbps and 192kbps with your iPod headphones and I'll be sure to send you a T-Shirt that says 'I Got Jacked at The F-Stop Blues' or some other clever saying to indicate you are delusional)

Halo 3 Game Tester - Do You Have What It Takes?

File this under 'dream jobs' but Bungie (the guys behind Halo) are looking for some game testers in the Puget Sound area to play Halo 3 and help them make it the best game ever:

So, you want to play Halo 3? Do you want to be a part of the most anticipated game of 2007? Here is your chance; Bungie Studios is looking for a few good testers in the Puget Sound area to help test Halo 3. Testing plays a vital role in product quality and Bungie Studios is looking for intelligent, driven & energetic testers to help ensure Halo 3 is of the highest quality. Read the job description and qualifications below to see if you're qualified to sport the uniform of the Master Chief.

Check out their website for more info on the position but hopefully these positions are up to date and we'll all be working for Bungie playing Halo 3!

Take the poll below and let's see how hardcore Halo you really are:

PS3 Beats X Box 360 When You Add It All Up

Since the PS3 was launched everyone has been comparing it to the X Box 360 to answer one very important question: which console is better for next-generation gaming? I tried to take a different approach and put together a table of the different features of each console to see who would come out on top. Not taking into account price, the PS3 comes out on top way ahead of the X Box 360. This even surprised me; heck, I own a X Box 360 and love it. But the PS3 has more built-in features and minus what I think was a lackluster launch could be the real winner in the future.

Take the poll below - which console do you think is the winner?

Buy 2 Get 1 Free on Xbox Games at GameStop

I went to my local GameStop today and they were having a sale on used Xbox games: buy 2 and get 1 free. I ended up getting 6 games for less than 17 bucks! This is a great way to play some 'retro' games on your X Box 360. Not sure if all locations are doing this but you might want to check this deal out.

Ghostbuster's Game Petition

Hopefully you saw Zootfly's recent game screenshots and video of the classic Ghostbuster movie series before Sony had them pulled down. It turns out Zootfly is running into some 'licensing' issues with the movie IP and can't finish the game. So someone started an online petition to show support and hopefully let this game get published. So go sign this and let the Ghostbuster's live on!

(via The Last Boss)

It looks like we are almost at 5000 signatures!

RoundUp of X Box 360 Hacks

For all of you that just got your X Box 360 this Christmas here's a few hacks for your new console to get that extra mile out of your next-gen gaming console:

Quiet Your X Box 360: A major issue that most people have with their new X Box 360 is how loud it is! Read this hack from ExtremeTech on how they tried to quiet this bad boy down.

That's a difference of 4dB to 5dB. Interestingly, the extra insulation seems to help reduce the system's noise at all times, even just idling at the dashboard with nothing in the DVD drive at all. In the logarithmic decibel scale, a difference of 3dB is literally half the sound pressure. That doesn't quite map to human perception, though, and a 3dB difference doesn't always sound "half as loud."

Give Your X Box 360 Controller Tilt Capability: Check out how Adam modded his X Box 360 controller so you can have Wii like movement capability.



Save Money By Installing a Standard Notebook Hard Drive: Someone (via PVRWire) found out how to add a normal notebook hard drive to the X Box 360 saving you some cash by not having to shell out 100 bucks for Microsofts 20 GB drive. (If you put in a drive bigger than 20 GB you still can't use more than 20 GB)

Mod Your X Box 360 Case: There have been a lot of case mods out lately for the X Box 360. Check out Missing Remote's basic intro to using a dremel tool to do computer case mods to get you started.

Disabled V-Sync in X Box 360 Games Causing Glitches?

Vertical synchronization (aka v-sync) is a necessary evil of computer graphics to keep refresh rates all fine and dandy so you don't see graphics errors like tearing (where frames overlap and it looks like objects in the game don't line up) when you are playing the latest and greatest like Gears of War. This is a good thing. But this v-sync delay can cause your framerate to drop. This is a bad thing. So some manufacturers don't enable v-sync to keep the framerate up.

Do you prefer v-sync enabled or disabled games for your X Box 360? Can you notice the tearing in any game?

It would be nice to know which games have v-sync enabled and which ones don't - but until game manufacturers publish this data we'll have to go off of observation. From playing Quake4, it looks like it is v-sync enabled as I haven't seen any tearing at all. (If anyone can find an example of tearing with some screenshots then please send me the link)

Let me know what X Box 360 games you've played that you think have v-sync enabled below in the comments. It looks like they are also trying to keep a running list over in the AVS forum where you can read more about it. Here is an interesting quote from one of the threads:

'I spoke to Tim Sweeney, from Epic Games, to get a prospective of the Direct3D side. However his response, while not technical in nature, really got at the heart of the matter. "I don't have any clue why someone would disable VSync for gameplay. The only legit reason for this is to benchmark 3D card performance without the monitor's refresh rate skewing the results. Regarding a 'philosophical VSync difference between Direct3D and OpenGL', that's nutty. There is no visual benefit to having a game render more frames per second than your monitor is displaying."'

Deal on Xbox Gold and Live Vision

Team Xbox has the details on a great deal on an Xbox Live Gold membership and Live Vision camera for $65 on Amazon.

Update: Newegg has the same deal at normal price. [Thanks ProudNavyWife]

Windows Vista Gaming Will Answer the Keyboard/Mouse vs Controller Debate

With the release of Windows Vista and Microsofts push for cross-platform gaming where a PC gamer can play against an Xbox player the XFPS keyboard/mouse adapter may come in handy. This little device allows you to hook up a keyboard/mouse to use in your Xbox 360 games. Xbox 360 Fanboy has a review but says that using the keyboard/mouse combo has too much lag for first-person shooters. The comments over at Gizmodo had people in an uproar saying that it wasn't fair because the keyboard/mouse combo would allow more accuracy against a controller. But with Windows Vista where PC players can go up against Xbox 360 players it might not matter anymore.

So what do you think is better for first-person shooters like Gears of War: the keyboard/mouse or the controller?

Get Xbox Live On Your Desktop

XBList is a cool little program that you can run on Windows XP to keep up on your Xbox Live friends while you are working or otherwise forced away from your Xbox 360 console. This might work with Vista but I'm not sure you will need it with Vista's gaming tying into the whole Live service. Check out the features below

(via Xbox 360 Fanboy)

Features

• Constantly updates to show who's playing what
• Shows friends that can be joined on Xbox Live in blue
• Shows friend requests
• Displays Xbox Live Gamer Tiles or Halo 2 emblems
• When you hover over a Gamer Tag, it shows their Gamer Card, with extra info about when they last signed on and what they're playing. It will also show their Halo emblem if they don't have a Gamer Tile or you prefer Halo Emblems.
• Double-clicking a Gamer Tag loads their Gamer Card, and you can also load their Halo 2 stats
• Popup notifications when friends sign on and off, as well as on other events. Popups can make a sound if you enable sounds in the Options.
• Manage your Friends List right from the Windows desktop - add and remove friends, and accept/reject friend invites.
• Displays an alert whenever you have new Xbox Live messages.
• Works with the Xbox360 - Shows extra game info in Gamer Card popup, and uses a different icon for Xbox360 games.

Vista Media Center CableCard Solution is Ugly

One of the big draws for Vista Media Center is the ability to record and watch high definition TV from the major service providers. However, in order to get the big providers to sign up, Microsoft had to agree to some heavy digital rights management protection which makes it so you can't add your own HDTV tuner card that will work with Vista. You have to buy a certified PC that has gone through specific testing from an OEM vendor like Dell. PVRWire breaks it down for us:

The video will be decrypted from cable and then re-encrypted in the tuner with Microsoft DRM. The video will then travel through a USB port to the media center, even if the Tuner is an internal PCI card.

So you will have an external device that holds the digital TV tuner that connects to your PC via USB. You can watch this Microsoft on10 video to see how big it is. This is one ugly solution; I can only hope that eventually you will be able to buy a PC that has the tuner integrated. I know for me this will drive me to just buy my HD content from the Xbox Windows Live marketplace for the TV shows I want to watch.

Can the Xbox 360 IPTV Take on Cable?

Microsoft recently announced IPTV capability in the Xbox 360 with support from ATT using their new FIOS services. You can check out a video of it in action at Xbox's CES coverage. It seems to be very responsive and will include not only PVR functionality but the ability to download and view rental movies from the service provider via a video on demand service.

The bigger picture is will the Xbox 360 replace set top boxes? There was recent news where Comcast lost a court appeal against the FCC about opening the standards used for set top boxes so there will be more competition. This could be Microsofts big push into the living room and with a big company like ATT behind them they could really take on the cable companies. Over at Nyquist Capital Andrew has the same thoughts :

And whether you believe it or not, MSFT is shaping up to be the leading vendor of IPTV middleware. It isn’t a big leap to say an Xbox-Lite (no videogames, MOCA connectivity) would make the perfect set top box.

I think there is a lot more to the IPTV announcement than simply giving Xbox users the ability to watch TV. As some people have pointed out, there is not a huge IPTV user base right now so I don't think that's what so big about the announcement; it's about building the software and hardware to replace the set top box or be the 'box' in the living room whether it be for video games, TV, movies, music, or anything else.

The Battle for the Digital Living Room has Begun with Apple TV

With Apples recent announcement of the Apple TV, the battle for the digital living room has officially begun. Although overshadowed by the announcement of the iPhone, the Apple TV is going to change this whole market. What the Apple TV offers is the ability to pull your video content off of a PC or a Mac from iTunes and play it back on your HDTV via HDMI and component outputs. This is Apples strike back at the Xbox 360's media connectivity. (And the PS3 to some extent) Apple needs to get a foothold in the living room beyond the iPod and this is a great way for them to do it.

But is it better than the Xbox 360? Chris Lanier doesn't think so; actually he says it 'sucks.' And over at Xbox 360 Fanboy they aren't too impressed either. Here are the stat comparisons between the two:

• Apple TV: a 40 GB hard drive, built in 802.11 wifi, digital audio out, HDMI and component video output all for $299. It can output both 1080i and 720p but 720p is the max resolution you can get from the iTunes store. Currently limited to video only from iTunes.
  
• Xbox 360: a 20 GB hard drive, an add on wifi adapter(included in my listed price), digital audio out, and component (no HDMI) out for $499. Can download video content from Xbox Live Marketplace or stream video from a connected PC.

First, there is a big cost difference. For the Xbox 360 to get wifi you need to add a $99 adapter and the hard drive is another $100; that's $200 more than the Apple TV. And the Apple TV works with both PC's and Macs. The Apple TV is limited to iTunes content but someone will find a hack soon enough. The Xbox 360 can connect to your Media Center PC and pull in live TV; and with the announcement of IPTV support in the future it will be able to record TV directly.

Apple has been taking a very low-key approach to getting into the living room; first they announced the Front Row media center application and now they have the Apple TV. But they are in the download service so I don't expect them to be offering PVR functionality in the near future.

Right now I think the Xbox 360 has the best solution, especially if you have a Media Center PC. Even if you don't, I think the Xbox Live Marketplace has just as good video content for download as iTunes. Also remember that you can get a HD DVD player for the Xbox 360 but with downloadable HD content that might not matter in the long run. The Apple TV is a cheaper solution out of the box and has HDMI which is a big plus for future compatability.

But in the long run I can see the real potential of the Apple TV as a cheap media extender that Microsoft might not be able to compete with but we wil have to wait and see.

Turkey Time and the $100 Xbox 360

I hope everyone enjoys their Turkey (or other dish if you are a vegetarian) tomorrow but don’t fall asleep before you get your $100 Xbox 360. Remember, Amazon is selling only 1000 Xbox 360 core systems for 100 bucks starting 11am PST on Thanksgiving Day. So good luck and let me know if you get one or not.

5 Things I Don't Like About My Xbox 360

So with all of the next-generation consoles officially released I thought I would give a short list of a couple of things that I don’t like about my Xbox 360. I’ve had my Xbox 360 for a couple of months and overall I really like it but there are a few things that really annoy me. So here’s my ‘Top 5’ list of things I don’t like about the Xbox 360 (in no particular order):

1. It is loud. There is a lot of horsepower in that little console and it needs some serious cooling but I was still surprised at how loud it is. It’s not a big issue for playing games when you have the music cranked, but when watching a movie I can hear it. It will be interesting to see how the Playstation 3 sounds in terms of fan noise.

2. Xbox remotes won’t control the volume. The Xbox 360 remotes will not control the volume so you need to use your TV or stereo receiver remote to control the volume. As a media center extender, this is pretty lame. To be honest I’m surprised this wasn’t a bigger issue when launched; I didn’t find this out until I bought it.

3. Backward compatibility with Xbox games is very low. I have bought five or six original Xbox games and tried to play them on the Xbox 360 and only one has worked so far. I know that not everything is suppose to be backwards compatible, but there are some classic Xbox games I will never enjoy.

4. Online game play is not free. Recently Microsoft has started to make an even bigger divide between the Gold (pay service) and Silver (free) memberships for Xbox live. Paying 60 bucks for a game and then a monthly fee to play it online is asking a lot.

5. Play DVD feature is not available in Media Center extender mode. So the Xbox 360 itself can play a DVD but when you are using it in extender mode there is no option to play a DVD in the drive. I think Microsoft could have easily added this feature so that if there is a DVD in the drive that it would show up even though it is running as an extender of a separate Media Center PC.

What’s on your list?

 

Xbox 360 Networking Tips

This digg gives some basic networking info to optimize your Xbox 360 extender setup. This will help get you thinking about the different way to optimize the performance of your wireless network:

While I'm not convinced you need to invest in more expensive 802.11a hardware simply to connect your Xbox 360 wirelessly, you definitely want to keep the wireless traffic from your Xbox to a Media Center or the Internet segmented to optimize your connection experience. If your Xbox 360 is the only wireless device on your network, this is already easy: just get a wireless access point for your network and wireless adapter for the Xbox 360 and you're ready to go. If you have several other wireless devices, things get a little more confusing. Ideally, you want to use two different access points for your wireless network traffic: one for the Xbox 360 and one for "everything else." Each of these access points will have a different SSID (the name of the router) and connect using a different channel to prevent crosstalk and network congestion.

The author also mentions that you should avoid using a 2.4 Ghz cordless phone because it interferes with 802.11g networking standard. I don’t think I have ever heard of this; has anyone run into this problem?

 

Xbox 360 Hard Drive DRM Issues

The Xbox 360 can stream music and photos from a networked Windows XP machine and video/TV from a Windows Media Center PC. You can also get a hard drive for the Xbox 360 and store music and video on it for playback. But some people like Gamespot are reporting that you have to rip your CD’s to the hard drive and any MP3’s loaded onto the hard drive won’t play:

Get used to ripping tracks from audio CDs because that's the only way we could get music onto the 360's HDD. The console could recognize and play MP3 songs from USB devices like memory sticks and portable media players, but we couldn't transfer songs over to the HDD. Similarly, the system could play songs from a data CD that contained MP3s, but we couldn't transfer the music directly to the system's HDD. The 360 can stream music from USB devices and data CDs, but it won't let you copy any songs from those sources.

I’m sure this is some sort of DRM content protection but what’s the point of the hard drive if you have to rip everything to it? Has anyone tried loading video onto the hard drive – does that work?

Is Your Xbox360 Crashing?

After coming back from the holiday I noticed in my logs that I got a lot of hits on Wednesday for ‘Xbox360 crashes’ a day after the Xbox 360 went on sale. People were finding my old post about the Xbox 360 crashing in Walmart stores. Since then I’ve seen quite a few reports like this one from CNN of Microsoft saying there was isolated incidents of systems not working. The Console Wars has a post about with claims from a Microsoft developer giving details on how to crash the Xbox 360 with certain games. Engadget has a link to a possible cure for the crashing Xbox 360 by cooling the power supply. I wonder how many systems sold are still wrapped up under a Christmas tree and if a surge of issues will surface after Christmas?

If you’re running into Xbox 360 crashes leave some comments and let me know what’s going on.

Tis the Season to Xbox

After drinking hundreds of Mountain Dews and entering every sweepstakes contest I could find, I still did not end up with an Xbox 360. So if you are one of the lucky ones who actually got a system, remember to share the gaming love with your family and friends this holiday season. Have a Happy Thanksgiving and I’ll be back on Monday.

Xbox 360 Portable

This digg raises some great questions about whether Microsoft is planning on releasing a portable Xbox 360 video game unit in the next two years. A lot of people say it’s pure speculation and Microsoft has stated that is has no plans on launching a mobile gaming device. But Sony recently stated it has shipped 10 million units so far, showing that the mobile gaming market is just as big as the normal gaming market.

So does it make sense for Microsoft to try and release a mobile Xbox device? It does if you think about gaming. If the Xbox 360 comes out a full year before the Playstation 3 then Microsoft can build some momentum. It can then go after Sony even further in the mobile arena and take a bite out of Nintendo at the same time. I think Microsoft learned a lot about the mobile market by it’s essentially failed portable media center devices. And the one problem with the Sony Playstation portables is that the media center capabilities of it are locked down with DRM so it’s difficult to get content onto it compared to a portable media center.

Think about it – a portable Microsoft gaming device that doubles as a portable Media Center. This is the Xbox 360 strategy – only mobile.

So what do you think, is a mobile Xbox360 in the works?

Xbox 360 Crashes Walmart System

The other day I wrote about how I thought the availability of the Xbox 360 at some local Walmarts crashed the Walmart website but now it looks like I wasn’t that far off from the truth from this digg:

Xbox 360 kiosks placed in Wal-Mart stores across the country have been shut off, said a Microsoft spokesperson contacted this afternoon. The reason, according to Microsoft, is due to the console causing interference with Wal-Mart's wireless "hand scanner" inventory system. Microsoft has acknowledged the problem as being "minor" and says a software solution is in the works to correct it.

I’m sure this is just a rare conincidence but it would be pretty wild if everyone brought home their new Xbox 360’s and they started interfering with their wireless phones.

XBox 360 Crashes Walmart Website

I recently saw over on Joystiq that some Walmarts now have the Xbox 360 on display that you can play with. It’s suggested you call ahead to see if your local store has it on display.When I tried to go to Walmart’s website, it was down. Coincidence – I think not …

Leave some comments if you played around with the new Xbox 360 and let everyone know what you think