Microsoft Xbox 360 @ [H]

Captain Al said:
The 360 is a good looking machine.... sure it doesn't exactally fit in with anything, but it's got a much cleaner look than any previous console before it...
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True that, a stunning piece of hardware for sure. Does it feel solid? Example being, my OG Xbox felt real sturdy, I lugged it all over, it took a good amount of abuse, never had to be overly cautious with it, while my PS2 was the exact opposite, i felt like if it fell from vertical to horizontal position it would be curtains.
 
question?
Windows Media Center Edition... wireless... wireless ---> XBox360

can I play xvid, divx weird sound codecs through Media Center and Xbox360 will play it also?? yes no? I would get the xbox if I can hug it up to my downstairs TV and I can watch my movies on the TV rather then my LCD upstairs in my room :D

(dam it I dont visit this from enough.. I am not a NOOB!!! stupid titles)
 
does anyone know whether i could use the 360 on a dell 2405 panel an get the full hd resolution?





btw, is it just me or could the external power supply be the same as the one used in the shuttle p-m sff? (sd11? something with 11..)
 
I was wondering exactly the same thing, If I have XviD or DivX files on a networked PC, can I access them from my XBox360 and watch them on my TV via the 360 ?

If so, that would be amazing, or do I have to have them in some other format first?

Good review though, I`ve got mine on order, just hope its here for Xmas.

I know you didnt revew the games much, but as the console section isnt out yet, I would have prefered a bit more of a review in this 360 article.

Nige.
 
Couple of points glossed over:

XBox 360 CPU: While you do make the fantastic point that mutli-threaded gaming is a true rarity, you gloss over the way the CPU handles multithreading. Ars did a fantastic job decontructing it showing that the CPU is going to have a weakness in handling AI and pathfinding.

XBox 360 Hard Drive: The statement "The 20GB Samsung SATA 5400rpm hard drive has twice the capacity of the old Xbox hard drive and has enough capacity to hold tons of music, game saves, game demos, and downloadable content." [i}Tons[/i] of those items? Uh, yeah. Games saves I can believe. But you'd be surprised how fast 20GB goes. Not to mention that they are outrageously priced.

Old Games: You mention playing an "upgraded" Halo 2. I think this needs to be backed up with some evidential writing.

Smaller tidbits: No mention of the memory or the way it's shared. No mention of the fabulous XBox Media Center for the original XBox? You spend almost 40% of the article talking about the new console interface but almost all those features and much more are already available on the original XBox. Not to mention it will play Xvid, Divx, QT and whatever else you throw at it.

Overall, I thought the article was... meh. I thought there was too much reguritation and not enough hands on. In other words, it wasn't up to HardOCP standards. I'm disappointed. I'm not arguing that it isn't Must Have Hardware, but there are some flaws in this console release that weren't pointed out.

That's what I want in a review. I want to know "You've got to get this! Just keep in mind that it won't do this or this and has a slight problem with this, but it's still worth it." I just didn't see it in this article. Frankly, gaming reviews still continue to be the weakest part of this site. I know that's about to change, but it's got me worried.
 
To answer the Xvid and Divx questions, the answer is not clear. At the moment the answer is no... not yet. The ability to add codecs is being worked on. Thats straight from the Windows MCE guys last month, and they didn't give much detail beyond that. Frankly, I'll stick with the assertion that chipping your old XBox and slapping XMBC is the easiest option and costs less than the license for WinMCE.
 
Torgo said:
TFrankly, I'll stick with the assertion that chipping your old XBox
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what old XBox ???

it sounds like it will support XviD according to TORGO. If so, for me thats a HUGE plus point.

That is the kind of thing I would have liked to see in the review too, it mentions streaming TV etc, but doesnt actually say they tried it and it worked.
 
I'm also extremely jealous of that setup...

In regards to DivX/Xvid... No, it's not supported right now (this coming from a friend who now owns one). Will it ever be supported? Maybe... but not if MS has to pay any licensing fees for DivX - so Xvid may be a possibility in future... but when? Who knows. Could be weeks, months, or years. Easiest way would be to wait until it gets chipped.
 
thats a shame. I would have meant I could get rid of my DivX / XviD dvd player and just have the Xbox networked to my PC and stream them direct.

oh well...

I thought if you chipped them, you couldnt play online anymore?

Or has that long since been fixed?
 
There is no chip for the X360 yet... obviously. lol. So nobody knows.
The original XBox? With a chip, you can do anything - the newer ones can be disabled so that you can play on XBLive, or alternatively you can play with the chip on, on XLink Kai. Either way, you probably won't be playing DivX movies on either without chipping them.
 
steviep said:
There is no chip for the X360 yet... obviously. lol. So nobody knows.
The original XBox? With a chip, you can do anything - the newer ones can be disabled so that you can play on XBLive, or alternatively you can play with the chip on, on XLink Kai. Either way, you probably won't be playing DivX movies on either without chipping them.
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I can't remember if XBMC can play DivX, might.
 
RancidWAnnaRIot said:
yea i'm not down with teh white ipod feel. but whatever.. you need to see past the cover.. and love it's internals...

and make love to it's internals.... oh wait.. ... uumm no.. just love it's internals..
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Buy a Caseskin. I'm sure they'll be making them for Xbox 360 since they made them for the original. I've bought a Caseskin for my PC and they are a quality product.
 
EgyptBoy20 said:
I wonder how much Steve's setup is worth.../drool :D
Very nice!
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That is actually a 32" workstation LCD TV used strictly for console reviews. Each workstation has one each of the current consoles (Xbox, Xbox 360, PS2, GameCube, PSP, DS, Computer) and two workstations share on LCD TV.
 
Nice review of the 360, I liked that you included some game coverage. I was a bit disappointed that one can't stream video from the pc without having xp media center, I would think this should be possible with xp pro.
 
So, how does the anti-aliasing look on retail games? I've seen the COD2 demo and King Kong at two different stores on systems connected to HD flat panels, and they looked like crap. Jaggies were terrible.
 
digitalfreak said:
So, how does the anti-aliasing look on retail games? I've seen the COD2 demo and King Kong at two different stores on systems connected to HD flat panels, and they looked like crap. Jaggies were terrible.
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I never played the demo disk, only retail versions of the game. Our consoles and games looked great.

The only complaints I have heard about no AA or poorly implemented AA is from peope who played the demo disk at a store kiosk.

It just stands to reason that If everyone else says the graphics are great except for people who played the demo on a store kiosk, couldn't it be the demos?
 
I really would've liked to have seen some older games played to test the upscaling abilities and the 4x FSAA. Other than that it was a good review.
 
I'm still not willing to purchase something which will require me to pay for an additional service in order to play online, maybe next version.
 
never wanted one untill i read the review now i remebering the good old times i had with ninja gaiden on xbox and thinking " i would like an xbox 360"
 
Hmm the thing I noticed and fear from all these new consoles (save for nintendo) is they don't look at all stackable. The X360 probably could be may be a bit lopsided or have corners jamming into it. The PS3: forget it. Other then that I will probably get a 360 next year when the PS3 comes out and MS drops the price by $100 or when I get sick of not having one. I just built myself a new PC though so I am not to keen on getting a new console on top of that bill. All in all I am really looking foward to the revolution. If for anything I want Zelda.

PS: Where abouts in Alaska are you from Steve :-D
 
Great review, Steve!

I have a question or two about XB360 + MCE interoperability, if you have had the opportunity to test.

1) If I have DVD files on my MCE computer, as either ISO images or IFO+VOB files, will I be able to play them across the network with the 360?

My $399 is itching in my pocket. I'm not sure the price is going to drop like the original XBOX did, MS was competing against PS2 market share, whereas they will not have any next-gen competition for some time.

Thanks
 
The market place is a retarded idea..... It just trying to replace the mod scene on that you have on the computer, but severvly neutered and cost more money...

Ooowowowowowowo YOu can buy a new car for 1000 XBOXLIVE POITNS! OR a new map for 5000!oOWWOWOWOWOO!

I surely hope Sony comes out with Playstation Online and has everything live has to offer but cost 0 a month.

Edit: I can't wait until we get to see PS3 on 2 HDMI connection at 1080i on 2 widescreen HD tv's and everyone will be ooooing and awwwwwing and only needing 1 system to play 8+ multiplayer =/ Has anyone really even looked at the PS3 at what is going to be offering?

(btw, how about those games that are locked at 30 fps and not truely running 720p if your tv can handle it?*cough*PGR3*cough*PD0*cough*Suremoretocome*cough*)
 
Prim3 said:
The market place is a retarded idea..... It just trying to replace the mod scene on that you have on the computer, but severvly neutered and cost more money...

Ooowowowowowowo YOu can buy a new car for 1000 XBOXLIVE POITNS! OR a new map for 5000!oOWWOWOWOWOO!

I surely hope Sony comes out with Playstation Online and has everything live has to offer but cost 0 a month.
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Last time I checked, xbox live! is what is keeping the xbox 360 from "tanking" the hardware dividion of MS. that is how they make their money (that and game licensing fees). It is a great idea from a business standpoint. In fact, its genious.
 
fuelvolts said:
Last time I checked, xbox live! is what is keeping the xbox 360 from "tanking" the hardware dividion of MS. that is how they make their money (that and game licensing fees). It is a great idea from a business standpoint. In fact, its genious.
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So you saying, that the Fact SONY never had to have something cover its ass and still go into the red from selling consoles becuase it couldn't compete unless it did? HAs anyone here actually looked at the market hold they MS has in Japan for the console wars?

EDIT: I really can't wait to see what sony has to offer to fight Live... That's all the box has going for it is live, that's it, nothing else even impressed me about the system consider half the games were eventually moved over to all consoles or PC. Hopefully Halo 2 wont be a shitty port and maybe will be fun to play on the pc.

(I am really getting sick of all this xbox360 hype. I wish Sony would stop being quiet)
 
The conclusion mentions Enemy Territory: Quake Wars as an upcoming xbox 360 game. I must have missed this announcement, since that game would probably cause me to get a 360. Does anyone have a pointer to where it was announced, or is it just wishful thinking?

Also, any comparisons about the noise level of the 360 compared to the original xbox?

Thanks.
 
Please don't get me wrong i'm not flaming, its more as a truthful yet a sort of stinging jab:

Get it right, its not that you can take your game saves and music from your Xbox360 to your friends, its that you can take all your saves, content and music from your broken xbox360 to your new one :D

Seriously I hope they got over the QA issues with the Xbox'es media reading device, there are still Old Xboxes going left and right. If they do have a slight issue maybe the can work out a deal with places like Best Buy and such that have functioning local repar shots that they can order and replace these secure parts... I never unederstood not being able to order a replacement unit.

With all that aside it looks nice! I guess I'm a fool when my (its just easier to say Girlfriend) offered to buy me one to pay me back and I turned it down :D Long story.

If I had the money I'd get one, but I don't and I can and actually yeah that does make me sad heh.

One quick question, with the optical out, will this play DTS CDs? Someone test this.
Second quick question: So the possibility of an upgradable new bigger HD right? Has anyone read if that happens how will we (keeping in good with the warrenty) move over the content? would this be a service provided at purchase of the HD by the seller?

Lastly: Please Steve stop making me cry with your wonderful technology room *sniff sniff*
 
Well it has happened... a [H] review where they didn't open it up and show us the goodies?
 
Gadfly said:
Well it has happened... a [H] review where they didn't open it up and show us the goodies?
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Have no fear, a water cooling article is just around the corner.It is underway as we speak.
 
Forgot to mention one other thing. My bad, it was late and I didn't include this comment. I thought the article really hit it's stride on the 3rd page of the article, but it got muddled in a few places because of your edits Kyle. I know that Steve is in Alaska and you're here in Plano Kyle. But the edit (hurriedly done I assume) talking about BB in Plano while keeping it in the first person really screwed up a lot of people into thinking that Steve wrote the whole thing. Obviously he didn't.

It's also not clear how the XBox 360 was obtained. (Maybe it was, I'm a bit tired). Was it one of the review kits that MS sent out a few days early or did you purchase it at a store? Again, the BB paragraphs give this confusion out.

Oh yeah, you did mention after 130 tickets were handed out, Best Buy was turning away people from getting in line. I'm glad it was mentioned in the article, but the ow allotments should play a larger factor into your review. HardOCP makes a big deal about paper launches and availability. Why wasn't that made a larger issue? Three sentences and that's it?
 
Could you post a couple screenshots of Halo 2 in 720P with 4xAA?
 
Torgo said:
Forgot to mention one other thing. My bad, it was late and I didn't include this comment. I thought the article really hit it's stride on the 3rd page of the article, but it got muddled in a few places because of your edits Kyle. I know that Steve is in Alaska and you're here in Plano Kyle. But the edit (hurriedly done I assume) talking about BB in Plano while keeping it in the first person really screwed up a lot of people into thinking that Steve wrote the whole thing. Obviously he didn't.

It's also not clear how the XBox 360 was obtained. (Maybe it was, I'm a bit tired). Was it one of the review kits that MS sent out a few days early or did you purchase it at a store? Again, the BB paragraphs give this confusion out.

Oh yeah, you did mention after 130 tickets were handed out, Best Buy was turning away people from getting in line. I'm glad it was mentioned in the article, but the ow allotments should play a larger factor into your review. HardOCP makes a big deal about paper launches and availability. Why wasn't that made a larger issue? Three sentences and that's it?
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Torgo,

a.) Thank you for your input on our "hurriedly done, poorly edited, muddled" article.

b.) The console was obtained via rocket ship...they run twice daily by my house.

c.) Paper launch = press release + no product.

Microsoft is said to be (by all news accounts) shipping a million consoles at launch...divide that number by the 295 million people in the U.S. ...some people will go without. Even if they only hit half that number... shipping every console you have (500,000 to 1 million) does not = paper launch.


PLEASE remember, these are evaluations, not editorials. It is only DAY 1...there is plenty of time for the "OMG the Xbox 360 <insert whatever>" editorials.
 
Made me happy reading the lines when it said that today's top end pc can do graphics the same or better :)
 
Steve said:
Torgo,

a.) Thank you for your input on our "hurriedly done, poorly edited, muddled" article.

b.) The console was obtained via rocket ship...they run twice daily by my house.

c.) Paper launch = press release + no product.

Microsoft is said to be (by all news accounts) shipping a million consoles at launch...divide that number by the 295 million people in the U.S. ...some people will go without. Even if they only hit half that number... shipping every console you have (500,000 to 1 million) does not = paper launch.


PLEASE remember, these are evaluations, not editorials. It is only DAY 1...there is plenty of time for the "OMG the Xbox 360 <insert whatever>" editorials.
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Was reading Steve's profile, it says, Join Date: XXXXX 1969!!
 
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