New XBox Experience [Text View]

admonish

10-05-08, 09:53 PM

a developer named Leyvin posted (http://gamerscoreblog.com/team/archive/2008/10/03/gstrnxes.aspx#561672)some of these notes

You have the choice to not only choose Gamerpic or Avatar but use both at the same time if you choose to...

There will be a meeting on the 15th (october emphasis mine) that developers have been asked to attend that outlines some of the new media requirements for NXE Marketplace, this includes the possible inclusion of their marketplace media on-disc along with the system update.

As far as music goes, there is a big change to the XBOX Audio system coming that includes the media playback. Any suggestions are welcome and should be sent to the XBOX Team, either via e-mail or the XBOX Team blog...

There is not yet a set date for release for NXE, there are number of issues with the LIVE Servers themselves that need addressing prior to release. You might still be experiencing some problems with LIVE since the maintainance, and recent short downtimes being experienced in-particular. Once these issues have been addressed, setting a more specific release date can be assurtained.

pcweber111

10-05-08, 10:14 PM

Daekwan

10-06-08, 01:13 AM

With the Jasper they are.. the 360 is just as infamous for its RROD fiasco.. as it famous for its award winning (best in the industry) gaming library.

Consider this about the 360.. the games are there, the multimedia features are there, and starting @ $199 now the price is there. Whats the one thing holding back sales? If the Jasper will truly put an end the RROD talk and you combine that with the 'new' consumer confidence in the 360.. new Avatar interface.. and other new features (netflix, etc).. then theres no reason why the 360 isnt capable of selling in Wii-like numbers. And the price is only gonna down from $199. Imagine a $149 Arcade for Xmas '09 or a $99 Arcade for Xmas '10.

Its a brand new ball game folks. Expect alot of current Wii/PS3/PS2/Xbox owners to be looking very hard at what the 360 has to offer. The $199 Arcade is hands down the best deal in gaming right now, and everyone can afford one.

fjtorres

10-06-08, 08:58 AM

If the Jasper will truly put an end the RROD talk...
Don't count on it.
Not as long as a single fanboy aligned with the other guys is still breathing...
Their motto is: FUD Forever!
:rolleyes:

fjtorres

10-06-08, 09:06 AM

Man it sounds like they're really getting behind this "relaunch" of the system. it's almost as if the actual console is being relaunched and not just the GUI. I can't wait to see all the possibilities the NXE will bring.

Well, it pretty much is.
The new price points and the new configuration for the Pro, combined with the new GUI *and* the added alliances on the backend side do pretty much add up to an XBOX 360 V2.0.

Remember, they *are* adding *two* whole new *classes* of 360 games in the XNA Community Games library-to-be and the scheduled gaming channels.

And on the media side, the Netflix alliances will bring Hulu-like video streaming to the table as well as back-catalog movies to go along with the TV and Movie DLs. None of that stuff existed for last XMAS.

The pieces are in place; now they just need to get the word out.
And the word is $199. The price will draw them in, but its up to the games and services to keep them.

pcweber111

10-06-08, 10:33 AM

I kinda wish they'd have either dropped the 20GB HDD into the Arcade as an entry level system or kept it around and dropped the price to something like 30 bucks to really entice people into upgrading their system with an HDD. Seems like it'd be a better way to tout all the upcoming features with a standardized HDD approach. Ah well I'm retreading on old arguments so I'll just say that I'm glad I got my system back from repair in time for Fable 2 and the fall rush. :)

Daekwan

10-06-08, 11:18 AM

Thats the secret of the $199 pricepoint. No Harddrive!!

You gotta remember. MS already tried putting a HDD into every console, they made that mistake with the original Xbox. What they found out after 4 years is that a good percentage of Xbox owners never used the HDD for anything but game saves. And by including a HDD in every Xbox, it made the console so expensive to produce it was never sold for a profit. Even the last of the last.. $99 original Xbox consoles were sold at a lost in 2005.. because the console cost more than $99 to produce.

With the 360 the HDD is always available for those that want, need or wish to pay for it. For those that dont, thats the beauty of the Arcade.. you are still are able to play 99.9% of the 360's DVD game library and are able to use/access most of the online material.

I do agree the prices on the HDD's should be dropped. (Eventhough they just dropped them). More "reasonable" pricing would be 20gig for $39, 60 gig for $69, and 120gig for $109.

But the proprietary HDD's is where MS makes their money. All of the game accessories is where they make their money. A wireless controller is $49 bucks. With another $14.99 for the play and charge kit.

We would all like to see cheaper pricing on the accessories, but sometimes you just have to pony up and "pay to play". These companies arent in this industry to lose money, and now that the Xbox project is finally profitable.. expect their accessory prices to remain expensive because its an easy way to keep the Xbox project profitable.

Think of it as a car dealership losing money when they sell you the car below MSRP.. but make that money back with dealer installed options/service/maintenance.

pcweber111

10-06-08, 01:49 PM

fjtorres

10-06-08, 02:07 PM

Still it'd be nice to be able to go out and get a 20GB drive for like 30 or 40 dollars.

You can.
And some are even new...
Hunt around.

Daekwan

10-06-08, 03:34 PM

Well, regardless of their statement that the HDD was the principle reason they never made money on the original Xbox I really think their sour deal with Nvidia had a lot to do with it. Still it'd be nice to be able to go out and get a 20GB drive for like 30 or 40 dollars. Anyway I'm just happy that they have the Arcade down to 199.

Oh youre right on that one too. The HDD and GPU where the two major items that always kept the original Xbox from ever turning a profit.

As Fjtorres said. Check Ebay, Gamestop, Craigslist, local stores (Target is one I know of). The 20gig HDD can be found new or used at many places for $30 bucks or less.

pcweber111

10-06-08, 04:55 PM

I'm going to do that then for my second 360. Thanks for the tip. :)

darklordjames

10-06-08, 06:40 PM

"$99 original Xbox consoles were sold at a lost in 2005.. because the console cost more than $99 to produce."

The last price that Microsoft ever sold the Xbox 1 at was $179, with Forza packed in. The lowest the price ever was was $149, the summer before the Forza bundle. Anything lower than these prices were on the end of the retailer clearing out product at a loss.

Regardless, the Xbox 1 was never profitable for a lot of reasons, not just the super-simplified reasons that you guys are quoting in this thread.

fjtorres

10-07-08, 07:21 PM

LIVE itself now has a promo banner that leads to (among other things) three videos demo'ing the NXE. Might need to flip blades a while until it pops up. The avatars look pretty interesting animated at full-res.

JD23

10-07-08, 10:03 PM

"

Regardless, the Xbox 1 was never profitable for a lot of reasons, not just the super-simplified reasons that you guys are quoting in this thread.

Much of it had to with the fact that MS did not own the IP to the GPU and CPU, which was alluded to earlier in this thread.

darklordjames

10-07-08, 11:38 PM

"Much of it had to with the fact that MS did not own the IP to the GPU and CPU, which was alluded to earlier in this thread."

If by "much" you mean "a pretty small part of a much larger picture", then yeah, I agree. Good use of a super-simplified reason to which I was referencing. :)

admonish

10-08-08, 04:23 AM

On the game trailers website, there is a user generated video (http://www.gametrailers.com/player/usermovies/275585.html)that shows an a/b comparison of playing a game from the hdd versus playing a game from the disc

~ andre

coffeemugg

10-09-08, 08:30 AM

This is being rolled out on November 19th

admonish

10-09-08, 11:00 AM

looks like to customize the avatar, arcade/core user will have to have a memory unit

link (http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2008/10/09/avatar-customization-requires-256mb-storage/)
Update: Upon further investigation, Microsoft's press materials state; "The New Xbox Experience is available this fall through a free download to anyone with an Xbox 360 system, a broadband connection and a storage device of either a hard drive or 256MB memory unit or larger." So, we guess the entire NXE update will require an additional 256MBs of storage and Avatar customization will be a part of the NXE package.

not a deal killer unless the customization REALLY requires 256mb.

darklordjames

10-09-08, 06:45 PM

From what you're quoting, no 256MB card or bigger, then no NXE. If you only have a 64MB card from launch, then no new dash for you.

Shape

10-09-08, 06:52 PM

From what you're quoting, no 256MB card or bigger, then no NXE. If you only have a 64MB card from launch, then no new dash for you.

No, you get the new dash. You just don't get avatar customization.

http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2008/10/09/avatar-customization-requires-256mb-storage/

Not having the new dashboard would exclude gamers from signing in to Live.

fjtorres

10-09-08, 07:04 PM

The memory card is only needed for caching server content.
The dashboard *will* work *without* it.
But Live will run slower because all tne Live elements in the floating panels will have to be downloaded on-the-fly.
I'm guessing (just a guess) that you don't necessarily need the 256MB card and that even the 64MB card will work but whoever wrote that was only thinking of currently shipping products.
The caching is because the bulk of the dash is server-based now, kinda like the marketplace blade now. Without online connection you'll still get the local portions of the dash, though; but the dash is definitely more reliant on online than before.

darklordjames

10-09-08, 07:12 PM

"No, you get the new dash. You just don't get avatar customization."

To quote your own link, Shape:

"The New Xbox Experience is available this fall through a free download to anyone with an Xbox 360 system, a broadband connection and a storage device of either a hard drive or 256MB memory unit or larger."

I don't see the words "Avatar Customization" anywhere in there. I only see "The New Xbox Experience is available to anyone with a storage device of a 256MB memory unit or larger."

I know we've had this problem before, where you don't read your own links before posting them as proof. :)

Daekwan

10-09-08, 07:13 PM

ALlL 360 memory cards really need to be upped to 1 gigabyte . Its a little bit ridiculous that you can buy a 1 gig USB memory stick for $5 bucks in any retail computer store. But 1/4 of that storage costs $29 from Microsoft.

I'm usually in Microsoft's corner, but some of the shyt they do is just ignorant. I have a Word document larger than 64 megabytes in size.

They want people to use XboxLIVE, they want people to upgrade to the NXE, they want people purchase and download content but you need somewhere to store it. I agree with their idea NOT to include an HDD with every 360, after all thats the secret reason why a Arcade can be sold for profit at $199. But stop being so stingy on the memory in the memory cards.

Remember the more people start to use LIVE. The more they will WANT to use LIVE.

Shape

10-09-08, 07:16 PM

darklordjames

10-09-08, 07:30 PM

Shape

10-09-08, 07:49 PM

"Read further."

Okay, great. Avatar customization requires a 256MB card. Whatever, I agree. That doesn't suddenly make the "NXE requires 256MB+" statement void.

It's like saying "Windows XP requires 128MB of RAM to boot", and then saying "Notepad requires 128MB of RAM to open". Well, duh, of course Notepad requires 128MB, as it runs inside of Windows. :)

Now this all may be down to some ****** writing a bad press release, but the currently available information says "64MB card only? No NXE for you!".

More like:
Windows XP requires 128MB to boot, but AutoCAD requires 1GB (I don't really know this).

Or, the XBox analog:
New XBox Experience requires no hard drive or memory card, but to sign into Live, you need at least a 64MB memory card or hard drive, and to customize your avatar, you need at least a 256MB memory card or hard drive.

It isn't like if you upgrade to NXE and then remove your hard drive, that new NXE would no longer work or the console will revert to the blades interface. :)

darklordjames

10-09-08, 08:09 PM

"It isn't like if you upgrade to NXE and then remove your hard drive, that new NXE would no longer work or the console will revert to the blades interface."

...and you know this how?

The 360 itself only has a very small chunk of flash (16MB?) on the motherboard for holding the dashboard. It would actually be quite reasonable to store the current, extremely small dashboard within that chunk of flash, but add a hook that checks for attached storage. If additional storage of 256MB or more is detected, check for NXE on it. If it's there, boot it. If not, connect to Live and install NXE to the attached storage, then boot it. Otherwise, for little or no storage, boot old dash.

Am I saying this is what will happen? No. I am not joining you in assuming that this won't be the implementation used though.

Again, the currently available information says "Less than 256MB storage = No NXE". Read your own link again, dude.

"Not having the new dashboard would exclude gamers from signing in to Live."

Further example of assuming. Yes, this is what happens today. That doesn't mean that is what will happen tomorrow. I'm sure Microsoft is big enough to support two versions of something. It wouldn't be the first time that they have supported two point releases of a product. They have been doing this for a while. :)

fjtorres

10-09-08, 08:19 PM

Uh, guys...
Post 46 above?
The dude from Rare said:
If you do not have a Hard Disk (XBOX Arcade Console), you will still be able to recieve the update... however any cached data will be removed upon shutdown/restart of your console. So for those with limited bandwidth we recommend aquiring a Hard Disk. Currently the 20GB model is available for about the price of a game, so might be worth picking one up now if you don't already have one.

and,
All of the resources on NXE, particularly via Marketplace will download at varying quality levels to allow for quicker loading times on slower connections or at peak times. Everything is also cached to the Hard Disk, meaning once it's on your XBOX itself it will load instantly until updated on LIVE using no additional bandwidth.

The NXE itself is mandatory; ergo it *has* to download and run without external storage.

mikeloxlong

10-10-08, 01:37 PM

so Just read this.....

http://www.joystiq.com/2008/10/09/joystiq-hands-on-the-new-xbox-experience/

I was scared that it was going to be painfully slow and well, it's supposed to be fast!

YAY!

tronn

10-10-08, 01:57 PM

I'm lovin it. just the thought of shutting up that damn disc drive is the bomb!
now i need a bigger hdd. while im at it, might as well upgrade to an HDMI equipped 360. wonder how to get it past the wifey.

admonish

10-10-08, 03:00 PM

MS to offer NXE 'storage solutions' to those in need (http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2008/10/10/ms-to-offer-nxe-storage-solutions-to-those-in-need/)

The new Xbox experience will require 128MB of free space. A hard drive is recommended for the optimal experience, to take advantage of some new features, and to be able to enjoy the great movies, TV shows and games available on Xbox LIVE. While we expect the majority of consumers to download the New Xbox Experience without a problem, a small percentage of Xbox 360 owners do not have enough memory to accommodate the update. To help ensure all Xbox LIVE members are able to download the New Xbox Experience and enjoy its new features, Microsoft will be offering storage solutions to the Xbox LIVE community. We are not sharing details of this offering yet. Be sure to check xbox.com for more details in the coming weeks.

admonish

10-10-08, 03:02 PM

NXE - What You Want to Know: Xbox LIVE Marketplace (http://gamerscoreblog.com/team/archive/2008/10/10/nxemkplwb.aspx)

Does this sound familiar? You are sitting at your computer, most likely at work or school and you check out Xbox.com (I won't tell, or will I? MUAHAHA), to see what new content is up on Marketplace. Maybe you see a new Theme you want to download, or notice that the map pack you’ve been waiting for has finally arrived.

So, you sit there and let the profanity fly (hopefully in your head) because there's nothing you can do, but wait until you get home. Those sexy Gamerpics, movies and additional levels just sit there and mock you saying, ‘I know you want me, but you’ll have to wait to queue me up for the download.’

Guess what? Not anymore.

Once the New Xbox Experience launches you will be able to browse Xbox LIVE Marketplace on your PC (even using text search) – and if you see something you like, you can add it to your queue and even purchase it right there and then. As soon as you get back home to your Xbox 360 and turn it on, the content will begin to download. Think about it – by the time you finish getting out of your shirt and tie, or skirt, or pajamas, or pink fuzzy bunny outfit, you will have a new Xbox LIVE Arcade game to play or a new TV show to watch.

Check out the screens of Xbox LIVE Marketplace on the Web, coming November 19 when the New Xbox Experience launches.

AHDTVDiet

10-10-08, 03:23 PM

Not that I would do this as I am a patient person. But...

Does this mean if you leave your xbox on (yes yes and risk RROD or whatever...never had it so dont know) and go to work, and then the demo you want shows up.... you can queue it up and thus start the download since youre xbox is currently on?

spid

10-10-08, 03:25 PM

NXE - What You Want to Know: Xbox LIVE Marketplace (http://gamerscoreblog.com/team/archive/2008/10/10/nxemkplwb.aspx)

The only other thing I would like to see is a timer added to the Xbox 360 where it would wake up at a certain time and look for updates, and then go back to sleep once it was done downloading the stuff you want.

mikeloxlong

10-10-08, 03:30 PM

The only other thing I would like to see is a timer added to the Xbox 360 where it would wake up at a certain time and look for updates, and then go back to sleep once it was done downloading the stuff you want.

that is a great idea. I do wonder though, with the size of the 360 OS currently at like 32 MB, how much larger is it going to be now.

having said that, this option is probably penciled for the next update not this one.

I like your style

mikeloxlong

10-10-08, 04:06 PM

another good write-up and read

http://tech.msn.com/products/articlecnet.aspx?cp-documentid=11072318

sure it's from MSN.com so it's a bit biased but it goes into some depth for the features and such

fjtorres

10-10-08, 06:25 PM

another good write-up and read

http://tech.msn.com/products/articlecnet.aspx?cp-documentid=11072318

sure it's from MSN.com so it's a bit biased but it goes into some depth for the features and such

Actually its a reprint from CNET.
As near as I can tell its the first positive portrayal of anything MS-related at CNET in at least ten years. :cool:

darklordjames

10-10-08, 06:34 PM

So what you guys are saying is that "64MB = No NXE for you!", right? I seem to remember saying that yesterday and getting yelled at for it here. :)

Reading comprehension for the win!

fjtorres

10-10-08, 06:36 PM

Cygnus311

10-10-08, 07:37 PM

so Just read this.....

http://www.joystiq.com/2008/10/09/joystiq-hands-on-the-new-xbox-experience/

I was scared that it was going to be painfully slow and well, it's supposed to be fast!

YAY!

That is good to know. It's painful as it is now. It takes 30 seconds or more for my arcade games to load.

wizzack

10-11-08, 12:04 PM

i can't seem to find a definite answer on this anywhere:

will the new experience support album art for your music? I hope\

fjtorres

10-11-08, 08:40 PM

i can't seem to find a definite answer on this anywhere:

will the new experience support album art for your music? I hope\

The only thing we know is that there is a new media player. What it does is one deep secret.
For now, they seem to be focusing on the dashboard itself, not the apps that run from it (like the media player or the MCE extender).
Presumably we'll hear more as the release nears...

spid

10-13-08, 08:49 AM

Here is an interesting possibility for future updates.

"You know, we talked about photo sharing," said Xbox senior strategist Rob Gruhl. "That's something that, hey, if we want to do photo sharing, we just build that app, drop it in, party enable it and we're good to go. If we wanted to do movie sharing, build an app, party enable it, drop it in. Really, it's [the new dashboard] just laying the foundation for our next wave, our next step. Continuing to fill it out, continuing to build it."

http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3170593

Shape

10-13-08, 08:54 AM

Huh, I thought that party netflix viewing and photo sharing was announced at E3.

rdank

10-13-08, 09:02 AM

Huh, I thought that party netflix viewing and photo sharing was announced at E3.

Netflix was but it's not in this new dashboard update.

logicalnoise

10-13-08, 10:13 AM

Netflix was but it's not in this new dashboard update.

major nelson said specifically that the netflix player launches with the new dashboard.

rdank

10-13-08, 10:18 AM

major nelson said specifically that the netflix player launches with the new dashboard.

My bad. Netflix movie SHARING is not in the update. Sorry about that.

beach scrub

10-13-08, 08:01 PM

For all you core/arcade owners...

Updated: Microsoft's New Xbox Experience Storage Solution (http://360.kombo.com/article.php?artid=14702)

A refurbished 20 GB hard drive for $19.99 or a FREE 512 MB Memory Card.

I don't know about anyone else but a 20 GB hard drive for $19.99 is a pretty damn good deal for those new 360 Arcade owners.

From N4g.

DaverJ

10-13-08, 08:38 PM

For all you core/arcade owners...

Updated: Microsoft's New Xbox Experience Storage Solution (http://360.kombo.com/article.php?artid=14702)

From N4g.

Cool... thanks for posting this. :cool: I just gave it a shot and got a 503 error, but I'll keep trying.

I think I'm going to go for the free memory card, only because I have a spare 20gig HD.

EDIT: bust.... even though I have a Arcade unit manufactured in 2006 (didn't come with memory card or hard drive), I got the following message:
"Congratulations! According to our records you have the necessary hardware and storage space to enjoy the new Xbox Experience."

How do they figure this? :rolleyes: Oh well, not like I really need the memory card.

MarkcusD

10-13-08, 08:48 PM

XBox Live Community Games will launch the same day as NXE: http://blogs.msdn.com/xna/archive/2008/10/13/are-you-ready-for-xbox-live-community-games.aspx

darklordjames

10-13-08, 11:29 PM

DaverJ

10-13-08, 11:34 PM

"even though I have a Arcade unit manufactured in 2006 (didn't come with memory card or hard drive),"

The Arcade version of the 360 has always come with a 256MB memory card, which is enough for NXE. The original Core version did not.

ah yes... it was indeed the Core. I forget it was called that back then. :o

Still.... :confused: Maybe they know I have an Elite that I'm also using...?

darklordjames

10-13-08, 11:40 PM

"Maybe they know I have an Elite that I'm also using...?"

If your Core has ever been connected to Live, and it has some form of storage on it, it would have been an exceedingly trivial thing for Microsoft to poll it to see if storage was attached and add an entry to a database in the "yes storage" column. :)

fjtorres

10-14-08, 09:13 AM

DaverJ

10-14-08, 09:24 AM

wow... eye opening.

I knew all of this was technically possible -- I just never never had first-hand proof how much they are keeping track of what I own and how I use it.

tcrews

10-14-08, 09:38 AM

Strange... When I sent in my Elite for RROD a few weeks ago I bought a new Arcade to use while it was away. I put my Elites 120 HD on it and have been using my Gamertag/account on that Arcade box for 2 weeks. I went to the page this morning and was able to get the 20 gig refurbished HD + 3 months of Xbox Live Gold....for $29.99.

Something along "congratulations, you can get a 20gig HD and 3 months gold for blah blah balh.." after keying in my serial # and console #.

Since I have a friend looking for a HD....he's borrowing my 2nd Elite and I told him he could keep it (his Christmas gift) but I want my drive/gamertag/profile/saved games back (to put on my repaired Elite) I grabbed the 20 gig and he can just pay me what I paid for it.

fjtorres

10-14-08, 10:52 AM

Remember, you are *expected* to move your HDD from your console to a friend's console from time to time. That particular HDD is tied to the Elite so the fact you used it on another console doesn't disqualify the other console. But if you had bought a new 20GB drive and used it to buy something for the Arcade, it would probably disqualify it.
It seems consistent enough...

tcrews

10-14-08, 11:06 AM

Probably so...I've moved drives around so much anyway...from my Premiums to Premium and then Elite to Elites now from one of my Elites to the Arcade....

I haven't transferred licenses around because I'm always connected to LIVE so it's very probably that LIVE is still tagging that HD with the Elite.

Mark_Likes_Games

10-15-08, 04:47 PM

Since you guys are talking about swapping hard drives around, maybe you can answer this question. I am an off-line user who somtimes takes my entire 360 over to a friend's to connect there and get DLC or other updates.

With the way they "fixed" the DRM issue, can I now just detach my hard drive and take it over to a friends, put it on his 360, grab content, then take it back to mine? Does that now work or should I still continue to bring my entire 360 so that it's a "matched" set of console/HDD?

A little off topic, sorry...

fjtorres

10-15-08, 08:57 PM

Slordak

10-16-08, 09:19 AM

The Xbox 360 DRM system doesn't care about the storage device. It cares only about the console serial number, in that the non-online authentication keys are tied to the console itself. Hence, if you download something, you need to make sure to download it to your actual console, and not a friend's console using your hard drive.

This was not changed by the recently added ability to migrate licenses between consoles one per year.

admonish

10-21-08, 04:19 AM

Microsoft Xbox: Not Ready For Primetime (http://www.forbes.com/technology/2008/10/20/microsoft-xbox-primetime-tech-personal-cx_cm_1021msft.html)

Microsoft has delayed the launch of "Xbox Live Primetime," its programmed series of interactive games with real-world prizes, until the spring. Microsoft managers say the delay is necessary in order to ensure a smooth launch of the system's new user interface (or, if you prefer the terminology of Microsoft's PR department, the "new Xbox experience").

..The engineering challenges proved formidable--perhaps even more than the company anticipated. Because the relaunch of Xbox Live is the biggest gaming project the company has undertaken since getting the 360 onto store shelves, things have slipped. Rather than postponing the launch until next year, when all touted features will be ready, the company has opted to cut. (Microsoft said recently that it would delay launching the feature that would allow members in different locations to simultaneously watch a streaming Netflix movie together.)

I am disappointed that his feature is being delayed as this is something my family was interested in. The delay makes sense as some features must be cut in order to get the update out on time + major nelson said they are still working on the update.

As of Nov 19th, I am not sure how useful the avatars will be unless you have scene it and like to browse around on the dashboard. With the miis you could at least see them in real games.

I do wish video game makers would not talk about some features until they knew they could deliver the feature on time.

Shape

10-21-08, 08:01 AM

You can still use the avatars in Scene It.

sirjonsnow

10-21-08, 08:39 AM

I want to be able to select an "invisible" avatar - ie, one that I don't have to look at while browsing the menus.

gpthree

10-21-08, 09:10 AM

I thought they said you don't have to make an avatar at all?

Shape

10-21-08, 09:15 AM

I don't think they ever said you don't have to make an avatar.

chiliDog

10-21-08, 11:21 AM

hmm, "interactive games with real-world prizes"
Wouldn't that be considered as (illegal) gambling in some U.S. states?

Shape

10-21-08, 11:27 AM

hmm, "interactive games with real-world prizes"
Wouldn't that be considered as (illegal) gambling in some U.S. states?

No.

More like a game show.

With gambling, you put up some of your money in the hopes that you turn it into more money.

You don't put up any money for this.

chiliDog

10-21-08, 11:31 AM

No.

More like a game show.

With gambling, you put up some of your money in the hopes that you turn it into more money.

You don't put up any money for this.

Yea, I guess you are correct :)

logicalnoise

10-21-08, 12:05 PM

hmm, "interactive games with real-world prizes"
Wouldn't that be considered as (illegal) gambling in some U.S. states?

in arcades(as rare as they are nowadays) you can pay money for tokens and then use tokens in games of chance/skill to obtain tickets which can then be redeemed for prizes. similar situation here.

chiliDog

10-21-08, 12:22 PM

in arcades(as rare as they are nowadays) you can pay money for tokens and then use tokens in games of chance/skill to obtain tickets which can then be redeemed for prizes. similar situation here.

Actually, that IS illegal in the county that I live in. They shut most of those down about 2 years ago and confiscated all the stuff from them. They used to sell you tokens and then payed you out with gift cards and stuff.

link to a more recent shutdown (http://www.victoriaadvocate.com/847/story/246632.html)

It's kind of funny though. In the story, they quote bingo hall owners complaining about the arcades ruining their buisness :rolleyes:

tqlla

10-21-08, 01:00 PM

mproper

10-21-08, 01:04 PM

Actually, that IS illegal in the county that I live in. They shut most of those down about 2 years ago and confiscated all the stuff from them. They used to sell you tokens and then payed you out with gift cards and stuff.

link to a more recent shutdown (http://www.victoriaadvocate.com/847/story/246632.html)

It's kind of funny though. In the story, they quote bingo hall owners complaining about the arcades ruining their buisness :rolleyes:

No, that link you sent says they shut it down because the "rewards" were cash and gift cards. They were using eight-liners, which are basically video slot machines.

The arcade reference is about getting tickets which you redeem for crap. You know, 25 tickets get you a little plastic ring or pencil eraser or something like that. Usually the code goes something like this (this is from texas, but it's similar across the board)

(4) “Gambling device” means any electronic, electromechanical, or
mechanical contrivance not excluded under Paragraph (B) that for a consideration
affords the player an opportunity to obtain anything of value, the award of which is
determined solely or partially by chance, even though accompanied by some skill,
whether or not the prize is automatically paid by the contrivance. The term:
(A) includes, but is not limited to, gambling device versions of
bingo, keno, blackjack, lottery, roulette, video poker, or similar electronic,
electromechanical, or mechanical games, or facsimiles thereof, that operate by
chance or partially so, that as a result of the play or operation of the game award
credits or free games, and that record the number of free games or credits so
awarded and the cancellation or removal of the free games or credits; and
(B) does not include any electronic, electromechanical, or
mechanical contrivance designed, made, and adapted solely for bona fide
amusement purposes if the contrivance rewards the player exclusively with
noncash merchandise prizes, toys, or novelties, or a representation of value
redeemable for those items, that have a wholesale value available from a single
play of the game or device of not more than 10 times the amount charged to play
the game or device once or $5, whichever is less.

admonish

10-21-08, 01:58 PM

Unique NXE Avatar URLs discovered (http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2008/10/21/unique-nxe-avatar-urls-discovered/)

An anonymous tipster has informed Xbox 360 Fanboy that Avatars -- the cute, customizable user characters that will launch with the New Xbox Experience -- will each have their own unique URL (which won't open in Firefox or Safari, by the way). The URLs in question lead to PNG files of a users Avatar. The URLs lead to images of at least three sizes, as demonstrated in the image above.

some users have been able to get the url for some MS employees. i guess we could use this url for avatars for various different forums/social networks...but that would make me look weird

~ andre

Aaron Greenberg (i guess he wants to be included with the 'in' crowd)
http://avatar.xboxlive.com/avatar/bigvip/avatar-body.png

trixie
http://avatar.xboxlive.com/avatar/trixie360/avatar-body.png

major nelson
http://avatar.xboxlive.com/avatar/major%20nelson/avatar-body.png

http://avatar.xboxlive.com/avatar/e/avatar-body.png

Nelson Rodriguez
http://avatar.xboxlive.com/avatar/don%20gorgon/avatar-body.png

Natalie Sousa
http://avatar.xboxlive.com/avatar/natalies/avatar-body.png

gpthree

10-21-08, 02:05 PM

I want to be able to select an "invisible" avatar - ie, one that I don't have to look at while browsing the menus.

So they are forcing you to make an avatar but you do not have to use it.

http://xboxlive.ign.com/articles/918/918113p1.html

HeadRusch

10-21-08, 02:32 PM

OMG they all look like human teletubbys :P

Leadsalad

10-21-08, 02:37 PM

I just want to put a motorcycle helmet or some gladiator helmet on them. I don't ever want to see my avatar's face. (I am The Stig!)

dbburns

10-22-08, 03:02 PM

Nelson's and Natalie's avatars actually resemble them pretty well. Although I think Natalie's avatar's chest needs to be a little bigger.

formulanerd

10-23-08, 08:12 PM

Although I think Natalie's avatar's chest needs to be a little bigger.

as do her chin, gut, hips and thighs

pcweber111

10-23-08, 10:39 PM

Ha seriously. She's not what I'd call the typical spokesperson for a videogame company.

fjtorres

10-24-08, 02:27 PM

Latest Gamerscore Blog Update:
http://gamerscoreblog.com/team/archive/2008/10/24/562028.aspx

Not much detail on Netflix and VM other than talk of HD movie art.

darklordjames

10-24-08, 07:16 PM

Huh. Surprised no one has notified us of the preview. :) Looks like they want Netflix users to test out the new dash.

http://majornelson.com/archive/2008/10/24/the-new-xbox-experience-preview-program.aspx

dmaul1114

10-24-08, 07:38 PM

Yeah I signed up a bit ago. I'm looking forward to the Netflix functionality.

logicalnoise

10-24-08, 07:48 PM

signed up hoping to check out the new experience and start devouring the massive line up of cool stuff on netflix.

CaCHooKa Man

10-24-08, 08:28 PM

i got into the shadowrun beta a while back.. maybe ill get into this one too. hopefully not being a netflix subscriber doesnt prevent me from being eligible. :(

Ripeer

10-24-08, 09:21 PM

I signed up but I don't how they could not being a netflix member against a Canadian.

Nox

10-24-08, 09:25 PM

I wonder how the Netflix actually works.

It says you need an "unlimited" account... there's 3 unlimited plans (http://www.netflix.com/HowItWorks). Does that mean the lowest plan (1 DVD at a time rental) limits you to only 1 rental per night? Or is unlimited really unlimited.

If it's truly unlimited, then it's really not a bad deal at all...provided you're an avid movie watcher. Having 12,000 DVD movies at your fingertips like this is the same as having them on a hard drive streaming from your PC. Just pick your movie and start it up.

Now, it'd really be interesting if they offered HD movies unlimited!

darklordjames

10-24-08, 09:29 PM

"I signed up but I don't how they could not being a netflix member against a Canadian."

I thought they spoke English in Canada? This sentence makes no sense.

"oes that mean the lowest plan (1 DVD at a time rental) limits you to only 1 rental per night?"

The $9 plan is the minimum. 1 physical disc at a time, unlimited streaming video to whatever device you use. I'm sure that they have done their research and found that most people watch a ton of streaming video the first month it is available to them, but then taper off rapidly in their consumption.

fjtorres

10-24-08, 10:54 PM

I'm sure that they have done their research and found that most people watch a ton of streaming video the first month it is available to them, but then taper off rapidly in their consumption.

Plus streaming is cheaper than tracking and mailing physical disks akk over the country.
Just bear in mind that the 12000 number is movies and TV shows and a lot of that stuff is, er, "vintage".;)

dmaul1114

10-25-08, 12:49 AM

I wonder how the Netflix actually works.

It says you need an "unlimited" account... there's 3 unlimited plans (http://www.netflix.com/HowItWorks). Does that mean the lowest plan (1 DVD at a time rental) limits you to only 1 rental per night? Or is unlimited really unlimited.

All the netflix unlimited subscriptions come with unlimited amounts of instant watching. Doesn't matter if it's 1 out at a time unlimited per month, 2, 5 or whatever. It get's you unlimited instant watch time on the PC or their Roku box currently and on the 360 when the update launches.

It's an awesome feature. Netflix was always great, instant watch just made them even better.

jagouar

10-25-08, 11:41 AM

All the netflix unlimited subscriptions come with unlimited amounts of instant watching. Doesn't matter if it's 1 out at a time unlimited per month, 2, 5 or whatever. It get's you unlimited instant watch time on the PC or their Roku box currently and on the 360 when the update launches.

It's an awesome feature. Netflix was always great, instant watch just made them even better.
it should be noted that the "1 at a time" unlimited plan will only allow you to watch 1 stream at a time (if you have multiple boxes). the number of movies you can concurrently watch instantly is tied to the number of dvd's in your plan.

nnarum23

10-25-08, 11:41 AM

Anyone know if the avatars are a requirement? Thanks.

mboojigga

10-25-08, 11:52 AM

Anyone know if the avatars are a requirement? Thanks.

Yes/No

When you setup NXE you will be given the option to have a random avatar or create it yourself. After that, you don't have to use the avatar. You use your gamerpic.

nnarum23

10-25-08, 11:57 AM

Yes/No

When you setup NXE you will be given the option to have a random avatar or create it yourself. After that, you don't have to use the avatar. You use your gamerpic.

Alright, thanks! I wasn't too thrilled when they were announced... I just want to play games :D

Cygnus311

10-25-08, 04:14 PM

It is hilarious how much these avatars are exactly like Miis. The menus for them even looks and sounds the same. What a joke.

Shape

10-25-08, 04:30 PM

It is hilarious how much these avatars are exactly like Miis. The menus for them even looks and sounds the same. What a joke.

Having borrowed a Wii, I'd have to disagree. You basically only get to customize the face on a Mii. And other than blinking, they aren't really animated. There is a lot more to these things than the Miis.

logicalnoise

10-25-08, 04:48 PM

It is hilarious how much these avatars are exactly like Miis. The menus for them even looks and sounds the same. What a joke.

and Mii's are a ripoff of rayman

hotdogwater2

10-26-08, 03:54 PM

fjtorres

10-26-08, 04:07 PM

hmmm strange, i couldn't get the invite to work after i registered.

The invite ended friday night.
Only took an hour or so to round up the required guinea pigs.

Ripeer

10-26-08, 05:25 PM

bdoyledimou

10-26-08, 06:19 PM

Some speak English, but not all.

I meant to say I wish they were brining netflix movie rentals to Canadians. as well as Americans.
It would be nice if Netflix operated in Canada period.. all we have is Zip, and they don't have a streaming service.

fjtorres

10-26-08, 09:05 PM

Some speak English, but not all.

And in the states some only *think* they speak it...
;)

Nophix

10-26-08, 09:55 PM

I just want to put a motorcycle helmet or some gladiator helmet on them. I don't ever want to see my avatar's face. (I am The Stig!)

They say he only wears underpants on the third Wednesday of August, and he once took out an entire German army simply for telling him that his shoe was untied...

admonish

10-28-08, 05:04 AM

full article (http://www.videogamer.com/news/27-10-2008-9756.html)

Microsoft is planning to launch an 'Avatar Store' next spring, which will allow gamers to buy branded items for their Avatars, a new feature coming with the release of the New Xbox Experience update on November 19...

...For launch there will be a raft of free accessories and clothing items, but Microsoft said it has plans for gamers to be able to buy new items, like game-branded T-shirts, and unlock accessories that are related to in-game Achievements, like Guitar Hero guitars.

for some reason i don't think they allow the use of gun accessories

AHDTVDiet

10-28-08, 05:41 AM

I just want some armor with a helmet so I dont have that freaky big head little person staring at me everytime I go to the dashboard.

fjtorres

10-28-08, 08:58 AM

I just want some armor with a helmet so I dont have that freaky big head little person staring at me everytime I go to the dashboard.

+1
I'd settle for a full-face Motorcycle helmet if I can't have Mass Effect Colossus Armor.
Of course, Spartan Armor would be nice...

sirjonsnow

10-28-08, 09:41 AM

Green Man

admonish

10-28-08, 10:46 AM

30 Things We Didn't Know About NXE (http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=200236)

some highlights from the article

14. The My Xbox tab lets you manage your Avatar and profile settings - basically all of the options you find on the current Xbox Guide. Your played games and their achievements are also neatly displayed on the horizontal scroll with a new bonus feature; you can now delete played games you don't want displayed from your list, as long as you have 0 Gamescore on them.

14. Avatars have over 400 customisable clothing items, split equally between male and female, including shoes, tops, bottoms, jewellery, headwear, makeup and suits....They're always happy.

22. In the current build (which is being updated daily) there are over 90 different hair styles, 45 types of eye, 18 noses and facial hair variants, 9 ears and almost 26 different types of eyebrow.

i wish i could have made the preview program as i am really interested in the HDD installs + netflix

~ andré

mboojigga

10-28-08, 12:14 PM

i wish i could have made the preview program as i am really interested in the HDD installs + netflix

~ andré

Any way you can post or PM the list for us that are deployed. Thanks

Slordak

10-28-08, 12:21 PM

The list of "30 things you didn't know" isn't really that exciting; Admonish already supplied the key highlights, and a large portion of the others are mostly about navigation.

I'm pleasantly surprised that the "remove games you have earned 0 Gamerscore in" enhancement actually made it in. A number of months ago (probably even before the NXE was announced), someone was circulating a rumor concerning the list of changes in the upcoming dashboard update, and it included this item. Lots of folks were pleased to see it, but when the list was later debunked, were afraid that this item was thus just wishful thinking. Glad to see that it's not.

fjtorres

10-28-08, 12:29 PM

Well, this one shows promise:
Carry-able items are also coming post launch, including the possibility of Achievement-sensitive items such as Guitar Hero guitars for unlocking a certain World Tour Achievement.
A Halo energy sword would be a good carry-able item... :-)

Hannzo24

10-28-08, 12:35 PM

Items for your avatar earned from achievements sound very very awesome! There is a ton of potential there. Look how good WoW is doing, it loot whore central....bring that to the 360 and you have a winner.

Ripeer

10-28-08, 12:50 PM

Anyone got their emails for early demo of NXE yet?

jagouar

10-28-08, 01:20 PM

they arent supposed to send them until tomorrow...

Chris Rein

10-28-08, 01:32 PM

I'm taking a test drive of this tomorrow. Looking forward to it! From the looks of it so far, it should be worth while.

Ripeer

10-28-08, 02:31 PM

Do you get an email if you don't get in? I haven't heard anything since I signed up for it.

formulanerd

10-28-08, 02:48 PM

Green Man

always sunny ftw!

admonish

10-28-08, 03:49 PM

I'm taking a test drive of this tomorrow. Looking forward to it! From the looks of it so far, it should be worth while.

be prepared to be peppered with a lot of questions from moi like...

#1) how are the various profiles on the xbox presented? there are 5 in my family and i hate how the various profiles are currently displayed
#2) music program...enough lines to display the entire songs...autoplaylist
#3) how many friends are displayable?
#4) storage: multiple item deletions? if not how many clicks....
#5) netflix: how is quality showing up on a large screen? i usually watch it from a 15in laptop

~ andré

crussell1492

10-28-08, 06:57 PM

OK so just shoot me if this has been covered ad nauseum here, but a quick search did't find it
Are any of the netflix streamed movies available in HD?

Sorax

10-28-08, 07:13 PM

OK so just shoot me if this has been covered ad nauseum here, but a quick search did't find it
Are any of the netflix streamed movies available in HD?

From this article: http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070116-8627.html
Streaming high-quality video with little buffering requires a fast connection. Netflix says that its new technology throttles the streaming speed based on available bandwidth. Users will need a minimum of 1Mbps to watch films, but these will be far below DVD quality. 3Mbps connections are required to watch movies in their native resolution (no support is currently planned for high-definition content). With the increasing ubiquity of broadband, this should pose no problem for most power users, but plenty of 768Kbps DSL connections (and slower) still dot the landscape.

Having seen the service in action on a PC, the quality does scale well based on bandwidth. And at 3Mbps it looks nearly identical to a DVD. I think this service is currently focused on expanding its catalog and attracting users. The Xbox should provide a great platform for this and I expect it to upscale the stream to your selected resolution. I bet HD service is at least a year or two off.

crussell1492

10-28-08, 07:31 PM

wow thats too bad, the streamed HD movies on XBOX today look pretty good, with only about a 10-15 min lag before you can start the movie...I am a netflix sub, but rarely use the streaming service because of the lack of HD, unless the movie I want to watch is not available in HD (Blu-Ray or on my Cable or Sat provider) so I doubt I will get much mileage out of Netflix on XBOX

Chris Rein

10-28-08, 07:43 PM

Nox

10-29-08, 12:18 AM

Chris... be sure to check if current functions still work with the new dashboard. With any upgrade, there's bound to be something(s) unintentionally broken MS has overlooked.

ibuycheap

10-29-08, 01:25 AM

I'll even print this out and go down the list. :)

check out of 1920x1200 is one of the added resolutions

I know they said 16x10 resolutions were added but they only mentioned 1680x1050 and a smaller one (1280x 800???)

studiotan

10-29-08, 06:04 AM

From this article: http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070116-8627.html

Having seen the service in action on a PC, the quality does scale well based on bandwidth. And at 3Mbps it looks nearly identical to a DVD. I think this service is currently focused on expanding its catalog and attracting users. The Xbox should provide a great platform for this and I expect it to upscale the stream to your selected resolution. I bet HD service is at least a year or two off.

Just in case you missed it, HD downloads are coming to Netflix with the launch of the new dashboard :D Only on Xbox for now as well.

http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/10/29/hd-netflix-streaming-comes-to-xbox-360-first/

fjtorres

10-29-08, 09:19 AM

No need to fret over missing out on the testing, Joystiq has a set of walkthrough videos so we can all vicariously enjoy the NXE pre-launch:
http://www.joystiq.com/2008/10/29/video-tour-new-xbox-experience-exposed/

Ripeer

10-29-08, 10:51 AM

Anyone get an email yet?
edit: Looks like if you didn't get en email already (before today). Then your not part of the testing.

http://www.gamestooge.com/2008/10/24/nxe-beta-signups-active/

jagouar

10-29-08, 11:54 AM

emails were not supposed to come out until today.... read the updates posted in that blog post.

Sorax

10-29-08, 04:14 PM

Just in case you missed it, HD downloads are coming to Netflix with the launch of the new dashboard :D Only on Xbox for now as well.

http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/10/29/hd-netflix-streaming-comes-to-xbox-360-first/
Wow, this will be pretty awesome. I'm looking forward to see how they pull this off. Thanks for the heads-up.

bdwright77

10-29-08, 04:54 PM

the netflix streaming is only for gold members?

fjtorres

10-29-08, 05:04 PM

the netflix streaming is only for gold members?

Yup!
Silver users will have to make do with Video Marketplace's pay-as-you-go rentals. That includes me.
I'll have to keep an eye out for Gold subscription deals...
(Makes sense from a corporate point of view as it gives gold another "big pole" to justify its existence and shut up the whiners' constant carping about having to pay to play online.)

bkilian

10-29-08, 05:32 PM

Yup!
Silver users will have to make do with Video Marketplace's pay-as-you-go rentals. That includes me.
I'll have to keep an eye out for Gold subscription deals...
(Makes sense from a corporate point of view as it gives gold another "big pole" to justify its existence and shut up the whiners' constant carping about having to pay to play online.)I think the Primetime stuff may also be gold only, from what I remember of earlier press releases.

jagouar

10-29-08, 05:35 PM

Yup!
Silver users will have to make do with Video Marketplace's pay-as-you-go rentals. That includes me.
I'll have to keep an eye out for Gold subscription deals...
(Makes sense from a corporate point of view as it gives gold another "big pole" to justify its existence and shut up the whiners' constant carping about having to pay to play online.)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16874103030

this is as cheap as its probably going to get....

Ripeer

10-29-08, 05:35 PM

well hopefully that will give me a reason to keep gold. I've given up playing games online due to lag which may be from running my 360 through my computer then over a wireless?

Whatever it is that causes the lag its enough that I die in location I wasn't occupying on my screen.

Kayook

10-29-08, 06:53 PM

Hand's on review from PCWorld;
Part one.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/152998/hands_on_with_microsofts_new_xbox_experience_part_one.html
Part 2.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/153027/hands_on_with_microsofts_new_xbox_experience_part_two.html

Ripeer

10-29-08, 07:42 PM

I stoped reading at the

But there's no hard drive install option on the PS3!" True enough.
ummnn no its not optional its mandtory. How can a majour media company put have such a bundle ?

This review is so negative. I don't give a damn if it stole Mii's or XMB. Just does it well or not?

formulanerd

10-29-08, 07:53 PM

http://www.jdoqocy.com/image-3136390-10521304http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16874103030 (http://www.jdoqocy.com/click-3136390-10521304?URL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.newegg.com%2FProduct%2FProduct .aspx%3FItem%3DN82E16874103030)

this is as cheap as its probably going to get....

$37.03 @ buy.com with http://www.afcyhf.com/image-3136390-10391416http://www.afcyhf.com/image-3136390-10391416THIS (http://affiliate.buy.com/gateway.aspx?adid=17662&pid=3136390&aid=10391416&sURL=http%3A%2F%2Faffiliate.buy.com%2Fgateway.aspx%3Fadid%3D 17662%26pid%3D3136390%26aid%3D10391416%26sURL%3Dhttp%253A%25 2F%252Fwww.buy.com%252Fretail%252Fcoupon.asp%253Fprid%253D84 773074) coupon :D

or for $56.28 you get:

12-month Xbox Live Gold Subscription
Chat Pad
Wired headset
Project Gotham Racing 4

pretty good deal, i love my chatpad, it adds size to the controller for my hands, worth the extra $19 by itsself, and PGR4 is then just a bonus.

jagouar

10-29-08, 07:57 PM

that idiot is such a ps3 homer its not even funny... tons of holes in his arguments.

this is a video preview done by 1up... much better. http://gamevideos.1up.com/video/id/22359

Kayook

10-29-08, 08:31 PM

that idiot is such a ps3 homer its not even funny... tons of holes in his arguments.

this is a video preview done by 1up... much better. http://gamevideos.1up.com/video/id/22359

I fully agree.

fjtorres

10-29-08, 08:39 PM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16874103030

this is as cheap as its probably going to get....

Thanks.
Didn't even think to check with them...
<sigh>
And I just ordered a 16GB sd card for my ebook reader from them, yesterday...
Could've saved a dime in shipping.;)

fjtorres

10-29-08, 08:47 PM

or for $56.28 you get:

12-month Xbox Live Gold Subscription
Chat Pad
Wired headset
Project Gotham Racing 4

pretty good deal, i love my chatpad, it adds size to the controller for my hands, worth the extra $19 by itsself, and PGR4 is then just a bonus.

Hmm, I've been thinking about the pad for a while...
I'm not into racing games but I can probably flip it to my brother; he's like Mikey--he'll play anything...
(Not that PGR4 is a bad game--it just got steamrollered releasing so close to Halo3...)

sirjonsnow

10-29-08, 08:58 PM

due to lag which may be from running my 360 through my computer then over a wireless?
that would do it

Ripeer

10-29-08, 09:33 PM

SO anyone get in? I didn't :(

Nophix

10-29-08, 10:00 PM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16874103030

this is as cheap as its probably going to get....

Walmart has the 12+1 cards for $38.94

darklordjames

10-29-08, 11:38 PM

"Walmart has the 12+1 cards for $38.94"

People that aren't inbred will pay more anywhere else to not support Walmart.

moepoker

10-30-08, 01:10 AM

$37.03 @ buy.com with http://www.afcyhf.com/image-3136390-10391416http://www.afcyhf.com/image-3136390-10391416THIS (http://affiliate.buy.com/gateway.aspx?adid=17662&pid=3136390&aid=10391416&sURL=http%3A%2F%2Faffiliate.buy.com%2Fgateway.aspx%3Fadid%3D 17662%26pid%3D3136390%26aid%3D10391416%26sURL%3Dhttp%253A%25 2F%252Fwww.buy.com%252Fretail%252Fcoupon.asp%253Fprid%253D84 773074) coupon :D

or for $56.28 you get:

12-month Xbox Live Gold Subscription
Chat Pad
Wired headset
Project Gotham Racing 4

pretty good deal, i love my chatpad, it adds size to the controller for my hands, worth the extra $19 by itsself, and PGR4 is then just a bonus.

Sold for $37.03. :D

RTRic

10-30-08, 01:16 AM

Anyone get into the NXE preview? They sent out emails tonight.

CaCHooKa Man

10-30-08, 01:51 AM

Anyone get into the NXE preview? They sent out emails tonight.

nothing here

moepoker

10-30-08, 01:53 AM

Nothing here either.

CaCHooKa Man

10-30-08, 06:10 AM

looks like if you havent received an email by now, you werent accepted. looking through major nelsons blog it seems that a lot of people from other countries got in.

Nophix

10-30-08, 08:48 AM

"Walmart has the 12+1 cards for $38.94"

People that aren't inbred will pay more anywhere else to not support Walmart.

I live in the middle of Wisconsin, and it's convenient. Do I hate Walmart as a company? You bet, since I worked at one of their distribution centers while in college. Am I going to spend hundreds more on the same stuff every month just because the company that owns the stores suck? Nope. When other stores start coming close to the prices they have, I'll change, but when we are talking a 20-30% difference, I'll keep shopping.

fjtorres

10-30-08, 09:31 AM

"Walmart has the 12+1 cards for $38.94"

People that aren't inbred will pay more anywhere else to not support Walmart.

Smile when you say that pardner. ;)
Some folks don't have a choice.
And what many do have is often Gamestop vs Wallyworld.

"Things are never so bad they can't get worse."

mproper

10-30-08, 09:40 AM

I have a choice and shop at Walmart. I don't care what you guys think. Knowing that my grocery bill alone is about $100 less each month than the sucker buying the same stuff across the street because he "hates Walmart" and "Walmart is evil" and "only white trash inbred hicks shop at Walmart" is satisfaction enough. That's $100 I get to spend on beer. Sweet delicious nectar of the gods, which unfortunately Walmart doesn't sell in PA due to our crappy laws.

selphj

10-30-08, 09:54 AM

I didn't get in either. And the thing is, I already had a profile on connect because I've beta'd for years now. It seems to me that the "gold members get priority" wasn't really true either, because apparently a bunch of silvers got in. Oh well, looks like it may not be a big deal. NXE Preview still isn't getting it for a few days, and official release is like the 19th. So preview may end up getting it 1 or 2 weeks early. I'm just anxious to see it.

Slaine

10-30-08, 11:40 AM

i have a choice and shop at walmart. I don't care what you guys think. Knowing that my grocery bill alone is about $100 less each month than the sucker buying the same stuff across the street because he "hates walmart" and "walmart is evil" and "only white trash inbred hicks shop at walmart" is satisfaction enough. That's $100 i get to spend on beer. Sweet delicious nectar of the gods, which unfortunately walmart doesn't sell in pa due to our crappy laws.

+1

Ripeer

10-30-08, 11:53 AM

I didn't get in either. Microsoft is clearly ummnn racist towards AVSer's :P

Nox

10-30-08, 03:17 PM

fjtorres

10-30-08, 03:41 PM

I have another request for you lucky NXE demo-ers (if you ever get your invites)...

Could you check to see if .m2ts (or .m2t) files are supported yet? It'd be nice to stream some HD camcorder video natively.

Don't need the preview to answer that: No.
There are no codec changes or media player enhancemernts in this release.
They've been pretty clear on that.
No MKS, no nothing. So Tversity and Playon live on...

But we do get 16x10 resolution support... :cool:

chrisherbert

10-30-08, 04:02 PM

Did they add the ability to play the "newer" codecs (xvid, etc) through the Media Center extender?

Nox

10-30-08, 04:02 PM

Don't need the preview to answer that: No.
There are no codec changes or media player enhancemernts in this release.
They've been pretty clear on that.
No MKS, no nothing. So Tversity and Playon live on...

But we do get 16x10 resolution support... :cool:

I was thinking back just before DivX was supported. If you recall at some update, DivX files became clearly previewable, but not playable. MS denied any support for it, but then in the upcoming months, DivX became functional.

Who knows... maybe MS secretly snuck something in like that again.

Aletuner

10-30-08, 04:10 PM

That's $100 I get to spend on beer. Sweet delicious nectar of the gods, which unfortunately Walmart doesn't sell in PA due to our crappy laws.

The Walmarts near me sell beer. :D So I save my $100 on some items (specifically their fishing/camping gear... great prices) and then spend it on the spot for that nectar of the gods. :)

Oh, and I'm not inbred. At least that is what my sister-mom told me.

MikeAlletto

10-30-08, 04:23 PM

This review is so negative. I don't give a damn if it stole Mii's or XMB. Just does it well or not?

Really? I did read the whole thing and it didn't come off as being negative at all. His complaints about the netflix integration are EXTREMELY valid. Why should I have to pull up a pc to add a movie to my queue in order to watch it now. I should be able to search from the xbox all watch it now titles and pick what I want.

As far as the avatars goes if you did in fact read that part he praised them.

As far as the installing to the hard drive thing goes he is right, there is no option on the PS3, you have to do it. That is exactly what he said, there is no option on the PS3. And he praised this part of the NXE as well for it not spinning the dvd anymore while playing an installed game.

In fact he praised all of it while pointing out some things that are missing that would be cool to have.

Oh and I don't own a PS3 or a Wii and could clearly see the article wasn't kissing up to any one side.

Geez, some folks and their lack of reading comprehension.

Chris Rein

10-30-08, 06:07 PM

be prepared to be peppered with a lot of questions from moi like...

#1) how are the various profiles on the xbox presented? there are 5 in my family and i hate how the various profiles are currently displayed
#2) music program...enough lines to display the entire songs...autoplaylist
#3) how many friends are displayable?
#4) storage: multiple item deletions? if not how many clicks....
#5) netflix: how is quality showing up on a large screen? i usually watch it from a 15in laptop

~ andré

Hey!

I got to test drive the NXE last night and was really impressed by what Microsoft has done to breathe new life into the console.

I tried to do as much as you asked, and when I couldn't, I would ask questions.

So, with that...

1) I didn't get to see the multiple profiles, but was told each would have it's own Avatar and home. Hints were thrown around that it's easier to access each, but as I said, I didn't get to the physical check.

2) Music - it's the same as before. As a matter of fact, while in the new dash, you need to press the Xbox button to access the "Current Blade" structure. It's not as sexy as the blades we have now (think greyscale) and you get to music there. Unfortunately, it doesn't display or scroll longer track names, and I did see and try to emulate that, but nothing. You can still jump around the NXE dash while music is playing in the background.

3) Friends displayable. That's an interesting one. On the screen we had (a 40" LCD) you could see three "homes" with avatars. By homes, I mean you can change the atmosphere that your avatar lives in and it changes instantly. It's very cool. NOW, by the interesting comment, you could actually see way more friends on one screen if you party up with them in the friends list. Simply scroll (which is extremely fast and sexy) to your friend, hit party, and you are instantly dumped into the room with them. I don't know the total number, but we had several in one room and they all are there with easy access. You can also access your friends list the old fashioned way by pressing the Xbox button and head over to friends and see a list instead of avatars.

4) Didn't get to check this one out, but will ask.

5) Netflix. Now this was sexy! The interface is absolutely gorgeous and has all the cover art and for TV shows the main cover art with listings of episodes inside. Easy to scroll and navigate, you simply click on a film you have in your queue and hit play. If you have been watching something and stopped to do something else, when you come back it shows you were you left off and how much of it you have watched (ie 32% watched). You can also chapter skip (with thumbnails) inside. It's very slick. Now, on to the bad. The video qualitiy wasn't all that great. Even on the 40". Not sure if it was the network we were on (lousy!) or just the film, but it was very soft. But there is HD planned (and mentioned in the forums here), so I would love to see what that's like.

As mentioned earlier, there are new resolution modes, an auto mode and RGB, ypbr50 ypbr60 (I believe those were the two) and a few other tweaks in the display section, so everyone should be good to go now.

It's also much easier to find content on the marketplace. Simply pick a letter or a category and boom you have title names. No more scrolling all over the place! And what really kicks so much ass is the way they have the game areas set up. Take Halo 3. It will show the game box cover, tell all the info about it (ie how many players online, memory size, headset compatibility,etc.) You can also see screenshots of the game, watch trailers, download content, etc. all in one "row" with sections for each area of content. It's awesome! Also, instead of the little "note" for new videos (ie Major's Minutes) they are now in a separate area, and have archives of all in each title's name (Majors Minute, IGN's Achievement help, etc.) So, gone are the only 20 at a time business.

All in all, it's a very welcomed change to the dash. Avatar creation makes Wii's Mii's look like complete garbage. There are so many things to make you really own your avatar and some interesting ways to capture your new gamer pic from your avatar. They really put effort into this one.

mproper

10-30-08, 06:14 PM

So I keep reading conflicting things about the HD. Does it or does it not require a 5-6Mbps connection? I only get a little over 3 on Comcast, so am I setting myself up for disappointment?

Chris Rein

10-30-08, 06:17 PM

So I keep reading conflicting things about the HD. Does it or does it not require a 5-6Mbps connection? I only get a little over 3 on Comcast, so am I setting myself up for disappointment?

They did say the HD depends upon your connection speed (which it does indeed check as I watched it, but unfortunately we were gettling like 2 out of 4 bars for speed), but I never heard the actual number. I said I had a 20/5 connection and that obviously won't be a problem, so I didn't probe further. :p :o

fjtorres

10-30-08, 08:22 PM

So I keep reading conflicting things about the HD. Does it or does it not require a 5-6Mbps connection? I only get a little over 3 on Comcast, so am I setting myself up for disappointment?

The word on WatchNow is that it measures your connection speed and (conservatively) tailors the stream to your settings. So the "best" experience will come with bandwidth up the wazoo but everybody should get a decent experience based on their connection.

Best approach?
Wait to see how it looks for you.
Quality is in the eye of the beholder and depends a lot on expectations.
1080p24 it isn't so it will not be a replacement for optical media.
On the other hand, its not vintage quicktime/realmedia over dial-up, either.

Temper your expectations and you might be pleasantly surprised.

Shape

10-30-08, 08:51 PM

Really? I did read the whole thing and it didn't come off as being negative at all. His complaints about the netflix integration are EXTREMELY valid. Why should I have to pull up a pc to add a movie to my queue in order to watch it now.

I don't think you can browse Netflix titles on any of the standalone systems unless you use a web browser.

Why would it be different on the 360?

logicalnoise

10-30-08, 09:36 PM

I don't think you can browse Netflix titles on any of the standalone systems unless you use a web browser.

Why would it be different on the 360?

the 360 player can only browse your watch it now queue so a PC is required to add movies to your queue(which is the onlky negative I'm hearing about teh player).

Shape

10-30-08, 09:41 PM

the 360 player can only browse your watch it now queue so a PC is required to add movies to your queue(which is the onlky negative I'm hearing about teh player).

Yep, and I'm pretty sure it is the same on the Tivo and the ROKU boxes, etc...

I don't see it as a negative. It's just the way Netflix works.

http://www.roku.com/netflixplayer/

"Movies and TV episodes in your Netflix Instant Queue appear right on your TV screen."

jagouar

10-30-08, 09:42 PM

actually gizmodo has some impressions which add a few more negatives to netflix...

1. the hd content does not tell you its hd yet... no logos on the website or on the player.
2. you dont have the same frame by frame fast forwarding and rewinding (you can only do the "chapter" skips with hd content)
3. some people are saying the hd content is 2.0 at launch.... we will see soon enough i guess as adding 5.1 wont be difficult but its a bit disappointing if it doesnt launch with 5.1

neither one is a huge deal and i think the hd logos will probably be fixed very soon (if not before the final version comes out)

mboojigga

10-30-08, 10:53 PM

http://uk.xbox360.ign.com/dor/articles/924651/installing-your-games-video/videos/xbox_exp_noisetest_102908.html;jsessionid=2m45vxyvr5oo8

Noise test comparision

formulanerd

10-30-08, 10:56 PM

http://uk.xbox360.ign.com/dor/articles/924651/installing-your-games-video/videos/xbox_exp_noisetest_102908.html;jsessionid=2m45vxyvr5oo8

Noise test comparision

nice video, but it shouldnt be any different than comparing a disc based game to a demo/arcade game on your own system

hotdogwater2

10-31-08, 12:45 AM

the only other thing i want to know is if it still takes a ridiculously long time to load up all your demos/arcade games when you open the corresponding tab.

mboojigga

10-31-08, 01:15 AM

the only other thing i want to know is if it still takes a ridiculously long time to load up all your demos/arcade games when you open the corresponding tab.

Did you not see this post.

Quote:
Originally Posted by admonish
be prepared to be peppered with a lot of questions from moi like...

#1) how are the various profiles on the xbox presented? there are 5 in my family and i hate how the various profiles are currently displayed
#2) music program...enough lines to display the entire songs...autoplaylist
#3) how many friends are displayable?
#4) storage: multiple item deletions? if not how many clicks....
#5) netflix: how is quality showing up on a large screen? i usually watch it from a 15in laptop

~ andré

Hey!

I got to test drive the NXE last night and was really impressed by what Microsoft has done to breathe new life into the console.

I tried to do as much as you asked, and when I couldn't, I would ask questions.

So, with that...

1) I didn't get to see the multiple profiles, but was told each would have it's own Avatar and home. Hints were thrown around that it's easier to access each, but as I said, I didn't get to the physical check.

2) Music - it's the same as before. As a matter of fact, while in the new dash, you need to press the Xbox button to access the "Current Blade" structure. It's not as sexy as the blades we have now (think greyscale) and you get to music there. Unfortunately, it doesn't display or scroll longer track names, and I did see and try to emulate that, but nothing. You can still jump around the NXE dash while music is playing in the background.

3) Friends displayable. That's an interesting one. On the screen we had (a 40" LCD) you could see three "homes" with avatars. By homes, I mean you can change the atmosphere that your avatar lives in and it changes instantly. It's very cool. NOW, by the interesting comment, you could actually see way more friends on one screen if you party up with them in the friends list. Simply scroll (which is extremely fast and sexy) to your friend, hit party, and you are instantly dumped into the room with them. I don't know the total number, but we had several in one room and they all are there with easy access. You can also access your friends list the old fashioned way by pressing the Xbox button and head over to friends and see a list instead of avatars.

4) Didn't get to check this one out, but will ask.

5) Netflix. Now this was sexy! The interface is absolutely gorgeous and has all the cover art and for TV shows the main cover art with listings of episodes inside. Easy to scroll and navigate, you simply click on a film you have in your queue and hit play. If you have been watching something and stopped to do something else, when you come back it shows you were you left off and how much of it you have watched (ie 32% watched). You can also chapter skip (with thumbnails) inside. It's very slick. Now, on to the bad. The video qualitiy wasn't all that great. Even on the 40". Not sure if it was the network we were on (lousy!) or just the film, but it was very soft. But there is HD planned (and mentioned in the forums here), so I would love to see what that's like.

As mentioned earlier, there are new resolution modes, an auto mode and RGB, ypbr50 ypbr60 (I believe those were the two) and a few other tweaks in the display section, so everyone should be good to go now.

It's also much easier to find content on the marketplace. Simply pick a letter or a category and boom you have title names. No more scrolling all over the place! And what really kicks so much ass is the way they have the game areas set up. Take Halo 3. It will show the game box cover, tell all the info about it (ie how many players online, memory size, headset compatibility,etc.) You can also see screenshots of the game, watch trailers, download content, etc. all in one "row" with sections for each area of content. It's awesome! Also, instead of the little "note" for new videos (ie Major's Minutes) they are now in a separate area, and have archives of all in each title's name (Majors Minute, IGN's Achievement help, etc.) So, gone are the only 20 at a time business.
All in all, it's a very welcomed change to the dash. Avatar creation makes Wii's Mii's look like complete garbage. There are so many things to make you really own your avatar and some interesting ways to capture your new gamer pic from your avatar. They really put effort into this one.

Scott_lb

10-31-08, 11:25 AM

Is it true that in the NXE we will be able to store games on the HDD instead of reading them off of the original disc? If this is true, and not that I'm condoning this, but couldn't users simply rent or borrow games and store them on their HDD instead of paying full retail price? This seems like it would be an odd move to me but I'm curious if it would work from a technical perspective.

chad473

10-31-08, 11:26 AM

it needs the physical disc to verify before it will play off the hard drive.

HeadRusch

10-31-08, 11:28 AM

Its mainly so that way you dont have to spin up the DVD drive...I'm guessing this is partially to address the noise issues, and partially to allow for larger games...that may come on multiple DVD's...to "install" to the hard drive like they can (or rather, are forced to do) on a PS3.

Chris Rein

10-31-08, 12:09 PM

I don't think you can browse Netflix titles on any of the standalone systems unless you use a web browser.

Why would it be different on the 360?

This is correct. You need to add to the Netflix Queue and it instantly, and I mean instantly, shows up in the Netflix folder on your 360. It's very slick. And I put in The Office - Season 1 last night and was watching it in HD. When it loaded it said, "Presented in HD" after it checked my network connection. Pure awesomeness! The image is still soft on non HD material through Netflix, but it was improved over the demo I got the other day due to a bad internet connection.

And now that I have the NXE at home, I can check things if you guys want.

Chris Rein

10-31-08, 12:12 PM

it needs the physical disc to verify before it will play off the hard drive.

Correct. I'm about to do my first install, but know that you need the disc in there to verify content on the drive. Simple copy protection is all to keep people from renting and "owning" without the disc.

admonish

10-31-08, 12:25 PM

mboojigga

10-31-08, 12:28 PM

Ripeer

10-31-08, 12:44 PM

Theres also full clothing lines aviable (ie a whole look) but right now its just two suits.
One of which I loved :D

Ripeer

10-31-08, 12:45 PM

Anyone else have NXE and the HD DVD add on? I can't get mine to work and am afraid of "reinstalling" using the disc that came with it.
edit:found it it was buried "deep" would have thought it was more obivious

mproper

10-31-08, 12:50 PM

Soooo...with the install....does that work for any game? It's a pretty welcome addition in my book...less drive spin will be great.

fjtorres

10-31-08, 12:52 PM

And now that I have the NXE at home, I can check things if you guys want.

Well, if you're offering:

1- Could you list the supported resolutions on HDMI/VGA/whatever you're using?

2- Nobody seems to be reporting on the Music and video playback/streaming App. Only a vague retort that its *only* available via the system blade. True? Any changes/improvements in those areas?

3- Any idea if it might support NTFS-formatted USB drives. (Doubtful, I know, but one can dream...)

Thanks!

RobertR1

10-31-08, 12:59 PM

Soooo...with the install....does that work for any game? It's a pretty welcome addition in my book...less drive spin will be great.

Yes. All 360 games can be installed to the Harddrive.

mproper

10-31-08, 01:07 PM

Yes. All 360 games can be installed to the Harddrive.

Great. I'm tired of GTAIV's noise....that game is the noisiest one I've played, and the first that's actually annoyed me (and my 360 is even in a cabinet).

dogmanky

10-31-08, 01:12 PM

Well, if you're offering:

1- Could you list the supported resolutions on HDMI/VGA/whatever you're using?

+1 on this? Hows 16:10 support?

Nox

10-31-08, 02:06 PM

Shape

10-31-08, 02:10 PM

Shape

10-31-08, 02:17 PM

Some cool announcements about avatars and games that will support them in this video:
http://majornelson.com/archive/2008/10/31/new-xbox-experience-avatars-in-games.aspx

A tiny bit more here:
http://gamerscoreblog.com/team/archive/2008/10/31/nxeavtrsgmes.aspx

Small Arms will support avatars, as well as Bomberman Live, Uno, Hardwood Hearts and Spades.

And these are free updates.

They show another game where an avatar is surrounded by smaller people, but it wasn't mentioned or announced what it is.

Katamari Damacy

10-31-08, 02:38 PM

Can anyone confirm that the NXE update does indeed let you remove games with 0 Gamerscore from your profile?

shagino

10-31-08, 03:10 PM

Didn't see this posted. Hopefully some of this gets changed.

http://xboxlive.ign.com/articles/924/924636p1.html

dogmanky

10-31-08, 03:12 PM

Can anyone confirm that the NXE update does indeed let you remove games with 0 Gamerscore from your profile?

I saw on a video where you can remove these games.

Shape

10-31-08, 03:13 PM

Didn't see this posted. Hopefully some of this gets changed.

http://xboxlive.ign.com/articles/924/924636p1.html

I've seen absolutely glowing reviews everywhere else. It is possible that his network(s) just suck.

shagino

10-31-08, 03:44 PM

I've seen absolutely glowing reviews everywhere else. It is possible that his network(s) just suck.

I sure hope so. I think there was one on 1Up or engadget that said the HD was outstanding. Just found the IGN review shocking. I'll judge for myself soon enough though.

bkilian

10-31-08, 03:46 PM

Chris Rein

...uhh this question is from my daughter...

i have read online (joystiq video?) where they allow you to have outfits. is this true? meaning lets say you pick out a set of clothes then save it so you can come back to it later on. i guess what i am thinking of is a locker or closet concept where you can save your look and come back to it.
Suuure it is... :)
I've been pretty impressed with the Avatar customization so far, it's actually allowed me to recognize some friends on my friends list. (I had no idea who they were for an age :))

You definately can save outfits.

Ripeer

10-31-08, 05:06 PM

Wait, what did you find, exactly? Is there a setting to enable HD-DVD?

I actuly got a reply from Mr.Major Nelson :D on the NXE Connect newsgroup.
you go to my xbox ands it the last opition on the right. Or you just hit RB and it takes you there,
That is for those people that have HD DVD add ons drives

Heres what I'm wondering. If we start installing games to the harddrive are still going to able to download X HD movie or game demo or arcade game while we play say GTA or Mass effect or whatever, anyone heard anything about this?
I know on the PS3 (Well the last time I played it) you had to sit and watch a demo download. Very annoying.

I'll trying streaming some south park and music from my vista pc using WMP11 and get back to you guys.

edit Movie streaming
It's much nicer now in some aspects it goes something like this
my xbox then over 3 times to video libary
you pick your source same as before as far as I can tell then you pick by folder and you to a screen like the one below

http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll206/Rippeer1/IMG_1110.jpg

Those are my old south parks which use an older verison of DIVX ( I think been so long) which it can clearly see and read enough to get thumbnails (unless there getting sent over by WMP11) but it won't play them.

When you click "A" on the that it takes you another screen which of which gives you info about the movie.
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll206/Rippeer1/IMG_1111.jpg
a movie I rented last night, as you can see in the 3rd column it tells you about it. and the last colmn which you can't really see reccommends other movies.

Chris Rein

11-01-08, 12:15 AM

So far, the only show that I have been able to see the, "Presented in HD" logo in Netflix has been Office Season 1 (the one with Steve).

The others have all been "Starz" presentations, and they are very soft on a 110" screen. I have FiOS with 20 down and 5 up, so connection is MEGA fast and haven't had drops at all.

I'm reviewing the posts here, but it appears others have the NXE too, so maybe they will chime in similar to the clothing question, which everyone has answered and is correct. I do have a strange piece of clothing in my closet that has a "Star" on it. Not sure where that came from, but I'm thinking it's a game as my friend from Microsoft stated that some games will unlock clothing and items for your Avatar. Very slick!

Chris Rein

11-01-08, 12:20 AM

Soooo...with the install....does that work for any game? It's a pretty welcome addition in my book...less drive spin will be great.

Yes, and an VERY nicely added touch to the game icon now is a large picture of artwork from each game. So, if you have a PS3, think of it as when you highlight a game in the XMB a large picture comes up in the background. It does that when you install a game. I've installed 5 games so far and have ample amount of space left on the drive. When you come back to the game, pushing "Y" I believe pulls up the games options and you can install or run from Hard Drive.

A quick tip for those with the NXE, when you are creating your avatar, click the right stick for a belch. :D And when you are in the new dash, pressing the right stick in gives you a wave and you can control head movement of the avatar. If you spin it in circles, your avatars eyes spin in circles. Move it fast left and right and he/she gets an angry grit teeth look. Nice little touches.

Chris Rein

11-01-08, 12:41 AM

Okay, now that I have my laptop with me I can go directly to the questions instead of having to memorize them!

Well, if you're offering:

1- Could you list the supported resolutions on HDMI/VGA/whatever you're using?

2- Nobody seems to be reporting on the Music and video playback/streaming App. Only a vague retort that its *only* available via the system blade. True? Any changes/improvements in those areas?

3- Any idea if it might support NTFS-formatted USB drives. (Doubtful, I know, but one can dream...)

Thanks!

Sure! I'm using HDMI and here's what I can see...

1. In My Xbox row
2. All the way to the end
3. System settings (which is nice because it lists right on that "window" how much drive space you have left.
4. Console Settings
5. Display
6. I can see HDTV settings, Reference Levels and HDMI Color Space (Screen format is not highlighted)
7. In HDTV settings, I see "Optimal Resolution, 480p, 720p, 1080i and 1080p
8. Reference Levels is "Standard, Intermediate and Expanded" nothing new here.
9. HDMI Color Space, as mentioned in the dedicated thread is "Auto, Source, RGB, YCbCr709 and YCbCr601. I was slightly off in my earlier post, but I did remember seeing the YCbCr options.

I reported on this earlier, but was partially correct on access. Besides pressing the "Xbox Button" to get into the older blade-esque system, you can go to My Xbox row and go all the way right 4 from the end to "Music Library". From there, you can choose "hard drive, current disc, portable device and your PC" As stated before it DOES NOT scroll longer title information either in the window or the set list. The only visual change from this to the current dash is the border around the media window. It's now the NXE trim.

I just formatted a USB thumb drive in NTFS (I have a Corsair 4GB memory stick) and put some music and a video on it. Neither show up in the dash, and actually, the drive flashes blue for a few seconds and the option to select portable device can't be selected. Sorry!

So, just to let you know what all is in the "My Xbox" row....

1. Game in the drive with a nice large game graphic (and to follow up my last post, it is Y that you press to get game details and get the install option)
2. Your Gamer Card where there are more options inside when you click on it.
3. Game Library - all your games and it shows cover art for the last 3 played. Love it!
4. Video Library
5. Music Library
6. Picture Library
7. Windows Media Center
8. System Settings

If you press the right bumper while at the game in tray window, it quick jumps to System Settings, and it's super fast.

Chris Rein

11-01-08, 12:44 AM

+1 on this? Hows 16:10 support?

That I don't know yet, but I have a new 26" monitor in my office that I'll drag the 360 in there to test via VGA and HDMI.

I'll know mid-day tomorrow unless someone else posts this.

Chris Rein

11-01-08, 12:52 AM

Chris Rein

...uhh this question is from my daughter...

i have read online (joystiq video?) where they allow you to have outfits. is this true? meaning lets say you pick out a set of clothes then save it so you can come back to it later on. i guess what i am thinking of is a locker or closet concept where you can save your look and come back to it.

To take this a step further, you can't cross-dress your character. If you are a guy, you can't put women's clothing on, but you CAN have the long hair and stuff and even put on makeup. That's as far as you can take it. I can see some people being upset with this, so I'm throwing it out. ;)

Chris Rein

11-01-08, 12:58 AM

Didn't see this posted. Hopefully some of this gets changed.

http://xboxlive.ign.com/articles/924/924636p1.html

That article is bogus. His connection must have been screwed up.

As I metioned earlier, I have a 20 down / 5 up connection and they load very fast. They are correct about adding your titles via the PC, which is fine as that's how Netflix works anyway, thus the name. :p Anyway, when you select a film, it instantly shows up on your 360. It's very fast. And as I mentioned, I only have found Office Season 1 to be, "Presented in HD". The rest just load. I will say that Netflix needs to load an identity system to show which shows are available in HD as there currently isn't an indicator until you load the flick.

Let me say that Netflix is a great addition to the marketplace flicks, however, the titles available now seem to be months old and not current, which is keeping me from switching from Blockbuster online to Netflix.