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Bat · 2006-10-30 2:24 pm

Here it is...

Xbox 360 Fall Dashboard Update Due October 31

Xbox users to get a host of new goodies for Halloween

Microsoft's Fall Dashboard Update for the Xbox 360 is going to be released tomorrow according to Engadget. Microsoft posted a complete list on its Xbox website today outlining 84 updates/fixes to be addressed with the update.

Some noteworthy additions with the Fall Dashboard Update include:

� HD 1080p video mode support over VGA and component cables.

� Xbox 360 HD DVD Player support.

� Stream WMV video from a Windows PC running Windows Media Player 11, Zune software, or Windows Media Connect.

� Play video from storage devices such as USB flash drives, Xbox 360 Memory Units, etc.

� Play video from CD or DVD data discs.

� Set up automatic downloads of newly released Xbox Live Arcade trial games.

� Support for upcoming release of XNA Game Studio Express (separate download and subscription required.)

� Stream music, pictures and video from a Zune device.

� Optionally disable notifications from Xbox Live while watching DVD movies.

It looks as though Microsoft wants to make sure that its heavyweight is fighting form when the PlayStation 3 and Wii drop next month. This dashboard update along with the upcoming HD DVD player, Wireless Racing Wheel, Wireless Headset and Gears of War should make the holiday season quite merry for Xbox 360 gamers.

http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=4756

http://www.xbox.com/en-US/community/new … telist.htm

Last edited by Bat (2006-10-30 2:25 pm)

elpato84 · 2006-10-31 1:21 am

No Backwards Compatible updates? Oh well, but the streaming/data video make up for it.

Bat · 2006-11-02 11:39 am

They had a teensy problem with the update. hmm It's fixed now:

Microsoft Fixes Xbox 360 Dashboard Update

Update reportedly caused crashing and inoperable machines

A few days ago, we learned that Microsoft would finally be releasing its Fall Dashboard Update, which adds to the Xbox 360 1080p support and other improved features.

Unexpectedly and unfortunately, the update also added a lot of headache and panic for a small percentage of Xbox 360 owners as the new Dashboard crashed consoles and rendered them mostly useless. It seems that it is mostly new or recently refurbished Xbox 360s are the ones affected.

Microsoft quickly acknowledged the problem, saying that an installation code was the cause of the majority of the reported issues. The issue will not affect those who have already downloaded and installed the update, as the bug only appears during installation.

A fixed version of the update is now available from Xbox Live. Those who continue to have issues are advised to contact Xbox support at 1-800-4MY-XBOX.

http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=4792

Phydeaux · 2006-11-02 12:58 pm

So, anyone with a 1080p set up and a 360 tried downloading a HD trailer of the highest caliber and tried playing it over a USB device, yet? lol

no, really, I AM interested. smile

bratboy · 2006-11-02 3:02 pm

I updated last night, no issues.

My TV only does 1080i, though....

LLEVIATHANN · 2006-11-02 3:33 pm

And I have as of yet seen any trailers in 1080p. 720p is already a huge download from live.

Phydeaux · 2006-11-02 3:39 pm

Yeah, I mean pulling a 1080p trailer from like Apple's site and sticking it on a USB keychain and trying to play it on the 360 or some such.

LLEVIATHANN · 2006-11-02 3:56 pm

Phydeaux wrote:
Yeah, I mean pulling a 1080p trailer from like Apple's site and sticking it on a USB keychain and trying to play it on the 360 or some such.

It should be ok... I mean 360 is USB 2.0 and if I recall correctly USB2 is/was faster than first gen firewire. If the key was 2.0 on the 2.0 bus it would move data faster than firewire did.

I'd give it a shot but first I gotta upgrade the stock comp cables for a vga one. Since Sony smurfed Lik-Sang...the only ones who carried a 360 HDMI cable. Now I'm forced to VGA to DVI to HDMI or something like that.

Bat · 2006-11-03 1:53 am

Sounds complicated.

Not all TVs are happy with 360's 1080p output, notably Sony's. Westys seem pretty good, Samsungs usually fine as are many games on VGA monitors, esp. CRTs. Various levels of expertise in this thread.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=743756

I don't need 1080p, but 1680x1050 (LCD) & 16*12 (CRT) via VGA make Chico berry berry happy. Add in 1600x900 or 16*10 (all monitors, no HDTV) and I'm golden.

bratboy · 2006-11-03 2:16 am

Someone in that thread said "thanks for the free up convert DVD player."

But that doesn't make any sense to me. Whether your TV is running 720p, 1080i, or 1080p, isn't the 360 playing DVDs in 480p, max?

Bat · 2006-11-03 3:22 am

It can upsample the native 720x480 DVD res. Not as good as native HD, but still higher-res thru fancy scaling tech in Xenos, a la

The GeForce 7 GPUs have a 4x5 tap video scaler for both upsampling and downsampling. This means that for each pixel, the GPU is analyzing a total of 20 pixels when scaling the image up. For comparison, the latest AVIVO Radeon�s are 6x10 tap, high-end Faroudja chips are 12x12 tap, and Silicon Optix�s Realta and ReonVX with HQV processing are 32x32-tap. The older GeForce FX and Intel GMA950 were 5x3, and pre-AVIVO ATI Radeon�s were 4x4. In general, the higher-tap filters have had better results however variations in the actual algorithm being used prevent direct comparison.

http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/nvi … /page2.asp

bratboy · 2006-11-03 3:30 am

Bat wrote:
It can upsample the native 720x480 DVD res. Not as good as native HD, but still higher-res thru fancy scaling tech in Xenos, a la

I don't know what anything in that article means! If I play a DVD on my 360, is it automatically "upsampling" or whatever? Personally it looks the same as progressive scan to me. The feature isn't new, is it?

Bat · 2006-11-03 3:52 am

No, not new. Upsampling techniques have been around for some time. They don't increase the source res, but they do play back at higher res, making more pixels out of less. Generally, the more pixels you sample, the better your interpolation to a higher resolution can be.

As pointed out, the software algorithms involved also bear on the final image quality, and these days the fancy 3-D shaders in videocards are getting into the act; have for a few years now.

If set to a 'p' mode and not rejected (or displays a normal picture via VGA), it's probably in a progressive scan mode. (Put another way, if you play a DVD with the res set to 720p and everything looks fine, it's probably upsampling to 720p).

Bat · 2006-11-04 9:11 am

And speaking of l33t grafix...

Of course it�s not all multiplayer. The Campaign game continues its inexorable progress towards completion. The most obvious changes from build to build are certainly graphical. One level had an entire mountainside removed to reveal a large body of water beyond it. The effect is mostly atmospheric � that particular area suddenly bursts from oppressive gloom to an epic and illuminating vista, yet still forces you into complex battle situations, since you can�t very well plunge into the murky deep, so you�re hemmed in on two sides regardless. In that particular area, the only way forward, is through a very large crowd of angry Brutes and for the moment, brave Grunts.

Affecting enemy AI group behavior by targeting specific bad guys and in specific ways, is satisfying, tactical and will make for oodles of replay value.

OHNOESIJUSTSAWREALHALO3WATER!!!!!!!!!

I�m the biggest ever water-fan in the history of video games. It started with the compelling waves found in Pitfall 2 on the Atari 2600. I was hooked. From then on, I became a voraciously addicted connoisseur of video game aquatics. I just saw Hao Chen�s new water tech. He�s not there so I can�t ask him about it, and I�m not even sure that�s what we�re using, but it was astonishing. Water flowing around objects and creating eddies and turbulence. A far cry from the shiny default placeholder in the MP demo EGM played.

Hao�s work on �atmospherics� is dropping in daily too. That is to say, particulates in the air that dramatically and subtly affect the quality of light and realism of the atmosphere. Objects in the distance are obscured by a realistic haze rather than fogged out or knocked out of focus. Some of this can be seen in the H3 announcement trailer, but in normal gameplay environments, it makes a big difference. It�s possible to achieve anything from a dry and dusty plain to a close, humid forest in terms of visible atmospherics. We won�t hit you over the head with it, but it�ll be there!

The atmospherics and lighting are also used to amazing effect in the single most terrifying Halo moment I ever saw. I literally yelped. Something really, really bad happened in the Campaign story, and something really, really scary ensued. Joe screamed when he saw it. I admit I peed too.

With three cores each able to handle 2 threads, maybes the engine spins off a 'water' thread as needed, as well as enhancing AI, physics and all that mundane stuff. Sounds like what HD and next-gen should be about - disappearing mountainsides and yelping. It just all comes together lately, donnit?

Woohoo! big_smile

http://www.bungie.net/News/TopStory.aspx?cid=9137

Bat · 2006-11-07 7:18 am

Some juicy stuff here...

Xbox 360: What to expect?
JCal goes over what Microsoft is bringing to the table in the coming weeks to counter Sony's and Nintendo's console launches.

Quite a bit, it looks like. (Not responsible for spelling, missing words or malaprops here. smile )

In the past it has been Sony who has bragged about the multimedia capabilities of its Playstation 2 and Playstation 3 consoles. In the case of the PS2, most of those promises never actually came to pass. In the meantime Microsoft has been rather low key on how the Xbox and Xbox 360 can handle other features besides games. Via Xbox Live the Xbox 360 has been the platform for downloading high definition trailers for movies and TV shows and they even allowed people to download an entire 40 + minute retrospective episode of the sci-fi series Battlestar Galactica (although that episode was a regular 480p resolution segment).

With the Xbox 360�s first anniversary coming up on Nov. 22, and perhaps more importantly the launch of the PS3 and Nintendo Wii coming in the next 10 days, many people wondered what Microsoft would do to counter the launches. Today, we can reveal that beginning on Nov. 22, Microsoft intends to go much further in making the Xbox 360 more than just a gaming machine. On that [day..?] they will begin offering high definition movies and TV show episodes for download with around 1,000 hours of programming available for download to the console before the end of the year. Last week FiringSquad spoke on the phone with Scott Henson, the director of platform strategy for Xbox Live, to find out more about their plans and other Xbox 360 news.

While our chat with Henson covered several topics, we will cut to the chase and report on what Henson told us about their high definition video download plans. Microsoft has contracted with a number of movie studios and TV networks to have some of their programming available for download. Pricing for the service had not been nailed down prior to our conversation with Henson last week but we were told that Xbox 360 owners will own the TV episodes they will download while the feature films will have a rental structure (the amount of rental time was not revealed in our conversation). Basically anyone with an Xbox Live membership (Gold or Silver) will be able to download high definition movies and TV shows onto an Xbox 360 hard drive. Since each purchase is tied into a person�s Gamertag, they can also sign on to their profile when they go to a friend�s Xbox 360 and download it to that hard drive and watch it there.

Including remastered classic Trek episodes. So give us a bigger hard drive already.

http://www.firingsquad.com/features/xbox_360_christmas/

(Metacell's resistance... melting... wink )

More here. http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=35574

Last edited by Bat (2006-11-07 7:36 am)

LLEVIATHANN · 2006-11-07 9:11 am

A little further in the article.

6mil Consoles
4mil XBL accounts

Not bad...still gotta get Japan playing.

Earendil the Mariner · 2006-11-07 10:02 am

But can I watch the stuff I've already bought from iTMS on it?

elpato84 · 2006-11-07 10:22 am

Earendil the Mariner wrote:
But can I watch the stuff I've already bought from iTMS on it?

Yes. Right after you sync it with your Mac.

LLEVIATHANN · 2006-11-07 10:38 am

Earendil the Mariner wrote:
But can I watch the stuff I've already bought from iTMS on it?

You'd have to be running Bootcamp/XP and have the Media Center app installed. So the answer is 'yes' but...

Bat · 2006-11-08 3:39 pm

LLEVIATHANN wrote:
...6mil Consoles
4mil XBL accounts

Not bad...still gotta get Japan playing.

Perhaps no more than 2 million Gold accounts, but that's not too shabby. Anyway...

Microsoft Hints at 80GB Xbox 360 Hard Drive

Expanded storage likely given new Video On Demand

At a recent Microsoft event to promote upcoming games and the new Video-On-Demand service, a retail Xbox 360 unit was shown with an 80GB hard drive installed. While it's 20GB short of the previously rumoured 100GB hard drive, it still offers a fourfold increase in storage capacity for users to download their new content onto. As with the stock 20GB hard drive, a portion will be allocated for system use. Nevertheless, the photo shown is purportedly of a stock Xbox 360 with an upgraded drive.

More detailed space requirements for the new Video-On-Demand service have come to light as well. A 44-minute TV episode weighs in at approximately 550MB in 480p widescreen and just under 2GB in 720p format. Movies are much larger with a two-hour movie reaching 1.7GB for a 480p version and 6GB for the 720p version. Although the Xbox 360 recently gained the ability to output 1080p, no content has been offered yet at this resolution.

Ooh, pichas too.

http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=4857

Sony don't like this none a'tall.

Sony Calls Microsoft's Xbox Live HDTV Service a "Disservice"

Sony points out that Xbox 360 Core system does not come with a hard drive

Shortly after Microsoft announced its plans to provide high-definition movies and TV shows via Xbox Live, Sony piped up with a comment about the new service.

"I think they are doing a disservice to their consumer base because they are ignoring all those people who bought the Core system," said SCEA PR chief Dave Karraker in a GameSpot story.

http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=4868

LLEVIATHANN · 2006-11-08 3:48 pm

Bat wrote:
[
Sony Calls Microsoft's Xbox Live HDTV Service a "Disservice"

Sony points out that Xbox 360 Core system does not come with a hard drive

Shortly after Microsoft announced its plans to provide high-definition movies and TV shows via Xbox Live, Sony piped up with a comment about the new service.

"I think they are doing a disservice to their consumer base because they are ignoring all those people who bought the Core system," said SCEA PR chief Dave Karraker in a GameSpot story.

Sony is forgetting that you could buy a lil USB 2 hard drive (I just ordered 250Gb for $90) and use it for storage. Hell if you're at all technical you could just buy the parts (external case and drive) to build your own.

Bat · 2006-11-09 5:21 am

Might be some problems there, but something can be done. MS isn't ready, it seems.

Microsoft's Solution to Full HDDs with Xbox Live Video: Buy Another HDD

...

While Microsoft won't confirm the rumors of a possible 80GB HDD launch in the near future to give users more space for downloadable content, Aaron Greenberg, Group Product Marketing Manager for the Xbox, offers this bit of advice for those looking for more storage space:

You know what, I don�t know. At this point we�re not ready yet to roll out a bigger hard drive. I can tell you what people tell me they do to get around this. What they do is they put their Live account on a memory unit and then they have one hard drive that they put their games or related content on, and then they have another drive that they put their movies and TV on. So you know, this isn�t ideal, but there�s some ways to work around that today. If you download the content on one hard drive, and save your Live account on the memory unit, you can still have your hard drives hold all the content. That�s not a perfect workaround, but there�s some flexibility that people can do.

So Microsoft's solution is for users to buy another $99 20GB Xbox 360 hard drive and to use a $40 memory card to store your gamer profile. The simple alternative would be to just allow gamers to use their own external hard drives and USB thumb drives for downloads, but that isn't likely to happen...at...all.

But for the adventurous folks out there, you can always perform open heart surgery on your existing hard drive enclosure and add a larger drive.

http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=4876

Gary Patterson · 2006-11-09 5:53 am

Still on the 360, has anyone got a good idea for a 2D game?

Putting Torque 2D and the free TorqueX together, anyone can be a 360 dev.

There'll be no groundshaking games out of this, but it should result in lots of fun casual games. I think that's something the 360 and its Live functionality can do really well.

Hmmm... I've got an idea...

LLEVIATHANN · 2006-11-09 11:59 pm

Gary Patterson wrote:
Still on the 360, has anyone got a good idea for a 2D game?

There's a few there now. Kinda like the classics coming back...Contra, DigDug...etc..

Geometry (sp?) Wars is killer.

Would like to see a HDTV Widescreen remastered version of Dragon's Lair 1&2 maybe even Space Ace. Also there's not enough scrolling shooters out. TimePilot & Contra is there, would love to see Ajax or even a Defender update. Tank combat game (update to BattleZone) would be neat. GoW may revive the co-op idea...would love to see a new Double Dragon.

ABigSmall · 2006-11-14 5:25 pm

http://www.joystiq.com/2006/11/14/add-v … 360-cable/
DIY VGA output for Xbox 360. Cool!

Forums | MacLife

#26 2006-10-30 2:24 pm

Re: A few 360 newsbits

#27 2006-10-31 1:21 am

Re: A few 360 newsbits

#28 2006-11-02 11:39 am

Re: A few 360 newsbits

#29 2006-11-02 12:58 pm

Re: A few 360 newsbits

#30 2006-11-02 3:02 pm

Re: A few 360 newsbits

#31 2006-11-02 3:33 pm

Re: A few 360 newsbits

#32 2006-11-02 3:39 pm

Re: A few 360 newsbits

#33 2006-11-02 3:56 pm

Re: A few 360 newsbits

Phydeaux wrote:

#34 2006-11-03 1:53 am

Re: A few 360 newsbits

#35 2006-11-03 2:16 am

Re: A few 360 newsbits

#36 2006-11-03 3:22 am

Re: A few 360 newsbits

#37 2006-11-03 3:30 am

Re: A few 360 newsbits

Bat wrote:

#38 2006-11-03 3:52 am

Re: A few 360 newsbits

#39 2006-11-04 9:11 am

Re: A few 360 newsbits

#40 2006-11-07 7:18 am

Re: A few 360 newsbits

#41 2006-11-07 9:11 am

Re: A few 360 newsbits

#42 2006-11-07 10:02 am

Re: A few 360 newsbits

#43 2006-11-07 10:22 am

Re: A few 360 newsbits

Earendil the Mariner wrote:

#44 2006-11-07 10:38 am

Re: A few 360 newsbits

Earendil the Mariner wrote:

#45 2006-11-08 3:39 pm

Re: A few 360 newsbits

LLEVIATHANN wrote:

#46 2006-11-08 3:48 pm

Re: A few 360 newsbits

Bat wrote:

#47 2006-11-09 5:21 am

Re: A few 360 newsbits

#48 2006-11-09 5:53 am

Re: A few 360 newsbits

#49 2006-11-09 11:59 pm

Re: A few 360 newsbits

Gary Patterson wrote:

#50 2006-11-14 5:25 pm

Re: A few 360 newsbits

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