XBOX 360 HDMI 120GB hard drive!

Re: XBOX 360 HDMI 120GB hard drive!

They aren't trying as hard as Sony to kill the PS3.

Anyway, was the part about HDMI ever confirmed? I've only seen that as a rumor with no substantiating evidence to support it.

Re: XBOX 360 HDMI 120GB hard drive!

I read it as being confirmed, but I still wouldn't call it official. It said late summer/early fall though, not next month. It would be released as a limited edition in black, and when sold out replace the premium package (in white). Sounds reasonable enough to believe. It also mentioned running quieter/cooler. XBOX 360 SP1 was essentially how it sounded.

Re: XBOX 360 HDMI 120GB hard drive!

I know there will be a new machine, I know it will have a bigger harddrive, I know the HD DVD drive will NOT be internal. The only question was whether or not it had HDMI, because I have not heard anything "confirmed" on that point.

Re: XBOX 360 HDMI 120GB hard drive!

All the sources that say the new machine will be black, have the larger HD, etc. say it will have HDMI. There's really no reason to believe one and not the other.

Re: XBOX 360 HDMI 120GB hard drive!

The "machine" that had the "HDMI" was white in color and was largely discounted as an in-house test unit. I know of anonymous confirmations of all the elements in the new unit EXCEPT the HDMI. The "source" said that Microsoft was still not convinced it will make enough of a difference to add the cost to the machine. Again, I'm not doubting anybody I'm just looking for some place to read where that confirmation came from. And Again, I'm looking for anything where the HANA/HDMI part of this new unit was confirmed. I know the rest is golden, so......

Re: XBOX 360 HDMI 120GB hard drive!

Sorry Jeremy I mixed up some posts there with CRyans. As far as a link from MS, like I said earlier its been "confirmed" but I still wouldn't call it official. Microsoft has not released any official word yet AFAIK.

Re: XBOX 360 HDMI 120GB hard drive!

The new Xbox "1337" has been officially confirmed by Microsoft and is not, apparently, just some April Fool's prank by a couple of publications. In addition, there will be an upgrade to the "regular" 360 available in the form of a new 120Gig HD which you can retrofit to your original 360 in place of the current 20G HD. They will also include a migration cable so that you can transfer all your saved games, etc. from the old drive to the new one. I'm particularly interested in how this will be accomplished since there has always been a question of using an external USB HD reliably with the 360 (I could never get one to work and I've tried quite a few.) My guess is that MS will be using some proprietary jacks and cable to keep you from only transferring content (game saves, etc.) that they deem reasonable. With the newer video on demand content that they "rent" you with an expiration date built into it I'm not sure how they would handle such material if it could be readily transferred to other storage. So I assume that the new drives won't be USB in the traditional sense or else people wouldn't be spending $179 for a 120G drive when you can buy a 500G Western Digital "My Book" or similar for about the same price point.

One other question I have regards my XBox Live Gold Account. I fully intend to get the new model and keep the "old" 360 for use elsewhere in my home. Can I access my XBox Live Gold account from both boxes or is it tied to just one box? Does anyone have any idea how this will be handled?

And as to why I would upgrade to a new 1337 instead of simply buying the 120Gig drive for the old box? A lot of the gaming review sites have greatly downplayed the significance of the HDMI connection but that, to me, is the deal maker in this whole scenario.

Assuming that the implementation is correct I fully expect HDMI to deliver audio and video to my A/V equipment just as the PS3 currently does - a one wire solution with full 1080p and advanced decoded HD audio codecs. Comments like, "why would anyone spend $479 just for an HDMI connection which isn't that significant" are common among gamers who are not also HT aficionados but they certainly don't apply in my case. I will admit that if a person is simply a gamer and not involved with Home Theater that I can fully understand and appreciate their position in this matter. But as a firm believer (and user) of HD media for both its visual and aural superiority, the one chink in the armor of the original 360 was the lack of HDMI and/or analog 5.1 outputs which effectively made it impossible to listen to uncompressed or lossless audio. I was about to spend over $500 for a newer generation Toshiba HD player anyway (my first generation XA1 is a dog as far as sluggishness is concerned, etc.) so getting a $479 XBox 1337 makes a lot of sense to me (I already own the HD-DVD attachment for the XBox). As a sidenote, I find it a bit ironic that I'm able to justify the cost of both the PS3 and the XBox 1337 based on their ability to perform well with HD content (audio and video) even without taking the game play into consideration. Pure gamers probably think that I'm crazy.

A lot of unanswered questions, but since MS is obviously going right after the PS3 head on I'm betting that the HDMI implementation for picture and sound will at least match the PS3. That just makes sense to me. And it also makes sense to keep the HD-DVD player separate for two significant reasons:

• It's a lot more convenient to be able to have a movie and a game loaded in my 360 than one or the other with my PS3
• With an external drive MS is keeping its options open no matter what way the format war winds blow

Just a few comments from a veteran "bleeding edger."

Re: XBOX 360 HDMI 120GB hard drive!

Yep HDMI is huge, huge, huge. Enough to finally get me to seriously consider purchasing this as the companion piece to my PS3.

The only problem I have is that apparently [from the little I've read] the internals haven't changed all that much, meaning same CPU, board, etc. And with the earlier problems of overheating, I was really hoping with the 1337 that they'd address those problems by using cores that run cooler & more efficient than the original 360.

Couple this with the rumored price drop for the HD-DVD add-on, and I just might be fully HD/360 capable by the end of summer!

Re: XBOX 360 HDMI 120GB hard drive!

May I ask what you sold your 360 for, just out of curiosity? I would like to get the ELITE because of the HDMI and it's black(), but I don't know if it's worth the hassel of me trying to sell my premium 360 setup. That and the fact it's almost $100 more than the premium system.

Re: XBOX 360 HDMI 120GB hard drive!

What is the point of an HDMI connection if the machine doesn't have a built in HD DVD player? $500 US for a machine that still requires you to buy an add-on HD DVD player and, from what I can tell from the press release, still no built-in wireless. This machine, to add up to the PS3's capabilities, would cost just as much as the PS3, and it still doesn't look like it allows the HD player to be used for 1080p hi-def game content.

I would say it was a good deal if the MSRP was closer to the XBOX360 premium price. But a hundred bucks more for a color change, one connector, and a bigger hard drive? Yikes!

Also wouldn't the machine have to have two HDMI connectors if the HD player is a separate unit? One to plug in the HD DVD and the other to pass the signal through to the display?

Re: XBOX 360 HDMI 120GB hard drive!

My thoughts exactly. Well stated. If you don't need HDMI, Microsoft is still offering an upgrade path to a larger HD for those who want to stay with their current box.

Re: XBOX 360 HDMI 120GB hard drive!

I, for one, like the idea of having an external drive for HD content. For one thing it doesn't lock the machine into one format if another format wins the HD race (there has already been some talk of MS offering a BR player if HD-DVD doesn't make it.) For another, I prefer being able to keep a game loaded in my XBox 360 while having an HD-DVD movie also loaded at the same time. Taking God of War II out to watch a BR movie gets old real fast to me.

And as to the need for two HDMI connections, I don't believe that this is the case. As I recall, the HD DVD player still relies on the processing power of the 360 to "become" a full fledged player and is connected to the main box via a digital USB port. This connection sends all the audio and video information directly into the 360 for further processing before going out to your other equipment. The only HDMI connection needed would be from your XBOX Elite to your receiver. I'm just hoping that, like the PS3, the new Xbox (1337) will do all the audio decoding in the box so that decoded streams will be sent through the HDMI to receivers. If that's the case then HDMI 1.1 will work fine at the receiver end of things since the decoding takes place in the player (and in this case the Xbox).

Re: XBOX 360 HDMI 120GB hard drive!

I use component switching Denon a/v receiver. so I don't have a need for HDMI (my HDTV's dont even have HDMI inputs). Ive been contemplating upgrading my living room tv, but probably wont for a while. I don't think the 360 HDMI will give me more options than Component does today (unless there will be HDCP compliance issues w/ the upcoming IPTV functionality).

As far as being black, a can of decent spray paint and some careful effort can fix that.

As far as the 120 gig drive goes, I'm sure Microsoft will push through some firmware update allowing 360's to view a 120gig drive. So I could also go the USB route and buy a cheaper drive. I don't rip music to the drive at all because I use my 360 as a MCE from my computer to deliver my music to my HT. I really don't see myself spending money on the live Marketplace for HD movies either.

That being said, I still want the Elite, but I wont pay more unless I get more than that, however, my thinking is that I can pick up a Core 360 pretty cheap in the next few months to use as a MCE in my bedroom. If this is the case, Id like to thank Microsoft for getting their current customers to repurchase an updated system and sell off their "lower-end" systems (because trade-in's aren't worth it).

However, I came across this rumor from Digg.com

Re: XBOX 360 HDMI 120GB hard drive!

The one thing that HDMI will definitely add to the mix (and which the current XBOX360 can't offer because of the lack of either HDMI or 5.1 analog audio outputs) is the ability to play HD audio codecs which include uncompressed and lossless audio. That alone makes it worth it for me. Component can produce 1080p video output with the current software, but, of course, component doesn't transmit audio and Toslink audio output doesn't transmit HD audio.

On the matter of adding a 120G Hard drive to the current XBOX 360 (for those who don't care about HDMI or the color of the console) Microsoft has announced a 120G upgrade that will replace the current 20G Hard drive (or add a Hard drive to a core system). They will even include a cable that will allow you to transfer the content from your current hard drive (if present). I'm especially interested in how this will be accomplished because I've had a lot of trouble in the past trying to transfer content to an external USB HD on the 360. Most stuff won't transfer so I'm currently limited by the 20G limitation of the original 360 HD.

Re: XBOX 360 HDMI 120GB hard drive!

Rumor has it the HDMI on the 360 will be 1.2 not 1.3. Still think its worth it?

This was an article from gizmodo.com which quotes a source from AVS Forums


It also goes on to say
I understand its about color balance, but whats the major significance being able to adjust this on the 360, Wouldn't that possibly throw off any calibrations my television had (if I used the VGA output)

Re: XBOX 360 HDMI 120GB hard drive!

This whole question about HDMI output being 1.2 or 1.3 in order to be of any use for HD audio codecs is, in my opinion, being blown way out of proportion and a lot of supposedly "knowledgeable" commentary on forums like AVS isn't helping the situation. Yes, if you need to rely on decoding Dolby Digital + and TrueHD audio codecs in your receiver then HDMI 1.3 on both ends would be required. But that just isn't the case right now. Both my HD-DVD player (XA-1) and Blu-ray player (PS3) do the decoding of these HD audio formats in the player so even HDMI 1.1 (which I currently have on my Denon 3806 AVR) does the job quite nicely. As long as the player does the decoding then you don't have to have anything above 1.1 to fully enjoy the newer sound formats. All your receiver has to be able to do is handle the decoded PCM stream via HDMI (any flavor).

Of course, the only thing we won't know for sure until either specs are released or until XBox 1337s ("Elites") reach the shelves is whether or not the new box will decode the HD audio codecs. It seems to me that this will be a necessary feature if the 1337 is to be considered a serious HD disc player with full functionality - especially since its major competition seems to be the PS3 for games and stand alone HD-DVD players for HD video (and audio!). If the competition does something important that you don't offer then you already have two strikes against you before you even step up to the plate. Passing a 1080p video picture through HDMI is only half of the story. I'm guessing that the new XBox Elite will offer HD audio codec decoding before output via HDMI - especially since the XBox has always been relatively seamless with firmware upgrading and firmware upgrading is the way that all the other HD players (both formats) have handled new audio decoding.

Re: XBOX 360 HDMI 120GB hard drive!

Maybe I'm just bitter, but 'tis also a bit of a stick in the eye to people who got the 360 early on, like myself. By 2005 HDMI clearly was going to be the HD standard well into the future, and it should have been included (or at least there should have been the potential for its inclusion on that first generation of consoles).

I just recently bought a 1080p projector that handles HDMI, so I'd certainly like to have that capability out of my XBox, but I'm not going to purchase a whole new console for it. Instead, all other things being equal, I'll be buying the PS3 versions of multi-platform games, and the Blu-Ray versions of multi-format movies, to play them over my PS3 and its HDMI connection. Sony has gotten on my nerves in recent months, and the PS3s introduction has been all but a disaster, but at least their console wasn't just an interim solution. HDMI - check. Wireless - check. Reasonably big hard drive - check.

Don't get me wrong, I still love my 360 and its HD-DVD add-on, and it certainly looks great over component, but I'm still disappointed. However, I won't begrudge those who (wisely) held off on buying a 360 up until now.

--Jefferson Morris

Re: XBOX 360 HDMI 120GB hard drive!

You won't have to wait. Amir from Microsoft already confirmed last week over at the AVS forums that decoding for PCM/HD Audio codecs is not part of the spec outside of 2-channel support.


Why is there no 5.1? Well Amir has an answer for that as well...

So it looks like we'll be waiting for the "Super Elite" model.

It most certainly is a necessary feature for those wanting full functionality. Microsoft's current answer to that is very simply to go out and buy a stand alone player.

Also, we haven't even touched on the remaining question of exactly how the 360 is handling the digital path for HDMI? Currently the 360 is using an analogue scaler chip by the name of "ANA". There have been rumors that Microsoft is updating the hardware with the Elite with a digital scaler by the codename of "H-ANA". However, recent revelations by Microsoft suggest that nothing has been changed internally on the Elite model. Which means that the video signal may not have a clear direct digital path as anyone using the HDMI connection would hope for. Instead it will need to be converted to analogue and back to digital via the HDMI output. Completely defeating the purpose of having such a connection.

This is a stop gap solution for Microsoft. It's meant to appeal to the "hardcore" user but frankly it comes off extraordinarily half-assed and the price just isn't right considering what's included in my opinion. Considering there have been endless rumors about an even more updated model of the console with the 65nm chipset (which will reduce heat ouput) and further hardware revisions that will improve reliability (which considering the failure rate on the 360 is far more important to me) and functionality (just look at the above commentary), and I personally do not see the point in upgrading at this point. New buyers? Sure.

Re: XBOX 360 HDMI 120GB hard drive!

Well, let's keep in mind that we won't really be able to get a definitive on how the 360 is handling the HDMI connectivity until it's actually on store shelves. I'm sure tech sites like Arstechnica will open up the system and do a nice full report on what's been changed when it's out there for general consumption. Early models of the Elite that were leaked months ago showed it with the "H-ANA" chip already installed. Microsoft may not bother mentioning that as a hardware change as it's fairly seamless to the end user.

Re: XBOX 360 HDMI 120GB hard drive!

So Microsoft is looking at the Xbox like they do their operating systems. every couple years you can update to the newer one? But if they did this, then the market would be saturated w/ 360's of all kinds. They would need to create reasons why the newer higher end models are much better and truly elite.

Re: XBOX 360 HDMI 120GB hard drive!

Very simple - HD Audio codecs since the current 360 doesn't offer any way to access these tracks by not having either HDMI or 5.1 analog output. HDMI is also good for us who want a "one wire solution" (although I'm reserving judgment on this until I see how the 1337 handles the video signal). In any event I'm not adding a new "dedicated" HD-DVD player to my home until I see a bit more how the format wars progress. While my 1st generation Toshiba XA-1 is infuriating with its sluggishness, terrible remote and many other quirks, that's it for now with stand alone HD-DVD players for me.

To me, the HD Audio is as important a component as the HD Video on these HD discs. In addition, I'm looking forward to adding a second XBox to the house for another room. The 360 gets so much play that I sometimes wish I had it in more than one room. The new "Elite" - with its bigger HD, added features, etc. makes perfect sense for my particular situation.

Re: XBOX 360 HDMI 120GB hard drive!

And the elite will not allow you access to those HD Audio Codecs unless you're willing to accept 2.0 output. See the quotes in Romier's post from yesterday.