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XBOX 360 Info/Advice

post #1 of 15
4/4/09 at 5:11pm
Thread Starter 
Hey All,

It's time for another one of my wacky I need info and advice threads where I will ramble on too much! Here we go! =)

A few weeks ago, my Brother got an Xbox, and since then (and even off and on beforehand) I have been thinking about getting one. As odd as this probably sounds, playing actaul Xbox 360 games is probably the LEAST reason I want to get one. Besides Street Fighter 4, which I am dying to play, I don't know of any titles I really want. I haven't exactly browsed the whole catalog, but still. I figure I can probably find some games I like after I get the thing. Honestly, having access to XBLA probabaly interests me more as I really love Retro games. I wanna play Castlevania Symphony of the Night. The remake of Bionic Commando and so on.

Anyway need some input on a few of the OTHER things the Xbox does.

Music Streaming:

Is this very complicated? I do have windows PCs with Windows Media Player and all that. Does it let you access libraries of music from different computers? For example I have music on my desktop, but my wife has music on her Laptop. Can the Xbox access all of it and play it? You can control the music completely from the Xbox correct? I would be using HDMI, Would I still get the audio from streaming through that cable to my reciever?

The othe main thing my wife (who hates video games) is ok with me getting the Xbox for is the Netflix streaming. Keeping in mind we'd probably only use it for TV shows, how is it? I probably wouldn't stream a movie, I rather have a Blu-Ray for that. But for TV shows with instant watch access, i think me and her will like the Netflix streaming. I would be on wireless too I should mention. IN the living room, I have an extra router setup as a bridge. It's currently in place for my BD-Live BD player, but it still has 3 ports so the Xbox would plug in right there.

Also, and very important, is the Xbox 360 compatible with Harmony Remotes? I can't remember if they have built in IR recievers or not.

That about does it. I'm honestly torn about getting the Xbox and just looking for some input. It's not the money or anything - it's will I ever get use out of it.

Thanks.
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post #2 of 15
4/5/09 at 11:08pm

Re: XBOX 360 Info/Advice

Any computer that is running a UPnP media server, such as WMP, will show up on the Xbox as a music/video source. So you can play files from multiple PC sources. Pretty easy to set up. However, the fast forward/reverse (that works so well on the old Xbox with XBMC) is kinda funky on UPnP, so don't expect much.

We use Netflix Watch Instantly quite frequently and have particularly enjoyed getting familiar with some British TV shows: League of Gentlemen, Little Britain, Hotel Babylon, and (best of all) MI-5. You will need DSL or cable for good quality, however.

Haven't tried using it with my Harmony remote...

If you're purchasing a new unit (as opposed to second-hand or refurbished), I'd highly recommend buying an Xbox 360 Arcade or one of the red RE5 Xbox 360 Elites. These have the new Jasper motherboard which may be more resistant to hardware failure due to overheating. In any case, if you buy one, make sure you place it in a location that provides plenty of air circulation to dissipate the heat and reduce that chance of overheating.

And for my information, which router are you using as a bridge? I want to set one up for my friend'd Blu-ray player.
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post #3 of 15
4/6/09 at 1:30am
Thread Starter 

Re: XBOX 360 Info/Advice

Hey Bob, thanks for the input.

I ended up pulling the trigger on this earlier today. I got tired of thinking about it. Either I will like and use it or I wont, but I will cross that bridge when I come to it. I had read today that you can plug an iPod into the Xbox and use it and I really dug that idea, so...I finally ordered it.

I did as a matter of fact get a Arcade system. Those specifically have this new board you mentioned? I got the Arcade but I also got the Xbox live Starter Pack with the HDD and stuff. I did it this way so I could get the 3 3months of Xbox live Gold Card.

Both of my routers are the famous WRT54Gs by Linksys, different versions but the same routers. I am using 3rd party Firmware called Tomato. it took me awhile to get the bridge setup, as I had never did anything like that before but now that I have, I essentially have 4 wired ports in the living room to plug things into. Then of course the router in there basically acts as one big wireless connection. Or so I understand.
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post #4 of 15
4/6/09 at 12:43pm

Re: XBOX 360 Info/Advice

Adam please buy an extended warranty from Microsoft on your 360. There should be a card with your unit and you have three months to sign up for it. I am on my fourth unit and if you do some research you will see I am not the only one.
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post #5 of 15
4/6/09 at 1:47pm

Re: XBOX 360 Info/Advice

Adam:

RE: the extended warranty.

The big issue on the Xbox 360 is called the Red Rings of Death, because three of the rings on the front of the unit turn red when the failure due to overheating occurs. Although some folks have had failures due to bad optical drives, the RRoD is by far the most common problem.

Fortunately, Microsoft provides you with a three-year warranty if your 360 RRoD's. So, IMO, that makes the extended warranty a less cost-effective proposition.

FYI, I also went the Arcade + Hard Drive route for my first Xbox in January. When my wife decided she wanted her own system, she inherited that and I purchased the red Elite (also the Jasper board.)

I think when you start using it, you'll REALLY start using it. The online gameplay is what grabbed my wife. We regularly play coop games on weekends with a couple (old friends) who live in Oregon. Really fun and a nice way to hang out together despite the distance between us.
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post #6 of 15
4/6/09 at 2:18pm
Thread Starter 

Re: XBOX 360 Info/Advice

Hey again.

I had heard about the Xbox's hardware problems here and there like the rings or it getting too hot. Funny enough though I didn't think to check on that stuff before I decided I want one. I believe I heard though the hardware stuff had gotten better. In any case, I am glad to hear I ordered the right version of the system.

I'm curious though, why is it the Arcade and Elite benefit from the new Board you mentioned? Why is this not a factor in the middle rangle system that comes with the HDD already? I'd think the midprice one would be the most commonly bought and so would definately have this new board too?

This may sound odd as hell, but I don't WANT to get too into the Xbox. I'm out of work, but always looking so hopefully that will change soon. I also switched schools, from Academy of Art to Animationmentor.com and doing well in that is VERY important to me. I know I need my time to relax or school and work and marriage will kill me. But I don't want the Xbox to turn into a World of Warcraft type obession....which I'm thankfully free of....finally.

The Xbox 360 has my Nintendo DS to compete with for my attention. I wish my new system luck, it will need it. I adore my DS...and DSi now! =)

Bob, have you tried the Xbox with an iPod plugged in? I'm very anxious to try that. If that works well, I may not even bother streaming my music from my PC. Everything on it is on my iPod too and I would imagine I direct USB connection is alot simpler than network played music.

Still though if my wife wants her music on the network, it's on her laptop so I might have to hook hers up to the Xbox network and all that.

All my music on my computers is through iTunes. I assume I would have to make all the music visable to WMP if I am to stream to the Xbox right?
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post #7 of 15
4/6/09 at 11:17pm

Re: XBOX 360 Info/Advice

The previous version of the motherboard was designed to support a smaller die size for the CPU, but only a slightly smalled die size for the graphics processor. The graphics processor is the heat monster, so the improvement wasn't radical and MS still had plenty of failures.

The Jasper board is designed to support smaller die sizes on both processors; hence, a Jasper-based Xbox generates less heat. (And presumably MS also fixed some of the soldering issues on the older boards.) It remains to be seen what reality will be, but theoretically this should be a significant improvement.

I suppose because the less expensive Arcade models sell out the fastest, they first started manufacturing those with the Jasper boards, followed by the new Elites in the red Resident Evil 5 edition. It's just a reflection of time and production schedules as to why the Jasper appears in the Arcade and RE5 Elites.

Although I used to design games, I'm not letting the 360 take over. I edit books on film technology at present and have a full schedule coming up in the next two months, so I can't afford to go Game Simple. My wife, on the other hand, is addicted to Rainbow 6: Vegas...

Yes, you'll have to configure your WMP to find all the music, as you would with any UPnP server. (Unfortunately, I'm not an iTunes fan so I have no experience with it and the Xbox. But I'm sure someone around here does.)

You might experiment with this server:
http://ps3mediaserver.blogspot.com/
Although designed for the PS3, it works somewhat with the Xbox and allows you to search your folder structure without the tedious and time-consuming process of logging all your songs into the UPnP server database.

Another option would be to plug in an outboard USB hard drive with the music on it; or a big thumb drive. I haven't tried the iPod; but if I get the latest 58-page (!!) chapter edited tomorrow, I might give it a try. It just works so smoothly streaming from my PC that I've never bothered up to now.
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post #8 of 15
4/7/09 at 3:16am

Re: XBOX 360 Info/Advice

I spent some time reading today about the jasper XBOX 360. Here's what will identify it as a jasper:

"The box has a window where you can actually see the voltage the system uses. If it states it's 12.1 then that is the latest chip.

Look for a 150W power supply, not the 175W Falcon one. They could be interchangable though, so I think the real key is the "12.1A" to the left of the serial number on the back. If it's 14.2 = Falcon.

My package arrived and It's a Jasper: 150W brick @12.1A, Team: FDOU, Mfg 10-23-2008 [the jaspers have a manufacture date of 10-23-2008], Lot: 0843X. To recap: this is the arcade bundle I bought from Amazon yesterday (delivered from Arizona).
---
I got a jesper Pro xmas bundle 2 weeks ago.
Runs nice cool after hours of play. Lot 847 Bday Nov 26, 2008 Group CSON
----
got a jasper from gamestop ... The system was built on 2-6-09 and from lot 0905X team CSON.

Jasper boards can be identified by their power rating, as they use 12.1 amps on the 12 volt line. Falcon boards used 14.2 amps and original Xenon and Zephyr boards used 16.5 amps


Zephyr and Falcon didn't fix the issue....it just did work around to allieviate the issue.

Zephyr added a 65nm processor.
Falcon added an additional heatsink.

Jasper shrunk the CPU down to 65nm and changed the motherboard/x-bolts."

------------------------------------------------------------------

Xbox-Scene News: Jasper Motherboard in the Wild: 256MB Internal 'MU', 150W PSU, ...
"Other unannounced change ... the onboard flash chip has grown from 16MB to 256MB. Microsoft included internal memory storage, so the Arcade SKU now ships without (external) Memory Unit and the new NXE dash will install fully on the flashchip (rather than requiring a HDD or external MU). But the internal memory can also be used to store gamesave data, XBLA games, videos or whatever ... u can use it asif it was an external MU. As the flash chip is also used for the kernel/keyvault/dash etc there seems to be about 214MB left according to scoldingice on our forums to store your own stuff (this is prior NXE install, if you install NXE it will take most of the space).

I'm guessing the Jasper PRO and Elite SKUs will also come with this internal memory. It's just cheaper for Microsoft to make 1 type of motherboard for all SKUs rather than making a different version for each SKU. Also seems logic in a way ... get the full NXE dash on the internal flash is much 'cleaner' than using HDD/MU for it."

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Here are some pictures of the jasper:

Xbox-Scene News: Jasper Motherboard in the Wild: 256MB Internal 'MU', 150W PSU, ...
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post #9 of 15
4/7/09 at 9:09am

Re: XBOX 360 Info/Advice

Matt:

Thanks for the info. I had read that some people located Pro systems with the Jasper, but when I went looking here in SoCal, I couldn't find one. Good to hear that things have changed in the last three months.

And here's a detailed article about the Jasper:

AnandTech: Jasper Is Here: A Look at the New Xbox 360
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post #10 of 15
4/11/09 at 12:22am
Thread Starter 

Re: XBOX 360 Info/Advice

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bob_L
Adam:

RE: the extended warranty.

The big issue on the Xbox 360 is called the Red Rings of Death, because three of the rings on the front of the unit turn red when the failure due to overheating occurs. Although some folks have had failures due to bad optical drives, the RRoD is by far the most common problem.

Fortunately, Microsoft provides you with a three-year warranty if your 360 RRoD's. So, IMO, that makes the extended warranty a less cost-effective proposition.

FYI, I also went the Arcade + Hard Drive route for my first Xbox in January. When my wife decided she wanted her own system, she inherited that and I purchased the red Elite (also the Jasper board.)

I think when you start using it, you'll REALLY start using it. The online gameplay is what grabbed my wife. We regularly play coop games on weekends with a couple (old friends) who live in Oregon. Really fun and a nice way to hang out together despite the distance between us.


Hey all and Bob again. I got my Xbox 360 today from Dell and have been enjoying it. The system has a nice interface, and looks great on my 52 inch TV. The Netflix streaming I tested works really well, even in HD.

So I had a question about the 3 year warranty. I am not quite clear on it. One of you says I need to pay for it...but another says I get it...automatically if I happen to get the RRoD? Do I have that right? I did not see the warranty card but I could of missed it in the box. I did get a Jasper Board though, so that's good.

I like how my Harmony One can control the system. My wife will like that when she is using Netflix steaming.
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post #11 of 15
4/11/09 at 10:41am

Re: XBOX 360 Info/Advice

Hi again Adam! (My wife is in the next room playing Rainbow 6:Vegas on the 360 right now. I can hear the sounds of death from here. )

RE: the warranty, we're talking about two things.

Matt is talking about buying an extended warranty which would protect you from any malfunction of the 360.

I'm talking about Microsoft's three-year warranty coverage for RRoD, which you automatically get as the owner of any Xbox 360, no extra charge.
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post #12 of 15
4/11/09 at 10:15pm
Thread Starter 

Re: XBOX 360 Info/Advice

I've looked through my box the system came in like 3 times and I can't find an extended warranty CARD anywhere. I have the manual, the warranty manual, the xbox live junk, free magazine offer, accessories booklet...and that's about it.

Maybe it's inside one of the things I listed. But I don't see it.

Bob, I will probably never understand why you and your wife have TWO Xbox's. I just can't understand the point of that! Even if my wife loved video games, which she never will in a million years, we would still only ever have one of any system...except maybe Portable systems. But again...she ain't never gonna like them!

I like the Xbox 360 though, it's a good digital media device.
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post #13 of 15
4/11/09 at 10:21pm

Re: XBOX 360 Info/Advice

Quote:
Bob, I will probably never understand why you and your wife have TWO Xbox's.

Perhaps it's because you've never played coop games, each player on his/her own screen. It's LOTS o' fun.
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post #14 of 15
4/11/09 at 10:44pm
Thread Starter 

Re: XBOX 360 Info/Advice

I can live with split screen.

So how does one get those fancy smancy Xbox 360 Gamertag Bar thingies people have at the bottom of signatures on forums?
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post #15 of 15
4/13/09 at 11:44am

Re: XBOX 360 Info/Advice

Quote:
Originally Posted by Adam Sanchez
I can live with split screen.

Many games do not offer split screen on XBOX live which really stinks. My son and I love COD World at War but can not play together on line even though we both have Live Accounts.
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