Cool XBox feature (1 Viewer)

Mike_G · Oct 31, 2001

Hi all,
I got XBox Mag #1 (the real one) with a DVD-Video demo disc. I watched the interview section and there was a feature that I absolutely LOVE about the XBox. They said that you can rip audio CDs to the hard drive, and then use those tracks in some games! I hated the fact that you were always stuck with the tracks given to you in some games. I thought it would be cool to have "I Can't Drive 55" or "You Really Got Me Now" spinning while playing Gran Tourismo 3. Now it seems like the XBox will give you this feature. I LOVE IT! No idea which games will support it, but I'm VERY happy about this.
Mike

Michael St. Clair · Oct 31, 2001

We're going to play the 'Run Lola Run' soundtrack while we play Fuzion Frenzy!

Camp · Oct 31, 2001

This is one of those features Microsoft has been very quiet about. Anyone have further details about it?
Is Xbox using MP3 or WMA? I'm betting it's WMA. But I'm hoping it will play a CD-ROM of MP3s.
Has anyone seen what the interface is like?
Bit rate?

Michael St. Clair · Oct 31, 2001

You have to rip it on the XBox, hence it is probably WMA. WMA is very good IMO. You have to put an original silver audio CD or a CD-RW with Redbook audio; no CDRs.
Unless somebody can find a brand of CDR with the right reflective properties...

Kelley_B · Oct 31, 2001

Camp,
What are you thinking, is it MP3 or WMA....its WMA of coarse! Actually the latest WMA codecs are great, WMA sounds just as good as MP3, maybe even better in some cases, but the files are also so tiny.
Microsoft hasn't pressed this features as its more a feature of the games, certain games use it certain don't. The Xbox can rip and encode your cds but not all games can play the files. Personally I love the feature and think its one of the best ideas MS has had with the Xbox.

Dean Cooper · Oct 31, 2001

This is one of the great features that I can’t wait to use. The only thing I can add to the info above is that majority of the games supports this feature, the only ones that I haven’t been able to confirm yet is Halo, Morrowind, and Azurk.
Dean

Michael St. Clair · Oct 31, 2001

You know, this may be a selling point of the console that would attract more people than HD and broadband will (in 2001/2002).

Jason Seaver · Oct 31, 2001

I'm not sure why Microsoft isn't pushing this, either, unless there are RIAA lawyers who don't want anything copied for whatever reason ever whispering in their ear. For many people, this will probably be the best reason for the Xbox to have a built-in HD, and no other system does it.

Gary King · Oct 31, 2001

RIAA lawyers overstepping their bounds?
That's perposterous!

[Edited last by Gary King on October 31, 2001 at 01:13 PM]

Jason Seaver · Oct 31, 2001

Hey, if that's the case, it's another mark in the Xbox's favor. A piece of consumer electronics really isn't worth having unless the RIAA pitches a fit.

Morgan Jolley · Oct 31, 2001

My only hope is that games don't start having bad soundtracks. I don't buy CDs often and haven't bought one in a long time (nor do I have many) so this feature doesn't appeal much to me.
I heard Fuzion Frenzy sometimes goes by so quick that you don't get to hear a full song. Kinda sucks, but oh well.

Jason Seaver · Oct 31, 2001

quote: I don't buy CDs often and haven't bought one in a long time (nor do I have many) so this feature doesn't appeal much to me.[/quote]I think we've established that Microsoft isn't terribly worried about your opinion, Morgan.

Gotta figure that's a minority view, though. Most potential Xboxers probably have a couple dozen CDs or tracks that they'd like to hear coming from the good stereo while playing a game. And even if they don't, it's like the all-crepes eatery down the street from my apartment: The kind of thing that people tend to find cool to have even if they never use it.
[Edited last by Jason Seaver on October 31, 2001 at 02:41 PM]

Andre F · Oct 31, 2001

This is a very cool feature to me. After a few hours of the same soundtrack I could use a little variety. As far as the whole WMA vs MP3 thing goes, from my understanding WMA is much better format than MP3.
-Andre
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-= Take your stinking paws off me you damn dirty ape! =-

Dan B · Oct 31, 2001

I'm excited about this feature, too. The guys at Xbox Magazine have said that they will be including tracks on the demo discs to download as well.
Another exciting prospect is recording your own voices/sound effects to the hard drive via the microphone accessory.
in Dan's voice:"Take that, smelly *****es!"

-Dan B
P.S. I got the Xbox Mag DVD the other day, too, and Amped & NFL Fever were very impressive.

Morgan Jolley · Oct 31, 2001

What would interest me is if you could burn sound effects onto a CD in MP3 or .wav format and then put those on the HD. If that was the case, I would be VERY interested.

James D S · Oct 31, 2001

The thought of playing some metal of my choosing while I'm fraggin' in Halo has me drooling at the mouth.
Drop a little Danzig on ya!
Of course, playing "Head Like a Hole" while I send a missile at some sorry alien's dome should add to the experience, as well.

[Edited last by James D S on November 01, 2001 at 03:14 AM]

Dave F · Oct 31, 2001

What would interest me is if you could burn sound effects onto a CD in MP3 or .wav format and then put those on the HD. If that was the case, I would be VERY interested.

And then you could spend hours in a clunky interface tying custom sound effects to sound event triggers in the game. Sounds fun!
You can do this in many PC games where you can make your own levels. It's not that fun, and takes a lot of dedication to get the sound effect, timing, and volume just right. Most of the time, it just sounds bad & people put lame movie quotes in the game.
-Dave
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"The page you are looking for is here no more. Quoth the Raven, 'Nevermore.'"

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Dean Cooper · Oct 31, 2001

You can Morgan, the only catch is you need to use CDRW instead of CDR as the media. They have to be wav files too, not really a big deal to convert mp3 to wav anyway.
Dean

Morgan Jolley · Nov 1, 2001

I would love to play a game with my own custom soundtrack being a bunch of annoying sound effects. Imagine hearing one annoying sound over and over and over again. It would be a test of will.
And it would annoy the hell out of anyone in the room.

James D S · Nov 1, 2001

Imagine hearing one annoying sound over and over and over again. It would be a test of will.

I don't have to imagine.

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