New Xbox 360 Dashboard: Video Overview in HD

[Jason Dunn]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.gametrailers.com/player/36411.html' target='_blank'>http://www.gametrailers.com/player/36411.html</a><br /><br /></div><p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/600/dht/auto/1216247787.usr1.jpg" border="1" /></p><p>Gametrailers.com has a <a href="http://www.gametrailers.com/player/36411.html" target="_blank">great overview of the new Xbox 360 dashboard</a>, and it's in glorious high-definition (I think their server is getting slammed, it took a while to buffer for me). I have a better impression of it now than I did at first: I'm glad that the cheesy avatar stuff isn't as omniprescent as I first thought - I really dislike it. It just seems to "kid like" to me...if I wanted a Wii, I would have bought one.</p>

[Jeremy Charette]

What excites me more than the dashboard is some of the other features coming in the Fall Update. You'll be able to save and play entire game discs off the hard drive. The DVD drive won't be spinning which should make the system significantly quieter, with much faster load times! They're also (FINALLY) adding support for common 15:10 resolutions such as 1440x900 and 1680x1024, for those of us with 19-22 widescreen LCD monitors. Hallelujah! Those 24" monitors sure are nice, but they cost twice as much, and suck down double the electricity as compared to a 22" LCD.

Nice to see a manufacturer continue to update their product in such a huge way, instead of forcing us to buy a "new" system every two years. With updates like this, the 360 could be around for half a decade or more.

[Joel Crane]

I have one question: Is this forced?! Do I have to upgrade?!

I absolutely hate the avatar thing. Like you said Jason, its for kids. The Wii is for kids, the Xbox 360 is for more serious gamers. I'm all about technical upgrades but this is just dissapointing.

[Stinger]

So is this going to cost me $10? ;)

[Darius Wey]

You'll be able to save and play entire game discs off the hard drive. The DVD drive won't be spinning which should make the system significantly quieter, with much faster load times!

I'm looking forward to this, more for the quieter operation than the faster load times. My 360 RRoDed many months ago. It was still under warranty, so I sent it in for repair; when I received it, they switched the DVD drive to the noisier version. Grrr.

Sigh, I guess I'll need a new HDD. The 20GB one just isn't going to cut it anymore. ;)

They're also (FINALLY) adding support for common 15:10 resolutions such as 1440x900 and 1680x1024, for those of us with 19-22 widescreen LCD monitors. Hallelujah! Those 24" monitors sure are nice, but they cost twice as much, and suck down double the electricity as compared to a 22" LCD.

Looking forward to this as well, although I believe it was 16:10 - 1440 x 900 and 1680 x 1050?

[Darius Wey]

I have one question: Is this forced?! Do I have to upgrade?!

No one is forced to upgrade, although I don't think you'll gain much by not upgrading. The blades interface will still be accessible, although it appears that it'll be a part of the Guide rather than the Dashboard. As for the avatars, I guess they're an acquired taste. I'm in the "if I wanted them, I would have bought a Wii" crowd, although maybe they'll grow on me. ;)

[Felix Torres]

Sorry but if you're on live, you get upgraded.
Its a full system software update.
(Remember, its not just the avatars and Vista-like UI, but a whole rewrite of the dashboard.)

Yes, the blades remain, but in a minimalist mode; they serve as the Guide menu now (its in the final third of the video). They actually look nice and its a really big improvement over the current Guide.

As the video makes clear, the new GUI is smooth and snappy and optimized for widescreen instead of 4x3...

The avatars are *optional*, folks; you can still do gamerpics instead.
(And the biggest nay-sayers will be the first to rush out their fancy alter-egos. You know who you are!);)

Existing themes will work; it looks fairly nice, too.
Microsoft Shows Off Xbox Experience Mockups GamePlasma.com :: Gaming to the Next Level! :: GamePlasma Live BETA (http://gameplasma.com/index.php?do=viewarticle&id=908)

Two seriously under-reported aspects of the 360 V2.0 update are the party-based file-sharing (photo-viewing for sure, music almost certain, video probably) and the new Live Primetime "channel" for schedule-based online gaming. One vs one-hundred has been mentioned but it hasn't been emphasized enough; Primetime is essentially a channel of game show MMORGs. Think you can do better than the stiffs on a given game show? Well, Primetime may give you a chance to live up to the boast... :p

Hopefully, not that they will be replacing the existing media player and photoviewer, we'll get significant improvements for both. The photo viewer for certain; it can hardly be much worse. But it would be nice to get album art for the media player and the ability to import DRM-free or even protected WMA music onto the hard drive. The new karaoke game, LIPS, allows it so there is some hope there...

Of course, this is all 4-5 months away and they are working on it as we speak so a few things may change, but overall its a nice update and a fair exchange for missing the spring dashboard update.

[Jason Dunn]

You'll be able to save and play entire game discs off the hard drive. The DVD drive won't be spinning which should make the system significantly quieter, with much faster load times!

I'd be more excited about this if they allowed you to use any external hard drive you wanted. I have the 120 GB drive, but most people are still rocking the 20 GB drive and constantly deleting stuff. The fact that Microsoft is charging $179 MSRP for the 120 GB drive is crazy given that for $99 I can pick up a 250 GB drive. Putting games on the hard drive is a great idea, but Microsoft needs to re-think their approach to storage.

[Jason Dunn]

So is this going to cost me $10? ;)

No, Microsoft isn't Apple. :D

[Felix Torres]

I'd be more excited about this if they allowed you to use any external hard drive you wanted. I have the 120 GB drive, but most people are still rocking the 20 GB drive and constantly deleting stuff. The fact that Microsoft is charging $179 MSRP for the 120 GB drive is crazy given that for $99 I can pick up a 250 GB drive. Putting games on the hard drive is a great idea, but Microsoft needs to re-think their approach to storage.

You do know they're dropping prices on the standalone drives in sept/oct (before the update comes out), right?
http://xboxfamily.com/us/index.php/Latest/Leaked-Info-on-60gb-Starter-Kit-and-20gb-s-Death.html
Somebody leaked a memo to the purchasing agent of one of the big chains detailing the intro of a "Starter Pack" with a 60GB drive and sundries for $99 and the 120GB drive dropping to (woweee!:rolleyes:) $149.
<shrug>
Its a start, I guess...

[Jason Dunn]

You do know they're dropping prices on the standalone drives in sept/oct (before the update comes out), right?...detailing the intro of a "Starter Pack" with a 60GB drive and sundries for $99 and the 120GB drive dropping to (woweee!:rolleyes:) $149.<shrug>

That's a start, but look, if Microsoft really wants people to use their Xbox as a digital entertainment hub, they need to either allow external USB hard drives to be read (so people can put their videos on there) or they need to release some big capacity, cheap drives for the Xbox.
</shrug>

[Felix Torres]

I assume you mean they should allow *marketplace* videos to be placed on USB drives. A good idea.
It would help.
So would a bring-your-own-drive add-on.
Or letting you archive content on Windows Home Server.
Or selling bigger, cheaper USB-connected drives.
Lots of ways to go about it.
They need to do *something*, other than sell a 120GB drive in a caddy, if they really want to sell significant amounts of digital content.
Even with perpetual DL rights for videos, 120GB won't get you very far these days...

[Jeremy Charette]

I get the frustration, but I also understand Microsoft's position. By specifying the hard drive, and the data protocols, and the physical connection interface, they can control the end user experience. Use their drive, get fast, reliable downloads and playback (relatively speaking).

However, allow users to use any USB drive (flash or magnetic media) and all bets are off. The bad press generated by poor user experiences could kill the platform. I dont' think Microsoft can afford to take that risk.

That being said, yes, the prices seem a bit out of whack.

And Jason, I don't know where you're buying your hard drives from, but 250 GB for $100? I just bought a 500 GB drive for my desktop for $75 from NewEgg!

[Jason Dunn]

I assume you mean they should allow *marketplace* videos to be placed on USB drives. A good idea.

No, I mean any videos - Marketplace, DVDs I've ripped...whatever. Or can I already play back videos from USB-attached hard drives? I don't do much media stuff with my Xbox 360 any more.

[Jason Dunn]

And Jason, I don't know where you're buying your hard drives from, but 250 GB for $100? I just bought a 500 GB drive for my desktop for $75 from NewEgg!

Microsoft uses 2.5" drives in their hard drive enclosure, so that's the price I was quoting. :)

[Felix Torres]

No, I mean any videos - Marketplace, DVDs I've ripped...whatever. Or can I already play back videos from USB-attached hard drives? I don't do much media stuff with my Xbox 360 any more.

Yup! Anything you can stream off a PC you can play off an optical disk or a USB-connected drive. It has its uses.:cool:
At this point, USB-connected storage is treated as read-only media; you can't copy stuff to it or even *off* it. I'd settle for being able to copy stuff off them although it *would* be nice to use them to archive marketplace content...