New Xbox 360 due for late '07 to handle IPTV?

According to a pre-CES briefing that Windows expert Paul Thurrott received from his Microsoft pals, the big M will be coming out with a new version of the Xbox 360 (Zephyer?) at the end of 2007, which will feature a larger HDD and some new hardware to enable that IPTV functionality Robbie Bach was talking about during the Microsoft CES keynote. It also stands to reason that such a Xbox 360 might be sporting a fancy new HDMI port and perhaps run just a wee bit cooler -- meaning HDCP and less fan noise, natural fits for home theater use. It still seems a bit unreasonable for Microsoft, which has been bragging about its 10 million strong installed base, to leave those early adopters out in the cold, but if that's the way it goes down we can't say we won't welcome the excuse to ditch the fan and disc drive hullabaloo of our current gen box.

[Via Digg; thanks to everyone who sent this in]

[Veritas II @ Jan 13th 2007 11:07PM]

Add the HD DVD drive internally and I'll be happy!

[marty @ Jan 13th 2007 11:15PM]

yea, i think the current system will be able to use the IPTV. at least i think it should. there'll probly be a software update or something. or if it's about memory, m$ should just let us buy a bigger harddrive, cause i really wanna use IPTV, and i just got a 360 for xmas.

[Lectoid @ Jan 13th 2007 11:16PM]

I bet three things happen.

1.) They drop the $300 Xbox Core edition.
2.) Lower the 360 version to 300 dollars.
3.) Launch a home theater version with these new features and charge $400 or more.

[JimJimBinks @ Jan 13th 2007 11:18PM]

I read in an interview with someone at Microsoft (At joystiq I believe) that the IPTV will be 100% software based. So no need for upgraded hardware.

[matt @ Jan 13th 2007 11:20PM]

I still don't understand why people say ms is leaving early adopters out in the cold.. Yeah it sucks the technology wasn't ready when 360 launched, but that's life. Personally I very happy ms has decided to continue improving their console so that people can get those features now instead of having to wait years.

Also ms will never make hd-dvd internal, it would add hundreds of $ to the price for no real benefit. People need to realize the ms is a software company, and have 0 stake in the outcome of the hd-dvd vs blu-ray war except for the fact the failure of blu-ray would really hurt sony. They are putting in just enough effort to ensure a format war but that's it.

[TIm G. @ Jan 14th 2007 2:40AM]

> ms is a software company, and have 0 stake in
> the outcome of the hd-dvd vs blu-ray war

You need to do a little research and see just how entrenched MS is with the HD-DVD camp. HD-DVD is *EXTREAMLY* important to MS and its future.

/tg

[raidedguy @ Jan 13th 2007 11:20PM]

It'd be nice if they let us trade in our first gen xbox 360s for one of these when they finally come out, even if it cost money...

[Zadillo @ Jan 13th 2007 11:23PM]

MS might not let you, but if MS does make a "new xbox 360", I bet you will see some special trade-in offers elsewhere. When the slim ps2's came out, I felt like kind of a chump because it looked so much cooler next to my big original ps2 (and I was also worried about its longevity because my ps2 was an original launchday one). But EBgames ran a special trade-in deal where they offered like $75 or $100 for an original PS2, and I was pretty happy to go ahead and just trade it in to get a slim one.

[Zadillo @ Jan 13th 2007 11:21PM]

Hrmm, my comments seem to be getting eaten......

Anyway, I posted a fairly long post, but the main point I was making is that even if MS does make an upgraded Xbox 360, it isn't so bad for existing Xbox 360 owners. They can't keep the platform stagnant and never changing just because they don't want to tick off the early adopters.

And the big thing as I see it was that even if you wanted to upgrade your xbox 360 to be close to this new platform, you'd be looking at a hefty investment. $199 for the HD-DVD drive, $99 at least for a new HD (and who knows what a 120GB HD would cost, if they charge $99 now for the 20GB version). So that $300 gets you an external HD-DVD drive and a larger HD. At that point, if you wanted those capabilities, it would be kind of silly to not spend $400 to get a "new" xbox 360 with the HD-DVD built in, the hard drive, and a cooler running processor.

[jimmothy86 @ Jan 13th 2007 11:26PM]

well even if it does require a hardware upgrade by the time the end of the year comes there will be so many media center pc's out there that the current 360 will be useful for just a media center extender/dvd player/hd-dvd player and then you can use the new one for your main system.

another thing is if it is hardware based the older systems will become expendable so the hacking community will flourish more for it.

[Michael @ Jan 13th 2007 11:38PM]

I don't own a 360 right now so I don't know if current 360 owners feel screwed that they have an obsolete system (especially those who just bought one). Some probably do; other's don't care.

One thing is for sure as far as my buying decisions are concerned: news of the updated 360 coming out will certainly keep me from buying one in the mean time. What's the point of 1080 capability with no HDMI? That upgrade alone is worth the wait.

Of course - if decent games come out on the PS3 between now and updated 360 roll-out, I just might buy a PS3. Having that BluRay internally (and not in another box) would be a nice bonus...

Michael

[SoulEaterWChicken @ Jan 14th 2007 5:29PM]

What do you mean the PS3 has no good titles?!?!? Theres Rainbow Six Vegas, Resistance: Fall of Man, and Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway! Those are GREAT Games!

[glacia @ Jan 13th 2007 11:42PM]

Slowly MS is creeping up on making my next computer. If it had simply remained a games console I would have never considered it but with the feature set it's racking up and at the price it's becoming hard to ignore.

[Brennan @ Jan 13th 2007 11:50PM]

wow, late '07, that is a long ways away, good time for Christmas too i guess........i play Wii n PC only.

um can anyone clarify what HDCP does? Because i went to wikipedia.org about it n all that i can get out of it is something to do with ur DVI n HDMI, can anyone help me out? n if i use my DVI plug, does it give a better picture on my monitor then VGA? like component cables to Wii for example?

[Don Wilson @ Jan 13th 2007 11:53PM]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDCP - High-Bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP) is a form of Digital Rights Management (DRM) developed by Intel Corporation to control digital audio and video content as it travels across Digital Visual Interface (DVI) or High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) connections.

[applesucksLeo @ Jan 13th 2007 11:52PM]

As someone who actually listened to WW#10 http://www.twit.tv/ww Paul and Leo both seemed misinformed. Paul kept saying it was just going to have a bigger HDD and IPTV support , but it also has been confirmed to have HDMI and 65nm process CPU`s and PROBABLY a quieter built-in HD-DVD player.
The huge news they did talk about at CES was the Windows Home Server which even pro-Apple Leo said is just amazing :)

[Karl @ Jan 13th 2007 11:54PM]

A new 360 would make a lot of current 360 owners sour. Besides, much as I adore the PS3 (God only knows why), I have to admit that it has proved itself to be a very flexible platform. I don't doubt for a second that Microsoft could come up with a software-based solution. The 360 has really been an impressive platform up to now.

If the 360 comes down in price, I might just be tempted enough to abandon my PS3 hopes. Although leaving Metal Gear Solid will be a tough sacrifice.

[Andrew Fong @ Jan 14th 2007 1:47PM]

If the 360 sells well enough, you'd probably see MGS on the 360 -- maybe a year after the PS3 version, but it's not out of the question. MGS2 made it to the original XBox after all.

[Glenn @ Jan 13th 2007 11:57PM]

Engadget, Paul is wrong. IPTV will work on existing Xbox 360 consoles. Please update this blog entry.

Proof here (click the IPTV Video):

http://www.xbox.com/en-US/community/events/ces2007/default.htm?WText.camp=TS1&WText.campSrc=Home

And here:

http://on10.net/Blogs/tina/you-heard-it-people-carbon-is-real/

[Ghoster @ Jan 13th 2007 11:58PM]

IPTV will use a set top box, no 360 use required.

[cdman98 @ Jan 14th 2007 12:02AM]

All early adopters I can fell your pain. I WANT a 360 but can't do it till I see the new SKU. I want what I can't have and that grinds my gears just as bad as it does yours.

Guess I have 9 months to wait for Bills new baby.

[Brennan @ Jan 14th 2007 12:02AM]

so it just controls the audio n video as it passes through DVI or HDMI to an HDTV from a computer, or in this case the X360?

how does it control it when all ur doing is sending the data from DVI or HDMI to the HDTV? what is the difference from doing the same to a graphics card that doesnt have HDCP to the HDTV but has DVI or HDMI?

[Brennan @ Jan 14th 2007 12:10AM]

speaking of MGS4, did u know that was cancelled? Read from ign.com that Konami cancelled so many titles. Cant find it on ign.com anymore, but i found it on the web:

http://boards.1up.com/zd/board/message?board.id=general&message.id=360312

[Glenn @ Jan 14th 2007 12:11AM]

This interview of Chris Satchell, General Manager of the Game Development group at Microsoft indicates that we will get IPTV on the current hardware. He suggests downloads, upgrades, or a disk as distribution of the software.

http://www.gamespot.com/pages/video_player/popup.php?sid=6164007&pid=937723

[Adam @ Jan 14th 2007 12:12AM]

This is exactly what I see as the problem with press coverage of Microsoft vs. Apple, most notably with gadgets.

Apple updates a product with new features and new hardware, and the press accepts it as a new model of the product.
Microsoft updates a product with new features and new hardware, and the press talks about the early adopters they left behind, and how this is a new product within the line.

The catch-22 is that they couldn'tve released a bigger harddrive version of Zune at CES without the press bringing up the early adopters, and yet they're criticized for not having a bigger harddrive player or a flash player. Go figure.

Most people are fine with the functionality of their current 360s. There's nothing revolutionary in this upgrade (anyone who needs an HDMI port and a bigger harddrive can most likely afford to replace their 360), and IPTV can be pushed through a software upgrade, no hardware needed.

I expected better of you, Engadget.

[Brennan @ Jan 14th 2007 12:14AM]

i take that back, i thought MGS4 was cancelled, im so stupid, sry.

[David @ Jan 14th 2007 12:51AM]

Way to shill for MS...

[CaptCaveman @ Jan 14th 2007 1:05AM]

I just need HDMI for better sound from my HD-DVDs. And a larger hard drive for the occasional movie download. I don't want to have to delete almost everything on the drive just to download a movie.
And if I have to get a different 360 to do that then make it quiet.
My 360 isn't that loud overall. But it is the loudest device in the living room. So I need for it to be toned down a bit.

[SmilingAssassin @ Jan 14th 2007 1:16AM]

I love my launch day 360. I am gonna love the other one I am going to buy to help with the music and gaming downstairs. I am also gonna love the new version when it comes out and I have to replace the two I couldn't wait to purchase. But I will be damned if I have to buy BluGay and all the other inadequacies attached to it. MS I don't want your HD DVD I think it sucks balls but it doesn't suck any worse than the competitor. Thanks for the option MS and thanks Gates for donating more money to worthy causes from your profits than Sony even makes. Take your jack ass Japanese debt and drown in it morons and stop trying to make me pick crap technologies just so you can make sure EVERYONE pays for their copy of Spiderman XXXII.

[h0mi @ Jan 14th 2007 1:55AM]

I'll wait for the MS announcements on features and pricing. I don't need HDMI, it won't give me anything very important until I get a 1080p set and if my current 360 remains intact by the end of 2007, the other thing making an upgrade desirable (which is getting a more reliable 360) becomes moot.

[Coil @ Jan 14th 2007 5:37AM]

This is horrible. Microsoft are forcing you to buy another XBox for this IPTV?

Do they not understand the console industry?

[ceerad @ Jan 15th 2007 12:17AM]

You can get IPTV with a set top box from EonTV.ws
movie channels, unlimited movies on demand, Live Tv, karaoke, setanta sports. its cool. check it out at: http://www.eontv.ws

[warg0dz @ Jan 14th 2007 7:39AM]

In my opinion MS is _forced_ to upgrade, because more and more gamers are getting HD screens (prices are dropping, etc) and if not the upgrade the 360 would look just "previous century". And this kind of policy - release what you can, then release it properly, isn't really the way you do it on the console market. I doubt that there will be any kind of "trade in" policy for the current 360 owners, because _every_ current user will then prefer to upgrade. What the hell will MS do with old 360s ? Play table tennis with them ? And that is a total failure, customers and Xbox fans will have to again spend money on a new console to experience "true HD".

And when Sony did release a slimmer PS2, it didn't have any new features, just a smaller sized version, so all the classic PS2 owners didn't have a need to upgrade, it was all fine, and it was _fair_.

Microsoft is not playing _fair_ here, it's MS' loss that it couldn't provide and HDMI output on the first versions of 360s, not customer's and it shouldn't be the customer paying for the solution of this problem. What will we be forced to buy next, a new 360 with DX10 ?

[John Miller @ Jan 14th 2007 10:45AM]

Actually, this whole thing just goes to show once again that the early adopters were treated very WELL. When Microsoft first started selling 360's, they were selling them at a loss. Early adopters were allowed to get better technology than their budgets would have allowed at the time. By releasing an updated xbox, they are giving current consumers more for their money.

What people don't understand about Microsoft is that they're like all other companies: the most value they can give their consumers for their money, the more product they sell. They exist because they make consumers happy; otherwise they would die. The fact there's going to be new xboxes doesn't chafe me at all, mine is the same as it's always been.

[Dan @ Jan 14th 2007 12:38PM]

"Whats an AppleTV???" -99% of the world in a few years just like the Newton. Sorry Apple- Microsoft beat you to streaming video/content to TV months before you even announced AppleTV AND its in 1080!!

[Louis Mason @ Jan 14th 2007 1:09PM]

New hardware to enable IPTV? Highly doubt it. But a 65nm processor, HDMI, and a bigger HDD are most probably coming.

[warrenpeace? @ Jan 14th 2007 5:23PM]

Regardless of whether it's software based or a new model, it's likely not going to work for me in Toronto, Canada anyways. I can't imagine our ignorant CRTC allowing a US company to give us IPTV and bypass the awful two company cable choices we have now. Would be nice if this service could bypass local regulations completely and offer us service 'cause its Internet based, but the current Marketplace HD shows and movies aren't available here at all, 'cause of licensing rights or regulations or politics, so I'm not holding my breath.

[ceerad @ Jan 15th 2007 12:17AM]

You can get IPTV at http://www.EONTV.ws as long as you have broadband. 17 movie channels, unlimited movies on demand, live tv, music videos on demand, radio stations, karaoke, sports and more.

http://ww.eontv.ws

[Modee @ Jan 14th 2007 5:54PM]

what I find funny about this is how everyone balks at the cost of a ps3, but in the end they're willing to pay the same amount + for their xbox, as long as it seems cheaper from the get go...$300 for the base system, great...but what happens when game developers start using the extra space HDDVD and blueray will allow? I see 3 options:

1)games for ps3 and 360 - 360 games will be scaled down to fit on a 8.5MG disk, while the 20 GIG version sells on ps3, 2)non HD drive owning 360 owners won't be able to play newer games, and 3)(least likely) you'll find 2 version of the same game for 360 - one that is the full version on an HD disk and the other on a standard DVD which you will then have to download the extra content and at that rate, kiss that big hard drive good bye.

With consoles becoming more like computers one has to wonder whats the point? Why not just game on a PC? PC games are generally better, more mod'able, cleaner grahics, etc - only catch is you have to constantly update your video card and RAM to keep in line with the new games. Part of the beauty of console gaming is that you don't need to upgrade all the time and if what i am reading here is true then MS is really just scrambling to get the 360 into a position to be truly competitive with the ps3.

So...call the ps3 too expensive, cause if this is true, xboxers are gonna have to be ready to pay way more than sony users...

[Brad @ Jan 14th 2007 7:56PM]

I was actually about to buy a 360 within the hour when I decided to check engadget first before surfing over to buy... and there was the news about HDMI.

So I havent bought yet, and wont until MS says something official. I want HDMI if it is an option... and will wait for it.

[zeb @ Jan 14th 2007 9:00PM]

how much does the zune cost?

[zeb mackenzie&tom hewett @ Jan 14th 2007 9:16PM]

how high is the new halo3 on the best sellers list?

will halo3 be only avaliable on the XBOX 360?

will there be a call of duty 4?

we think halo 3 should be on xbox because some people don't have't enough money to get an xbox 360!!!!!!!!

[seansdsu1 @ Jan 14th 2007 9:17PM]

the people upset with this news are just jealous. their attitude is that they paid for the launch 360 and nobody can have anything better than what they have. even though they gladly purchased a 360 without hdmi,larger hard drive,etc. these are the same people who are jealous because your girl or your ride looks better than theirs. stop complaining about what you don't have and start appreciating what you do have and you will be a lot happier. peace

[FlxRms @ Jan 15th 2007 10:25AM]

@Modee
There will be no Xbox360 games using HD-DVD disk. Gears of War which is way better than any PS3 games could fit in ordinary dvd disk and just show that you dont need any pre-rendered movies to ate up space.

[Michael Quigley @ Jan 20th 2007 12:56PM]

I just bought a Xbox 360, and i'm only 15 years old. When/if Microsoft comes out witht this "new" Xbox 360, my father will NOT let me spend ANOTHER $400+! i had a hard time convincing my dad that i would spend my own money on an upgrade from the origional Xbox to a Xbox 360. So, if MS does come out with a new system, i will be rather upset! i understand making add-ons, like the HD DVD player, but making a WHOLE new system is just crazy! With MS's sucess in 2006, the idea of making a whole new system makes very little sence, because parents of kids with Xbox 360's arn't going to be very pleased about having to purchase a "New" Xbox 360.

I can only imagine the conversation i'll be having with my father, when the "New" Xbox 360 comes out, and i want to buy one. even though it's with my own money, my father will not be pleased with the idea of me spending more money on a system i already have.

I'm hoping that MS just continues to make add-ons, and dosn't make a whole new system, because i enjoy having the "newest" consol, and if they come out with a new one, it will be very hard for me to purchase a new one.

Honestly, i'm upset that the idea of a "New" Xbox 360 even came up, (not that it's anyones fault) but MS shouldn't make a new one, it just dosn't make any sence to me!

[Marty @ Jan 17th 2007 10:26AM]

Some of you need to go back and re-read the articles before making comments. It's just ridiculous some of the complaints you read.

A bigger HD and IPTV are the only 2 things even vaguely 'confirmed' in this story. 'Early adopters' have nothing to be upset over.

A larger HD was inevitable, no one should be shocked about that and it'll most likely be sold both in a bundle and SEPERATELY, which means us 'early adopters' can simply go out and BUY ONE. Wow, how hard is that?

HDMI would have been nice from the get-go of course. But I wanna know how many people here have a TV capable of 1080P? Some of you do, I don't doubt it... but for everyone else, component or VGA connection is going to give you 720P/1080i... so what's the problem here? (The PS3 doesn't even have HDMI).

So what? What other reason do I have to buy an 'upgraded' 360? Is my Gears of War gaming suddenly going to be lackluster cause I don't have IPTV or a 120GB HD? Somehow... I doubt it.

Get over it!

[Johnny Neat @ Oct 31st 2007 2:11PM]

Yeah we buy ANOTHER box for a console generation that is closer to ending then beginning... I don't think so. If you have a 360, enjoy it. If it goes bad or you don't have one, then by all means dig in and enjoy.