It looks like after all the
rumor-mongering and
speculation, the bomb
is in fact dropping on Xbox 360 Premium hopefuls: the game systems are shipping with HDMI. At least one lucky customer who purchased a Premium system at a
Target in Atlanta is currently enjoying the spoils of Microsoft's not-so-secret addition, so hot out of tips and direct to your eyes, we present the first of many you'll be seeing with the much-discussed, built-in HDMI port (and
obviously perhaps the cooler 65nm chips onboard). You can stop saving and start buying -- as long as your Xbox was built on or around July 4th, a date which will now be remembered for two reasons.
Update - Apparently, there's nothing "obvious" about that 65nm chip situation. Right now it looks like some may have it, and some may not.
[Via
Shacknews, thanks Tim]
posted Aug 8th 2007 5:33PM
This is why I bought the two year extended warranty from futureshop. Come september I am returning my 360 for a brand new HDMI one.
I got the same 2yr extended warranty from FS but I don't see how does that qualify you for getting the new one. Unless your old one dies at least 3 times. Mine is on my first repair trip right now and I'm 10 months into warranty.
I hope you're not suggesting doing willful damage to the unit. You have a more legitimate way of getting one anyway - the one you have WILL die eventually (just like my did) and by that time you could be receiving the new revision. If you want to speed up the process, turn off the air conditioning and put HD-DVD playback on a loop. Mine RROD'd while playing a movie while it was 30C in my apartment (which is nothing special).
Actually mine scratched my GoW disk. It hasn't scratched a disk since and I suspect that my sister may have picked it up while the disk was in it but that's beside the point.
So this means that the price for the Elite will drop?
btw, first.
No, because the hard drive is what is making up most of that cost.
@ AndrewNeo
Right, because $180 for a 120GB 2.5" drive is completely reasonable. I can browse over to NewEgg right now and pick up an identical drive for all of $67, and that's single unit consumer pricing - nowhere near what MS is certainly getting discounted in bulk.
There is additional cost in moving up to 120 from 20, but MS is charging a serious premium here. dave has a point.
At least you HAVE the Elite. Europe's still waiting for ours to be bloody well priced. Not your fault, but this is just getting silly now. =/
Less than a whisper here in Australia, too.
Admittedly, you can't get an *external* 120GB 2.5" drive for that price, and the case would add to the cost. But not that much. Looks like it's HDHackr to the rescue...
How can I tell if I'm getting HDMI/65nm? Is there something on the box stating it has HDMI?
From some of the earlier discussions, I believe it is supposed to say if it has hdmi or not.
Buy. Open. Check. Keep or return.
You can look at the box and tell.
http://www.shacknews.com/screenshots.x?gallery=8063&id=103385
also there is usually a difference in the back of the box with the games shown, the newer the games shown the newer the model is.but lains suggestion is the only 100% way to be sure.
on second look that picture may be from the manual and not the actual box. :(
There is supposed to be a small "call out" on the box so you know you're getting a system with the HDMI connection. Perhaps someone with the new build can take a pic of the "call out" or describe where it's at.
I believe you can lift up a flap on the box and check the serial number and manufacture date. Or just buy and return like someone mentioned.
the box says hdmi on it
so is it HDMI 1.2 @ 1.3? and the new system wont brick and overheat too?
Yes, please tell me that it has the new HDMI spec, 1.3a.
Does anyone know if it is installed?
The only benefit to HDMI1.3 is for movies.. even then, you need a TV that can take advantage of the extra colour depth. So, if you're just gaming, regular HDMI (which is what i suspect it is) is a-ok.
And if this question isn't goofy enough, is the Xbox 360 compliant with the HDMI-CEC spec?
I believe it's 1.2
HDMI 1.3's greater colour depth is useless with consoles, as they all use gfx chips with 8-bit framebuffers and 8-bit DACs. Neither the 360 nor the PS3 are capable of deep colour output.
HDMI 1.3 is pointless in the console space, for video and audio, Sony notwithstanding.
Thanks MS, thanks a bundle.
It sucks to be an early adopter....
I mean, god forbid a company actually improves their product or lowers the price, right?
What are you complaining about? Some people wait for HDMI, but they have a longer time without their xbox. You paid more to have an xbox sooner. You can never please some people...
Sucks to be an early adopter? No, more like, sucks for you. We've been playing all the amazing games you've been missing out on this entire time.
@dave: the price on the elites wont drop, you're still getting black and a bigger hard drive.
smart move on ms's part, but im kinda disappointed that i dropped the xtra money on the elite...even though 120gb is nice...
the end is near for the ps3
Oh dear.....you really think the end is near for the PS3? We'll see a year from now. And I predict that the Playstation brand will get stronger and stronger.
We shall see.......you do realise that the 360 has shipped 11 million units, not 110 million right? And don't forget, it was the only 'next-gen' console on the market for some time.
Furthermore, the extremely bad press Microsoft has had recently will hurt them. Probably already is.
No, we won't see a year from now, because things are going down hill for Sony and their PS3- and from Sony's decisions, they aren't going to fix them.
Good bye PS3- we barely knew ya'.
wtf microsoft is pissin me off with all the freakin changes
There were over 12 hardware changes to the PS2. Hardware revisions are common.
Awesome, just what I needed to finally pull the trigger. Next payday it will be mine. Though I must admit I am a bit torn between getting it now and waiting for a couple of months when there will probably be better game bundles than Forza 2 (I'm not so into car games).
Why don't you wait a little longer and get a PS3? It won't break.
Plus, there are many fantastic games coming out covering many different genres.
I agree Phil. I been doing the 360 to long it near cost me everything with its faulty guts and buring plastic. What are these people pushin on us. I'm goin PS3, you've decided me Phil, I've seen the light and think it was blue. Black is back dood, I'm on a roll. Now if I could get the black marks of my wallpaper and change the melted sockets I'm in business my friend.
@Bill306: Maybe if you hadn't been "doing" your 360, it wouldn't have overheated. I'm trying to interpret what you said into English, but I assume that you were trying to say that your 360 almost burned down your house. I have no idea how this might have happened, but I'd recommend the following: get your 360 out of any confined spaces, and don't leave it on for no reason.
BTW: There's a black 360 ;-)
does this raise the price of premium?
If not, why is the Halo Xbox 50 bucks more
Engadget you're awesome! Time to check my local store for HDMI premiums.
you would think this kind of addition to a system with not only no price increase, but a price drop, would have warranted some sort of announcement from MS....
but i guess not.
I suspect one reason is that Sony may be inclined to fire back at MS for not including HDMI in the first place. MS was the first one out saying that HDMI was frivolous and unneeded, and 1080p support was totally not necessary. Both of these have been added from competitive pressures, and I doubt MS really wants to admit they were wrong on those counts.
Not only would it start a pissing war with Sony as mentioned above, and force Microsoft to recant.
The Xbox is pretty much an embarrassment to Microsoft right now. It loses money, it generates huge support issues, and it's getting its ass kicked by 20-to-1 by Nintendo in Japan.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070803.wgtwiisony03/BNStory/Technology/home
How do you know that it has the 65nm cpu? Its only been a rumor.. someone needs to void their warranty and crack open their 360.
Yeah um, what's with the speculation? It has to be cracked open and seen first.
http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/48351
The original story from Shacknews
how bout the price?
Damn, I just got a new one back from warranty and it doesnt have HDMI :(
That's my 360, just bought it this afternoon at Target. Total, random luck. I changed the info on that album, so you'll have to goto Shacknews.com to get the pics.
Would you mind telling us the lot # on the box? Would it happen to be 0728?
Sure thing, Lot number is 0726
Are the rumours that the DVD drive would be quieter true as well?