We've been hearing quite a bit about next week's Fall Dashboard Update for the 360, but Microsoft's finally ready to spill all of the beans. Obviously, the biggest update is the "
Xbox Originals" downloadable Xbox games, but other improvements include enhanced online profiles, increased social networking, beefed up parental controls, improved menus, and our personal favorite: DivX support. As stated before, Xbox Original games, like Halo 1 and Fable, will be going for 1200 MS points (about $15), which is roughly comparable with your local game store's bargain bin. Also on the fiscal side of things, certain titles on Xbox Live Arcade are getting permanent price drops, akin to "Platinum Hits" of retail titles. As for DivX, Microsoft was a little vague when speaking with Joystiq about it, but it sounds like XviD is in play as well, which is just double fun. It's all hitting as a free download on December 4th, starting at 2AM PST.
[Via
Joystiq]
posted Nov 30th 2007 1:06PM
I didn't know Halo came out after Halo 3.
On a non-crappy-joke note, now I have another reason to get a 360.
finally Divx....but where the heck is the 16:10 widescreen monitor support!???
Not so much "Divx(tm)" as Mpeg 4 part 2 ASP. Doesn't seem they have the official Divx implementation looking at the press release; regardless it doesn't matter being that Divx as well as Xvid should be playable.
Not so much "Divx(tm)" as Mpeg 4 part 2 ASP. Doesn't seem they have the official Divx implementation looking at the press release; regardless it doesn't matter being that Divx as well as Xvid should be playable.
16:10 is for 1680x1050 monitors etc.
Yes, and some people play on their large monitors.
Can't wait for the 4th!
#1 Why is there no way to disable auto-login of MSN Messenger?
#2 When will Xbox360 get the Web Browser that it deserves so it can be off-gaming, as entertaining as Wii and PS3
#3 When will I be able to add more than 100 friends cause my list is stuffed.
#4 When will I be able to GROUP friends
#5 Why can't we also have an ENEMIES list. It just seeems wrong talking trash to people and then placing them on my friend's list only because I wanna beat up on them at some later juncture.
#6 Is there a way MS couuld add a "double tap" feature for the XBOX Guide button so that one accidental tap didn't bring up the laggy, slow assed guide menu causing me to get killed while I'm playing Call of Duty 4?
@Flashpoint:
You can already disable auto sign-in for Messenger. When logged in
to your account, go to Xbox guide, go to the "Community" section (at
the top, with your picture and gamerscore), and go to Auto Sign-In.
You can choose to disable it from here.
Your other points are pretty valid.
I'm going to love the Divx and Xvid support, if it works well. I had Transcode360 working fine until I switched to 64-bit Vista and I'd love to be able to natively stream some useful video content again.
There is an enemies list. It's called: leave feedback. Once you tell XBL that you don't want to play with a particular player ever again, you don't play with that player ever again.
I suggest that you learn a little bit more about what your console is capable of before throwing it under the bus.
Mike,
If you would have actually read Flashpoint's comment, he stated he wanted an enemies list so he CAN play those people again.
Before you "suggest" some learn about something before posting I suggest you learn to read before replying to a post.
@Mike thats not what he means
A "friendly" enemies list for the people you add to your friends list so you can remember to kick there ass
He's saying he doesn't like them, hence he wants to beat up on them at a later time. Hence an enemies list so the two don't get confused.
I wish I could throw you under a bus, man. Read that comment again. He suggested an "enemies list" for rivals you want to play again.
I think that is a bitchin' idea too by the way. There's something to be said for repeatedly playing someone you want to kick the crap out of and share some healthly trash talk with.
Uh, Mike, did you even read his entire comment? He wants an enemies list so that he CAN play with those players again, because he wants to beat up on them. I suggest you read before you criticize.
The 100 friend limit isn't going anywhere. Major Nelson basically said it comes down to hardware limitations. The 360 was only built to keep track of 100 friends, and thats pretty reasonable given how resource intensive it probably is to keep track of 100 friends and what they're doing. To be honest, I wouldn't want them to raise the cap, as it'd probably just bogg the system down.
Still no clan support? But we get a lame built in myspace! Score!
*Oh by the way I was being sarcastic!*
Dude, your "Enemies list" idea is freakin' genius.... it could be pre-populated with people who own you repeatedly on servers, or you could manually add people wish to antagonize!
I can't see MS putting in something called "enemies".
"Rivals", however ... that would be awesome.
I don't think there will ever be a web browser for XBOX360. I would add this to your list.
#7 When will I be able to use a plain USB keyboard instead of having to use the annoying on screen keyboard
...... You already can use a USB keyboard. I've tried it with USB wired and my USB wireless keyboards both work.
And- why would I want an internet browser on the 360? I can't really justify it.
You could call it a "Frenemies" list...
The Xbox originals are a bit pointless by now, with everyone but Nintendo pushing HIDEF HIGHRES NEXTGEN, why retreat back to SD lastgen games. Not saying that this is a bad idea, I still love some of the first games, but from the point of view of the PR department of MS and Sony, this is kind of a 180. Although MS is promoting backwards compatibility even more, Sony is going to have to step up to this one.
because some games are worth going back for because of their replay value. Games like Psychonauts are tremendously underrated, while Ninja Gaiden was so good and difficult that I got pissed and quit, and never got to finish the game. Just because a game isn't hi-def doesn't mean in the slightest that it isn't worth playing.
"The Xbox originals are a bit pointless by now, with everyone but Nintendo pushing HIDEF HIGHRES NEXTGEN, why retreat back to SD lastgen games." These games have been enhanced or whatever to play at 720p/1080i.
OMG DIVX DIVX DIVX....i am sold. I can now finally get rid of my MEDIAPORTAL and MCE2005 setup. My xbox is now the center of my media collection. Time to start reorganizing my videos...
MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Ok, maybe I'm such a non-techie, but what exactly is the significance of DivX?
Can anyone tell me. I hear some people go crazy about support for it, but how is it any better than any of the other formats out there, like MP3, WMV, WMA, AAC, AVI, etc. Like how is it any more important than the other formats?
Can someone please describe in their own way? I would appreciate that. Thanks.
Divx (and xvid) are both important because it allows people to take certain videos that they download or encode on their own and play it on their 360. Divx and Xvid are both great formats because you can compress a video file and reduce the size immensely while still having high quality video/audio to watch. It doesn't hurt that almost everyone uses the file format to encode downloadable video.
MP3 is the most popular audio format in the world. Everything you named off is just a different format for either audio, video or both brought to light by different companies (i.e. wmv = Microsoft, .mov = Apple).
@TJF:
Good explanation.
But I have a few more, if you're up to it.
If it's so great, why don't major companies support it? Like Microsoft, Apple, and other digital media companies?
And is it really that better than the other formats?
Thanks.
If it's so great, why don't major companies support it? Like Microsoft, Apple, and other digital media companies?
Quite simply, it's all about control, licensing fees and brand recognition. Divx and xvid are more commonly used as the format of choice for tv shows and movies where compression and quality are both key (torrent networks). During the late 90s/early 2000s it was pretty typical to only have one or two choices to play a video (WMV or MOV) online but since then, it has grown a bit to include Macromedia Flash players which don't have the same quality (in my experience) but load much faster. All of the codecs were built out of necessity because the codecs available at the time did not meet the needs of the market. A similar comparison can be drawn with the rapid growth of Mozilla's Firefox when Internet Explorer was the "only" choice. The internet evolves so rapidly that the old codecs and programs get intermingled with the new ones which is why you still see some websites (especially online business software sites) that only work with Internet Explorer despite so many people using Firefox.
That all being said, we live in a great era now because open source has never been so mainstream. Now that open source is out there you will see a lot of great, free improvements to the programs you already have. Take for example some of the add-ons for Firefox like Ad-block and Cooliris' Previews.
Divx and Xvid offer similar compression ratios for encoding video files and have been the best choice for the size/quality compromise you have to make when compressing video. The big difference is that DivX is commercial and Xvid is open source. Xvid is the most popular format for file sharing and there are more xvid encodes floating round the net than any other format.
The big successors will he H.264/x.264 since they have better compression ratios than both DivX and Xvid even though it takes about twice the cpu power to encode/decode.
So that being said, exclusion of the most popular video codec on the web was a glaring oversight by MS if they wanted to convey the XBOX360 as a media server (which that didn't, they wanted you to buy a media center PC and an XBOX360).
Any chance this update will let me fast forward or rewind within audio tracks?
What happened to the IPTV update that was supposed to drop this Fall? Nobody seems to be talking about that anymore.
Deets on .avi compatibility:
http://blogs.msdn.com/xboxteam/archive/2007/11/30/december-2007-video-playback-faq.aspx
"**1. What exactly does the Xbox 360 support for AVI?
Xbox 360 supports the following for AVI:
· File Extensions: .avi, .divx
· Containers: AVI
· Video Profiles: MPEG-4 Part 2, Simple & Advanced Simple Profile
· Video Bitrate: 5 Mbps with resolutions of 1280 x 720 at 30fps. See question number 11 for more information.
· Audio Profiles: Dolby® Digital 2 channel and 5.1 channel, MP3
· Audio Max Bitrate: No restrictions. See question number 11 for more information."
Also:
"Since we only support Mpeg-4 compatible codec implementations, we will not be able to play video files older than DivX® 5.0"
Xbox Originals are not pointless. I, for one, am looking forward to reliving my youth (Ok, maybe a few years ago, but it was still fun), with all the games I missed out on/lost/traded in/lent to a friend and never got back/etc. I have always said that, simply because a game may no longer be top of the field in looks, does not discount it from the field altogether!
Nice.. even though i like PS3 more.. having DIVX and XVID support is always good news! Good Job MS!
Like Brent below stated the Playstation 3 will have Divx also.
shame they only support 1024*768 files (720p), vc-1 support is for 1080p on the 360. lets hope they add x264 720p/1080p .mkv files in the next release then this will be a complete media centre which it intended to do.
I was thinkin of getting a 360, and now it supports divx im going to pick one up this weekend. but how do I get my video files to my console? what do I need to have/do?
It's as simple as attaching your Xbox360 to the same network wherein a Windows running computer is connected.
you can transer the newly created WMV file(s) to a thumbdrive or burn them onto a CD/DVD; or better, stream them from your PC (Windows XP required) to your Xbox 360
To set up a folder for sharing, launch the Windows Media Connect application (under Network and Internet Connections) from the Control Panel
Select the "Sharing" tab and add the folder you keep your WMV videos in:
* 1. Select "Sharing"
* 2. Click "Add..."
* 3. Locate folder (and rename, if desired)
* 4. Allow folder to be shared with Xbox 360
* 5. Click "OK" to add
(All content above taken from Joystiq.com)
What he said plus you can burn your videos/pictures/mp3s to a cd-r or dvd-r or rw and view/listen/watch them on your 360.
You can also put them on a USB flash drive and do the the same.
Will I be able to search my media library for songs yet? Or how 'bout just jumping to a specific letter?
Damn I gonna need a bigger laptop
Damn I gonna need a bigger harddrive
Don't forget PS3 is getting divx soon as well. No date has been given but I think this may force their hand.
Cool! I wonder if they'll get some good games soon too! Or maybe a network that downloads content faster than a 14.4 baud connection from the 80s!
I have a PS3 by the way, so I'm not a hater. Just a realist.
Jon, I've got both and I prefer PS3 as a media center. True, 360 has PS3 beat as far as games go. Additionally, I've never had any problems downloading from the PSN. I am, however, on my 3rd 360 so I may be a little biased against MS.
Are the XBOX originals US only or international like they should be?
Awesome. If implementation works well, I'll be able to put away my XBMC box.
I could care less for Divx, horray for finally recognizing that I'm an adult.
COULDN'T!!!!!!!
If you could care less then that means you do care.
People who say "I could care less" annoy me. Think about it if you could care less then you must care because caring less would mean that you care less then you did.
Couldn't care less means there is no lower point of caring available for you. Whatever said item is it is at the bottom of the care list because it is impossible to care less since you COULDN'T care less
I do care though Kurt, just not as much as most people!
What I COULDN'T CARE LESS for is Xbox originals.
with divx support i might buy a second box now! can't wait to try it out... Now if only i could stream video from a stand-alone network drive... anyone figure that part out yet, let me know...
my set-up... i have a laptop running xp sp 2 with zune software and wmp11... i have a 250gb hd setup on my linksys storage link router with videos... i mapped a network drive to my extHD so i could set up shared folders from my laptop.... I can see the videos on my xbox but can't play any of them... (i know the vids work because i also tried the files running from my local laptop drive)....
help would be greatly appreciated!!!
no one supports divx because the divx people require liscensing that no one wants to pony up money for, especially when they've developed their own competing platforms (mac & microsoft both).
man, i thought this was going to be useful not negative banter....
reset your DRM on the windows box. Google it.. I had the same issue with my 360.
It was driving me crazy. YOu have to stop the WMP10 and Zune services and delete the digital rights management files then it will work.
comments above mentioned that it requires winxp to connect to the 360, actually, vista works even better. i pretty much just use my laptop or zune to beam video to 360.
also pay attention to the improvement list, now you can fwd/rwd and chapter control etc easily.
totally awesome!
Looks like you are not an adult yet. Why do you not care about this widely used video format?
"...widely used video format?" he said divx, not xvid ;)
Finally! I no longer need Zune, WMP11, or Media Center (read: ANOTHER PC) in order to play video files from WHS. According to the Video Playback FAQ, the Xbox 360 Dashboard Video Player will play AVI files directly from WHS.
Yes, I know I have one other choice, WMV, but I don't have any videos in that format.
Are we going to get better background graphics? That rotating wire mesh globe thing is getting so OLD.
are you talking about the xbox originals background picture?
They made it like that for the nostalgic look.
As for backgrounds for the system blade well you can buy themes or put your own picture via networked 360, usb drive or whatever.
and there are a bunch of options for the look/feel currently. press guide, then personal settings then themes then there are more options there
hooray for dvix!!!
how do i playback .mkv files that i've downloaded on my computer? and how come when i burn a Divx movie file it says the file is only 700MB but it ends up consuming a whole DVD-R disc? can anyone help me here?
How or what are you using to burn your DVD's?
If you are burning the disc in standard .VOB file format to a DVD then it will expand the video to fill the DVD for "best quality". If you just burn a DATA DVD instead of a VIDEO DVD, that 700mb file will stay exactly that size and in exactly the same format.
ummm.. not to sure what... i know this much.. i use nero 7 i think it's called ... and i just follow the steps to make a dvd... i usually have to remove the credits at the end to get it to fit in the highest quality format too which kinda annoys the piss outta me. so if i make a "data dvd" will this work in my 360 or ps3 to watch xvid, divx or mkv file types? thanks. Brad.
Burn the avi to your dvd as a DATA DVD DISC.
the way you're currently burning it and taking up the whole disc it's converting to a dvd video.
don't use nero vision. just use nero express and select DATA DVD DISC and select your avi files.
Question - is there a difference between downloading the "Xbox Original" Halo, and sticking the darn old Halo disk into the 360 (which I've got on a shelf somewhere)?
thanks
the only difference would be that there wouldn't be any noise from dvd drive spinning.
I like playing XBLA games for this reason. Nice and quiet gaming experience!
I think this is a major advantage of this new downloaded xbox originals concept.
WTF is "Halo 1"? Bungie did not release Halo as "Halo 1." Call it Halo: CE to differentiate it from the rest of the Halo games; it was released as Halo: Combat Evolved.
Is that response really necessary?
Does anyone know what format a DVD is encoded in natively (mpeg4??) I have most of my DVD collection ripped as .ISOs (used dvd shrink), and currently stream them to my original modded Xbox ala XBMC. Will this update allow me to stream these DVDs to a 360??
A) DVD is encoded in MPEG-2
B) google.
Sony updates the PS3 much more frequently, not that it needs it or anything. 80 GB PS3!!
Go ahead give me a low rating.
Now, the 360 will blend.
Well, this update officially made it essential for the yet-to-be-released media extenders from D-link and Linksys to debut sub $250, if not $200.
Marshall
--------
The Real HT Info Podcast
do these fall updates kill modified xbox 360s? (aka 360s with flashed firmware)
im not big on originals other than halo but thats bc theres h3, COD4, Bioshock, Rock Band and others to keep me way busy..and of course mario galaxy...but very nice update for 360..much kudos along with parental controls...parents should love this...way to go xbox...
Too bad I won't be getting it because the replacement 360 Microsoft sent (my first one RRODed a month or so ago) RRODed less than 24 hours after it arrived. And on my birthday too. I had JUST FINISHED unwrapping The Orange Box and Halo 3 and Mass Effect and I go to pop a nice shiny new game into the Xbox and it just freaking asplodes...grrrrr...
Go to www.at-360.com for a more complete list of fetures in the update
How we are going to able to watch divx and xvid. Are we gonna have to burn to a disc and watch or stream from zune or media player? or both? Does anyone know?
Why the F won't they add a web browser to the 360? It's connected to the internet, so why do I have to get up and go to my office to get online, instead of just doing it from my couch? At least they could let you get online through Windows media Center...
I went over to www.at-360.com and saw this:
"Improved video support for chapter skipping of MP4 videos"
Does this mean it reads meta tag chapters that are encoded into your videos? I hope so and its the apple tags? Handbreak can encode DVDS to H.264 videos with the dvd chapters. Given that it will read video podcasts sounds possiable.
Guss I'll have to try when I get home.
THIS UPDATE BROKE MY XBOX360 !!!
MICROSOFT IS AWARE OF THIS PROBLEM AND DOES NOT CARE, THIS UPDATE IS ABSOLUTE GARBAGE AND HAS ALREADY CAUSED THOUSANDS OF XBOX 360 UNITS TO FAIL. MICROSOFT, VISTA, AND XBOX ARE GARBAGE.
PLEASE GOOGLE XBOX UPDATE BROKE MY XBOX AND SEE FOR YOURSELF. THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF POSTS ABOUT THIS. THEY OFFER TO FIX IT, BUT YOU PAY THE SHIPPING. THIS IS A TOTAL SCAM. JUST LIKE THE VIRUS!?!? THAT BROKE THOUSANDS OF WINDOWS COMPUTERS IN 2000-01.
MICROSOFT PEOPLE ARE THIEVES AND LIARS.
FU MICROSOFT