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Week of September 2, 2007
Epic Hero of Xbox 360's Halo 3 Unveiled at Madame Tussauds Las Vegas
>> From the press release:
[QUOTE]
Madame Tussauds Las Vegas honored Xbox 360's Halo by immortalizing Master Chief as the first video game character to be enshrined in the world famous attraction's 250-year history. The impressively life-sized figure of Halo's Master Chief was revealed to the world by song-writer and bass player Pete Wentz of 2007 Teen Choice Award Winner and Grammy nominated band Fall Out Boy at an official unveiling ceremony Saturday afternoon.
"For me, the launch of Halo 3 will be the entertainment event of the year. It will be as big as or bigger than any of the summer's movie blockbusters," said Wentz. "Master Chief is as much of a hero today as characters like Spiderman, Frodo and Luke Skywalker were for previous generations."
The figure was created at the Madame Tussauds Studios in London specifically for the Las Vegas attraction. Master Chief stands at an impressive 7'2" tall, with an approximate finished weight of 275 lbs. A total of 10 studio artists worked on the massive figure, dedicating an estimated 892 man-hours for the finalization of the stoic soldier. Total man-hours included 687 hours for sculpting, 168 hours for molding, and 37 hours for painting. Materials included over 1,000 pounds of clay.
"Master Chief is the first computer gaming personality immortalized by Madame Tussauds in our 250 year history -- recognizing the 'celebrity' of the Halo series that we had to capture", commented Adrian Jones, General Manager for Madame Tussauds Las Vegas.
Visitors to Madame Tussauds Las Vegas will have the opportunity to see the massive figure up close and personal before the most anticipated game release of 2007 -- Halo 3, scheduled for September 25, 2007. Master Chief will be stationed at the attraction's front entrance area -- providing guests with a "disarming" greeting at the door. With its towering presence, this newest attraction at Madame Tussauds Las Vegas is sure to bring out the most devoted fan base -- Halo Nation, for a personal look and photo with their iconic hero. As is Madame Tussauds standard operating procedure, guests will be able to interact with the figure for photos and a close-up look at the artistic details that bring this digital game world hero to life.
In addition to getting their picture taken with the legendary Master Chief at Madame Tussauds, Halo 3 fans will have the opportunity to purchase an array of Halo licensed products, at the Madame Tussauds Las Vegas location in addition to other gaming, specialty, and traditional retailers courtesy of Microsoft's exclusive Halo 3 licensing agent 20th Century Fox Licensing & Merchandising.
[/QUOTE]
Fall out Boy and Master Chief ... what a strange combination. Who's PR department do I have to fire for this?
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(Saturday 08 September 2007 23:36 EST) - (Category: Xbox360) - (Posted by::
)
New Chinese Involvement Could Trigger HD DVD Price Plunge
>> From betanews.com:
[QUOTE]
If ever there were a time for either Blu-ray or HD DVD manufacturers to play a trump card, now may be the time, and this could be the one: A consortium of Chinese university engineers and government officials, in cooperation with a Chinese video standards group that includes globally recognized manufacturers, plus the DVD Forum, have come to an agreement on a standard specification for a blue-laser disc mechanism and format specifically for the Chinese market.
The agreement announced early this morning US time is critical, because up until now, China has been reluctant to participate in the high-definition video disc industry unless it had an opportunity to bring its own video encoding standard to bear: AVS, a codec which incorporates elements of MPEG-2, but is otherwise different from -- and some argue, better than -- other MPEG encoding standards and VC-1 in important respects.
Now, the DVD Forum's involvement has evidently made it possible for Chinese manufacturers to produce components that play blue-laser, high-def discs using the Chinese national standard, though which are fundamentally compatible with HD DVD with only minor adjustments.
The upshot here is this: The same country that has literally upset the LCD TV industry on its ear in just the last year alone, now has the specifications it needs to do the same with high-def video discs. While it makes so-called CH-DVD players for the home market (the name is subject to change, the new consortium says), China can also produce HD DVD players for the rest of the world, at prices that can best be described as Chinese.
[/QUOTE]
Full Story: betanews.com
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(Saturday 08 September 2007 23:06 EST) - (Category: Xbox360) - (Posted by::
)
Harmonix CEO confirms Rock Band's Xbox 360 bundle guitar is wired
>> From joystiq.com:
[QUOTE]
In the latest OXM Podcast, Harmonix CEO Alex Rigopulos confirms that the Xbox 360 guitars for Rock Band are wired in the bundles. There will be wired and wireless versions available for the Xbox 360, but once again, the retail bundles will come with a wired guitar. The PS3 guitars are all wireless. The Xbox 360 bundle will also come with a USB hub for all the peripherals to plug into. On both the Xbox 360 and PS3 version the microphone and drum kit will be wired. Rigopulos says, "The cost of wireless technology on the Microsoft side is higher and to be able to offer those bundles at a price point that would be reasonable for consumers it was necessary ... on the 360 side we are also bundling a hub."
[/QUOTE]
Full Story: joystiq.com
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(Saturday 08 September 2007 18:03 EST) - (Category: Xbox360) - (Posted by::
)
FrostyTheSnowman and Xman954's VGA Boot Disc v1.0
>> From the readme/nfo:
[QUOTE]
This is not an official Team Xecuter release. This is an unofficial, 100% VGA-compatible release of the X2 5035 BIOS (as a boot disc) by myself (FrostyTheSnowman) and Xman954. We are not affiliated with Xecuter in any way, and this release is not supported at all by Team Xecuter.
This boot disc requires your XBOX to be modded to work. (all softmods and modchips are supported)
Version 1.0
* Supports Modchips and Softmods!
* Supports Conexant Encoders
* Supports Focus Encoders
* Supports all HD resolutions, including 480p, 720p, and 1080i.
* Supports 'green screen' games!
* Supports ALL 480i Games and Applications!
NOTE: 720p/1080i are only available when enabled in the Microsoft Dashboard.
Known Bugs:
- Not compatible with v1.6/v1.6b XBOX Consoles
- Not compatible with PAL XBOX Consoles (Switch to NTSC for VGA)
- Only works with Homemade VGA Cables in Mode 2+3 (HDTV), no other video cables or modes are supported.
[/QUOTE]
Official Site: n/a, by FrostyTheSnowman and Xman954
Download: n/a (might be illegal under DMCA/EUCD)
Full Readme: xbins.org
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(Saturday 08 September 2007 00:33 EST) - (Category: Xbox) - (Posted by::
)
Pachter: Xbox 360 Bounces Back in August US Sales
>> From biz.gamedaily.com:
[QUOTE]
After sluggish sales in July for the Xbox 360, analyst Michael Pachter believes the console's numbers jumped back up in August thanks to the price cuts. Additionally, he is now anticipating the PS3 to come down to $399 no later than next April.
Ahead of the August video game sales data from The NPD Group, expected next Thursday (September 13), Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter has issued his own preview for the month, which predicts that the Xbox 360 bounced back from its 170K July showing with 240K units sold in August.
He believes PS3 sales dipped slightly, down to 150K, while the Wii sold 420K. If his forecast proves true, the 360 managed to outsell the PS2, which he thinks sold around 225K.
[/QUOTE]
Full Story: biz.gamedaily.com
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(Saturday 08 September 2007 00:25 EST) - (Category: Xbox360) - (Posted by::
)
Acer to remain vendor-neutral in Blu-ray vs HD DVD
>> From techspot.com:
[QUOTE]
It seems that reports last week about Acer choosing to stick with Blu-ray as a preferred supported medium may have been too much in haste. The HD DVD camp has issued a press release saying that Acer has joined their promotional group as well, making Acer a "vendor-neutral" supplier.
[/QUOTE]
Full Story: techspot.com
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(Friday 07 September 2007 23:10 EST) - (Category: Xbox360) - (Posted by::
)
FF XIII Running on Same 'Cross-Platform' Engine as new FF MMO
>> From gamasutra.com:
[QUOTE]
Square Enix's next MMO [Final Fantasy XI: Wings of the Goddess] will be cross platform and cross region. "A lot has changed in the last two years," he says [Hiromichi Tanaka, an executive officer at Square Enix], referencing the game's first announcement at E3 2005. "Development is proceeding smoothly now, with the framework now beginning to take shape. Last year we went through a development reorganization, with the development of our own cross-platform middleware - the white engine. This is the foundation for FFXIII and the new MMO. It's safe to say that it won't be much longer before I'm able to unveil even more secrets about what the future holds for Square Enix."
[/QUOTE]
Full Story: gamasutra.com
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(Friday 07 September 2007 17:39 EST) - (Category: Xbox360) - (Posted by::
)
XCM 360 Chrome Hard Drive Shell
>> From Team Xtender:
[QUOTE]
XCM 360 Hard Drive shell will be released soon, first color will be Chrome.
[/QUOTE]
Official Site: www.teamxtender.com
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(Friday 07 September 2007 10:43 EST) - (Category: Xbox360) - (Posted by::
)
UK Xbox 360 Sales Boom after Price Drop and Elite Launch
>> From gamesindustry.biz:
[QUOTE]
Chart-Track has released new statistics which show a 260 per cent week-on-week increase in UK sales for Microsoft's Xbox 360 in the UK - while the PSP has suffered its worst week of sales since launch.
In Xbox 360's case the sales spike coincided with the introduction of the new Elite model, and a price reduction for the existing Premium and Core versions.
Strong sales continued into a second week, falling by only 20 per cent.
[/QUOTE]
Full Story: gamesindustry.biz
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(Friday 07 September 2007 10:39 EST) - (Category: Xbox360) - (Posted by::
)
FrostyTheSnowman and Xman954's X2 5035 VGA BIOS v1.0
>> From the readme/nfo:
[QUOTE]
This is not an official Team Xecuter BIOS release. This is an unofficial, 100% VGA-compatible release of the X2 5035 BIOS by myself (FrostyTheSnowman) and xman954. We are not affiliated with Xecuter in any way, and this release is not supported at all by Team Xecuter.
Version 1.0
* Supports Conexant Encoders
* Supports Focus Encoders
* Supports all HD resolutions, including 480p, 720p, and 1080i.
* Supports 'green screen' games!
* Supports ALL 480i Games and Applications!
Known Bugs:
- Not compatible with v1.6/v1.6b XBOX Consoles
- Not compatible with PAL XBOX Consoles (Switch to NTSC for VGA)
- When using a video cable OTHER than a VGA cable, the colors will be incorrect. It is advised that you use a Dual BIOS setup, consisting of one VGA BIOS (like this one) and a normal BIOS so that you can still use your XBOX on a regular TV.
[/QUOTE]
Official Site: n/a, by FrostyTheSnowman and Xman954
Download: n/a (might be illegal under DMCA/EUCD)
Full Readme: xbins.org
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(Thursday 06 September 2007 23:02 EST) - (Category: Xbox) - (Posted by::
)
Xbox 360 on Life Support in Japan
>> From xbox360.ign.com:
[QUOTE]
Japanese gamers continue to play favorites with the home team, handing over 75 percent of their gaming yen to Nintendo's DS and Wii last month. The remaining systems are left to fight over the scraps, and the Xbox 360 just barely managed to gain one percent (11,288 units) of the market share for August 2007, according to recent Japanese sales data from Famitsu.
Microsoft's closest competitor in the U.S., the PlayStation 3 seized 7.5 percent of hardware sales (81,541 units) during the month in Japan.
[/QUOTE]
Full Story: xbox360.ign.com
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(Thursday 06 September 2007 22:52 EST) - (Category: Xbox360) - (Posted by::
)
Major Nelson: Xbox Live Bans and you - no 23k 24h Bans
>> From majornelson.com (FYI: MS owned blog):
[QUOTE]
I've seen a few stories circulating today about a huge Xbox LIVE banning related to the COD4 beta. I went and chatted with the ban hammer folks, and confirmed what I suspected: We did NOT ban tens of thousands of folks yesterday as some are reporting. As many of you know we do sometimes have to take action against accounts and consoles that violate the Xbox LIVE Terms of Use. Although we're really impressed with the excitement around the Call of Duty 4 multiplayer beta, I do want to take this moment to point out that that the steps I've been reading about that some people have been trying to take to get in on the beta without their own token could very well violate our Terms of Use.
Remember that sharing accounts isn't just a violation of the terms, which could get you banned, it's actually not a good thing to do in general. People can get details about you or content from you, or try to take action against you when you do something like that. It is your responsibility to keep your account information safe. Regarding the COD4 beta, the best advice I can give in a situation like this is try and be patient. We know you all want to play, and we think that's great, but if you break the rules, you can be banned.
[/QUOTE]
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(Thursday 06 September 2007 22:41 EST) - (Category: Xbox360) - (Posted by::
)
Microsoft is rapidly losing its year long head start to Nintendo and Sony
>> From roughlydrafted.com:
[QUOTE]
Nintendo's Wii, while nearly impossible to find in retail stores, sold slightly above the company's second quarter June 2007 goal of 9 million units, reaching sales of 9,270,000.
Sony's PlayStation 3 also edged slightly above its 6 million goal for Q2 by shipping 6,210,000 units to stores. There is still significant inventory left unsold in stores, which prompted Sony to cut the PS3's price in July by $100, to $499 and $599 for the two PS3 models.
Microsoft had originally set a target of 15 million Xbox 360s by the middle of 2007, but dropped that target down to 12 million. Even with lowered expectations, the company was still unable to meet its goal, having only shipped 11,600,000 units by the end of June.
For the first half of 2007, while Nintendo sold 6 million units a quarter and Sony shipped 2 million per quarter, Microsoft was only about to push out 600,000 units a quarter, in large part because the retail channel is already full of unsold Xbox 360s.
When looking at actual worldwide sales reported by manufacturers, 360 unit sales are flattening out dramatically.
Microsoft has now had two quarters of sales well behind last year's sales.
In its second year, the Xbox 360 is slipping behind every quarter in year over year sales, and not by a little. This years' Xbox 360 sales are less than half those of 2006's.
While Windows Enthusiasts like to deride PS3 sales as low, Sony's relatively high priced console is selling at identical levels to Microsoft's 360 figures from last year after its initial stumble out of the gate.
In other words, the PS3 is matching the Xbox 360's first year sales while 360 itself isn't, allowing Sony to incrementally catch up while Microsoft languishes with static sales.
In just half a year, Sony is at half of Microsoft's sales, despite the Xbox 360 having been on sale for over a year and a half. Nintendo's Wii, however, is taking off in a way that leaves both of the HD consoles behind. It appears poised to pass total sales of the 360 next month at the end of the third quarter.
[/QUOTE]
Full Story: roughlydrafted.com
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(Thursday 06 September 2007 18:04 EST) - (Category: Xbox360) - (Posted by::
)
Microsoft debuts Extenders for Windows Media Center, adds DivX and XviD
>> From engadget.com:
[QUOTE]
Today Microsoft is announcing a reinvigorated Media Center Extender effort called... wait for it... Extenders for Windows Media Center. Ok, the name totally sucks, but the important part is Microsoft upgraded its wayward Extender system with a new version that takes full advantage of Vista (including live HDTV streaming), supports 802.11n, and adds something that really blew our mind: codecs we actually care about, namely XviD and DivX. Niveus, Linksys, and D-Link will all be launching new devices based on this software platform, so watch out for those -- as well as DVD players, TVs, and all manner of other home theater devices Microsoft is apparently trying to get this new system built right into. Unfortunately this new Extender rev isn't being announced for the Xbox 360 (yet), so we'll all have to wait a while longer before playing XviD and DivX movies on that thing -- without transcoding, anyway.
[/QUOTE]
Full Story: engadget.com
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(Thursday 06 September 2007 01:08 EST) - (Category: Xbox360) - (Posted by::
)
COD4 Beta 2nd Profile Exploit: 23k used it, MS Fixed It and LIVE Bans for 24h
>> An internal Microsoft source sent us this exclusive info about the COD4 Beta '2nd Profile Exploit':
[QUOTE]
There was an exploit (it's been resolved), in the call of duty 4 beta. The public beta had 100k valid participants who qualified and were provided special tokens which allowed them to download the COD4 beta from marketplace.
There was an exploit that enabled valid beta participants to sign in with their accounts on a different machine, use their beta token and download the beta. The beta was then fully functional for any LIVE profile on that 2nd machine (even after the beta participant's account was removed). Approximately 23k consoles were used to take advantage of this exploit to illegitimately access the COD4 beta.
The exploit has been fixed to prevent any additional users from illegitimately accessing the COD4 beta.
The current POR is to issue a 24-hour console lockout that will prevent these 23k users from using their consoles to sign in to LIVE. These users will also receive a message in the dash with an explanation as to why their console has been locked out for 24 hours for violating the LIVE TOU [Terms of Use] and a warning that more severe actions may be taken if they attempt a similar action in the future (console could be banned permanently, etc.). Again, this is not a permanent console ban - it's more of a "slap on the wrist" and a warning to these 23k users who used this exploit
[/QUOTE]
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
AACS LA to fight AnyDVD HD
>> From afterdawn.com:
[QUOTE]
Back to its main purpose, to protect HD DVD and Blu-ray movie discs from being copied, "data keys" will provide additional encryption during the transmission of data from the drive to the PC (bus encryption). The keys will be different for each drive and each movie discs. According to AACS LA, even if hackers found and posted keys, it would not enable anybody else to decrypt the discs with their equipment.
The keys currently being used by SlySoft's AnyDVD HD will soon be revoked also, meaning that the software will be incapable of decrypting newer titles and that users with HD playback software will probably soon need to update.
[/QUOTE]
Full Story: afterdawn.com
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(Wednesday 05 September 2007 22:49 EST) - (Category: Xbox360) - (Posted by::
)
XNA Game Studio Express in CoDe Magazine
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(Wednesday 05 September 2007 22:46 EST) - (Category: Xbox360) - (Posted by::
)
Assassin’s Creed: The 5pct Cross-Platform Difference
>> From thebbps.com:
[QUOTE]
We had a chance to speak with Lead Engineer for Assassin's Creed, Mathieu Mazerolle and asked the big question; how do the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions stack-up against each other?
"Our goal is to ship the two versions of [Assassin's Creed] to be within 5% or less of difference between each other. That doesn't mean the PS3 is 5% "better" or "worse", it's really just an approximation and a statement that while the two versions are very similar, there will be (as there always is) small, hopefully inperceptible, differences between the two versions within a very small threshold."
Later adding:
"Both machines are very complex and have very distinct strengths and weaknesses, so it's almost impossible to quantify these sorts of comparisons - we just want to make the game as good as it can be on both platforms, and owners of both consoles will get the same experience from playing [Assassin's Creed]."
[/QUOTE]
Full Story: thebbps.com
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(Wednesday 05 September 2007 12:35 EST) - (Category: Xbox360) - (Posted by::
)
Schtrom's DosFlash v1.1 Beta
>> Schtrom released a new version of DosFlash - at tool that can be used to read/write/erase the flash chips of most CD/DVD-ROM drives that have a mediatek chipset installed (including the TS-H943A MS25 and MS28 ; SH-D162C ; SH-D163A ; BenQ VAD6038). DosFlash is for DOS flashing, DosFlash32 for Windows flashing.
What's new/fixed (since v1.0 beta):
* DosFlash.typ modified for better BenQ support
* DosFlash16 Flash Manufacturer and Device ID screen output restructured
* flash chips are first erased before writing starts
* DosFlash32 no reenable of DVD-ROMs in device manager after flashing, this means you can't see drive and maybe have to activate it manual again in device manager, this could give better compatibility and hopefully no more blue screens
Official Site: n/a, by kai schtrom on xboxhacker.net
Download: here
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(Wednesday 05 September 2007 00:49 EST) - (Category: Xbox360) - (Posted by::
)
Zune Drops to 199usd
>> From zuneinsider.com (FYI: MS owned blog):
[QUOTE]
Some of you may have already heard, but tomorrow we're dropping the suggested retail price for Zune to $199. It's part of the normal product lifecycle, something we've had on the books for months. We just got some research back and customer satisfaction with the 30GB device is really high (around 94%) and we expect even more consumers will now want to discover the Zune experience at the new lower price.
[/QUOTE]
Buy Zune [30GB]: Black | White | Brown
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(Wednesday 05 September 2007 00:30 EST) - (Category: Xbox360) - (Posted by::
)
Microsoft's Adults Only Game Bundle for Japan
>> From kotaku.com:
[QUOTE]
While the Western world shirks from Adults Only console games, Xbox Japan embraces them. What the hell, it has nothing to lose! As part of its low cost "Platinum Collection," Microsoft will be realizing a two pack of Gears of War and Dead Rising. Both games were slapped with the dreaded CERO Z rating, which is equal to ESRB's games-as-porn AO rating.
[/QUOTE]
Full Story: kotaku.com
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(Tuesday 04 September 2007 23:38 EST) - (Category: Xbox360) - (Posted by::
)
Xbox Live Down on September 10 starting at 2:01 PDT
>> From forums.xbox.com (free reg. req.):
[QUOTE]
Xbox Live will be going down for a service upgrade on September 10, 2007 starting at 2:01 PDT and lasting for approximatly 4 hours. I just recieved this message from Xbox Live on my 360. It was bound to happen since a huge rush of people will be hitting Halo 3 15 days after this upgrade.
[/QUOTE]
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(Tuesday 04 September 2007 21:26 EST) - (Category: Xbox360) - (Posted by::
)
Rumor: Xbox 360 Fall Update to Bring Parental Timer?
>> From kotaku.com:
[QUOTE]
Rumor has it that the bi-annual Xbox 360 firmware update set to hit this fall will bring with it a number of interesting updates, chief among them a new Parental Timer.
Sources tell me that the update will allow people to set a password protected usage timer on their Xbox 360s. In other words, parents or loved ones will be able to limit the amount of time someone can game on the system during a given time period.
[/QUOTE]
Full Story: kotaku.com
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(Tuesday 04 September 2007 18:26 EST) - (Category: Xbox360) - (Posted by::
)
Sony tries to secretly wiki-diss Halo 3 and fails
>> From xbox360fanboy.com:
[QUOTE]
Our friends over at Sony HQ must be at their whits end with all this Halo 3 talk, because they devilishly and secretly stuck it to the Halo franchise with a ::gasp:: Wikipedia revision! Using WikiScanner, it was discovered that an IP address originating out of Sony's UK studios edited the Wikipedia entry for "Halo series" dissing Halo 3's graphics. Sony's Wiki revision poked fun of the game's graphics by saying that they "wont look any better than Halo 2". Ouch Sony, just ouch. But don't worry Halo fanboys, because the Halo series wiki entry has since been corrected and set to a semi-locked status. Take that Halo haters!
[/QUOTE]
Full Story: xbox360fanboy.com
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(Tuesday 04 September 2007 14:28 EST) - (Category: Xbox360) - (Posted by::
)
UK: Microsoft Launches On-demand media channel for Windows and Xbox
>> From tech.co.uk:
[QUOTE]
Microsoft has announced details of a new entertainment channel available on the Xbox 360, Windows Vista and Windows XP Media Center. Coolroom is, according to the corporation "aimed at film fans who want to enjoy digital entertainment on TV from the comforts of their own sofa". It's a premium content channel, where you can download programmes to purchase outright or simply to watch once.
Downloaded content is available directly via the Media Center interface while the Coolroom channel is available via the Online Spotlight menu in Media Center.
The website also hosts the '3D Coolroom', a virtual 3D loft apartment where users can watch cinema featurettes and interview clips. According to Microsoft, users can customise and own their 3D Coolroom by uploading and displaying personal media such as pictures and videos.
"We are extremely proud to be expanding the Coolroom service as the first entertainment retail channel launched on Microsoft Media Center in the UK," said Rupert Fleming, managing director of Coolroom.
[/QUOTE]
Full Story: tech.co.uk
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(Tuesday 04 September 2007 13:00 EST) - (Category: Xbox360) - (Posted by::
)
'Linux' or 'Unix' is Inappropriate Language as LIVE Motto According to Microsoft
>> From riverag.com:
[QUOTE]
I love Linux and the XBOX 360, so yesterday I tried to include the word "LINUX" in the motto section on XBOX Live. I was stunned when I got a message saying "Your motto contains inappropriate language. Please try again".
[/QUOTE]
I tried this myself to make sure it wasn't any kinda hoax ... I tried to put just the word 'linux' as motto to my gamertag and indeed ... Microsoft refused it. I also tried 'unix' ... but that didn't pass the Redmond filter either. Seriously, how low can you go MS?
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(Tuesday 04 September 2007 00:56 EST) - (Category: Xbox360) - (Posted by::
)
Microsoft Cuts The Price Of HD-DVD Unit In Europe
>> From efluxmedia.com:
[QUOTE]
At IFA, Microsoft has made another step to help the HD-DVD format. The maker of Xbox 360 announced a 20-euro cut in the price of its HD DVD add-on drive for the gaming console. According to the Redmond company, the blue-laser high-definition-disc drives are to retail in Europe for 180 euros ($244).
This move follows a similar announcement made by the company last month, when Microsoft announced that the price of the HD-DVD player in US will be $179 instead of $199.
[/QUOTE]
Sadly, no 8 (or less) free HD DVD movies like in the USA.
Full Story: efluxmedia.com
Buy Now (120gbp/178eur/180usd): Amazon Europe | Amazon USA (w/ 8 free movies)
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(Tuesday 04 September 2007 00:35 EST) - (Category: Xbox360) - (Posted by::
)
Xbox 360 Messenger Kit Unboxing
>> The guys over at gearlive.com posted some pictures of their Xbox 360 Messenger 'ChatPad' Kit(buy USA /buy EU ) that will be released in N-America on September 4th and in Europe on September 7th:
[QUOTE]
The Kit includes the much anticipated Xbox 360 Chatpad - a QWERTY keyboard accessory that snaps onto an Xbox 360 controller - along with a newly redesigned Xbox 360 headset. The new headset features a simple audio connector, with the mute and volume switch located on the wire itself - much more user friendly, and it looks better too.
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Full Story: gearlive.com
Pre-Order now: amazon.com | amazon.co.uk
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(Monday 03 September 2007 10:46 EST) - (Category: Xbox360) - (Posted by::
)
Get Call of Duty 4 Beta using Second Profile Glitch
>> From hahauk.com:
[QUOTE]
Infinity Ward handed out codes for the Call of Duty 4 Beta earlier this week, but this was limited to just US players who signed up for it on CharlieOscarDelta. The registration has now closed and a few thousand gamers got their hands on the elusive codes.
If a friend has the Call of Duty 4 Beta, then they can do what the eBay sellers are doing, but for free. This will require you to hand over your Gamertag details and password.
1. Plug in 2 Controllers.
2. Sign Controller 1 into the shared account (the one with the Beta)
3. Leave Controller 2 signed out
4. With Controller 1, go to 'Account Management' under the Marketplace Blade then 'Download History'
5. With Controller 2, press the Guide Button then A to access profiles
6. With Controller 1, select YOUR account and sign in
7. Press B on Controller 2 (to exit the guide) then unplug Controller 2
8. Select the COD4 Beta onscreen, then press 'Confirm Download'
9. The Beta will now download with YOUR account and once done, will work with your account
[/QUOTE]
Note: Of course doing this is at your own risk, MS might not like it.
Update: It looks like Microsoft is banning people who used this trick from the COD4 beta now.
Full Story: hahauk.com
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(Sunday 02 September 2007 20:01 EST) - (Category: Xbox360) - (Posted by::
)
XboxMediaCenter (XBMC) 2007-09-02 SVN rev10142 build - T3CH
>> T3CH released a new SVN compile (rev10142) of XboxMediaCenter(info) for Xbox1.
This T3CH-compile is a complete snapshot of what is in SVN at the time the build was compiled, with just a few small additions.
Special Notes and Added/Noteworthy/XML/Script changes:
* added: dvdplayer can now abort stream reading that has stalled in ffmpeg url reading added: dvdplayer now supports pausing rtsp streams and resume again later if server supports it. (currently if you pause and server doesn't support it, we pause anyway so buffers will fill up and then loos streamed data) changed: dvdplayer is now default player for rtsp:// stream that doesn't end with .ra or .rm
* added: support for generating lastchange events for upnp renderer. (this can easily crash xbmc on xbox, so don't enable upnp renderer unless you use it).
* added: system.progressbar infolabel that returns the current progress (0->100)
* I'm including the XBMC Win32 PC environment.exe that is meant for skinners & python developers, read more about the concept here. It was built using Microsoft DirectX Summer 2004 SDK.
* I've tweaked the win32 run_me_first.bat so it runs and then unmounts the virtual drives when you exit.
For the full changelog (all added/fixed/changed/updated stuff) since the 2007-08-26 SVN Rev10100 build click here.
Keep in mind this is a SVN snapshot of the current development tree. It's not an official (stable) point release. Use only if you know what you are doing.
Official XBMC Site: www.xboxmediacenter.com (manual and FAQ)
Official T3CH Site: http://t3ch.yi.se (release RSS feed)
Download Binaries: n/a (built with XDK) | Download SourceCode: here
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
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