Xbox 360 thread - part 3.2
01-29-07 | 12:33 PM
#151
DVD Talk Ultimate Edition
Was having some friends over for movie night and decided to get Lady in the Water in HD. I have a pretty speedy cable connection and can download at a max of 1 meg/second. I figured I'd have enough time to download the thing.
Bought it at 2pm
Guests came at 5
Guests left at 11
Movie finished downloading at 12:30
What a complete waste
I don't know what market MS is shooting for, but I can drive to the rental store and get a HD-DVD faster, that I can hold on to longer. And HD on demand from Time Warner loads instantly. I don't see the point to using this MS service unless I know a day in advance I'm going to want to watch a movie.
I'm goign to try to call them and complain... I want my credit back.. no excuse for that download time.
Bought it at 2pm
Guests came at 5
Guests left at 11
Movie finished downloading at 12:30
What a complete waste
I don't know what market MS is shooting for, but I can drive to the rental store and get a HD-DVD faster, that I can hold on to longer. And HD on demand from Time Warner loads instantly. I don't see the point to using this MS service unless I know a day in advance I'm going to want to watch a movie.
I'm goign to try to call them and complain... I want my credit back.. no excuse for that download time.
01-29-07 | 12:43 PM
#152
DVD Talk Godfather
Originally Posted by mmconhea
Was having some friends over for movie night and decided to get Lady in the Water in HD. I have a pretty speedy cable connection and can download at a max of 1 meg/second. I figured I'd have enough time to download the thing.
Bought it at 2pm
Guests came at 5
Guests left at 11
Movie finished downloading at 12:30
What a complete waste
I don't know what market MS is shooting for, but I can drive to the rental store and get a HD-DVD faster, that I can hold on to longer. And HD on demand from Time Warner loads instantly. I don't see the point to using this MS service unless I know a day in advance I'm going to want to watch a movie.
I'm goign to try to call them and complain... I want my credit back.. no excuse for that download time.
Bought it at 2pm
Guests came at 5
Guests left at 11
Movie finished downloading at 12:30
What a complete waste
I don't know what market MS is shooting for, but I can drive to the rental store and get a HD-DVD faster, that I can hold on to longer. And HD on demand from Time Warner loads instantly. I don't see the point to using this MS service unless I know a day in advance I'm going to want to watch a movie.
I'm goign to try to call them and complain... I want my credit back.. no excuse for that download time.
01-29-07 | 12:46 PM
#153
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Can't you start watching it at 25% complete or something? Or is that only for SD stuff? I also have no desire at all for this service as I don't feel the price is right for a rental.
01-29-07 | 12:50 PM
#154
Originally Posted by Shagrath
Can't you start watching it at 25% complete or something? Or is that only for SD stuff? I also have no desire at all for this service as I don't feel the price is right for a rental.
01-29-07 | 02:11 PM
#155
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From: Gateway Cities/Harbor Region
Originally Posted by Michael Corvin
there's already an auto shut off feature, so I don't think this is truly necessary.
What? All I've seen is "off after 6 hours". Is there another feature/option I'm missing? I don't want my 360 sitting on for 6 hours doing nothing after a 45 minute dl session. Having it shut down after the dl means you can set up a download and walk away. I'm talking about an auto shutdown that happens immediately after a download finishes.
01-29-07 | 02:15 PM
#156
Originally Posted by mmconhea
I have a pretty speedy cable connection and can download at a max of 1 meg/second.
I'm goign to try to call them and complain... I want my credit back.. no excuse for that download time.
I'm goign to try to call them and complain... I want my credit back.. no excuse for that download time.
At your connection speed (1Mbps = 0.125 megabytes per second), you should expect it to take about 17 hours to download 8 GB. If the movies are only 4GB, even with no server overhead, it will take 8 hours to download.
And this is why it'll be hard for this to catch on. Unless one has a 5Mbps cable connection, it'll take too long to download to make it worthwhile.
01-29-07 | 04:14 PM
#157
Guest
http://www.gamespot.com/news/show_bl...s&subj=6164918
Chris
Rewards coming for Xbox 360 Achievements?
Source: Xbox fan site Unscripted 360, which picked up on a "partially torn document."
The official story: Microsoft rep--"We have nothing to say about these rumors or speculation."
What we heard: One of the more surprising innovations from Microsoft's Xbox 360 was the incorporation of Achievement Points into gameplay. By accomplishing certain tasks in Xbox 360 games, players are awarded points which are amassed into a personal GamerScore which spans all Xbox 360 games. The phenomenon has created "Achievement Point Whores," friendly competition, a cash-for-points business, and a cutthroat race to the top of the leaderboards.
However, when all is said and done, Achievement Points really amount to nothing but bragging rights among the geek elite. That's all about to change, if a post from Xbox 360 fan site Unscripted 360 is correct.
The Web site claims to have gotten a hold of "a partially torn document" that gives info an upcoming Achievements-for-Rewards program. According to the blog post, Microsoft has teamed up with some sponsors that would give a limited amount of real-world prizes for in-game goals. The program will be free, only require registration, and launch next month, according to the blog.
As far as credibility, the owner of the blog, who goes by the name DeaconBlade 360, is an Xbox Ambassador and was awarded the Microsoft MVP Award for 2007 in the Xbox category. He also adds a bit of drama to the post, saying "I, along with a few others, are (sic) risking quite a bit bringing this explosive story to you!"
Microsoft isn't saying much about the program, but did give a hint that they are at least thinking about it. "We have nothing to say about these rumors or speculation," a Microsoft representative told GameSpot. "However, what we can tell you is that Xbox is always exploring ideas for how we can reward our loyal customers. As soon as we have anything new to share, we will definitely let you know.”
With the success of Achievement Points catching many off guard, it wouldn't be surprising if Microsoft was looking to cash in on them somehow, and a rewards program makes perfect sense. By signing on sponsors looking to tap the gamer demographic, Microsoft could find another easy source of income for little investment. The only question that remains is "What kind of shwag are we talking about for prizes?"
Bogus or not bogus?: Sounds not bogus, but definitely not confirmed...yet.
Source: Xbox fan site Unscripted 360, which picked up on a "partially torn document."
The official story: Microsoft rep--"We have nothing to say about these rumors or speculation."
What we heard: One of the more surprising innovations from Microsoft's Xbox 360 was the incorporation of Achievement Points into gameplay. By accomplishing certain tasks in Xbox 360 games, players are awarded points which are amassed into a personal GamerScore which spans all Xbox 360 games. The phenomenon has created "Achievement Point Whores," friendly competition, a cash-for-points business, and a cutthroat race to the top of the leaderboards.
However, when all is said and done, Achievement Points really amount to nothing but bragging rights among the geek elite. That's all about to change, if a post from Xbox 360 fan site Unscripted 360 is correct.
The Web site claims to have gotten a hold of "a partially torn document" that gives info an upcoming Achievements-for-Rewards program. According to the blog post, Microsoft has teamed up with some sponsors that would give a limited amount of real-world prizes for in-game goals. The program will be free, only require registration, and launch next month, according to the blog.
As far as credibility, the owner of the blog, who goes by the name DeaconBlade 360, is an Xbox Ambassador and was awarded the Microsoft MVP Award for 2007 in the Xbox category. He also adds a bit of drama to the post, saying "I, along with a few others, are (sic) risking quite a bit bringing this explosive story to you!"
Microsoft isn't saying much about the program, but did give a hint that they are at least thinking about it. "We have nothing to say about these rumors or speculation," a Microsoft representative told GameSpot. "However, what we can tell you is that Xbox is always exploring ideas for how we can reward our loyal customers. As soon as we have anything new to share, we will definitely let you know.”
With the success of Achievement Points catching many off guard, it wouldn't be surprising if Microsoft was looking to cash in on them somehow, and a rewards program makes perfect sense. By signing on sponsors looking to tap the gamer demographic, Microsoft could find another easy source of income for little investment. The only question that remains is "What kind of shwag are we talking about for prizes?"
Bogus or not bogus?: Sounds not bogus, but definitely not confirmed...yet.
Chris
01-29-07 | 04:53 PM
#158
That would be interesting if it would lead to things like Burger King sponsoring certain achievements in their games or an online casino giving you a free tshirt for getting a certain achievement in Texas Hold Em.
What would suck horribly imo would be if they gave prizes for certain plateaus of total points thereby rewarding the people who paid for someone to level them, downloaded saves to unlock achievements, or otherwise "cheated" to get to a certain level.
Then again, maybe they could team up with a therapist who would help with anger management for anyone who beat that stupid silo mission in CoD2 on veteran.
What would suck horribly imo would be if they gave prizes for certain plateaus of total points thereby rewarding the people who paid for someone to level them, downloaded saves to unlock achievements, or otherwise "cheated" to get to a certain level.
Then again, maybe they could team up with a therapist who would help with anger management for anyone who beat that stupid silo mission in CoD2 on veteran.
01-29-07 | 05:45 PM
#160
DVD Talk Godfather
Originally Posted by xmiyux
What would suck horribly imo would be if they gave prizes for certain plateaus of total points thereby rewarding the people who paid for someone to level them, downloaded saves to unlock achievements, or otherwise "cheated" to get to a certain level.
01-29-07 | 06:07 PM
#161
DVD Talk Platinum Edition
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From: Next stop, Earth.
Originally Posted by maxfisher
I've got a quick question I'm hoping someone can help me with. I'm planning on getting Apple's new AirPort Extreme in a couple weeks and setting up a wireless network. I just have a PowerBook G4 and I'm tired of having to screw with USB cables every time I have to print or access my external hard drive. For my 360, I'm just planning on running an ethernet cable from the AirPort base station to the console. I'd really like to set things up so I can access my music library on the 360 without having to 1) plug my ipod into the front of the console or 2) having to have my laptop turned on. I'm wondering, will the 360 be able to pull music from my external hard drive over the network, without my computer being turned on? If not, would it recognize my ipod if I plugged that in as a device on the network? Thanks for any and all help anyone can offer.
EDIT, sorry I misread your question. Your computer would need to be on.
01-29-07 | 06:46 PM
#162
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Can't you start watching it at 25% complete or something? Or is that only for SD stuff? I also have no desire at all for this service as I don't feel the price is right for a rental.
My HD version of Lady in the Water took hours, upon hours, upon hours to download. I wish I would of called and complained.
01-29-07 | 07:03 PM
#163
Originally Posted by LivingINClip
My HD version of Lady in the Water took hours, upon hours, upon hours to download. I wish I would of called and complained.
Unless we can all get cheap ultra-high speed fibre connections, I don't see HD video on demand catching on (for a while). The infrastructure just isn't there (considering typical "high speed" internet access speeds).
01-29-07 | 07:46 PM
#164
DVD Talk Ultimate Edition
Originally Posted by mbs
How large are the HD movies on Xbox live? I've not downloaded one, but if they are comparable in size to HD-DVDs, even with fast internet connections, it would be way too slow for me to be interested.
At your connection speed (1Mbps = 0.125 megabytes per second), you should expect it to take about 17 hours to download 8 GB. If the movies are only 4GB, even with no server overhead, it will take 8 hours to download.
And this is why it'll be hard for this to catch on. Unless one has a 5Mbps cable connection, it'll take too long to download to make it worthwhile.
At your connection speed (1Mbps = 0.125 megabytes per second), you should expect it to take about 17 hours to download 8 GB. If the movies are only 4GB, even with no server overhead, it will take 8 hours to download.
And this is why it'll be hard for this to catch on. Unless one has a 5Mbps cable connection, it'll take too long to download to make it worthwhile.
This particular movie was listed at 5 GB. I figured with a 3 hour lead I had plenty of time.
You cannot start the movie until it finishes... in fact you have to wait after the download finished for the movie to process before you can play it... took about 15 minutes.
When I realized the movie was taking so slow I rebooted the XBOX/router and tested my connection and it was all good.
Fact of the matter is, tried it first time and want my money back... I don't seeing anyone benefitting from this service. Now, I haven't played ht efile, so I can't testify to the quality... I'll try it if you want to know how well it works, but I swear it that video freezes or stutters at all, then it would be even more enraging.
Once you have the movie, you have 14 days to press play... once you press play, it stays active for 24 hours.
01-29-07 | 07:50 PM
#165
DVD Talk Ultimate Edition
Originally Posted by mbs
Per my previous post, I'm confused what you would complain about. Given typical cable/DSL speeds (500k - 2 Mpbs), it should take several hours to download 4+ GB of data. I found something that said "V for Vendetta" is 6.1GB on MS live. That will take many hours to download, unless you are sitting on a T1.
Unless we can all get cheap ultra-high speed fibre connections, I don't see HD video on demand catching on (for a while). The infrastructure just isn't there (considering typical "high speed" internet access speeds).
Unless we can all get cheap ultra-high speed fibre connections, I don't see HD video on demand catching on (for a while). The infrastructure just isn't there (considering typical "high speed" internet access speeds).
01-29-07 | 07:55 PM
#166
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From: Westchester, Los Angeles
I saw that achievement reward rumor earlier today. Very intriguing stuff if done correctly.
Imagine offering benefits for the majority of mediocre titles for the 360 as a promotional tool to drive sales. People would buy/rent crap titles left and right to rack up the achievements.
My guess is that they will require all achievements to be unlocked online and make a time stipulation to lock out the gamesavers. For instance, anyone that unlocks all achievements in a day by swapping accounts with someone is automatically disqualified and perhaps banned from the rewards system. I'm also venturing a guess that achievement security will finally be stepped up and Microsoft will take an active role in checking accounts once they register for the rewards. As of now, they have been completely passive and non-responsive on the subject, with the exception of eliminating the most used method with the Fall update.
They absolutely shouldn't offer awards for reaching plateaus, but rather for unlocking extremely tough achievements. They also shouldn't offer rewards for past achievements, unless the account holder is willing to undergo account scrutiny. I wouldn't be shocked if they slipping something into the fine print about that.
Anyway, it should be an interesting month if true.
Imagine offering benefits for the majority of mediocre titles for the 360 as a promotional tool to drive sales. People would buy/rent crap titles left and right to rack up the achievements.
My guess is that they will require all achievements to be unlocked online and make a time stipulation to lock out the gamesavers. For instance, anyone that unlocks all achievements in a day by swapping accounts with someone is automatically disqualified and perhaps banned from the rewards system. I'm also venturing a guess that achievement security will finally be stepped up and Microsoft will take an active role in checking accounts once they register for the rewards. As of now, they have been completely passive and non-responsive on the subject, with the exception of eliminating the most used method with the Fall update.
They absolutely shouldn't offer awards for reaching plateaus, but rather for unlocking extremely tough achievements. They also shouldn't offer rewards for past achievements, unless the account holder is willing to undergo account scrutiny. I wouldn't be shocked if they slipping something into the fine print about that.
Anyway, it should be an interesting month if true.
Last edited by Flay; 01-29-07 at 07:58 PM.
01-29-07 | 08:10 PM
#167
Originally Posted by mmconhea
I get speeds of 1 MEGABYTE per second, not bit. So I know it's not my bandwidth. I download large files all the time with no issue.
This particular movie was listed at 5 GB. I figured with a 3 hour lead I had plenty of time.
This particular movie was listed at 5 GB. I figured with a 3 hour lead I had plenty of time.
I wonder if MS then caps all download speeds. Because at 5Mbps, I tend to get downloads (game demos) at my usual 500-600 kB/sec. Or maybe the game demos are on a different server...
Last edited by mbs; 01-29-07 at 08:19 PM.
01-29-07 | 09:44 PM
#168
DVD Talk Gold Edition
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From: Green Acres
Originally Posted by Flay
I saw that achievement reward rumor earlier today. Very intriguing stuff if done correctly.
Imagine offering benefits for the majority of mediocre titles for the 360 as a promotional tool to drive sales. People would buy/rent crap titles left and right to rack up the achievements.
My guess is that they will require all achievements to be unlocked online and make a time stipulation to lock out the gamesavers. For instance, anyone that unlocks all achievements in a day by swapping accounts with someone is automatically disqualified and perhaps banned from the rewards system. I'm also venturing a guess that achievement security will finally be stepped up and Microsoft will take an active role in checking accounts once they register for the rewards. As of now, they have been completely passive and non-responsive on the subject, with the exception of eliminating the most used method with the Fall update.
They absolutely shouldn't offer awards for reaching plateaus, but rather for unlocking extremely tough achievements. They also shouldn't offer rewards for past achievements, unless the account holder is willing to undergo account scrutiny. I wouldn't be shocked if they slipping something into the fine print about that.
Anyway, it should be an interesting month if true.
Imagine offering benefits for the majority of mediocre titles for the 360 as a promotional tool to drive sales. People would buy/rent crap titles left and right to rack up the achievements.
My guess is that they will require all achievements to be unlocked online and make a time stipulation to lock out the gamesavers. For instance, anyone that unlocks all achievements in a day by swapping accounts with someone is automatically disqualified and perhaps banned from the rewards system. I'm also venturing a guess that achievement security will finally be stepped up and Microsoft will take an active role in checking accounts once they register for the rewards. As of now, they have been completely passive and non-responsive on the subject, with the exception of eliminating the most used method with the Fall update.
They absolutely shouldn't offer awards for reaching plateaus, but rather for unlocking extremely tough achievements. They also shouldn't offer rewards for past achievements, unless the account holder is willing to undergo account scrutiny. I wouldn't be shocked if they slipping something into the fine print about that.
Anyway, it should be an interesting month if true.
01-29-07 | 10:11 PM
#169
Thread Starter
DVD Talk Legend
Originally Posted by mmconhea
I get speeds of 1 MEGABYTE per second, not bit. So I know it's not my bandwidth. I download large files all the time with no issue.
This particular movie was listed at 5 GB. I figured with a 3 hour lead I had plenty of time.
You cannot start the movie until it finishes... in fact you have to wait after the download finished for the movie to process before you can play it... took about 15 minutes.
When I realized the movie was taking so slow I rebooted the XBOX/router and tested my connection and it was all good.
Fact of the matter is, tried it first time and want my money back... I don't seeing anyone benefitting from this service. Now, I haven't played ht efile, so I can't testify to the quality... I'll try it if you want to know how well it works, but I swear it that video freezes or stutters at all, then it would be even more enraging.
Once you have the movie, you have 14 days to press play... once you press play, it stays active for 24 hours.
This particular movie was listed at 5 GB. I figured with a 3 hour lead I had plenty of time.
You cannot start the movie until it finishes... in fact you have to wait after the download finished for the movie to process before you can play it... took about 15 minutes.
When I realized the movie was taking so slow I rebooted the XBOX/router and tested my connection and it was all good.
Fact of the matter is, tried it first time and want my money back... I don't seeing anyone benefitting from this service. Now, I haven't played ht efile, so I can't testify to the quality... I'll try it if you want to know how well it works, but I swear it that video freezes or stutters at all, then it would be even more enraging.
Once you have the movie, you have 14 days to press play... once you press play, it stays active for 24 hours.
01-29-07 | 11:19 PM
#170
DVD Talk Godfather & 2020 TOTY Winner
Originally Posted by Demontooth
Are the achievements really that important?
01-30-07 | 06:56 AM
#171
Originally Posted by Demontooth
Are the achievements really that important?
what if you had to get a certain achievement in Gears of War to gain access to the Halo 3 beta (instead of buying Crackdown). Or even better, you need the 50 hour achievement in Viva Pinata to get into Halo. Something like that would be very interesting, a way to drive sales, and would make the achievements important.
01-30-07 | 07:15 AM
#172
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Wow, so you cannot start an HD movie until it downloads completely? This is just crap....I'm amazed. I still loathe the 24 hour watch time. Sometimes that is not possible if you have little ones running around 
01-30-07 | 07:41 AM
#173
DVD Talk Legend
Originally Posted by DJ_Longfellow
Wow, so you cannot start an HD movie until it downloads completely? This is just crap....I'm amazed. I still loathe the 24 hour watch time. Sometimes that is not possible if you have little ones running around
01-30-07 | 07:48 AM
#174
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That isn't true tho', when I did download 'Lady in Water', at around the 60 percent mark it allowed me to stream. The big thing is tho', you can't skip head / back. Still, it took hours upon hours to get to the point where I could stream it. Unlike Hard Candy which was streamable from the get go.
I've done it three times now, all three times was simply because I was to lazy to get my clothes out, go out in the cold and rent the physical disc. Can't say I enjoy spending $6.25 (price of the lowest amount of MS points) for a one time rental, but oh well.
I've done it three times now, all three times was simply because I was to lazy to get my clothes out, go out in the cold and rent the physical disc. Can't say I enjoy spending $6.25 (price of the lowest amount of MS points) for a one time rental, but oh well.
01-30-07 | 08:38 AM
#175
DVD Talk Godfather
Originally Posted by xmiyux
They would be if they become a way to get prizes.
what if you had to get a certain achievement in Gears of War to gain access to the Halo 3 beta (instead of buying Crackdown). Or even better, you need the 50 hour achievement in Viva Pinata to get into Halo. Something like that would be very interesting, a way to drive sales, and would make the achievements important.
what if you had to get a certain achievement in Gears of War to gain access to the Halo 3 beta (instead of buying Crackdown). Or even better, you need the 50 hour achievement in Viva Pinata to get into Halo. Something like that would be very interesting, a way to drive sales, and would make the achievements important.
As people have already said, achievements are useless because of the relatively easy ways to cheat to get most of them, and the fact that not all games treat achievements equally. It was a brilliant move to implement them because it really does appeal to the collector's mentality. But to exchange them for some real value? I can just see the sales (or rentals) of used copies of NBA 2K6 going through the roof.