There are two USB ports on the back of the HD drive, so you are actually gaining a port.

I just read that on BB's page. Sweet!

You won't need to use the front usb ports. The HD-DVD actually has 3 usb ports on the back. One that connects to the 360 and two others for what ever you want. And there is a recess area where you can attached the wireless adapter.

Plus if you're getting the Rock Band bundle, it comes with a USB hub, not sure how many ports on it.

When comparing games played to other friends, why does the 360 show the demos you played as a "game played?" It does this online too. So it shows that I have played 43 games with hardly any achievements gotten yet almost everyone one of those games were demos.

Then when you try to compare it, it lists every demo like you own the game but have not gotten any achievements. Not a big deal but mildly irritating.

I guess they hope those 0 Achievements and the presumed shame that comes with it will prompt some into buying the games. It does suck though. I read that someone here uses a dummy Silver account to DL & play XBLA demos so they don't mess up his "games played" stats.

:wave: I have a silver account on my system, and it takes a whopping 5 seconds to switch to it, so why not do that and not have 0 pointers on my main tag? :D

It was also rumored that in one of the dash updates this year you would be able to remove zero pointers from your list.

SCORE!! Got 2 free movies + Heroes with the HD-DVD player. I got 300 and Children of Men. So so far I've paid $193 for: (and yes, I personally happen to love these movies, I thought The Hulk was awesome and have seen it 3-4 times :p :D)
* Heroes Season 1
* Aeon Flux
* The Hulk
* Full Metal Jacket
* The Frighteners
* Troy
* Children of Men
* 300

Already own an XBOX-360 HD-DVD player so I'm going to eBay this one and see how much it nets (brand new sealed with King Kong and remote, UPC missing) :D

Wasn't easy, took a bit of finangling, but got it. Some gems: "That's a gaming unit" "No, actually, you cannot play games with this." "That's only with that Toshiba unit" "Well it says ANY HD-DVD player, not 'this HD-DVD player' or even 'any Toshiba HD-DVD player'" and the best one: "Microsoft is a gaming company" "Actually they're a bit bigger than just gaming."

Just for blank and giggles I searched the best price for these 7 DVDs + Heroes: $228.67 is the best price combo based on dvdpricesearch.com.

Deb - Was that at Best Buy with their buy a Toshiba HD-DVD player, get 2 HD-DVDs free?

Yes, except the ad clearly stated "get 2 free HD-DVDs instantly with the purchase of any HD-DVD player."
http://bestbuy.shoplocal.com/bestbuy...&pagenumber=20
Top left.

Aaah, I see. On BB.com, it specifically states Toshiba HD players.

I might have to try that this week at BB. I wonder if I could use a 10% off coupon on it as well?

Thanks.

If you look at the Toshiba product page, the box comes with 2 DVDs, PLUS you get 2 instantly, PLUS the 5 :)

http://bestbuy.shoplocal.com/bestbuy...id=-2092570076

GET 7 FREE HD DVD MOVIES* - Get 5 FREE HD DVD movies by mail** PLUS, get any 2 more FREE*** instanty PLUS, GET THESE 2 BONUS HD DVDS INSTANTLY IN BOX

So I argued that Toshiba does these 2 DVDs, MS does Heroes, and the ad says ANY HD-DVD player.

Success for me at BB as well but it took a trip to two different ones.

My first trip was the closest one to my house and right away the clerk was against me. She called a manager up and she refused it. I pointed out the wording so she called the main manager on the floor. He knows me from a previous problem (BB.com's fault) and I thought for sure I would score. He refused me and said there was no way he could ring it up even though I went over the wording several times.

I left the stuff and went to a different one in town. The clerk this time was in my favor and when his manager came up he pointed out to her that it said "any HD dvd player." She said no but when I pointed out that the Xbox add on is an HD dvd player, she said she would go ahead & ring it up but just wanted to make sure I understood that it was not included. I told her thanks and went on my way.

Unbelievable deal! What sucks is I dont want King Kong or Heroes and the only freebie out of the get 5 list I truly want is The Thing so I will be getting rid of all of those. The Heroes set is super nice but it is not a show that I would want to own after recently renting the HD set thru Netflix. I did get Hot Fuzz and Superman Returns as my 2 instant freebies. Sweet!!!

I hooked it up this afternoon. The update was super fast (I am assuming it was a firmware update...if so it was a ton quicker than my A2) and it there is no boot-up time it seems since it is booting up with the 360 when you turn it on. Very fast and seems a good bit quicker than my A2. I love the universal remote that came with it and like how it is set up similar to the controller. I was hoping the HDMI/optical hook-up came with the HD player but alas it does not. No matter for me right now since I just still have a component only HDTV but I was hoping to safeguard the future.

I'm really starting to look at HDTVs more now, being ready to make the jump to hi-def, mainly for hi-def TVV and gaming -- but dvds are a factor as well. Still absolutely no plans to go blu-ray or get HD-DVD yet, so that isn't a factor.

What are the obvious things to keep an eye out for when shopping around for an HDTV with the 360 in mind? Note, I have a 360 with HDMI. I'm looking at getting one in the 32-37" size range. For my other reasons outside of gaming, I think plasma is the way to go (from what I understand they have better blacks, less motion blur, and better viewing angles), but I'm not opposed to getting an LCD if it's comparable in those spaces.

Which type is better for gaming LCD or plasma (or does it even really matter)? Also, the whole 720p/1080p/1080i business? Which resolution is best for 360's and is it better to get a higher end model at a lower resolution or a lower end model at a higher resolution? Are there any models you suggest getting? My price range is around $800-$1300, though a closer the price is to $1000 the better, but I have a bit of room to work with.

I will probably only have this tv for 3-4 years, so I'm not worried about future proof technology or anything. I just want what will be good now.

I was looking at the tv's at Wal-mart, and they all looked like shit. But I can't tell if they just aren't configured correctly, or if it is the models they carry. I'm going to hit up bestbuy and/or circuit city to get a better feel for what is out there, but any help you lot can give me would be greatly appreciated. I am an AV noob to the max.

I could ask this in the hometheater forum, but I wanted to get 360 owners opinions first, as this is one of my biggest reasons for getting a new tv. I figure dvds will look great on any good HDTV regardless of specs as long as it's a good model, but from what I understand 360's tend to like certain features better than others when it comes to HDTVs.

I take back some of the good things I said about the remote. It works great for navigating the Xbox and the HD drive but as far as being "universal"...uh, no. You can program it to turn your TV on and off but if you use a receiver and/or a cable box/dvr like most of the civilized world, then it doesn't do shit for you...other than turning your tv on and off.

I was excited because I was hoping to use this remote for most of my stuff since I liked the layout in regards to the 360 but it looks like I will be programming my learning remote with the 360 buttons instead. :(

Still, the HD drive is great and well worth the money with the deal that is going on this week whether you get the 2 free hd-dvds or not.

I would take a look at this Samsung - it's only 720p, but from all I've read, unless you are sitting within 6' or so, a TV 40" and under you won't be able tell the difference between 720p and 1080p - http://shop2.outpost.com/product/5178656

It's only $897 shipped, though that price will probably be done today. It's normally at least $1150 or so.

For your budget, and the size you want, I think this is about as good of a set as you could find.

Here's a question...if my projector does 720p, is it worth it to get the HD add on for the X-Box? Will I be able to tell the difference?

Anybody looking for a new controller, Buy.com has the new blue one for $36.55 shipped, $26.55 with Google Checkout. http://www.buy.com/prod/xbox-360-wir...205613961.html

Also, for those looking at the Heroes/HD-DVD deal, Buy.com has that deal as well, for $179 shipped, $169 with Google Checkout. If you can't get the 2 free DVDs from Best Buy's misleading ad, this might be the better option w/o tax. http://www.buy.com/cat/xbox-360-cont...ies/62440.html

With a large screen, more lines of resolution always helps. Upconverted DVD's look great but I think HD content is still noticeably superior. And with the current deal on the add-on it's really a no brainer IMO.

I think at the 32-37" size you won't be able to tell the difference between 720 and 1080. I ended up getting a 42" plasma for the better blacks and slightly less motion blur (plus employee purchase program discount).

In the smaller sizes, I was seriously looking at the Sony Bravias. They have a GAME mode which help minimize lag. I hear the Samsungs do well too.

I bought an HDTV !!! :D
Sony Bravia 40" LCD HDTV 1080p http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1181347723980

It was open item so it was marked $1399.99. I found a scratch so they took an additional $70 off and gave it to me for $1329.99. The scratch is on top towards the back and it's a little circle so you have to be watching the top of the TV to notice it, so I can live with it. It's smaller than a dime. The remote is a bit scratched up but I can live with it.

$1691.XX after tax, 4 year in-home service plan, $20 monster cleaning solution + pad, and a $50 indoor enhanced (plugged in) HDTV antenna for local channels. And I got $31 back through the rewards program so total out of pocket is $1661.

Haven't plugged it in yet because I don't want to chance it falling from the top of the stairs, so I'm going to wait until my nephew comes over tonight to get it upstairs. I'll really get to enjoy it this Wed-Thurs-Fri (my weekend) :D

Oh, and no interest until January 2009.

Nice Deb.

I am taking the HD plunge in January. Probably going to go with a 42" LCD

Army of Two delayed until early 2008.

I don't remember a fall with so many potentially great games, and I don't remember so many games ever being pushed back.

So off the top of my head, that's now GTA4, Army of Two, Mercs 2, and World in Conflict delayed until next year. Disappointing, but at the same time there's still plenty of other quality games coming out to keep me busy.

Army Of Two was 'un-officially' delayed until March about 4 months ago...guess it just finally went through...no biggie, too many good games to play as it is, I kind of wish more would get delayed.

I got a 50" Plasma about a month ago now and love it with the 360. Glad to see others get on the HDTV bandwagon in regards to 360 gaming.