Good point. Sounds like the easiest solution right there.

As does the ThreeSitty when using VGA

The receiver I have does have 3 component inputs on it so that will work well for the DVD player, Wii and 360. Since it has a component out as well I guess it will send those 3 inputs via the component out rather than the HDMI out. It's a shame but with this new TV and the fact that everything previously was hooked up the worst way possible I should still see a decent sized improvement. I bought a Sony STR-DG710 as a starter receiver because I got a really good deal on it. A higher end receiver would of been nice but I'm already asking a ton of my wife and wallet.

The main reason for still hooking up the DVD player is I have a ton of TV shows on DVD and I enjoy having 5 DVDs in the changer and not having to switch all the time. With the HDMI on the PS3 I will certainly be using it to watch my older DVD movies but the TV shows will still get tossed in the changer.

Stupid questions........is it the regular drive that does good upconversion with VGA or the HD-DVD drive? Or is it that the regular drive and the HD-DVD drive only upconvert with VGA? If the HD-DVD player outputs 720P/1080i through componant why wouldn't it upconvert DVDs as well?

I'm sure this has all been answered here before.

All image processing is done in the main 360 box. The HD-DVD merely streams data to the main box for processing.

You don't need the hd-dvd drive for decent upconversion from the 360, just VGA or HDMI.

Both drives do upconversion via vga (if you updated to the newest firmware). One caveat is that vga picture "quality" is different depending on your TV (and even output from the 360 varies, you'll find reports of picture softness when compared to component)... and most TVs do not allow you to tweak the settings on a vga input as much as you could on a component input. You'll also obviously need an extra optical slot on your receiver for sound... the vga comes with stereo inputs, but they're pretty short and unless you get extenders, there's no way those are making it down to your receiver (and why settle for stereo)?

That being said, I use vga... but I still prefer watching DVDs on the PS3.

Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 is looking to be announced at E3. It's supposed to be set during "Civil War" and you'll have the ability to combine powers. For example, Storm and Spider-Man can team up and do "Lightning Webs".

Forza 3: 400 cars, 100 tracks, 2 DVDs. How can this be... it's impossible for a game to need more space than a DVD could provide.

Anyone else having trouble getting into Live right now?

A lot of rumors coming out about the 360 having new Avatars like the Nintendo Mii's.

Pic courtesy of "360 Fanboy". That would add nothing. I'd rather the Microsoft development team be working on something more useful, myself.

Yep, I could care less. The reason Miis work is because of the system they are on. A bunch of cutesy Mii-like characters on the most hardcore machine doesn't work for me.

Does it matter? Nope. Still, having an individualzed Avatar as a gamerpic is nice enough, I suppose.

I hope they allow you to use gamerpics instead of the avatars.

Awesome! I can't wait to pay 400 MS Points™ for each "avatar" and 100 and 200 MS Points™ each for each piece of clothing and hair style change.

Alright guys, I need a little help. I just bought a 256 MU from ebay and I'm not sure if it is a legit one. The description said brand new and sealed but neither is the case. It came by itself in a bubble envelope. It was going to be a birthday gift for my brother. Anyway, that's another discussion.

I snapped a photo of the 256MB I just got in the mail next to my 64MB that I've had since around launch and they have a couple of notable differences.



The one on the left has exposed silver prongs and a grey label with some logo differences. The official 64MB on the right has no exposed prongs and a white label. The bar code is a tad different as well. I'm just curious if all the 256 MUs look like this or like my 64MB, which I know is legit. Anyone care to take a look for me? Thanks.

I haven't heard of a 256MB MU, just 64MB or 512MB.

Microsoft's accessory site also only lists the 64MB and 512MB.

Although the UK site does list a 256MB MU that ships with the 360 Arcade... so who knows.

On the US site, it doesn't say what size the MU is... so maybe that is where it came from.... plenty of sites have info/news stories about it. But no really good pictures...

http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2008/06...with-xbox-720/

Chris

I'm pretty sure they released one around the time they updated the arcade limit the first time. Around the time SOTN came out. At any rate, 256 is the size that comes in the Arcade bundle, so there is a legit card out there, now I just need confirmation that it looks like the one I got.

I hope MS doesn't rush the "720" like they did with the 360. They need to take their time and do some quality testing to make sure that another RROD type fiasco doesn't happen again.

Sony's 10 year console plan seems to confuse a lot of people. It does not mean that the PS3 will be Sony's primary console for 10 years. It does not mean that PS3 games will be continuously developed for 10 years. All it means is that Sony will keep producing PS3 hardware for 10 years.

Sony has had 10 year plans for all their consoles. They kept producing PS1 consoles up until just very recently. The PS1 hardware was produced for approximately 10 years, from roughly 1995 to 2005. However, PS1 software died off as soon as the PS2 came out.

The PS2 hardware is still being produced. PS2 hardware sales are still going fairly strong too, so Sony can easily keep selling them for another couple years. The PS2 came out in 2000. Sony will keep producing it until 2010 most likely. That is a 10 year life. However, similar to the PS1 software, PS2 software died off as soon as the PS3 came out.

The PS3 will be the same. The PS4 will come out in the next 4-5 years. PS3 software will die off then, but Sony will keep producing the hardware until 2016 or so.

That's total bull... i know the next level is inevitable, but still, i don't see how the next level is even defined, i.e. what's the next level? 3D, holographic gaming? How about the first step, what's the media gonna be? Can't be dvd-9 i tell you that much... Could be hdd oriented, but how does that translate to marketing? A lot of questions...

What i want to see is a streamlined X360, a slimmer, sexier X360, different colors to choose from. Also, it should include WiFi and easy & cheap hdd upgrade options. Perhaps additional options to connect the Zune or something. Of course this implies the RRoD fix for good notion as well.

The XBOX 720 will probably include things the PS3 has to compete easier....built in wireless, Blu-Ray, HDD upgrades...I'm sure it will aim more of a media console.

Of course the 720 is inevitable. They didn't say it was coming next year. They also didn't say what you posted isn't in the cards. But most of all, as a 360 owner I could give two shits about alternate colors, slimline, wi-fi or other accessories. I could go for a cheaper hard drive, but mostly as an existing owner I have no need for a slimmer sexier 360. I'm all set.

We're lucky we even have two colors to choose from Ocelot, look at the original Xbox, the only color it ever came in outside of black was that Halo green color and that was very limited. Also they never did a smaller redesign and if I were a betting man, I'd put a shitload of money on them never releasing a smaller 360. And I'm certain they won't be using DVD-9 on the next console. I'm happy they're talking about the 720 already.

You'd think that that would at least partially attract space-conscious Japanese consumers, but that market may never come around to a Microsoft-owned console.