Chris Lanier's Blog

Saturday, March 31, 2007 - Posts

• Xbox 360 Elite Questions and Comments Answered

  Lots of questions and comments about the new Xbox 360 Elite, so here is a run down with some answers. Question: is it quiet? It’s said to be the exact same hardware as the Core and Premium systems.  If you consider them to be quiet, then yes the Elite is also quite.  If you consider the Core and Premium systems to be loud, then yes the Elite is also loud. Question/Comment: Why not insist for Xbox Certification, games must be delivered on standard DVD media (for now) and if Bluray became defacto, then new models would just have a bluray drive. This isn’t anything you need to worry about.  If Blu-ray were to win the overall High Definition format war, that means nothing in terms of game consoles.  Microsoft could still (if they wanted to), ship an Xbox with HD DVD to get the increased storage of blue laser HD DVD.  I wouldn't imagine they will do this at all though. Comment: I fail to see the value in this device. It is riddled with DRM and VERY expensive. It’s not “riddled with DRM” any more than the $300 Core system.  The “DRM” in question would be to protect the hardware/software from being hacked.  And of course, this only gets in your way if you happen to be trying to hack it. It’s less expensive than a PS3, but yes it is expensive. Question: I have a standard XBox360, connected to my living room HDTV with the same type of component cables that are used on my HD STB. Can I connect it to my CableCard equipped Vista Media Center PC and use it to watch HDTV programming at their full resolution? Or would I need to purchase and HDMI-capable XBox360 Elite now? Yes, you will be able to connect your new PC with CableCARD to your current Xbox 360.  Here’s how it works. VGA = 540p always; CIT set or not Component = 1080i (full resolution) if CIT is not set; 540p if CIT set HDMI-HDCP = 1080i (full resolution) always I do not know what cable companies have CIT set on.  Might be just things like HBO, might be nothing. Question: If all I need is an extender to a Vista Media Center with Cable Cards, will the XBOX 360 Elite do anything else beyond HDMI interface and 120 GB hard drive? The Elite should guarantee full resolution output using HDMI on all CableCARD content and on HD DVD content. var dc_UnitID = 14; var dc_PublisherID = 11967; var dc_AdLinkColor = '6699cc'; var dc_adprod='ADL'; Cross Posted from Chris Lanier's Blog at http://msmvps.com/blogs/chrisl/ Posted Mar 31 2007, 03:46 PM by Chris - Moderator with no comments Filed under: Digital Media, CableCARD, Media Center, Extenders, Xbox

• Is Transcoding is Here to Stay?

  Yesterday I wrote about how important file format and codec support is and a few people have other thoughts on the subject.  Weldon Dodd at ReWinD says that transcoding is here to stay, mainly because of the royalties that companies have to pay for each codec that they support.  This is a good point, and is very true but I have a few thoughts on this too. There are a few things that can counter this problem.  Still on my v2 Extender rant, these royalties will already be paid when OEM’s purchase the SoC/IC/processer from Sigma.  In other words, Sigma already paid the royalties to include the decoding functionality in the hardware.  Weldon covers this as his first example, and I agree 100%.  This is clearly the way to go, and it’s why devices from NetGear, KiSS, etc have such great codec support.  This isn’t going to happen in an Xbox 360 however. Weldon’s next example comes with software decoding, or what the Xbox 360 and TiVo are doing.  This is where the cost goes up, as Microsoft or TiVo need to pay individual royalties to all companies involved.  It’s also a problem because decoding in software takes a lot more work.  I would say this is a huge problem for a TiVo, but not a problem for the Xbox 360.  The only thing the Xbox 360 needs is specialized decoders to take advantage of the hardware.  In fact, this can already be seen with the Xbox 360 HD DVD drive.  The Xbox 360 can already decode MPEG-2, VC-1, and H.264 at HD bitrates and resolutions.  All we need Microsoft to do is port that code so it’s useful to the Media Center Extender side of things.  Not as easy as it sounds I imagine, but I’m sure it could be done. Now, assuming that for some odd reason Microsoft could not get those codec’s to work in the Media Center Extender side of things, my suggestion since before the Xbox 360 was released was to open the Live! Marketplace to codec developers.  Let DivX Inc. create an MPEG-4 ASP decoder and let them sell it to me for $15.  Microsoft get’s a kickback from that too, and I’m happy.  I’m going to pay for the codec either in the price of the console or standalone, as long as the Xbox 360 can identity the codec in question and direct me to the Live! Marketplace I don’t see a single problem with this approach. There is still a place for transcoding, but I think so much more needs to be done first on these devices for them to really succeed.  As I said before, there is no way any company can support all codec’s and file formats, so this is where I would leave transcoding open (and for those who don’t want to buy the codec from the Live! Marketplace). Transcoding is here to stay, but needs to be here on a smaller basis. Great blog Weldon! Cross Posted from Chris Lanier's Blog at http://msmvps.com/blogs/chrisl/ Posted Mar 31 2007, 12:33 PM by Chris - Moderator with no comments