Posts tagged Xbox 360
Open Tray
Feb 6th
This past Tuesday, I had to ship my Xbox 360 Elite to Microsoft again. Last time I had to send it in for the infamous RRoD back in June of 2008. This time it’s for the “Open Tray” error & since the unit is out of warranty… I paid them $99.00 which includes another year warranty. Xbox Support said they’ll most likely replace the unit for their latest Elite version which is supposedly quieter and runs cooler… we shall see.
When an Xbox 360 cannot read a CD/DVD or game disc, it may not recognize that it has a disc in its drive. Instead of “Play Game” or “Play DVD”, an “Open Tray” option appears. The issue is linked to a dirty laser in the DVD drive, a magnetic problem that prevents the drive from spinning, or insufficient lubrication of the drive motor. However, disconnecting and re-connecting the Xbox 360 sometimes works. Taking out the disc, closing the tray, then re-inserting it can go around this problem, as the opening and closing of the tray tells the Xbox to read the tray for content. Lately some cases in which the Xbox 360 can not read any more discs reporting this error all the time have appeared.
Batman: Arkham Asylum
Aug 3rd
Eidos has announced that a demo for Batman: Arkham Asylum will release this week on Friday, August 7th. The demo will be available on PS3, Xbox 360 and PC. Batman: Arkham Asylum is set to hit North America and Europe on August 25 and August 28, respectively. A new wallpaper released in which I edited to work at a 1440 x 900 resolution. I also darkened the left side, so desktop icons are easier to read.
Right-click here and choose Save Link As… (Firefox) or Save Target As… (IE).
1 vs 100 Beta
Jun 2nd
The US-Canadian Beta of 1 vs 100 for Xbox 360 started last night at 10:30 PM. It was quite fun… Andrea, Tony, Amy & myself played for the two full live hours. The beta is good bait as we got hooked & want more. They have another live show this Saturday at 8:00 PM. So, those with an Xbox 360, please join us. The trivia was pretty random & up to date. It asked who was going to be on the inaugural show of The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien, which was just last night. According to Chris Cashman, there were about 50,000 people connected for the first live show. While I didn’t get to be the one or the mob (100), I did rack up some points within the crowd.
NXE
Nov 14th
I finally got pushed the update & downloaded NXE to my Xbox 360… first impressions are great. The first thing I did was create my avatar (pictured below). If you are familiar with Mii’s (Nintendo Wii), it’s the same idea. The second thing I did was install the Netflix application and tested a few Watch Now movies. The streaming quality was good & looked great on my HDTV. I wasn’t able to find an HD movie, but the ones I viewed still looked great, so I’m sure the HD stream will look even better. NXE officially launches on November 19th to the rest of the 14 million Xbox Live subscribers.
Netflix Streaming on Xbox 360
Jul 14th
I cannot wait for the Xbox 360 Fall update now! It was announced that Xbox 360 Gold Members that are customer’s of Netflix will be able to stream movies via the Xbox 360. I know a lot of people have been waiting for this feature including myself considering I’m a customer of both.
[SOURCE: Gizmodo]
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Additional Xbox 360 Fall Updates:
- Play from hard drive. Copy your games from the game disc and play directly from the hard drive. Not only will the drive not spin, but load times are quicker, as well. Of course, you will still need the disc in the tray to prove you own the game.
- Access Xbox LIVE Marketplace on the Web. Browse and purchase Marketplace content whenever you want from Xbox.com and it downloads automatically to your console. Purchase that new map, television episode, the latest Xbox LIVE Arcade game or set up a movie to watch when you get home from work.
- Dashboard built into the new Xbox Guide. For everyone who loves the blades interface, it’s not going away; they are now built directly in to the new Xbox guide. Every feature and option is available right from the guide. You can even access your full games library at all times. No matter where you are (in dash or in game), immediately call up your games played list and directly launch a game.
- LIVE Party system. Create a party of up to eight friends, and stay with them from one game to another, or watch a Netflix movie together, or share a slideshow of your personal photos. It works with all Xbox 360 titles, not just upcoming games. LIVE Party allows up to eight people to chat in the dashboard, so you can meet up before playing.
- Xbox LIVE Primetime. This whole new category of games is going to give you more reasons to get online with your friends. Games will support everything you’d expect, like Achievements and leader boards, but many of these games will include real prizes. You can invite your friends, and even set a reminder for an upcoming show. Each game is broadcast simultaneously, so everyone is answering the same questions. Many events will have a live host, calling the shots as they happen.
- Avatars. Your online identity started as a Gamertag – it then grew into a personalized Gamercard. Now, it has evolved even further into avatars. You can express your style, check out new outfits and share this with the community. Avatars will also be integrated into Xbox LIVE Arcade games, LIVE Party, as well as retail games.
- New display support. Adding 16X10 over VGA or HDMI, and support for 1440×900 or 1680×1050.
[SOURCE: Major Nelson]
Xbox 360 Elite RROD
Jun 8th
UPDATE – 06/27/2008 @ 4:32PM: Received repaired console. The serial number was the same, but the manufacturing date was different. So, it was pretty obvious that they replaced the sticker on the back of this Xbox 360 Elite.
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UPDATE – 06/15/2008 @ 12:02PM: Well, what I thought was a cooling problem was not. I got the three flashing red lights again yesterday. I received the box from Microsoft to ship it to the repair center, which is what I’ll do tomorrow.
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UPDATE – 06/09/2008 @ 1:07PM: I moved the Xbox 360 from the entertainment center and is now standing upright. I played for a little bit last night & this morning without problems. So, I’m hoping it was just a cooling issue.
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Yesterday while playing GTA IV, it started to lock up on me. So, I wanted to make sure it wasn’t the game as there have been reports of GTA IV locking up on some PS3’s and Xbox 360’s. So, I started to play Guitar Hero II and that locked up on me also. This is the same thing that happened with my other Xbox 360 before it got the infamous three flashing red lights. So, I called Xbox support and it never flashed the three lights except while on the phone with the first agent. They had me perform normal troubleshooting and told me to call back in fifteen minutes. I called back and talked to someone else. They decided it was a hardware issue and that it is going to cost me $99.00 to fix since it’s out of the warranty timeframe… by a month. I explained that it was getting three flashing lights also at random times. The person said he’ll mark it as a three flashing lights issue since that issue is part of the extended warranty, but if they don’t get the three flashing lights when they receive it, they would call me. They are sending me the box within 3 – 5 days and I will ship it off to them. After I got off the phone, I tried four times to turn the Xbox 360 on and got the three flashing lights. I’m hoping they experience the same issue as it will be a bummer to fork out $99.00 for them to fix it.
Xbox 360 & Blu-ray
Feb 18th
Got an email from Micah today that contained a link to Smarthouse.com with some interesting news.
Rumours were circulating today that Microsoft is set to dump HD DVD and bring out a Blu ray Xbox 360 by as early as May 2008. The move will allow the Company to go head to head with the Sony PS3 gaming console which has been credited with being one of the main reasons that retailers have preferred Blu-ray over Toshiba’s HD DVD.
It’s rumored that Microsoft already has configured an add-on Blu-ray player. It is subject to internal marketing and sales approvals, the model could be on sale within 3 months.
[SOURCE: Smarthouse]
Netflix Goes Blu-ray
Feb 11th
Another nail in HD DVD’s coffin. Being a Netflix customer, this kind of sucks. Come on Microsoft… release a Blu-ray add on player for the Xbox 360. Anyone want to buy my HD DVD player?
Just received the following email at 3:11PM:
We’re Going Blu-ray
Dear Jason,
You’re receiving this email because you have asked to receive high-definition movies in the HD DVD format. As you may have heard, most of the major movie studios have recently decided to release their high-definition movies exclusively in the Blu-ray format. In order to provide the best selection of high-definition titles for our members, we have decided to go exclusively with Blu-ray as well.
While we will continue to make our current selection of HD DVD titles available to you for the next several months, we will not be adding additional HD DVD titles or reordering replacements.
Toward the end of February, HD DVDs in your Saved Queue will automatically be changed to standard definition DVDs. Then toward the end of this year, all HD DVDs in your Queue will be changed to standard definition DVDs. Don’t worry, we will contact you before this happens.
You can click here to change your format preferences.
We’re sorry for any inconvenience. If you have any questions or need further assistance, please call us at 1 (888) 638-3549.
-The Netflix Team
The Fall of HD DVD
Feb 6th
We all know it’s coming, so Toshiba should just throw in the towel and Microsoft should start working on a Blu-ray add on player for the Xbox 360. Over at Major Nelson’s web site he announced a price drop for the HD DVD player:
This just in: The Xbox 360 HD DVD Player price has dropped from $179.99 to $129.99 (U.S. MSRP.) This new price is effective immediately in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Combine the new price with the 5 free HD DVD offer and it’s a pretty good deal.
Amazon.com had a better deal, but they are now sold out.
[SOURCE: Major Nelson]
