It's official folks, details of tomorrow's dash update have been confirmed. Oh yeah, and the dash update will be happening tomorrow. Everything we reported earlier today is true. New features include
- 1080p resolution for games and movies
- Video playback from data CDs and DVDs, flash drives, even 360 memory units
- Video streaming with Windows XP and Media Player 11 (sounds familiar ...)
- Live Arcade enhancements
- Support for XNA created games
We've been waiting for this for a long time, especially the video streaming, and we'll be back tomorrow with a full report. See the full press release after the break.
October 30, 2006
Xbox 360 to Add More than 85 Enhancements with the Fall System Update and Raise the Bar for High Definition Interactive Gameplay and Entertainment
The fall update ushers in the 6th generation of Xbox Live, the world's largest online gaming & entertainment network with four million members and growing everyday
Beginning the morning of Tuesday October 31, owners of the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft™ will be able to download a free system update that will provide more than 85 new features and enhancements, including support for native 1080p games and movies, faster Xbox Live Arcade game list display times and even more choices when it comes to video playback options.
This free update will be distributed via the Xbox Live® online gaming and entertainment network to all members (Xbox Live Silver and Xbox Live Gold) with no disc or hard drive required. Gamers without an Xbox Live account can easily sign up for free by connecting their console to a broadband Internet connection. Once online, downloading the update is fast and simple, and provides instant access to features such as:
Expanded HD Display and Video Playback Options
· With 1080p resolution, gamers now have the ability to enjoy both game and video content in the best HD resolution currently available.
· Expanded video playback options increase the ways gamers can enjoy video content on Xbox 360. It is now possible to stream WMV video from a Windows PC running Windows Media Player 11 or Windows Media Connect.
· Gamers can now play video files from data CDs and DVDs, as well as from storage devices like USB 2.0 flash drives and Xbox 360 Memory Units.
· Xbox 360 will support 50hz HDTV display modes, providing viewers greater choice in how they watch DVD and HD DVD content.
Xbox Live Arcade Enhancements
· Keeping up to date on Xbox Live Arcade games is now even more convenient with the ability to automatically download newly released Xbox Live Arcade trial games. This eliminates the need to manually search for new downloads on Xbox Live Marketplace each time a new game trial is released.
· Fast enumeration of games: you'll see the games in your Xbox Live Arcade collection appear almost instantly. Get in and play right away.
· With so many games to choose from, Xbox Live Arcade added new sorting options such as "Recently Played" and "By Category." These enhancements make managing Xbox Live Arcade collections faster and easier than ever.
· A new expanded Friends Leaderboard within Xbox Live Arcade allows gamers to compare themselves directly against their friends and view leaderboard details of their top 10 friends.
· A new expanded Achievements View within Xbox Live Arcade lets gamers view their full Achievement details for their Xbox Live Arcade games including descriptions, icons, allotted Gamerscore and more, right from the Xbox Live Arcade dashboard interface.
· The "Play Now" launch feature has been streamlined. Selecting "Play Now" after downloading a game in Xbox Live Marketplace now bypasses Xbox Live Arcade and takes you directly to the game.
· Xbox Live Arcade now offers a "Tell a Friend" feature. Select this option from the game info screen to send any friend on your friends list a message telling them about the Xbox Live Arcade game.
XNA Support
· Amateur game designers will be able to test and play the games they create using XNA Game Studio Express on their Xbox 360 systems when it launches later this year (separate download and subscription required).
These features and enhancements are just some of the improvements gamers can expect as part of the fall update. For a complete list of updates, visit http://www.xbox.com/live.
Microsoft is committed to providing Xbox 360 customers with the best online experience possible and delivering added value to Xbox Live Gold subscribers. Those subscribers will enjoy exclusive early access to special Xbox Live Marketplace content, such as game demos, free game add-ons, free community videos, and free gamer pics and themes for up to one week in advance of their general release. Paid downloadable content remains available at the same time for both Xbox Live Silver and Xbox Live Gold subscribers.
Through these regular updates, the way gamers are connected to their friends and entertainment is constantly evolving and improving. With more than 4-million Xbox Live members to date, Xbox 360 has proven itself as the premiere gaming platform of choice.
About Xbox and Xbox 360
Microsoft revolutionized the gaming industry with the November 2001 launch of Xbox (http://www.xbox.com), its first-generation video game and entertainment system, now sold in 26 countries. Microsoft introduced its next-generation system, Xbox 360, in the 2005 holiday season in Europe, Japan and North America, and launched the system in Australia, Colombia, Hong Kong, Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore and Taiwan in 2006. Xbox 360 ( http://www.xbox.com/xbox360) is the most powerful video game and entertainment system, delivering the best games, the next generation of the premier Xbox Live online gaming service, and unique digital entertainment experiences that revolve around gamers.
About Xbox Live
Xbox Live is the first and only unified online entertainment network seamlessly integrated throughout the entire console experience, making it easy for people to find the friends, games and entertainment they want from the moment they power on their Xbox 360 system. Xbox Live connects more than 4 million members across 24 countries to enjoy hundreds of multiplayer games, downloadable games via Xbox Live Arcade, free and premium playable game demos, music videos, and movie trailers, as well as new game levels, characters and vehicles for all their favorite retail games. More information can be found online at http://www.xbox.com/en-us/live.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-30-2006 @ 3:12PM
KineticOnline said...
Some nice additions but there are a decent number of repeats in the list of 85 (HD-DVD is mentioned 3 times)
Reply
10-30-2006 @ 3:30PM
DA360 said...
Like I said, I'm definitely happy to see this update is comming out soon. Also wondering if the video support will be WMV/WMVHD only (WMVHD uses the VC-1 codec, which is one of the codecs usable in HD-DVD/Blu-Ray) or will it also support MPEG, MPEG2, MP4 AVC (H.264), etc. as well due to the HD-DVD codecs as well as people wanting to play videos from video iPods. I guess we will see when it gets released.
Also, the populating instantly thing is very welcome, that was kind of annoying that you had to wait for it to load. I wonder if they did any changes to Xbox Live Marketplace as well, and have this Video Marketplace shown at the Korean X06.
Also, I wish they would show images or list the new resolutions supported by VGA. I want to see if some popular 19 inch wide, 20 inch wide, and 21 inch wide resolutions are supported (my LCD's native res is the popular 19 inch wide res of 1440X900).
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10-30-2006 @ 3:40PM
King Keepo said...
Very glad to see the WMV support in there. I thought it was almost criminal that I couldn't watch WMVs from my PC. Disabling notifications while watching a DVD is nice, skip controls a la Tivo looks great, and the rest looks like bug fixes for annoying little things.
Overall it looks pretty good.
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10-30-2006 @ 3:47PM
ZeroCorpse said...
I wonder if they'll finally let me do 1440x900 via my VGA-HD connection, so that my widescreen monitor is running at native resolution.
I still use my HDTV, but sometimes it's nice to hook up to the monitor when I don't have access to the television.
Also, I'd love to see some major corrections to the entry of XBox Live timecards, as I recently LOST a 3-month timecard because the system had an error on my first entry, and then on the second attempt identified the card as having been used already. POOF! There goes my 3 months.
The problem seemed to be that there were several places to enter timecard data, but one was not a "direct" entry and glitched out.
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10-30-2006 @ 3:50PM
dapperdan said...
@ zerocorpse
i agree with you on the vga thing. my native resolution on my monitor is 1680x1050 and i would LOVE to be able to run in that. but all in all the 1280x1024 in widescreen looks even better than on my LG 30'' widscreen.
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10-30-2006 @ 4:39PM
DA360 said...
Also, found out for those thinking the PS3's video support will be better, it won't be. It will be EXACTLY the same as the PSPs, meaning MP4 or MP4 AVC. So it will be similar. Xbox 360 will have WMV and WMVHD (VC-1) and the PS3 will have MP4 and MP4 AVC (H.264). Meaning, no matter what platform you own, it will require converting the videos if their in another format if their not already in WMV/WMVHD or MP4/MP4 AVC (which WMV is used allot more on the internet than MP4 AVC (or even standard MP4) is).
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10-30-2006 @ 4:46PM
Scott Krueger said...
Hey, does this mean all the XBox360 Fanboys can stop pretending that 1080p is worthless?
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10-30-2006 @ 4:50PM
Scott Krueger said...
Also, Will my Widescreen movies Finally be at the Correct Aspect ratio with this update?
I hope so.
Of course in a few months it wont matter because I'll be using my PS3 for that.
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10-30-2006 @ 8:05PM
DanMacMan said...
I dont have broadband or an xbox Live account. I better be able to download this update from Xbox.com or get a cd or something. I want to play my games and watch upscaled dvds on my 1080p tv.
Also, there was no mention in the PR about 1080p over component.... I know this has been discussed to death but has there been any official word? Or should I just go buy the VGA adapter and call it good?
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10-30-2006 @ 9:33PM
DA360 said...
A side thing I found out, this might CONFORM that MS IS making a larger hard drive. If you browsed that WatchImpress article, there's an image on there of him browsing the HDD, and the update showing how much space on the HDD each category takes. BUT look at the top right of the screen, notice it says 59.6GB, meaning obviously that HDD is much larger than 20GB. Here's the pic: http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/av/docs/20061030/ms12.jpg
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10-30-2006 @ 9:43PM
Thou who shalt not be named said...
How do you have a 1080p tv but no high speed internet?
But if its through the VGA isn't a VGA output analog? How then would a TV receive a digital signal?
Gah i'mc onfused about this whole 1080p thing.. I say just stick with 720p. The whole 1080 thing makes them look like they're trying to keep up with Sony or something
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10-31-2006 @ 5:41AM
HalfRabbit said...
Looks like its out! I've got 1920x1080 now available and the menus have changed.
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10-31-2006 @ 6:03AM
Wesley Hester said...
Downloaded around 4:30AM here in the Central Time Zone. Component 1080p looking good. Will get a VGA cable tomorrow.
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10-31-2006 @ 8:32AM
Manny Fleurmond said...
Lumines Advance pack is online! I repeat, Lumines Advance pack is ONLINE as of this morning.
You know you want it
Reply
10-31-2006 @ 11:06AM
xX Lt Iceman Xx said...
That's Great but... what about the Group Chat Feature???
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