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Yea I guess they will have to do similar stuff for other regions otherwise it will just like Xbox 360.

Actually, since it looks just like TV passthrough then it doesn't really matter where it is in the world as long as it can find the TV listing/guide and channel list online, which it probably can since any cable/Sat service has that info up on their websites. It honestly should just work, it's not streaming like Netflix.

Actually, since it looks just like TV passthrough then it doesn't really matter where it is in the world as long as it can find the TV listing/guide and channel list online, which it probably can since any cable/Sat service has that info up on their websites. It honestly should just work, it's not streaming like Netflix.

yea true - I meant to say stuff like the fantasy football thing with NFL (I don't really care though). I couldn't care less with live TV, I don't watch it much.

Good luck getting hdmi pass through to turnover a sky+ box.

"Xbox show sky movies 1" I won't hold my breath. Fully integrated for US market and a half assed botch job for everywhere else. Hope i'm proved wrong tho :)

Completely agree. Unless MS can budge Sky into allowing Sky to work with the One. I'd like to think it's already in the works as they are a "partner" but I'm not holding my breath. Plus it will most probably require Sky Now which is LAME!

In other words, the XB ONE doubles as a connectivity center - which IS a driver in home theater.

Let's be honest - most HDTVs of today don't have enough inputs to handle all the HD devices; you can have STB (whether it doubles as a DVR or not), DVD/BD player, and PC and (ooops), you're out of inputs. (I'm referring to HDMI inputs - the average for mainstream HDTVs is two or three HDMI inputs; if you want/need four or more, things get rather pricey.)

I don't have a gaming console at all because of two things - the sore-thumb factor (as in sticks out like), and the different media playback standards between XB360 and PS3. The media playback issue is now sorted - hence the "winning console" can, and should, replace my current standalone DVD player. If PS4 doesn't stick out, then the decision comes down to content and price. If the PRICE is identical otherwise, I admit that the PS4 has a slight advantage due to cross-platform content (not cross-platform play). XB ONE includes integrated Wireless-N (matching my router) - this is something PS4 must have to stay even.

I have a receiver that has plenty of inputs/outputs that compliment the TV. I don't need another thing that challenges my receiver, unless the Xbox also acts as a surround sound theater receiver.

They didn't have anything else to show apart from a bunch of prerendered trailers.

Well Wired apparently got to play with the box. So it's running OS and running games.

Are we sure this is the final design and not a dev kit?

Wired mentions that it is about the same size as 360. It's not clear if they meant the original 360 and if it's smaller or larger. But there you have it. :p

I haven't seen any information relating to built in wifi?

I presume seeing as the newer models of the 360 has this that it will be as standard?

For me personally, I was going to get the Xbox regardless.

Right now I have my Xbox in my lounge and like to flick between watching football and playing FIFA on weekends so it makes that a *BIT* easier.

I enjoy playing COD, Halo and FPS' and I can honestly say this current gen I've never been like "OMG I wish I had a PS3 to play that exclusive". My mates have PS3's and never find myself playing it but they always come to me to play Halo, GOW and other MS exclusives.

Kinect feature, its neat and it comes as standard, adding value, more for my money. Saves me getting it in the future but it was never a game changer.

Everything else is a bonus for a console that I was going to get purely for the game features anyway.

Also, I don't know why everyone was expecting more? It was fairly obvious they were going to show more than the PS4 event but save the major stuff for E3 where they can directly compete with the PS4 events at E3. It really is that simple.

WTF is wrong with us?? WTF is wrong with you? Is everything MS does awesome, no questions asked?

MS is forcing what they believe the future of entertainment is going to be.

So, they're holding a gun to your head? No?

Then they're not forcing anything. If you don't want the XBox, don't buy one.

She has to be trolling at a disastrous time like this

I9QRvFK.jpg

Strange, was it not a woman that presented us the Halo TV series? How about the CBS woman who also presented?

  • Like 3

So, they're holding a gun to your head? No?

Then they're not forcing anything. If you don't want the XBox, don't buy one.

What a surprise, took you long enough to chime in.

What if you have a 360 and have bought into Microsoft but hated kinect and metro, boom shoved in your face and mandatory in the next xbox.

If you like and want to play the next iteration of exclusive franchises you don't have any choice BUT to buy Xbox.

What a surprise, took you long enough to chime in.

What if you have a 360 and have bought into Microsoft but hated kinect and metro, boom shoved in your face and mandatory in the next xbox.

If you like and want to play the next iteration of exclusive franchises you don't have any choice BUT to buy Xbox.

Still have yet to see where they're forcing me to buy it. None of what you said comes close to me (or anyone else) being forced into the ecosystem.

Who knows, maybe you'll get lucky and they'll provide an optional Start Button...

Still have yet to see where they're forcing me to buy it. None of what you said comes close to me (or anyone else) being forced into the ecosystem.

Who knows, maybe you'll get lucky and they'll provide an optional Start Button...

Who said they were forcing you, you used the old "don't like it don't buy it" moronic retort.

The fact is they are forcing their "vision" on people who want the console to play the freaking exclusive games they've come to know and love. Kinect was hardly a success outside of casual games and a few arbitrary motion/voice commands in some "better with kinect games", why force it on the next generation?

Don't bother replying, I don't expect an objective reply from a Microsoft apologist.

  • Like 2

What a surprise, took you long enough to chime in.

What if you have a 360 and have bought into Microsoft but hated kinect and metro, boom shoved in your face and mandatory in the next xbox.

If you like and want to play the next iteration of exclusive franchises you don't have any choice BUT to buy Xbox.

Apparently you've never gamed on a PC or Playstation?

I agree that most of this is gimmicky junk. I feel they are making a mistake with mandatory Kinect. But you do have (superior) options.

How's that Wii U doin' these days?

Who said they were forcing you, you used the old "don't like it don't buy it" moronic retort.

The fact is they are forcing their "vision" on people who want the console to play the freaking exclusive games they've come to know and love. Kinect was hardly a success outside of casual games and a few arbitrary motion/voice commands in some "better with kinect games", why force it on the next generation?

Don't bother replying, I don't expect an objective reply from a Microsoft apologist.

but Xbox doesn't have exclusives worth playing and all it has are cross platform games.

This topic is now closed to further replies.
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    • Creative Sound Blaster AE-X PCIe review: your headphones will love it by Steven Parker If you have been reading Neowin for any length of time, you may remember that I reviewed the Sound Blaster Audigy FX Pro back in April. I found it to be an excellent budget sound card, even though it lacked support for formats such as DTS over the included SPDIF port. Anyway, Creative reached out to me again asking if I was interested in reviewing the Sound Blaster AE-X. It is a card mainly targeted at headphone wearers, which I'll get into a bit later. Before we get underway, here is a disclaimer: Creative Labs provided a free sample without any review pre-approval. Here are the full specs of it: Creative Sound Blaster AE-X Dimensions: 179 x 126 x 18 mm Weight: 263g / 9.28 oz Platform: PCI-e DAC: ESS ES9039Q2M Connectivity Options Side: Rear: 1 x HD Audio Front Panel Connector, 1 x ⅛“ Headphone port, 1 x RCA Line-out (Left) port, 1 x RCA Line-out (Right) port, 1 x Coaxial SPDIF-out port, 1 x ⅛“ Mic in/Line-in port, 1 x TOSLINK SPDIF-in port Surround: No DNR / SNR: THD+N: 0.0001% Dynamic Range 130 dB Recording Resolution: PCM up to 32-bit / 192kHz (Stereo) Direct Mode: Line Out (Stereo): PCM up to 32-bit  384 kHz Coaxial SPDIF Out: PCM up to 24-bit 192.0 kHz Headphone Amp: PCM up to 32-bit / 384kHz (Stereo) Native DSD: DSD64, DSD128, DSD256 Output Impedance: 1Ω, Supported Headphone Impedance: 8–600Ω, IEM: 0.5Vrms, Low: 1.5Vrms, Mid: 3Vrms, High: 6Vrms, Maximum output power: 350mW @ 32Ω (High), Maximum output voltage: 6Vrms (High) Front Panel Headphone Amp: PCM up to 32-bit / 192kHz (Stereo) Native DSD: DSD64, DSD128 Output Impedance: 10Ω, Supported Headphone Impedance: 32–300Ω, Maximum output power: 40mW @ 32Ω, Maximum output voltage: 1.9Vrms ASIO: ASIO 2.3 Total Harmonic Distortion: THD+N: 0.0006% Dynamic Range: 114 dB Scout Mode: Yes EMI shielding: No (but it passed all the FCC emission tests) Operating temperature: 0–45°C Input Power: 12V⎓0.5A Warranty: 1 Year (MSRP) Price: $179.99 / £169.99 The Sound Blaster AE-X was announced at the end of May, and it becomes clear that it is mainly for headphone wearers. I should also note that the card does not support DDL/DTS encoding technology, but it is said to support decoding through the coaxial SPDIF port. I was able to test this working with the classic Windows Sound properties, but I could not get a DTS (decode) signal through my Logitech Z906, it defaulted to 3D sound whenever I played DTS content through Plex or Emby. In addition, this card only supports two channels (stereo) over the speakers. The surround support is limited to the Headphone Amp, so before I get underway, what we have here is a card mostly intended for headphone use, especially with its SPDIF In (Toslink) port where you could connect another device like a console. So what about the highlights of this card? The AE-X is powered by the ESS SABRE DAC (ES9039Q2M), which is capable of a 130 dB dynamic range. In addition, it supports 32-bit/384 kHz playback for deeper detail and clarity. The headphone amplifier delivers up to 350 mW @ 32Ω, which admittedly far surpasses standard onboard audio, offering support for studio-grade headphones. DSD256 and ASIO 2.3 are also supported. What doesn't it have? No support for What-U-Hear, Super X-Fi, or the SmartComms Kit No EMI shielding, but it passed all the FCC emission tests (from the FAQ) I also want to make it clear that I am no audiophile. For me, it's purely subjective and it should just "work" out of the box. First impressions As I said in the introduction, I was a bit sad to see that the AE-X only supports stereo output, meaning it would not be on par with my ALC1220 over my speakers, as I mentioned it seems like this card is marketed toward headphone users. Since I am not an avid gamer that would rule me out as a potential customer, but I can still test its capabilities! The card arrived in a nice-looking box, as shown above. It's quite a bit larger than the Audify FX Pro that I reviewed back in April, and at first I thought the covering meant that it was EMI shielded, but it isn't as mentioned above in the highlights section. What's in the box: 1 x Sound Blaster AE-X PCIe card 1 x 3.5 mm CTIA TRRS to Dual TRS Headset Splitter Cable 1 x Quick Start Guide Aside from the Quick Start Guide, which someone at my age (I guess) needs a magnifying glass to read thanks to the tiny fonts, Creative Labs also has the manual online, which first requires you to prove that you're human in order to access it (so I can't direct link it). Anyway, the box is mostly made up of cardboard, and the only plastic in it is the anti-static bag for the card itself. Design Top Bottom The card itself looks pretty cool and actually wouldn't look out of place in an all-white build. There's only one connector, and for some reason it is awkwardly placed on the side (front-facing) that is for the front panel audio connector, which will let you use the headphones through the front PC audio jack. Since the front panel Headphone Amp has fewer capabilities than the rear headphone port, I decided not to use it. Rear of card PCI-e interface The rear of the card is completely open and is normally where you would find the front panel connector. The PCIe interface side is completely covered, which initially made me think it was EMI shielded. I/O panel Side (front-facing) with Front panel connector On the outer rear bracket side we have the TOSLINK SPDIF in, Coaxial SPDIF out, RCA line out (Right), RCA line out (Left), Headphone out, and Mic/Line in ports. On the front facing portion of the card itself is the F-panel connector. Usage Test System Our test system consists of the following: AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D Gigabyte X870E AORUS MASTER (BIOS F12) Corsair RM1000x (2024) Thermal Grizzly Kyronaut (33x33x0,2mm) 2x 32GB Kingston Fury Beast RGB DDR5 6000MT/s CL36-38-38-80 T-Force Z540 2TB (PCIe Gen5) NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Founders Edition (NVIDIA) Creative Sound Blaster AE-X Windows 11 25H2 Pro I installed the card into the Gigabyte X870E AORUS MASTER which includes the RealTek ALC1220 onboard audio. For our subjective listening tests, I used the Coaxial SPDIF port to my Logitech Z906 speakers. For headphone tests I used the OneOdio Studio Max 2 Wireless DJ Headphones that I reviewed last month. After installing the audio driver, I installed Creative Nexus, which is a relatively new app designed for the latest Sound Blaster cards. Then I discovered the AE-X needed both a driver update from 1.00.15.0001 to 1.01.09.000 and a firmware update from 1.00.06.0000 to 1.00.06.0002, then I was set to go. It should be noted that the card did not work without the driver (not Plug and Play). As you can see above, you can manage the firmware, driver, and inputs via Advanced Settings on the Device tab. By default Nexus enabled "Direct Mode". Upon clicking on Acoustic Engine, the Equalizer can be enabled and set to four different presets, which are: Gaming Music Movies Footsteps Enhancer There's also a dedicated Scout Mode for gamers. I mainly used Tidal and Spotify in the past week to listen to some of my Liked Songs (which now total over 700) in Shuffle mode; there were no pops or interference that I could hear. I also found a 5.1 Surround Music playlist on Tidal that sounded really great over Studio Max 2 headphones. When I reviewed the Audigy FX Pro, I went out and purchased a Logitech Z906 set second-hand for €100 specifically to use with the card, but in this instance all I could get on the AE-X was the 3D output of surround sound through Coaxial SPDIF and although it still sounded great, it isn't quite as good as DTS Interactive via my onboard Realtek ALC1220. Conclusion So what have I learned? The AE-X lacks multi-channel support for 5.1/7.1 setups and drops support for modern surround technologies like Dolby or DTS, functioning strictly as a stereo output device. So to really benefit, you will need Studio-grade headphones to "hear" the benefits of this card. With that being said, I can imagine it will appeal to gamers who are switching between console and PC. By utilizing the SPDIF in port, you could just plug your headphones into the AE-X (front or rear port) and then switch between PC and Console without having to move the headphones to a different port. As I said in the Sound Blaster Audigy review, the EQ in the Creative Nexus app offers safe presets, which allows a user to further tweak the lows, mids, and highs for a personal listening experience. Of course it all depends on the headphones you hook up to it. Speaking of headphones, I kind of wish I had higher-quality Studio-grade headphones to really test this card with; I'm not usually wearing headphones in my day to day duties. The only time I will wear them is if I want to listen to music very late at night and I don't want to disturb my neighbors, so my rating (verdict) is based on this fact. Someone with a PC/Console setup and wears headphone religiously to game, and consume media will benefit much more than I from the high-quality Headphone Amps that are included in the AE-X. Once again, I do feel like Creative could have gone the extra mile to support the S/PDIF port a bit more. Why include it if you're not supporting the main popular digital formats? It seems like the decision was more of a legacy-based one, offering uncompressed 2-channel PCM audio, for users with high-fidelity audio systems and external DACs. Maybe I will be lucky enough to review a card that truly includes all these features in the future. I am sure readers with far more knowledge on audio systems than me will correct me in the comments below. I'll just say I am happy to learn what I don't know! Where to buy The Sound Blaster AE-X is available to purchase now in preorder for $179.99 on the U.S. Creative website, or for £169.99 on the Creative UK website and will start shipping to customers from June 25.
    • $80 or 90%, anything else would be financial suicide one way or another.
    • Or... just use Bitwarden. Free, and has on-prem option as well. Works both on desktop and mobile, wherever you are. The age of local password files is over.
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    • I actually got to use one of those so called "backup codes" once. It was for a customer, I choose the backup code option, and by the grace of god, they actually hade them printed out. Imagine my surprise, when after using the backup code, Google then told use we had to enter a code they just sent to the gmail address we currently did not have access to. I was not amused, Google backup codes should be the end all get out of jail free card, because you had to have access to the account to even get them.
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