Xbox 360 v2 : Codename Zephyr

[jackwanders]

So what you're saying, cheesegoduk, is that if you can't have it, no should should.

nice. i suppose that's really what this comes down to. some of you current owners are just ****ed that you don't get what new owners will be able to get. mmm, delicious selfishness and entitlement at its best.

/assuming this is all true, and that MS doesn't also release some kind of HDMI retro-fit for v1 360s as well

Edited January 5, 2007 by Jack31081

[FreqFace]

If this is true, and Microsoft make this "Xbox 360 v2", then they are definately going to **** of alot of the 9 million or so current console owners (including me).

However, what exactly are these current 360 owners going to do...? Stop playing/sell their 360? Some might, not going to do much though. Not renew Live subscription? If anyone does do this, it will be such a small percentage it won't make a difference.

You know what a significant amount of people who really care about this v2 model are going to do, don't you? Yeah, that's right; buy one of these new models. So what have Microsoft got to lose (as annoying as it is)?

[KXH]

I fail to see your logic. How do current XBox owners get "screwed"? The XBoxes they already own aren't changing. You're acting like current owners somehow "deserve" something and that they're not getting their due by not having access to something they didn't pay for.

Speaking of an XBox3, are you insinuating that the "hardcore" gamers had no idea that MS might eventually release an XBox360 with HDMI, or a bigger HDD? That's the risk you take when buying a console. It's always been that way. Everyone knows, especially the "hardcore", that the first revision of a console will either have some kind of hardware bug, or will be feature deficient in some way. People weigh their options. Get it now and play the games, or wait it out for the 2nd revision.

You fail to see my logic on current Xbox 360 owners getting screwed if MS after less than 18 months of launch later makes a major update to the system? OK then... :huh: We would be getting screwed because the reality would set in that we bought an incomplete product that was rushed out to the consumer in order to beat the other systems to market and paid a premium for it as well in the hopes that it would solidify a large user base and draw consumers away from PS2/upcoming PS3 and Nintendo Wii. The product also promoting Xbox Live for a fee and subsequent profits from Live and its subsidiary services such as Market points and Arcade. All of which is being paid for by the 7 to 10 million 'early adopters' who are also consider to be the 'hardcore' gamers. Its all quite simple Marketing and Sales for a large corporation. At the price point its at, loyal customers, i.e. early adopters are going to be angered and put off which will result in loss of sales with games and future products. Microsoft is not that dumb.

Speaking of insinuating anything, your argument is overly illogical, your making huge presumptions about what i said. I never said anything about Xbox 3 and hardcore gamers thoughts about a future system. Let me overly simplify for you what i said previously :yes: . Microsofts actions now with regards to an upgraded Xbox 360 console, assuming it came in at the same price point of $399, with the HDMI and 120GB HD, would be bad for long term business. The people who bought early would get PO'd and then that would directly impact the sale of future goods and services from MS/Xbox/Xbox Live. But if MS holds off for a while, until the mid product life cycle, i.e. roughly Xmas 2008, then launched an upgrade, it would be more expected and understood, thereby sitting better with the xbox community. Also at about year 3 early adopters would be at a point where they would want/need a second or replacement xbox 360. This business model holds true for almost all electronics products. Every joe blow consumer knows that what you buy today will have an updated version the moment you get it home. It stimulates sales. But you don't want to **** off joe consumer when the client base is very niche in an already niche market dominated by another company.

[sn00pie]

Woot! If they drop the price to around $299, I'm sold on a new 360! :D

[Avalanche]

I'd say with almost 100% certainty that there will NOT be an HDMI cable for the current 360.

The reason why? There aren't enough pins on the connector free to handle an HDMI output.

I'm not an expert at all so excuse me if it sounds dumb :). Xbox360 cable has 30 pins and from what I could google HDMI has 19. There are still unused pins on the xbox cable so I can only dream untill a proper answer from microsoft.

[DrCheese]

So what you're saying, cheesegoduk, is that if you can't have it, no should should.

Yes pretty much. The idea of a console is that it DOESN'T change feature wise until a new major version is released i.e Xbox720 or whatever

[Toastyone]

or whether the AV port was really capable of digital out?

:huh: Eh it is already capable of digital out, I have had an optical cable hooked up to it since I got mine last year....

[Andrew Lyle Global Moderator]

this was the dev kit about 2 years ago... the developers just needed more things to help test with, and microsoft later changed the design to what we have today...

i remember this picture.. it's a DEV KIT!

[DrCheese]

this was the dev kit about 2 years ago... the developers just needed more things to help test with, and microsoft later changed the design to what we have today...

i remember this picture.. it's a DEV KIT!

haha that'd explain why they covered up the build date :p

[FreqFace]

i remember this picture.. it's a DEV KIT!

This is what I thought, but aren't the dev kits black?

[Andrew Lyle Global Moderator]

This is what I thought, but aren't the dev kits black?

no they were white as well. i remember this picture back in 2005, before xbox360 was launched. people speculated microsoft will release a second xbox360 with HDMI support..

[Mx]

This is what I thought, but aren't the dev kits black?

That is correct. Dev kits are a greyish black. Also, if you check on your current 360s, A/V and I/O is engraved above and next to the connections. On this picture there are non-such engravings, I am sure Microsoft would have the current A/V, I/O and add a HDMI for the new port. Probably clutching at straws.

[HawkMan]

I'm not an expert at all so excuse me if it sounds dumb :). Xbox360 cable has 30 pins and from what I could google HDMI has 19. There are still unused pins on the xbox cable so I can only dream untill a proper answer from microsoft.

I think the guy who first said there was not enough pins was confused as to what a universal out is, and think that pin1 allways has that signal and pin2 allways has that signal. While I'm pretty sure the Xbox360 universal output is fully configurable electronically based on what plug you attach to it. otherwise we'd allready be out of pins with all the pins required for composite out, compnoent out, digital sound, analog sound, and all that crap.

Spartan allready as much as confirmed that the Xbox 360 universal output is capable of delivering a HDMI signal if a proper cable was made.

As for wether the image is fake or not, probably fake, it's dark and it's not exactly the hardest image to fake with enough skill and make it look unaltered.

also if they made a new Xbox with HDMI out, it would be added to the universal out anyway, as I doubt you would get signal out on a separate HDMI as well as the universal out. and for all the peopel who want optical audio out and such that's a necessity. unless they start adding optical out to the box as well. and this would all go compeltely against the concept of the universal out, wich MS won't abandon. So if HDMI couldn' be done on the V1 360, then it woudl be added to v2 though a new upgraded universal AV out. not an extra HDMI AV out.

[Andrew Lyle Global Moderator]

oh you guys are right, the dev kits were black... with a grey top on it.

http://www.xb360info.com/images/xbox360.devl.foto1.jpg

[Avalanche]

Oh thanks HawkMan for the explanation, I guess it's a let's wait and see at CES now.

[jerzdawg]

So... its fake. Everyone can relax again and continue to wait for an HDMI cable.

[Novaoblivion]

So... its fake. Everyone can relax again and continue to wait for an HDMI cable.

Thank god I just got my 360 a few months ago lol. I really hope an HDMI cable comes out.

[Neonix1]

There CANNOT be made a HDMI cable for the current Xbox 360's.

Why?

Because the current Xbox 360's lack a HDCP encryption chip which is NECESSARY for HDMI output.

HDCP Encryption chips where very hard to find around the time when the X360 launched, so MS opted NOT to include it as it would delay their launch. This is also one of the reasons to the PS3 launch delay, because those HDCP encryption chips was impossible to find back then (the same goes for video cards).

[S7R1K3R]

thats not true bidz. Hdcp is required only for movies and hdmi does not require any chip to use it. I call fake also but none theless the ps3 has 2 versions one with hdmi and one without so its the same thing i guess.

[Chadwick]

i dont recall microsoft ever screwing anybody like this would, i'm pretty sure they will think this one through.

my logic is I just bought my xbox 360 a week ago, love it, this thing comes out in a few months, ps3's will be widely availible, sell my 360 and get a v2 or get a ps3 which may being doing great by that point..

it would be a great way to lose customers ;)

I'd never upgrade, minus the hard drive.

[giga Veteran]

120GB HDD? Not a chance that would be bundled over the original 20GB for the premium 360. Laptop drives are expensive..120GB SATA real expensive.

[Pilsbury]

I'm not an expert at all so excuse me if it sounds dumb :). Xbox360 cable has 30 pins and from what I could google HDMI has 19. There are still unused pins on the xbox cable so I can only dream untill a proper answer from microsoft.

According to http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.engadget...adget_howto.jpg there are only 6 unused pins/

[Neonix1]

thats not true bidz. Hdcp is required only for movies and hdmi does not require any chip to use it. I call fake also but none theless the ps3 has 2 versions one with hdmi and one without so its the same thing i guess.

Well the Xbox 360 is fully capable of playing DRM'ed movies downloaded from the Internet isn't it? Was'nt Microsoft planning a Movie purchase/renting function in Xbox Live? (they may already have it, i don't know, i don't own an X360). If that's the case i'm pretty sure the MPAA and movie studios would require that the X360 had HDCP for HDMI output, otherwise people would be able to make perfect digital copy's of every movie the X360 outputs via HDMI... And you know the MPAA wouldn't allow that!

Also, the HD-DVD addon player for the X360 outputs HD-DVD through the X360 video output doesn't it? The HD-DVD addon doesn't have it's own HDMI output?... If that's the case, a Xbox360 with a HDMI cable but without a HDCP encryption chip would be able to output unencrypted HD-DVD streams which also would allow people to make PERFECT digital copy's (pure stream copy's) of HD-DVD's... This will never ever happen.

Basically, they (Microsoft) need a HDCP chip physically inside the X360 to be compliant with the HDMI standards.

Edited January 5, 2007 by bidz

[Pentaborane]

WICKED!!!

I plan on buying it in mid April... should it be out by then?

[MadFerIt]

I haven't read the 5 pages of posts in this thread.. But I want to add my thoughts.

This looks VERY very much like a fake. This looks far more like someone's modification to the 360 (which in itself is an accomplishment if the individual actually managed to get HDMI working) rather then a true HDMI version of the console.

The reason I say this is because it looks very unprofessional, the metal showing through the gap between the two inputs, almost as if someone just cut the 360 shell. If it was Microsoft, they wouldn't leave the metal exposed like that, instead you would see the inputs with the shell intact between them. That alone is a very high indication that this is fake.