Time to sell all your Microsoft Stock(giant - high res picture warning)

[Makelith]

I had a long written post, but when i hit submit my internet shitted out (damn comcast) and i lost it all, so i'll just give a summary.

Blu-ray isn't popular enough yet to make it a big impact, and the only movie i have where there is a noticeable difference is The Majestic, which is a damn fine movie.

I was ~99% sure you could play video from your PC to your xbox, but i haven't had a reason to figure out how since i like watching movies in my bed with my laptop.

PS1 upscaling hardly matters to the majority of PS3 users, hell, it hardly mattered to PS2 users (Sorry Fire, you aren't the majority)

Those 30% of xbox games that work are really the only games that matter. Halo(s), Star Wars games, fable, etc. The only big name not there is the Madden series, which is really stupid.

The PS3 doesn't come with an HDMI cable either, or at least i wasn't aware that it did.

The video rental thing does suck, lol. Can't even attempt to argue that.

Lastly, how do you have your x360 set that it makes noise? I haven't heard anything like that ever on my system, and i keep it in about the shittiest conditions you can.

 

[Lanien]

I had a long written post, but when i hit submit my internet shitted out (damn comcast) and i lost it all, so i'll just give a summary.

Blu-ray isn't popular enough yet to make it a big impact, and the only movie i have where there is a noticeable difference is The Majestic, which is a damn fine movie.

I was ~99% sure you could play video from your PC to your xbox, but i haven't had a reason to figure out how since i like watching movies in my bed with my laptop.

PS1 upscaling hardly matters to the majority of PS3 users, hell, it hardly mattered to PS2 users (Sorry Fire, you aren't the majority)

Those 30% of xbox games that work are really the only games that matter. Halo(s), Star Wars games, fable, etc. The only big name not there is the Madden series, which is really stupid.

The PS3 doesn't come with an HDMI cable either, or at least i wasn't aware that it did.

The video rental thing does suck, lol. Can't even attempt to argue that.

Lastly, how do you have your x360 set that it makes noise? I haven't heard anything like that ever on my system, and i keep it in about the shittiest conditions you can.

Forget all that. Just to get your 360 wireless, you need to pay $100 for an adapter. This wouldn't bother me so much, but the fact they charge $100 for this when more normal network adapters are $20-30, it is quite annoying merely for the fact that you MUST buy the Microsoft one.

 

[Makelith]

I wouldn't trust wireless internet for any sort of gaming, short of something like an MMO. I especially wouldn't trust it for the kind of games that the PS3 and 360 have online. Comcast makes it laggy enough without having to factor in wirelessness(word?).

I don't care how much my boss tells me, "Its almost like having an ethernet cord plugged in."

To which i respond, "Well, I can get that for $45, or i can use the far more than adequate cord that comes with the machine."

But not everyone has the same house set up i do.

 

[Firestreak]

Blu-ray isn't popular enough yet to make it a big impact, and the only movie i have where there is a noticeable difference is The Majestic, which is a damn fine movie.

Not sure what you're saying. Popularity and quality are two different things. For popularity, no it's not there yet. For quality, quite a lot of releases look amazing. Fox, Sony and Disney releases look great, Warner has a lot of good titles but their encodes aren't as good as the others. The old Paramount weren't that great releases. A lot of the time, people say the Blu-rays don't look all that great, then they put in a DVD and notice they look like crap.

I was ~99% sure you could play video from your PC to your xbox, but i haven't had a reason to figure out how since i like watching movies in my bed with my laptop.

Not what I meant exactly. I am talking about from portable media, like a flash drive or usb hard drive.

PS1 upscaling hardly matters to the majority of PS3 users, hell, it hardly mattered to PS2 users (Sorry Fire, you aren't the majority)

Those 30% of xbox games that work are really the only games that matter. Halo(s), Star Wars games, fable, etc. The only big name not there is the Madden series, which is really stupid.

BC is BC. You can try and say it matters to one set of users and doesn't to another, but regardless. PS1 > Xbox, let alone PS1 > top 30% of Xbox. You're talking about a platform with thousands of games against one with hundreds. To top it all off, PS1 had so man RPGs it's insane, and those are the games you still play years later. You don't play Mech Assault when you have Armored Core 4 available. You play Xenogears or Final Fantasy 9 though instead of Enchanted Arms.

The PS3 doesn't come with an HDMI cable either, or at least i wasn't aware that it did.

No, standard def plugs only. Plug and cord wise, I have to say I prefer the PS3 though. I want to use an HDMI for both, which came with neither. The problem is that I can't use an HDMI and optical out for 360 at the same time. So I am using RGB cables for 360. It's noticably worse looking than when I connect it via HDMI... very noticable. Almost worth just hearing stereo out of my TV speakers to get back to HDMI's cleaner look.

Lastly, how do you have your x360 set that it makes noise? I haven't heard anything like that ever on my system, and i keep it in about the shittiest conditions you can.

My DVD drive sounds horrible. It's like a vacuum cleaner.

 

[Makelith]

Not sure what you're saying. Popularity and quality are two different things. For popularity, no it's not there yet. For quality, quite a lot of releases look amazing. Fox, Sony and Disney releases look great, Warner has a lot of good titles but their encodes aren't as good as the others. The old Paramount weren't that great releases. A lot of the time, people say the Blu-rays don't look all that great, then they put in a DVD and notice they look like crap.

Well i suppose i was saying both, but i have only really tried 10 or so movies on blu ray, and quite frankly i wasn't impressed with anything aside from The Majestic.

BC is BC. You can try and say it matters to one set of users and doesn't to another, but regardless. PS1 > Xbox, let alone PS1 > top 30% of Xbox. You're talking about a platform with thousands of games against one with hundreds. To top it all off, PS1 had so man RPGs it's insane, and those are the games you still play years later. You don't play Mech Assault when you have Armored Core 4 available. You play Xenogears or Final Fantasy 9 though instead of Enchanted Arms.

BC is BC, but not when the BC games are hardly in circulation anymore. Everyone that has those games are going to still be hanging on to them, and many of the really good RPG's, like xenogears/FFs/Grandia etc. and its been an even longer time since i've come across someone other than myself that has even played those games. Its great for me, because i still have all those games, but when i'm in the vast minority, the value drops for everyone else.

No, standard def plugs only. Plug and cord wise, I have to say I prefer the PS3 though. I want to use an HDMI for both, which came with neither. The problem is that I can't use an HDMI and optical out for 360 at the same time. So I am using RGB cables for 360. It's noticably worse looking than when I connect it via HDMI... very noticable. Almost worth just hearing stereo out of my TV speakers to get back to HDMI's cleaner look.

The PS3 doesn't even come with HD plugs? That seems really silly. Why can't you just use HDMI on both systems, or am i the only one that doesn't have a problem with consistent cord switching?

 

[Lanien]

I wouldn't trust wireless internet for any sort of gaming, short of something like an MMO. I especially wouldn't trust it for the kind of games that the PS3 and 360 have online. Comcast makes it laggy enough without having to factor in wirelessness(word?).

I don't care how much my boss tells me, "Its almost like having an ethernet cord plugged in."

To which i respond, "Well, I can get that for $45, or i can use the far more than adequate cord that comes with the machine."

But not everyone has the same house set up i do.

I have High Speed DSL which has recently become even faster than Cable in my area and a highly encrypted internet connection. Going wireless is no problem for me, so having the built in WiFi was a big point for me.

Your boss is right partially. Having a wireless connection nowadays (not Comcast) is pretty equal to plugging straight into a router. I like to look at an internet connection as a pie chart. No matter whether something is hooked up wirelessly or plugged straight in, it takes the same size chunk of connection.

It really does depend on the house, but as this country continues to go wireless, it will only look better and better having that WiFi built right in.

Although it seems weird to say it, I wish my 360 was good enough a year and a half ago to not warrant the purchase of a PS3. However, when I found out the benefits of owning a PS3, the purchase seemed clear to me. For the longest time, I was anti-PS3, but I realized what I got for the price, it made much sense. I still think that the Sixaxis controller's tilt function is a piece of shit and never want to have to use it. Not everyone does the same amount of research of the hardware that I do though, so most people don't see the difference.

 

[Taurothar]

Just a comment to one of Firestreak's posts about Apple's hip image and a way to hurt MS:

Wii + iPod = WiiPod

 

[Anglis]

Fire, my DVD drive was making a vacuum noise. Then about 2 weeks later, it broke and destroyed my COD 4 cd lol. Best Buy replaced it no questions asked, and this problem also drove me to buy a PS3.

 

[Skaw]

An extremely loud, annoying noise when a disc based game is playing.

I have never, ever noticed this, and my 360 isn't far from my usual display(monitor.) Maybe 3 and a half feet to the right. If that far.

 

[Rappa]

I have an elite and it makes basically no noise at all, and also comes with hdmi cables in the box and a nice sized harddrive. Kinda pricey though, but I just exchanged my old 360 for credit towards one when it came out.

 

[Chasym]

Forget all that. Just to get your 360 wireless, you need to pay $100 for an adapter. This wouldn't bother me so much, but the fact they charge $100 for this when more normal network adapters are $20-30, it is quite annoying merely for the fact that you MUST buy the Microsoft one.

actually you do not have to buy the MS one, they just want you to think that, My 20 dollar one works just fine. But im a hardcore gamer and i dont trust wireless for gaming, only use it when im streaming music.

 

[Skaw]

actually you do not have to buy the MS one, they just want you to think that, My 20 dollar one works just fine. But im a hardcore gamer and i dont trust wireless for gaming, only use it when im streaming music.

The only difference is the $100 rip off one will be guaranteed to work, where as your run of the mill $20 USB thumb device might not. However, it's not exactly hard to use THE INTERNETS to find out which ones work or not in about 5 minutes.

 

[Firestreak]

I will record how loud my 360 drive is at some point and upload it. It's extremely annoying, to the point that I don't play it when I otherwise would. From what I understand there's 2 different manufacturers of the drives, one that is fine and one that sucks. I'm assuming the same strain of noisy drives are the same one that scratches discs. Makes me fearful. Considering calling up MS but I doubt they'll replace shit, even if it does scratch my disc up. They're only obligated for RROD.

 

[Chasym]

I will record how loud my 360 drive is at some point and upload it. It's extremely annoying, to the point that I don't play it when I otherwise would. From what I understand there's 2 different manufacturers of the drives, one that is fine and one that sucks. I'm assuming the same strain of noisy drives are the same one that scratches discs. Makes me fearful. Considering calling up MS but I doubt they'll replace shit, even if it does scratch my disc up. They're only obligated for RROD.

There are three drive models, Samsung, Hitachi (78fk version is slightly different), and BenQ

All three will scratch discs if you move your system while playing, thats usually the only time it can scratch a disc.
The samsungs tend to be the loudest, and occasionally the hitatchi.
The BenQ is supposedly the most quiet of them all.
BenQ is a newer drive that premiered when the Elite launched, Its the more common drive of today, followed by samsung and the now ever rare hitachi (i have hitachi 47D and its pretty quiet)

if you wanna figure out which drive you have here is a pic that can help
http://pictures.xbox-scene.com/xbox360/dvd/TS-HLG.jpg
The BenQ is just an Oval shaped tray with no holes.

My brother had bought the halo edition xbox and one night my friend had taken his with him so i needed a box to play online and i borrowed my brothers, it was so loud i thought it was broken or something and it made me nervous as shit to play because it sounded like a damn jack hammer. turned out the disc tray was loose and i gave it a lil tune up for him and didnt tell him, he called me when i returned it and said "how the hell did you fix that noise on my xbox ?!" lol, he noticed right away.

 

[Tim Wakefield]

The images look nice, 4 is my favorite. I really want to see the game in motion. Imperfections that can be seen in still images can't be noticed when playing and visa versa.

Dually noted. I don't ever remember a game looking as good as its screenshots did.

 

[Marajade]

Dually noted. I don't ever remember a game looking as good as its screenshots did.

Uncharted actually looked better in the game than the screens for me

 

[Begen]

Graphics look good.