Xbox 360 v2 : Codename Zephyr

By StandingInAlley
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Novaoblivion

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The pictures in the first link are not loading for me, does anyone have a copy of them?

Veteran

cchasem

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so glad i waited!*

*couldnt afford a 360 until recently

maybe they will do somethin funky with the pricing.. like completely getting rid of the 'core' system and dropping the premium to $349 and the new 360hdmi to $399?

or maybe they'll keep the core($299), premium($399), and add this at a third tier 'platinum'($449)..

time will tell, i guess. any estimates on release date?

Grand Master

P!P

Posted
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Here's my guess.

It would only make sense to somehow tie an updated version of the 360 around Microsoft's (and perhaps the year's) biggest game. It would not shock me to see a Halo 3 Xbox 360 v2. However, unlike some included titles, they'd make you pay the $50 extra for the game. Anyway, I think they'll drop the Core version. The price of the 360 should be dropping quite a bit, a new processor should also help with the price drop. They'd make the current Premium the new Core at $299. They'd either rename or come up with new name for the v2. Going off Vista, I'd guess Ultimate. The new processor would be in both the Core and Ultimate, so the only upgrades would be the HDMI port and the 120GB hard drive. That seems like a $100 upgrade to me.

360 Layout:

Core - $299 (No Hard Drive or Wireless Controllers)

Premium - Reduced from $399 to $299 (20GB Hard Drive)

Ultimate - $399 (HDMI Port/ 120GB Hard Drive)

Grand Master

magik

Posted
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Leaked Microsoft CES Keynote:

Citing a non-existent Dean Takahashi story, the always reliable Team Xbox is reporting what Bill Gates and Robbie Bach will announce this Sunday at the company's pre-CES speech.

Microsoft, according to the story, will be announcing that Microsoft has sold more than 10.4 million Xbox 360 consoles worldwide since launch.

Gates will also announce that the Xbox 360 will soon be given the capability to serve as a set-top box for IPTV, a sort of hybrid television and video service that delivers content over a broadband network.

The Team Xbox story doesn't mention if there is any confirmation that Microsoft might be unveiling a new model of their console that features an HDMI output and larger harddrive.

I searched around on Dean's new blogs, one for his tech coverage and one for CES, and couldn't find the article that TX was talking about. I was, however, greeted with an error message on one of Dean's pages. Maybe an embargo was accidentally broken. Brian Crecente

Kotaku

The article has also since been pulled from TeamXbox.com

Neowinian

amf98cl

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Guys, this leaked picture has probably been released intentionaly so that msoft reads our comments and then decide whether their idea makes sens or not. Microsoft should understand that it does'nt make sens to release an imporoved version of their original product at the same price, unless they offer an affordable upgrade for it. THIS IS NOT NEGOTIALBE !!! DON'T MESS-UP WITH YOUR TRUSTWORHINESS...

Grand Master

DR3AMxCATCHER

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Well, I posted a while back on xbox forums (topic got deleted) that MS would have some new system type coming out that had 120GB HD and directtv. I was close. No one believed me and now with this coming out, I feel what my local gamestore owner told me is true.

Grand Master

AlphaPrime

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Exclusive: 360 HDMI Proof - HR Pictures and Video - HANA Scaler

Here are 100% exclusive for x-scene, the High-Resolution pictures of a 'Zephyr' prototype with the HDMI port. No, it's no retail Xbox360, it's a prototype board ... but Microsoft had to design a new scaler chip named 'HANA' (replacing the (analog-only?) 'ANA' chip found in current retail and dev Xboxes), I doubt they'll do that effort for nothing.

Microsoft always refused to answer any question about a possible HDMI-cable for the Xbox360 (even when asked for explicitly), but this HANA chip probably confirms the current 360 can only output an analog signal, so an HDMI-cable for the current 360 won't be possible (sure they could design a cable/box that reconverts the analog output to digital, but that makes no sense and is not the point).

http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?showtopic=577032 (Click for pictures and video)

I for one am glad MS has finally added a HDMI slot (if it eventually goes to retail). Saves money on expensive proprietary cables. Also keeps up with the PS3 outputs.

Edited by m.redux
Grand Master

spenser.d

Posted
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it would be funny is microsoft leaked there own images of this prototype to create hype around the xbox360 section at CES, to keep people away from PS3 LOL

I would watch your back if I were you. The MS ninjas are probably being sent as we speak :shiftyninja: :p

@the above post - I thought we already decided that the v1 360's could output digital signals. Maybe I'm wrong though. Also, why would they keep something like ANA secret for so long, only to replace it in such a short time after revealing it? MS knows what they're doing - don't you think they'd have just covered that base and made the original chip capable of digital signals?

-Spenser

Edited by stifler6478
Grand Master

magik

Posted
Posted (edited)
@the above post - I thought we already decided that the v1 360's could output digital signals. Maybe I'm wrong though. Also, why would they keep something like ANA secret for so long, only to replace it in such a short time after revealing it? MS knows what they're doing - don't you think they'd have just covered that base and made the original chip capable of digital signals?

-Spenser

You're right, according to Microsoft, the v1 360's are capable of outputting digital signals:

Microsoft just got back to us to clarify the Xbox 360's ability to transmit a digital signal. In short, it can, which means that Microsoft could conceivably release an HDMI cable for the Xbox 360. This is good news, and relieves a great deal of our concern over the Xbox 360's ability to effectively work with 1080p. Microsoft's full response is marked in the Q & A portion of this feature.

...

IGN: Can the X360 send out a digital signal now, or ever?

Microsoft Xbox 360 currently doesn't include a digital out connection for video. Our platform is flexible enough to allow support of a digital connection in the future should we choose to do so.

IGN Edited by magik
Grand Master

macrosslover

Posted
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If they do release something like this and do not offer a reasonable 'trade-in' system then I can see a lot of backlash and negative PR happening. Also, the next Xbox will find very few early adopters. Overall poor move on Microsoft's part if this ends up happening.

poor move but honestly it happens all the time. as has been said before the sales momentum of the ps2 didn't stop when the slim version came out and Nintendo is the king of the much better 2nd version and people still got out and pay for each version of a system that comes out.

we have to be real and understand that the overwhelming majority of people will not care at all and will not even know what the difference is. Alot of people have no clue what hdmi is and wouldn't be able to spot the difference in quality anyway. that's really the only thing somebody is going to miss out on, because the harddrive can be added on at any time. however early adopters know by their nature that's always a chance, would people be upset at MS if they bundled the wireless add-on into the system in future versions at no extra cost? of course they would but that's the nature of what you have to deal with in video games when you early adopt.

Grand Master

spenser.d

Posted
Posted (edited)
You're right, according to Microsoft, the v1 360's are capable of outputting digital signals:

IGN

Good. That means I have reason to keep calling bs on this until I see it, which is what I think everyone should be doing. Seriously, something from Xbox-scene, a renowned modding community shouldn't be considered official. It'd probably make their day to mod an HDMI port into a 360 even if the system doesn't work anymore.

-Spenser

Grand Master

AlphaPrime

Posted
Posted (edited)
You're right, according to Microsoft, the v1 360's are capable of outputting digital signals:

IGN

Well if you read their response, the wording is very vague and could realistically go either way.

I thought we already decided that the v1 360's could output digital signals. Maybe I'm wrong though. Also, why would they keep something like ANA secret for so long, only to replace it in such a short time after revealing it? MS knows what they're doing - don't you think they'd have just covered that base and made the original chip capable of digital signals?

Don't ask me, I didn't write the article, lol. I guess we'll see eventually, one way or another. Why hasn't their been a DVI or HDMI cable released after 14+ months of being on the market though. Demand has been there since the beginning. It's not really a huge deal however, just something that would be nice to have.

Spenser - Did you see the video? The system does work.

Grand Master

magik

Posted
Posted
poor move but honestly it happens all the time. as has been said before the sales momentum of the ps2 didn't stop when the slim version came out and Nintendo is the king of the much better 2nd version and people still got out and pay for each version of a system that comes out.

we have to be real and understand that the overwhelming majority of people will not care at all and will not even know what the difference is. Alot of people have no clue what hdmi is and wouldn't be able to spot the difference in quality anyway. that's really the only thing somebody is going to miss out on, because the harddrive can be added on at any time. however early adopters know by their nature that's always a chance, would people be upset at MS if they bundled the wireless add-on into the system in future versions at no extra cost? of course they would but that's the nature of what you have to deal with in video games when you early adopt.

Bundling the Wireless Adapter at no extra cost for future packages is very different than presenting a new version of the console with an output (HDMI) that current 360's may or may not be capable of.

With a Wireless Adapter bundle, early adopters are only suffering price differences. Which is very much to be expected and nobody can really complain about this. Everyone knows that all consoles go down in price one way or another. This way, it's going 'down' in price by including more products in the package. However, the important thing to note is that the Wireless Adapter can be purchased by anyone with any version of the 360 and can have the same exact functionality as those who purchase the package that comes with the Wireless Adapter included.

Introducing a new version of the 360 with a new output type (HDMI) without providing a cable for current 360s to output in HDMI is a severely different scenario and should not be tolerated. I can see class action lawsuits or some other uproar of similar stature happening if this is the case. Microsoft will need to provide a way for current 360 owners to be able to fully utilize the functionality of future 360s. If that solution includes a cable that can be purchased, then fine. If the solution entails a sort of trade-in system for a reasonable fee, then fine. But if there is no solution then that is where you'll be making 10.4 million people (assuming all care about HDMI, granted they may not be) very angry.

Grand Master

spenser.d

Posted
Posted (edited)
Why hasn't their been a DVI or HDMI cable released after 14+ months of being on the market though. Demand has been there since the beginning. It's not really a huge deal however, just something that would be nice to have.

Except demand really isn't there. There was an interview with Peter Moore a little while back where he even states that there are honestly very few people that own 360's that care about HDMI. Thing is, those few are making theirselves very loud and very clear (magik :p). Despite that, it'd still be nice of MS to introduce an HDMI option, even with little demand, as it is a kind of future-proofing, since things are heading the way of the HD-era anyways.

-Spenser

Grand Master

magik

Posted
Posted
Good. That means I have reason to keep calling bs on this until I see it, which is what I think everyone should be doing. Seriously, something from Xbox-scene, a renowned modding community shouldn't be considered official. It'd probably make their day to mod an HDMI port into a 360 even if the system doesn't work anymore.

-Spenser

Actually, I believe it because it's coming from Xbox-Scene. Their sources are rarely inaccurate and they never spin stories. Most of their leaks have been on-point and they would be the ones with connections to people 'on the inside'. The pictures that they posted are much more than a motherboard 'mod'.

There is a new scalar chip called HANA (the old scalar chip was called ANA). Their reasoning for a new scalar chip was that ANA was incapable of digital scaling and that they needed a new chip, HANA, to take care of that. If that is the case, then an HDMI cable being released for current 360s is virtually impossible (unless the cable would convert Analog to Digital, which by most standards is unacceptable and against any sort of ICT tokens or HDCP restrictions; so that's not an option).

I don't know, I'm getting pretty annoyed, really. Microsoft better have some answers soon (I'm hoping for something before CES).

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