Forget about DLP vs. LCoS or Blu-ray vs. HD DVD. The biggest battle heating up in the home-entertainment world right now is over who's going to rule the next generation of gaming. And Microsoft just launched the first strike — 100 megatons worth of silicon known as Xbox 360.

Fact Sheet

•$299 •12.125 x 3.25 x 10.125 inches •7.75 pounds •High-definition, widescreen, Dolby Digital gaming •Stream digital photos and music from any Windows XP PC •Built-in Media Center Extender adds streaming video — including HD — from PC in another room •$399 option includes console, detachable 20-GB hard drive, wireless controller, wired Xbox Live headset, component-video/optical digital audio output cable, and (for a limited time) Universal Media remote control • xbox.com >> 800-469-9269

You might be one of the lucky ones who gets a 360 this holiday season — that is, if the gift giver pre-ordered your console and put the deposit down months ago. But as I write this in mid November, I’m one of only ten people in the country with one — and that's about as cool as it gets.

Looks and Brains
But the new Xbox is far more than just a gaming machine. For years, Bill Gates has wanted to come up with a component that would give Microsoft as much sway in the living room as it's had in the office. To accomplish this, the 360 has been crammed with enough high-tech features to serve as the hub of your digital-entertainment empire — and the strategy is just sneaky enough to work.

While the original Xbox had all the styling of a Borg cube — black, utilitarian, and loaded with power — the 360 looks like it was kissed by Apple, with a sleek, hourglass-shaped, cream-colored chassis. (When your iPod dreams, it fantasizes about becoming a 360.) To keep the Xbox's svelte physique, the power supply was removed from the chassis. Microsoft calls the external supply a "power brick," and it's literally as big and heavy as one!

The 360 comes in two flavors. The $299 core system includes a wired controller and a combo output cable that feeds composite video and both analog and digital audio. But the smart money is on the $399 version I tested, which comes with a detachable 20-gigabyte (GB) hard drive, a wireless controller, a wired Xbox Live headset, a component-video/optical digital audio output cable, and (for a limited time) a Universal Media remote control.

The Xbox 360 would be worth its price even if it only played games, since it costs more to buy a video card for your computer that delivers close to the 360's performance. But this is far from a one-trick pony. Pop in a DVD movie and you get progressive-scan playback with Dolby Digital or DTS sound, and you can navigate the disc with either the Universal Media remote or the gaming controller. Considering this baby's video-processing horsepower, I expected to see solid picture detail and resolution on DVDs, but progressive-scan conversion wasn't as good as it should be. Jaggies and stair­steps ought to be things of the past, but after watching a combination of movies as well as test patterns from the terrific HQV Benchmark DVD from Silicon Optix, I realized that the 360's video processing is geared more for game graphics than movies. This is a serviceable DVD player, but state of the art it ain't.

Your Media — Extended
The Xbox 360 has definitely got what it takes, though, to turn your home into a digital playground — but first you need a broadband network. While the broadband connection on the original Xbox was mainly used for online gaming, the 360 uses its wired or optional wireless connection to reach out and touch the outside world. (A wireless networking adapter is $99. The 360 supports Wi-Fi: 802.11a, b, and g.) Once you're connected, exciting possibilities open up.

Using the new Xbox to access music and photos on networked PCs is a breeze. When I installed the free Windows XP Connect file onto my laptop, the 360 immediately appeared on the list of available devices. (Video files weren't supported at the time of the product launch but might be later.) The Music and Picture tabs on the onscreen Xbox Media dashboard gave me almost instant access to my stored files. Of course, photos looked way better on my 61-inch HDTV than on the PC, and my favorite tunes sounded great pumped through my home theater rig.

Way cooler, though, is that every 360 comes with Media Center Extender technology, giving Media Center Edition 2005 PC owners an incredible one-two punch of performance and versatility. To borrow from Snoop, this is the shizzle, making the basic XP Connect features pale. The 360 acts as a virtual extension of your PC, letting you enjoy the good life on your big screen with an interface identical to the one on your computer.

This is definitely the way to browse your music collection, too, since it's the only Xbox interface that displays album cover art. Beyond music and photos, you also have access to any video files you've recorded or downloaded — including high-def! Yep, use the Media Center to record your favorite shows off the air in HD, then stream them for viewing wherever the Xbox is connected. A recorded episode of Lost had the same terrific video quality via the 360 that I've come to expect from watching the show through my high-def cable box.

You can also control the Media Center PC's TV tuners from the 360, scheduling recordings and using all of the DVR functions. Even browsing the free program guide (delivered from the Internet) is way cool. Click on Movies, and you get a list of films currently playing on TV, complete with DVD cover art! You can also browse cast and director info, read reviews, or find similar movies. When is the last time just finding what to watch got you excited?

Looking for a way to share media without using your home network? Connect a digital camera or other portable device directly to one of the 360’s three USB ports. Music and photos on it will appear automatically under the Portable Device tab. After my digital camera was correctly identified as a Canon PowerShot A95, I was able to browse through photos on its memory card. The 360 supports JPEG, GIF, BMP, and TIFF photo files and MP3, WMA, and AAC audio files.

The 360 goes online and grabs artist and album info whenever you pop a CD into the tray for ripping or listening. (Ripping, which is done in WMA format at 192 kbps, takes about 6 minutes.) You can only create playlists on the 360 for songs stored on its hard drive, but any playlists already on your computer(s) show up under Saved Playlists. If you get sick of hearing a game’s original soundtrack, all 360 games let you import your own tunes for in-game background music — a slick touch.

Ergonomically, the next Xbox is a hit. Microsoft is finally treating the 360 like every other component in your rack, letting you turn it on remotely. Simply press the green X button on the controller (or the power button on the Universal Media remote), and the system fires up. This might seem minor, but all previous consoles required you to get up off the couch to go over and press the power button. You might be able to tolerate this with a seldom-used gaming rig, but never in a component designed to be the hub of a home theater system.

Before putting on my game face, I tested how well the Xbox Media Center Extender streamed content wirelessly via an 802.11a router that was 25 feet away and on the other side of a wall. The wireless link was rock solid with standard-def shows, but on HDTV scenes with fast motion and a lot going on, like the massive battle at the end of Attack of the Clones, the picture stuttered and a "Network Congestion" message appeared. You're still better off watching HDTV with a wired connection — and it looks great.

High-Def Sound & Vision
Don't think Microsoft forgot what the 360 is really about: gaming. This baby is bred for it, and it didn't disappoint me. Since every Xbox 360 title supports either the 720p or 1080i high-def format, images virtually leap off the screen. (If you haven't upgraded to an HDTV yet, don't worry — the 360 also supports both 480i and 480p resolutions.)

Playing NBA 2K6 was eerily close to watching a high-def broadcast of a real game. I could easily recognize individual players, right down to Richard Hamilton's signature face protector. The cinematic visuals coupled with the sheer graphics horsepower under the 360's demure hood means every game has tons more going on. From the detail on the ball, to the way the net reacts to a swish, to the sweat pouring off players as the going gets tough, the eye-popping visuals nearly made me forget I was playing a game. That is what next-generation gaming is about: graphics and sound that put you right inside the action. (For the lowdown on more reference-quality titles to check out, see "The New Games in Town.")

But incredible graphics are only half the equation — audio is what really adds impact to the experience. Every Xbox title supports Dolby Digital 5.1 sound. Never again wonder where gunshots are coming from — hear them whizzing out of your surround speakers and know to check your six-shooter. Microsoft has supersized the audio capabilities, infusing the 360 with 32-bit audio processing and 320 independent compression channels. That means more processing power to handle ambient effects like leaves rustling and boots crunching on gravel, all to make the gaming experience more engrossing.

One complaint: With its mandate for HD gaming, it's surprising the 360 doesn't have an HDMI or DVI output for the very best digital video. And the supercharged processing could have easily been used to upscale DVDs to 720p or 1080i instead of just 480p.

Quibbles aside, there's no doubt that the Xbox 360 makes a giant cannonball splash into the convergence pool. Its high-def gaming makes it a natural to fit into your A/V rack. And Media Center PC owners will want to use it as a natural extension of that experience, streaming digital media to the best system in the house. This is how ol' Bill is gonna make his next $100 billion, and I'm ready to chip in the first $399.

The New Games in Town
by Drew Thompson

For all its new tricks, the Xbox 360 is still a gaming console at heart. And since every game for it supports either the 720p or 1080i high-def format, is 16:9 widescreen, and has Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound, your home theater can become the ultimate gaming setup. So be sure to grab these reference-quality titles, due out by the end of 2005.

1. Call of Duty 2 (Activision) You’ve probably played so many World War II games that you feel like marching in a Veteran’s Day parade. But this first-person shooter recaptures the excitement of putting on your uniform for the first time. One of the most dazzling things 360’s processing power brings to the game is super-sized environments. The enormous battlefields give you a variety of ways to complete missions instead of having your hand held the whole way. Sure you can go in guns blazing, but you can also advance under the concealment of smoke grenades or loop around and surprise the enemy from behind. It’s up to you. Axis troops in the first Call of Duty seemed pretty crafty at the time, but now they’re sitting ducks compared with this game’s Mensa candidates. Fortunately, your squad mates are just as smart. And their chatter isn’t just for ambience anymore since they can tell you where enemy gunfire is coming from. (For more, see our December 2005, review.)
   
   
2. Project Gotham Racing 3 (Microsoft) Are Ferraris, Lamborghinis, and Aston Martins out of your price range? For 60 bucks, Project Gotham Racing 3 puts you behind the wheel of picture-perfect recreations of these and other high-performance cars. If you thought the first two games in the series looked realistic, consider this: while each vehicle in Project Gotham Racing 2 was made of about 8,000 polygons, each one here has more than 80,000 polygons. Your proving grounds — New York, Tokyo, Las Vegas, and London — are the most lifelike cityscapes to grace any game. (Check out the buildings’ reflections on the cars’ Turtle Waxed exteriors.) Also, thanks to the horsepower under Xbox 360’s hood, a soft blur effect creates an unsurpassed sensation of speed. And who needs a rear-view mirror when the surround sound tells you which side the competition is trying to pass you on?
   
   
3. Peter Jackson’s King Kong (Ubisoft) Kong is a polygonal prince on all consoles, but the Xbox 360 version is king. As incredible as the GameCube, PS2, and Xbox versions look, they’re like camcorder bootlegs compared with the 360’s cinematic 720p presentation. You’ll feel like you’re in the movie as you fight for survival from the first-person perspective of an overwhelmed Jack Driscoll (played by Adrien Brody). And when you’re injured, instead of watching a health meter dwindle away, your vision blurs and the musical score grows more ominous. Prevent yourself from becoming the bite-sized treat of one of Skull Island's overgrown beasts, and you’ll get to go ape as Kong himself, taking on T-Rexes and other predators from an empowered, third-person — er, primate — perspective.
   
   
4. Perfect Dark Zero (Microsoft) I’ve only played a few short demo levels, but I’ll go out on a limb and say that this futuristic first-person shooter from Rare will follow in the footsteps of the same developer’s GoldenEye 007 — one of the most-beloved games of the genre. As sexy superspy Joanna Dark, you’ll have a variety of 28 high-tech weapons to choose from. For example, one gun can be turned into a motion sensor that explodes when an enemy enters its perimeter. Another doubles as a holographic projector that emits a Doppelgänger to baffle your opponents. And Zero’s environments expand and contract automatically based on the number of people playing over Xbox Live, so you’ll never feel like you’ve been locked inside an Ikea store after hours.
   
   
5. Madden NFL 06 (EA Sports) Say goodbye to the cardboard cutouts that packed virtual sports arenas in the past. 3-D fans are just one of many features that make this a must-have for early adopters of Xbox 360. The players are shockingly realistic, detailed down to the warning labels on their helmets, and you can see what’s going on in individual seat levels of the stadiums. At some venues, like San Fran’s Monster Park, you can even see where the sun has caused certain sections of seating to fade. Thanks to the widescreen aspect ratio, you’ll learn what it feels like to have Peyton Manning’s sideline-to-sideline field of vision. Instead of having you look down on the action from the broadcast booth, the game keeps you on the field, enveloped by the roar of the crowd and the reverb of the stadium announcer and referee. The Dolby Digital mix also makes sure you can hear the footsteps of a defender coming up on you from behind — and that you feel the impact when you hit the turf hard.

Back to Homepage
What's New on S&V