November ' 06 update (Xbox 360)

Copied from OntheXbox

Update is effective tomorrow (Oct. 31st)


" New Features

* HD 1080p video mode support over VGA and component cables.
* Xbox 360â„¢ HD DVD Player support.
* Stream WMV video from a Windows PC running Windows Media Player 11, Zune software, or Windows Media Connect.
* Play video from storage devices such as USB flash drives, Xbox 360 Memory Units, etc.
* Play video from CD or DVD data discs.
* Xbox 360 Wireless Headset support, including battery level indicator in the Xbox Guide.
* Video support for 50 Hz HDTV modes (DVD and HD DVD only).
* Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel support.
* Set up automatic downloads of newly released Xbox Live Arcade trial games.
* Support for upcoming release of XNA Game Studio Express (separate download and subscription required.)
* Stream music, pictures and video from a Zune device.

Xbox Live Arcade

* Lightning-fast enumeration and listing of all Xbox Live® Arcade games on the console.
* Find games quickly with two new sort options: Recently Played and By Category.
* Have all new Xbox Live Arcade games at the ready with auto downloads. Auto downloads optionally adds newly released trial versions of games to active downloads when you enter Xbox Live Arcade.
* View full achievement info in Xbox Live Arcade, including icons, achievement point details, and descriptions.
* Friends leaderboard: Compare yourself with friends and view leaderboard details right from the Xbox dashboard.
* Tell a friend: Send a message to a friend about your newest favorite Xbox Live Arcade game.

DVD Player

* Optionally disable notifications from Xbox Live while watching DVD movies.
* Improved support for audio streams on incorrectly authored DVDs.
* Better handling of unreadable discs.
* Updated count-down timer.
* HD DVD player support.
* Added zoom support for non-anamorphic content.
* Added support to Family Settings to block Unrated Content

Video Player

* Improved support for extended all black scenes in WMV content.
* Added support for Windows Media Video 9 Advanced profile video.
* Screen saver now becomes active when videos are paused.
* Now shares UI and player controls with DVD player.
* Improved video playback while downloading from Xbox Live.
* Added skip controls (forward approx. 30 seconds, back approx. 7 seconds).
* Improved messaging around unplayable video content.
* Added time elapsed and time remaining displays.
* Improved playback of high bit-rate HD content on fragmented hard drives.
* Improved visual quality of video playback.
* Added selectable display modes: default and letterbox zoom.

Localization

* New locale setting for China
* Improved German translations in console settings.
* Improved German translations in memory area.
* Improved Japanese translations in Family Settings.
* Added localized text for all supported languages in pictures area
* Improved Spanish translations in camera effects.
* Improved locale-specific decimal denominators.
* Added localization support for title menu and main menu in the DVD player.
* Added localization support for “Attempting to Read Media” system message.

Memory Area

* Added support for Xbox 360 HD DVD Player content..
* Added new page for viewing content size by category.

Other System Improvements

* Updated support for new Daylight Savings changes coming in 2007.
* Improved support for games to better handle host migration in multi-player matches.
* Improved Xbox Live Vision camera support for changing room lighting while zooming.
* Background downloaded videos appear in video area
* Improved Xbox Live Vision camera support while using VGA.
* Playing photo slideshows from PC now maintains picture folder hierarchy.
* Improved user experience when playing and deleting videos from the Games or Media areas.
* Improved handling of invalid characters during Xbox Live signup.
* Better handling of watermarks in gamer cards.
* Improved text for Windows Media Connect..
* Improved UI performance in Media Center Extender
* Improved connection support for Buffalo WZR-G108 wireless router when using Xbox 360 Wireless Adapter.
* Redownload of deleted Arcade Games no longer re-enumerates all games on the Arcade page.
* Improved visual display of text in themes.
* Improved support for CD playback after signing up for Xbox Live and losing network connectivity.
* Improved support for long names of items memory area.
* Improved handling of gamer pictures downloaded from Xbox Live.
* Improved background download notifications when downloading many small items from Xbox Live.
* Improved support for custom backgrounds after returning to the Xbox Dashboard from the Account Management area.
* Improved network reliability between Windows Media Center Extender on Windows Vista and Xbox 360 consoles using Xbox 360 Wireless Adapter.
* Improved voice chat quality in Xbox Dashboard and in-game chats.
* Improved messaging when failing to connect to Windows Media Center Extender.
* Improved USB keyboard support when using a USB hub.
* Improved consistency of user experience when deleting various types of content.
* Improved handling of low storage space for background downloads.
* Improved handling of Picture streaming from attached Digital Cameras over MTP protocol
* Improved error messaging for optional iPod support download when storage devices are full.
* Improved handling of multi-key repeating for USB keyboards.
* Expanded Family Settings to include support for blocking unrated DVDs and videos.
* Added ability to clear space from storage devices in download areas.
* Added support for low-speed and full-speed USB keyboards.
* Improved CapsLock behavior for USB keyboards.
* Improved look and feel in Xbox Live Marketplace and Xbox Live Arcade areas.
* Added redeem code option to Xbox Live signup.
* Removed system message at the start of new downloads. Messages will be displayed for completed items.
* Added support for CCV credit card validation field in Xbox Live Marketplace purchase areas.
* Updated “More Information” instructions in the Xbox Dashboard for connecting an Xbox 360 console to a Windows PC to stream digital media content.
* Added auto-scroll to long text descriptions in Xbox Dashboard UI.
* Improved support for DVD insertion while playing a video file."

Whoa!!!

Cool...

Most of it is just minor fixes and tweeks, but still all of that is an incredible amount of work. I' m glad to see them work so hard on improving service, its nice to see something constantly improving.

sweet! Now I can stream the movies and tv episodes I got on my pc onto my xbox360

what is best in life? To crush your enemies, see them driven before you and to hear the lamentation of their women!

Damn was just on the way to post this :P

The streaming and support for videos on USB2.0 devices as so cool!

" * Play video from CD or DVD data discs. "

I am a happy man :)

" What most people need to learn in life is how to love people and use things instead of using people and loving things."
~ Unknown ~

ORIGINAL: Alecrein

" * Play video from CD or DVD data discs. "

I am a happy man :)

You' re right about that!

Didn' t think they' d allow that, ever.

That was unexpectedly awesome.

Streaming vids from USB 2.0... They don' t know how happy I am right now.

The only one thing I can think of that they could' ve added was music playback for everybody during chat. I was on today, and my freind wanted to hear a specific song by Queen, so I load it up, only to realise he couldn' t hear it.
Ah well, trifling compared to all these updates.

Ooooh, i like trifle!

Well, I got my update a few hours ago and everything seems to be running fine. Live Marketplace is definitely much less cluttered and an easier experience overall. Most notable change for me was they moved the " Game Trailers" section from the " Games" blade to the " Media" blade which seems like a much more logical layout now.

Ah crap no support for resolutions between 1080p and 720p. That sucks! [:' (]

My home internet is down so I can' t the update! I' m going to pull my hair out! I want to test the media streaming option!!!

XBL Gamertag: Rampage99

" Basically, pollute the air all you want, your just speeding up the inevitable. Our future generations are f*cked as it is and there' s really nothing we can do about it. Have a nice day "

Ah crap no support for resolutions between 1080p and 720p. That sucks!

Yeah I wouldn have liked to see 1280X1024, even if it has to be interlaced.

I tried the Data Disc Video feature today. I was amazed I thought the data would come out a lot more pixalated on my TV. It is flawless to say the least...sadly they have to be .WMV (.AVI and .mov do not work...I tried them).

The XBLA menu loading quicker is REALLY NICE.

" What most people need to learn in life is how to love people and use things instead of using people and loving things."
~ Unknown ~

Apparently the update fucked up some peoples 360. The update contained a security feature that is supposed render Moodded 360s useless but some people who never opened their 360 were screwed by this feature. MS is trying to correect the problem.

http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3154778

Most people are fine but just to be safe I think I' ll wait until this is fixed before updating my firmware.

Yeah, so if you haven' t updated already, don' t, wait for it to be fixed first.

Luckily mines ok as are all of my friends consoles, but i' m not certain what kind of percentage have been affected by it.

According to Microsoft about 1% were affected by it they are supposed to have a fix ready right about now (they said in about 24 hours).

" What most people need to learn in life is how to love people and use things instead of using people and loving things."
~ Unknown ~

MicroSoft is incapable of releasing an update that doesn' t break things on some people' s systems but not others. MicroSoft is incompetent. This is documented FACT. They hire only the worst programmers in the industry. Look at any one of their pathetic OS' s. Every time they update, it breaks tons of other things. Even in console-land where people don' t have tons of different apps and configurations, they still find a way to break it.

And as always, the ones they were trying to stop found a way around it in a matter of hours. Why can' t MicroSoft do something right for once? Because it' s impossible for them, that' s why.

I shall now go update my 360 and hope for the best.

I streamed some wmv' s from my computer to my 360 with windows media connect and it worked great.
Also glad I can superly fast convert movies to wmv with my X1900.

"If you knew how good I am you would think I'm modest."

MicroSoft is incapable of releasing an update that doesn' t break things on some people' s systems but not others. MicroSoft is incompetent. This is documented FACT. They hire only the worst programmers in the industry. Look at any one of their pathetic OS' s. Every time they update, it breaks tons of other things. Even in console-land where people don' t have tons of different apps and configurations, they still find a way to break it.

And as always, the ones they were trying to stop found a way around it in a matter of hours. Why can' t MicroSoft do something right for once? Because it' s impossible for them, that' s why.

I shall now go update my 360 and hope for the best.

they also have the most complicated and the most used software in the entire world! its hard not to make mistakes. I have no grief with MS. I dont know any software company that hasnt had bugs or mistakes

Looks like Microsoft has fixed the problem for the <1%

From Major Nelson

An updated version of the Fall Update is now available on Xbox Live which has eliminated issues relating to new or refurbished consoles failing after applying the Fall Update. Users who have already applied the Fall Update and are seeing an error message should call their local Xbox Support telephone number. If you already have the update, you will not be prompted for another update.

I tested out 1080P on our 56" DLP tv with the vga cord. Looks pretty damn awesome. Noticebly better than 1080i on the 65" right next to it. Sadly the 65" doesn' t have VGA. Instead it has DVI and you can' t do 1080p through component on it.
But everything still looks better on my 2 ms LCD monitor at its native 1280x720.

"If you knew how good I am you would think I'm modest."

I checked out 1080p on a 23" monitor and couldn' t tell the difference between that and 720p. I' ll get a 1080p display when i find something suitable. I don' t want a CRT y' see and 1080p TV' s aren' t common here yet, everything seems to be about 720p LCD' s...

This is basically a cross-post from the " Defragging the xbox hard drive" thread, but the update seems to have fixed glitches when running videos from Marketplace.

And my Aracade games are just there now

***flyingsaucersdisguisedasmushrooms***
***mushroomsinvadingfromouterspace***

well running the xbox 360 at 1280x720 (720p) on a monitor that is that exact resolution is going to look as good as it gets. ANy other resolution set form the xbox 360 or from the monitor is going to be distorted and not look as good. Even if it is a higher resolution. And it will typicaly look better scaled on the xbox 360 than the monitor or tv.

Native Resolution > xbox 360 upscaling > monitor/tv upscaling > both 360 and monitor/tv upscaling > xbox 360 downscaling > monitor/tv downscaling > both xbox 360 and monitor/tv downscaling

You also risk having delays when you scale if your monitor/tv have shitty scaling hardware/software.

"If you knew how good I am you would think I'm modest."

So the only file type you can stream for movies are WMV? that kinda pisses me off. Most of my videos are other formats...

XBL Gamertag: Rampage99

" Basically, pollute the air all you want, your just speeding up the inevitable. Our future generations are f*cked as it is and there' s really nothing we can do about it. Have a nice day "