Lotus 111s
November 6th, 2006, 16:36
Interesting article at http://www.theinquirer.net
An interesting post appeared on the official Xbox Team blog as the week fizzled out, concerning the amount of development the team endured to ensure HD-DVD drive compatibility with the Xbox 360.
The add-on drive has apparently meant a staggering 4.7 million lines of code have been added to the 360's OS in an attempt to bring the Microsoft backed HD-DVD standard to the Xbox. This software-update driving the Xbox's HD-DVD implementation apparently utitlises the full 'six hardware threads' of the triple core CPU, and is claimed to push the system harder than any game currently available, ensuring for some considerable fan noise one would imagine.
It's also cost Microsoft 'millions of dollars' to add. Lets hope it's all worth it and Xbox fans don't end up with the runner-up in the re-run of the VHS/Betamax war.
The HD-DVD software was included within the fall system update which was released for download last Tuesday on Xbox Live. Immediately problems with the update were reported, with some users claiming the upgrade had bricked their consoles. Microsoft quickly responded acknowledging and admitting to the problems, and released a further update to resolve the issues, but not before around 1% of the installed base was infected.
A big plus for Xbox 360 users once the issues were fixed was the inclusion of 1080p support, something that Sony have been purporting as the PS3's major advantage over the Xbox.
In other 360 news, it has been announced that the highly anticipated release of Halo 3 will come in three retail packages. A regular and collector's edition will be priced at $59.99 and $69.99 respectively, and a 'legendary' edition priced at $99.99 which will come bundled with a Halo Spartan Mjolnir Mark VI Helmet replica. Useful.
Maybe explains why some 360's did not like the update with that many lines of code. Well here's hoping that the HD-DvD doesn't melt anyone's 360.
An interesting post appeared on the official Xbox Team blog as the week fizzled out, concerning the amount of development the team endured to ensure HD-DVD drive compatibility with the Xbox 360.
The add-on drive has apparently meant a staggering 4.7 million lines of code have been added to the 360's OS in an attempt to bring the Microsoft backed HD-DVD standard to the Xbox. This software-update driving the Xbox's HD-DVD implementation apparently utitlises the full 'six hardware threads' of the triple core CPU, and is claimed to push the system harder than any game currently available, ensuring for some considerable fan noise one would imagine.
It's also cost Microsoft 'millions of dollars' to add. Lets hope it's all worth it and Xbox fans don't end up with the runner-up in the re-run of the VHS/Betamax war.
The HD-DVD software was included within the fall system update which was released for download last Tuesday on Xbox Live. Immediately problems with the update were reported, with some users claiming the upgrade had bricked their consoles. Microsoft quickly responded acknowledging and admitting to the problems, and released a further update to resolve the issues, but not before around 1% of the installed base was infected.
A big plus for Xbox 360 users once the issues were fixed was the inclusion of 1080p support, something that Sony have been purporting as the PS3's major advantage over the Xbox.
In other 360 news, it has been announced that the highly anticipated release of Halo 3 will come in three retail packages. A regular and collector's edition will be priced at $59.99 and $69.99 respectively, and a 'legendary' edition priced at $99.99 which will come bundled with a Halo Spartan Mjolnir Mark VI Helmet replica. Useful.
Maybe explains why some 360's did not like the update with that many lines of code. Well here's hoping that the HD-DvD doesn't melt anyone's 360.