Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Xbox 360 Coming With HDMI Port?

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the upgrade-360 dept.

GeekGod writes "Images of an Xbox 360 motherboard with HDMI-port have been leaked on the internet. So it looks like Microsoft will follow into Sony's footsteps and release an Xbox 360 with a digital video output. This might also come in handy for their future HD-DVD addon, certainly when movies will get HDCP-protected."

10 of 146 comments (clear)

  1. HDMI replaced DVI by a_greer2005 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    and is quickly killing off component inputs on new HDTVs, this move only makes sence.

  2. so does that mean... by MyDixieWrecked · · Score: 3, Interesting

    is microsoft planning on releasing a "new" 360 periodically with added features? perhaps faster-clocked processor? more ram? bigger default HD in the more-expensive unit? HD-DVD drive by default? additional ports?

    although I don't agree with the idea of nudging users into purchasing a completely new unit every year or two, I strongly disagree with the need to constantly purchase add-ons for the system. (HD-DVD, new harddrive unit, perhaps hdmi, if M$ can figure out how to create an add-on for that).

    m$ should realize that this is what happens when you release a console with the hopes of it having such a long lifespan; I believe microsoft wanted it to last 10 years? I know Sony wants the PS3 to last about that long.

    I can't really offer a solution to this, except for having a completely upgradable system with plugin daughtercards... but then you just have a desktop computer, again.

    ug. something tells me that videogames are starting to move into the lifetime-investment category... especially with this new trend of episodic content and purchased add-ons. it seems that everyone will keep re-purchasing everything (classic videogames, music in new formats, movies in new formats, and now hardware).

    --



    ...spike
    Ewwwwww, coconut...
    1. Re:so does that mean... by mrchaotica · · Score: 4, Insightful
      I can't really offer a solution to this, except for having a completely upgradable system with plugin daughtercards... but then you just have a desktop computer, again.

      Yes, they'd have a PC... except that it would be completely proprietary and locked-down to only run licensed programs.

      Make no mistake, this is actually Microsoft's and Sony's wet dream: to finally kill off that pesky "general-purpose" computer whose ability to run Free Software makes it so hard for them to abuse the sheeple more than they already do!

      --

      "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz

  3. "HDCP protected" by Doomstalk · · Score: 3, Informative

    This might also come in handy for their future HD-DVD addon, certainly when movies will get HDCP-protected."

    All currently available HD DVD and the upcoming Blu-Ray titles are HDCP protected. When they're sent as a digital signal over HDMI or DVI to displays that support HDCP, they're encrypted. The Image Constraint Token (ICT)- part of the standard which halves the resolution when a movie is diplayed over unencrypted DVI or analog outputs- just hasn't been put to use yet, making HDCP non-mandatory.

  4. Huh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    So... there's a screenshot of an HDMI port. From an anonymous source. And the anonymous source says that the HDMI port in the picture is connected to an XBox 360 motherboard. And we're supposed to take his word for it, and that's supposed to be our proof that the XBox 360 is getting HDMI.

    Uhh...

    I guess it makes sense if Zonk is compelled to publish any XBox 360 related news that comes in, but frankly, I don't find this very convincing.

    Meanwhile, I thought it was pretty stupid and asinine that Sony split their market by making you buy an entire new $600 PS3 to upgrade your $500 PS3 to HDMI. I'm gonna consider it pretty stupid and asinine if Microsoft also splits their market by making you buy an entire new $400 XBox to upgrade your older $400 XBox to HDMI.

  5. They're not "screwing over early adopters" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I hate it when people complain about them "screwing over early adopters". Either it was worth $400 for the console or it wasn't. Quit trying to stop them from adding a feature many of us who don't yet have an XBox 360 want. They're not going to have HD-DVD games, they're not going to up the clock speed, they're not going to add more memory. They are just adding a couple of features that in no way change what games you can play and how they look. Hopefully when they move to the smaller die the XBox 360's will run a little cooler and the fans won't be so loud. That's not "screwing over early adopters". They're taking advantage of new technology when it comes out. The XBox 360's that people have already bought won't lose features.

    1. Re:They're not "screwing over early adopters" by Mark+Maughan · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I hate it when people complain about them "screwing over early adopters". Either it was worth $400 for the console or it wasn't. Quit trying to stop them from adding a feature many of us who don't yet have an XBox 360 want. They're not going to have HD-DVD games, they're not going to up the clock speed, they're not going to add more memory. They are just adding a couple of features that in no way change what games you can play and how they look.

      But it does change how the games look on a nice 1080i or 1080p TV with DVI/HDMI.

      Hopefully when they move to the smaller die the XBox 360's will run a little cooler and the fans won't be so loud. That's not "screwing over early adopters". They're taking advantage of new technology when it comes out. The XBox 360's that people have already bought won't lose features.

      DVI was out well before the 360. There was no time excuse for not having DVI even HDMI in the more expensive Xbox360 model.

  6. Re:Your a moron! by Apro+im · · Score: 3, Informative

    You forgot Universal. And between them, we have what's known as The Big Six - the six biggest movie studo parent corporations, making up the majority of mass-marketed films in the country. One of the few other potentially major players-to-be in the market, the Weinstein Company, has a distribution deal with MGM, subsidiary of Sony. So when you say "a few movie studios", you mean the ones that make almost all the movies that will make it to an HD format, and the ones who people are most worried about using DRM schemes.

  7. Can't HDMI be added later? by The-Bus · · Score: 3, Interesting

    My understanding was that Microsoft would release an HDMI "cable" to replace the current one when the tech was ready. If you have a 360 now, with the latest update and VGA cables, your 360 now is upscaling DVD video to 720p. From the shots I've seen, it's not bad.

    There is no separate VGA output. There's simply a cable you plug into a specialized port. I would imagine an HDMI cable would be a no-brainer.

    I don't know enough about the hardware to know if a special motherboard is required for HDMI, but my guess is that it's not -- it's all in the cable. Maybe someone more adept can answer this question.

    --

    Small potatoes make the steak look bigger.

  8. HDMI on 1st gen 360s? by Sephiro444 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Altering the motherboard design to include an HDMI port on the system itself is great, but doesn't the current Xbox 360 use a proprietary A/V-out port (through which your composite, s-video, component, optical audio,etc. are all passed)?

    What's to stop MS from just releasing an HDMI video cable that goes through that same port, for the sake of all those without HDMI built in, as well as an XBL or other update to make it possible?