xbox live dashboard update tomorrow 6-06

[Mr.Answer]

http://www.xbox.com/en-US/community/news/2006/0605-springrelease.htm

from xbox.com posted 6-5-06 (started a new thread from the other one so that the news got on page/post 1.


Xbox 360 releases over 125 new features to enhance next-generation gameplay and entertainment


Gamers ask and Xbox 360 delivers with revolutionary free upgrade for all Xbox 360 connected owners


Starting tomorrow, Xbox 360 gamers will be able to access a vigorous system-wide update creating a new pinnacle for next-generation gaming and entertainment. The Xbox 360 spring update introduces more than 125 revolutionary features and enhancements adding to Xbox 360’s sheer power, stunning high-defintion graphics, rich online capabilities and innovative media offerings delivering a digital gaming and entertainment experience that simply can’t be matched.
Since the launch of Xbox 360 in November 2005, Microsoft has continuously focused on gamer and community feedback to determine further improvements and enhancements for the evolving next-generation experience, resulting in this inaugural mass update. With more than half of all Xbox 360 gamers connected online, Xbox is further catering to its fans by delivering the spring update in the way they want it. This free update will be digitally distributed over Xbox Live to all members (Xbox Live Silver and Gold) with no disc or hard drive required to take advantage of the plethora of new features. Gamers without an Xbox Live account can easily sign up for the free network by connecting their console to a broadband internet connection. Once online, downloading the update takes less than a minute and provides instant access to features including:
Xbox Live Marketplace Enhancements
New background download manager gives gamers the ability to queue up and download six high definition items at a time including playable game demos, Xbox Live Arcade games, music videos and movie trailers while actively playing games or browsing the dashboard. As an added benefit, if gamers engage in multiplayer gameplay while downloads are in process, the new background download manager will automatically pause the download queue until the multiplayer session is complete ensuring a continuously optimal gameplay experience.
Updated Xbox Live Marketplace menus makes it easier for players to find and store all of their gaming and entertainment content. This includes the addition of new menus for media and entertainment content as well as enhanced menus making it easier for gamers to find what’s new in each section as well as a quick view at all downloads by category.
Full remote control features for Xbox Live Marketplace videos allow gamers to fast forward and rewind at various speeds (2X-16X) during all videos downloaded from Marketplace.Music Player Improvements
Custom background music now continues to play without interruption during game loads and when transitioning from game to game or disc content.
During music play, the music playback screen now showcase the artist, song title and time remaining on the song along with a visualizer showing which song on the playlist or album is currently playing.
DVD Movie Playback Upgrades
DVD movie bookmarking now allows gamers to pause a movie at any point, put in a game for gameplay and return to the movie at the exact point it left off.
Improved DVD movie playback for a smoother, higher quality viewing experience, including additional VGA support.These features are just some of the new experiences gamers can expect on the system as part of this spring update. For a list of additional new features and improvements, visit www.xbox.com/live (http://www.xbox.com/).
About Xbox and Xbox 360
Microsoft revolutionized the gaming industry with the November 2001 launch of Xbox® (www.xbox.com (http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/)), its first-generation video game and entertainment system, now sold in 26 countries. Microsoft introduced its next-generation system, Xbox 360, in the 2005 holiday season in Europe, Japan and North America, and launched the system in Australia, Colombia, Hong Kong, Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore and Taiwan in 2006. Xbox 360 (www.xbox.com/xbox360 (http://www.xbox.com/xbox360)) is the most powerful video game and entertainment system, delivering the best games, the next generation of the premier Xbox Live online gaming network, and unique digital entertainment experiences that revolve around gamers.
About Xbox Live
Xbox Live is the first and only unified online entertainment network seamlessly integrated throughout the entire console experience, making it easy for people to find the friends, games and entertainment they want from the moment they power on their Xbox 360 system. Xbox Live connects millions of members across 24 countries to enjoy hundreds of multiplayer games, downloadable games via Xbox Live Arcade, free and premium playable game demos, music videos, and movie trailers, as well as new game levels, characters and vehicles for all their favorite retail games. More information can be found online at www.xbox.com/en-us/live (http://www.xbox.com/en-us/live). __________________

[kennistond]

We could have used this before E3.

[graf1k]

6.6.06?! Come on Microsoft, your just inviting demonic jokes now!

[Demolition Man]

Now they just need to work on the backwards compatability. Come on... get Midtown Madness 3 working on the 360 and I might finally buy one. :D

[Kaijufan]

I thought this was going to come out last week.

[Apossum]

hope they add some live arcade games too...SF2.

I'm all for Xbox 360 SP1. But I'll let everyone else download it first to make sure it won't kill my system :)

[Mr.Answer]

all 125 features updated:

Xbox 360 releases over 125 new features to enhance next-generation gameplay and entertainment


NEW FEATURES


“Download manager” - Marketplace items now download in the background, queue up to six pieces of content
DVD bookmark support will remember the film’s timing and location when resuming viewing
Fast-forward and rewind now offered at 2x -16x for any videos saved to hard drive
“Boot to Dashboard” setting will bypass the loading of any disc in the drive and open directly to Dashboard during power-on
Begin slideshows from any photo
Music player saves “shuffle” setting
Much player save “repeat” setting
Music player now displays which file is currently playing in the playlist
Music volume level persists between game / reboots
8 new locales added (Chile, Brazil, India, South Africa, Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia)
Separate settings now offered for Game and User volume controls
Themes can now be set from the “System” blade on the Dashboard
User-selected music continues play when switching from Dashboard to game or game to Dashboard
“All Arcade Games” added as a selection in the Xbox Live Arcade area
Personal gamer pictures allowed as Gamertiles – displayed only to those on your Friends List
Added support to disable sound effects when navigating Dashboard
Instantaneous “Change Theme” option added upon downloading new Dashboard themes
Preserve folder structure of source when viewing photos
A / B labels now provided to identify memory units in Dashboard
Online status set to “Away” when screensaver becomes activeSYSTEM IMPROVEMENTS

DVD Player

Improved audio/video sync after extended pauses
Improved visual quality
DVD player outputs at native resolution over VGA connection
Improved playback smoothness
Improved fast-forward and rewind smoothness
DVD play continues to attempt to read a disc after “disc read” error
DVD play à Pause à Play jitter / out of synch issues improved
DVD play à Slow Play à Play jitter / out of synch issues improved
Repaired issues with missing menu selection icon from DVD disc menu for certain films
Improved Xbox 360 Guide efficiency during certain films
Repaired playback stutter during certain filmsMusic Player

Player now populates music data (Title, Artist, etc.) when no track information is available
User music is now pauses, instead of stopping, when games override user-selected background music
Selecting an artist’s album no longer displays albums for all artists
Improved performance when retrieving playlists from a Windows Media connection
List music tracks in track-order when viewing albums by specific artist
Unified music controls for music player in Dashboard and pop-up Guide
Improved playback for Mono AAC-encoded files
Improved connection timing between console and CD database over Internet
Player no longer allows hard-drive selection when no hard-drive is connected
Removed handling of MTP/USB devices when playing music from them more robust
Improved error codes / messaging associated with unplayable contentLocalization Improvements

Fixed partially truncated strings in Portuguese, Spanish and Italian
Korean clock / date format corrected after initial set-up
Fixed system hang when changing the language of the console immediately after signing out
Korean virtual keyboard “down” navigation now works for lower-right button
Korean virtual keyboard caps disabled for input mode
Fixed overlapping characters for pre-paid Gold membership card (Japanese localization)
Removed extra spaces in several translated words (French localization)
PC name displayed properly when containing Japanese characters
Support single apostrophe character for Japanese virtual keyboardMemory Area Improvements

Streamlined selection – no profile selection required
Improved overall performance, allowing quicker access to content
Improved content views including name, file type, size, profile owner and location
Faster identification of file types and fewer steps for actions such as copy, move, delete, etc.
Capacity (or percentage-full) of storage device now consistent between select-a-device and storage scenes
Device selection now shown on each screen to improve usabilityMiscellaneous System Improvements

Time elapsed now displayed when playing music files
Enhanced categorization of media library
Accelerated scrolling of large music lists
New “shuffle” icon
Repeat / Shuffle icon now operates as toggle button
Default button for manual IP address is now “A” instead of “Done”
Hidden and system folders are no longer displayed from MTP / mass storage devices
Difficulty levels for gamer profiles ordered correctly
Added additional line and word-wrap to “Publisher” in video area
Shuffle / Random no longer skips last image in list when viewing photos
Improved handling of Friend Requests between Gamertags that have changed names
No longer asked “Exist to Dash?” when switching between areas in the Dashboard
New error messages for when Windows Live ID requires password change
Unlocked Achievements now displayed first in Game Summary page
Selecting an Achievement now shows the specific Achievement details
Full date now displayed for “Member Since” and “Next Bill Date” tabs on Membership scene
Updated messaging for deleting arcade games purchased by different profiles
No longer launch music CD in disc-tray when moving from Live sign-up to Dashboard or Network Troubleshooter
Improved voice quality when connected through wired gamepad
Show “Last Played Game” selection in Xbox Live Arcade first before enumerating all games (when Arcade game was last game played)
Improved performance of picture enumeration from iPods formatted for Mac
Adopt latest updates to Cero-based ratings for Family Settings
Show videos downloaded from Marketplace in the Video area of the Media blade
Improved usability around “Play Now” when downloading demos, trailers and videos
Added support for South Africa-specific Family Settings
Updated support for Japanese game ratings
Video area changed to include game trailers and entertainment videos
Improved robustness of Gamerscore when doing account recoveries
Improved messaging around handling corrupt or non-fully recovered profiles
Improved download performance for popular content being downloaded through Marketplace
Total USB keyboard support
Testing Live connection while streaming music from PC works correctly
Next item / Focus sound not played when scrolling past the bottom of the video list
Handle profiles on memory units inserted into system while enumerating profiles from other storage locations
Warning / Alert icons now show as part of deleting items in Memory area
Repeat rate for remote control matches game controller repeat rate
“A” button disabled when in a list with no items available
Wireless battery level added to mini-pop-up guide over backward-compatible games
Pop-up guide / Dashboard now supports USB keyboard
Console no longer enters “charge” mode when shutdown and the battery has been removed from wireless controller
System no longer waits indefinitely when attempting to contact Windows Media Connect service on XP PC
Improved Marketplace storage device selector
Correctly set focus on selected item when back button pressed on “select a game” scene
Notify users when multiple wireless SSIDS with identical names are within reach
Provide Gold membership information when trying to join a session or accepting game invites with Silver accounts
New text to highlight the ability to clear the passcode for Live account signing
Photo slideshow no longer resumes when pressing “previous” or “next” from paused state
Improved handling of corrupt profiles when deleting them
No longer turn off wireless gamepads after system update reboot
More robust handling of initial setup experience for memory unit users
Improved handling of backward-compatible update experience, reboot back into Xbox v1 environment instead of Dashboard
Improved handling for "block communications" from other players
Improved keypress sounds when using USB keyboard
Improved usability and performance of content enumeration for storage devices
Show visual location for where Xbox Live Arcade games reside
Improved user messaging when overwriting content while copying
Improved consistency of messaging between "sign out" and "switch profile"
Updated troubleshooter text for connection to Windows PC's joined to domain
Better support for Xbox 360 game disc recognition
Improved initial setup text messaging
Improved overall error message terminology
Game updates downloaded to memory unit no longer show "please reinsert" notification when memory unit removed
More robust support for handling game deletes from memory unit and simultaneously removing memory unit
Improved system performance between console and affiliated Windows Media Connect PC

[Mattte]

:applause: Finally the music won't stop when switching games. I hate it when listening to CAGcasts and I want to play a different game.
Still no option (unless I don't see it) to fast forward music files :bomb:

[$hady]

I love this, as long as the damn things don't time out like mine always seem to do.....
“Download manager” - Marketplace items now download in the background, queue up to six pieces of content



Street Fighter????? :cry:

[Mr.Answer]

I love this, as long as the damn things don't time out like mine always seem to do.....
“Download manager” - Marketplace items now download in the background, queue up to six pieces of content



Street Fighter????? :cry:


That's probably the biggest update I'm looking forward too, although the amount of content to download seems so sporadic I would also like to have some sort of week to week additions. (at least one game or demo added each week, at least one trailer or album each week--and whatever for themes and gamer pics etc.)

[mtxbass1]

DVD player outputs at native resolution over VGA connection

There is a God. Thank you Microsoft.

[Murcielago77]

whoohooo, downloads while playing. i cant wait

[RedvsBlue]

Wow, there's some pretty cool updates in there. Its like a whole new dashboard.

[Duo_Maxwell]

I gotta admit I'm a little leary it's going to somehow destroy/hinder my otherwise extremely well functioning 360. It's like all the horror stories we heard about some service pack 2 updaters, hoepfully similar occurences won't come about.

[danked]

sweet

[Kaijufan]

It's too bad Microsoft didn't add upconverting DVDs to this update. I would think the 360 is powerful enough to upconvert.

[seanr1221]

Personal gamer pictures allowed as Gamertiles – displayed only to those on your Friends List

Is this only with the Xbox camera? Or with any digital camera?

[KaneRobot]

I would enjoy it a lot more if it upgraded the dash to version 6.66.

[Apossum]

I gotta admit I'm a little leary it's going to somehow destroy/hinder my otherwise extremely well functioning 360. It's like all the horror stories we heard about some service pack 2 updaters, hoepfully similar occurences won't come about.

I know I'm waiting...I hope it isn't automatic...

[LinkinPrime]

Thanks Mr.Answer for the detailed post :D

[R1V3R5]

Well, MS isn't slacking with the updates. I'm not a huge fan of MS but this certainly gets them some points in my book.

[Chris in Cali]

Well, MS isn't slacking with the updates. I'm not a huge fan of MS but this certainly gets them some points in my book.


Ehh.. most of this stuff should have been included from the get-go. They need to update the XBLA, and backwards compatiblity list.

[sj41]

Ehh.. most of this stuff should have been included from the get-go.:rofl: Yeah, because they didn't have enough shit on the system already. They should have had everything from the start so that they don't come out with these rediculous updates.They need to update the XBLA, and backwards compatiblity list.It's rare to see you post in the 360 forum and not mention XBLA not getting enough games and how your 10 awesome Xbox games can't be played. The picture of the games was nice, too. It made everyone wish that Enclave would work on the 360.:roll:

[Scorch]

I don't have my 360, but apparently the update is out now.. look at that, they put something out on time.. kinda weird that they posted it at 4am, but hey.. they did.

[Sporadic]

It's sexy.

I love the way they broke up the marketplace. Much easier to scroll through.

[HumanSnatcher]

Just DLed the new update myself...looks about the same on the surface. One thing I would love is to be able to view the time remaining when watching a DVD...

[Number83]

The Rapture is coming!!!!

[HumanSnatcher]

The Rapture is coming!!!!
Is it Eastern, Pacific, or may be even Greenwich Mean? lol

[javeryh]

Better support for Xbox 360 game disc recognition

Hopefully this means no more DREs when trying to save. I stopped playing Burnout because one out of every 5 times when the game tried to save I would get a DRE and my record would be gone. I actually had an achievement unlocked for completing golds in an entire section but due to the DRE it was never saved - so I had the achievement but not 100% for that section...

[pimpinc333]

I Like the new DL system. I was dling a game and tossed in halo 2 to play while DLing and it stopped the Download. Thats great since I now alot of kids would try to play online and DL at the same time.

[BREVITY]

I wished for some Blue Tooth support.

[Transformah]

Got mine this morning. D/L in the background is nice, and booting to the dash is very much welcome.

[Apossum]

ahhhhh my game saves are gone!

just kidding.

i like the new marketplace browser...too bad there's nothing NEW to browse >_<

[ryanbph]

Just DLed the new update myself...looks about the same on the surface. One thing I would love is to be able to view the time remaining when watching a DVD...
you can do that when watching a dvd, with the remote that came with the premium system

[Cth]

Nice to see one of my suggestions made it :)

Show “Last Played Game” selection in Xbox Live Arcade first before enumerating all games (when Arcade game was last game played)

[Tha Xecutioner]

*Applause*

[LinkinPrime]

FYI:

The new update does not allow you to DL demos from other regions. For those of us who had a Japanese/German account, there are no good now.


Update: Apparently the update crippled the workaround. You can download the demo but when you start it, it gives you a ‘Wrong Region - The disc’s region code is incorrect for this console.’ error. We tried several different Live accounts but none work. Let’s hope this problem is limited to this demo (Love FOOTBALL).

http://www.xboxic.com/news/1014

[KaneRobot]

FYI:

The new update does not allow you to DL demos from other regions. For those of us who had a Japanese/German account, there are no good now.


http://www.xboxic.com/news/1014


Fuck.

[dafoomie]

Personal gamer pictures allowed as Gamertiles – displayed only to those on your Friends List
I thought this meant that you could use your own picture as your icon for people in your friendslist? How do you do that?

[BREVITY]

Oh I also wish they would make it so you can skin each blade individually.

[seanr1221]

That's what I'd like to know Dafoomie.

[zewone]

I thought this meant that you could use your own picture as your icon for people in your friendslist? How do you do that?
When the camera comes out I assume. They just put the feature in now so that you can use it as soon as you get the camera.

[LinkinPrime]

Is it true that custom soundtracks work on BC games now too?

I read reports on teamxbox.com forums... Just wondering if true.

(at work cant check myself)

[danked]

When the camera comes out I assume. They just put the feature in now so that you can use it as soon as you get the camera.

thats fucking lame if so

[pinkkirby]

Has anyone tried to play the ASIA version 360 games yet?

I am @ work so can't try it. Hopefully they didn't fuck that up for those who bought ASIA region-free games from PlayAsia.

[danked]

bought ASIA region-free games from PlayAsia.

huh this is news to me checks out ...

[dafoomie]

Has anyone tried to play the ASIA version 360 games yet?

I am @ work so can't try it. Hopefully they didn't fuck that up for those who bought ASIA region-free games from PlayAsia.
I don't think anything has changed regarding that.

[ryanbph]

it has been reported on a couple of occasions, that this dashboard update would include stuff for the camera. I would imagine, it would make it easier to beta test the camera.

[KingDox]

Is it true that custom soundtracks work on BC games now too?

I read reports on teamxbox.com forums... Just wondering if true.

(at work cant check myself)


Can someone please check this ? I would love to be able to play custom soundtracks on my BC games.

[fieldkillah]

Yes you can use custom soundtracks in BC games, you just start up the music before you start the game.

[Apossum]

anyone else having problems joining invites or anything with live play? I've been getting some unusual lag and assorted little problems with DoA4 tonight.

[Mr.Answer]

ahhhhh my game saves are gone!

just kidding.

i like the new marketplace browser...too bad there's nothing NEW to browse >_<

Here here.. would have been great to be able to try out the downloading que by having a few new things to check out. The lack of regular new releases of Arcade games, demos, and the like is a big disappointment.

[Graystone]

My 360 is 2 months old, and I have had no problems. I fired up my 360 tonight and it said that their was a update so I installed it. But now every time I turn on the console 10 minutes into a session it freezes. Anyone else?

[Zoglog]

FYI:

The new update does not allow you to DL demos from other regions. For those of us who had a Japanese/German account, there are no good now.


http://www.xboxic.com/news/1014

What a bunch of cocks...

[danked]

thats sucks i dont get this region bs why not just make game available eveywere

[Daddy]

anyone just try a usb web cam yet?

[Sporadic]

anyone just try a usb web cam yet?

MN already said in his podcast that that doesn't work.

[Transformah]

anyone else having problems joining invites or anything with live play? I've been getting some unusual lag and assorted little problems with DoA4 tonight.

We couldn't get our Uno game in last night because we couldn't connect to each other. I'm not sure if its related, but I updated my router firmware and was able to connect. I don't think it was the router though, because the other guys in my bracket couldn't connect to each other either.