The Falcons Are In The Wild - But Rarer Than A Mewtwo! Gotta' Catch Them All!
- Thread starter Zen Davis
- Start date
guyver2077
CAGiversary!
- Feedback
- 6 (100%)
so heres hoping i get a falcon sometime soon.. i am currently 360-less for the time being and im really in no rush to get it back since im also hdtv less right now..
cc finally sent me my giftcard for my old dead elite that i had to ship to them.
Now im just waiting for a freebie or something at cc so i can go rebuy my 360. Youd figure with superbowl coming and stuff theyd throw in madden or something.
I am also not sure about buying the warranty with cc anymore. I wish they had something like bb's which you can take back in store and exchange.
cc finally sent me my giftcard for my old dead elite that i had to ship to them.
Now im just waiting for a freebie or something at cc so i can go rebuy my 360. Youd figure with superbowl coming and stuff theyd throw in madden or something.
I am also not sure about buying the warranty with cc anymore. I wish they had something like bb's which you can take back in store and exchange.
A quick question- I could not really come up with a good answer in my cursory search of the 33 pages of this thread 
Can the xbox360 premium output HDMI audio through its port? I had heard that the 360 premium could only do video over HDMI, whereas the Elite could do both. I was a bit skeptical at hearing this because I thought the whole draw of HDMI was that you could get audio and video over the same cable.
Is my understanding correct in that if your TV has an HDMI port you can just run one single cable between the 360 and the TV and get both video and audio? But since the TV only has 2 speakers you will only get stereo sound, whereas some people prefer to route the audio into their reciever via optical cables, allowing them the full 5.1 sound. And the beef with the 360 premium is that the component video cables are too bulky such that you cannot use an HDMI cable and the component dongle (for the optical audio) at the same time. But with the 360 elite it comes with a slimmer adapter that allows you to use HDMI and have a dongle for optical out without having fouling between the plugs?
But, if all you care about is just getting sound out of your TV (i.e. you don't have a receiver) just using the HDMI cable alone is enough, on both the premium and the elite.
Lastly- people with HDMI-capable receivers don't have this problem because they can just run the HDMI cable into their receiver and get surround sound because the audio in the HDMI cable is actually a digital multichannel stream? And then since their TV is hooked up through their receiver the video just gets passed through the receiver to the TV?
Ruahrc
Can the xbox360 premium output HDMI audio through its port? I had heard that the 360 premium could only do video over HDMI, whereas the Elite could do both. I was a bit skeptical at hearing this because I thought the whole draw of HDMI was that you could get audio and video over the same cable.
Is my understanding correct in that if your TV has an HDMI port you can just run one single cable between the 360 and the TV and get both video and audio? But since the TV only has 2 speakers you will only get stereo sound, whereas some people prefer to route the audio into their reciever via optical cables, allowing them the full 5.1 sound. And the beef with the 360 premium is that the component video cables are too bulky such that you cannot use an HDMI cable and the component dongle (for the optical audio) at the same time. But with the 360 elite it comes with a slimmer adapter that allows you to use HDMI and have a dongle for optical out without having fouling between the plugs?
But, if all you care about is just getting sound out of your TV (i.e. you don't have a receiver) just using the HDMI cable alone is enough, on both the premium and the elite.
Lastly- people with HDMI-capable receivers don't have this problem because they can just run the HDMI cable into their receiver and get surround sound because the audio in the HDMI cable is actually a digital multichannel stream? And then since their TV is hooked up through their receiver the video just gets passed through the receiver to the TV?
Ruahrc
Wolfpup
CAGiversary!
[quote name='Ruahrc']
Can the xbox360 premium output HDMI audio through its port? I had heard that the 360 premium could only do video over HDMI, whereas the Elite could do both.[/quote]
No, that's completely wrong.
If you want to use analog audio or digital audio NOT through HDMI with HDMI for video, THEN (and only then) you need a special adapter that plugs into the 360's AV port that's got audio connections on it.
The Elite model comes with that adapter, but the regular model doesn't (you'd have to get it with Microsoft's HDMI cable).
If you're just using HDMI for audio and video then you don't need anything but a standard HDMI cable.
Right.
Yup.
I think that's how it works. HDMI can carry surround sound too. Basically the only people who need that adapter are people who want surround sound but have older receivers (and their TV doesn't output audio) or if you were connecting the 360 through HDMI or DVI to a computer monitor and then needed a separate audio connection for speakers (assuming the monitor didn't support HDMI audio).
Can the xbox360 premium output HDMI audio through its port? I had heard that the 360 premium could only do video over HDMI, whereas the Elite could do both.[/quote]
No, that's completely wrong.
If you want to use analog audio or digital audio NOT through HDMI with HDMI for video, THEN (and only then) you need a special adapter that plugs into the 360's AV port that's got audio connections on it.
The Elite model comes with that adapter, but the regular model doesn't (you'd have to get it with Microsoft's HDMI cable).
If you're just using HDMI for audio and video then you don't need anything but a standard HDMI cable.
Right.
Yup.
I think that's how it works. HDMI can carry surround sound too. Basically the only people who need that adapter are people who want surround sound but have older receivers (and their TV doesn't output audio) or if you were connecting the 360 through HDMI or DVI to a computer monitor and then needed a separate audio connection for speakers (assuming the monitor didn't support HDMI audio).
Thanks for clearing that up. I had suspected that all HDMI ports could do both audio and video, but wasn't sure.
Lastly, if one were to hypothetically go to the store today and pick an xbox 360 off the shelf, chances are that at this point in time it's pretty much guaranteed to be a new xbox 360 with the cooler 65nm chips and HDMI output, right? And have there been reports of these new xbox 360's having better reliability than the previous versions?
Ruahrc
Lastly, if one were to hypothetically go to the store today and pick an xbox 360 off the shelf, chances are that at this point in time it's pretty much guaranteed to be a new xbox 360 with the cooler 65nm chips and HDMI output, right? And have there been reports of these new xbox 360's having better reliability than the previous versions?
Ruahrc
Wolfpup
CAGiversary!
[quote name='Ruahrc']Thanks for clearing that up. I had suspected that all HDMI ports could do both audio and video, but wasn't sure.
Lastly, if one were to hypothetically go to the store today and pick an xbox 360 off the shelf, chances are that at this point in time it's pretty much guaranteed to be a new xbox 360 with the cooler 65nm chips and HDMI output, right?[/quote]
Unfortunately no, as some stores have been known to keep back old inventory. There were some recent reports of stores selling mid-2006 stock. But if the manufacture date is late September 2007 and the lot is 739 or later there's a good chance it'll be a Falcon.
It's too early to know for sure. There have been reports of them dying, but we won't really know until later in the year at the earliest. Since it's the newest design, and has a CPU and GPU that draw less power, theoretically it should be the most reliable of the 360 revisions, but for all we know they've introduced some new problem, or it still hasn't fixed the old ones and maybe they'll all start dying at 2 years in or something.
Lastly, if one were to hypothetically go to the store today and pick an xbox 360 off the shelf, chances are that at this point in time it's pretty much guaranteed to be a new xbox 360 with the cooler 65nm chips and HDMI output, right?[/quote]
Unfortunately no, as some stores have been known to keep back old inventory. There were some recent reports of stores selling mid-2006 stock. But if the manufacture date is late September 2007 and the lot is 739 or later there's a good chance it'll be a Falcon.
It's too early to know for sure. There have been reports of them dying, but we won't really know until later in the year at the earliest. Since it's the newest design, and has a CPU and GPU that draw less power, theoretically it should be the most reliable of the 360 revisions, but for all we know they've introduced some new problem, or it still hasn't fixed the old ones and maybe they'll all start dying at 2 years in or something.
I've been holding off on the Xbox 360 until I they got the kinks worked out. I hope these new Xbox's with Falcon, BenQ, lighter power bricks, and HDMI will be more reliable. I wonder why the didn't do a similar redesign like sony did with the PS2 Slim for the 360 when the elite came out. That way, they could redesign the console to be much more reliable. I can only imagine the money they are spending fixing all these 360's can't be good for their bottom line.
Wolfpup
CAGiversary!
[quote name='MadFlava']I've been holding off on the Xbox 360 until I they got the kinks worked out. I hope these new Xbox's with Falcon, BenQ, lighter power bricks, and HDMI will be more reliable. I wonder why the didn't do a similar redesign like sony did with the PS2 Slim for the 360 when the elite came out. That way, they could redesign the console to be much more reliable. I can only imagine the money they are spending fixing all these 360's can't be good for their bottom line.[/QUOTE]
Making it smaller wouldn't work of course, but I do think it needs a redesign, because if you look at what they've done with the heatsyncs, it's a complete hack. There's not enough room for the GPU's heatsync, so it's got this tiny one, and now they've added a heat pipe leading off of it to an area of the case with more space to stick a second heat sync. The whole design is...questionable.
Although hopefully it'll work this time, and right now I just want them to fix the noise and I'd be reasonably happy...but they won't even acknowledge it.
Making it smaller wouldn't work of course, but I do think it needs a redesign, because if you look at what they've done with the heatsyncs, it's a complete hack. There's not enough room for the GPU's heatsync, so it's got this tiny one, and now they've added a heat pipe leading off of it to an area of the case with more space to stick a second heat sync. The whole design is...questionable.
Although hopefully it'll work this time, and right now I just want them to fix the noise and I'd be reasonably happy...but they won't even acknowledge it.
[quote name='Wolfpup']Making it smaller wouldn't work of course, but I do think it needs a redesign, because if you look at what they've done with the heatsyncs, it's a complete hack. There's not enough room for the GPU's heatsync, so it's got this tiny one, and now they've added a heat pipe leading off of it to an area of the case with more space to stick a second heat sync. The whole design is...questionable.
Although hopefully it'll work this time, and right now I just want them to fix the noise and I'd be reasonably happy...but they won't even acknowledge it.[/quote]
I think the best way to make the system quieter is to design it. Not to mention, it could be redesigned to be cheaper to manufacture.
Although hopefully it'll work this time, and right now I just want them to fix the noise and I'd be reasonably happy...but they won't even acknowledge it.[/quote]
I think the best way to make the system quieter is to design it. Not to mention, it could be redesigned to be cheaper to manufacture.
A
Apossum
Guest
aren't all the consoles falcons now? can we get rid of the pokemon reference yet? can people over the age of 15 get put in jail for liking pokemon?
okay, the last one was more a wish than an honest request.
okay, the last one was more a wish than an honest request.
rafissaying
CAGiversary!
- Feedback
- 13 (100%)
I've had my 360 since release date and I haven't had any problems with it but I would like to get a new 360 with a HDMI port.
Is my only choice to trade in my Xbox and get an Elite? Also is there a way to save all my stuff before I trade in my Xbox.
Sorry for the questions, I just haven't been on this board in ages so I need to start getting caught up with the news.
Is my only choice to trade in my Xbox and get an Elite? Also is there a way to save all my stuff before I trade in my Xbox.
Sorry for the questions, I just haven't been on this board in ages so I need to start getting caught up with the news.
Wolfpup
CAGiversary!
[quote name='rafissaying']Is my only choice to trade in my Xbox and get an Elite?[/quote]
I might be misunderstanding what you're asking, but ALL 360's have HDMI, not just the Elite. One option would be to trade in the base system without the hard drive and buy an Arcade (at least I think you don't have to trade in your hard drive).
Keep your hard drive, or else get a memory card and copy your saves and profile to it.
Remember that if you "bought" anything through Live, you don't really own it, and can only use it on the new 360 if you're actively connected to Live (which may be a challenge these past few weeks )
I might be misunderstanding what you're asking, but ALL 360's have HDMI, not just the Elite. One option would be to trade in the base system without the hard drive and buy an Arcade (at least I think you don't have to trade in your hard drive).
Keep your hard drive, or else get a memory card and copy your saves and profile to it.
Remember that if you "bought" anything through Live, you don't really own it, and can only use it on the new 360 if you're actively connected to Live (which may be a challenge these past few weeks
)
[quote name='Ruahrc']Thanks for clearing that up. I had suspected that all HDMI ports could do both audio and video, but wasn't sure.
[/QUOTE]
Actually, I think some older HDMI ports can't do the surround audio stuff, but I'm not positive. I'd think with TVs you'd be fine, but I think I read some older receivers could move HDMI video to the TV, but couldn't pull the 5.1 sound track of of it and you had to just run an optical out to the receiver for it. Someone more knowledgeable could verify this.
For me, I just stuck with component as my receiver doesn't have HDMI so I needed optical. I've never been able to tell a difference between switching from component to HDMI on other things (like my HD cable box) anyway.
[/QUOTE]
Actually, I think some older HDMI ports can't do the surround audio stuff, but I'm not positive. I'd think with TVs you'd be fine, but I think I read some older receivers could move HDMI video to the TV, but couldn't pull the 5.1 sound track of of it and you had to just run an optical out to the receiver for it. Someone more knowledgeable could verify this.
For me, I just stuck with component as my receiver doesn't have HDMI so I needed optical. I've never been able to tell a difference between switching from component to HDMI on other things (like my HD cable box) anyway.
consolecrusader
CAGiversary!
- Feedback
- 16 (100%)
For past 5 days I been going to every Toys R US, Gamestop, Target, Walmart, you name it.
So today I go to Menlo Park Mall in NJ to a Gamestop and ask for the elite of course they don't have it. They say "Try Sharper Image down the hall there." I LOL'd like "SHARPER IMAGE?"
And there it was a XBOX360 display at Sharper Image, I asked "XBOX ELITE?", their like "YEP." They said they had at least 40 on a pallet in back and most Sharper Image stores have same....I was in shock...SO i bought my XBOX360 Elite and I am happy!! But I never thought it would be at Sharper Image.
So today I go to Menlo Park Mall in NJ to a Gamestop and ask for the elite of course they don't have it. They say "Try Sharper Image down the hall there." I LOL'd like "SHARPER IMAGE?"
And there it was a XBOX360 display at Sharper Image, I asked "XBOX ELITE?", their like "YEP." They said they had at least 40 on a pallet in back and most Sharper Image stores have same....I was in shock...SO i bought my XBOX360 Elite and I am happy!! But I never thought it would be at Sharper Image.
[quote name='consolecrusader']For past 5 days I been going to every Toys R US, Gamestop, Target, Walmart, you name it.
So today I go to Menlo Park Mall in NJ to a Gamestop and ask for the elite of course they don't have it. They say "Try Sharper Image down the hall there." I LOL'd like "SHARPER IMAGE?"
And there it was a XBOX360 display at Sharper Image, I asked "XBOX ELITE?", their like "YEP." They said they had at least 40 on a pallet in back and most Sharper Image stores have same....I was in shock...SO i bought my XBOX360 Elite and I am happy!! But I never thought it would be at Sharper Image.[/quote]
Yeah, I bought my neogeo and lynx back in the day from them lol.
So today I go to Menlo Park Mall in NJ to a Gamestop and ask for the elite of course they don't have it. They say "Try Sharper Image down the hall there." I LOL'd like "SHARPER IMAGE?"
And there it was a XBOX360 display at Sharper Image, I asked "XBOX ELITE?", their like "YEP." They said they had at least 40 on a pallet in back and most Sharper Image stores have same....I was in shock...SO i bought my XBOX360 Elite and I am happy!! But I never thought it would be at Sharper Image.[/quote]
Yeah, I bought my neogeo and lynx back in the day from them lol.
spideymike
CAGiversary!
- Feedback
- 12 (100%)
My first Xbox 360 was a BenQ with a Falcon from 10/15/07. The replacement (because the first one had an annoying habit of scratching my game discs) is a Falcon, too but it's now a Hitachi drive. Weird.
Wolfpup
CAGiversary!
[quote name='spideymike']My first Xbox 360 was a BenQ with a Falcon from 10/15/07. The replacement (because the first one had an annoying habit of scratching my game discs) is a Falcon, too but it's now a Hitachi drive. Weird.[/QUOTE]
Dang, I thought they had fixed the scratching problem after the launch units
Dang, I thought they had fixed the scratching problem after the launch units
GLOCKGLOCK
CAGiversary!
- Feedback
- 60 (100%)
Finally saw some 360s back on the shelf at BB last Sunday. They had Arcade Falcons, but the Elites they had were not. No Pros to be found.
I'm sorry if I'm missing something, but even skimming through these pages I can't find a straight answer -- can someone just explain to me what to look for on an Arcade to determine whether or not it's a Falcon?
My 360 just red-ringed and I think I'm going to go pick up an Arcade to try to replace it, but I'd prefer to get a Falcon if possible. Since Gamestop leaves the 360 boxes in the back/behind the counter, I want to be able to identify upon first glance of the box whether or not it's a falcon, and just need the info about the SKU/sticker and what to look for.
Thanks to anyone who can help.
My 360 just red-ringed and I think I'm going to go pick up an Arcade to try to replace it, but I'd prefer to get a Falcon if possible. Since Gamestop leaves the 360 boxes in the back/behind the counter, I want to be able to identify upon first glance of the box whether or not it's a falcon, and just need the info about the SKU/sticker and what to look for.
Thanks to anyone who can help.
Wolfpup
CAGiversary!
[quote name='garfep']I'm sorry if I'm missing something, but even skimming through these pages I can't find a straight answer -- can someone just explain to me what to look for on an Arcade to determine whether or not it's a Falcon?
My 360 just red-ringed and I think I'm going to go pick up an Arcade to try to replace it, but I'd prefer to get a Falcon if possible. Since Gamestop leaves the 360 boxes in the back/behind the counter, I want to be able to identify upon first glance of the box whether or not it's a falcon, and just need the info about the SKU/sticker and what to look for.
Thanks to anyone who can help.[/QUOTE]
If it's a new lot number it probably is. If it has a 175 watt PSU it apparently is for sure (though you don't have to have a 175 watt PSU for it to be a Falcon).
My 360 just red-ringed and I think I'm going to go pick up an Arcade to try to replace it, but I'd prefer to get a Falcon if possible. Since Gamestop leaves the 360 boxes in the back/behind the counter, I want to be able to identify upon first glance of the box whether or not it's a falcon, and just need the info about the SKU/sticker and what to look for.
Thanks to anyone who can help.[/QUOTE]
If it's a new lot number it probably is. If it has a 175 watt PSU it apparently is for sure (though you don't have to have a 175 watt PSU for it to be a Falcon).
GLOCKGLOCK
CAGiversary!
- Feedback
- 60 (100%)
[quote name='Wolfpup']If it's a new lot number it probably is. If it has a 175 watt PSU it apparently is for sure (though you don't have to have a 175 watt PSU for it to be a Falcon).[/quote]
Yes, if the box says it has a 175w power supply it is a Falcon. See link for a thread with photos:
http://forums.xbox.com/18561934/ShowPost.aspx
If it has a 203w power supply it could be a falcon, but it is not as straightforward as finding one with 175w on the box.
From what I have seen all the Arcades I have seen are Falcons, the Pros seem to be hit or miss, and I have not seen a Elite Falcon yet.
Yes, if the box says it has a 175w power supply it is a Falcon. See link for a thread with photos:
http://forums.xbox.com/18561934/ShowPost.aspx
If it has a 203w power supply it could be a falcon, but it is not as straightforward as finding one with 175w on the box.
From what I have seen all the Arcades I have seen are Falcons, the Pros seem to be hit or miss, and I have not seen a Elite Falcon yet.
I was out at my local target tonight and happened to find new elites. It also seems GS have them back in stock as well, the website shows that they are available and several stores near me have them in stock as well. My questions is that at this point the new systems out on store shelves should be falcons right?
GLOCKGLOCK
CAGiversary!
- Feedback
- 60 (100%)
I finally saw some Elites that were falcons at Best Buy last night. I kept telling myself I would pick one up with my RZ certs when I found one, but after hearing the reports of Falcons getting the RRoD I think I'm just going to wait it out until the next round of chips come out. If my current console goes then maybe I'll change my tune but for now I'm holding off.
Baron O Hell
CAGiversary!
- Feedback
- 1 (100%)
The Jasper is the one that MS indicated that would fix the RROD problem. The falcons are no better than the older ones. I think the jaspers are due later this year around AUG 08.
[quote name='Baron O Hell']The Jasper is the one that MS indicated that would fix the RROD problem. The falcons are no better than the older ones. I think the jaspers are due later this year around AUG 08.[/QUOTE]
Is Jasper the one with the smaller GPU? I'm holding out until the RRoD gets definitively fixed myself.
Is Jasper the one with the smaller GPU? I'm holding out until the RRoD gets definitively fixed myself.
Wolfpup
CAGiversary!
[quote name='Baron O Hell']The Jasper is the one that MS indicated that would fix the RROD problem. The falcons are no better than the older ones. I think the jaspers are due later this year around AUG 08.[/QUOTE]
Nope, MIcrosoft's been claiming it's fixed every time they make a revision. They claimed it with the original model's revision, the claimed it with Zephyr, the claimed it with the new heatsync for Zephyr, etc.
[quote name='keithp']Is Jasper the one with the smaller GPU? I'm holding out until the RRoD gets definitively fixed myself.[/QUOTE]
Falcon actually has a smaller GPU too. I forget exactly, but I think it's down to 80nm process from 90, or something like that. Jasper's supposed to go down further to 65.
That doesn't mean it's going to be fixed though, just the more the revise it, presumably the more likely it is they'll have finally fixed it.
Nope, MIcrosoft's been claiming it's fixed every time they make a revision. They claimed it with the original model's revision, the claimed it with Zephyr, the claimed it with the new heatsync for Zephyr, etc.
[quote name='keithp']Is Jasper the one with the smaller GPU? I'm holding out until the RRoD gets definitively fixed myself.[/QUOTE]
Falcon actually has a smaller GPU too. I forget exactly, but I think it's down to 80nm process from 90, or something like that. Jasper's supposed to go down further to 65.
That doesn't mean it's going to be fixed though, just the more the revise it, presumably the more likely it is they'll have finally fixed it.
[quote name='Wolfpup']Nope, MIcrosoft's been claiming it's fixed every time they make a revision. They claimed it with the original model's revision, the claimed it with Zephyr, the claimed it with the new heatsync for Zephyr, etc.[/QUOTE]
Microsoft has never claimed anything like this. And I don't see why they ever would. The most they ever say is that they are "improving."
Microsoft has never claimed anything like this. And I don't see why they ever would. The most they ever say is that they are "improving."
Indiana
CAGiversary!
[quote name='slickkill77']Thats dumb that they have three different dvd drives. This happened to Microsoft with the xbox. They had two really crappy dives and the one good drive. Eventually they went to the one good drive and they were better off. They obviously learned nothing about the parts that need to go into a console[/QUOTE]
Unfortunately most of these parts suppliers can't keep up with providing parts for a system so the answer is to have multiple suppliers for items.
Unfortunately most of these parts suppliers can't keep up with providing parts for a system so the answer is to have multiple suppliers for items.
Wolfpup
CAGiversary!
[quote name='pete5883']Microsoft has never claimed anything like this. And I don't see why they ever would. The most they ever say is that they are "improving."[/QUOTE]
I suppose not officially, but...
At any rate the claim that Microsoft's saying Jasper is the one that's finally going to fix it isn't right, since they're not saying that directly, and they've been saying the same thing over and over and over again in regards to it.
So far my Falcon is okay *knock on wood*. Still CRAZY loud though.
I suppose not officially, but...
At any rate the claim that Microsoft's saying Jasper is the one that's finally going to fix it isn't right, since they're not saying that directly, and they've been saying the same thing over and over and over again in regards to it.
So far my Falcon is okay *knock on wood*. Still CRAZY loud though.
bread's done