xbox live dashboard update tomorrow 6-06

Mr.Answer

Mr.Answer

CAGiversary!
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.
About Xbox and Xbox 360
Microsoft revolutionized the gaming industry with the November 2001 launch of Xbox® (www.xbox.com), 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) 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. __________________
 
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
 
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 :)
 
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 active
SYSTEM 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 films
Music 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 content
Localization 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 keyboard
Memory 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 usability
Miscellaneous 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
 
: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:
 
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:
 
[quote name='$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:[/quote]


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.)
 
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.
 
It's too bad Microsoft didn't add upconverting DVDs to this update. I would think the 360 is powerful enough to upconvert.
 
[quote name='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.[/QUOTE]

I know I'm waiting...I hope it isn't automatic...
 
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.
 
[quote name='valor19']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.[/QUOTE]


Ehh.. most of this stuff should have been included from the get-go. They need to update the XBLA, and backwards compatiblity list.
 
[quote name='Chris in Cali']Ehh.. most of this stuff should have been included from the get-go.[/quote]: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.[quote name='Chris in Cali']They need to update the XBLA, and backwards compatiblity list.[/quote]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:
 
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.
 
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...
 
Better support for Xbox 360 game disc recognition
Click to expand...

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...
 
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.
 
ahhhhh my game saves are gone!

just kidding.

i like the new marketplace browser...too bad there's nothing NEW to browse >_
 
[quote name='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...[/QUOTE]
you can do that when watching a dvd, with the remote that came with the premium system
 
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)
Click to expand...
 
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.cheapassgamer.com/forums/
Click to expand...
http://www.xboxic.com/news/1014
 
Personal gamer pictures allowed as Gamertiles – displayed only to those on your Friends List
Click to expand...
I thought this meant that you could use your own picture as your icon for people in your friendslist? How do you do that?
 
[quote name='dafoomie']I thought this meant that you could use your own picture as your icon for people in your friendslist? How do you do that?[/QUOTE]
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.
 
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)
 
[quote name='zewone']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.[/quote]

thats fucking lame if so
 
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.
 
[quote name='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.[/QUOTE]
I don't think anything has changed regarding that.
 
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.
 
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