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Forums - Microsoft - First Impression - 360 with Kinect

dahuman on 28 April 2011
d21lewis said:

One thing that's strange (reading the "media center" part--I'm reading the OP for the third time!) is that you can't get home videos to play on the 360.  Oddly enough, I can't get them to play on the PS3.  With a 500 GB HDD, 3 Flash drives, a Droid, and now, a friggin PC connected to the same TV as the consoles (a gift from God!) it's shocking how certain videos will play on one device and not the other.  I have no idea why that is!  Some movies only work on the PS3--some only work on the 360.  Everything works on the PC, though.


They don't natively support everything, use PS3 Media Server and tweak it to your liking, should play everything no matter what device it is since you can control the bitrate and resolution for different devices with config files. works with different TVs, Android devices, and consoles etc.



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Hapimeses on 28 April 2011
mrstickball said:

I can't believe you suggested the PS3 over the 360 for a person without either for games.

Of course, since you've only owned a 360 for all of but a few minutes, I guess I should expect that. For a person that's owned the system since November 2005, I can tell you there are plenty of excellent exclusives to want to buy the system for. Far more than the PS3, IMO.

Obviously, different people prefer different games. I did only say 'probably' recommend the PS3, as I figured the exclusives on 360 would appeal more than the PS3 exclusives to some people. That aside, I disgarded the exclusives list of both consoles as a deciding factor in my recommendation as they both had a good selection. The real reason I chose PS3 over 360 was the greater array of other features the console has for free.

Still, those extras -- free online, free music, better multi-media apps, blu-ray , etc -- won't appeal to everyone, hence my 'probably'. It was a generalised recommendation, after all.

Not that I'm really that bothered what anyone else buys. the recommendations are just my observations from what I've used of each, and unlikely to sway anyone here or eslewhere, and probably wrong on several accounts as I've just started out with the 360. :D



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Hapimeses on 28 April 2011
welshbloke said:

I enjoyed your post and your font. I think I would probably write something along similar lines but upholding the 360. I guess this is the horses for courses thing. I can honestly say I have no desire to purchase any first person game that has been announced for the PS3 which I find odd myself so understand if you do too. I also have a PC although I do not spend much time and effort upgrading it so would strike a balance but the bulk of my FPS actually get played on the PC and not the 360. I do however enjoy a raft of XBLA (Toy Soldiers and Kingdom of Keflinks are interesting games if for different types of people) games and Kinect games as well some classics

As you have potentially 3 gold accounts I can thoroughly recommend the family gold membership which I think is an absolute steal plus sign up to the rewards scheme and get some of that funny money credited back.

 

We're only having one old account, and my wife was dead set against even that. I was kinda lucky she didn't castrate me when she found I bent to some peer pressure and subscribed for a year to try it out.

Ooops!

As for exclusives, I've long wanted to try many of the 360's exclusives for a while, and now I can, so that's great. Equally, I really like many of Sony's exclusives. I admittantly find it hard to see how no PS3 exclusive game attracts you at all, but, as you say, 'horses for courses'. :D



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Hapimeses on 28 April 2011
Reasonable said:
Hapimeses said:

Anyone have any comments?

Also, ignore the font, it's a relic from cutting and pasting from Word.


Yup.  That's just what I felt for similar reasons I guess.  Unless it's the fact I'm also Scottish.  But I figure being a PC/PS3 owner for longer before getting a 360 is more likely.

Now I've had my 360 a while I'll say you do get used to most things that seem off initially.

Today my only real peeves are:

1 - batteries in the controller.  Unecessary waste of money compared to re-charging via the console as with the PS3.  Also the battery case on the underside is a pain.  I do prefer the triggers but the bumpers are too small and I find it's too designed for shooters vs other genres.  But overall it's a good controller, just with a few weak points - much the same as Dualshock, which is also a good controller with a few weak points.  Also, to be fair, I dislike the Wii controller's use of batteries as well.  Once I got used to Dualshock with in-built battery that re-charges that for me was the bar to beat, which the 360 and Wii controller don't reach.

2 - Paying for Live.  Really thought that's after years on PC/Steam.  I do think the service is better than PSN, and it is pretty cheap.  But after years on PC before any consoles it remains a peeve.

3 - non-standard hard drive.  Again, this is more due to years with PC and the fact the PS3 just uses a standard hard drive, but I do dislike knowing MS have taken the route of making me pay more for the same thing to get something proprietary.

 

I never quite grew to like the dash but, like your friend and perhaps most 360 users I never use it, I skip immediately to the smaller, neat little navigation console instead.

Other than those peeves I now use my 360 as easily as my PS3 or Wii and am very happy with it.

Now if the next Xbox can ditch the batteries and use a standard hard drive I'll be very happy with it.  I'll allow 'em Live as it is cheap and it is good.

That all sounds... (wait for it) reasonable. I'm sure many of my peeves will erode as time passes, much as your did. And I'd forgotten about the whole proprietary HDD thing, primarily as my 360 came with a 250Gb example. It does suck, doesn't it. Hopefully it will never be much of an issue for me.



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Tomatko on 28 April 2011

Hi there :) This is what i was awaiting :)

Ok.. so now, to your points :)

Games - yes, try Halo Reach or Fable III or the new Gears.. seems to be great :)

DashBoard - well, i like it..it need a time to get used to it, but then, you will find everything really quickly :)

XBLA - as i have mentrioned before - you will like it :) Yes.. tons of great games :) there are more that you will enjoy. Endless party :)

Shadow complex is not for everyone, also Alan Wake.. i enjoyed those games really much :) Have you enjoyed Heavy Rain ? Yes, and Trials - hell damn goood game but hard as a hell :D Doritos is a great game :D for party :D

Controller - well, i own Dreamcast (it has the same layout :) I prefer much more the x360 controller then PS3 - especially the "bumpers" which i was missing on PS3 gamepad for GT :)

On-Line - no doubt :) Oh.. yes.. the gold - i'm fine with it :) for the 50% sales for arcade, great multiplayer, betas :)

All in all - i'm really happy, that you don't regret what have you bought :) hope to see more kinect stuff during E3 :)  And.. just envy you..:) now, you can just enjoy every game :)



The more I read the "console flamewars", the more i love my dreamcast :D

Proud owner of: Dreamcast, PSP, PSOne, PS2Slim, Xbox, Xbox360, Nintendo DSLite, GB color, GB Advanced, Nintendo Wii

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Hapimeses on 28 April 2011
kowenicki said:

hmm... long read and quite detailed.

You seem to start from a point of wanting to hate it and dont really move much from that...

I of course think you are wrong... but thats my opinion and you have yours.  But I do hae to say that there is so much that you have said that is at odds with general thinking.

and what serious gamer uses batteries...? get some rechargable packs for the best controller of this gen instead.

I'm really not sure what you're expecting. Should I universally praise everything even if I didn't like them? Am I not allowed to have a preference different to yours? I liked some aspects of the 360, but not all. Is that astounding? Further, I don't think I wanted to hate it; hell, I like the machine and said so several times, I just don't like every aspect of it. I feel exactly the same way about the PS3, by the way. I feel it's flawed in many ways as well.

As for not being a serious gamer because I don't have any form of rechargable packs. Sorry about that, I'm clearly not serious enough for you. And it being the best controller is entirely subjective. It certainly isn't for my wife. I like it fine enough, though.



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Hapimeses on 28 April 2011
d21lewis said:

It was a good read.  I was soorta expecting a "Holy shit, this is the most awesome gaming device, ever!" type review.  I guess the way you feel about the 360 is the way I feel about the PS3--it's a good console to own with a few unique features but not quite enough to overthrow my first HD console.  Personally, I LOVE the 360.  Also, a few of the things that you griped about can be rectified in the options screens of the games (like people joining you, uninvited).  Just putting that out there......

Sorting those options sounds like a good idea to me. My first impressions are just that, though: first impressions. Often they are the wrong impressions, I freely admit it. :D

But, yes, I think you have a point that the first of the two HD consoles you buy is very likely to be your favourite almost by default. After all, the first one isn't being compared to anything, when the second one is being directly compared to what you have already. So the flaws of the first are kinda missed, but the flaws of the second are starkly obvious. Just the nature of the situation, I suppose.

d21lewis said:

I had a 360 for about a year before I got a PS3.  My heart is with the 360.  Ypu had a PS3 foor a while before you got the 360.  Your heart is with the PS3.  I guess the truth (and arguably, the problem) is that the two have so much in common that whichever one you play first is the one you end up falling in love with.  The second will just feel like a "me too!" console.

Yup, excatly my thoughts as well. The 360 has surprisingly little new to offer me, so kinda comes off second best. If it had been the other way around, then I'd probably think just like you. That said, I also have some pretty negative opinions of the PS3. Doesn't stop me enjoying either machine for what it is, though.

:D

d21lewis said:

Anyway, I enjoyed the read.  I respect your opinions.  Hope to see you expand on this thread in the weeks and months that follow.  You approached this console with an open mind and for that, my respect for you has grown from Saiyan to Super Saiyan!

Yeah, I think coming back to this around Christmas time would be a very good idea. Perhaps Kinect will have come into it's own by then, for example. Perhaps I'll get used to the Dash? Perhaps I'll come to adore Live's service? Who knows? I always keep an open mind about these things, and I'm certainly not a slave to my PC or PS3.

Anyway, glad you enjoyed the read. I tried to be as fair and as full as possible when writing it.



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ArnoldRimmer on 28 April 2011
d21lewis said:

I had a 360 for about a year before I got a PS3.  My heart is with the 360.  Ypu had a PS3 foor a while before you got the 360.  Your heart is with the PS3.  I guess the truth (and arguably, the problem) is that the two have so much in common that whichever one you play first is the one you end up falling in love with.  The second will just feel like a "me too!" console.

I have to disagree. I bought my PS3 18 months after my 360, yet I consider my PS3 to be superior in pretty much every respect. I actually did not even realize many of the 360's disadvantages until I got my PS3 and had a comparison. (I have to admit though that severall issues have meanwhile been fixed with the release of the 360s (being loud and ugly as hell, missing WiFi etc.).

On the actual review:

Good work! It was interesting to see just how close your experiences/opinions are to mine. The only notable difference was your impression of the 360 controller: Although all in all I too prefer the PS3 Dualshock controller (because of motion sensor, lower weight, builtin batteries, Bluetooth, charging and using via USB, better D-Pad etc.), I actually love the 360 controller's large handles.



Hapimeses on 28 April 2011
d21lewis said:

One thing that's strange (reading the "media center" part--I'm reading the OP for the third time!) is that you can't get home videos to play on the 360.  Oddly enough, I can't get them to play on the PS3.  With a 500 GB HDD, 3 Flash drives, a Droid, and now, a friggin PC connected to the same TV as the consoles (a gift from God!) it's shocking how certain videos will play on one device and not the other.  I have no idea why that is!  Some movies only work on the PS3--some only work on the 360.  Everything works on the PC, though.

Crazy, isn't it. The TV isn't what it used to be! And it seems I've been pretty lucky with the PS3. Everything I have plays on it without an issue (not that I have all that much, mind -- mostly home videos). I'd look into it if I could be bothered, but, alas, I am very lazy with such things. ;)

EDIT: Wait? What? Three times? Is that a good thing or a bad thing?



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Hapimeses on 28 April 2011
dahuman said:

A few things:

Use PS3 Media Server as a DLNA streaming option and it does have a 360 profile for it so it you have a decent computer, it'd just convert the video and audio on the fly to a format that your 360 can handle and will play everything, the software also has the best subtitle support I've seen so far for conversions when it comes to MKV files.

That sounds like a hassle to me. Is it as much of a pain as it reads? What do I have to download, and where do I get it from? Am I a noob? Yes I am.

:D

dahuman said:

Get rechargable batteries, they are both more cost effective and more eco friendly.

If the DVD is giving you that much trouble, don't stand it up, lay it down.

I'll get there with the batteries. As for the sacratching: I wasn't referring to worrying about the 360 doing the scratching, it was the kids I was concerned about!

:D

dahuman said:

The 360 doesn't have as many exclusives on par with PS3 ones when it comes to core gaming, but it still has some that's worth your time if you've never had the 360 before, just do some research on the SP ones if you don't want to pay for Gold, even if you don't pay for Gold, your wife and her Dance Central is enough to keep the 360 around the house just like I gave my Mom a Wii with Wii Fit Plus and that's all she does. You just gotta hunt down the ones that might interest you.

Don't worry, I'm already working on that hunt. I have 10 disk games already. More will come as I find them on the cheap and I complete what I have.

Oh, and I have a Gold account already.

dahuman said:

I would recommend a Wii but with the new Nintendo piece coming out next year, it's gonna be backwards compatible to 2 gens back so I can't really say buy a Wii right now lol.....

We had a Wii for a year. It didn't agree with us in many different ways. The 360 is leaps and bounds above the Wii in terms of suiting our tastes and needs.



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