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Forums - Microsoft - Xbox 360 to allow you to DL and play ALL Xbox 360 games from Hard Drive!

Bitmap Frogs on 17 July 2008
greenmedic88 said:
You don't have a 60GB drive. I don't have one. None of the current 360 user base that bought a 360 Pro has one either.

That's well over 50% of the overall user base.

So you're proposing that all these users who saw the HDD as a necessary option are going to buy a $99 60GB drive or a $180 120GB drive?

Reality check please.

Two, a full disc image install will most likely take longer than "just 15 minutes" to copy, seeing as how it typically takes longer than that on a PC to install a game published on DVD.

 

It's a different process. PC games are made to be played from the HD so disc data is usually compressed and part of the installation time is spent decompressing the files.





Current-gen game collection uploaded on the profile, full of win and good games; also most of my PC games. Lucasfilm Games/LucasArts 1982-2008 (Requiescat In Pace).

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scat398 on 17 July 2008

For me this is a great option to have. I can put Mass effect or Oblivion on the hard drive to reduce loading times or popins, and keep Cod4 running off the DVD.

And if I do get 60GB or 120GB then I can put more stuff on. Seems to be a well thought out improvement, I can't really see why this option could be considered a negative.



greenmedic88 on 17 July 2008

It's an option; there is no negative in adding functionality, particularly if it noticeably enhances playback performance.

But all 360 games have been coded to run off DVD. That means all load times, streaming schemes, etc. are based upon DVD read times, not HDD times. They aren't optimized to run off HDD since that was against the former MS policy.

While it should assist with streaming textures greatly, which should theoretically eliminate texture pop ins, load times will still be pretty far from lightning quick. It would be about the difference between the load times for a game like DMC4 on the PS3 and DMC4 on the 360.

As soon as this is up and running, I plan on installing Mass Effect since the load times in that game are frequent and long enough to be a distraction. If I don't notice a significant difference (I still notice the lengthy elevator rides), I'm going to say it has minimal benefit on existing games and hope that in the future, developers will provide coding to optimize performance via HDD installs, same as the PS3.

I'll see for myself if it takes "15 minutes."

I already know how long it takes to copy 8GB of data off of a DVD from a faster 16x DVD drive to a faster 7200RPM HDD, so I'm only humoring the overly optimistic. It's over 20 minutes for an 8GB disc image, straight video file copy, no install.



greenmedic88 on 17 July 2008

It's an option; there is no negative in adding functionality, particularly if it noticeably enhances playback performance.

But all 360 games have been coded to run off DVD. That means all load times, streaming schemes, etc. are based upon DVD read times, not HDD times. They aren't optimized to run off HDD since that was against the former MS policy.

While it should assist with streaming textures greatly, which should theoretically eliminate texture pop ins, load times will still be pretty far from lightning quick. It would be about the difference between the load times for a game like DMC4 on the PS3 and DMC4 on the 360.

As soon as this is up and running, I plan on installing Mass Effect since the load times in that game are frequent and long enough to be a distraction. If I don't notice a significant difference (I still notice the lengthy elevator rides), I'm going to say it has minimal benefit on existing games and hope that in the future, developers will provide coding to optimize performance via HDD installs, same as the PS3.

I'll see for myself if it takes "15 minutes."

I already know how long it takes to copy 8GB of data off of a DVD from a faster 16x DVD drive to a faster 7200RPM HDD, so I'm only humoring the overly optimistic. It's over 20 minutes for an 8GB disc image, straight video file copy, no install.



Burgles on 10 August 2008
greenmedic88 said:
It's an option; there is no negative in adding functionality, particularly if it noticeably enhances playback performance.

But all 360 games have been coded to run off DVD. That means all load times, streaming schemes, etc. are based upon DVD read times, not HDD times. They aren't optimized to run off HDD since that was against the former MS policy.

While it should assist with streaming textures greatly, which should theoretically eliminate texture pop ins, load times will still be pretty far from lightning quick. It would be about the difference between the load times for a game like DMC4 on the PS3 and DMC4 on the 360.

As soon as this is up and running, I plan on installing Mass Effect since the load times in that game are frequent and long enough to be a distraction. If I don't notice a significant difference (I still notice the lengthy elevator rides), I'm going to say it has minimal benefit on existing games and hope that in the future, developers will provide coding to optimize performance via HDD installs, same as the PS3.

I'll see for myself if it takes "15 minutes."

I already know how long it takes to copy 8GB of data off of a DVD from a faster 16x DVD drive to a faster 7200RPM HDD, so I'm only humoring the overly optimistic. It's over 20 minutes for an 8GB disc image, straight video file copy, no install.

 

Wrong!!!!

 

A 16x drive reading at full speed takes about 8 mins.

I think you are confused, there are hardly any 16x drives that can read DVD-Video at full speed. Nearly all drives have a "riplock" on them that limits their DVD reading speed to 5x-6x.

(Which would give you about 20 mins or thereabouts)

 

 

On an Xbox 360 disc, the actual space resevered for game data is 6.8GB.

 

Even if the disc were to be completely filled, an installation would never take longer than around 8 minutes taking into account the 12x max read speed of the 360 drives. The low RPM of the Xbox 360 SATA drive is a non-issue, its read\write speed is more than high enough to satisfy any DVD drive on the market.

(a 16x dvd drives top speed is 22mb per second, this is very very slow and even the 360s hard drive is capable of FAR higher read\write speed)

 

 

Edit - I'm only humouring the mis informed and over opinionated )



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reask on 10 August 2008

This sounds good.
Will the netflix service be going up in the fall?



 

 

 

 

SmokedHostage on 10 August 2008

Pirates are going to love this.



Pixel Art can be fun.

Barozi on 10 August 2008
superchunk said:
So basically making the 360 play exactly like PC games. You will have the option to play like regular console (Which I prefer) or download and install the game on your HDD to play like a pc.

meh.

I prefer to grab the game, insert disc, and play. Wii load times are very quick.

Nobody forces you to install the game on the HDD. That's the big difference between the 360 and the PS3.

If you don't want to install. No problem, just insert the disc and the loading times of the most games are quick.



Barozi on 10 August 2008
mrstickball said:
Million - It kills the need for disc swapping because you only need the disc in there to prove that you own the game, nothing more.

The advantages of installing the game on your HDD:

1) No disc scratching
2) Longer X360 Lifespan (less heat production due to DVD not being used)
3) Faster Load Times
4) No Disc Swapping

The DRM is already there on-disc, which is why it'll be compatible with all current Xbox 360 games. There is copy protection already embedded into the discs and data. It will use the same form of copy protection to prove that you didn't just download the game and trade off the disc as they do now to ensure you didn't just flash the DVD info to a blank DVD.

Hey you forgot something:

5) less noise



sieanr on 10 August 2008
SmokedHostage said:
Pirates are going to love this.

Hey look, its someone who hasn't read anything in this thread



Leo-j said: If a dvd for a pc game holds what? Crysis at 3000p or something, why in the world cant a blu-ray disc do the same?

ssj12 said: Player specific decoders are nothing more than specialized GPUs. Gran Turismo is the trust driving simulator of them all. 

"Why do they call it the xbox 360? Because when you see it, you'll turn 360 degrees and walk away"