Microsoft HD player for the Xbox 360

At $199 the recently released High Definition-DVD player for the Xbox 360 is definitely worth the money. Excluding the price of the Xbox 360 the HD player is the cheapest HD-DVD player on the market. Setup is quick and easy. In less than five minutes you can be enjoying all the HD picture clarity and digital sound this new format can deliver. The biggest surprise is the quick response of the player. Where the stand alone models of the HD system and Blueray have load times of 2 minutes and up, the Microsoft player takes no longer than any standard DVD system.

If you own a 360 and have any interest in HD movies, this is the best $200 you’ll spend. At this price, it’s worth trying out the HD format and it doesn’t really matter who wins the format war. Again, if you’re new to the HD or Blueray formats do your homework before buying the disks. There is no reason to pay $24.99 when there are places selling them for $14.99-$19.99.

The one downside for many HDTV owners is the lack of HDMI output on the 360. For true video neophytes this is a major exclusion. For the rest of us using the high definition output of the component-video adapter does the trick since 1080p HD games aren’t scheduled to hit the scene until late 2007. --Or if your HDTV has a VGA connection using a VGA adapter will give more resolution options important to power users. (If you know what I’m talking about you’ve already decided to you if it matters or not. If HDMI or DVI connections are a major selling point in your gaming console, you’ve already opted for the Playstation.)

Right now, King Kong HD and a 360 media remote is included with the player, a $40 value for those who don’t already own them.

Extra notice to users

-The only complaint and a word to the wise is to mind the brief instructions on the install disk for the HD player. Once installed it instructs how to find the onscreen menu button for starting an HD disk. May seem simple but if you miss this caveat of info you’ll be quite upset the next time you use the player. That first time you put in a disk it kicks right into the HD movie. If you try a new movie, you’ll be looking through the 360 menu screens for the play button for the HD. At least for me, it’s very well hidden. I won’t try to explain it here, but make sure you watch the directions. Simple once you know, but a real hair puller if you don’t pay attention. Even the instruction book keeps this important info well hidden.

Holiday 2006

The holiday season has officially begun. With the coming of turkey and pumpkin pie to our tables and love handles Black Friday began the first of the holiday deals. People came out in droves to check out the loss leaders from the major retailers-some buyers, many shoppers. For my electronics habit, I was out sampling the electronics deals and steals bright and early. Best Buy was a madhouse. Everywhere else was manageable. It was fun watching people drool over the latest HDTV’s and $2.99 DVD’s. Some prices were so low it’ll be hard to pay regular prices. Call of Duty 2 for $19.99 one day and then back up to $39.99 the next. Some people try to avoid the malls and stores on the day after Thanksgiving. I make it an event.

Technovations has all the latest information on Black Friday deals, their successes and failures, and what this means for the rest of the holiday buying season in consumer electronics. With quick reviews on the Xbox 360 peripheral add-on HD-DVD drive and the Yamaha YT-800 single speaker surround sound powerhouse I’ve been busy updating the sites.

I finally got a chance to see Casino Royale. (Anyone with kids knows how much of a challenge it can be to see a movie while it’s still in theaters.) Man was it good. I hate being so brazen about it being so good tending as it does to ramp up peoples expectations. There are certainly things that could’ve been better, but it is clearly the best Bond film of my generation. Well, clearly since 1978 and perhaps even since Sean Connery left the franchise. I’ll leave the rest of my opinions for the review.

In coming weeks I plan on having quite a lot of fun with holiday parties, ads, and preparing for the upcoming January vacation to Orlando. I’m sure I’ll have more to say on this and many other things as the days click by.

Quick Rant

elays of games are as common to P.C. games and the consoles as it is in the rest of the software industry. Games are routinely pushed back leaving legions of gamer fans out in the cold. Any game consumer has to figure on a couple of delays for any game they are excited about. And while this is commonplace and something, many of us know it doesn’t negate the frustration.

The bigger complaint stems from the lack of information out there. With the plethora of gaming sites and magazines information should be just as widespread. However, this is just not the case with release dates. A push back on the release of a game is one thing. When a game is scheduled to ship to stores and no one knows it hasn’t until release day is just plain criminal.

The biggest gaming websites are typically left in the dark. Retailers advertise games with low prices and when you arrive to pick up a copy, no one seems to know anything about the game. Frustrating. Shipping delays and the like should be communicated within the industry. If a game isn’t going to make it onto store shelves by a week or two, websites should do their homework to find out. And retailers should have better informed employees working their game departments.

I won’t go into the specifics but in recent weeks, I’ve had experiences at all the big box and local retail game outlets where the master list of games isn’t even close to being right, let alone the pimple faced kid at the counter who supposedly is a gaming freak.

For this site and the other columns I write I’ve tried contacting a few game companies to find out if I can offer this service to my readers. The three majors I’ve spoken with have all commented on having not had this request from any other gaming source. I have a hard time believing this, but it may go to explain why this information is so rare.

If we are supposed to be living in the Age of Information, they why are so many so ill informed. We need more substance and less fluff from those who provide our information.

Happy Birthday Xbox 360

Happy Birthday Xbox 360, Presents for everyone.

Marking the first anniversary of the Xbox 360, Xbox Live Video will make its debut on the Microsoft online service. This download service for Standard and High Definition movies and television shows is the first HD downloadable service for HD movie content in the U.S. This update allows users to pay for downloaded movies and television shows with their Microsoft points.

The debut offering will include more than 800 hours of SD and 200 hours of HDTV programming from CBS, MTV, Comedy Central, VH1, Turner, and UFC, as well as movies from Warner Bros., Paramount, and a number of others. For an initial launch, there is a good assortment of movies and television shows. The HD movie content is a little on the light side but over coming weeks and months there should be a decent selection.

In an effort to compete with iTunes, Tivo and Netflix services, Microsoft is using a rental model for movies while TV shows are for purchase. While the pricing seems reasonable, costing between 170-400 credits per download, the 600 MB-5 GB range of downloads highlights the space constraints of the 20 GB hard drive of the 360. If successful this video campaign will put more pressure on the 360 team to release a high capacity hard drive or allow downloads to be transferred to external drives.

Panda Porn

Just for the fun of it.

This really doesn’t have anything to do with technology but it does provide scientific support for porn. Yes, you heard right. Panda porn is all the rage in China. Not from the internet but in zoos as reproduction experts have found a way to increase successful panda mating. A significant increase according to experts as this year they hit a high water mark for births, 28 this year compared to 12 last year and only 9 in 2000. Panda porn has given pandas the extra needed push in the libido department as males watch, and more importantly, listen to tapes of other panda’s having sex.

Keep your hands to yourself

Looking to shock your latest mugger or just a persistent groping boyfriend the no-contact jacket is the latest in personal protection. Upon activation by the wearer 80,000 volts of low amp electric current is unleashed on the unsuspecting assailant. Having the same effect philological effect as a taser and stun gun technologies. Designed to protect as well as provide women with the means to protect themselves and cast off the shackles of being powerless victims to crime.

Chair fart filter

This one is just plain weird. Either that or else it’s so revolutionary it’s ahead of it’s time. Forget Beano. If passing gas at your desk is a serious problem then this is the product for you. Using activated charcoal to absorb the odor from breaking wind. Of course, it won’t muzzle the Mt. Vesuvius explosions coming from your backside. At least when the social police appear on the scene you’ll pass olfactory investigation and they’ll move on to your co-workers.

If you’re interested in all things fart related check out http://www.farts.com/ or for a good F.A.Q. answering all your gas related questions, including some you’d never think to ask out loud go to http://www.heptune.com/farts.html

Technovations

Wii and Playstation 3 launch

With the launch of the Wii and Playstation 3 this last week the next-gen console wars have officially begun. Outside gamer circles, the Nintendo and Sony platforms have garnered a lot of mainstream press with their cultural event launches.

Sony for the less than successful rollout of the Playstation 3 aiding in some very frustrated consumers and retailers. From riots to robberies, anyone standing in line for their chance to own the first batch of Playstation 3’s risked not only wasted time and money but also a chance to spend the night in the ER or a police station. Sony made Microsoft’s less then stellar worldwide release of the Xbox 360 look tame in comparison.

Nintendo surprised many with the lack of problems facing the Wii launch. Most people looking to get their hands on the Wii were able to and without mobs or threats of violence. And they paid a lot less, try $249 versus then their $599 Sony counterparts.

While Nintendo’s strategy with their next-generation machine is not to compete but rather offer the gaming public something different, a good player experience. Instead of putting all their eggs in one basket with new High Definition technologies, Nintendo hopes to entice more casual gamers into the market with easy to use, fun to play games. A refreshing difference compared to the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 machines that initially only offered games with amazing graphics but little else. A problem 360 developers have overcome in the last year since its launch. Now, the world will have to sit back and wait to see what Sony releases as game developers work out the kinks of working on the Cell based system.

I’m not about to bet on a sure fire winner in this contest. This is only the beginning of what we are going to see from each of these companies. What makes this interesting is how the public is going to respond to the games released in coming months and years. For complacent Sony who once concretely owned the top video console slot the competition Microsoft is giving them can only be good for the consumer. Let’s hope they push for a better standard with their Playstation 3 games then with Playstation 2.