The Xbox 360 holds a significant place in the hearts and minds of UK cinephiles.
Pre-dating the launch of SkyHD, it was the first mass market hi-def entertainment system to hit the streets.
Back when HD Ready TVs commanded a premium, it was an essential purchase if you wanted to get the most from your flatscreen.
Two years on, Microsoft's iconic system has had a makeover, offering a significantly bigger hard drive (120GB up from the original paltry 20GB) and an HDMI output, as opposed to component video. It's also matt black and, priced at a relatively keen £300, with an additional charge of £120 for the white HD DVD drive.
Of course, there's more than just playground bragging associated with the bigger drive. The growing success of Xbox Live immediately demands a more capacious HDD. The number of high-quality game downloads alone justifies the space, and with the European market poised to receive more HD video content, 20GB just isn't enough.
One element often seemingly forgotten is that the 360 is an excellent media extender. What's more, it doesn't need a media centre PC to do so. You can share files from any PC that's running Windows XP, however you must have sharing software installed. Typical examples include Media Player 11 and Media Connect.
Adding HDMI to the Xbox's system connectivity also brings benefits. It's much easier (and neater) for casual users to hook their console up to an HD Ready display. HDMI also brings with it 1080p clarity.
On the original 360s, the only way to squeeze out full HD was via a VGA adaptor and, for many, not a viable option. It's worth noting that HDMI is no longer exclusive to the Elite. Microsoft is now shipping HDMI-enabled Premiums as standard.
Needless to say, picture quality via HDMI is superb. Colour fidelity and pixel punch is impressive. Games such as Bioshock and Gears of War really pop. It's worth noting that the HDMI connector is v1.2, not 1.3 as on the PS3. But in the context of a games system, the difference is largely insignificant.
Using HDMI also allows the 360 to upscale standard DVDs to 1080p, which is an unsung bonus. As a DVD player, the basic 360 isn't exactly cinephile quality, and the unrelenting noise of the fan and drive make it a less than perfect choice for largescreen movie watching, but it is another box ticked in most users 'wants' lists.
Hooked up via an optical output, it does a grand job of delivering multichannel surround sound from games. As a DVD player, Dolby Digital 5.1 playback is functional. Unfortunately, as a CD player it leaves a lot to be desired - but you can rip tunes to its hard drive.
As an upgrade for existing 360 owners the Elite is seductive, but for the new buyer, however, the attractions are far more obvious.
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rubbleuk
November 4th
1. very good console i have one well i have 3 in my house and the console is good with or without xbox live you get achivements and i allways like going through them to see what i have acheived and most acheivements hve gamerscore witch will ad up as you play games and get more achievements and theres alot of content on the dashboard and compariong to other consoles i would prefer a xbox 360 to a wii or a ps3 because yes you do ave to pay for xbox live but you get so much more content on xbox live than you get on ps3 live or wii live i dont liek the wii because its more family and child games were i prefer shooters and stuff and its not like im just saying things about them and i havent owned them because i have had a wii and ps3 and i preferd the xbox 360 over all of them. and xbox live is unreal the ammount of content you get on there and its easy to get around and if you cant get somwere on the xbox theres a bit that tells you what to do and i think it makes the xbox use a million times better
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