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- babybern, on 09/11/2008, -2/+861. Connect your Xbox 360 to two screens at once
If you've got one of the component/composite dual video cables - the one that comes in the box with most 360s - you can have your console display its gamey goodness on two TVs simultaneously. The trick is to flick the cable's switch to Standard Definition but hook up the composite (yellow) cable to one screen and the component (the red, green, blue) cables to another. It won't be high-def, but it could be handy if you're staging a mini LAN party and want to set up a display for bored spectators to point their eyes at.
2. Play your own music in original Xbox games
That you can fire up your own MP3s during a 360 game is common knowledge (and re-soundtracking moody horror games with the Benny Hill theme tune never stops being funny), but it doesn't work if you're playing a title from the original Xbox. There's a way around it - start playing your album or playlist before you load the game, and it'll keep on playing once you do fire the title up. The game's own music won't be muted, however, so if you can't do that in its settings you'll go mad from the weird cacophony.
3. It can write its own blog
Ah, the internet - founded upon crazy men making crazy things for free. Such as a blog supposedly written by your 360, based on what you've been using it for. It monitors your Live account and automatically generates entries about what it's been up to that day (or what it hasn't been up to - expect many posts about neglect if you don't turn it on for a while). The tone is very much American geek, but it's a fun record of your own gaming habits, and of keeping an eye on what your chums are up to. Get set up at www.360voice.com.
4. Play Xbox 360 games online for free - without a Live account
That you have to pay a subscription for online gaming, something that's free on other consoles and on the PC, is perhaps the 360's greatest bugbear. Stage your own form of peaceful process by playing online without paying a penny. You'll need XLink Kai, a free app you run from a PC on the same network as the console that tricks the 360 into thinking the internet is a LAN. So it'll treat remote opponents as though they're in the same room as you - and you don't have to pay for local multiplayer. Clever! One snag - Microsoft have set the 360 to boot out anyone with a ping higher than 30ms, so you'll have to be selective about who you play with. Local chums are best, not your Chinese penpal.
5. Interact with your Xbox 360 music
Hit X whilst playing a music CD or file (whether from the 360's hard drive, an MP3 player you've plugged in, or streamed from a PC) and you'll enter Psychedelic Wonderland. Well, some artful visualisations, anyway. Grab a controller or two (or up to four, as it happens) and start moving thumbpads and pressing buttons to interact with the crazed shifting colours. There are actually some fairly elaborate controls - read the full manual at http://www.llamasoft.co.uk/x360manual.php. Good at parties, this.
6. Connect your Xbox 360 to a wireless network without an official adaptor
The good news is you don't have to drop £50 on Microsoft's offensively overpriced Wi-Fi adaptor. The bad news is you'll need a laptop with wifi to do it. Head to Control Panel - Network Connections (In Windows XP) or Network & Sharing Center - Manage Network Connections (in Vista). Select the Local Area Connection and the Wireless Network Connection at once, then right-click and hit 'bridge connections'. Disconnect then reconnect to your wireless network, run a network cable from the laptop's Ethernet port to the 360's, and you should be good to go. Unfortunately, you may have to remove the bridge (repeat the above process and you'll see the option) whenever you want to browse the net with the laptop.
7. Play music from your iPod
Not a secret as such, but Microsoft doesn't exactly shout about the fact it plays nice with a device made by uber-rival Apple. Hidden in the depths of the Marketplace, you'll find a teeny download called 'optional iPod support'. Once you've grabbed that, plug in your iPod (iPhones aren't supported yet, sadly) and head to the Media Blade. You'll see your pod appear there, and can now browse its music by album, artist, genre or whatever. It'll also charge via the USB port, usefully.
8. Reset your Xbox 360 video settings
Remember this one if you're in the habit of carrying your console to chum's houses and hooking it up to different displays. It can end up trying to output the wrong signal, so you can't see anything or get a flickering screen. Fortunately there's a fairly simple fix if this happens. Remove any discs from the tray and turn the thing off. Then turn it on using a gamepad. As it boots hold down the Y button, then hit and hold the right trigger. The video settings will reset to default, and you'll stop your sobbing.
9. Play any media file, plus online videos on your Xbox 360
Free app Tversity neatly sidesteps the pointless video/audio restrictions Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo alike slap on their consoles, making them able to play any format. Again, you'll need a PC on the same network, but it's a simple matter of installing the program and having it scan the folders you keep your media in. It'll replace the standard network file-sharing system Windows uses, but behaves pretty much the same way at the 360's end. As well as that, it'll convert unsupported files on the fly - though you'll need a pretty beefy PC to do this with large video files, otherwise you'll be waiting ages. You can also add online video URLs on the PC's end - including Youtube - and then access those from the console.
10. Use any HDMI cable and still get digital surround sound
Though the newer 360s have an HDMI output for optimal video quality, they've built the ports in such a way that you can't have the standard component/composite video cable, with its crucial optical audio output, plugged in at the same time as HDMI. Instead, you're supposed to drop a frightening amount of money on the official HDMI cable with audio adapter. Balls to that. See the big plastic box at the end of the standard video cable that connects to the console? Wedge a knife or screwdriver into the join and twist to pop it off. The result looks messy, but is small enough to plug in alongside a standard, cheapo HDMI cable. - lukegravitt, on 09/11/2008, -1/+70jkahrs595, it's a slow day... the top article is a ***** cat playing with a printer...
- ginestony, on 09/11/2008, -1/+30MIRROR:
http://74.125.45.104/search?q=cache:jWH_t3JgIeoJ:w ... - Endemoniada, on 09/11/2008, -3/+30Some useful tips, and at least I hadn't heard of them before. I don't think I really want to know what my 360 would blog about me, though...
- heyitsjohn, on 09/11/2008, -6/+26If you turned 360 degrees, you'd be facing the xbox still. You'd have to turn 180 to walk away
- McSploogins, on 09/11/2008, -2/+21I did the HDMI thing awhile back and was to shocked to say it works amazingly well. So now I have HDMI and optical audio. woot!
- inactive, on 09/11/2008, -3/+20wooo!...easy there, ps3 Fanboy!!
- petard, on 09/11/2008, -2/+18Please do everyone a favor and do not play online if you have dial up.
- Falldog, on 09/11/2008, -6/+21"Play music from your iPod"
*****, that's new to me. Nifty ass feature too. - RudeTurnip, on 09/11/2008, -0/+15Pro-tip: You can set your Xbox 360 to automatically shut down after 6 hours of inactivity. This comes in handy if you tend to drink too much and pass out while playing Halo 3 co-op. So I hear.
- quandrum, on 09/11/2008, -0/+15ummm... download last springs dashboard update?
I've play AVI's on my 360 nearly every day since then - thh204, on 09/11/2008, -2/+17Your hack is only known as fraud and could definitely go to jail if they find out.
- kinseyincanada, on 09/11/2008, -0/+14dugg for a list with something i actually didnt know about before, the cool dual screen trick.
- MuffinFlavored, on 09/11/2008, -1/+14502 tricks a good gateway didn't tell you.
- IllBeBack, on 09/11/2008, -0/+9My XBox360 has HDMI. I have it hooked up to my Denon AVR with HDMI inputs and it totally ***** rocks.
No need for optical audio out. - ghrayfahx, on 09/11/2008, -0/+8When I bought my Elite it came with the little dongle adapter that gives me audio out for when using my HDMI. Never had a need to cut open anything.
- kalvinb, on 09/11/2008, -0/+8It'll be nice when game systems come with dual video out so you can hook two tvs up to play multiplayer games.
Split screen isn't pleasant. - bladzalot, on 09/11/2008, -2/+10Mirror? Site is down...
- TripKore, on 09/11/2008, -2/+10502 Bad Gateway
- inactive, on 09/11/2008, -1/+8The main problem is retarded games that SPLIT the screen the wrong ***** way, and don't let you change it.
A wide screen TV should be split vertically, but games insist on splitting horizontally giving both players ultra skinny screens to play on. - alihaq717, on 09/11/2008, -1/+8the walmart trick you stated doesnt work anymore. my friend bought a 360 and when it broke he tried the trick but they checked the serial number on the back of the xbox.
btw- its not microsofts support that makes it a good console, its the abundance of good games that does the trick - CobaltBlue, on 09/11/2008, -0/+7It's always refreshing to have a mirror that's not a picture of a mirror.
- deezp1, on 09/12/2008, -0/+7yeah, your comment was
- thebza451, on 09/11/2008, -0/+6bzzt wrong!
- 1807, on 09/11/2008, -3/+9The way I heard it, the Xbox just wanted to one up the PS3 so instead of calling it the Xbox 2 (obviously there was already a playstation 2), they called it the xbox 360 because 360 is a bigger number than 3. IGN says:
"In generating a name for the system, the team threw out Xbox 2. "We're shifting the power of the gaming systems from technology to hardware to the gamer being the center of the industry, and Xbox 2 just sounds like it fits into that old scheme. We threw it out."
After numerous attempts, the team favorite became Xbox 360 because, among other reasons, it puts gamers at the center of the circle." - Thepack1138, on 09/11/2008, -4/+10http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:jWH_t3JgIeoJ: ...
- PleaseJustDie, on 09/11/2008, -0/+6It just shows that some people on digg spend more time on digg or have been on digg longer than others...
The joke comes from something submitted to digg a long time ago...
might have been this...
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=200801 ... - videodroner, on 09/11/2008, -2/+7One child left behind.
- fcrow, on 09/11/2008, -0/+5in short:
1. Connect your Xbox 360 to two screens at once
2. Play your own music in original Xbox games
3. It can write its own blog
4. Play Xbox 360 games online for free - without a Live account
5. Interact with your Xbox 360 music
6. Connect your Xbox 360 to a wireless network without an official adaptor
7. Play music from your iPod
8. Reset your Xbox 360 video settings
9. Play any media file, plus online videos on your Xbox 360
10. Use any HDMI cable and still get digital surround sound - Aldanga, on 09/11/2008, -0/+5I play AVIs with a codec download...
- Carv, on 09/11/2008, -3/+8http://64.233.169.104/search?q=cache:jWH_t3JgIeoJ: ...
Mirror. - codywalton, on 09/11/2008, -1/+6Bad Gateway! Bad. No treat for you.
- sig331, on 09/11/2008, -0/+5Dugg for "balls to that".
- Davers, on 09/11/2008, -0/+4HDMI can carry either a bitstream audio format, which is digital, like Dolby or DTS, OR it can carry up to 8 channels of ANALOG audio. If the 360 detects an HDMI cable, it sends the audio in 5.1 channels analog, so that your receiver doesn't have to do the work of decoding the digital bitstream into analog channels.
In some cases, though, people would rather have the digital format. For example, I have my 360's HDMI cable connected to my TV, and my TV connected to my audio receiver with a digital coaxial cable. If the HDMI cable carries a digital bitsteam format, the TV carries it over to the receiver - but if the HDMI cable carries 5.1 channels analog, it gets "downgraded" to 2 channel analog because a digital coax connection can only handle 2 channels analog. - abrasion, on 09/11/2008, -0/+4TVersity may help the Xbox 360 play more media files back but both the 360 and the PS3 are a disgrace for media playback compared to Xbox Media Centre for the XB1 :(
MKV's, Subtitles, re-sizing / zooming the picture, playing simply and easily over samba (windows network)
I do do very much wish TVersity was better and the alternatives but they aren't - not even close to XBMC, it's a real shame because it means my XB1 continues to dominate my loungeroom for media playback.
Oh hell it even plays ripped DVD's from the hard disk over lan, the .IFO / TS files, etc.
P.S TVersity's interface looks like absoloute balls! what were they thinking? - TripKore, on 09/11/2008, -0/+3That's easy, Plug external HD, Flash drive into USB port. XBOX Dashboard auto downloads codec's. Or stream wirelesslly.
- dreamweaver1984, on 09/11/2008, -1/+4dugg for 360voice.com
- inactive, on 09/11/2008, -1/+4@ Illbeback
I think the turn 360 degree bit is an old internet joke, thus the digging up and down - PunkRampant, on 09/11/2008, -0/+3Beware with Tip #2 ... I did this while playing Halo 2 and the game froze up on me.
- insomniac8400, on 09/11/2008, -0/+3Just cut out a piece of the bottom of the plastic just wide enough to fit an hdmi cable and put the connector back on. This can be done with an utility knife. It's just annoying making the first cut into it and if your not careful you can cut a huge gash in your finger. On second thought, use a dremel.
- masterkenobi, on 09/11/2008, -1/+4Definitely a great list, I didn't know about XLink Kai. I knew that my Zune docks nicely with my Xbox360, but the fact that Ipods can too won't exactly shut out the Apple fanbase.
- heyitsjohn, on 09/11/2008, -0/+3As long as you have your 360 connected to your computer, you can just access the avi files right from your xbox. You have to download the dashboard update released a few months ago, xbox supports avi formats now, no need to convert.
- MCA2142, on 09/11/2008, -2/+5oh SNAP!
- katerpilar, on 09/11/2008, -1/+4knew most of them except the multi screen one.
AWESOME - FallenTurtles, on 09/11/2008, -0/+3Excellent, thanks guys!
- tazfreak294, on 09/11/2008, -1/+4As far as I know it does, but my 360 doesn't have this mysterious problem of needing an official hdmi cable to do surround sound. My digital audio plug fits nicely beside the HDMI cable in the back...
- diggnik, on 09/11/2008, -1/+4You can attach to the internet over wireless using an Ethernet bridge. These can sometimes be found at half the price of the Microsoft dongle.
- cjacks9, on 09/11/2008, -0/+36. I just used the wireless game adapter I had for my PS2 at the time. Works fine. $40 on Ebay at the time.
- randomizer9, on 09/11/2008, -6/+9I'm not sure I want to read a 360's blog; I figure it would be something like this:
800pm: pr0n
930pm: pr0n
1030pm: Gears of War
1200am: Halo 3
200am: pr0n - thebarkingdog, on 09/12/2008, -0/+2360voice is a cron-type thing. It's about a day behind. It looks like it uses Microsoft's API (which is closed, and not accepting applications at this time) to fetch the games you played, achievements earned, reputation changes, etc. They have pre-written blurbs that they randomize and insert the gaming information. It's fun, but it gets rather repetitive. My favorite bit is that they track the days you play and tell you how long your playing streak is. Most I've had is about 60 days...went out of town on business and my 5-year-old forgot to play for me. Mine's under my gamertag, "the barking dog", if you want to take a look.
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