So you pulled out the big guns and you got your son (age 27 or otherwise) a console. You’re justifiably excited about the Christmas morning surprise, but there’s one thing you must absolutely remember to take care of before you wrap that gadget gift: Day one updates. Trust us.
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The Xbox One arrives with a 500GB HDD built-in, and in contrast to the PlayStation 4’s easily-accessed storage, it’s not meant to be accessed or replaced by the user, ever. While we’ll probably leave ours in place to keep from voiding the warranty or risk a ban from Xbox Live, a few folks have already cracked open the console to see what else will fit. iFixit noted during its teardown that there’s an off-the-shelf 2.5-inch Samsung HDD inside connected via SATA II inside, and swapping that out isn’t much of an issue. Brian Williams has already tried out the system with two alternate drives: a 500GB Samsung EVO SSD, and a Seagate 1TB hybrid SSHD. As you can see in his video (embedded after the break) boot time from off to the dashboard only improved slightly, with the SSD loading in 46.1 seconds compared to 50.5 stock. A test with Call of Duty: Ghosts revealed similar results, with the SSD loading up in 27 seconds and the hybrid drive close behind in 27.7, compared to 33.5 seconds stock. We’ll need tests with more games to be sure, but so far it’s not showing the improvements seen after swapping the PS4’s hard drive out for speedier options. The folks at Tested report doing so improved level load times in Killzone: Shadow Fall from 60 seconds to 39 seconds.
So, if it’s not a ton faster, why would you want to take the chance of prying Microsoft’s box open? To get more space. Brian’s drives were simply copies of the original transferred by Clonezilla, but an individual named Juvenal1 has already worked out how to get the system to actually recognize and make use of drives bigger than 500GB. By copying files from your original drive and using their Linux-compatible tool to repartition the new HDD, you can be up and running with more capacity after just a reboot or two. Of course, this carries significant risks and we don’t recommend it for most, as Microsoft’s Albert Penello has already revealed support for external drives is coming in a future update, along with the ability to do crazy things like see how much storage you actually have left. Still, if you just need to live on the edge (or store every game released so far and record hours of clean Upload Studio clips) the instructions can be found here.
Update: If you’re interested in performing the upgrade, Brian Williams has followed with a video walkthrough for the process of properly formatting a larger hard drive, even if you’re not familiar with using Linux.
Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, HD, Microsoft
Source: Juvenal1 (Github), Brian Williams
Let’s get one thing out of the way: Nobody buys a gaming console for music. Yes, modern consoles increasingly run all kinds of non-game apps — especially the entertainment kind — as the manufacturers of just about every type of consumer electronics aim to be the primary interface between people and their favorites 1s and 0s.
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Nothing tests a stiff upper lip like a next-gen console launch. Having already been spooked by inaccurate pricing on the PlayStation Network, some Brits are now discovering that the Xbox One‘s heavily promoted TV functions aren’t readily compatible with their set-top boxes. Whether on Freeview, Virgin or Sky, users’ efforts to route TV output through the Xbox One’s HDMI passthrough port are apparently resulting in “juddery” and unwatchable video — perhaps because the Xbox One defaults to 60 frames per second while most UK hardware sticks to the PAL standard of 50Hz. In turn, if they’re forced to give on using passthrough, they also have to miss out on the use of Kinect voice control to start watching TV, change the volume or “snap” TV side-by-side with an app.
Ironically, one UK service that has made a particular point of never supporting the Xbox One — namely, YouView — may now offer the smoothest experience of the lot (albeit without any EPG integration), as its box seems to be more comfortable outputting a compatible signal. That won’t be much help to others, however, so we’ve asked Microsoft’s PR if there’s any progress towards a fix, and in the meantime you might want to try a possible workaround from a reader at HDTVTest.
[Thanks, Barry]
Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, HD
Source: The Guardian
The next generation of consoles are in the wild, and now that the general public has access, they’re bumping up against some new restrictions with the way they work. While Twitch is clamping down on its live streams, on the Xbox One side some users have run afoul of XBL policies against foul language in their Upload Studio clips. Microsoft hasn’t been specific about what constitutes a violation, but in a statement to TechCrunch it says “excessive swearing” (in Upload Studio, peer to peer communications like Skype are reportedly unmonitored) can lead to some or all Xbox Live privileges disappearing. In this case, it appears to usually manifest as a 24 hour ban on voice communication, which some of those affected first noticed when they tried to use a different app like Skype. We’ll see if these policies or the way they’re enforced evolve over time (if not, you may be in for some very quiet gaming sessions with your favorite Engadget editors), but for now you might want to tell the world what you think of campers after liberating an uploaded clip from SkyDrive.
Filed under: Gaming, HD, Microsoft
Source: TechCrunch, Reddit
While Microsoft has sold a ton of Xbox Ones, not all of them are functioning as their owners hoped they would. It turns out that some of the consoles are having problems with their optical drives — some eat discs, while others reject them while a series of ominous sounds emanate from within. The good news is, should you be among those unfortunate souls, Microsoft is aware of the problem and is doing its best to make amends, including giving some affected parties a free game. Polygon reports that Xbox customer care has offered a game as recompense for some faulty consoles, and will let folks choose to download Dead Rising 3, Forza Motorsport 5, Ryse: Son of Rome or Zoo Tycoon for free. We reached out to Microsoft about its generosity, and here’s what the company has to say on the matter:
While a replacement console is on its way, we want to ensure our advance exchange customers can stay in the game. We will provide each of them with a free digital download of one of the launch titles published by Microsoft Studios.
Via: Polygon
Microsoft’s Xbox One launch has seen some bumps in the road but the company has announced it’s already sold more than a million consoles worldwide. Last week, Sony announced the PS4 sold more than one million units in the US and Canada in less than a day, but at this point, Microsoft has not made any such regional distinctions. Still, the “biggest launch in Xbox history” is well under way and already outpacing its predecessor’s initial numbers — day one download and all — so let us know if you’re one of the 1 million strong with a Day One Achievement on your record, or if you’re looking elsewhere for gaming this holiday season.
Filed under: Gaming, HD, Microsoft
Source: Xbox News
Today is the day: Xbox One is available in at least 13 territories. The PlayStation 4 launched last Friday to massive sales. The next-gen is officially on, having kicked off last year with Nintendo’s Wii U. Don’t believe us? We even reviewed all three!
Of course, Nintendo’s not playing the same game that Microsoft and Sony are. The latter two are pushing serious horsepower and attempting to woo gamers with the promise of very pretty games and gameplay streaming, while Nintendo’s pursing a second-screen input approach. As such, it’s Microsoft’s and Sony’s new consoles that we’re here to examine today — the two big console makers that are taking each other on directly in the decades-long battle for the living room.
Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals, Software, HD, Sony, Microsoft
The time it took for my brother to get our new Super Nintendo out of the box and connected to our television couldn’t have been more than five minutes. I’m pretty sure we used the same coaxial cable connector that the NES before it used, though it’s possible he was bold enough to forge a new connection dedicated to the SNES. The time between when he arrived home with the console box and a copy of Super Mario World, and when we saw Mario’s astonishing level of detail, was extremely short. Open game console box, plug in game console, insert game, play game — pretty simple. I’ll never forget the yellow on Mario’s cape!
Today’s kids don’t have it so easy. The anticipation while waiting for holidays or birthdays or while saving enough allowance has turned into anticipation during firmware updates or software patches or mandatory installs, and all manner of nonsense. Even for those of us who grew up with PCs, the state of modern game consoles is a sad one when it comes to what’s inside the packaging representing what the outside says.
This is all the internet’s fault, as most things are. I’m joking! Partially, anyway. It’s really internet ubiquity that’s to blame for game publishers and console makers leaning on day one updates. With most buyers living in places with relatively strong connectivity, games can launch without, say, multiplayer, and consoles can launch without the ability to even play games. It might sound nuts, but it’s the story of the now-current generation of game consoles.
The chip-obsessed gadget archaeologists at iFixit already have an Xbox One, and they’re already ripping it apart. Those monsters! While they’re not done dissecting and analyzing every single piece just yet, they’ve already found some interesting tidbits: for one, the Xbox One’s 500GB HDD is a standard SATA II 2.5-in. (of the Samsung Spinpoint variety, with an 8MB cache). Sure, you’ll have to pry open the system and carefully remove the Wifi and system speaker assembly to swap it out the HDD for a larger size, but if you’re willing to void the warranty and get up in there, serious storage is at your fingertips.
While you’re inside the Xbox One, you may also notice the amount of easy to replace, standard hardware. It’s true: 64 mm Torx screws hold the Xbox One’s internals together and a SATA data connector pairs the Blu-ray/DVD drive to the motherboard. As iFixit‘s teardown is still in action, they’ve yet to determined its repairability. And should they find out any dark secrets about the console in the process, we’ll keep you updated.
Update: iFixit awarded the Xbox One an 8 out of 10 repairability rating, placing it in the same easily repairable world as the PlayStation 4.
[Image credit: iFixit]
Filed under: Gaming, HD, Microsoft
Source: iFixit
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