XBOX 360 new pricing model

[makryger]

Microsoft is now offering a new pricing model for an XBOX 360. For $100, you get the XBOX 4GB console with kinect. What's the catch? You are required to purchase an XBOX Live subscription for $15 per month for two years. That's $460 over the course of two years.

So how does that compare to the current price?
An XBOX 360 4GB with kinect costs about $285 on Amazon.
An XBOX live membership costs about $40 for one year, if you buy it at the right time.
That's $365 over the course of two years.

So, if you would rather pay less money upfront for an xbox/extender, then this could be an option for you. But you will pay about $100 more after two years, and that's assuming you actually wanted a kinect and an xbox live subscription.

http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/07/micr ... 9-dollars/

[trooper11]

Yeah the best policy is to always pay upfront. The flexibility to find cheaper pricing is a big advantage. I especially would say no to doing it just to use it as an extender, not with Ceton's options out there.

Otherwise, its about like the rent-to-own plans you see for various electronics. I'm sure some will find value in getting something now that they cant afford up front.

[bmblank]

Its like a cell phone plan.

[crawfish]

So, if you would rather pay less money upfront for an xbox/extender, then this could be an option for you. But you will pay about $100 more after two years, and that's assuming you actually wanted a kinect and an xbox live subscription.

Pay more and get the same old too big, too loud, too power-hungry, too narrow I/R, too expensive, utterly ridiculous Xbox 360 extender, and lock yourself into it for two years. Sweet!

[trooper11]

my slim is very quiet, I cant hear it at all while playing media.

but yeah, its overkill for anyone wanting just an extender. I do alot of gaming, so its a great option for me.

[adam1991]

Pay more and get the same old too big, too loud, too power-hungry, too narrow I/R, too expensive, utterly ridiculous Xbox 360 extender

too big compared to WHAT?

too loud compared to WHAT?

too power-hungry compared to WHAT?

too narrow I/R compared to WHAT?

too expensive compared to WHAT?

ridiculous compared to WHAT?

It sounds like you haven't seen an XBox since the very first model they launched. You're sorrowfully behind the times.

[newfiend]

The Xbox I use as an extender in the bedroom (newer slim) is great.. I have no complaints.

Big.. yes compared to say a DMA-2100.. but I don't mind it has lots more options than the DMA

Loud.. not really.. I never hear mine once the media is playing either. It's much quieter than the old Xbox.

Narrow IR.. Yea a bit.. could be better but it works..so.. no biggie

Expensive..yea a bit.. but I have kids and they like to game as well as I do.. So I don't mind the slightly higher price for the entertainment value.

Rediculous.. for some maybe.. Some PPL just want to watch TV.. and for that the XBOX may be a little overkill as far an an extender goes. But with all the new Media options in the new dashboard update it's the best extender out there at the moment.. plus with the new Xfinity On demand app I can now do VOD.. something I can't do on my HTPC.

Come on Ceton... we're patiently waiting...
newfiend~

[crawfish]

my slim is very quiet, I cant hear it at all while playing media.

The Slim I owned for about a week had three components to its noise signature, two variable in pitch, commencing from the moment it was turned on and unrelenting until turned off, easily audible during normal conversation at normal volume levels. It's not real surprising considering Microsoft designed it with a tiny noisy fan in the power brick and another one in the console, and on top of that, the housing is cheap plastic which contributes to the noisiness. The Slim was much, much, much louder at 8' distance than my quiet PC at 2' distance, whose noisemakers include an i5 750 (375 RPM baseline CPU fan), two WD green HDs, two case fans (undervolted Scythe Slipstreams running about 700 RPM), and a Seasonic X650 whose fan probably never comes on and is inaudible if it does, all housed in an Antec P182 with Acoustipack. My PC is not quite silent, but it's close, and it's unobjectionable. The Slim was not even playing the same game.

That said, the Slim I owned for a week wasn't quite as loud as the "Jasper" I owned for a day, whose two internal fans were as loud as a hair dryer at all times. Note that I never inserted a disk into either Xbox's optical drive, nor did I ever play a game. The Jasper was so bad, I didn't even bother checking out its extender functionality. I tried the Slim several times as an extender over a week's time, and it was horrible each and every time. Maybe if you bury it in a cabinet and sit 15 feet away it would be OK, but out in the open at closer distances, forget it. As for sample variation, I'm more inclined to believe different reporting is due to subject and environment variation, and that's borne out by experience with other products. At the very least, the Youtube videos and discussions I found suggest it's common for the Slim to be loud, and to add insult to injury, you can't replace the fans or even open the thing up to experiment with damping material to try to tame the rattletrap housing without voiding your warranty. The Xbox 360 as extender is an insult to Media Center users for its noise signature and the several other shortcomings I listed in my last message. It's just terrible. Looking forward to the Echo, obviously.

[STC]

I tried a slim in the bedroom for one night then went back to my sluggish but silent DMA. My HTPC is hardly audible, an extender should be inaudible in my view.

[trooper11]

Man, Im not sure whats different about the slim models you guys have, but when I'm using it for media playback over the network or streaming, I cant hear it at all.

I could see hearing it when your accessing something from the local drive or the dvd drive, or while gaming if the fan ramps up.

[adam1991]

me either. I have one in the bedroom, right under the TV, and I don't hear it one bit.

[bobbob]

there's no difference between the models, just our opinion of what is silent. Ours does not consitute cannot be heard over the TV or can't be heard over the air con. Silent = Cannot be heard. either that or you have a hearing problem. i would be prepared to bet you large sums of money that if i came round to your house i would equally be able to hear your xbox

[STC]

We are all uniquely different! In my case when it's late at night in the bedroom I can plop on the telly and watch at extremely low volume levels to allow the wife to sleep. The slims fan noise force me to put the volume up two notches and that wakes her up. Ergo no go.

[trooper11]

there's no difference between the models, just our opinion of what is silent. Ours does not consitute cannot be heard over the TV or can't be heard over the air con. Silent = Cannot be heard. either that or you have a hearing problem. i would be prepared to bet you large sums of money that if i came round to your house i would equally be able to hear your xbox

Accept I never said silent did I?

What I said was that I could not hear it when playing back media. So yeah, its not my hearing that is the problem. You just assume Im out of my mind lol

Maybe your just more sensitive or you play your media at a lower level then I do or maybe your console is kept in a more open place for the sound to spread. So yeah, not my hearing problem. But yeah, make more assumptions

[adam1991]

"can't be heard over the TV" = "can't be heard".

Methinks someone is obsessing over the mere existence of sound waves at any level, even if they can't be heard by the human ear. If a tree falls in the forest but no one is there, does it make a sound?

[newfiend]

Ya, same for me.. Although I will admit mine is hooked up to a AVR in my bedroom and the volume from the 5.1 drowns out any noise coming from my Xbox. Some people are also more sensitive to background noise than others.
@crawfish.. I would hate to show you my gaming rig i just built, it has 8 fans in it.. Sitting next to it would probably drive you nuts..lol.
newfiend

Sent from my WP7 using Board Express

[newfiend]

@STC .. XBOX + AVR + WIRELESS HEADPHONES = Higher WAF for late night TV

Sent from my WP7 using Board Express

[crawfish]

@crawfish.. I would hate to show you my gaming rig i just built, it has 8 fans in it.. Sitting next to it would probably drive you nuts..lol.

I shudder just to read about it.

I guess the real question is, why stop at eight?

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/blog/37

Even his fans have fans.

[Kustom Kid]

You guys who say the slim its too loud can probably hear a mosquito fart 6 yards away. I have a Jasper in my bedroom and its audible over the TV, but I deal with it. We have a slim in the living room and with the power brick inside a vented, but enclosed, storage area it's nearly silent. It has to be dead silent in the house, and you have to be right next to it, to hear it running.

[STC]

You guys who say the slim its too loud can probably hear a mosquito fart 6 yards away. I have a Jasper in my bedroom and its audible over the TV, but I deal with it. We have a slim in the living room and with the power brick inside a vented, but enclosed, storage area it's nearly silent. It has to be dead silent in the house, and you have to be right next to it, to hear it running.

Like I said we are all unique! I dealt with it and for my environment I chose not to use it. Each to their own.