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	<title>VanillaHD - Just Plain High Definition &#187; Xbox360</title>
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	<description>Simple. Clean. Information About High Definition</description>
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		<title>Want Blue Ray for your Xbox 360? Don&#8217;t hold your breath!</title>
		<link>http://www.vanillahd.com/xbox360-hd/want-blue-ray-for-your-xbox-360-dont-hold-your-breath/</link>
		<comments>http://www.vanillahd.com/xbox360-hd/want-blue-ray-for-your-xbox-360-dont-hold-your-breath/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 03 Apr 2008 16:51:49 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Brandon</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[HDTV]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[HDTV Gadgets]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Home Theater]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reviews]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Xbox360]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.vanillahd.com/index.php/want-blue-ray-for-your-xbox-360-dont-hold-your-breath/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#160; Microsoft has just debunked new rumors that it will integrate Blue Ray players into its consoles. The rumor came from within the storage industry that a company called Lite-On will be manufacturing a Blue Ray add on for the 360. Microsoft claims that consumers can still enjoy their HD content from the download store. [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="text-align: center"><img src="http://www.vanillahd.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/xbox_360-blu-ray.jpg" alt="Xbox 360 Blue Ray" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center">&nbsp;</p>
<p>Microsoft has just debunked new rumors that it will integrate Blue Ray players into its consoles.  The rumor came from within the storage industry that a company called Lite-On will be manufacturing a Blue Ray add on for the 360.</p>
<p>Microsoft claims that consumers can still enjoy their HD content from the download store.  A quote from Microsoft states</p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;For our customers who want a premium movie experience we offer the largest library of on-demand HD content available, and the ability to play back DVDs in high definition.&#8221;</p></blockquote>
<p>This isn&#8217;t surprising that Microsoft is denying claims of a Blue Ray add-on. Even if they are planning a Blue Ray add-on, it would be foolish to announce it at this time in the year. It would probably be released closer to Christmas time.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Tutorial: Play Any Video File on Your Xbox 360 with Your Mac</title>
		<link>http://www.vanillahd.com/xbox360-hd/tutorial-play-any-video-file-on-your-xbox-360-with-your-mac/</link>
		<comments>http://www.vanillahd.com/xbox360-hd/tutorial-play-any-video-file-on-your-xbox-360-with-your-mac/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 26 Mar 2008 19:00:26 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>J.J.</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Apple]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[HDTV]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Xbox360]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.vanillahd.com/index.php/tutorial-play-any-video-file-on-your-xbox-360-with-your-mac/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Since we have received an overwhelming amount of requests to make a more in depth, step by step Tutorial on how to Play any video file on your Xbox 360 from your Apple Mac computer, we have decided to do just that, here. So here it goes: What You Want to Do: So your sittin&#8217; [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.vanillahd.com/index.php/tutorial-play-any-video-file-on-your-xbox-360-with-your-mac/any-video-file-from-mac-to-your-xbox-360/" rel="attachment wp-att-126" title="Any video file from Mac to your Xbox 360"><img src="http://www.vanillahd.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/video-on-mac-to-xbox-360.png" alt="Any video file from Mac to your Xbox 360" /></a></p>
<p>Since we have received an overwhelming amount of requests to make a more in depth, step by step Tutorial on how to Play any video file on your Xbox 360 from your Apple Mac computer, we have decided to do just that, here. So here it goes:</p>
<p><strong>What You Want to Do:</strong></p>
<p>So your sittin&#8217; in front of your macbook or your imac, and your wondering, why am I watching all of this HD stuff, when I could be watching it all on my bigscreen? Good question! Well, chances are you have video in the following formats:</p>
<ul>
<li>mkv, h.264, ogg, vorbis, wmv, divx, mpeg, mp4, mp2, blu ray,HD-DVD, etc.</li>
</ul>
<p>and you are using <a href="http://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-macosx.html" title="VLC for mac">VLC</a> to watch them.<br />
But the PROBLEM is that you want to watch them on your bigscreen and your just not sure how. Well, that is where VanillaHD.com comes to the rescue with a plain as Vanilla explanation of how to do it! But, there are 2 ways, the $20 way (more complicated, less expensive) and the $43.32 way (Easy as pie). I have opted to explain the $43.23 way, because it is just better in every way, except you pay $23.32 more. No biggie, just eat 4 less extra value meals from McDonalds this week, you nerd.</p>
<h3>How to play any video file on your Xbox 360 with your Mac &#8211; The $43.26 way that is as easy as pie:</h3>
<h3>Here Is What You Will Need:</h3>
<ul>
<li>Xbox 360 &#8211; Preferably the Elite version&#8230; just cause its black. And has black controllers.</li>
<li>Apple Computer &#8211; iMac, MacBook Pro, Apple Air, etc.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.nullriver.com/products/connect360" title="Connect 360 - For the Mac">Connect 360</a> <strong>Only $20</strong>- By: NullRiver &#8211; Has a Free Trial!</li>
<li><a href="http://www.techspansion.com/visualhub/" title="Visual Hub - Software for Mac">Visual Hub</a> <strong>Only $23.32</strong> &#8211; By: Techspansion &#8211; Has a Free Trial!</li>
</ul>
<h4>Here is what I assume before I start the tutorial:</h4>
<ul>
<li>You have <strong>downloaded and installed Connect 360 and Visual Hub</strong></li>
<li>You have <strong>&#8220;Media Sharing Enabled&#8221;</strong> between Connect 360 and your Xbox 360.</li>
<li>That you know how to read.</li>
</ul>
<h4>How to play any video file on your Xbox 360 with your Mac:</h4>
<ol>
<li> Choose a small video to test for you first video, as encoding and conversion times can be lengthy if you choose a full movie. Try downloading a trailer for a movie in your favorite format that the Xbox 360 can&#8217;t read. Like: mkv, ogg, vorbis, and a lot of other weird formats.</li>
<li><strong>Open up Visual Hub.</strong> Visual Hub is a phenomenal video conversion tool,it takes the &#8220;what the heck is bit-rate, and khz mean for video and audio&#8221; out of the process.</li>
<li>Drag to the stage or <strong>open your small video file</strong>.</li>
<li>At the top right of the visual HUB window it shows the format we can convert to. <strong>Choose mp4</strong>.</li>
<li><strong>Drag the slider</strong> to the &#8220;Go Nuts&#8221; quality.</li>
<li><strong>Check the box that says &#8220;H.264 Encoding&#8221;</strong>. It is the best (I&#8217;ll explain later).</li>
<li>At the bottom right, <strong>click on the &#8220;Edit&#8221; button</strong>.</li>
<li><strong>Choose a folder that is associated with &#8220;Connect 360&#8243;.</strong> Generally your default Apple Movies folder will be the best place. I know that you are tempted to click on the &#8220;Advanced&#8221; button. Don&#8217;t do it. The settings I gave you will make the video look phenomenal!</li>
<li>Click <strong>Start</strong>! Then wait&#8230; once you get the delightful &#8220;ding&#8221; then you are ready to go to test to see if it worked.</li>
</ol>
<h4>Testing Your Video File:</h4>
<p>Ok, now it is time to test and see if everything came out ok. Chances are it did! But here is your test. First, on your mac, open up your new file in VLC and in Quicktime. Make sure it can play in both (Not necessarily at the same time). If you have done that, now it is time to move to your 360. Follow these instructions:</p>
<ol>
<li>Tun on your Xbox 360 <a href="http://www.vanillahd.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/step0.jpg" title="Xbox 360 - Dashboard"><img src="http://www.vanillahd.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/step0.jpg" alt="Xbox 360 - Dashboard" /></a></li>
<li>Navigate over to the &#8220;Media Tab&#8221;, and select the &#8220;Videos&#8221; option.<a href="http://www.vanillahd.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/step2.jpg" title="Xbox 360 - Dashboard - Media Tab"><img src="http://www.vanillahd.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/step2.jpg" alt="Xbox 360 - Dashboard - Media Tab" /></a></li>
<li>IMPORTANT! Since the Xbox 360 Dashboard update of about 6 months ago, once you click on&#8221;Videos&#8221; it will just show you all of the videos on your Xbox 360 hard drive. So press &#8220;X&#8221; to change the current source. Then browse down to your Apple / Mac computer. Mine is an iMac. It will always have the Connect 360 appended to your computer name. <strong>Select your Connect 360 Mac Computer</strong>.  <a href="http://www.vanillahd.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/step3.jpg" title="Xbox 360 - Dashboard - Media Tab - Connect 360"><img src="http://www.vanillahd.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/step3.jpg" alt="Xbox 360 - Dashboard - Media Tab - Connect 360" /></a></li>
<li>Click on the &#8220;Movies Folder&#8221;. That is why you should have saved the file there earlier. <a href="http://www.vanillahd.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/step32.jpg" title="Xbox 360 - Dashboard - Media Tab - Connect 360 - Itunes &amp; Movies folder"><img src="http://www.vanillahd.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/step32.jpg" alt="Xbox 360 - Dashboard - Media Tab - Connect 360 - Itunes &amp; Movies folder" /></a></li>
<li>Now browse through your video files and select your sweet, newly converted, (mine was mkv) video file, that was small; and play it!<a href="http://www.vanillahd.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/step4.jpg" title="Xbox 360 - Dashboard - Media Tab - Connect 360 - Browse Video"><img src="http://www.vanillahd.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/step4.jpg" alt="Xbox 360 - Dashboard - Media Tab - Connect 360 - Browse Video" /></a></li>
<li>Watch and Enjoy! Nothing like watching the TMNT trailer in all of its Hi-Definition glory!<a href="http://www.vanillahd.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/step-5.jpg" title="Xbox 360 - Dashboard - TMNT"><img src="http://www.vanillahd.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/step-5.jpg" alt="Xbox 360 - Dashboard - TMNT" /></a></li>
<li>You&#8217;re Done! You did it! Now you can follow that same process when watching any video <strike>that you stole from and torrented</strike> on your Xbox 360 from your Mac.</li>
</ol>
<h4>Why Questions:</h4>
<p>Now I am sure you have a couple of questions, so I will try to guess your questions and explain them here. I will also just share some sweet knowledge.</p>
<p><strong>Why do you use the H.264 codec instead of straight up mp4. or any other format for that fact?</strong></p>
<blockquote><p>Because, H.264 is a newer, more advanced video compression type. Videos compressed with H.264 will look better than the default MPEG-4 counterparts at the same resolution, and will take up less disk space. Of course, there&#8217;s a catch. It takes much longer to compress to H.264 than MPEG-4.</p></blockquote>
<p><strong>What really makes something High Definition, and am I getting the best quality I can?</strong></p>
<blockquote><p>Great question! Below is a table that ranks the BEST quality HD stuff to the lowest quality H-Def stuff. In other words, companies claim that their stuff is High-Definition, now of all of that stuff, what is the best quality and what is the worst, but is still in the category of High Definition.</p></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<table border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" width="480">
<tr>
<td><strong>Source/service</strong></td>
<td><strong>CODEC</strong></td>
<td><strong>Resolution</strong></td>
<td><strong>Bit-rate</strong></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Blu-ray</td>
<td>H.264 or MPEG2</td>
<td>1920×1080 1080i/p</td>
<td>40</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>HD DVD</td>
<td>H.264 or VC-1</td>
<td>1920×1080 1080i/p</td>
<td>28</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>ATSC HDTV</td>
<td>MPEG2</td>
<td>1920×1080 1080i/p</td>
<td>19.39</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Digital cable</td>
<td>MPEG2</td>
<td>1920×1080 1080i/p</td>
<td>~ 16</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Verizon FiOS<br />
Video on demand</td>
<td>MPEG2</td>
<td>1920×1080 1080i</td>
<td>15</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>DISH HD</td>
<td>MPEG2/MPEG4</td>
<td>1440×1080</td>
<td>&lt; 10</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>DIRECTV HD</td>
<td>MPEG2/MPEG4</td>
<td>1280×1080</td>
<td>&lt; 10</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>IPTV</td>
<td>H.264</td>
<td>?</td>
<td>&lt; 10</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Xbox Live Video</td>
<td>VC-1</td>
<td>1280×720 720p</td>
<td>6.8</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>DVD</td>
<td>MPEG2</td>
<td>720×480 480i *</td>
<td>8</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Apple iTunes</td>
<td>QuickTime/H.264</td>
<td>1280×720 720p</td>
<td>4</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Web “HD” downloads</td>
<td>H.264</td>
<td>1280×720 720p</td>
<td>1.5</td>
</tr>
</table>
</blockquote>
<blockquote><p>So if you notice, the best quality Codec, is H.264, with a bit rate of 40. In Visual Hub, when you slide that bar to &#8220;Go Nuts&#8221; you are making sure it is at the highest bit rate, and when you click on H.264 encode, you are making sure it is the highest quality of available encoding methods.</p></blockquote>
<p><strong> What is the less expensive way of doing this?</strong></p>
<blockquote><p>Frankly, I do not want to explain it, because it gets into customizing open source software and tweaking, which takes a whole lot of time and the end result is not as good. So I say just fork out the $23.32 for Visual Hub and make it easy! But for those of you freakin&#8217; cheap stubborn peeps, I get you started in the right direction. Go <a href="http://homepage.mac.com/major4/" title="ffmegx free download">download  FFMpegX</a> its free and make sure to get all of the binaries. Then if you really want a Tutorial, I will need 10 comments below asking for it. Otherwise, I&#8217;ll assume the demand is not there.</p></blockquote>
<h4> Conclusion:</h4>
<p>Well, I think we did pretty good. I remember back in the days of Windows XP when the 360 first came out. You essentially had to know how to program perl in order to get something like this to work. Today, on a MAC, it is just knowing the right combos of software, and then you really can play almost any possible video formats on your Xbox 360 using visual Hub.</p>
<p>Feel free to post comments!</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>27</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Pimp My Home Theater: Microsoft&#8217;s Ultimate Install Contest</title>
		<link>http://www.vanillahd.com/xbox360-hd/vista-hd/pimp-my-home-theator-microsofts-ultimate-install-contest/</link>
		<comments>http://www.vanillahd.com/xbox360-hd/vista-hd/pimp-my-home-theator-microsofts-ultimate-install-contest/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 17 Mar 2008 16:44:31 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Brandon</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Home Theater]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Windows 7, Vista & Windows Media Center]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.vanillahd.com/index.php/pimp-my-home-theator-microsofts-ultimate-install-contest/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Microsoft just announced that they will be holding a contest to find the most creative home theator setup that incorporates Windows Media Center. Here is a quote from the site. &#8220;Microsoft is looking for the finest and most creative installation utilizing Windows Media Center in a residential system. Submit your best Windows Media Center project [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/mediacenter/ceinstaller/ultimateinstallcontest.mspx" rel="attachment wp-att-115" title="Windows Media Center Ultimate Install Contest"><img src="http://www.vanillahd.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/wmc_ultimateinstallcontestlogo.gif" alt="Windows Media Center Ultimate Install Contest" /></a></p>
<p>Microsoft just announced that they will be holding a contest to find the most creative home theator setup that incorporates Windows Media Center.  Here is a quote from the site.</p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;Microsoft is looking for the finest and most creative installation utilizing Windows Media Center in a residential system. Submit your best Windows Media Center project for the opportunity to win a vacation for two and visit to the Microsoft campus as well as recognition for as the design and installation firm who built the Ultimate Media Center Install!&#8221;</p></blockquote>
<p>The contest Began on March 13th 2008 and will stop accepting entries on August 1st 2008.  They are looking for businesses that incorporates the best custom home theator solution in a customers house.  Here are some of the <strong>judging criteria</strong>.</p>
<ul class="unorderedList">
<li><span class="bodyText" style="line-height: 150%">Use of Windows Media Center as primary user interface (UI) for media consumption in room or system (depending on scope of install)</span></li>
<li><span class="bodyText" style="line-height: 150%">Use of Windows Media Center experiences (e.g., television, music, video, pictures, DVD library, etc.)</span></li>
<li><span class="bodyText" style="line-height: 150%">Integration with other, non-PC consumer electronics devices</span></li>
<li><span class="bodyText" style="line-height: 150%">Technical merit</span></li>
<li><span class="bodyText" style="line-height: 150%">Creativity and originality</span></li>
</ul>
<p>And the best part, there are tons of <strong>great prizes</strong> to be won!  Here are some of them.</p>
<ul class="unorderedList">
<li><span class="bodyText" style="line-height: 150%">An all-expense paid trip for one to CEDIA Expo 2008 in Denver, Colorado, including round-trip airfare, 3-night hotel accommodation in Denver, and participation in a Press Cocktail event announcing the winner</span></li>
<li><span class="bodyText" style="line-height: 150%">A trip for 2 to Microsoft, round-trip airfare, 2-night hotel accommodation at the Bellevue Westin and a special VIP day at Microsoft that includes a $1000 cash, a visit to the Microsoft eHome Custom Install (CI) demo room, time with the eHome team focused on the CI channel, and a private tour of the Microsoft MSHome.</span></li>
<li><span class="bodyText" style="line-height: 150%">A full-day photo shoot to have professional photographs taken of your winning solution</span></li>
<li><span class="bodyText" style="line-height: 150%">A story featuring your entry, interview, and pictures from the photo shoot posted on the CE Installer website</span></li>
<li><span class="bodyText" style="line-height: 150%">A Technology Appreciation Package for the homeowner provided by Microsoft that consists of:</span>
<ul class="unorderedList">
<li><span class="bodyText" style="line-height: 150%">Xbox360 Elite video game and entertainment system</span></li>
<li><span class="bodyText" style="line-height: 150%">4 Black Xbox360 Wireless Controllers</span></li>
<li><span class="bodyText" style="line-height: 150%">1 Xbox360 Media Center Remote</span></li>
<li><span class="bodyText" style="line-height: 150%">1 Year Xbox Live Subscription</span></li>
<li><span class="bodyText" style="line-height: 150%">4 Xbox360 Game Titles (actual titles to be determined by sponsor)</span></li>
<li><span class="bodyText" style="line-height: 150%">1 80GB Zune, 1 8GB Zune, and a Zune Home AV Kit</span></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p>So if your an owner of a company that does these sort of custom solutions, head over to Microsoft and submit an entry.  I wonder if I could tell them that I&#8217;m a company who did a custom solution for myself and send snapshots of my setup&#8230;</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>HD-DVD &#8211; Death is getting even better&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://www.vanillahd.com/xbox360-hd/hd-dvd-death-is-getting-even-better/</link>
		<comments>http://www.vanillahd.com/xbox360-hd/hd-dvd-death-is-getting-even-better/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 26 Feb 2008 23:35:02 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>J.J.</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[HDTV Gadgets]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Home Theater]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Xbox360]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.vanillahd.com/index.php/hd-dvd-death-is-getting-even-better/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[This an an update to a post made earlier this week, entitled: HD-DVD: 5 Reasons Why Death Is Good. It seems as though the HD-DVD add-on has been axed by Microsoft, so now you can get it for only $50. So if want want to take the plunge, HD-DVD&#8217;s and HD-DVD players are dropping in [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.vanillahd.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/417jgn4nptl_aa280_.jpg" title="HD-DVD Xbox 360 only $50" alt="HD-DVD Xbox 360 only $50" align="right" />This an an update to a post made earlier this week, entitled: <a href="http://www.vanillahd.com/index.php/hd-dvd-5-reasons-why-death-is-good/" title="hd-dvd death is good!">HD-DVD: 5 Reasons Why Death Is Good</a>.</p>
<p>It seems as though the HD-DVD add-on has been axed by Microsoft, so now you can get it for <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Xbox-360-HD-DVD-Player/dp/B000JHO4L0/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=videogames&amp;qid=1204068702&amp;sr=8-1" title="50 hddvd addon xbox 360">only $50</a>. So if want want to take the plunge, HD-DVD&#8217;s and HD-DVD players are dropping in price extremely quick!</p>
<p>Or you can pay full price for blu-ray&#8230; Either way you look at it&#8230; you win!</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		</item>
		<item>
		<title>A New Xbox 360? HD-DVD Drive Built In&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://www.vanillahd.com/xbox360-hd/a-new-xbox-360-hd-dvd-drive-built-in/</link>
		<comments>http://www.vanillahd.com/xbox360-hd/a-new-xbox-360-hd-dvd-drive-built-in/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 20 Oct 2007 19:14:27 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>J.J.</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[HDTV]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Xbox360]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.vanillahd.com/index.php/a-new-xbox-360-hd-dvd-drive-built-in/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[We started off with just 2 versions of the 360. One with a hard drive, and one without. Then they dipped the plastic cover into a vat of tar, added an hdmi port and a bigger hard drive and they moved to the Xbox 360 Elite! Now, we have a sort of hybrid coming soon. [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.vanillahd.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/xbox-360-versions.jpg" title="Xbox 360 Version - elite core normal"><img src="http://www.vanillahd.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/xbox-360-versions.jpg" alt="Xbox 360 Version - elite core normal" /></a></p>
<p>We started off with just 2 versions of the 360. One with a hard drive, and one without. Then they dipped the plastic cover into a vat of tar, added an hdmi port and a bigger hard drive and they moved to the Xbox 360 Elite! Now, we have a sort of hybrid coming soon. A 360 that, well might not be able to be actually called a 360. It&#8217;s more of a home theater conglomerate. But the question is, will it still be a a gaming machine with a hd-dvd built in, or will it become something else?</p>
<p>The New Xbox 360<br />
So here is the idea. Tkae the existing 360 and first, slap the Toshiba brand all over it, then, add an internal HD-DVD drive, then add a port for an MP3 player (most likely the Zune), give it dual HDTV tuners for watching some sweet HDTV content, and that&#8217;s not all&#8230; we have built in wireless networking and a program guide. And they probably wont stop there!</p>
<p>So I know microsoft wants to be in every living room, and in control of all the media that you come in contact with in a given day, but is this hybrid really something that would be useful? I am not sure. All I know is that if they are mixing xbox 360 and toshiba, I would really like the name <strong>&#8220;tosh-box3shiba&#8221; </strong>.</p>
<p>Either way this is not expected soon, wait to see this beast next time you light a bottle rocket in your hand, and maybe even after that. Hopefully, we will be able to miss the three red rings of death. Or maybe they will just change the color.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
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		<title>Halo 3 vs. Gears of War: Comparison</title>
		<link>http://www.vanillahd.com/xbox360-hd/halo-3-vs-gears-of-war-comparison/</link>
		<comments>http://www.vanillahd.com/xbox360-hd/halo-3-vs-gears-of-war-comparison/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 03 Oct 2007 01:39:09 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>J.J.</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[HDTV]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reviews]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Xbox 360 Video Game Reviews]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Xbox360]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.vanillahd.com/index.php/halo-3-vs-gears-of-war-comparison/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[  Emergence Day has come and gone, and now the Halo 3 release is over. The question remains though, which of the next generation HD multiplayer games is superior. This is my take, I have spent may hours with both games so I will be blunt and making sure not favoring any title. Before I [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p> <img src="http://www.vanillahd.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/halo3-vs-gears.png" alt="Halo 3 vs Gears of War" /></p>
<p>Emergence Day has come and gone, and now the Halo 3 release is over. The question remains though, which of the next generation HD multiplayer games is superior. This is my take, I have spent may hours with both games so I will be blunt and making sure not favoring any title. Before I begin, those of you who say that I cannot compare gears with halo 3 because one is a 3rd person shooter while the other is a 1st&#8230; well, I have something to say to those people: shut up! I am comparing them now, Ha! Anyway, I am going to compare the multi-player side and not really the campaign or single-player side, because these games are what they are becuase of thier great multi-player characteristics.</p>
<p><strong>Comparison Format:</strong><br />
I am going to compare the major elements of video games and also some characteristics and nuances that each game has that the others lack.</p>
<h3>Graphics:</h3>
<p><strong>Gears of War: </strong>The graphics in GoW are freakin amazing! Even though it came out in November of 06, the graphics are bar none! Everything has a real feel from the look of the humans to the look of the aliens (I&#8217;ve seen them in real life) to the look of the weapons. The particle effects of grenades exploding to bullet holes piercing the surrounding structures. On the downside, to get that realism, the GoW team felt that some of the motions had to be animated, thus there is some serious glitchyness. When trying to chainsaw someone on the ground, they automatically stand-up while being chansawed. So, there are a bunch of cookie cutter animations that are really akward looking when you put them in a different context. If only there was more light in all of the levels to see the great level detail!</p>
<p><strong>Halo 3:</strong> The graphics in Halo 3 are also amazing! The textures of the levels are very revealing. Every plant and blade of grass has a realistic feel. The lighting is wonderful from the shadows to the sunlight to the manufactured light, all very real and add a huge amount of realism. Although master chief loooks great, the other characters models are frankly pretty cheap. They look blocky and not quite human. They still look good, but they feel also very cartoony, and not realistic.</p>
<p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The graphics in Gears of War are simply better. There are less bugs in the graphics in Halo 3, like the camera jumping behind walls and other wierd places they should not be, but overall, although a lot of the animations are static in gears of war, they just look better.</p>
<h3>Playability and Controls:</h3>
<p>Playability here is multiplayer playability. Playability encompasses the objectives of games and how well they accomplish thier task. Generally, playability can be summed up into, how fun the game is.</p>
<p><strong>Gears of War:</strong> First the controls for gow are great. It reacts as it should and the 3rd person view is great to combat in. But frankly, there are times that the controls get frustrating! I really do not like that the &#8220;duck and cover button&#8221; is the same as run. The walls endup somehow reaching out and grabbing you. You have to be a skilled driver in order to navigate your character around objects. But over all, the controls are good. Now the playability is just ok. Don&#8217;t get me wrong, I really like shooting people in the game, but I wish there were more objectives. I really think some sort of capture the flag or other type of skirmish style of gameplay would have been awesome!</p>
<p><strong>Halo 3:</strong> This is where Halo 3 just takes the vote! The controls are awesome! 90% perfect. From shooting to jumping and throwing grenades, all of it is perfect. But there is one HUGE flaw. Why in the heck did they change the &#8220;talk&#8221; button? It used to be &#8220;LB&#8221; but now it is up on the direction pad. So unless you have 11 finger or three hands, you cannot run and talk at the same time. I think that is horrible design. I cannot believe the game got released in this fashion. Oh well. The playability of Halo 3 is truly perfect. There is a type of game for everyone. For those who just wish to kill, slayer, for purpose oriented or goal oriented, you have land grab, CTF, and others.</p>
<p>Conclusion: Halo 3 is just a little bit better. Less weirdness and it just feels a little better. Although I think gears pulled it off awesome as well, this is just comparing gold and platinum.</p>
<h3>Audio and Xbox Live Communication:</h3>
<p><strong>Gears of War:</strong> Great! Communication is easy and the Audio sounds online are great! Nothing to complain about here.</p>
<p><strong>Halo 3:</strong> Honestly, they were so close to perfect. It&#8217;s just that they made theat dumb direction pad the freakin talk button. That is strait up dumb. I hate it!</p>
<p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Gears takes the vote because Halo 3 is stupid with its dumb talk button.</p>
<h3>Online Weirdness: Bugs, Lag, Host, etc.:</h3>
<p><strong>Gears of War:</strong> GOW is first of all horrible at matchmaking. It takes forever and it is tough to get a full room. Especially a full room of committed players. That is because it does no matchmaking. It bugs me that a game this awesome could have this big of a flaw. Either way&#8230; the online weirdness is barely tolerable.It takes weeks of playing to finally figure outwhy when your host you are so much better. So when you are not host, you have to play with a different frame of mind. In other words, the host has a big advantage. BIG! And when you are not the host, you have to predict where the player is going to be in the next 10th of a second. And if your the last one on your team vs. the host, do not expect to win a sniper of shotgun battle.</p>
<p><strong>Halo 3:</strong> Overall, online, Halo is superb. It is tough to tell who is host, and even if you are, the advantage is only slight, albeit there is still an advantage. The whole matchmaking is SUPERIOR to gears of war in every way. In fact, Halo 2 was superior in multi player matchmaking than gears of war.</p>
<h3>Overall Pro&#8217;s and Con&#8217;s of each Game:</h3>
<p>Gears or War: Pro&#8217;s</p>
<ol>
<li>Graphics: The graphics are freakin&#8217; amazing</li>
<li>Realism &#8211; If you like realism, this is the place! It reminds me of the movie fargo when you use that chainsaw.</li>
<li>Balance &#8211;  Very balanced. It comes down to skill and knowing when to use the right weapon. Teamwork also helps.</li>
<li>Originality &#8211; No game ever like it. Brilliant Cliff, simply brilliant.</li>
<li>Communication &#8211; Easy to communicate online, simple. That is what is needed here.</li>
</ol>
<p>Gears of War: Con&#8217;s</p>
<ol>
<li>Host Advantage &#8211; The host advantage is just too great!</li>
<li>Animation &#8211; the chainsaw animation and &#8220;downed&#8221; animations make it too cookie cutter. There are a lot of bugs that happen in those two states, and that makes it not realistic and very frustrating.</li>
<li>Multiplayer Matchmaking &#8211; Frankly, unless you have 10+ friends online playing GOW, then you will not have a full room for at least 30min, and the chances of finding one are even slimmer. They need to fix that in &#8220;Gears of War 2&#8243;.</li>
</ol>
<p>Halo 3: Pro&#8217;s</p>
<ol>
<li>Online Matchmaking &#8211; Whether you go online, it will always find a match that you want to play, and people stay on even if they are losing by a lot. They way the system was built is just genious! How you can veto a map, or take your party to join another, or create matches on the fly. All if it is simply the best!</li>
<li>Balance &#8211; This game is extremely balanced. And considering the plethora of vehicles and weapons you can use, it is very balanced. It all comes down to the relative skill on each team, and even then it balances it for you. But, Halo 3 depends moreon teamwork than GOW.</li>
<li>Matchmaking options &#8211; ctf, territories, land grab, slayer, doubles, all of it just makes sense! What ever you want to play, you can find it.</li>
<li>The Forge &#8211; It is a blast! Edit maps on the fly and play with them with others edit. Great idea!</li>
<li>Co-op &#8211; 2-4 players, that is just fun!</li>
<li>Stats and more Stats &#8211; I love the stats, they are everywhere, including on the bungie website. It is amazing!</li>
</ol>
<p>Halo 3: Con&#8217;s</p>
<ol>
<li>The freakin talk button! I hate it&#8230;</li>
<li>Load times &#8211; it seems like everyonce in a while it takes WAY longer than it should to find a match or load a map.</li>
<li>Teamwork &#8211; Also a plus, if the team you are on is not working together, but if they are not&#8230; it just sucks and you can get very frustrated, becuase you keep losing.</li>
</ol>
<h3>Conclusion:</h3>
<p>After lookin at all of the pros and cons, it is difficult to declare a winner. But at this point I would have to say Halo 3. It is tough for me to say that because I am a huge Gears fan! But becuase of the team game style and how unbalanced gears can be at times, I&#8217;ll have to give it to Halo 3. But just barely.</p>
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		<slash:comments>26</slash:comments>
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		<title>Forza 2 &#8211; Craziest Crash Ever!</title>
		<link>http://www.vanillahd.com/xbox360-hd/forza-2-craziest-crash-ever/</link>
		<comments>http://www.vanillahd.com/xbox360-hd/forza-2-craziest-crash-ever/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 01 Aug 2007 00:45:48 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>J.J.</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Xbox360]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.vanillahd.com/index.php/forza-2-craziest-crash-ever/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[THis is probably the coolest crash ever! It defies gravity and logic, but it is freakin cool! But if you play forxa motorsport 2 for the xbox 360 or if you play any raging videogame, you can appreciate this!]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>THis is probably the coolest crash ever! It defies gravity and logic, but it is freakin cool! But if you play forxa motorsport 2 for the xbox 360 or if you play any raging videogame, you can appreciate this!</p>
<p><object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/lOsxj0ZT5Tc"></param> <embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/lOsxj0ZT5Tc" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="350"></embed></object></p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>Xbox 360 Spring update (Gripes and Praises)</title>
		<link>http://www.vanillahd.com/xbox360-hd/xbox-360-spring-update-gripes-and-praises/</link>
		<comments>http://www.vanillahd.com/xbox360-hd/xbox-360-spring-update-gripes-and-praises/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 12 May 2007 04:57:33 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Brandon</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[HDTV]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Xbox360]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.vanillahd.com/index.php/xbox-360-spring-update-gripes-and-praises/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Starting with the gripes&#8230; So I logged into my Xbox live account the other day and had to do an update. I had heard this update was supposed to be great, however I have had a few problems that I was wondering if anyone else was having. First off, I normally run at 1080i and [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Starting with the gripes&#8230;</p>
<p>So I logged into my Xbox live account the other day and had to do an update.  I had heard this update was supposed to be great, however I have had a few problems that I was wondering if anyone else was having.</p>
<p>First off, I normally run at 1080i and it works great for me, however after the update I have noticed these white bars accross the top of my screen. They were driving me nuts.  When I switch back to 720p these bars go away and all is fine. Very frustrating.</p>
<p>Another problem I am having is the ability to play video files from my computer.  Before the update, video files were working just fine and now the video lags so far behind the audio, watching it is unbearable.  I don&#8217;t mean to get on here and complain, but I was just wondering if anyone else was having issues such as mine.  Please reply to this post if you notice any other bugs.</p>
<p>Other than these few bugs, the update seems pretty cool.  First off, I really like that they integrated Windows Live Messenger.</p>
<p><img src="http://www.xbox.com/NR/rdonlyres/4B8E3339-4909-4DE0-8BC8-37D70B7448EC/0/ilmNotifyChatDash.jpg" height="191" width="340" /></p>
<p>It seems like a pain in the butt to type using the virtual keyboard Microsoft has provided, however after reading on Microsofts website it looks like there is hope. &#8220;This summer Microsoft will launch a QWERTY text-input device, a new accessory that will connect directly into the Xbox 360 controller to support text and instant messaging&#8221; A keyboard on the controller? Seems pretty cool to me.  Also, they stated that you are able to connect a USB keyboard to the USB port on the 360.  I haven&#8217;t tried this yet, but I will post as soon as I have more info.</p>
<p>Here is a list of all the new features&#8230;</p>
<ul>
<li>A richer Achievement notification pop-up will showcase the name of the unlocked Achievement and the gamerscore value without needing to leave the game to check the Achievements list.</li>
<li>Enhanced family settings features for Xbox LIVE communications enable different defaults for video chat and voice chat.</li>
<li>A new Xbox LIVE Marketplace blade lets Xbox LIVE members access the content they seek—whether it is game content or TV shows and movies (available in the United States)—from one place on Xbox LIVE.</li>
<li>Updates to Xbox LIVE Arcade allow owners to quickly see which Xbox LIVE Arcade games their friends are playing and join in the fun. Xbox LIVE members can also compare progress of leaderboard scores and Achievements directly with all friends on their friends list. Expanded &#8220;Tell a Friend&#8221; capabilities make it easier than ever to boast about Achievements and high scores.</li>
<li>Expanded &#8220;Tell a Friend&#8221; capabilities make it easier than ever to boast about Achievements and high scores.</li>
<li>A new option in Auto Downloads provides faster access to the entire collection of free, trial-version Xbox LIVE Arcade games.</li>
<li>New progressive download controls provide easy access to optimal viewing options by letting people fast-forward, rewind, pause and resume as their video is downloaded from Xbox LIVE Marketplace.</li>
<li>Extension of the background download functionality will allow owners to set their Xbox 360 console to turn off automatically after downloads are complete.</li>
<li>The name of game in tray is now displayed in the dashboard.</li>
<li>When the user is in the dashboard and an Xbox 360 game is in the console then the name of the game is displayed in the tray icon of the dashboard. If the user highlights the tray icon then achievements and gamer score are displayed for that game based on the signed in user. Xbox1 games show the name and image of the game.</li>
<li>Integrated support for the new Xbox 360 text input device. Note that this device includes a new wired headset.</li>
<li>Playback progress bar indicates download completion.</li>
<li>Switchable aspect ratio now available during video playback (Auto to Letterbox, Zoom, Stretch, Native).</li>
<li>Player and friends lists now quickly show session presence information for quick identification of users that are joinable.</li>
<li>Added H.264 video support: Up to 10 Mbps peak, Baseline, Main, and High profiles with 2 channel AAC LC.</li>
<li>Added MPEG-4 Part 2 video support: Up to 5 Mbps peak, Simple Profile with 2 channel AAC LC.</li>
<li>Show folder hierarchy for video content played from all devices.</li>
<li>Bookmarks are stored for each video that the user plays remembering the users last location in the file as well as the aspect ratio that the user choose for that file.</li>
<li>Video trick modes (fast forward, rewind, chapter skip) can now be used while downloading Video Marketplace content.</li>
<li>Skip forward and backward functionality has been improved to skip to the next or previous chapter. Each video is divided into 10 “chapters” allowing you to quickly skip around video content.</li>
<li>The information bar that is turned on via the On Screen Display (OSD) now shows you exactly where you are in the playback of the video file.  In addition it will also show for Video Marketplace content how much of the file has been downloaded and where the “chapters” exist in the file.</li>
<li>Windows Media protected content (WM-DRM) can now be streamed from the PC to the console. If the WM-DRM license is missing or corrupted then a specific error message is displayed to the user. Bookmarking is also stored for protected content.</li>
<li>When a user selects an item for download from Marketplace then the system will determine if there is sufficient disk space for the item and, if not, will ask the user to delete content on the HDD. The system provides a sorted by size list of videos, game trailers, demos and arcade content to aid the user in the deletion process. The same list of items are also available from within memory so that users can quickly see which items are consuming the most disk space.</li>
<li>The console will block the user who attempts to download content onto a storage device that will never have the capacity to store the item without deducting any points associated with the content item.</li>
<li>The screensaver is disabled when playing photos from any source</li>
</ul>
<p>Yea, I&#8217;m sure there are a bunch of lame features that most people won&#8217;t use, but all in all the update seems to be OK.  Let me know what you think.</p>
<p>Happy Xboxing</p>
<p>Brandon</p>
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		<slash:comments>4</slash:comments>
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		<title>Great Video Conversion for your Xbox 360 Via Encode360</title>
		<link>http://www.vanillahd.com/xbox360-hd/great-video-conversion-for-your-xbox-360-via-encode360/</link>
		<comments>http://www.vanillahd.com/xbox360-hd/great-video-conversion-for-your-xbox-360-via-encode360/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 18 Apr 2007 18:34:17 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Brandon</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Home Theater]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Xbox360]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.vanillahd.com/index.php/great-video-conversion-for-your-xbox-360-via-encode360/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[So as you know from my previous posts, I&#8217;ve been using Windows Media Center and Transcode360 to stream video files from my computer to my Xbox 360. But this leaves out the group that is still running Windows XP. I have made a few posts about sharing media via Windows Media Player 11 and Microsofts [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>So as you know from my previous posts, I&#8217;ve been using Windows Media Center and Transcode360 to stream video files from my computer to my Xbox 360.  But this leaves out the group that is still running Windows XP.  I have made a few posts about sharing media via <a href="http://www.vanillahd.com/index.php/interfacing-windows-media-player-11-with-your-xbox-360/" title="Sharing media to your Xbox 360 via Windows Media Player 11" target="_blank">Windows Media Player 11</a> and <a href="http://www.vanillahd.com/index.php/interfacing-zune-software-with-your-xbox-360/" title="Microsoft Zune software" target="_blank">Microsofts Zune Software</a>, but using both of these methods requires that you have one of the limited video formats that the Xbox 360 can play.  What about the other (preferred) formates?  Well generally video conversion is a long drawn out task that requires you (if your trying to do it for free) to download a <a href="http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=crapload" title="Defn: Crapload" target="_blank">crap-load</a> of shareware in hopes that you will find one that converts from the format your video file is in to some other video format.  This is tiring and not to mention takes up a grip of desktop space. Now a solution (long intro I know), Encode3600&#8230;</p>
<p>Encode360 is incredibly easy to use (once installed).  The installation process takes a few moments to explain as you need some additional software installed, all free I can assure you.</p>
<ol>
<li><a href="http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=0856eacb-4362-4b0d-8edd-aab15c5e04f5&amp;displaylang=en" title=".net framework" target="_blank">Download</a> and install the  latest .net framework <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/download/default.aspx" title="Windows Media player 11" target="_blank"><br />
</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/download/default.aspx" title="Windows Media player 11" target="_blank">Download</a> and install Windows Media Player 11 (if you haven&#8217;t already done so)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/forpros/encoder/default.mspx" title="Windows Media Encoder" target="_blank">Download</a> and install Windows Media Encode (WTF?!!1!? Microsoft has a media encoder?)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.cccp-project.net/download.php?type=cccp" title="Combined community codec pack" target="_blank">Download</a> and install the Combined Community Codec Pack</li>
<li><a href="http://www.dcunningham.net/Download/Encode360_2.0b4.Zip" title="Encode 360" target="_blank">Download</a> and install Encode360</li>
</ol>
<p>Thats alot of crap to install!  So after you download the Encode360 zip, extract it to a folder of your choice.  Next you will need to download yet another application (last one, I promise&#8230;kinda).  Download <a href="http://esby.free.fr/CelticDruid/mirror/ffmpeg" title="FFMpeg" target="_blank">FFMpeg</a>.  Extract both ffmpeg.exe and ffplay.exe to your Encode360 directory.  You can now open up Encode360.  But don&#8217;t try to encode any files yet, you still need to download one last .dll!  The file is called pthreadGC2.dll.  I had to do some searching for this file.  I couldn&#8217;t find a download of this file directly, good thing some guy used it in a project and I was able to extract it.  Download <a href="http://homepage.oniduo.pt/ROCKAS/Downloads/RAR_Package.html" title="pthreadGC2.dll" target="_blank">this app</a>. Extract the files and open the directory Tools/FFMPEG.  Copy the files pthreadGC2.dll and AVSredirect.dll to your Encode360 directory.  Now you are ready to go&#8230;</p>
<ol>
<li>Open Encode360.exe</li>
</ol>
<p><a href="http://www.vanillahd.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/04/encode360screen.gif" title="Encode360"><img src="http://www.vanillahd.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/04/encode360screen.gif" alt="Encode360" /></a></p>
<p>2. Add files to be encoded by clicking on the + sign and browsing for your files.  Encode360 allows you to queue as many files as you want. Also you can set the resolution in the &#8220;Output To&#8221; dropdown. Make sure you click the &#8220;&#8230;&#8221; button where it sais &#8220;Creat Encoded Files Here&#8221; and select a directory to save the files in. Click the <strong>Encode</strong> button to start the encoding process.  This could take a while, depending on the video size.  Generally the size increases by about 2.6 times.  You can preview the video as in encodes by clicking &#8220;Post View&#8221;.  I believe this will however slow down the encodeing process.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.vanillahd.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/04/encode360screen2.gif" title="encode360screen2.gif"><img src="http://www.vanillahd.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/04/encode360screen2.gif" alt="encode360screen2.gif" /></a></p>
<p>When you are all done, you are ready to view the video files on your Xbox360. Read <a href="http://www.vanillahd.com/index.php/interfacing-windows-media-player-11-with-your-xbox-360/" title="Windows Media player 11 tutorial">this tutorial</a> for instructions on how to do this via Windows Media Player 11.</p>
<p>Happy Xbox-ing.</p>
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		<slash:comments>15</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>How to Play Any Video File on Your Xbox360 Using a Mac!!</title>
		<link>http://www.vanillahd.com/xbox360-hd/how-to-play-any-video-file-on-your-xbox360-using-a-mac/</link>
		<comments>http://www.vanillahd.com/xbox360-hd/how-to-play-any-video-file-on-your-xbox360-using-a-mac/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 04 Mar 2007 06:06:05 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>J.J.</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Apple]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[HDTV]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Xbox360]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.vanillahd.com/index.php/how-to-play-any-video-file-on-your-xbox360-using-a-mac/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[WARNING: THIS METHOD IS NOT FREE. BUT IT WORKS SOLID AND WORTH EVERY PENNY! Ever since I figured out how to play mkv, ts, x264, mov and all those other video formats on my xbox360 using windows vista, I was eager to find something just as great for the mac. And what I found is [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>WARNING: THIS METHOD IS NOT FREE. BUT IT WORKS SOLID AND WORTH EVERY PENNY!</p>
<p>Ever since I figured out how to play mkv, ts, x264, mov and all those other video formats on my xbox360 using windows vista, I was eager to find something just as great for the mac. And what I found is nothing short of freakin awesome! The mac just makes everything cooler (sorry to you windows fans, I used to be one also). Either way here is what I wanted to do&#8230;</p>
<p><strong>The Objective:</strong><br />
Find a way to play all of my HD or High Definition content from my mac, onto my xbox 360.  And I mean every kind of usefull codec and container format from mkv, ts,  avi, wmv, ogg vorbis, x264 etc. It is possible, and it is pretty simple.</p>
<p><strong>What You Need:</strong><br />
Besides the obvious like a mac and an xbox 360, there are 3 programs that you will need.</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.videolan.org/vlc/" title="VLC for Mac">VLC</a>: For playing movie files and basic transcoding. &#8211; FREE</li>
<li><a href="http://www.nullriver.com/index/products/connect360" title="Connect your xbox 360 to your mac.">Connect360</a>: The essential APP to connect your 360 to your mac. &#8211; Free Demo</li>
<li><a href="http://www.techspansion.com/visualhub/" title="Convert any video file on a mac.">Visual Hub</a>: The essential converting tool. &#8211; Free Demo</li>
</ul>
<p>Download and install those products and then come back here to continue.</p>
<p><strong>Basic Insructions:</strong></p>
<ol>
<li>Use connect360 to connect your Xbox360 with your mac. Now connect 360 can only play wmv files. That is where Visual Hub comes into play.</li>
<li>Find the file you want to watch that is &#8220;not&#8221; a wmv file. If it IS wmv, you are already good to go. If it is not a &#8220;wmv&#8221;, use Visual Hub to convert your movie into a wmv.</li>
<li>That is it!</li>
</ol>
<p>A video will be added later of it actually functioning. Until then, if you have any questions, feel free to ask via our comment section for this post.</p>
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