Xbox 360 Elite Review

[Wondermonkey]

by Jon Liu

Fans and newcomers alike, rejoice! The Xbox 360 Elite has finally arrived! Released on April 29th, 2007, the 360 Elite sports a new look and improves upon the already fantastic Xbox 360 Premium package.

What’s Included?

• Black Xbox 360 Console (with HDMI)

• 120GB Hard Drive

• Black Wireless Controller

• Microsoft’s Proprietary Component Cable

• HDMI cable

• Audio Dongle (to use with the HDMI cable if your receiver doesn’t support HDMI)

• Black Wired Headset

• Power Supply Unit

• 2x AA Batteries

There are several questions to ask: What is all the fuss about? What’s the difference? And, most important of all, is it worth a purchase/upgrade?

So what’s the fuss about?

Well, the buzz out there is that this is, in part, Microsoft’s answer to Sony’s Playstation 3. There were several key features some believed gave Sony the advantage over Microsoft. A larger hard drive and HDMI connection were two of the things that the 360 lacked on launch, and that’s where the Xbox 360 Elite comes in.

What’s the difference?

Some fans of the Xbox 360, myself being one of them, griped and moaned about the lack of an HDMI option for the transportation of the video and audio. Others were also complaining about the lack of space on the current 20GB hard drive. They addressed both of those complaints in the 360 Elite. The new HDMI option allows for a better image quality, allowing the possibility of 1080p resolution for the first time, fewer cables to manage, and a nice bonus, the ability to upconvert the resolution of the DVDs you watch on your Xbox 360.

Is it worth the purchase/upgrade?

This is a loaded question. Is it worth the purchase, I’d say it is. If you don’t have an Xbox 360 already and are looking to get one, $80 dollars over the price of the premium package would make it an easy choice considering what you get, a bigger hard drive, HDMI, HDMI cable, and a black console, controller, and headset.

Now, is it worth the upgrade? Probably not for most people, simply because there’s hardly any new internals that would be worth the $479.99 price tag that the Elite carries. The HDMI and larger hard drive were a big deal to me, so getting one at that price and having a back up system seems worth it. But, realistically, most people wouldn’t find those two things worthwhile to make the upgrade.

My Opinion & Thoughts

First off, I must say, I really like the new black look that the Elite boasts. It fits better into my entertainment rack and doesn’t stick out like a sore thumb anymore. The black controller is a very nice addition to it. The matching Black 120GB hard drive is also a plus. They also seem to have addressed something I noticed about the power button on the console. On the Core and Premiums the button doesn’t give a good sense of whether or not you’ve pressed the power button. The Elite gives you a lot better sense of that feeling.

The HDMI upgrade was the primary reason for my uprading to an Elite. The image is improved, but marginally. Lines and edges are more defined and crisp but, the difference isn’t night and day. The HDMI allows for the upconverting of standard DVD, which is a definite bonus. I popped in several disks to check out how the upconverting looks and I was satisfied with the improvement. It’s still not HD, but it’s an improvement. HD-DVDs via the HD-DVD add-on did look cleaner, with better-defined lines and bolder more natural colors.

On the HDMI downside is the Elite’s inability to pass the higher resolution audio formats. The idea behind HDMI is that it has a ton of bandwidth, which would allow for such high-resolution picture quality and high-resolution audio. Unfortunatley, the Elite does not provide this benefit.

The 120GB hard drive space is probably overkill for my intended use, but it’s very nice having the option to use it. Before the Elite, I was constantly deleting content like demos, videos, etc. It will be nice not having to worry about deleting content once I’m done with it.

I was hoping that the console would be quieter, but the noise level is the same, if not louder. The disk drive still sounds like a jet engine, and it seems that Microsoft has now used three, instead of two, fans inside the console, likely adding to the overall console noise. If this means more stability though, I’m fine with the added fan noise.

Conclusion

If you’re looking for an HDMI connection, larger hard drive, and new sleek black look, look no further than the Xbox 360 Elite. If you’re happy with your current console and drive size, the upgrade probably won’t be worth it for you.

[MadBryan]

I must be one lucky son of a ... cause I can't even hear mine.

[BrewCityUpstart]

Originally Posted by MadBryan

I must be one lucky son of a ... cause I can't even hear mine.

WHAT?! I CAN"T HEAR YOU! MY 360 IS ON!

[Jon Liu]

You are lucky, MadB! There are so many variations and I've had quieter models than my current two, but, I just seem to be cursed when it comes to 360's one way or the other!

[MadBryan]

I think I'm alittle deaf from the factory and steel work over the years. Seriously though, my launch 360 only gets noisey on the more demanding material and even then its not distracting.
The Elite hasn't made a peep. I'm setup for 7.1 and two SVS's and I definately use'em so that helps

[Jon Liu]

Lol, if you can drown out the noise while gaming, more power to ya! Unfortunately, the bulk of my gaming experience is done while my wife is sleeping, so I have no choice but to turn it down low.

[oldskoolluva]

Great review Jon, but I guess I'm in the "not worth the upgrade camp" as HDMI 1.2, in a "next-gen" machine instead of 1.3,(especially when the 1.3 spec was already out when the Elite was being designed) and even the PS3 has it is purely nonsense to me, aside from a clever way for MS to make folks spend more money on a system that offers nothing in the way of improved reliability or functionality, aside from color, an overpriced HD, and an already old/replaced HDMI specification at that. 1080p resolution for movies was already possible via the vga adaptor on the 360,and for games via component as well so again nothing significant.................Now as far as the noise goes, I've never been that distracted by it personally, after all, I bought it as a "gaming" console first and foremost...Every pc I have ever owned made some kind of fan/cd/dvd drive noise and such and my current custom built/modded pc is as loud if not louder than my 360....I simply don't see the big deal myself, its a gaming machine that generates heat and needs fans to cool itself, and fans make noise, dvd drives make noise, there is nothing new here.......I understand it can be distracting for movie watching perhaps, but again I don't rely on the 360 for movie or dvd watching except the occassional xbox live movie download, and even then the noise is not that distracting...........Maybe its because with two little kids running around the house the 360's noise is a welcome relief!!!!....LOL
Anyway good review yet and still, and I do agree however that anyone who is a NEW purchaser for a 360, or needs to replace a broken/out of warranty unit should go ahead and spring for the Elite.....

[MadBryan]

latest news is that the PS3 isn't HDMI 1.3 yet. They claim they will with a firmware update but they also said that about upconversion and that hasn't happened yet

[Jon Liu]

MadB, can you find a link to that? I've heard rumors, but would like to read for myself.

Oldskool, HDMI 1.2 IS good, if they would process and pass something like Uncompressed PCM or the like. It's not necessarily the question of bandwidth because as of right now, they aren't even using the potential of HDMI 1.2 on the Xbox 360. People pass off 1.2 as being nothing compared to 1.3, but just isn't the case. My receiver accepts 1.2 and as the PS3 has been sending my receiver uncompressed PCM I've had no problem and see no problem with the bandwidth. Microsoft's decision to continue not supporting a higher bitrate than just simple 640kbps Dolby Digital is beyond me.

I know that they are going to be switching to conversion of all the higher resolution stuff to DTS 1.5MB core, but still... the HDMI is designed to pass much more than that! My Receiver has been receiving 4MB and 6MB uncompressed PCM via the PS3's HDMI for some time now, so I believe that the 360 SHOULD do that as well!

I am happy I finally have HDMI on my 360 though, since I've found it to be a sufficient improvement already. I only gripe about the minor things that most people won't even care about now or even in the future of the Xbox 360.

While I had the possibility of passing the 1080p signal to my TV via VGA all this time, I just heard too many horror stories of how it didn't work properly, so I am glad that the HDMI solution has come to the market and seems to eliminate a lot of those problems for people who want 1080p.

[Crippler]

Originally Posted by oldskoolluva

Maybe its because with two little kids running around the house the 360's noise is a welcome relief!!!!....LOL

Ain't that the truth!

[WormholeXtreme]

Originally Posted by Jon Liu

MadB, can you find a link to that? I've heard rumors, but would like to read for myself.

Oldskool, HDMI 1.2 IS good, if they would process and pass something like Uncompressed PCM or the like. It's not necessarily the question of bandwidth because as of right now, they aren't even using the potential of HDMI 1.2 on the Xbox 360. People pass off 1.2 as being nothing compared to 1.3, but just isn't the case. My receiver accepts 1.2 and as the PS3 has been sending my receiver uncompressed PCM I've had no problem and see no problem with the bandwidth. Microsoft's decision to continue not supporting a higher bitrate than just simple 640kbps Dolby Digital is beyond me.

I know that they are going to be switching to conversion of all the higher resolution stuff to DTS 1.5MB core, but still... the HDMI is designed to pass much more than that! My Receiver has been receiving 4MB and 6MB uncompressed PCM via the PS3's HDMI for some time now, so I believe that the 360 SHOULD do that as well!

I am happy I finally have HDMI on my 360 though, since I've found it to be a sufficient improvement already. I only gripe about the minor things that most people won't even care about now or even in the future of the Xbox 360.

While I had the possibility of passing the 1080p signal to my TV via VGA all this time, I just heard too many horror stories of how it didn't work properly, so I am glad that the HDMI solution has come to the market and seems to eliminate a lot of those problems for people who want 1080p.

I thought I read that there is a hardware limitation to the 360 that doesn't allow it to transfer the 6 channel pcm. It was designed years ago and din't have that in mind. They would need to have a redesigned motherboard to be able to pass the mutichannel pcm. if I remember correctly the 360 doesn't have the bandwidth to pass the mutichannel pcm. I think it was AMIRM that gave this info over at AVS.

Originally Posted by amirm from AVS

Yes, HDMI 1.2 allows uncompressed PCM. But the 360 data path to that bridge is not wide enough to support it.

HDMI will work with your new receiver by the way. You will be able to select DTS at 1.5 mbit/sec which should sound pretty good although no better than optical out.

[WormholeXtreme]

I finally found the post from amirm in relation to multichannel pcm and HDMI with the Elite and HD DVD.

Originally Posted by amirm at AVS

Yes, HDMI 1.2 allows uncompressed PCM. But the 360 data path to that bridge is not wide enough to support it.

HDMI will work with your new receiver by the way. You will be able to select DTS at 1.5 mbit/sec which should sound pretty good although no better than optical out.

[Gordon]

I have been thinking about the names of each of these bundles. The Pro and Elite seem to fit into a class of their own, which leaves the Core all alone. I recommend changing the Core to the Newbie into the scheme.

[Jon Liu]

Interesting read, guys. Thanks!

[Desi Cuse]

http://www.joystiq.com/photos/xbox-360-elite-hands-on/

check out this link

[Jon Liu]

Lotsa pictures!