True HD with the XBox 360.

The future is now with the XBox 360. It came out late 2005 and has certainly continued where it's predecessor left off. The orginal XBox was really the first next generation system to embrace the earliest high definition standards and add support for the latest advancements in sound.

Now with the 360, Microsoft has kicked that into overdrive and definetely will keep us home theater enthousiasts happy, (until we get our hands on a PS3 that is). Now besides the fact that the controllers are wireless, and there are a gaggle of usb ports and support for a variety of accesories, (can anyone say mp3 players)...Games for the system are REQUIRED to support 720p and 1080i mode with all games also made to take advantage of 16:9 widescreen viewing ratio.

If you're an uber techie who has his/her computer at the center of all the action, you can also get a XBox 360 VGA cord to connect the system to your monitor. Audio has also been ramped up using a new compression technology called XMA that allows more sounds to play at one time which will undoubtedly provide a more ambient and enveloping environment. And lest we forget, the system supports 5.1 digital sound.

The only thing we're dissapointed about at the time of this writing is no HDMI cable (and no output on the back for optical)!!! With the Playstation 3 having been touted to have 2 HDMI outputs straight off the box, it does make us frown. (But just a little bit). On that note though, is there really a reason for having two HDMI outputs? Is a PS3 game ever going to take advantage of two TVs? We'll see. And BTW, you CAN get an optical connection for your XBox 360, but it looks like it's through the VGA connector, (if that) Ugh ugh ugh.

HD DVD on the 360

Available late in 2006, Microsoft released a great accessory for the 360. It was a HD DVD drive! If you're not excited about this, you must not have a pulse. With HD DVD and Blu-Ray costing the proverbial arm and leg, this add-on for a mere $200 bridges that financial gap currently stranding many home theater consumers. If you're not fully up to date on HD DVD and Blu-Ray, make sure you check out the article here!

Conclusion :

If you want everything to be as good as it's going to get, buy an XBox 360! It supports a lot more resolutions than anything else on the market right now and it also can play games in Dolby Surround sound. Admittedly, there are only a handful of games on the 360 worth buying at the time of this writing, but it's still comforting to know that they're there and that they're in blissful High Def!

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