*sigh*

So right when I get into Lost Odyssey and finish the second [super hard] bossfight, I receive the box to send my 360 back.

Microsoft includes a nifty sheet of paper on which you are to mark any and all line items that apply to your Xbox 360. I marked two:

Disc makes grinding noises.

Xbox powers on with no indicator lights and no video.

Funny..... Of the six possible selections, two of them matched my unit exactly.

Oh well... I went ahead and beat Master of Magic again for the umpteenth time during its glorious 15 year history.

I installed Microsoft's XNA studio tonight. I'll report back when I have a game built. It'll likely be a simple modification to the Spacewar demo they include, but it's a start.

For those wondering about Piano: It's coming along. I have not practiced much in the last week... so whatever I may have gained has probably been lost. During the week that I practiced every day however, I was definitely seeing improvement. It didn't help much that I was using eMedia's Software and my laptop needed a reinstall.... FWIW: To those who want to learn Piano or Guitar and have knowledge of MIDI, this software is amazing.

*listening to Brubeck*

Perhaps I'll go do that now.

TTYS!

Xbox 360 Part 2 (.5?)

I reverted back to using component cables, just to get my Optical DD5.1. I had hoped that a second issue I was experiencing would also be solved. However... it was not. I've since opened a repair order and will be sending my 'box back to the repair facility.

For those unaware of the issue, read about it here. I figured this was an HDMI handshaking issue. If the 360 doesn't see something on the end of the AV cable, it won't boot up. I never had this issue with my non-HDMI/non-Elite, so I assumed it was handshaking (component has no handshaking, instead it just completes a circuit - if the Xbox can't see that then I say it's busticated). Oh well.. I finished Assassin's Creed and got a few hours of Call of Duty 4 in before packing it up.

Unfortunately I also finished Uncharted: Drake's Fortune on the PS3 as well as Final Fantasy 1 on the PSP. Sandy picked up a new one for her DS called "Professor Layton and the Curious Village" that's promising. I borrowed it from her for a few hours, and the puzzles are a lot of fun. Layer 5 also made Jeanne D'Arc on the PSP, which I absolutely loved. Hopefully this will be as good. I suppose I always have good old Eternal Darkness to keep me busy. I guesstimate that I am about 60% through with it. The combat system is just so dated that I am having a hard time becoming super absorbed.

Now just to not jones for some Mass Effect while it's gone... and I'll be golden.

More Xbox 360 Woes

Full Story Here

I recently picked up a new Sony STR-DG910 7.1 HDMI receiver. I was very excited that I could finally switch all of my HDMI enabled devices through a single unit. More so, I was excited that I could have my Xbox 360 Elite output 5.1 instead of oldschool DPL2.0. Unfortunately the HDMI on the 360 will /only/ output PCM2.0. If you want to have your games output in DD5.1, you'll need to use an optical cable along side the HDMI. Bulllllllshit. Please take note of the small Dolby Digital logo on the back. This just goes to show that MS could give a shit about the 360 consumer... How hard would it be to send bitstream over the HDMI when you're already encoding it for the Optical channel.... I don't get it.

I'm also having massive issues with HDCP handshaking with my 360. I may just go back to using component entirely. Especially since HDDVD is dead (here & here). ;)

C'mon Paramount! Throw down some Transformers on Blu-ray!