Games Video 1

Xbox 360 Fall Update Details

bnsspringUpdate.jpg

Microsoft has released the full list of what the Fall Update includes. The update, which will be released on December 4, contains a bunch of new features and improvements. Personally, I couldn’t be happier about getting DivX support. Goodbye TVersity! For those of you not fond of reading, skip to the end for a video tour of the new features.

Full Features List for 2007 Fall Update

  • Improved Video Library.
  • Improved visuals and descriptions.
  • Users can now sort movies and TV Shows in the video library by Title or (Download) Date.
  • TV shows can now be grouped by Series .
  • Group video and game trailers .
  • Art associated with personal video files on a portable device will now be displayed.
  • Easier to use media areas and improved metadata .
  • Improved source selection for video, picture, and music libraries, making it easier to switch between console/digital camera, computer, portable device or disc.
  • New “Suggested Items” link for downloaded movies.

Feature Details:

Media – All

  • Added more user friendly text for various error related messages
  • Added Shortcut keys from Remote Control: Pressing Play on a Video/Song/Picture will immediately start playback of that item from the list (pressing Start from gamepad does the same thing)
  • Added support for Album/Video artwork larger than 500kb
  • Added support to enumerate metadata in the background and not just when selected by the user
  • Added support to make sort options sticky across console reboots
  • Added support to show all available Media Sharing Servers on the local network and allow automatic re-affiliation
  • Automatically delete older versions of Optional Media Update package when new ones are downloaded
  • Improved consistency in storage naming across all areas
  • Improved performance for displaying Album Art when connected to remote sources
  • Improved text messaging when connection to PC is lost when streaming Music/Photo or videos
  • Improve boot speed with media when console startup is to boot-to-dash

Media – Music

  • Added support for CD Playback from music area in Xbox 360 Guide area
  • Added support for listing multiple computer sources in Xbox Guide music sources
  • Added support for Y button to toggle full screen on and off for music visualizer
  • Disable ‘play all’ button when folders only contains playlists (with no audio files)
  • Disable Y button when no list items selected in Music player
  • Improved device support for new iPods (classic and 3rd gen Nano) – iPhone and iPod touch are not supported
  • Improved error handling for mixed encoded playlists (aac,mp3,wma)
  • Improved handling for MTP Music devices with >200k entries
  • Improved handling of game background music after playing videos in Dashboard
  • Improved handling of music playback over games (if music source terminates or has errors, background music returns to game background)
  • Improved performance for “Play All” with attached MTP devices
  • Improved performance of music enumeration via Guide
  • Improved robustness when playing back HFS+ formatted iPods
  • Improved support for returning to game background audio when user’s music player session terminates
  • Improved support for scrolling song lists while listening to music during game playback
  • Improved support when ejecting game disc while selecting music source through Guide

Media – Pics

  • Added support to display PNG files when streamed from Windows Media Player 11 on Vista
  • Improved enumeration for PTP cameras including Cannon Powershot SD 630 and Apple Iphone
  • Improved playback performance of “Play All” when PC source has 1000s of photos and subdirectories
  • Support Folder view of Photos from MTP Portable Devices

Media – Video

  • Added 2 line support for entries in the Video Area of the Media Blade
  • Added ability to recognize Colorspace attribute for Video Marketplace Content
  • Added fade in transition for start of video playback
  • Added full screen buffering animation for streaming videos from Xbox LIVE
  • Added Suggestions scene for Video Library area in Media blade of the Dashboard
  • Added support for 16x Fast-forward/Rewind
  • Added support for AC3 embedded audio (see video faq for full information)
  • Added support for enumeration of video files from Zune 2.0 devices
  • Added support for Left Shoulder button on controller to chapter skip backward
  • Added support for Left Trigger button on controller to rewind
  • Added support for moving past the point user has viewed when doing progressive downloads of Video Marketplace videos
  • Added support for MP3 embedded audio (see video faq for full information)
  • Added support for Mpeg-4 part 2 video files in AVI containers
  • Added support for Right Shoulder button on controller to chapter skip forward
  • Added support for Right Trigger button on controller to fast forward
  • Added support for Zune Podcast video playback from Zune device
  • Added support to display metadata and thumbnails embedded in video files
  • Added support to enumerate .divx video files
  • Added support to group TV shows by Series in Video Library of Media Blade
  • Added support to group Video and Game Trailers into same area of Video Library of Media Blade
  • Added support to sort Movies or TV Shows by Title or Download date in Video Library of Media Blade
  • Added top level support to show expired or soon to expire information for purchased movies from Video Marketplace in Media Blade
  • Improve support for “Play Now” calculations with ISP that boost download for the first 20MB of a file
  • Improved accuracy of bookmark positions when video player abnormally ends
  • Improved accuracy of download progress bar after chapter skipping operations
  • Improved auto resizing experience for small (under 100×100) video files
  • Improved Bookmark / Resume experience with 60fps Interlaced WMV videos
  • Improved bookmark support while progressively downloading videos from Marketplace
  • Improved calculations for “Play Now” for Video Marketplace downloads
  • Improved deinterlacer support for video playback
  • Improved enumeration speed for user-generated video content in Media Blade
  • Improved error message support when playing back video files without valid licenses
  • Improved error message support when pulling USB drive while playing back video files
  • Improved handling for USB memory stick removal while on Video device selection list in Media blade
  • Improved handling of video playback when transitioning from 4x FF to Play with MP4 video files
  • Improved handling of WMV bookmarks when rewinding and shutting down video player
  • Improved info pane timer when playing back DRM’s WMV content from Windows Media Player 11 from Windows PC
  • Improved message support for progressive video playback
  • Improved overall UI, content descriptions and navigation of Video Library of Media Blade
  • Improved performance during Fast Forward to Playback transition when playing back MP4 content
  • Improved performance for buffering and playback of streaming videos from Xbox LIVE
  • Improved performance for low bandwidth streaming of MP4 videos from Zune PC software v1.0
  • Improved performance of skip forward/backward with WMV video files
  • Improved performance of trick modes when streaming videos from Zune PC client
  • Improved performance of WMV playback for WMV7 & WMV8 encoded video files
  • Improved playback experience after extended pauses of video files from Marketplace
  • Improved playback experience when resuming from a stopped/paused state
  • Improved playback performance for h264 720p .MOV files
  • Improved playback performance with 1920×1080 MP4 files
  • Improved playback performance with 5Mb h264 encoded video files
  • Improved playback performance with 60fps 720×480 MP4 content
  • Improved playback performance with h264 files in .m4v containers
  • Improved quality for upscaled user videos when played back full screen
  • Improved quality of MP4 decoder: Global Motion Compensation and VMX optimizations
  • Improved quality of MP4 decoder: improved Interlaced Support
  • Improved quality of MP4 decoder: Out of order frame output, bidirectional motion vector handling, etc.
  • Improved quality with non-square pixel video files
  • Improved responsiveness of trick mode controls for video playback
  • Improved robustness during chapter skipping of h264 video files
  • Improved robustness for streaming problematic video files from Zune PC Software 1.0 or Windows Media Player 11
  • Improved robustness of video player when playback catches up to downloads in progressive playback scenarios
  • Improved robustness of video streaming when network congestion / stalls occur
  • Improved robustness when closing video player after attempting to play a video file that would not open
  • Improved robustness when entering and exiting video playback on a portable device repeatedly
  • Improved robustness when exiting video files encoded in h264 and playing back from attached USB HDD
  • Improved robustness when playing back Mp4 video with consecutive bad aac samples encoded into it
  • Improved robustness when shutting down console during h264 video playback
  • Improved robustness when trying to play a video recently moved from MU to HDD or vice versa
  • Improved robustness with video player when exiting player via Xbox Guide button -> Y
  • Improved support for AAC-LC 2 channel encoded audio in MP4 video files
  • Improved support for chapter skipping during progressive downloads of Marketplace Video content
  • Improved support for MP4 video files with discontinuous time stamps encoded in
  • Improved support for MP4 video playback from burned optical dvd-r’s
  • Improved support for resuming downloaded videos after reaching end of an uncompleted download
  • Improved support for resuming partially downloaded videos from Marketplace
  • Improved support for using Big Button controller during video playback
  • Improved support for Video bookmarks when playing MP4 videos from USB portable hard drives
  • Improved sync of video display and info pane display when rewinding
  • Improved text for Windows Media Center setup instructions
  • Improved Trick mode support when streaming videos with AAC embedded audio
  • Improved video performance for 60fps interlaced WMV videos
  • Improved Video performance with 15Mbs 1080i 24fps WMV video files
  • Improved video playback for Fast-forward and immediate exit usage with h264 video files
  • Improved video playback of MP4 content from Zune PC Software v1.0
  • Improved video playback when source content has incorrect sync samples encoded
  • Improved video quality for SD Composite AV pack displays of the on-screen display for video controls
  • Improved video support for chapter skipping of MP4 videos
  • Improved Videotrick mode support with 24fps 1080i WMV video files
  • Improved visual display of WMV video files while rewinding
  • Improved WMV Playback performance for 60fps and 1080i 30fps videos
  • Improved WMV7 performance with VLC encoded content
  • Removed occasional purple flickers in video playback when transitioning between FF and RW
  • Removed potential 9 second delay when rewinding WMV video files

System

  • Added fade out transition when powering down console
  • Added fade out transition when launching games
  • Added support for browsing XNA games within the Games blade
  • Added support for video playback from UDFS formatted USB devices
  • Added support for XNA Game Studio Express V.2
  • Added support to connect to Apple Extreme routers in 802.11a/n mode
  • Added support to pause background downloads when streaming full screen videos or ads
  • Added support to retrieve game thumbnail directly from XNA game package
  • Added system wide support for Simplified Chinese language
  • Added text to explain flashing LED in the Ring of Light during background download low power mode
  • Addressed rare case where game disc would spin in the DVD drive while playing HD-DVD Movie in external HD-DVD drive
  • Disable Optical audio output when in low power background download mode
  • DVD player no longer converts to YCbCr709 when output is over HDMI
  • Improved auto sign-in to Xbox LIVE with Xbox 360 Wireless Adapter
  • Improved clock accuracy for S/PDIF optical streams
  • Improved compatibility with NEC WR8400N WiFi routers
  • Improved download speeds when in low power background download mode
  • Improved DVD Tray State notifications immediately after application of System Update
  • Improved Forced Aspect Ratio Changes via HDMI output (including DVI)
  • Improved handling when ejecting game disc during game start
  • Improved handling when removing MU after sending Arcade game recommendation to friend
  • Improved localization text for Wifi setup in German
  • Improved performance for Game Titles to reboot in backcompat scenarios
  • Improved performance of Xbox Guide during Messenger signin
  • Improved robustness when ejecting game disc when prompted for game title update
  • Improved robustness when inserting two MU’s at the same time on the device selector scene
  • Improved support for 3rd Party Controllers
  • Improved support for Buffalo WiFi routers
  • Improved support for Creston AV receivers with HDMI
  • Improved support for JPN Corega CG-BARFX network router
  • Improved support for signing into Xbox LIVE with Big Button Controller
  • Improved support for starting console with Big Button Controller when console is charging attached Wireless Controllers
  • Improved Xbox guide performance ~2x
  • Removed “Windows-based PC” from Computers area in Systems blade
  • Removed option to “Turn off Controller” when using Big Button Controller
  • Resync the Ring of Light pattern to the boot audio/animation
  • Updated copyright dates for 2007