Console Modchips? Help

[Dimkaumd]

Could someone please explain to me in laymans terms what Modchips for lets say Xbox do?
- Do they have any benefits other than allowing users to play illegal disks.
- Whats a good Modchip?

Thanks

 

[PoPPeR]

www.xbox-scene.com

 

[Qwest]

here we go again...

Play games from the hard drive (which can be subbed for a bigger HD)
Play emulators (nes, snes, arcade, genesis...etc)
Play games burned to a dvd (backups of course)
Turn xbox in a media box that will play any video file possible
Play DVDs without the DVD kit
Enable 480p for dvd playback.
Stream music, videos, pictures from your computer to the xbox via a LAN.