Xbox 360 Arcade: How noisy is it when playing back dvds and streaming music?

[mshan]

How quiet / silent is the Xbox 360 Arcade when playing back movies or music, either directly, or streaming from a Windows Home Server box.

Also, how good is the interface when playing back ripped dvds and music? With dvds ripped via file method, does it only playback individual clips, or can you navigate like a regular dvd.

And how good is the interface for browsing through my music library on my Windows Home Server box?

(I have a 60 GB PS3 with a loud, but smooth sounding fan, and the interface for playing back streamed movies or music is questionable, at best). (I don't want to rip the whole dvd to a single MPEG-2 file).

 

[darkswordsman17]

Personally, even idle, the fans on the 360 bug me. It uses dual 60mm, and they've got an annoying whine. I have more sensitive ears than most people though, and I know some aren't bothered. I felt it was distractingly loud watching a DVD, but that's because the DVD drive is even louder and more annoying. Its dependent on what you're listening to/watching though, as it doesn't take a whole lot to drown out the noise, but its easy to hear during silent parts.

I can't offer much help on the rest. I know there's a couple of ways you can do this, and I'll let people who actually have experience with it give you their opinions.

 

[mugs]

Apparently the noise of the DVD drive depends on which DVD drive you have. I never notice the noise from either of my 360s, but then I don't have the volume turned down really low.

Not sure about your question about playing ISOs; I think you can do that if you're using your 360 as a media center extender, but I don't use Windows Media Center so I've never done that.

 

[Queasy]

How quiet / silent is the Xbox 360 Arcade when playing back movies or music, either directly, or streaming from a Windows Home Server box.

As mentioned, it depends on the DVD drive you end up with. Some are noisier than others. That only matters though when playing a DVD though. My Jasper 360 is acceptable to me when streaming and does well enough except with silent scenes when playing a DVD directly.

Also, how good is the interface when playing back ripped dvds and music? With dvds ripped via file method, does it only playback individual clips, or can you navigate like a regular dvd.

And how good is the interface for browsing through my music library on my Windows Home Server box?

You'll have to use Windows Media Center to stream an ISO. Or you can rip everything to h.264 or xvid and stream either from the 360 Dash or the Media Center Extender. The 360 Dash is functional but not pretty. The Media Center Extender software looks good and functions well.

 

[mshan]

The fan in my 60 GB PS3 is very smooth sounding (sounds like a really high quality fan), but it spins up quickly, even at idle, so there is a lot of turbulance type air flow noise.

I saw video clip on YouTube of an Xbox powering up and it sounded like the fans were really coarse and grainy sounding.

I am a very casual gamer and only use my PS3 for driving games (Gran Turismo 3 A-spec, Gran Turismo 4, and Gran Turismo 5 Prologue). The interface for playing back music and ripped dvds (file method with the individual vols, ifo, and bup file) is horrible and I don't want to rerip as single mpeg2 file.

I know Xbox has Forza. I am more into driving simulator type games than smash them up arcade style racing games. How does Forza stack up to Gran Turismo series, and are there any other really good driving simulator type games on Xbox?

And is Xbox 360 Arcade interface for playing back movies and music any better (source is an Acer Easystore H340 Windows Home Server box)?

 

[Queasy]

I know Xbox has Forza. I am more into driving simulator type games than smash them up arcade style racing games. How does Forza stack up to Gran Turismo series, and are there any other really good driving simulator type games on Xbox?

Forza 2 and Forza 3 stack up against Gran Turismo very well. Forza 3 especially.

The only other simulator games would be DiRT 2 and Need for Speed: Shift. Well, there is Race Pro but it is hard for me to recommend.

And is Xbox 360 Arcade interface for playing back movies and music any better (source is an Acer Easystore H340 Windows Home Server box)?

You need a HDD to stream. Except for the hard drive, the Arcade and the Elite are identical.

 

[mshan]

Any idea of how Gran Turismo 5 is going to stack up against comparable Xbox offerings?

(I read somewhere quite a while ago that the PS3 is supposed to be quite a piece of hardware and all of it's potential may not have been tapped yet. Any truth to that?)

 

[Queasy]

Any idea of how Gran Turismo 5 is going to stack up against comparable Xbox offerings?

Forza 3 and GT5 are going to be about even. GT5 will have more cars and typically slightly better graphics but Forza will have more customization options and typically better physics / tuning. Honestly, you won't be able to go wrong with either one.

(I read somewhere quite a while ago that the PS3 is supposed to be quite a piece of hardware and all of it's potential may not have been tapped yet. Any truth to that?)

Neither the 360 or the PS3 are close to being tapped out. Devs are always coming up with new ways to get more from the hardware.

 

[mshan]

Thanks for the insights; they are very much appreciated!

🙂

 

[Shadowknight]

Forza 2 and Forza 3 stack up against Gran Turismo very well. Forza 3 especially.

The only other simulator games would be DiRT 2 and Need for Speed: Shift. Well, there is Race Pro but it is hard for me to recommend.

You need a HDD to stream. Except for the hard drive, the Arcade and the Elite are identical.

Well, the Arcade as 512mb of on-board memory to store the NXE and some save files, but otherwise yeah.

 

[nsafreak]

I agree with what has been said already although personally on mine neither the drive nor the fans are all that loud. Seems dependent on the unit and what you play through it. I have one recommendation though. Instead of browsing directly through your media center for movie playback I would highly recommend using the Windows Media Center interface instead. Add on the Media Browser (http://www.mediabrowser.tv/ ) plugin to media center and you will have one heck of an interface for playing movies. Personally I rip my DVDs in vobfile format then use VOB2MPG Pro to combine them into one MPEG-2 file although you can use this interface to mount ISOs with the help of something like Alcohol.

 

[darkswordsman17]

Some 360s are louder than others, but if you're hearing your PS3, I'm reasonably certain that a 360 is going to be louder, and the fans have a worse pitch.