Im thinking about getting a 360 and with the new elite out i cant decide on wich one to get. My TV is capeable of 1080p HDTV, but i dont know if i want to wait around and try to find an elite and pay the extra $80 for only a bigger hard drive and an HDMI output cable. Then again, when you're already paying $400 for a system, whats another $80? What's your thoughts?

For those of you who dont know...
Preimium($400):
20GB hard drive, component output cable capeable of 1080i high-def, has overheating problems. The system comes in a creamy white color.

Elite($470):
120GB hard drive, HDMI output cable capeable of the better 1080p high-def, has a larger fan and doesnt overheat as much. Comes in a slick black color but it is planned to come out in the regular white soon for those people who have white acessories for their original xbox 360.

 

I like my x360 premium...just go with that it's meat & potatoes

 

probly worth it unless you already have a 360...

 

even though you will probrably never use the hard drive and even though you cannot tell the difference between 1080i and 1080p why not, go ahead and getthe elite system. Or you could save the $80 and get the new forza game or halo3 on 9/25/07. If anyone is interested I have found a permanent solution on fixing the xbox premium w/the 3 red light problem. Have already fixed two with this problem.

 

i have a premium but if i would have known about the elite when i got mine i would have waited. mostly just because i like black and im the type of person that likes to go out and get the top of the line crap even though i dont need it.

 

I work as a Home Theater Tech, and my suggestion would be to go with the Elite.

Unless you have a Samsung or Sharp G-Series (the only HDTV's that can support 1080p through component), you are going to need the HDMI output for 1080p support. ESPECIALLY if you plan on adding on the HD-DVD player and want to watch movies in 1080p (which, BTW there is a HUGE difference between 1080i and 1080p for movies.) You really won't see the difference too much between i and p with video games (unless you have a Sony XBR2 or 3, then you can tell.)

The big thing here isn't the difference between 1080i and 1080p though, it's the cable itself. There is a reason why HDMI is better than Component. Component is an analog signal. HDMI is a 100% uncompressed digital signal, thus (even at 1080i) looks better and in some cases refreshes quicker than component cables ever could.

That's my two pennies on the matter though.

 

I do plan on getting an HD-DVD player, but arent HD-DVD movies only capeable of 1080i outs anyways, wouldnt blu-ray disc be the 1080p stuff? If so, then what is the difference between HD-DVD and blu-ray discs?

 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18854247/wid/11915829
[quote]
The console's larger hard drive is a nice addition to Microsoft's console. The drive, a whopping 120 gigabytes bigger than the previous Xbox 360 and twice the size of the drive inside the PlayStation 3, is quickly becoming a requirement for anyone who makes use of the Xbox 360's video download service.
But Microsoft has already launched a replacement drive for those who wanted to level up their storage capacity — it hit stores at the same time as the Elite 360, and cost $179.99. So if all you're after is more storage, it makes much more sense to just upgrade the drive — not the whole system.

That leaves the HDMI-out option — and the PS3-like exterior — as the only reasons to buy the Elite. HDMI is a video output that gives you a crisper high-definition image quality through a single cable that you plug into most modern televisions. What’s puzzling about this feature is that Microsoft spent the better part of last year reassuring Xbox 360 owners that they didn’t necessarily need HDMI out to fully appreciate high-definition video. What gives?

The graphics of Xbox 360 games do seem slightly — ever so slightly — better when viewed through an HDMI cable, but the changes aren’t noticeable unless you really look closely.

There's also the added benefit of only needing to use one cable when connecting your console. In general, that HDMI-out lets you use the console's high-def output with more modern televisions than the less-supported VGA cables the standard Xbox 360 comes with. Unfortunately, Microsoft opted not to use the latest version of HDMI, which means that if you opt to buy the add-on HD-DVD drive for the console (at $199) you won't be able to watch those movies in many of the best audio formats, such as DTS-HD or Dolby True HD.

Besides the new port, the guts of the Elite remain unchanged, which means you still get access to the console's robust line-up of excellent video games, the ability to rent movies, purchase arcade games and television shows online and everything else that makes the Xbox 360 one of the best consoles on the market.

The bad news? All of the problems that have plagued the Xbox 360 since its first iteration are still an issue with the Elite. The console still has the occasional overheating incident – and the noisy fan that attempts to cool things off. And the Elite version of the Xbox 360 still has that godawful, mammoth power supply that's more than a third the size of the console itself.

While most of the issues the Elite suffers center around Microsoft's decision to not fix problems that cropped up in their last version, the Elite does bring one fairly unique issue to the table, though it is more annoying than crippling. If you already own an Xbox 360 and elect to buy this second version, you're going to have some trouble transferring the content you purchased via Xbox Live to the Elite's larger hard drive.

Microsoft decided to hamstring any video game or video you purchased on their Xbox Live Arcade service by forcing you to sign onto your account to access them. In other words, after transferring the games and television shows you purchased from your old hard drive to your new one, you will no longer be able to play or watch them without first connecting to the Internet and logging into your account.
This has nothing to do with technology – Microsoft made this decision as an attempt to limit piracy. And Microsoft does not allow you to transfer any of the movies you may have rented through their Live service to a new hard drive — you have to watch them on your old hard drive first.

Microsoft does make a free "migration kit" available to previous Xbox 360 owners who buy an Elite. The cable includes instructions for the fairly simple process of moving your data fro

 

Elite just cuz i read geeks say it better.

 

So does this mean that the video still wont be able to play in the better formats that 1080p, basically same as the component cables?