Looking to buy an XBox 360

my son is about to join the 360 live movement. anything i need to know about it? just get connected, subscribe to live, and away we go?

Yeah it's that easy for the most part.

Thanks guys. I appreciate all the help. Also I know this must be asked alot but is it really worth paying for XBox Live? PS3's service is for free. That along with my loyalty for the past 6-7 year to Sony are the only things holding me back.

It's definitely worth it. No question. You won't regret it.

If you think you want to use this as an HD-DVD player (with the optional HD-DVD drive) in the future, I suggest getting the Pro (or Elite?) with the HDMI output. The HD-DVD drive works fine right now to play movies, but at some point the stupidios are going to start enabling HDCP on movies, which will render a 360 with just component outputs useless for watching HD-DVD. Just a safeguard for the future.

If you think you want to use this as an HD-DVD player (with the optional HD-DVD drive) in the future, I suggest getting the Pro (or Elite?) with the HDMI output. The HD-DVD drive works fine right now to play movies, but at some point the stupidios are going to start enabling HDCP on movies, which will render a 360 with just component outputs useless for watching HD-DVD. Just a safeguard for the future.

Xbox.com | Xbox 360 - Which Console for You? (http://www.xbox.com/en-US/hardware/compare101.htm?WT.svl=nav)

I am looking at the chart here comparing Pro and Elite adn I don't see the difference there. Only thing is I would have to buy the hdmi cable later, which I wouldnt mind.

Am I correct or is there a hardware difference in terms of DVD stuff?

There used to be (my Pro has only component) - but it looks like HDMI is standard on all versions now. Nevermind!

If you want to game online, no console can compare to your computer.

If you want to game online, no console can compare to your computer.

Same holds for cost. Gaming consoles are a minimum of 50% cheaper than the PC rig you would need to play the leading games. Unless, of course, you are talking about WoW (http://www.redskinswarpath.com/parking-lot/21113-world-of-warcraft.html?highlight=warcraft#post386083)...

Yeah, you can spend more on a nice gaming rig, but if you turn down graphics, effects, etc you can do more with a less powerful machine. That said, you're going to have a computer anyways, why not spend a bit more on it and save money.

Yeah, I play WoW. But there are thousands of other games far more complex than something a console can takeover. I'm just glad Bungie is out of their MS contract and can go back to making PC games (Marathon, Myth I, Myth II [myth series is easily the best game Ive ever played]) Rumor has it they have phoenix coming out at some point.)

The only games that I've found better on a console are sports games.

I don't do any gaming on my PC, but I thought to run COD4, Bioshock, etc., you had to have a $200+ graphics card. That right there is 50-75% of the entire cost of a console. If you don't need something like that, then I can see your point.

The biggest issue for me is that I want to be in my living room on the 1080p when I'm playing a game. I have 2 PCs and 3 laptops, but I prefer the console for games. I guess a part of it boils down to personal choice.

If you think you want to use this as an HD-DVD player (with the optional HD-DVD drive) in the future, I suggest getting the Pro (or Elite?) with the HDMI output. The HD-DVD drive works fine right now to play movies, but at some point the stupidios are going to start enabling HDCP on movies, which will render a 360 with just component outputs useless for watching HD-DVD. Just a safeguard for the future.

Ugh. This is the first I'm hearing of this. I just received my HDDVD player for my legacy 360 (no HDMI) two days ago. Not cool.

I guess I'll have to do something when HDCP HDDVDs start hitting the shelves.