December's launch ofthe Metro dashboard has finally propelled 360 into the world of the set-top box.
A good thing? You decide. What's certain is that the huge volume of media, software and general clutter on Xbox Live has demanded much of this new interface, which in turn demands a fair bit of you. Consider this a survival guide, then, for the console's latest reincarnation.
SAVE ONLINE
Why do it? Take your saves anywhere and make any Xbox your own.
Cloud saving is one of the best new features of Xbox Live and another good reason to go Gold - among other really useful things, it takes the pain out of playing on other people's machines. Go to System->Storage->Cloud Saved Games to set it up. You'll get 512mb of online space that you can use just like a normal memory card orhard drive. Useful.
ALERT FRIENDS
Why do it? Play the online games you want to play
Hate hanging around waiting for people to get ready? Just nudge to the Beacons tab and choose a game or activity to alert your friends or social network. Xbox will then alert you when they're sorted. Jump into the Xbox Guide and select Beacons & Activity.
SILENT DASH
Why do it? Make your dashboard STFU
If the sound effects sound a bit too much like someone mouth-breathing in your ear - all that swooshing in and out of categories - you can turn them off by going to Console Settings->Audio->Sound Effects.
CONTROL YOUR XBOX ANYWHERE
Why do it? Control your Xbox from anywhere in your home
The Windows Phone 7 Xbox Companion App isn't quite as full-on as PS3's Remote Play. The app is free to install from the Windows Phone Marketplace. Link it to your 360 via the Console Settings->Xbox Companion menu.
PLAY ANY VIDEO
Why do it? Watch popular video formats the 360 wouldn't ordinarily support.
Xbox 360 and PS3 are in the same boat when it comes to supporting media formats: neither manufacturer is comfortable supporting them all. For 360, though, you can use PC app Tversity (www.tversity.com) to 'transcode' any video file before streaming it to 360 for playback. It's a bit fiddly at first, and requires a wired connection and hefty horsepower for HD, but it works.
Comments
14 comments so far...
bamozzy on 22 Jan '12 said:
Anyone know of any decent FREE themes for the xbox. I am also reluctant to pay for themes for several reasons but one of my main gripes is that you don't even get a preview before you buy so they could look awful. I would also prefer to save my points for things that are little more than just cosmetic.
Bing Search is not very good for finding FREE items - I tried a search for FREE themes and had no luck. Also trawling through every Game themes available on xbox.com is not very productive and quite time consuming so was hoping that some of you may have discovered a few whilst looking.
I know Forza 4 and Batman: Arkham Asylum both have a free theme (I know some movie advertisements often have a free theme but I am not really interested in these).
Maybe we should start a thread for FREE items on both PS3 and Xbox....
Barry316 on 22 Jan '12 said:
Not sure about free 360 themes (the 360 here has the South Park premium one on) but if you want free PS3 themes then this is the best site.....
http://www.ps3-themes.com/
Just download them on the PS3 browser straight to the console.
KesMonkey on 22 Jan '12 said:
20 ways? Where are the other 10?
The ability to mute the dashboard sound effects is nothing new, and has been available since the very first iteration of the dash.
@bamozzy: Not sure about free themes, but you can preview many premium themes here:
http://www.themexbox.com/index.php?board=1.0
shogunreaper on 22 Jan '12 said:
How exactly is streaming with tversity new lol? It's been around for years.
gmcb007 on 22 Jan '12 said:
Oh how i'd love an option to go back to a classic dashboard set-up. I'm sick of this tacky multimedia ad-vest mess of a dashboars. Let the users customise it to their prefrences e.g indie fans could put a link to the indie marketplace on their first screen.
metallicorphan on 22 Jan '12 said:
I pretty much know about most of them and i think some may of been before the new dash was released(eternal HDD and turn off notices)and I know how to change themes,but how the hell did you get it blue?..every theme i have(32) still keeps the green colour
billysastard on 23 Jan '12 said:
do they call this new dashboard "metro" because like the newspaper of the same name its useless and full of adverts?
billysastard on 23 Jan '12 said:
i get most of my legal "free" xbox live stuff (games, avatar stuff, themes etc) from here http://www.xboxgaming.co.za/xbl-marketplace-free/
its really handy, open an xbox.com page and sign in (keep one open to stay signed in) then click on anything you fancy on the above site and it will allow you to add it to your download queue ready for next time you sign into live from your xbox.
(please note the above site only allows an easy way to access FREE xbl content, not pirated or questionable content).
Old Skool Gamer on 23 Jan '12 said:
MODIO @ game-tuts.com
WHERESMYMONKEY on 23 Jan '12 said:
Surprised you didn't Say use an external HDD to play video files. With the Optional media update you can play most things with a lot less buggering about than using tversity.
solamon77 on 23 Jan '12 said:
About TVercity, you don't NEED a wired connection to stream full 1080p video to your Xbox. Granted, this is the preferred method, but a N router blasting at at least 200 mpbs (preferably 300 mbps if you will be streaming lossless DTS 5.1 sound with it) will do the trick. I use a similar set up every day at my house and it works great.
solamon77 on 23 Jan '12 said:
Unfortunately, neither the 360 nor the PS3 support MKV files natively and it's this container format that has become the standard across the internet for HD sound and video. I suspect neither Sony nor MS is in any hurry to support this format either due to it's popularity with pirates. This is the main reason to use TVercity (or even better, PS3 Media Server, which isn't just limited to the PS3).
bamozzy on 23 Jan '12 said:
Thanks - some cool themes on there
Thanks- that was really quite handy and useful
try4life on 24 Jan '12 said:
i taught turning on the xbox maxed it out