Digital Home Thoughts: Xbox 360 V2

"Ever wonder why Microsoft hasn't released an HDMI cable for the Xbox 360, or whether the AV port was really capable of digital out? Well, here's your answer: we landed pictures of what appears to be the second Xbox 360 -- the Xbox 360 v2, if you will -- codenamed Zephyr. (The original Xbox 360, if you recall, was codenamed Xenon.) The long rumored about and awaited update to the console won't just feature a new, cooler 65nm processor, it's also finally added an HDMI port for full digital 1080p pleasure, as well as a 120GB drive, just what the doctor ordered. The 120GB drive may or may not come bundled with the kit, we don't yet know, just as we also don't yet know how much a Zephyr 360 is going to run (we imagine it'll go for the same price as currently so they can keep up a little on their expanding margin). But our very kind Xbox insider seemed happy to let us know we'd be able to get them "soon."



While the XBox 360 has not been fully announced yet, there is at least some good news. You will be able to now watch IPTV on your XBox 360. Bill Gates' keynote did make the interesting point that Microsoft will have four different ways to watch HD TV: using an HD DVD add-on to the Xbox 360; playing HD movies on a PC, and optionally streaming them to the TV via an Xbox 360; by downloading HD movies from Xbox Live; and via IPTV. Link to the story is here.