I'm a bit suprised at the news myself as:

1) As far as the new format goes, blu-ray is kicking the crap out of HD-DVD. Selling 2-1over the first 6 months of this year.

2) Sure, cheaper HD-DVD players are coming out, but honestly, even if they were $199, there is no way that someone (in the masses) picks one up in place of a $39 regular DVD player that may even have upconversion! AtBest Buy, where they sell most the HDTVs their sales staff push regular DVD players that upconvert. Hey, it's an easier sale, so why wouldn't they!

3) PS3's sell whether a person want's to watch blu-ray movies or not. The odds that at some point a PS3 user will say, what the heck and buy some blu-ray dvds for it (or in my case, I buy new movies coming out in blu-ray but have kept my old dvd library) is pretty high. Thus the user base for blu-ray increases daily! For HD-DVD, you have to go out and buy the 360 add on, or buy a separate player. Either of which could be a complete waste should HD-DVD fail. As far as the PS3, sure you are paying for blu-ray, and if it fails it too is wasted, but it's easier to say, I have a PS3 for playing games (and I got screwed on the blu-ray thing) than it is to say, my HD-DVD add on or HD-DVD player is a waste and is now a door stop!

Sold my old launch 360 premium, which I had hooked up to my HDTV via component (360 set to1080i) with no problems. Got a new 360 premium w/HDMI hooked up to my HDTV vai component (360 set to 1080i) and now I have a verticle line that is visible. Sometimes it moves slow left or slow right, sometimes it stays in one spot, other times it seems to cycle from left to right. I change the 360 setting to 720p and the verticle line disappears. So I've now left it set at 720p.

My question is this, I have an older Samsung 26" WS HDTV that accepts 480i/480p 720p/1080i thru component and upconverts 480i to 480p and 720p to 1080i as the HDTV is 480p/1080i native resolution.

I'm guessing that something has changed in the new 360 as far as the signal it puts out when set to 1080i, because when I set my 360 to 720p and let the HDTV upconvert to 1080i the problem goes away.

I guess it really doesn't matter as either way I'm getting 1080i, it's just that my HDTV is upscalling now, where in the past my360 was doing the scaling to 1080i.

I am sick and tired of FPS that limit what you can/can not do in a game. I completely understand that there is scripting involved (for instance, you go around a corner, and it triggers some guys coming out after you, etc....), but why is it that:

1) I have a bigF gun that can blow holes in my enemies, yet it can not shoot open a locked door? In fact it doesn't seem to do any damage what so ever to an oldwooden door. If my enemies were smart, they'd sheild themselves with wooden doors. I'd be screwed!

2) Ican tightrope walk over aplank that is 4 stories up, I can jumpupin the air to a ledge, yet I can not seem tojump,climb, or crawl over, under, or around some small crates that are laid in front of an alley? Seems to me all my enemies would have to do is surround themselves with some crates and I'd be screwed as I couldn't get to them! In fact,had they simply lined the beach at Normandy with crates, the invasion would have failed!

Just tired of a few of these limiting factors in FPS. In my opioniona FPSshould give you a goal, and then let you do what you need to do to accomplish it. For instance, it says, take out a radio control center. Well, maybe you sneak in and place some explosives next to the radio, or maybe you start the building on fire, and then shoot everyone as they come out. Maybe you fill a truck with fuel tanks and then drive the truck into the building bailing out just before it crashes into the building. Maybe you commandere a tank and shoot the building. I don't know, but it should be up to you. The designers should build the city, let you traverse throughout the city doing what ever it is you can do, and have scripting react to what you are doing. If you steal a truck then the scripting sends off some troops to stop the truck. If you steal a tank, maybe they send in a plane trying to destroy the tank, etc... I know it would be harder to develop for, but imagine the replay quality of the game, you could virtually play through a single scenario multiple times never doing the same thing twice.

I just purchased one of the new XBOX 360 premiums that has the HDMI output. I had heard that MS had recently extended 3 year warrenties to all 360 owners...does this include me, since I just bought one last night? Also, to get in on this, do I have to buy the 2 year extended warrenty via the form that came with the 360...for $59?

Any info is appreciated.

First 5 minutes or so, I was like, man this is cool. Then after circling and dog fighting for 15 minutes with multiple missles, special weapons, etc... I started to think... Man, this would be way cooler if it was more realistic, as far as missions go.

I don't think it needs to be a 100% sim, asI don't want to have to learnhow to be a pilot in real life just to play a game, but it would be very cool if there was a mission briefing, and then you outfitted your jets with "realistc" payloads and went on a realistic mission.

For example, maybe a mission would be a bombing run. You choose to either fly recon, a bomber, or escort. You then get to pick an appropriate jet to do so, and outfit it with a"realistic" payload forwhat you will need to do. For instance, if you fly escort, you have maybe 2 air to ground missles, and 6-8 air to air missles and 1200 rounds in your cannon. When you are out, you fly home. A realistic escort mission may be that youknock out 1 or 2 radar stations or ground units and then dog fight 1-6 planes at the max. Then you go home,as your mission is done.

Flying around for 25 minutes launching off 20+ missels...is there nothing more to this game???