Q.? Modding the box! The pros & cons, your opinions would be appreciated.

[The_real_dj]

yea but then things could get silly, surely everyones copied a cd at some point to play on the tape player in there car! etc

anyway i dont want to start a row about priacy lets keep it friendly and on topic

[kRAyZZed]

Originally Posted by The_real_dj

yea but then things could get silly, surely everyones copied a cd at some point to play on the tape player in there car! etc

anyway i dont want to start a row about priacy lets keep it friendly and on topic

I believe this thread titled asked for opinions, did it not?

did i at any point personally attack you in my post?

i stated that you are breaking the law, and are being a hinderence to the industry and are likely to get banned from xbox live, now if you have a problem with hearing these opinions then maybe you shouldnt read a thread that asks for them...

[The_real_dj]

lol its a fair cop gvr'ner http://www.elspa.com/consumer/faqs.asp

[kRAyZZed]

So far as copyright in software is concerned the law provides that the lawful user may make a backup "where it is necessary for him to have for the purposes of his lawful use".

However this is generalised and if you read the terms and conditions of your xbox games you would see that making backups of them IS illegal

also from your own source

Is having your PlayStation chipped illegal?

Yes (oh, we're such kill-joys, aren't we!?). The Courts have held that a Chip is a device which circumvents copy protection. Copyright law regards the supply of such devices as an infringement of copyright. New copyright offences arising from the implementation of the copyright directive in the Autumn of 2003 may also apply to PSX chippers

now using legal precedent and the case of R v McIntyre 2004 this had been decided that ANY chip that is designed or has the quality of circumventing copy protection where also illegal

[Tezcatlipoca]

Originally Posted by kRAyZZed

emmm yes but xbox live has not only started checking for any abnormal bioses but now also scans the hard drive and if any abnormality is detected then you can get banned from xbox live.

The "new" scan is apparently for hard drives which are larger than the standard 8 (or 10) gigs - it isn't a file scan (yet).

It is also not confirmed that M$ are actually banning people who have bigger than normal HDDs in their XBox.

The code for the scan has apparently been around for months.

The recent news of the "new" scan was released by a modchip team called SmartXX...who happened to also say that they will soon have a new chip that can circumvent this new scan. PR stunt? Or just trying to help?

XBoxScene.com - www.xboxscene.com

Thread at XBoxScene: http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.p...&f=53&t=183941

Story at Gamespot: http://www.gamespot.com/xbox/action/...s_6091238.html

Also, what use is banning people who have bigger HDDs? People with modded XBoxes that have a standard retail HDD will still be able to go on XBL as normal (with the chip off, obviously), so how does banning modded boxes with bigger drives do anything?

In my opinion there is no legit reason to mod an xbox, the ppl that say there are are obviously only out to play "backup" games (btw it is now illegal to even make a backup of a game you own) and thus rob the developers and retailers of any money. You obviously dont realise how much hard work goes into creating a game and throughout the process, playing copied games in my opinion is just as bad as if you went into a shop and stole the game of the shelf....

No legit reasons?

Playing import games - e.g. I ordered Deus Ex 2 from the US three months before it was finally released in the UK & Europe (we had to wait extra long because of all the translations needed for the PAL European version). Another recent game out in the US well before it was out over here is the excellent Prince of Persia.

Playing import DVDs - modding my XBox has meant I can use its (v good quality) DVD player to play my R1 discs as well as my R2 discs, enabling me to finally retire my crappy old budget multi-region DVD player (& also save some desk space).

Emulators - OK, it is technically illegal to download ROMs of old SNES, MegaDrive, N64 games etc. But....you're not depriving the companies of any money, as the games & systems are no longer made & can no longer be bought 1st hand - the only way is to buy 2nd hand e.g. on Ebay etc etc (in which case, Sega, Nintendo, etc still don't get any money from you). Plus, you may still actually own the old systems & games yourself anyway (I still have most of mine), but just don't want to have a whole pile of ancient consoles under your TV.

As for "Backups" - yes, that is piracy & is therefore illegal copyright theft. I do agree with you on this one, as pirating games does rob the developers of their hard earnt money.

and as for using your xbox as a media center, that is what a pc is for, dvd player even......

Who says it is what a PC is for?

PC & XBox could be in different rooms. PC in an office or bedroom, while the XBox is in the lounge with the TV & HiFi & so on. The XBox would then be more useful as a media centre than the PC.

Why have a seperate DVD player, when the XBox can do it?

I'd also prefer to use my XBox than my PC for media simply because my PC sucks, plus my XBox is plugged into a nice big WS TV whereas the PC has a puny 17" monitor.

and those ppl who said they wanted bragging rights with their faster xbox, sure your clock speed may be faster - no games take advantage of it mind and using non-standard hardware also cause sever instability in your machine

True. I don't really see the point in it myself.

[Tezcatlipoca]

Originally Posted by Tricky

What is the advantage of flashing your BIOS? - How do you do it if you have an excuter lite

Newer BIOSs have newer features.

e.g. Xecuter 2 BIOS v4981 "blocks" the ability to log onto XBox Live, & so helps prevent you from accidentally going on XBL with your chip turned on (& so helps prevent accidental XBL bannings). Other features could be improved ways of getting around region protection, bug fixes, etc etc. Some big updates, some little updates.

Try XBoxscene.com if you want to know how to flash an X2Lite. Lots of help there on the site & the forums.

[ZrByte]

Originally Posted by Tezcatlipoca

Emulators - OK, it is technically illegal to download ROMs of old SNES, MegaDrive, N64 games etc. But....you're not depriving the companies of any money, as the games & systems are no longer made & can no longer be bought 1st hand - the only way is to buy 2nd hand e.g. on Ebay etc etc (in which case, Sega, Nintendo, etc still don't get any money from you). Plus, you may still actually own the old systems & games yourself anyway (I still have most of mine), but just don't want to have a whole pile of ancient consoles under your TV.

Its not actually illegal to own a ROM if you have the original Cartridge/disc somewhere, as most of these games are from before backups where actually possible and as such carry no backup disclaimers in the liscence agreement.

PC & XBox could be in different rooms. PC in an office or bedroom, while the XBox is in the lounge with the TV & HiFi & so on. The XBox would then be more useful as a media centre than the PC.

Why have a seperate DVD player, when the XBox can do it?

I'd also prefer to use my XBox than my PC for media simply because my PC sucks, plus my XBox is plugged into a nice big WS TV whereas the PC has a puny 17" monitor.

You can link a PC to TV quite easily these days, it doesnt take top of the line hardware to do it either......
This is my baby....
[img]Download Failed (1)[/img]
Smaller than an X-Box and can do pretty much anything the X-Box can do without all that hassle filled modding (Except play high end games, add an extra £100 for that)
It cost....
Duron 1.1Ghz (£18)
2x 128MB crucial RAM (£16 each = £32)
3.2GB hdd (rather old so technicly Free )
Shuttle-X SN41G2 Mini Barebones system (£150)
ATi Remote Wonder Remote Control (£30
Slot loading DVD ROM (£16)
Total £246

It doesnt make a good Games system but makes a great entertainment system.

EDIT: Silly me, I forgot the Wireless Network, add £32 for that
New Total £276

[grindkid25]

very nice..n small aswell. i use a laptop which is ok for gaming

(20Gig HD, 2.0GHZ, 256mb Ram ect)

but use xb much more

[Brainbug71]

Wow,

I never thought this would get such replies to the thread.

I had previously spoken to Tez about this and pretty much new how he felt, and despite reading the post i must say that i'm still erring towards modding the box. Even more now that there bios' that stop you from logging into live whilst its turned on.

As for piracy, well i own all my games and if i were to back one up onto the hard drive it would be so i could play system link with my son on his hard drive without having to purchase another copy of already owned games.

Concerning this thread, I would like to see if there are any other people that feel strongly about this.

Bring it on people

[imback]

Originally Posted by kRAyZZed

who said i hadnt tried it?

but if you think that stealing is a good thing then go ahead, as that is what you are ultimately doing, i look forward to the day when your hdd gets scanned and you get banned from xbox live...

edit: you said you used it to play your music, movies and games then? of course naturally you legally own all of these and you mean playing them using your xbox? :P, its ppl like you who are making the prices of games, dvds and music cd's so high as the developers have to have a higher profit margin to make up for all those ppl illegally acquiring their intellectual property

[img]Download Failed (1)[/img]

My god that is a very tall, or very high horse isn't it

[kRAyZZed]

Originally Posted by imback

My god that is a very tall, or very high horse isn't it

lol no you see i work in the games industry and i see business suffering everyday due to this kind of piracy

[Brainbug71]

Are we saying then that @ £40.00 per game the industry is struggling to survive.

Not that i'm an advocate of piracy !!!

[kRAyZZed]

Originally Posted by Brainbug71

Are we saying then that @ £40.00 per game the industry is struggling to survive.

Not that i'm an advocate of piracy !!!

Lets see the suppliers charge £25.50 for the shops to get the latest game (no doubt the suppliers mark this price up at least £5 from the price they get it straight from the publishers from...then of course the developers get a further percentage of this....)

then the vat man takes 17.5% so your up to £29.96,

overheads etc and a new game at £39.99 (although we rarely sell anything at full retail anyway)

i dont disagree with ppl saying that a game is too expensive at £40 but its the fact that ppl dont realise how much work goes into them and the length of time alot of games are worked on..... ppl need to get paid for their months/years of work.....

edit: also as you saw in my post i did state that the prices would be cheaper if it was not for all this piracy - im sure the publishers mark up the price to counteract the losses they would have ensued....but this doesnt in anyway protect the suppliers or the retailers....

[Daniel davies]

march edition of XBOXGAMER has the A-Z list of hacking an X-BOX

well worth the 3.99

[Neil]

Originally Posted by Brainbug71

As for piracy, well i own all my games and if i were to back one up onto the hard drive it would be so i could play system link with my son on his hard drive without having to purchase another copy of already owned games.

That's still illegal though.