Setting Up Your New Xbox 360

So you're the proud new mama or papa of a beautiful new Xbox 360™, and as you run your eyes lovingly over the sleek machine, your first thought is, of course, to pop in that new copy of Gears of War® or Viva Pinata™ and get your game on. That's perfectly natural, but remember that your Xbox 360 is no one-trick pony, so don't let its other formidable talents go unused.

Ready to crash your holiday family time.

These friendly tips will help you get your console set up in style and should also get you feeling comfortable with all the functionality that your Xbox 360 has to offer.

Out of the Box
Before we get to the really good stuff, there are a couple of tips to bear in mind as you hook up your new baby.

1. Plastic Strip: Embarrassing as it may be to admit, the clear plastic strip covering the Xbox 360 disk drive nearly gave me a heart attack. Not realizing it was there when I brought my system home last year, I hit the eject button only to be greeted by an alarming "Ch-chunk!" sound as the drive butted against the plastic holding it in place. Do your nerves a favor and peel the strip away before you do anything else.
2. HD Switch: Underneath where the Xbox 360 Component Video Cable plugs into the console is a small switch that toggles between TV and HDTV. This switch is in the standard TV position by default, so make sure it's set to HDTV if you have a high-def television. What's more, in the System menu of your Xbox 360 dashboard you can select the resolution you prefer, such as 720p or 1080i.

Perhaps a bit more in the spirit of the season than Gears.

Media Connect
Provided your PC is running Windows XP (or the upcoming Windows Vista), you can stream your music, pictures, and videos straight to your Xbox 360! It's quick and it's easy to set up, and best of all, it allows you to use your PC as a server for your media files while keeping your Xbox 360 Hard Drive clear for game saves and downloadable content from Xbox Live® Marketplace.

The following instructions have been taken directly from our Xbox.com support article on the subject, and they should have you set in a jiffy.

Step 1: Download Zune software onto your PC.

Step 2: Launch Zune software

• On a Windows XP PC, launch Zune by selecting the Start button, and then Zune.

Step 3: Turn on media sharing.

• In Zune, click Options, Library, Media Sharing.
• Select Share my media.
• Check the media types you want to stream to your Xbox 360 console. Choose Share with all Xbox 360s or Only share with these Xbox 360s.
• If you chose to share only with specific consoles, click those console names to share with them only.
• Click OK to begin streaming media

Once you follow these steps, it's a simple matter of heading to the Media menu in your Xbox 360 dashboard, selecting the media you want to stream, and then selecting the PC you want to stream from.

Family Settings
Parents, guardians, and grandparents have a common worry: Who will children be able to contact on Xbox Live, and what content will they have access to? With Xbox 360, the power to decide on both accounts is in your hands.

Capable of much more than you may realize.

For example, you can ensure that your child can only chat with those on their Friends List, and you can make it so you have to approve each friend before they're added to the list. You can also make it so they can only access downloadable content by specific ratings. What's more, they won't even be able to see content rated above what you select.

Check here for instructions on how to get your Family Settings set up and customized to your preference.

Arcade Bliss
It's easy to get distracted by all the glorious next-gen titles staring down at you from the shelves in your local game store, but don't forget about the hundreds of hours of entertainment waiting to be downloaded from Xbox Live Arcade. These smaller, more affordable titles often offer exciting and unique gameplay not found in bigger budget titles.

What's more, if you picked up the premium system with the hard drive, you'll already have access to Hexic HD, a puzzle game from the mind of Tetris creator Alexey Pajitnov.

Every Xbox Live Arcade game offers a free demo to download, so if a game catches your eye, feel free to take it for a test drive before spending your Microsoft Points on it.

Custom Look
Everything from your Xbox 360 Dashboard to the Guide Button menu can be customized with themes to match the look and feel you want for your system. There are various game-inspired themes, such as Madden NFL 07, and even a theme for the online comic Penny Arcade! If you're feeling creative, you can even create a theme of your own. The process is quite simple.

1. Select the Pictures option in the Media section of your Xbox 360 Dashboard.
2. Select the device you wish to view the picture from, like computer, digital camera, etc.
3. Navigate to the picture you want to use as your background, and press X to apply it as the background.

It's that simple. If you want to further customize your theme, you can also select your Dashboard Trim and the Guide Background.

1. Press the Guide Button menu.
2. Select the Personal Settings option.
3. Select Themes, and then select Customize.

I know friends who have owned Xbox 360 since launch and they still don't know about many of the features their multi-talented console offers. Don't make the same mistake, take advantage of all your Xbox 360 has to offer.

Article by Ryan Treit