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Xbox 360: System Use
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View Video with Xbox 360

 

There are several ways to view video content with the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system. You can:

  • View DVD and HD DVD movies.
  • View content downloaded from Xbox LIVE Marketplace.
  • View content from a data disc or portable device.
  • View streaming video from the Zune software.
  • View video from a PC running Windows XP or Windows Vista.
  • View video from a PC running Windows Media Center.
  • View video from a USB 2.0 portable drive.

For viewing music and pictures, the console replicates the folder structure used to organize media files on your PC. Bookmarks remember the last location you viewed in your video files as well as the aspect ratio that you selected.

Xbox 360 supports streaming both unprotected content and Windows Media-protected content (WM-DRM).

View DVD and HD DVD Movies

The Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system is a full-featured DVD player for your DVD movies. The Xbox 360 HD DVD Player is also available separately to play HD DVD movies. If you're connected to Xbox LIVE, you can receive notifications during a movie whenever members of your friends list come online, or you can block such messages to focus exclusively on your movie.

To play DVD movies

  1. Press the eject button on the Xbox 360 console (or select Open Tray from any area of the Xbox Dashboard) to open the disc tray.
  2. Place a DVD movie on the disc tray with the label facing up (to the right if the console is vertical).
  3. Press the eject button (or select Close Tray from any area of the Xbox Dashboard) to close the disc tray. The DVD movie will begin playing.

To view on-screen DVD controls including menu, chapter skip, ten-step image zoom, A-B repeat (segment looping), audio and language options, and other buttons press any button on the controller. Use the left stick (LS) to move to a feature, press A to select it, and B to clear the on-screen menu when you're done.

To play HD DVD movies

  1. Make sure an Xbox 360 HD DVD Player is connected to your console.
  2. Press the eject button on the Xbox 360 HD DVD Player (or select Open HD DVD Tray from the lower portion of the disc tray in any area of the Xbox Dashboard) to open the disc tray.
  3. Place an HD DVD movie on the HD DVD player disc tray with the label facing up (to the right if the player is vertical).
  4. Press the eject button (or select Close HD DVD Tray from the lower portion of the disc tray in any area of the Xbox Dashboard) to close the disc tray. The HD DVD movie will begin playing.

Tip

When an HD DVD player is connected to your console, the circle to the left of the disc tray on the Xbox Dashboard splits into two halves. The upper half controls the Xbox 360 disc tray, and the lower half controls the Xbox 360 HD DVD Player disc tray.


Other features include:

  • Bookmarking: Xbox 360 maintains a single bookmark for the most recent DVD movie you played. When a movie is stopped or if the console is turned off during playback, the console remembers, or bookmarks, your location in the movie. The next time you load the movie, playback will commence from the bookmarked point. Bookmarks work only if the console is connected to either an Xbox 360 Hard Drive or an Xbox 360 Memory Unit.
  • High-def: With an Xbox 360 Component HD AV Cable connected to a high-definition or HD-ready television or monitor, you can view your DVD movies in 480p and your HD DVD movies in 480p, 720p, or 1080i. With an Xbox 360 VGA HD AV Cable, you can view both DVD and HD DVD movies in any supported resolution up to 1080p. (To achieve these resolutions, your TV must be capable of displaying them, and you must set the appropriate resolution in your Xbox 360 console settings.) For more information, see Connect to TV or HDTV.
  • Quiet-mode operation: DVD movie playback with Xbox 360 is mechanically quieter than both Xbox 360 gameplay and DVD playback with the original Xbox video game system.
  • Screensaver: When playback is paused, a screensaver will engage to prevent image burn-in (of special concern to owners of plasma televisions). Pressing "play" restarts the movie. Pressing any other key returns you to the movie in its paused state.
  • Play: You can view DVDs at 1/2x, 2x, 4x, 8X, 16x, and 32x and HD DVDs at 2x, 4x, 8x, and 16x normal speed (forward or reverse).
  • Switchable aspect ratio: During video playback you can switch display modes. Auto lets the console pick the best mode. Letterbox expands the image to the size of the screen while maintaining the aspect ratio. Fullscreen fills and crops the image while maintaining aspect ratio (ideal for 16x9 video formatted to fit 4x3 screens). Stretch fills the screen without regard to aspect ratio. Native displays the video in its original resolution.
  • Shortcuts: During playback, press the left and right triggers to rewind and fast-foward. Press the left and right bumpers to skip chapters.
  • Support for H.264, MPEG-4 video, and WM-DRM: For more information, see the Video Playback FAQ.

To block on-screen notifications

  1. Press the Xbox Guide button.
  2. Select Personal Settings, then:
    • To temporarily block notifications and display your online status as busy, select Online Status, Busy.
    • To block notifications ongoingly, select Notifications.

      The console's default setting is to accept both visual and aural notifications. To turn off visual notifications, deselect Show Notifications. To turn off notifications during movies only, deselect Show During Movies. To turn off aural notifications, deselect Play Sound.
  3. Press the Xbox Guide button again to return to your previous activity.

To switch display modes

  1. During video playback, press A on the controller or Display button on the remote control. The on-screen playback controls appear.
  2. Select the Display mode button (third button from the right) to cycle through the different display modes. Each mode appears in the info bar.
  3. Once you've selected a display mode, press B to return to video playback.

View Content from Xbox LIVE Marketplace

To view video content from the Video Store at Xbox LIVE Marketplace, you first need to download it to your Xbox 360 Hard Drive or Xbox 360 Memory Unit (one of which is required to join Xbox LIVE). Once you have a local copy, you can select it and view it from the Xbox Dashboard.

To learn about downloading from Xbox LIVE Marketplace, see Xbox LIVE Marketplace with Xbox 360.

To view video from your Xbox 360 Hard Drive

  1. From the Media area of the Xbox Dashboard, select Videos. If the Console screen is not displayed, press X and select Console.
  2. Select the category of video you want to view, then select the video.
  3. Select Play.

Tip

Shortcut: To play the video from the video list, highlight the video and press the Start button on your controller or the Play button on your remote.


If you're listening to music through the Xbox 360 music player when you start a video, your music will pause until the video is complete. To listen to music while you watch a video, start the video first and then queue music in the Xbox 360 music player.

If a video clip that you downloaded from Xbox LIVE is short enough, you can move it from the hard drive to an Xbox 360 Memory Unit. (You cannot move video content that was included with your Xbox 360 Hard Drive.)

View Content from Data Disc or Portable Device

You can play Windows Media Video (WMV) and MPEG-4 (MP4) files from a data DVD, data CD, or portable device.

To view video from a data disc

  1. Place the disc on the console disc tray and close the tray.
  2. From the Media area of the Xbox Dashboard, select Video. If the Data CD screen is not displayed, press X and select Current Disc.
  3. Select the video you want to play.
  4. Select Play.

To view video from a portable device

  1. Connect your portable device to one of your console's USB controller ports.
  2. From the Media area of the Xbox Dashboard, select Video. If the Portable Device screen is not displayed, press X and select Portable Device. (In some cases, the Portable Device button may display the name of the portable device instead.)
  3. Select the video you want to play.
  4. Select Play.

View Video from a PC running Windows XP or Windows Vista

When you connect your Xbox 360 console to a PC running Windows XP or Windows Vista, you'll see all available video content listed on the Video screen in the Media area of the Xbox Dashboard.

To view video content from a PC running Windows XP or Windows Vista

  1. Visit www.xbox.com/pcsetup to download and install the appropriate software for your PC. For more info about setting up your connection, see Share Media from a PC with Xbox 360.
  2. After you've installed the software, make sure your Xbox 360 console is connected to your PC using one of the following:

    If your console already shares a router with your PC for Xbox LIVE access, your PC is effectively already connected your console. Please be aware, however, that wireless streaming between your PC and your console requires an 802.11a network connection, which is faster than the 802.11b and 802.11g standards.

    To learn about home networking, see Home Networking Basics.
  3. Turn on your Xbox 360 console and go to the Media area of the Xbox Dashboard.
  4. Select Video. If your PC is not selected, press X and select it.
  5. Select the file you want to view.

View Video from a PC running Windows Media Center

When you connect your Xbox 360 console to a PC running Windows Media Center, you'll see all available Media Center video content in the Media area of the Xbox Dashboard.

To view video content from a PC running Windows Media Center

  1. Visit www.xbox.com/pcsetup to download and install the appropriate software for your PC running Windows Media Center. For more info about setting up your connection, see Share Media from Windows Media Center with Xbox 360.
  2. After you've installed the software, make sure your Xbox 360 console is connected to your PC using one of the following:

    If your console already shares a router with your PC for Xbox LIVE access, your PC is effectively already connected your console. Please be aware, however, that wireless streaming between your PC and your console requires an 802.11a network connection, which is faster than the 802.11b and 802.11g standards.

    To learn about home networking, see Home Networking Basics.
  3. Turn on your Xbox 360 console and go to the Media area of the Xbox Dashboard.
  4. Select Media Center, then browse your PC to select the file you want to view.

For More Info

You can simplify DVD movie viewing using the Xbox 360 Universal Remote.

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