XBOX One S console announced & available for pre-order

[daemon]

Due for release 31st Aug

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Microsoft-Xbox-One-2TB-Co...

Main advantages seem to be :-

4K capability
4K Blu Ray built in
40% smaller


I've stuck in a pre-order on Amazon for one as i was going to get a 4K blu ray player at some point anyway. Will flog my current XBox One on ebay in August in advance of it.

Anyone else going to "invest"?

[daemon]

Shinobi said:

Microsoft have advised against people "upgrading" as you won't be able to tell the difference. They have said this console is more for people who don't have one.

The one next year is the "upgrade" model. That's the one I'll be having as already got an Elite.

I think the view is its not worthwhile for casual gamers and / or if you dont have a 4K TV yet.

But if you do have a 4k TV you get:-

4K Blu Ray player
HDR content streaming so it can handle Netflix 4k, etc.
4K upscaling of 1080p games
Some new games can take advantage of the faster CPU and GPU
2TB of storage (mines only a 500GB but with a 1TB usb HDD attached)

Thats more than enough to make it worthwhile for me personally.

[DoctorX]

Worth it if you were in the market for a 4K player, and old consoles seem to be worth £120-ish as a trade in which makes it more bearable. Problem is I stopped buying DVDs ages ago, and having a 4K TV means I can stream Netflix 4K from the native apps already. Struggling to see the point personally, although I'll no doubt get next years model.

[Digitalize]

Hang on, faster CPU and GPU? I've seen literally no mention of that. It's just 4k enabled, seriously the only difference to what it outputs is that fact it has an HDMI 2.0 port, enabling it to output 4k.

Possibly a hardware difference in the BD drive too, I can't remember if they actually changed or if again it was purely a limitation of the HDMI port.

Some games will support HDR though which will be nice.

If you've got a 4k TV with HDR, and want a smaller/quieter XBO then it's probably a worthwhile upgrade. I don't consume any media on my (PS4) so it wouldn't be worth it to me.

[anonymous-user]

besides the obvious specs, another upgrade is a reduction in the noise of the stupid power brick..

[daemon]

Digitalize said:

Hang on, faster CPU and GPU? I've seen literally no mention of that.

Its mentioned all over the place

http://www.windowscentral.com/xbox-one-s-has-addit...

"The Coalition studio head Rod Fergusson talks in particular about improved surface detail on things like metal and armor — it will also provide a more consistent level of technical performance as well, Fergusson told Polygon in an interview following Microsoft's press briefing today.

According to Fergusson, the Xbox One S has additional raw GPU and CPU power compared to the Xbox One, and The Coalition's engineers have been able to take advantage of that to reduce the frequency of frame rate or resolution penalties in more demanding sections of the game."

[Digitalize]

Ah, hadn't seen it mentioned in any of the early comparisons but admittedly haven't followed it too closely other than Major Nelson unboxing it. I assume it will be purely to help with dropping FPS rather than increased graphical quality.

[daemon]

Digitalize said:

Possibly a hardware difference in the BD drive too, I can't remember if they actually changed or if again it was purely a limitation of the HDMI port.

Its a full blown 4K Ultra HD Blu Ray player in it, so no not just a limitation of the HDMI port removed.

Worth noting a 4K Ultra HD Blu Ray player is around £500....

[Digitalize]

daemon said:

Its a full blown 4K Ultra HD Blu Ray player in it, so no not just a limitation of the HDMI port removed.

Worth noting a 4K Ultra HD Blu Ray player is around £500....

My point being, what is physically different from a regular BR player? Is the laser different? Does it spin at a different speed? Obviously your usual BR player would have probably a beefier CPU in to handle it but the XBO obviously already has more than enough of that. Software but that doesn't really count.

Unless like I've said the laser is different, or something to do with the speed it spins, the only limitation I can see would be the HDMI port not supporting 4k.

UHD BR Players are that expensive because they're new, DVD players used to be that expensive.

[daemon]

Digitalize said:

daemon said:

Its a full blown 4K Ultra HD Blu Ray player in it, so no not just a limitation of the HDMI port removed.

Worth noting a 4K Ultra HD Blu Ray player is around £500....

My point being, what is physically different from a regular BR player? Is the laser different? Does it spin at a different speed? Obviously your usual BR player would have probably a beefier CPU in to handle it but the XBO obviously already has more than enough of that. Software but that doesn't really count.

Unless like I've said the laser is different, or something to do with the speed it spins, the only limitation I can see would be the HDMI port not supporting 4k.

UHD BR Players are that expensive because they're new, DVD players used to be that expensive.

The lasers are different
The discs are different
The encoding is different
The specification is different
The bit rate is different

They are a different technology entirely, otherwise do you not think someone would have tweaked a blu ray player to play 4K UHD discs?

They are expensive because they are a totally new format with new technology, not because they are new.

Prices will of course drop over time with the economies of scale as volumes ramp up.

Edited by daemon on Thursday 23 June 22:58

[vonuber]

These new consoles must be loss leaders, surely?

[daemon]

vonuber said:

These new consoles must be loss leaders, surely?

I think they all are and have been since day dot.

They make their money on having such a tight grip on the games market and on the peripherals.

XBOX Live as a business model is inspired. Cut out all the middle men / disc production and distribution costs and totally take out the second hand game market for the games bought on line as they are non transferable

Edited by daemon on Thursday 23 June 23:01

[vonuber]

This may be of interest:

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2016-06-16-micro...

[Narcisus]

vonuber said:

This may be of interest:

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2016-06-16-micro...

Great read.... I could see it coming ...