I tried all the troubleshooting tips but nothing worked. Called Microsoft support and they seemed willing to help and shipped me the box to package it up and sent it in for repair. Three weeks later I received it back and to my dismay they did not fix it.

XBOx wanted to send it in for repair. I contacted Amazon and since it was defective they agreed to take it back. At the time it was out of stock for an exchange.

Gold members pay a $50/year fee in order to play on-line as well as download new content as it becomes available on XBL. Silver members cannot play on-line; however, they are able to download new content, typically, a week after it has been released on XBL. XBL is pretty reliable, but it does have its occasional problems (no, you do not get refunded if problems persist).

They didn't care, their repair team will NOT even touch a console that has been "tampered" with. I spoke with a supervisor and was asked why they couldn't have the decency to at least contact me before shipping it back. I offered to pay for the repair but they said they cannot touch a unit that has been opened.

This is the exact same system as the 20GB and Arcade just with black paint, it still prone to breaking and still is supported by the same terrible customer support as the others. The system has some great titles but with the high failure rate it's just not worth it. I owned 11 of the 20GB's and this system is no better.

They enclosed a letter stating that I had opened it up and therefore voided my warranty. I immediately called the support line again and was told that I tampered with it. Admittently, I did open the outer casing to blow all the dust out as part of the troubleshooting but that was it.

I've owned this product for 4 months and disk drive stopped working, sure it's under warranty but, after spending almost $600.00 on the system, extra controller and game I feel completely ripped off. Save yourself the aggravation and get the ps3.

I left my ps3 on for 14 hours straight and it was hardly hot at all... I use to think the 360 was the best which it was but im starting to look at the ps3 as being better for reliability and the fact the only 2 games i like on 360 that ps3 doesnt have is gears of war which hardly no one plays online anymore and halo 3 which kinda got old after the 2nd one came out to me. Simple fact is a dead system is useless and 360s are notorious for breaking yes even the elites so it doesnt really matter how good it is when its broke now does it?

The RROD requires the consumer to call customer support (1-800-4MYXBOX) in order to send the console into repairs. My suggestion is to pay for the warranty that comes with the 360 because it covers the system for 3 years. If you do send your 360 into repairs, typically, they will send you a refurbished 360.

Retailer would not exchange it they told me to contact microsoft. It turned out it was the hdmi cable that was broken. How the hell does a cable break, I didn't bend it or anything.

This will force you to spend countless hours converting files, an absolute waste of time and hard drive space. Apple is advertising a new move download service, but supposedly movies won't be available until 30 days after they have been released on DVD, sounds like a real winner........

I am not the biggest gamer but I enjoy halo online, all in all I think this is was a waste of money and should only be seriously considered by hardcore gamers.

I ordered this as a XMAS present for my sun before november. Opened it up XMAS day went to set it up and noticed it sounded like something was loose on the inside. Seemed to work fine initally went to update and it said update failed unable to locate hard drive.

I am not saying that the PS3 cannot be a winning system, I just don't understand why so many reviewers will emphatically recommend it but then finish it off with the caveat that the games are not good yet, isn't that the purpose of a gaming system??? I find the controller to feel flimsy, and the console to run EXTREMELY LOUD, even when I am not playing a disc Wii - I find the Wii to be a great system, a pleasant surprise given that it did not go the way of the XBox/PS3 (graphics).

Everyone should be informed just how bad this system is made and how unreliable both it and Microsoft are. Do a quick internet search for "broken Xbox 360" see how many hits you get that all have ligitimate people complaining. Buying one before when this info was a bit more hidden I could understand someone making the mistake but at this point your either just that uninformed, or asking for a problem.

The customer service at microsoft were a bunch of jerks to be kind. Then after having it for a while the fan became so loud it was distracting. I was told that I needed to get the cooling fan which really pissed me off, that was another $25 I had to pay.

I have found the streaming to be very choppy and unreliable (both PS3 and Xbox 360 are hard wired to my network via powerline). The PS3 consistently loses connection to my computer, and the only way I can watch videos from my computer is to actually save them to the PS3 as the streaming is too unreliable. As for the Blu Ray player, it appears that Blu Ray is going to win out as I think now both Warner Bros and Wal Mart are no longer supporting HD-DVD.

When you think of a system now, you should think of it as an investment and not simply as platforming. Aside from missing a few wires you may need during that joyous time you and your system become joined at the hip and two aforementioned games, there is the matter of memory and the things a harddrive can do for you. The Core system has 20GB, not terrible but not overwhelming, while the Elite hefts 120GB into the fray.

So, why should you buy that X-Box 360 when there are other systems to be had? If you look at the titles of games you are interested in beforehand, perhaps the answer to your question resides there. If it does not, with some of the stuff you *need* residing on some other console, then you might want to do more digging and find out if it is an exclusive to that system.

The 360 was the worst investment I have made in the last 15 years of my life. Buyer beware!

I've owned this product for 4 months and disk drive stopped working, sure it's under warranty but, after spending almost $600.00 on the system, extra controller and game I feel completely ripped off. Save yourself the aggravation and get the ps3.

I left my ps3 on for 14 hours straight and it was hardly hot at all... I use to think the 360 was the best which it was but im starting to look at the ps3 as being better for reliability and the fact the only 2 games i like on 360 that ps3 doesnt have is gears of war which hardly no one plays online anymore and halo 3 which kinda got old after the 2nd one came out to me. Simple fact is a dead system is useless and 360s are notorious for breaking yes even the elites so it doesnt really matter how good it is when its broke now does it?

I am not saying that the ps3 cannot be a winning system, I just don't understand why so many reviewers will emphatically recommend it but then finish it off with the caveat that the games are not good yet, isn't that the purpose of a gaming system??? I find the controller to feel flimsy, and the console to run EXTREMELY LOUD, even when I am not playing a disc Wii - I find the Wii to be a great system, a pleasant surprise given that it did not go the way of the XBox/ps3 (graphics).

I have found the streaming to be very choppy and unreliable (both ps3 and Xbox 360 are hard wired to my network via powerline). The ps3 consistently loses connection to my computer, and the only way I can watch videos from my computer is to actually save them to the ps3 as the streaming is too unreliable. As for the Blu Ray player, it appears that Blu Ray is going to win out as I think now both Warner Bros and Wal Mart are no longer supporting HD-DVD.

Microsoft, if you are listening to me, the solution is simple, create a Hi Def drive that supports both Blu Ray and HD-DVD. That in itself I think will get a lot more customers to purchase the Xbox 360, because unfortunately now if you are looking for a Hi Def player, I think you have to lean towards the ps3 with Blu Ray.

I guarantee you that this "elite" system will sell for $300 cheaper after the first of the year. I am disappointed that Amazon is a part of this marketing strategy. They did the same thing with ps3...

I have not found the system to run too loud (ps3 much louder). Although I have not had any problems and have only owned my XBox 360 for 2 months, I have read a lot of complaints about reliability, so keep that in mind. Media Center - If you are looking for a media center, obviously the Wii is not the choice.

UPDATE - Toshiba just announced that they are pulling out of the HD-DVD market. This pretty much signals the death of HD-DVD. Let's hope Microsoft wakes up and gets a Blu Ray player for the XBox, otherwise this is a HUGE advantage for ps3.

It does this just fine, carrying both audio and video. That is about it, except being a ps3 owner I was used to having free access to online multiplayer, as opposed to having to pay a fee for "xbox gold accounts".

Retailer would not exchange it they told me to contact microsoft. It turned out it was the hdmi cable that was broken. How the hell does a cable break, I didn't bend it or anything.

... By a total accident, I lucked out and this is the only model that has hdmi, or at least at the time. So, when I bought my HDTV and nice receiver, it was the perfect fit and I get a much sharper image than I would have with the regular model.

I am not the biggest gamer but I enjoy halo online, all in all I think this is was a waste of money and should only be seriously considered by hardcore gamers.

Everyone should be informed just how bad this system is made and how unreliable both it and Microsoft are. Do a quick internet search for "broken Xbox 360" see how many hits you get that all have ligitimate people complaining. Buying one before when this info was a bit more hidden I could understand someone making the mistake but at this point your either just that uninformed, or asking for a problem.

Called microsoft support and got the same game. I told them off and demanded a new console that I could depend on. After being on hold for 45 minutes and being transferred to four different people I had gotten nowhere.

If you are like me then you waited on buying an Xbox 360 because of "The Red Ring of Death". I kept hearing stories about how people whould buy an Xbox 360 and a little while later get a critical error that would make their system unuseable. I have also heard that some people had a hard time with Microsoft customer service.

It DOES NOT die like rumors have said in the past - once upon a time it had errors but that was when it was a baby. It does not run hot; the machine cools well and can be cooled further if a person so desires by purchasing a cooling mat/ fan. It is not needed but some people need it to make their nerves solid.

This will force you to spend countless hours converting files, an absolute waste of time and hard drive space. Apple is advertising a new move download service, but supposedly movies won't be available until 30 days after they have been released on dvd, sounds like a real winner........

I have found the streaming to be very choppy and unreliable (both PS3 and Xbox 360 are hard wired to my network via powerline). The PS3 consistently loses connection to my computer, and the only way I can watch videos from my computer is to actually save them to the PS3 as the streaming is too unreliable. As for the Blu Ray player, it appears that Blu Ray is going to win out as I think now both Warner Bros and Wal Mart are no longer supporting HD-dvd.

Microsoft, if you are listening to me, the solution is simple, create a Hi Def drive that supports both Blu Ray and HD-dvd. That in itself I think will get a lot more customers to purchase the Xbox 360, because unfortunately now if you are looking for a Hi Def player, I think you have to lean towards the PS3 with Blu Ray.

My one caution for the Wii, it is only a matter of time before the other consoles adopt this motion sensor technology. The Wii has a huge disadvantage in graphics, and no Hi Def dvd player, so if they do not stay ahead of the curve with unique game play, they could be in trouble

UPDATE - Toshiba just announced that they are pulling out of the HD-dvd market. This pretty much signals the death of HD-dvd. Let's hope Microsoft wakes up and gets a Blu Ray player for the XBox, otherwise this is a HUGE advantage for PS3.

They enclosed a letter stating that I had opened it up and therefore voided my warranty. I immediately called the support line again and was told that I tampered with it. Admittently, I did open the outer casing to blow all the dust out as part of the troubleshooting but that was it.

I've owned this product for 4 months and disk drive stopped working, sure it's under warranty but, after spending almost $600.00 on the system, extra controller and game I feel completely ripped off. Save yourself the aggravation and get the ps3.

The RROD requires the consumer to call customer support (1-800-4MYXBOX) in order to send the console into repairs. My suggestion is to pay for the warranty that comes with the 360 because it covers the system for 3 years. If you do send your 360 into repairs, typically, they will send you a refurbished 360.

I've owned this product for 4 months and disk drive stopped working, sure it's under warranty but, after spending almost $600.00 on the system, extra controller and game I feel completely ripped off. Save yourself the aggravation and get the ps3.

Called microsoft support and got the same game. I told them off and demanded a new console that I could depend on. After being on hold for 45 minutes and being transferred to four different people I had gotten nowhere.

* The HD-AV cable stopped displaying video properly after I put in an old Xbox game to get the compatibility update from Live.

Ultimately, however, I think this review says where my thoughts were on that simply because it exists. If you want to see a comparison for yourself (and you should do it yourself because you know what suits you), simply go to a store selling a game on more than one system and play them all. Then you will notice why it really does not need to be a talking point at all.

(Made sure it had the falcon chipset) To my dismay My system locked up in the middle of a game and started flashing the "RRoD". I was shocked, I was upset, I was angry! I thought after all this time they would have fixed this.

My one caution for the Wii, it is only a matter of time before the other consoles adopt this motion sensor technology. The Wii has a huge disadvantage in graphics, and no Hi Def DVD player, so if they do not stay ahead of the curve with unique game play, they could be in trouble

I tried all the troubleshooting tips but nothing worked. Called Microsoft support and they seemed willing to help and shipped me the box to package it up and sent it in for repair. Three weeks later I received it back and to my dismay they did not fix it.

This is the exact same system as the 20GB and Arcade just with black paint, it still prone to breaking and still is supported by the same terrible customer support as the others. The system has some great titles but with the high failure rate it's just not worth it. I owned 11 of the 20GB's and this system is no better.

They enclosed a letter stating that I had opened it up and therefore voided my warranty. I immediately called the support line again and was told that I tampered with it. Admittently, I did open the outer casing to blow all the dust out as part of the troubleshooting but that was it.

The RROD requires the consumer to call customer support (1-800-4MYXBOX) in order to send the console into repairs. My suggestion is to pay for the warranty that comes with the 360 because it covers the system for 3 years. If you do send your 360 into repairs, typically, they will send you a refurbished 360.

Called microsoft support and got the same game. I told them off and demanded a new console that I could depend on. After being on hold for 45 minutes and being transferred to four different people I had gotten nowhere.