Getting a 360 soon! And need some help!?

My birthdays coming up soon, and i am going to get an xbox 360. I plan on having hd in the future, but have some questions regarding what 360 to buy.





I want the normal 360 because of its price, but im wondering if it can get hd like the elite?





And what is hdmi, and can normal 360's have it.





And, with an elite, am i basicly paying for the color and hard drive?





I offered to pay for half of the xbox, and i still want to get some games as well, so thats why i want the cheaper one.





Im planing on getting the normal 360 bundle, with 2 controlers and 2 games.





This will be my first xbox of any kind, as i currently have a ps2.





Finially, how much is xbox live, and what all do i need to buy to be able to go online with it, and how much will it be.(i am currently online with my ps2, so i have a wired router, and all.)





Thanks!Getting a 360 soon! And need some help!?
You can go HD with a normal XBOX 360 (XBOX 360 Premium a.k.a Pro) you can get HD like the Elite. There's a switch on the cable that connects it to the TV to change it to HD. Then you just have to tell it in the settings to change to an HD image.





All XBOX 360s now have HDMi (Arcade, Premium/Pro and Elite). Just make sure you get one made in late 2007 as they have a lower chance of the RROD.





With an Elite you are paying for colour, Hard Drive space (120GB opposed to the 20GB that comes with the Premium XBOX 360) and an HDMi cable.





XBOX Live:


There are different ways of paying but the cheapest way is to pay 拢40 for a year of XBOX Live Gold and then just renew it when it runs out.





XBOX Live Silver is free BUT you can't play with other people online. XBOX Live Gold on the other hand, lets you do everything, play online, chat etc.





Make sure you sign up to XBOX Live Silver first and then you get a month of FREE XBOX Live Gold before you decide if you want to go Gold.





A Hard Drive is a must if you want XBOX Live (You can't sign up without one) so you are better off with an XBOX 360 Premium or Elite.





Both the Premium and Elite have everything you need in the box to go online. You will only need to get a router with an ethernet port.





Good luck with your 360 purchase, you won't regret itGetting a 360 soon! And need some help!?
Sorry only the Elite is HD compatible and HDMI is just a phrase to say that the product is HD enabled.





The Pro system comes with a Hard drive meaning it can store alot from the get-go but is not HDMI enabled





Arcade sytems come with no HDMI and no Hard drive meaning to store large amounts of memory e.g. Demos music, photos then you have to buy one seperately.





Also it may be worth mentioning all versions of the xbox 360 have undergone a price cut so each is cheaper.





Xbox live Silver membership is free meaning you can add freinds send messages but not play games.


For gold membership it is $60 annually.


good job you have a WIRED router as you need to buy a $130 add-on that lets you use wireless.





P.S I have a PS3 but not biased all this information is legit i'm also a seirous gamer and I know my stuff.
If you get the premium or the pro it is HDMI compatable so you wont mess up your tv!!
All 360s are able to do HD output. The most recent versions of the Pro and Elite (and even the Arcade) all have HDMI output. HDMI is a digital connection that is supposed to be really good for HD connections.





For the elite, yes, you are just paying for the color and larger hard drive.





Xbox live comes in Silver and Gold. Silver is free and lets you download demos, updates, arcade games, movies, tv shows, etc. However it does not let you play online with other people. Gold gives you all the silver stuff and the ability to play online. You get 30 days free with your 360 and then it is about $50 per year.





If you want to find cheap deals on games, I suggest you check out www.cheapassgamer.com
Speaking from experience, I would get one WITH a hard drive as you WILL end up buying one very soon after once you start to get into the whole xbox live thing. As for which version to get, I would say get the best you can afford as it will make selling it in the future easier for you as there will be loads of basic 360's about in the near future and it will keep it's value better if it is a better model.


Xbox live is free when you purchase a new 360 but you only get ';silver'; membership which means you can only download demos etc and cannot play in multiplayer games. To do this you need the ';gold'; membership which is 拢4.99 a month through direct debit or you can of course buy it yearly, i think its 拢39.99 a year. But with most multiplayer games you get a 3 day gold pass with the game which will at least give you a taste of the action to let you decide whether you want to pay for it.