[NBLUG/talk] Xbox version compatibility issues

[Jeff Coffler]

Hi Allan,

> A verison 1.6 Xbox is fully supported by this softmod (I've used this 
> softmod on about 25 Xbox units, with about a third of them v1.6 units), 
> but I still highly suggest purchasing an older used unit instead. New Xbox 
> units always come with games that cost more than if you bought the game 
> separately (they increase the cost of the bundle by $30 for a $19 game). 
> The best Xbox version to get is probably the v1.4 version with the Samsung 
> drive.

I'd like to buy a v1.4 version, but this appears to be non-trivial.

I was thinking of buying new for the following reasons:

1) It's hard to tell serial #'s of Xbox'es on most E-bay postings,
2) With E-Bay, there's always the risk of fraud/problems/etc,
3) A new unit is perhaps $25-$30 more, and that gets me return privileges. 
If I have problems, I could return it.  So, basically, if it won't work 
right in my situation for whatever reason, the $25-$30 is "cheap insurance".

If I could get a v1.4 version in stores, I'd jump at it.  But I looked 
around a bit, and that doesn't appear possible based on what I saw (all 
units at Fry's, for example, were manufactured in 2005).

I don't care about the Xbox for games.  My primary use is as a MythTV front 
end.  That's it!  Ultimately, I'd like my front end to be able to handle 
High Def, but that doesn't appear to be "ready for prime time" on several 
fronts (recording digital content on the server, lack of open source drivers 
for hardware, etc).  So my thought was to get the Xbox as a "cheap" 
transition client (i.e. use it for a few years and then, when hi def is more 
"available" with MythTV, move to a new client that can support it).  In the 
transition: If the first Xbox works out fine, then I'll probably buy one 
more.  I don't think I need more than two.

Any idea of stores (that would allow me to return the unit) that might still 
carry v1.4 units, by chance?  I don't expect to need to return the unit - 
the Xbox seemed pretty dang nice at the presentation.  But still, "just in 
case", it would be nice to be able to ...

    -- Jeff