Five little-known XBOX 360 tips and tricks

If you have one of the component/composite dual video cables - it arrives in the box with almost all 360s - you'll be able to display on two TVs at the same time. This is done by putting the cable’s switch to Standard Definition but connect the composite (yellow) line to one screen and the component (the red, green, blue) cables to another. It will not be high-definition, only it might be convenient if you’re arranging a small LAN party and wish to arrange a display for bored watchers to aim their eyes towards.

The ability to play your own MP3s during a 360 game is well known , but it does not work if you are playing a game from the original Xbox. There is a method to do it - begin playing your album or playlist ahead of loading the game, and it will continue playing when you do start the game up. The game’s personal music will not be muted, nonetheless, so if you can’t arrange that in its settings you’ll go delirious from the strange blaring.

Aah, the internet - established upon unusual humans making unusual things for free. Kinda like a blog purportedly posted by your 360, basing itself upon what uses you've been putting it to. It watches your Live account and automatically creates entries about what it’s been doing that day (or not been doing - you'll see a lot of posts about neglect if you don’t turn it on for some time ( kinda like my wife! just kidding). The spirit of writing is a great deal "American geek", put simply, it’s an amusing record of your personal game-playing habits, or observing what your buddies are doing. check it out at www.360voice.com.

Having to pay a fee for online gaming, a thing that is free on other consoles as well as the PC, is possibly the 360’s biggest downside. Arrange your own sort of peaceful protesting by playing online without paying up a cent. You will require XLink Kai, a free program you use from a PC on the same network as your 360 that fools it into seeing the internet as a LAN.

Then it’ll process remote opponents as being in the same room with you - so you do not have to pay for local multiplayer. Ingenious! One hitch - Microsoft has arranged the 360 to kick out anybody with a ping greater than 30ms, so you’ll need to be choosey on who you play with. Local pals are best, not your korean pen-friend.

Press X while playing a music CD or file (either from the 360’s hard disc, an MP3 player you have connected, or streamed from a PC) and you’ll go into psychotropic Wonder land. Alright,a slight exaggeration, but some distorted visualisations anyway. Take hold of a controller or two (or up to four, if you're all that bored) and start wriggling thumb pads and squeezing buttons to interact with the deranged wobbling colours. There is actually numerous reasonably detailed control options - read the entire manual at http://www.llamasoft.co.uk/x360manual.php. Neat at parties!.