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Team Xecuter released some great information today about their upcoming X78 DVD Patchmod and Blaster 360 for the Xbox 360 today. The X78 Patchmod is an 11 wire solution for the Hitachi 078 drives which have been notoriously problematic.

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After a LOT of emails asking us to do this we finally got around to making a simple to install modchip for the pain in the ass 078 Hitachi drive. Not bad for 2 days work. We’re still tweaking a few features but will offer fast media detection etc. Only 11 wires and not very difficult to solder and will be pretty cheap compared to other mods available – more news shortly.

The Xecuter Blaster 360 is a very exciting new product which once installed will allow you to flash firmware without ever having to open your 360 again. Another absolutely beautiful Xecuter product. Retail pricing and release dates have not yet been released but is expected very soon.

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he main problem for so many users is that every time a new firmware is released they have to open up their Xbox, take the drive out, update the firmware, put it all back together again. There have been 30+ firmware updates in recent months so you can imagine how labourious this can get. It is also a problem for those who wish to hook up their Xbox 360 DVD drive to their PC to perform game backups on a regular basis. Xecuter have now solved this problem.

We are pleased to offer the most exciting add-on available to all Xbox 360 firmware modders – the Blaster360. The Xecuter Blaster360 is an external switching device when, once fitted, allows you to flash your DVD Firmware without ever having to open up your Xbox 360 case ever again. In the era of constant firmware updates (30+ so far) this is an absolutley essential tool saving both time and effort, making the firmware update process a walk in the park. Also dumping your game backup to your PC is now a fast and simple process. A perfect ergonomic design maeans there is no soldering & no cutting of the external case – just plug ‘n’ go. You only ever have to open up your case once! No longer will you have to have your Xbox 360 in pieces all the time, no longer will you have to take the Xbox apart every time you need to update new features and functions or essential bug fixes, no longer do you have to have your Xbox 360 in bits every time you want to dump a game backup to your PC.

We have designed this to be as ergonomically sound as the Xbox 360 itself. Its functionally perfect and works so good that we believe all firmware modders will be using this as standard by the end of the year, it just makes life SO MUCH EASIER ! Imagine using this along with the X360 USB – Firmware modding has never been so simple !

Feature List:

• Once installed never open up the case again to update firmware
• Works with ALL firmware updateable drives (Hitachi & Samsung)
• High Quality Digital Sata Exchange Switching
• No soldering, no external damage, no problem !
• 5 minute install
• Auto switches to PC mode when Blaster360 is connected to molex PSU
• Auto switches to Xbox 360 default mode when not connected to Molex PSU
• Modeb switch for Hitachi
• Eject Button
• High quality Sata Port (to connect to SATA or X360USB externally)
• Samsung MS28 / Power On-Off Switch
• Molex Power connector (no lugging around the 360 PSU plus electrical safety is ensured)
• Superior quality design – no cheap China manufacturing
• Ergonomically matched to the 360 case
• LED Glow feature
• LED Glow Off / Led Perm On / LED Off switch

For further information on the Xecuter Blaster 360 and it’s capabilities take a look at this post in the Xecuter forums.

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The XCM team has release the following images of the XFPS 360 Prototype. Unfortunately we do not have any specific information relating to the release date or retail price yet. One thing we are certain of is that the XCM XFPS 360 will be as big a hit with FPS lovers as the original XCM XFPS for Xbox was.

It is also important to note that some of the newer Toshiba / Samsung boards seem to have a different type of black epoxy than that seen in the video.

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According to recent information posted by uneasysilence.com the Xbox 360 HD-DVD add-on is working on XP, Vista and to some extent Mac OSX. Toshiba device drivers have been released which allow XP to recognize the Xbox 360 HD-DVD drive when connected to your PC via USB. It appears that Windows Vista already includes the required drivers to take advantage of the Xbox 360 HD-DVD drive.Once you have the Xbox 360 HD-DVD add-on drive connected to your PC and the drivers installed you will be able to not only view the contents of a HD-DVD but playback HD-DVD movies. Uneasysilence.com found a version of WinDVD that would support playback of HD-DVD movies.

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If Windows wants drivers, drivers it will get. After installing these drivers magic started to happen. The HD-DVD drive was now recognized in Windows XP. Now we needed a piece of software to actually play the HD-DVD. And after some hard work we managed to find a version of WinDVD 8 that was able to play an HD-DVD movie even on my low end hardware (Granted with some stuttering).

It turns out that getting around the Xbox 360 downloadable content restrictions is rather quite easy. It is as simple as visiting the official Xbox website and creating a new gamertag with a different email address and set your country as the country you want to access the downloadable content for.

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Go online to xbox.com and register a new gamertag with an email address not associated with any previous account. Then make sure you set your country to either Japan or America—perhaps making one tag for each. Then when that’s done, go on your Xbox 360 and choose “recover gamertag” to grab the info from this tag onto your 360. Now you can see all the Japanese games you’ve been missing out on. Gizmodo

For more info check out the post at Gizmodo.

Here is a great little video put together by ModFreakz which demonstrates how to easily remove the epoxy found on Xbox 360 Toshiba and Samsung drives. Only tools required to perform the task are a heat gun and a sharp Xacto knife.

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We have just received into stock the all new Xecuter Xbox 360 USB X360USB from Team Xecuter. The X360USB is the most innovative product to come out thusfar for the Xbox 360. The boundaries are being pushed and Team Xecuter is the company pushing them! This device lets you plug ANY SATA hard drive or DVD drive into your USB 2.0 Port, allowing plug and play access for backing up everything from Xbox 360 Game Saves to media files on your PC.

Even better than backing up your hard drive is the new feature that allows you to read and write your DVD drives firmware. You can keep your drive up to date and maximize your performance with ease and simplicity. You no longer will need to deal with the frustrations of disassembling your case and getting dusty. The X360USB is also the most portable device yet for the console, allowing you to power your drives without using the Xbox 360. (The DVD drive requires the Xbox 360 Connectivity Kit)

Other amazing features include compatibility with non SATA computers. Now you can purchase an SATA drive and plug and play it through your USB port. Bright LED’s keep you up to date with your connections, activity, and power.

Keep true to their commitment of creating the highest quality and hottest looking case mod products Team Xtender has released an all new line of chrome Xbox 360 replacement cases. Bringing bling to the box is just what they have done. The lineup includes chrome replacement faceplates for Xbox 360, chrome full replacement cases for Xbox 360 and replacement chrome controller shells for both wired and wireless Xbox 360 controllers.

Faceplate installation is very straight forward and will not void your Xbox 360 warranty. Installation of the replacement full case and the controller shells is slightly more involved but easy enough for even a screwdriver-novice. To make the replacement case installation go even easier it is recommended that you use the XCM or Team Xecuter Xbox 360 unlock kit All of these new chromed out accessoreis are available for sale at ConsoleSource.com.