Got my Kinect for XBOX360
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I am getting one, I just need to know about usb extensions for it, as with my projector set up, it will need to be run around 15-20 feet....I do have the old xbox system so I will need to plug it in too.
Picked it up and Dance Central. I'm tired.
Pretty fun, but I get the feeling I've already played the best it has to offer, we'll see what they can do from here.
Pretty fun, but I get the feeling I've already played the best it has to offer, we'll see what they can do from here.
stuart628 said:
Same here. I plan to use a USB extension and separate power connection. That is a way around the power cable issue we will have.
I played around with it last night, not for very long - too much homework with my son - I was amazed at how reliable it was in tracking my motion. Just played the "Leaks" game - bought 4 others to try this weekend. The setup process was straightforward and polished for me. So far I am impressed.
I've watched a few videos on it and i like the way the voice commands work. Here is a guy using the new espn on the xbox all by voice
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I'm not going near Kinect until it goes down to $100 and it has more software available. $150 is too much for me to be an early adopter.
Bought one Saturday. Only had 3 left at one Best Buy and the other BB were sold out.
I had to use a 15 ft. USB extension cable to use it but it worked out fine. The power cable is long too and didn't need a cable extension for it as it put the tap in at about half way so the extension for USB plus power adapter all ran fine to the back of my equipment cabinet. There were no technical issues with the wiring.
Had to do several updates to the XBOX after installing the Kinect. The setup was tricky but mostly due to my trying to use it with a front projection with ceiling mount. My active zone is quite limited due to a shadow my head casts on the screen when too far front and the Kinect camera seeing the light from the projector and creating a conflict with backlighting for my face. Fact is the KInect does not work well in a home theater environment where the room needs to be dark. It will work better when I get a panel screen to hang behind my roll down screen. That is planned to for next year's budget. However it is doable and I was able to get the sensor calibrated to work with my head's shadow just barely visible at the bottom center of the 100" screen. Still the face recognition is not as good as it could be. You can use face recognition for signing in when you walk in front of the screen. While my face recognition feature is limited now due to back light of the projector, the gaming movement recognition works fine in one 3 ft diameter circle in the center of the floor. All this will be resolved with a panel monitor next year, I'm sure. The voice recognition feature works well even when I sit off in the distance on my couch 15 feet from the screen. The calibration procedure works well and compensates for your voice with full volume music playing. I found this technology amazing. Much better than expected.
Once I turned the overhead room light up ( fortunately my new projector is bright enough to display in full room light ) the gaming was working great, much better than I expected especially after having trouble with calibration due to the projector and room geometry problems. I bought two aditional games, an exercise game ( I need that) and one sports game. I haven't tried that. The ball batting game that comes with it is a pretty good workout in itself.
It is claimed that you can work your XBOX using Kinect to navigate the dashboard. Yes it works but you'll need to be standing in your sweetspot for Kinect. Doesn't work from the couch! However, it is handy when you are preparing to use the xbox for a Kinect game. IMO, it is no replacement for the xbox controller.
I tried the PS3 system in the store and was not impressed so I will probably not get that. I was planning to but compared to the XBOX Kinect, it is mush less capable. Plus you have to hold those light wands.
Bottom line- The Kinect will work with a front projection Home theater with floor space in front of the screen but the geometry may cause shadow problems conflict and the room lighting will be difficult to achieve full function. It works best in a room with lots of floor space and full lighting. Therefore, a panel LCD type TV is preferred to a projector.
I had to use a 15 ft. USB extension cable to use it but it worked out fine. The power cable is long too and didn't need a cable extension for it as it put the tap in at about half way so the extension for USB plus power adapter all ran fine to the back of my equipment cabinet. There were no technical issues with the wiring.
Had to do several updates to the XBOX after installing the Kinect. The setup was tricky but mostly due to my trying to use it with a front projection with ceiling mount. My active zone is quite limited due to a shadow my head casts on the screen when too far front and the Kinect camera seeing the light from the projector and creating a conflict with backlighting for my face. Fact is the KInect does not work well in a home theater environment where the room needs to be dark. It will work better when I get a panel screen to hang behind my roll down screen. That is planned to for next year's budget. However it is doable and I was able to get the sensor calibrated to work with my head's shadow just barely visible at the bottom center of the 100" screen. Still the face recognition is not as good as it could be. You can use face recognition for signing in when you walk in front of the screen. While my face recognition feature is limited now due to back light of the projector, the gaming movement recognition works fine in one 3 ft diameter circle in the center of the floor. All this will be resolved with a panel monitor next year, I'm sure. The voice recognition feature works well even when I sit off in the distance on my couch 15 feet from the screen. The calibration procedure works well and compensates for your voice with full volume music playing. I found this technology amazing. Much better than expected.
Once I turned the overhead room light up ( fortunately my new projector is bright enough to display in full room light ) the gaming was working great, much better than I expected especially after having trouble with calibration due to the projector and room geometry problems. I bought two aditional games, an exercise game ( I need that) and one sports game. I haven't tried that. The ball batting game that comes with it is a pretty good workout in itself.
It is claimed that you can work your XBOX using Kinect to navigate the dashboard. Yes it works but you'll need to be standing in your sweetspot for Kinect. Doesn't work from the couch! However, it is handy when you are preparing to use the xbox for a Kinect game. IMO, it is no replacement for the xbox controller.
I tried the PS3 system in the store and was not impressed so I will probably not get that. I was planning to but compared to the XBOX Kinect, it is mush less capable. Plus you have to hold those light wands.
Bottom line- The Kinect will work with a front projection Home theater with floor space in front of the screen but the geometry may cause shadow problems conflict and the room lighting will be difficult to achieve full function. It works best in a room with lots of floor space and full lighting. Therefore, a panel LCD type TV is preferred to a projector.
Don you brought up a good point that I NEVER thought of, two actually...first I will be in the light for my projector screen as my setup is in a back room that is 15 feet wide...and secondly the light from the projector throwing off the cameras..man that stinks as I dont think this will be a good option for me...going to have to re-evaluate now. 
You should have enough width for two people side by side assuming seating and tables aren't in the way. In my HT room, 22 ft by 12 ft with side and back seating I only have room enough for one player. You don't want to smack your partner in the face you know so you do need side by side room. I'm not concerned about that as I will rarely be playing games with a partner. For now, I'll be looking at a a 55" LED panel more seriously as well as a front light to illuminate the front of my body for Kinect. The issue with the LED TV is just that we're too close to annual big sales with Super Bowl week and new tech announcements with CES so I'm in holding pattern for now. I'll never have the width needed for two side by side players but I do hope to make the sweet spot larger to maybe a 6 ft square by eliminating the front projector for Kinect games.
dont24 said:
Got the Xbox 360 with kennect.
It works as Microsoft said it would. The excise game is shape up. Also this is the best box for netflix streaming.
got mine last week, got the last one walmart had, got free game with it called adventerous, then went back and got the last dance central, got it hooked up ok got xbox live gold free for a month, then its 9.95 a month or 60 bucks a year, got my music and everything streamed and setup from my other comp, works great, haven't even tried to play the games yet, i bought it for my grandson for christmas, saw him over the weekend and he didnt seem like he would be interested in it, because he has the wii and ps 2, so i am going to keep it for my self.
I'm actually finding the exercise I get with it more interesting than the treadmill and bicycle. Looking forward to having a non projection screen with it next year.
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