MODEL- B4M-00005          VENDOR- MICROSOFT (X-BOX)

FEATURES- Xbox 360 Live Vision
       There's a new accessory in town. Its name is Xbox Live Vision and
        it watches.
       It's a camera, you see. Small and compact, Xbox Live Vision gives
        you a window on your friends and foes through in-game video and
        video chat through Xbox Live. Give your friends a peek at your
        gorgeous mug with picture messages and personal gamer pictures.
       Xbox Live Vision will work with Xbox 360 or your PC, but I'll just
        talk about the many console features here.
          - Use video chat to talk to your friends in living color.
          - Send picture messages and post personal gamer pics.
          - Xbox Live Vision allows new features for games.
    Includes Xbox Live Vision Camera, One-month trial Xbox Live Gold
      Membership, Xbox 360 Headset, Arcade games UNO and TotemBall
      (available for download from Xbox Live Marketplace).
* Video Chat
   Ever wonder what some of your faithful gaming buddies look like? Want to
   gesticulate wildly at someone? Viva video chat!
   Video chat is an Xbox Dashboard-based chat area that lets you chat it up
   one-on-one, in full living color. You get to video chat by launching it
   from the private chat area, but it's a little different from private
   chat. There's only one video chat channel, and video chat opens a
   separate area instead of just laying voice over your current session
   like private chat. You can still switch between your video channel and
   one of your private chat channels, but those private chats are still
   voice-only.
   Do standard camera tricks in video chat like zooming in and adjusting
   settings. You can even pause chat, which will blank out your video for a
   while. You know, in case you have to scratch something.
   One of my favorite features of video chat is the effects. It's one of
   those hidden tricks, but it can be quite entertaining. Hit the left or
   right bumper and you'll see what I mean. Go black-and-white, invert
   colors, or try a line drawing of yourself. Or, if your room is really
   messy, switch to blurry. They'll never know.
   Another hidden feature is vibrate. Try the triggers to wake your chat
   partner up.
* Picture Messages
   First there were text messages. Good enough, but oh so dry. Next, there
   were voice messages, which allowed some expression beyond text. Now
   there are picture messages, in which you can capture your face and
   various appendages and send them to friends and strangers alike.
   Start a picture message the same way you start a text or voice message,
   by selecting a gamertag and creating a new message. After you select Add
   Picture, snap a quick pic of your lovely visage. The fun doesn't stop
   there. You can add effects, from a subtle tint all the way to heavily
   distorted--whatever suits your fancy.
* Personal Gamer Picture
   With the spring update, your gamer picture was split into two types of
   gamer picture--your regular gamer picture, and your personal picture.
   Your gamer picture remains the same, it's your personal picture that's
   special.
   Your personal picture is an alternative gamer picture that shows up on
   your gamer card only to your friends. Until Xbox Live Vision was
   released, you could only select a personal picture from the same list
   where you selected your regular gamer picture. With the camera, though,
   you can take a picture of yourself, your surroundings, or a nearby
   object, and use that as your personal picture.
   As with picture messages, you have an option to apply an effect, so that
   you can come up with a really interesting and unique personal picture.
* Xbox Dashboard and Visualizations
   Video and pictures should be enough, but no, our team had to add more.
   If you have an Xbox Live Vision camera, you may have noticed a change to
   the background of your Xbox Dashboard when you plugged it in. This is a
   new theme customization option called "camera effect." This effect uses
   input from the camera to overlay a transparent effect over your
   background. There are three effects to choose from: Edgy, Watery, and
   Dotty.
   The other nifty feature is the visualization in the music player. If you
   have a camera connected, a freaky ghost effect is overlaid on top of the
   visualization. Go on, jump around. Cool, huh?
* Video in Games
   Games can also support Xbox Live Vision. They can do anything from
   display video in place of your gamer picture, to mapping your face, to
   gesture-based play, to -- who knows! The sky's the limit!
   Out of the box, you've got UNO and the new game Totemball, but expect to
   see new games all the time that support Xbox Live Vision.
* Camera Settings
   To round out the camera features, you've got a set of general camera
   settings found in Xbox Live Vision on the System blade. Here you have
   two options:
    - Room: This refers to the background behind you, usually a wall.
      Usually Auto is fine, but there are Light Wall and Dark Wall options
      in case your camera has trouble adjusting to the background.
    - Lighting: Again, Auto is usually fine, but you can also set it to
      Daylight, Incandescent, and Fluorescent to compensate for different
      color temperatures.
* Take Control
   There is something that's been on my mind, something I call the "berries
    problem." That is, when you put a camera in front of some people, those
    people may have a tendency to put on display certain things that you
    may not enjoy seeing. Never fear, the solution is in your hands.
     - Video chat: Video chat is only available to Xbox Live Gold members
       and between friends. If your friend can't control himself, your
       options are to end chat, refuse future chat requests, and even
       remove them from your friends list.
     - Picture messages: A warning is displayed when you open a picture
       message from someone not on your friends list, to help you avoid
       ambushes from people you don't know.
     - Personal pictures: Personal pictures are visible only to friends.
       Everyone else sees your regular gamer picture. If you don't like
       your friend's personal picture, boot 'em.
     - In-game: Use the in-game video options to control how video displays
       in games.
    The above features can be used in conjunction with Family Settings and
    privacy settings to further ward off unwanted images.
* Family Settings
   Control your child's access to chat and messages by setting the
   communications option in Xbox Live Family Settings.
   Parents, if you want to make sure your child does not receive picture
   messages from strangers, be sure to restrict communications to friends
   only, and, if desired, further restrict your child's friend's list by
   requiring approval of your child's friends.
* Privacy settings
   Adult accounts have a similar communications setting, located in privacy
   settings.
   If, after understanding and using the above options, you still receive
   offensive or inappropriate messages, use the Block Communications and
   File Complaint options on the person's gamer profile. That'll show them
   who's boss.
www.microsoftxbox.com