Complete Novice.

[wanderinstar]

Hi all.
I am a complete novice to this Xbox stuff. My 2 sons both want one each. As I dont have a clue about them I thought I would come on here and ask some question.
Obviously I have a PC which is connected to Broadband.
How does an Xbox connect to the web.?
Can I still use PC when Xbox is being used?
Can both Xboxes be used at once?

The lads say they connect via wireless something or other. Also the models they want are the "Live " ones, is that the term?

I am just a bit bothered that when one or the other of them start playing, they will be on for hours, tying up phone line and Broadband connection.
Oh, one last question. Does it cost anything to connect to web, or does Broadband cover it?

Ian.

[Dunk]

Follow this link it should answer your questions
I hope it helps and welcome to the forum

http://www.xboxlivetheguide.co.uk/

[TTR Dr Payne]

Originally Posted by wanderinstar

Obviously I have a PC which is connected to Broadband.
How does an Xbox connect to the web.?

An XBOX connects to the web through what is called XBOX Live. You hook up your console to your router if you have one(there are other ways, this is the most common. If you dont have a router, let us know and we can give advice on how to hook up without a router) XBOX Live uses your internet connection and so you either have an ethernet cable going from your router to your XBOX, or you can buy a wireless adaptor and as long as you have a wireless router, then you can connection to XBOX Live wirelessly.

Originally Posted by wanderinstar

Can I still use PC when Xbox is being used?

Yes you can still connect to the internet on your PC while your sons are connected to XBOX Live.

Originally Posted by wanderinstar

Can both Xboxes be used at once?

Yes both XBOXes can be used at once. If you want them both connected to XBOX Live at the same time, you have to have 2 seperate XBOX Live accounts though. One on each console.

Originally Posted by wanderinstar

The lads say they connect via wireless something or other. Also the models they want are the "Live " ones, is that the term?

As long as you have a wireless router, and you buy the Wireless Adaptor for the XBOX, then you can connect Wireless as I mentioned above.

Originally Posted by wanderinstar

I am just a bit bothered that when one or the other of them start playing, they will be on for hours, tying up phone line and Broadband connection.
Oh, one last question. Does it cost anything to connect to web, or does Broadband cover it?

The XBOX 360 supports Family Setting Features, so you can control how long they play for. There is a timer on the console that you can turn on and you can set the amount of hours they can play for. For example. If you only want them to be able to play on the XBOX for 1 hour a day, you can go into the settings, turn the Timer on, and select 1 hour per day. Once the console has been turned on for 1 hour, it will automatically turn itself off and they will no longer be able to play untill the next day.

XBOX Live will not tie up your phone lines, so thats nothing to worry about. It will however use your internet connection, so while connected to Live if you go on the computer, you MIGHT experience some slowness. That depends however on how fast your connection is. If you have a good connection, you shouldnt really notice anything, if you have a slow connection though, you might experience some slowness when on the computer connected to the internet.


XBOX Live costs $59.99 Canadian per year. So only a few cents a day.



Also, when your sons are connected to XBOX Live, if you dont want them being able to talk with everybody on Live because your worried they might meet somebody you dont want them to(such as somebody who swears or something) then you can also very easily limit what they can do on XBOX Live via the same Family Settings.

Hope this helps.

[Tearo]

TTR Dr Payne,your poste is more than enough and you should be payed for making postes like these :p

[TTR Dr Payne]

thanks If you are willing to pay me, I wont say no. lol

[wanderinstar]

Thank you very much. As previously stated a very informed answer.
So basically we need;-
2 Xboxes
2 Xbox Adapters
1 Wireless Router
2 Live Accounts

Presume with everything being wireless. we dont need any connecting wires.
PC is in living room, 1 Xbox will be on 1st floor and second one will be in attic.

Thank you very much.
Ian.

[Player911]

Originally Posted by wanderinstar

Thank you very much. As previously stated a very informed answer.
So basically we need;-
2 Xboxes
2 Xbox Adapters
1 Wireless Router
2 Live Accounts

Presume with everything being wireless. we dont need any connecting wires.
PC is in living room, 1 Xbox will be on 1st floor and second one will be in attic.

Thank you very much.
Ian.

Yes if you are going totally wireless. You may be able to cut down costs by using 1 xbox with a wired connection if it is near the router.

A wired connection is preferred because wireless has latency delays which could cause lag while playing online. Beggars can't be choosers but if you can manage a wired connection, go that route.

[wanderinstar]

Right well thank you for all the valuable info.
Have now got 2 xboxes and one router. The router is a D-Link DSL2640B ADSL2/2 1 xbox is s/hand and the other in new. They are both 360's. They are both coupled to router with 15m cables.
I coupled the s/hand one up yesterday and got a Nat setting of OPEN, I connected the new one up today. But the Nat setting for this one is MODERATE.
Can anyone tell me why the difference?

[wanderinstar]

Anybody???

[Player911]

NAT settings are for getting online and connected with other users. Its almost like a firewall type setting. For best connectivity playing with others, you want it set to OPEN.

Also for best connections, you may also want to get the IP's of your Xbox's from the network setup... and input those into the DMZ zone in your router.

The DMZ zone is a zone that is completely open and it doesn't pass data through your local network. It will also better your chances of getting connected. Most webservers are installed in the DMZ zones, fyi.

While none of this is required... it will lessen the chances of having NAT Errors while attempting to connect to any online gaming party. Getting NAT Errors are the worst case scenario if you have your NAT restricted too much, which will result in failed attempts to connect to others.

[TTR Dr Payne]

Why 1 360 is Moderate and the other Open, I have no idea. What I would suggest doing is what Player said, and getting the IP address of the 360 that is MODERATE and putting it inside of the DMZ zone on your router. This should fix the NAT problem.

You do not want your NAT settings to be anything other then OPEN. I had a STRICT NAT setting for about 1.5 years, and I could connect to maby 10% of people on XBOX Live. It was hell.

[wanderinstar]

Well, thank you everybody for your suggestions. Apparently the problem has now righted itself. Thank god. OPEN on both boxes. Hurray.

[paintba||er]

*praises fictional character*

[TTR Dr Payne]

*rools eyes*