Xbox 360 software

 The Xbox 360 system software was also a modified version of Windows 2000, extending beyond the original Xbox console's operating system. This would cause problems for Microsoft in a variety of ways. It made it difficult for the Xbox group to include other Microsoft programs like Internet Explorer and Silverlight because they had to be changed to operate on the company's gaming platform.

The separate fork of these applications for the Xbox 360 and versions they were creating for the mobile-based Windows CE environment became more difficult to manage for Microsoft. These challenges compelled Microsoft to adopt its "Windows Everywhere" strategy in 2010, which looked at all of Windows' dependencies and built a CoreSystem with the fundamental features of Windows that might be ported to other devices.

User interface

On November 22, 2005, Microsoft unveiled the Xbox 360 console about one year ahead of schedule, compared to Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii. With the lead, Microsoft was able to tinker with a variety of customization choices for each customer's individual consoles.

The ability to personalize the console's appearance with different themes to match the front and sides was a novel experience for home console users. With each user being able to customize the dashboard to fit their own distinct style, the Xbox 360 Dashboard offered several profiles on one console as well as password protection.

The Xbox 360 menu originally had five tabs or "blades," known as the Marketplace, Xbox Live, Games, Media, and System. Each section of the menu would be distinguished by a different-colored background symbolizing its own region while users could also select to have all sections display the same color.

A new Xbox Dashboard, dubbed the New Xbox Experience (NXE), was launched in 2008 when the gaming industry changed dramatically as a result of the rivalry with the PlayStation 3 and Wii. The user interface was radically altered, incorporating a navigation method comparable to that of Windows Media Center.

The User Guide was updated in April 2010 to include a new pop-up/in-game Live Guide, which used a redesigned version of the "blades" interface and a tabbed interface with five "blades." Users were also able to create personalized Avatars, which were essentially tiny versions of themselves. Furthermore, the Xbox Live service now requires you to select an avatar. In 2010, Microsoft released NXE with Kinect support in order to enable motion-sensing controls on the Dashboard.

In late 2011, a complete overhaul of the interface was released based on the Metro design influenced by Windows Phone. With this update, the system's functionality and features were improved, pushing the limits for social gaming and media.

Multimedia features

The Xbox 360 console, like other video game consoles before it, may be used as a media player. The Xbox 360 includes media center features similar to the PlayStation 3 from Sony, making it simple to set up. Users of the Xbox 360 can copy videos directly to the hard drive or play them via a USB flash drive.

On Xbox 360, you may watch movies in two ways. The first option is to download video from the Xbox Live Marketplace. Some of these films are free, while others must be paid for. Microsoft determines which videos are accessible through the Xbox Live Marketplace. Using an Xbox 360 as a Media Center Extender, you can stream videos from a Windows Media Center PC.

Users have complete control over which videos they want to see, with the exception of what sort of video they may play back. More precisely, it just works with DVR-MS, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, and WMV files. Every Xbox 360 comes equipped with a built-in DVD drive that allows users to watch DVD movies right out of the box; no additional equipment is necessary. The user may change everything using an optional remote though.

The ability to upscale the picture makes all the difference in terms of appearance, as will other enhancements like progressive scan. The Progressive scan option on the Xbox 360's DVD output provides smoother output when watching movies on HDTVs that support it, but using a dedicated DVD player would provide even more capabilities and sound quality.