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"Another X-Box Live Topic."

Broadband is finally going to be available in my town next week. I'm interested in possibly going LIVE with my X-Box but I pretty much know nothing about it.

So basically what I want to know is what kind of costs are involved and if there are any other cables/accessories I need to buy.

Any help is much appreciated.

Thanks.

It did indeed remind me of it.

Heh, ever seen The Cable Guy?

Kinda reminds you of that :D

Yeah, I've seen it. Maybe the reason I get it so good is that I live 2 blocks from the exchange, because I get faster than advertised speeds.

Although I have a mate who just slipped an NTL guy a couple of quid and had the speed on his cable turned up.

Notorious Biggles wrote:
> I have BT Broadband, the normal one at £27 a month, not
> Openworld. I find it faster than most ADSL connections I've ever used
> and it is completely reliable. I have no complaints about them.

As I say, I'm not speaking from experience - just what the good people over at adslguide.org have put on their website.

Further to Mav: You will need a Cat5 cable from PC to router and from Xbox to router. However these must both be straight through cables. There is another type, called cross over cables, that are wired differently so that you can connect things together directly, i.e. PC to PC.

If you accidentally get a cross over cable and plug it in from PC to router it won't work.

Also, do yourself a favour and buy a factory made one, not one handmade in a PC shop. Ebuyer do Belkin cables from 99p.

Yet another tip regarding cables. An official system link cable is in fact just a cross over cable. So whilst MS charge you £20 for a system link cable you could buy any other cross over cable from as little as 99p and it too would work.

I have BT Broadband, the normal one at £27 a month, not Openworld. I find it faster than most ADSL connections I've ever used and it is completely reliable. I have no complaints about them.

Lou Role wrote:
> I called BT today and Broadband is available in my town now. With BT
> it costs £29.99 per month, it's £99.99 for the modem and
> the guy on the phone says this will allow me to use a PC, X-Box and
> phone at the same time. I need to get a Micro-Filter for £6.99
> as well. So does this all seem alright, and is it pretty much
> everything I need to get BB started? Oh, and installation is free
> just now, but it's normally £30.00.

Personally, I wouldn't go for BT. Their service is very expensive at £29.99 a month and £99.99 for a modem is ridiculous. Go with Eclipse. On adslguide.org they have the some of the best actual speed, reliability and customer service whereas Openworld falls around the average mark.

They're also considerably cheaper at £23.95 a month for a 512kbs download/256kbs upload speed. You can order a modem or router at the same time, for £49.99 and £69.99 respectively. They'd both let you play on Xbox Live, but a router would let you do so with your PC switched off.

Both ways require a network card which can be picked up for as little as £7. You'll need a microfilter for every phone socket in your house that you wish to use (apart from those you use for broadband). This includes digital television like Sky.

To get your Xbox online, you need to run a Cat5 cable from your modem to the back of the Xbox. These are cheap and can be found for about £5.

> So after I have all this installed, all I sould need to get for LIVE
> is the start-up kit for £39.99 and a £40py subscription
> fee? Or do you get your first years subscription to LIVE free?

A Live starter kit is £29.99 from Amazon and a year's subscription is included in the price.

> So, does this seem like everything I need just now?

You need:

Broadband Connection
Modem or Router
Network Card
Cat5 Cable
Microfilters for phone sockets
Xbox Live Starter Kit

And you're set to go. I think. All I can advise is what I've gathered from my research - but I'm quite confident all this information is accurate. adrian is pretty much the knowledge on this, so it's probably best to speak to him.

Notorious Biggles wrote:
> That seems OK. The modem is expensive, but it obviously is either a
> router with built in modem or is USB with an ethernet port. Either
> way it should work.
>
> Your first years worth of live is included in the cost of the starter
> kit.

Thanks.

I did ask about a router and the guy said that it was built into the modem, that's why it's quite expensive.

That seems OK. The modem is expensive, but it obviously is either a router with built in modem or is USB with an ethernet port. Either way it should work.

Your first years worth of live is included in the cost of the starter kit.

I called BT today and Broadband is available in my town now. With BT it costs £29.99 per month, it's £99.99 for the modem and the guy on the phone says this will allow me to use a PC, X-Box and phone at the same time. I need to get a Micro-Filter for £6.99 as well. So does this all seem alright, and is it pretty much everything I need to get BB started? Oh, and installation is free just now, but it's normally £30.00.

So after I have all this installed, all I sould need to get for LIVE is the start-up kit for £39.99 and a £40py subscription fee? Or do you get your first years subscription to LIVE free?

So, does this seem like everything I need just now?

Maverick42 wrote:
> I'd recommend Eclipse's 1000 Lite - as after extensive
> research, it's cheapest and has the best feedback in terms of speed,
> customer care and reliability. It's just £32.50 per month and
> so the best value 1mbs service you'll find. If that looks a little
> too expensive, their 512kbs 500 Lite package is similarly excellent
> at £20.38 per month, though it still carries the hefty
> £50.00 activation fee.

Eclipse are good. Get the router when/if you order as then you will be set for sharing your connection, with 4 devices. Doesnt include wireless, but I doubt you will need it.