Xbox 360 headset sound quality getting a boost

At peak playing times, succesfully chatting with fellow gamers on Xbox Live is akin to speaking with a relative on another continent through two yoghurt pots and a piece of string. While you both wear breadbins on your head. What I’m saying is: it’s rubbish and tinny.

Fortunately, that’s going to change shortly, with Microsoft promising significant improvements to headset sound quality in its Xbox 360 Fall update.

Said update will be out in time for the launch of Kinect (which appears on November 4th), and will upgrade the codec and audio infrastructure that deals with voice communication from Xbox 360 to Xbox 360, resulting in clearer communication. Here’s Xbox Live Studios boss Jerry Johnson with more:

“The codec we used when we first launched was a low bit rate codec and we stuck with that. We launched and we said we required broadband. We required a 64k connection, which not many people think of as broadband any longer. But that was the minimum requirement to run the service at the time. It’s time for us to move on. Especially if we want to think about broadening – a crackly headset on the top of your head – not what people think of when they talk about popular entertainment.”

So there we go, a long overdue upgrade for Xbox 360 gamers. Now you’ll be able to hear those slurs about your mother’s alleged nightly activities extra clear.

[Via Eurogamer]