From Engadget :
Although the reports are limited to what seems like one thread on the Xbox 360 forums, several Xbox 360 owners are saying that their consoles are starting to stop displaying video. Several users say the screen goes blank during gameplay, and white lines appear at the bottom of the screen, although the audio continues to come through. At least one user reports seeing the red aspect of the color signal failing to come through, with the image then failing completely. It sounds like most users with the problem are encountering this after a fair degree of time with the console, after no previous problems. For now, we’ll just have to add this problem to the list of other technical issues with Xbox 360:hopefully it won’t go any further than the current anecdotal evidence.
If something can go wrong with a 360, Murphy’s Law dictates it will happen to me. My 360s seem to be cursed. People ask me how many I have gone through, and unfortunately I lost count at 3. Now this gives me something new to look forward to. Fantastic.
Posted by writeitoutplease on June 25, 2007 at 5:35 am
Shit, man……shit!!! I’ve had my XBox 360 for a while: getting it around the time it first came out. I’ve heard all of the stories of other systems breaking down and mine didn’t have any problems. I thought I was in the clear…..until I read your blog!! I used to play F.E.A.R. sometimes, and the game would randomly freeze. I thought it just might have been a glitch in the game, but after reading this, I don’t know! I don’t want to go through a whole bunch of 360s, but this would give me an excuse to get new 360 elite.
Posted by Tortacular on June 25, 2007 at 10:14 am
Awesome. I am so excited to be laying down $500 for one this summer.
Posted by XxURDONExX on June 25, 2007 at 10:15 am
*knock on wood* I guess I am just one of the lucky ones. I bought a console on launch day, and have had no problems with it. *knock on wood* :)
Posted by writeitoutplease on June 25, 2007 at 12:18 pm
XxURDONExX, I hope yours works for however long you have it. This repeated buying of new 360s because of Microsoft rush jobs is ridiculous. Can’t wait for “Stranglehold”, though.
Posted by thewilleffect on June 25, 2007 at 5:43 pm
Lost count at number 3? Ouch! Luckily I’m only on number 2. Wait a minute, luckily I’m only on number 2. What am I saying.
Posted by XxURDONExX on June 25, 2007 at 6:06 pm
Thanks!
Posted by Excardon on June 26, 2007 at 7:32 am
Did they make sure their Video input was pushed all the way in to their TV? :D
Ok, I admit, that was mean. Well hopefully this is an isolated incident with these people and it isn’t some widespread hardware issue.
I got an Elite due to the fact that it was reported by a couple game reviewers that the Elite does suffer the hardware issues of the Premium or Core. (Red ring of death, overheating, etc.)
If anyone out there reading this does not yet have a 360, I’d suggest coughing up the extra $70 for the Elite. At the very least the $70 will save you a headache from calling Microsoft support if the extra 100 gigs you get of hard drive space doesn’t seem worth your while.
Posted by Yukkione on November 17, 2009 at 5:10 pm
I have an elite and it red ringed (factory fixed) and now outputs video with a red hue.
Posted by Gabriel on August 11, 2007 at 4:36 pm
My died today black screen only the sound is ok I test i diferents TVs and same and test with a friend, is Death.
Waiting for the replacement arrive.
Posted by dave olson on January 25, 2008 at 8:53 pm
ok so my xbox 360 video output just blanked out on me. i bought a warranty at best buy when i bought the unit in early 2007. Best buy will replace the 360 for me which is what i want but how can i get all the info off my xbox hard drive? to make matters more complicated… i’m a mac user,
any suggestions would be great
thanks,
dave
Posted by WAYCOTT on March 31, 2008 at 6:24 pm
Arrgghh! I’ve had my 360 for a little over a year now (ie, no more warranty) and the thing just died the “blank screen” death. Started out by losing the video signal after playing R6 Vegas 2 for only a couple of minutes, then again after restarting, then again and again. I thought it was a Ubisoft bug issue until my console stopped displaying video altogether whether there’s a disc in it or not. Starts up, I can hear all the sounds and I can use the controller to navigate through the screens (I can hear the navigation sounds) — just no video signal!
Posted by Jason on May 29, 2008 at 3:04 pm
My 360 also just kicked the bucket video signal wise. I was playing GTAIV and the signal started getting funky – one or more color channels would drop out. I’m using component video.
I tried RCA jacks and other TVs, still nothing.
Has anyone had success with MS’s warranty fixing this issue? Like an idiot I didn’t get the best buy warranty.
Posted by mc saltine on July 18, 2008 at 9:42 pm
my 2nd xbox 360 eilte video output died a few hrs ago. exact same problem i had the 1st time around just filed for another warranty repair :(
Posted by Derek on July 20, 2008 at 3:41 pm
Mine bit the dust too. What ticks me off the most though is i bought the two year best buy warranty, and my 360 died a few months after. *&^% that!!!! Im super ticked! SCREW YOU MICROSOFT! YOUR COMPUTERS SUCK! AND YOUR CONSOLES SUCK!
Apple should make everything!
Posted by KillerBubba on August 7, 2008 at 3:25 pm
First XBox 360 died from the RRoD. Took it back to Best Buy for replacement…of course they no longer had my model, so I had to upgrade to the Elite console. Had it 4 months and the screen goes black, but sound still works. i would have thought the Elite system might have better architecture since they had a couple of years to figure out the bugs. Guess i was wrong. Now i have to send it back to Microsoft (7 days left on my warrentee…whew). I agree with others i have read – the spring update seems to have triggered something. That or Microsoft knows warrentees are expiring and is “killing” XBoxes, having people send them in and paying the $140, flipping the toggle switch that caused the fault and sending the system back. Sounds like a conspiracy theory, but if you think about it they get the purchase price and some more cash for “repairs”. If their problems were simply heat, they could have fixed that quickly and cheaply with the second gen system. What the heck, Microsoft???
Posted by Quy on August 15, 2008 at 8:46 am
my xbox had black video after 6 months :(
Posted by Snives on August 18, 2008 at 12:21 pm
I bought my 360 around February of 2007. A month or so ago my video starting going out on me while playing Rock Band and Guitar Hero 3. The picture just goes black for 10 seconds and then comes back. It also goes out when navigating the blades prior to launching a game. Changing the default resolution from 1080i to a much lower hi def setting seemed to help the blade navigation part but not the in-game issues.
It doesn’t do it at all when playing DVD movies, only games.
Posted by SpaceGhost2K on August 18, 2008 at 6:56 pm
My video went out on my 360 as well. Of course, only the RRoD is covered after one year, so I had to pony up $99 to get it fixed. It would be nice if this was added into the extended warranty and I was refunded the C-note.
It’s not like I haven’t been loyal or anything.
Posted by Mike on September 21, 2008 at 9:07 am
“Arrgghh! I’ve had my 360 for a little over a year now (ie, no more warranty) and the thing just died the “blank screen” death. Started out by losing the video signal after playing R6 Vegas 2 for only a couple of minutes, then again after restarting, then again and again. I thought it was a Ubisoft bug issue until my console stopped displaying video altogether whether there’s a disc in it or not. Starts up, I can hear all the sounds and I can use the controller to navigate through the screens (I can hear the navigation sounds) — just no video signal!
****That is the same problem I had. I bought R6 Vegas 2 and the screen lost one of the colours, after rebooting the system, no video, only sound. I just got off the phone with Xbox support – spoke to a guy named “George” who was a friendly guy and he told me “Sorry your system is not covered under warranty, I can put an order in to have it sent in for repair for $110 Cdn”. I asked him if this is a common problem, he said this is one of the main type of calls he gets. I asked him if they will send me back MY console and he said alot of times they get these systems and just replace a specific part with a new one. I kind of get the feeling that this is a SERIOUS issue with the console and that they know about it and are doing nothing. I’m pissed..I won’t have my system for 3 weeks and have to fork over $110 which brings the console cost to $510. I’m going to pay the $110 only because it’s cheaper then buying a new console..wonder if Sony users have the same type of issues..Is this what we should expect from the new generation machines??? My original Xbox had NO PROBLEMS..and it was abused…I’ve taken care of my 360 and this…less then 2 years of use…GD!!!!!!
Posted by DF on September 28, 2008 at 5:56 am
9 month fault free use, 4 days of funky colours (green-pink smearing) then today no video output at all. Contacted MS a few days ago (via email) when the colour started to mess-up but have still not received any mail back from them. Now video is completely dead I’ll be calling them Monday.
Posted by DF on September 28, 2008 at 5:56 am
Xbox360 Elite for the record.
Posted by Deiconik on November 10, 2008 at 7:14 am
Ok.. my 360 elite video died too. Nothing wrong at all, little use, then one day after Gears 2 gameplay I turned it on and no video.. seriously. I am very unhappy. Calling Microsoft. Word to the wise, be careful when you drop 500 dollars on a system. I bought mine Dec. 07′ which makes it less than a year old.. seriously, it is a problem.
Posted by doneagle on November 12, 2008 at 2:15 am
Same here, played gow2 yesterday , today console gives no video output.
Sept 07 console.
Posted by bob johnson on November 13, 2008 at 6:22 pm
I have no Video or audio. warranty up have to pay 100 bucks to get it fixed. Aint gonna do it though. i live close to lake washington, so im going to throw it in Gates’ yard. Go Sony…
Posted by pingy63 on November 18, 2008 at 3:33 pm
Death to my XBOX!!!!!!! Well while playing fable II my screen went in and out of some funky colors. I restarted it to find out that no video displays, but the audio is perfectly clear! So, sad.
Posted by wakilboy on December 1, 2008 at 12:05 pm
I too have been playing GOW2 (about 2 weeks evry other day for an hour or so) colours started going all blotchy, red colours turn to pink, definition goes smooth, and then all of the sudden out of the blue, black screen with sound, bought new cables, doenst work, tried new TV, and nothing, I can get it fixed in Toronto at a repair store for $55.00 … bought my system sept 2007 and wondering what i should do! seems fishy to me thats for sure…I dont want to send it in to xbox and pay 100-140 and wait 2-3 weeks (if im lucky) also may want to buy the elite, but not if the same thing is going to happen
Posted by Taylor on December 12, 2008 at 12:27 pm
dude so i was playing madden 09 one day and the screen freezes and goes checkered board…. i restart it after a couple minutes it just gray line * sometimes other color lines* i wait a few minutes then restart it and and everything is fine until the screen freezes for a second then gets a red tint im liek WTF!?!?!? so then i keep playing… a couple days later its still tinted red…. and then it just goes blank i restart it over and over i can hear it and everything but no video!
Then i have my friend bring over his video cords i try them nothin… i try my cords on his 360 and its fine… liek wtf!?
it happened a month ago…im not sure if microsoft will take it in…. this is my second i already sent mine in for the RRoD
Posted by Cyberoptix222 on December 17, 2008 at 5:28 pm
Well, i thought i was clear as well. After Microsoft Fixed/ replaced my First Gen X360 because of the R.O.D. I had it for 2 weeks and got the R.O.D. Again.
Of Course i was furious. when i finally got in touch with microsoft about there shoddy peice of $!@# . They sent me a brand new console in april of 08.
now december just before X-mas and after updating to the new Dashboard.
I came home to play Fable II and noticed the Color palatte flickering from what looked like 16 bit color depth on a PC then it would switch back.
the next day i came home and my sons were streaming a netflix movie on my 360..(with the same low color resolution) so i turned my box off and dusted it out thinking i was in danger of another overheat and possibly another ROD.
when i powered it back on..NO sound NO Video. shot..
of course my console is no longer under warranty.
so i found a fix to get atleast the low color mode back working
Un Plug your AV cable and power on..
Leave it powered on with the blinking red lights until the console turns off by itself.(about 10 mins)
then plug your cable back in and power on..
this proves that it is not a physical problem with the GPU.
Soldier related issues cant be fixed by tripping the software.
also in my case the audio was shot as well.
How convenient when the Economy is down, X360 sales are down and right before X-mas. this conspiracy was well planned just like the Sony PSone DVD rom drive failure.
Since the X360 was bassically ripped of from a modified Apple G4 you think MS would have atleast learned something.
Posted by Cyberoptix222 on December 17, 2008 at 5:48 pm
I am a micro electronics engineer with some adequate skills in 3d rendering
This is most definately related to the cell shading part of graphics display.
like i said the leaving your box on without the av cable plug temporarily resets the problem but after you power off again it comes back.
the entire console is an extremly bad design and i bet micrsoft knew that when they launched.
Laughing all the way to the bank.
Posted by Javier P on January 5, 2009 at 3:57 am
I was playing on my Xbox 360 Elite (MArch 2008) and suddenly, when playing COD WaW, some white and blue colors appear on my TV, sound was perfectly, but I had to restart it. I thought the yellow/green cable wasn’t well conected. When i restartes it was all good, after 20 minutes the same funky colors again, the screen was all blue. I don’t know if it is a hardware problem or something. The problem is I live in PEru and i don’t know how to contact micrsosoft (can anyone help me?) I hope I can get it fixed soon.
Posted by Andy B on January 27, 2009 at 1:21 pm
Hi Everyone,
My xbox 360 is two months old.
I was playing worms the other day (xbox was on for about 3 hours) and all the sudden the picture went a bit weird then my TV (new samsung LCD) said it had lost HDMI signal. This went on for about 5-10 seconds and without me doing anything the TV must of found the signal again displayed my game of worms..
Weird.. Sounds a little bit different to everyone else problem though. I continued to play for another 30min and it didn’t repeat the issue again.
Hope it doesn’t come back!
Posted by Ross sillifant on February 19, 2009 at 8:32 am
Had my 360 elite,2 days,connected to tv via hdmi(port 2)1st day?Fine.2nd day?4 hrs into halo 3,lots of red snow type effects on screen,followed by complete loss of picture!
Checked cables.all fine.Put ps3 in port 2.Fine.360 in port 1.Fine.Swapped em back.Fine!
what the duce?
Connected via Component now,ordered triple shielded HDMI in case it is cable issue.emailed microsoft.
Console?Never been Online.reading these posts?not looking promising.
Posted by Waffle Deluxe on February 21, 2009 at 3:05 pm
Don’t scare me like that.
Posted by Ross sillifant on February 22, 2009 at 4:13 am
Update to my last post:
Component connection:worked fine.
NEW HDMI cable(triple shielded!)Arrived yesterday,so far?brilliant.
Microsoft`s customer support dept?as MUCH use as a chocolate fireguard!-just said we can arrange to have it picked up for repairs(and what?get someone else`s reconditioned machine?),did`nt even suggest i try different tv or leads.
Amazon however?fantastic,offered new console or full refund.Got 2 weeks on their warranty,so time to decide yet.
Posted by lewlpants on March 3, 2009 at 7:23 pm
same problem, got it to work again for about a day or so, then same problem. im waaay out of warrenty and wouldnt mind opening up and having a play (i am a lil tech savy), is there anything i could buy off say, ebay to replace the fault?
Posted by superfly 747 on May 14, 2009 at 8:08 am
I am a month out of my 1 year warranty and my HDMI video went black. the video still works when I use the yellow red white connections but there is a heavy red hue to everything. I called Microsoft and they just kept repeating I’m sorry I cannot help you. What a fraud. They put bogus part in their machines and then when they die they want me to drop another $100 to fix their crap. Everyone please steer your friends away from the 360 or force them to buy an extended warranty.
Posted by DAN on June 23, 2009 at 4:49 am
ive gone through 7, 360,s since launch the first died within 2 hours the second within a week the third within a month and so on! now my elite as stopped showing video but has audio. the console is 4 days out of warranty but microsoft insist i pay for it to be repaired! you would think after seven times now going to be 8 that they would cut me some slack! but it appears im not the only one with same problems with having so many consoles.i also have a ps3 that did the same (stopped showing video) it was a month out of warranty but sony still replaced it for free! as a goodwill gesture!. now im seriously considering stoppping my xbox live account, and getting rid of the whole system and games and sticking with a system that seems far more reliable.i dont want to as i like the 360 but i feel like ive no option at this point unless i pay for a console that shouldnt break in 12 months anyway!.that will most likley break again before next year!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by Mike on July 4, 2009 at 5:59 am
Add me to the list of people who had the video go out.