Rock Band's USB hub caught on camera
by Richard Mitchell 
{ Oct 30th 2007 at 4:15PM }
The folks over at 1UP have gotten their mitts on the USB hub that will ship with the Xbox 360 version of Rock Band. At first glance, it doesn't look to bad at all. It almost looks like it would fit where the wireless adapter fits (assuming you're not using one already. However, it looks decidedly less chic when you find out that the hub is powered by an ugly A/C adapter. As a gamer, chances are you could do without another black brick behind your entertainment center. But hey, it's not like you actually have a choice in the matter, right? You've got to plug those instruments in somewhere, and the Xbox 360's three USB ports just won't cut it. Why the game makers didn't opt for a self-powered USB hub, we don't know, but there you have it. Hit the "read" link for more pictures.
[Via Joystiq]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
xenocidic @ Oct 30th 2007 4:18PM
hrm, where's the 3rd port? i thought it only had 2!
bigciafan @ Oct 30th 2007 4:20PM
sexy. why does it need a power chord?
DjDATZ @ Oct 30th 2007 4:21PM
idiots. the lot of them for not choosing to have it self powered. it wouldn't make any difference anyways.
DjDATZ @ Oct 30th 2007 4:22PM
xeno...the third one is at the back where your ethernet jack is...if you have a wireless adapter like me, then you only have 2 spare ports...lol
corbin @ Oct 30th 2007 4:27PM
That thing looks like a piece of garbage. Luckily I have no friends and that means I won't need extra ports.
ChromaTick @ Oct 30th 2007 4:28PM
I'm with DJ on this. Why the heck is it not self-powered? Just what I need is one more thing I need to plug in to an outlet.
Frank @ Oct 30th 2007 4:30PM
@1: there's one on the very back, for you to plug the wifi adapter into
bigciafan @ Oct 30th 2007 4:37PM
do you think this was an ms choice or a rock band choice?
do all the other versions have that too?
ryan @ Oct 30th 2007 4:40PM
Yeah. It looks like garbage when its hooked up. My best buy has the whole kit hooked up to a samsung LCD, surround sound, the whole shebang. Its fun to play... the drums are super sweet, but they seem to lag a little. the people that tried it after myself seemed to think the same thing, either that or we all suck at trying to hit a pad on a beat. (unlikely that five different people would have that much trouble...) I was going to pick this game up when it came out, but I might wait.. the drums were the biggest selling point for me, and as of now, or maybe just that particular set, seemed a little off.
There are tons of wires everywhere tho... its rather unsightly. This is not one I would leave hooked up in my living room unless I was going to play it all the time... TOO MANY WIRES!
Brucie B @ Oct 30th 2007 4:40PM
WOW So Interesting... It's a HUB!
Frank @ Oct 30th 2007 4:48PM
@9. If it was hooked up to an HDTV, it might have been just delay lag. It's very very common in guitar hero 1 and 2 if you played on an HDTV, they included a calibration tool. I don't think that's a USB hub issue.
ryan @ Oct 30th 2007 4:55PM
@11 I never said it was a hub issue, but its the same reason I just returned GH3 for PS3 yesterday, the lag was uncontrollable. It was impossible to calibrate using their calibration tool in the menu. Seriously. It was bad. Others have been reporting the same issue.
I was just stating that, on a game, based on hitting a note or chord or pad or whatever, at a certain time, there seems to be some problems. People can blame HDTVs all they want and throw out the term lag and calibrate, but it doesnt change the fact that these are wide spread issues that arnt being taken care of. This is a next gen gaming system designed to be played on an HDTV, I shouldn't have to calibrate it.
Ninja Platypus @ Oct 30th 2007 4:57PM
USB only supplies .5 amps per port. That means a self-powered hub only has that much to play with, and it has to use some of that just for itself. It probably needs the extra power to run all the controls.
xenocidic @ Oct 30th 2007 5:02PM
cool, never noticed the USB port at the back.
that's good because I recently got 2nd and 3rd peripherals. (vision cam & xlorer guitar to go with my P'n'C kit)
Mathieu Bonin @ Oct 30th 2007 5:24PM
@12: Wow, that's the most uninformed comment I've seen in a while - that means a lot.
Display lag is unavoidable, you will need to calibrate it. I have GH2 calibrated and its working great. You just need to proceed to the store and buy panties of the non-bunching variety, and see that Rock Band actually improved the calibration tool this time around, with 2 individual settings for display and audio lag.
And to all those with the powered USB Hub comments, no matter how you put it, a "self-powered" usb hub only gives 5V, which I'm guessing won't do for the 4 controllers, especially given the total wire length (XBox to HUB, Hub to controllers), and thus the impossibility to sync the signal. It's really not an option at that point - it needs to be powered...
and I don't see how big of an issue that is, I'm guessing you'll plug the Hub in the back of the XBox 360... where said XBox 360 is ALSO plugged into the wall, that's incredible! There are sockets there!
Player1 @ Oct 30th 2007 5:32PM
"People can blame HDTVs all they want and throw out the term lag and calibrate, but it doesnt change the fact that these are wide spread issues that arnt being taken care of. This is a next gen gaming system designed to be played on an HDTV, I shouldn't have to calibrate it."
lol. People are not just "throwing out the terms". Everyone has a different configuration. Some people have their video signal going through their receiver, or a switch, some have SDTVs, and some HD, some have DLP projection, some have LCD, etc. The point is, every setup is different, and when the video and audio must sync, you will have to calibrate it if you want it to be accurate. Some tvs have a mode that will bypass signal processing to reduce lag, but you can't expect these things to magically happen just because you bought an HDTV.
Just spend the twenty seconds it takes to calibrate it. That's how the "widespread issue" is being taken care of.
Panodraa @ Oct 30th 2007 5:39PM
Whats with the PS3 controller in the pic???
Grant @ Oct 30th 2007 5:50PM
My bigger concern than the power supply is the length of the cable.
I will need at least 10' run from the xbox to the instruments. This looks like its only about 1' long. I'm hoping they give us super long instrument cables, but i dont see it. USB extensions FTL.
Mark @ Oct 30th 2007 6:04PM
WTF is "self-powered" for a USB hub? How has this term come to mean a hub that sucks power from the device it's plugged in to? "self-powered" should mean it has batteries, not that it doesn't need to also be plugged in to the wall. Call it "USB powered".
slyst @ Oct 30th 2007 7:16PM
I haven't checked, so I fear a tounge lashing, but couldn't you use a store bought USB hub. I am using one right now on my laptop that is powered off AAA batteries. I would assume that the 360 would be able to accept any USB device. It works with my ipod, PSP and my digital camera. If the game is so important to someone that will drop $150+ on it, they could spend twenty bucks or so on a 'better' hub that might look nicer and perform better as well.
Just a noob... but bash me anyway.
Brooks @ Oct 30th 2007 8:24PM
Hello? There's a limit on how much power you can draw from one USB port. Apparently the Rock Band instruments, taken together, draw more than a single device is allowed to. So the hub has to be powered.
It's not rocket science, folks.
Clifton Helpingstine @ Oct 30th 2007 10:56PM
Well this isn't even a problem for folks like me with an HD DVD drive on our 360s. Two in the front of the 360 and two in the back on the add on drive. Forget even using that USB hub!
ryan @ Oct 31st 2007 2:07AM
I never said I expect it to, how did you put it... "magicaly calibrate" BUT when the inclusion of a calibration tool does NOTHING to fix said problem, then I am mad. Yes.
Also, to the person who said my decision was "un-informed." I was never speaking on behalf of rock band, but rather guitar hero three, and specificaly for the PS3. The calibration in Rock Band may be far better than GH3's, but I didnt dive that deep into my 2 min. experience at Best Buy. Sorry, but on its default setting, the way it was hooked up, led to a crappy first time playing it. I have guitar hero 2 for the 360, and have had ZERO problems with lag.
I understand there are different set ups and different displays, recievers, switches, etc... All I was getting at is, calibration may not allways be the answer, prehaps there is an underlying cause of the lag that PS3 users are experiencing. I am not the only one, but it is, however, not a problem that EVERYONE is having. Check the PS3 forums at playstation.com
Im not meaning to piss anyone off, but I was slightly upset that I spent 106 on a game that was near impossible to play. (GH2 on 360 works fine, again.)
My original post was just to say that it looks like an unsightly tangled mess when there is a mic, a guitar (or two), and drums plugged into a USB hub in the middle of your floor... thats all.
JohnHeist @ Oct 31st 2007 4:39AM
Wasn't this the big problem with all those intercoolers, that they sucked the power through the 360 thanks to being USB powered and helped it overheat more than it already did?
They're covering their asses.
Just to see the facts, I'm gonna have to head to Best Buy tomorrow and play Rock Band on drums.
(...< is a drummer)
AK @ Oct 31st 2007 8:05AM
it would be hard making it a self powered HUB, the 360's overheat enough as it is...
TurboFool @ Oct 31st 2007 5:26PM
lol, the cluelessness is astounding. USB ports can only put out so much power. To make a hub, then expect it to power two guitars, the drums, and a microphone via ONE USB port is ridiculous. It had to be powered, like it or not.