What may have been noticeable from what was shown and the images that have been released of the system, is that as console systems go, it's fairly large. It's about 12” wide and 10” deep, which is pretty huge compared to the PlayStation 2 or Dreamcast, and it's even larger than the Sega Saturn – admittedly a bulky system. While no explanation was given for the overall girth of the console, it's a safe assumption that the inclusion of a hard drive coupled with the CPU and GPU requires a larger than normal fan, which can be seen on the rear of the system.
Front and Back View
The communications port on the back of the system is a 100 mpbs Ethernet jack, which is basically standard these days, and as the Xbox is being positioned as a broadband-capable console, it was pretty necessary. The video plug is proprietary, and there is only one port for both audio and video output. This decision means less cables to worry about, however it also limits the options available to those with higher-end setups. The PlayStation 2 has a proprietary video in/out jack, but it also contains a standard optical digital audio out jack. By not including a separate digital audio jack, Microsoft is forcing Xbox owners to purchase a specific cable for their needs. So if you want to connect the system to your HDTV and to your audio receiver via digital audio (which is necessary for true digital surround sound) you'll need to buy a specific cable that includes component video plugs for the video as well as either a coaxial digital or optical digital plug for the audio.
That seems to be a costly and entirely unnecessary way to do things and you'll note that there is a suspicious amount of black space between the Ethernet and video plugs on the rear of the system. Microsoft seems to be touting this “multisignal audio-video connector” as a cutting-edge feature, but given the complexity of high-end setups, I'd be very, very surprised if they don't put either separate component video jacks or optical or coaxial digital audio plugs there. Or all three for that matter. Particularly since Bill Gates stressed in his keynote address that the Xbox fully supports HDTV – both for movies and games, according to their spec list. What they mean by “HDTV movies” is slightly confusing, however given the architecture inside the Xbox, it wouldn't be surprising if they reveal that it can playback DVDs (via the remote accessory) with full progressive scan support. Progressive scan DVD players are remarkably expensive, usually costing well over $1000, so if the Xbox supports it for under $300 (plus $30 or so for the DVD add-on) it would be an incredible bargain. But, as they're trying to emphasize games over movies, don't expect it to be too heavily promoted, even if it does turn out to have progressive scan support.
