In short, if you have no interest in gaming then you have an inherent disinterest in the Xbox 360. As a hackable toy it's practically useless, and extremely fulfilling giving the amoebic state of the scene at the moment.
As a result I have to agree wholeheartedly with my man Nick about the original Xbox, even if we're slightly OT in doing so.
As for HD output on a European box, it's 100% possible on a softmodded box with the right software installed and the right cable (£10 off eBay). I realised there is no physical difference between the two models - it's a BIOS thing.
XBMC is a thing of beauty in 720p (1080i's a bit sticky). And contrary to Pro Coffee Drinker's claims that it doesn't have the oomph to play HD content, I'm not sure he's tried - I'm watching Lost in 720p quite nicely thanks. Aside from the slightest hint of perceptible jitter here and there it's a joy to behold.
Perhaps the best thing of all is the Milkdrop visualisations for the music player, which are also rendered in HD - stunning and mesmerising.
Shame the (vast majority of) games are SD, but aside from that it's the perfect Media Centre, and beats the hell out of any off-the-shelf model you could get for £100-300 because it's been in development for so long and its internal storage capabilities are so flexible (if you know how).
