At the heart of the compact box is a 120GB 2.5-inch hard drive, capable of storing many hours of HD content in MPEG 2, WMV9HD, or DiVX formats. The tiny box has outputs for component video and coax digital audio, but doesn’t offer HDMI at this point. Regardless, those outputs should satisfy most of us with a high-def craving.

It’s even got AC3 and DTS audio processing circuitry, so you can have full surround sound if you hook it up your amplifier’s digital input. In addition to its video playback capabilities, it’s also a full-fledged audio server, with playback of MP3, WMA and OGG format sound files.

As is typically the case with these cool Korean gadgets, you’ll probably have a tough time finding one outside of the region. If you’re willing to deal with the overseas shipping you can find these for about 219,900 KRW (about $235 USD.)

Most rumors point to the 360 Elite including a 120GB hard drive, HDMI digital output and IPTV capabilities out of the box. Recent rumors also point to the smaller 65nm chipset which should produce cooler operating temperatures and lower production costs for Microsoft. Most in the know have pegged the release date to “sometime in April” and a retail price between $450 and $499. Only time will tell.

“GM-XBOX 360 (black/ 120GB) $479.99 NEW $439.99 USED.” It’s also listing a release date of 5/1/2007.

If this is true, it would put an end to the rampant rumors of the impending new model. There’s no word at this point if it includes any other new rumored features such as HDMI or a built-in HD DVD drive, but based on that pricepoint, I’d guess it’s just the bigger hard drive and maybe the HDMI port at most. With this information out on the street, I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before Microsoft fills in the details.

[via Kotaku]

(Photo shown is from an Xbox Black Case mod, not from the rumored Microsoft model.)