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Microsoft Shows Off HD-DVD Drive for Xbox 360

Posted Aug 8, 2006 at 9:38AM EST by QJ Staff

Listed in: Xbox 360 Tags: Blu-ray, HD-DVD, Kevin Collins, Microsoft, navigation, Opera, xbox 360 titles, Xbox Live Arcade

HD-DVD Drive

Microsoft just can't stop strutting its stuff.

Recently, Microsoft's Senior Program Manager Kevin Collins, demonstrated the HD-DVD Drive to the attendees of the DVD Forum. According to Mr. Collins, this contraption will be available this holiday season. The MS officer flaunted the HD-DVD drive which is about the same size as that of a usual hardback book, as it played Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera. He also showed the menu bar which gives a glimpse of its navigation and interactive features.

Amidst all that, he also mentioned that MS' HD-DVD drive is among the least expensive HD-DVD players around. He also mentions how the Xbox 360 fuels audio and video processing, according to him "all the audio and video processing is done inside the Xbox...An Xbox drive provides them with all the other equipment they need to watch HD DVD movies." Only time could tell if MS' gamble will pay big dividends as it goes head-to-head with PS3's built-in Blu-ray drive. For now, all we mere mortals could do is speculate and speculate some more.

Via CNET

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Its an option, not a necessary buy, which is a very good thing.

I will be buying this and to # 2, wtf is wrong with it??

its not HUGE, or ugly, you could have your 360 stood up next to your T.V and the HD-DVD player somewhere els like under the T.V (like if u had a T.V stand).

It would just look like a normal DVD player ....... would you put a DVD player in your living room????

# WOW.... — Guest 2006-08-08 11:23

THAT THING IS UGLY!

# BIG — jaydogg691 2006-08-08 11:49

Wow, that thing is kind of big. It would have been cool if you can gets some faceplates for the HD-DVD Drive. Good thing it's only an option. It would be nice Microsoft released a Xbox 360 with a built in HD-DVD Drive.

# > — Guest 2006-08-08 12:16

any idea on the price of this thing yet?

# no word on price... — Phantage 2006-08-08 12:28

Their is no word on price. Its an add on, and for an add on it looks fine. According to Major Nelson's Interview last week, that dude said it would be the cheapest HD DVD player around. So if the performance is just as good as toshibas full size model, who cares what it looks like.

# agreed — Guest 2006-08-08 12:36

I agree with Phantage... if it's functional, to hell with Toshiba's offerings

# Still wondering — Guest 2006-08-08 12:55

They still havent said if it supports 1080p or only 1080i like toshiba's HD player. If it supports 1080p I can get rid of my Toshiba HD DVD. ZOMG supporter of Bluray and HDDVD I must fail. Or I must want all my movies in HD. If you dont have both you wont get all movies. Some movies are only gonna be HD on bluray and some only HD on HD DVD.

# price — Guest 2006-08-08 13:17

an interesting thing i noticed...."MS' HD-DVD drive is among the least expensive HD-DVD players around"... ONE OF the least expensive players around..not THE LEAST expensive one...which means not 200 bucks...not 250 bucks...very interesting...looks like the ps3 isnt too expensive...maybe even cheap compared to a lamebox 1.5 + hd player=

# Thats cool — Guest 2006-08-08 13:58

I'm glad that they didn't make me pay extra for it, I don't even have an HDTV yet, most people don't lol, so its a good thing they made it optional.

Sometime around 2010-2015 there's supposed to be more HDTVs than digital IIRC, and by that time Ps4 and Xbox cubed or whatever is gonna be coming out, so that's when it will matter to me, but by that time I'll be in college getting drunk, high and *****ing *****es so what the hell do I care.

# ??? — Guest 2006-08-08 14:14

cool halo faceplate :)

# not so great — Guest 2006-08-08 14:35

looks pretty large and not even remotely ergonomic. not to mention it requires its own power socket and uses the USB port on the back. If you combine that with the WiFi adapter you put on the back of it, that is one cluttered setup. They better not go back on their word of it only being necessary for movies since that is one peripheral I would not put up with.

# Price? — Vietone 2006-08-08 14:41

So they didnt say anything about the price, why?

Because they dont want people to start comparing price over features. This in fact tells me that it will be $200+ for the add-on. If they stated that it was 100 bucks, then people might say either console is a good buy. If they said 200 bucks then the PS3 would look like a better value purchase. If they went more then that then people would "definitly" see the PS3 as a better buy and possibly just wait for it.

My estimate for the HD DVD addon is $299. Toshiba has theirs for 500 bucks and theres no way its going to cost 200 bucks otherwise they would have said so. And selling at 400 bucks, well people would rather buy the stand alone player for 500 because the add-on isnt worth it.

Ill keep my hacked Xbox360, HD DVD free because the fact is, Sony has in their camp, the movies I want to buy, HD DVD has very few films that im willing to purchase.

# hmm — Guest 2006-08-08 15:05

and they say the ps3 is overpriced?

# quality — Guest 2006-08-08 16:04

but the quality of hd dvd is suposedly alot better than the quality of blue ray movie a read when watching the same movie on both formats hd dvd is very noticably better

# they dont make u pay for it but... — Guest 2006-08-08 16:52

#14

they dont make us pay for it but when games are on multiple discs im not gonna buy them

im not getting this thing cause

1 theres no hdmi

2 its ugly

3 i think blu ray is better

making EVERYTHING optional isnt exactly good

not having and hdd means programmers have a limit on developing

not having a hd dvd drive means less space to make a game with

# HD DVD vs Blu-ray — Vietone 2006-08-08 17:05

At the moment the moves on HD DVD are better then Blu-ray. But the fact remains that Blu-ray disk has been manufactured before they even set the standards for it and even now, theres no set standard.

They need to set the standard to H.264 encoding because it was designed with HD content in mind.

They still use the encoding method thats used in DVDs and its very limited and a waste of space. Once Sony starts making the moves with H.264 encoding, it will look the same if not better.

# hmmm — Guest 2006-08-08 20:53

vietone, its all well and good throwing stats in everyones faces and making people think you know what your talking about, but SONY dont make the movies, its up to the movie studio to decide what encoding method is used for their films.

As for the add on, to be honest it is rather big. I wouldnt like 2 big units underneath my Tv set, it looks ugly, and like someone on this post said, it requires its own power, so thats 2 sockets used up, plus the wires to connect it to the 360, its alot of mess. Its all well and good being given the "option" but id rather just have the option shoved in my face (like blu-ray). At least then ive got it straight from the off with Ps3 and not have to pay something huge for a blu-ray add on.

As for the price, id go for around $250-$300 (or £200-£250 in UK), which, like ive said all along, will put it on a par with PS3, maybe even making it more expensive. TO be honest i dont know why microsoft are bothering to release this. They arent going to use it for games, and from what ive read in alot of forums, alot of 360 owners (including myself) just arent interested in buying it

# wtf — Guest 2006-08-08 21:59

wtf it doesn't look big, bulky, or ugly to me! and #16 it uses the one usb in the back of the console but it also puts out 2 so you still can have the wireless adapter plugged in. and btw i like the halo 3 face plate and it looks like the face plate snaps off of the hddvd player...did anyone else notice that???

# lol — Guest 2006-08-08 22:37

Thats... fugly!!!!

But meh, I rather blu-ray.

# Too right it should be cheaper.... — Guest 2006-08-08 22:55

...than other HDDVD players. It's only a drive, the xbox does all the audio/video processing and I've already paid for that! A stand alone HD DVD player needs it's own audio/video processing hardware, audio/video output connections, etc.

# wow — Guest 2006-08-09 02:13

Okay first of all xbox already plays games on hdtvs so no need for it to play games through the hd player or developers to have to use hd-dvds for games. Secondly on the first round of testing hd-dvd players were better quality then the blueray so all of you people who say I'd rather have blueray are saying I love sony and will do what they say. Third people who are saying I don't want 2 things on my entertainment center??? okay sept for the fact that you'll prob have a cable box, last gen systems, reciver, and etc. Plus if you're not liking the fact that oh my goodness it needs another outlit! I hope you have a surge protecter because it probably would not be a good idea to not have one but guess what they have multiple outputs on it...

So are you complaining for the sake of complaining or are you just not thinking clearly?

# Bravo sir — Guest 2006-08-09 03:03

You're right 26, HD DVD has beaten out blu ray, and I really doubt all the people who are saying, "I'd rather have blu ray" even have an HDTV.

To 20:

When the final fantasy games came out on more than one disc or any other PS1 game did you complain? As long as its not a free roaming game, what does it matter if its on TWO discs? Are you that damn lazy that you won't walk 10 feet and pop open the disc? Damn, you need to hit up the gym or something.

# DAMN!!! — Guest 2006-08-09 09:04

gosh that P.O.S. is almost as big as the 360 itself

# UGLY! — Guest 2006-08-09 10:08

Dude serious, im not against the xbox360, but man have they *****ed up bringing that oout now. Here has what microsoft has basically done:

1) Made a rushed console without a hd-dvd player so it will surposedly cost cheaper (lol)

2) Brought out a bulky hd-dvd player which will cost $250+ (ps add that on to the price of a PS3 and the xbox360 costs more)

3) Ripped everyone off!

Most games will either say in the near future 'only for use with a hd-dvd player.' This is just what happened with the N64 when you needed to buy an extyra memory pack for all games. Most Xbox360 user have all been had! I feel sorry for them, i seriously do. I jsut hope microsoft can re-word there hd-dvd to make it appealing t xbox360 users.

# You know what.... — Guest 2006-08-09 13:15

Who cares if it's ugly, big, made wrong (Although the front of the HD DVD Drive should have matched the front of the XBox 360)....I'm still gonna get it just to have it because my XBox 360 will be complete with it. And at the same time I will also purchase the PS3 just to have it too. And on top of that I'm gonna buy the combined HD DVD and BLue Ray player that is supposed to come out too just to have it in my living room too. And I'm gonna buy an HD DVD and Blue Ray drive when they come out for computers too. Why? Cause I'm just baller like that.....

# buahahah #30 — Guest 2006-08-09 14:12

buahaha me too because thats how i roll...

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Microsoft Shows Off HD-DVD Drive for Xbox 360

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