MS to release Xbox 360 with HD-DVD in 2006

[patsu]

No. This is a dressed up format war. If MS is truly rooting for consumer choices, where is BluRay for Xbox360, assuming I want one in 2006 ? Companies have to pick 1 over another to bundle due to economic reasons. Sony just happens to pick on BluRay to support both games and movie format. While MS chose different formats for both.

If people want to talk about cost, then they should talk about TCO (Total Cost of Ownership).... what happens to the losing end when people invested in Blu-Ray or HD-DVD media, plus also delayed sales due to format confusion. The true cost can only be calculated after the war.

Peace.

 

[mckmas8808]

sounds like a pretty dumb/half baked idea, I need to see a mockup/price.

Thank you. The first Xbox 360 owner that talks with some sense.



Well sorry expletive you made sense too.

 

[AzBat]

Among the new goals for 2006 is the launch of an external HD-DVD drive for the Xbox 360. Moore said the HD-DVD will play movies in high-definition formats. It will debut later this year for a price to be determined. He said that the strategy was to offer consumers choice. Those who want to pay for HD movie viewing capability can do so, while those who don’t want it don’t have pay to have it in their machines.

http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2006/01/microsoft_discl.html

Tommy McClain

 

[expletive]

It's a drive, not a player.

Speng.

Youre probably right but i dont think they would make such a distinction in a press release. Either way, if it needs HDMI, youll have it. If it doesnt need HDMI, then you may or may not have it.

 

[expletive]

sounds like a pretty dumb/half baked idea, I need to see a mockup/price.

Maybe, but dont you think they had the HD optical thing figured out a long time ago? I cant see them saying "well it wont be available when we launch so we'll just figure it out later..." You have to think with everythign at stake, they even had a BAD idea decided upon a long time ago...

 

[Bobbler]

This just smacks of desperation. MS doesn't need it either, so it just looks silly.

MS is doing fine, but doing things like this makes it seem like they are desperate (for no real reason).

It's frustrating because MS/X360 is better than this.

 

[mckmas8808]

Maybe, but dont you think they had the HD optical thing figured out a long time ago? I cant see them saying "well it wont be available when we launch so we'll just figure it out later..." You have to think with everythign at stake, they even had a BAD idea decided upon a long time ago...

Expletive honestly they just figured this out. This wasn't being thought of for years like everything else in the X360 look.

Much of the reason for developing the external HD-DVD drive seems to be fueled by Microsoft statistics researched by Penn, Schoen, Berland & Associates. Their research shows 90% of Xbox 360 owners own or intend to purchase an HDTV in the six months, nine out of 10 of the people purchasing an HDTV cite Xbox 360 as the primary catalyst, and 10% of those with an HDTV also purchased an Xbox 360 simultaneously.

They should have done this research earlier.

 

[randycat99]

This just smacks of desperation. MS doesn't need it either, so it just looks silly.

MS is doing fine, but doing things like this makes it seem like they are desperate (for no real reason).

It's frustrating because MS/X360 is better than this.

I have to agree with you there!

I was thinking possibly an hdmi adapter could come off an ethernet port? That better be one helluva NIC to handle decoded/expanded 1080p24 data feed...over 1 Gb/s. Maybe they could sneak under than if they use some standard run-length data compression, but would an hdmi device even support that on the other end?

 

[mckmas8808]

I have to agree with you there!

I was thinking possibly an hdmi adapter could come off an ethernet port? That better be one helluva NIC to handle decoded/expanded 1080p24 data feed...over 1 Gb/s. Maybe they could sneak under than if they use some standard run-length data compression, but would an hdmi device even support that on the other end?

If thats even possible, could that potenially hurt the quality of the HD-DVD movie?

 

[g35er]

There's something like 3 or more threads on this so I'm not sure which one to use. Anyway, does that mean they will release games like the PC industry where they have a DVD version and a CD version, in this case a HD-DVD and a DVD version?

At some point in the future, would they just incorporate the technology in their consoles and do away with the DVD sku entirely?

To me, if it's only a movie watching add-on and they don't use it for game related things, it's not worth it at all.

 

[Carl B]

No no, games will remain on DVD.

 

[AzBat]

What's the logistics in providing this accessory? Are we talking one USB 2.0 cable connection to the Xbox 360? Is there enough bandwidth there? Does it use "managed copy"? Or we talking USB 2.0 cable with a video/audio pass-through cable or seperate HDMI connection?

My head is kind of spinning after this announcement. I can see how some people might think it's a bonehead type play, but I also like how they're providing customers with choices in when and how expand into the HD era. Bad thing is the cost in comparison to PS3. There's no way for Microsoft to spin that unless they drop the price of the system packages. Or maybe they'll offer another SKU for HD movies(HDMI cable, external HD-DVD drive and DVD remote) for about the same price as the PS3?

There's a lot of questions to be answered and I'm afraid MS will keep things quiet till Sony makes their PS3 plans public.

Tommy McClain

 

[Tap In]

how anyone can see this as a bad move is beyond me


it's an option (add on) not necessary for games and a mighty nice option at that.

 

[randycat99]

If thats even possible, could that potenially hurt the quality of the HD-DVD movie?

It should be "safe" as long as it remains in the digital domain. It's the conversion to analog when things can potentially exhibit losses. I agree the "if it can even be done" part is a considerable hurdle. Also, how will they maintain anticopy security with a setup that literally streams the digital image right over a USB...

 

[mckmas8808]

To me this hurts their Xbox brand's image. The PS3 is coming with buit-in Wi-Fi and a HD movie/game player. You will have to spend at least $200 to get these extras if not more.

 

[expletive]

To me this hurts their Xbox brand's image. The PS3 is coming with buit-in Wi-Fi and a HD movie/game player. You will have to spend at least $200 to get these extras if not more.

Maybe but we dont know the price of the PS3 yet. What if you dont need either of those things and the PS3 is $200 more?

 

[Hardknock]

To me this hurts their Xbox brand's image. The PS3 is coming with buit-in Wi-Fi and a HD movie/game player. You will have to spend at least $200 to get these extras if not more.

You've already stated you don't ever plan on buying a 360 (even though you talk about it constantly). I don't think MS is too concerned with what you think.

 

[expletive]

You've already stated you don't ever plan on buying a 360 (even though you talk about it constantly). I don't think MS is too concerned with what you think.

Does the PS3 have 802.11 a or b or g?

 

[mckmas8808]

You've already stated you don't ever plan on buying a 360 (even though you talk about it constantly). I don't think MS is too concerned with what you think.

But they should be. Shouldn't they make me want the system though? I mean I brought a Sega Saturn thinking that I would never buy that first time Sony machine called a Playstation.

But I guess things changed for me.

 

[mckmas8808]

Does the PS3 have 802.11 a or b or g?

B and G.