Today's crazy scoop or internet hoax: 360 on-board HDMI?

G

Guden Oden

Senior Member
Legend
This Engadget news post shows a blurry image of a section of the rear edge of a 360 mobo with a HDMI jack sandwiched in under the standard video connector.

Why is it always that leaked images are blurry? :LOL:

So we either have a pretty nice photochop on our hands, made by a hoaxer with too much time on his hands. Or Microsoft's about to pull a fast one on all of its early adopters... Take your pick.
Then again, it could also in fact be a real image, except the hardware is never going to be put into production.


/me reaches for stopwatch to time how long it takes before re-newed speculation about a 360 with internal HDDVD drive starts up again... ;)
 
Guden,

What's so crazy about having an internal HD DVD drive? The blue laser used in HD DVD can read SD DVD's just fine so it's not as if games would suddenly require HD DVD media. They could still be coded for and placed on DVD9 and work just fine. The HD DVD media would solely be for moive playback.

As prices go down in BoM for the 360 and HD DVD drive, they can simply add another SKU at a high price and keep the profit margin high. This all depends ofcourse, how well HD DVD does in the market and how bad they want to support it.

The safe bet ofcourse is to push the add on but it'd be lazy on their part to not think ahead in those terms.
 
Arsynic said:
Guden, like I probably believes that an internal HD-DVD drive would be a total "FU" to early adopters.
Click to expand...


Adding another SKU isn't a big FU to anybody. You can still buy the add on for your early model or sell it and get the new SKU. It would be a big FU if the games starting requiring HD DVD but that's not going to happen.
 
Guden Oden said:
Or Microsoft's about to pull a fast one on all of its early adopters...
Click to expand...

Nice to see no love lost between you and Bill!

I cease to see how this is "pulling a fast one" on early adopters. If this (HDMI for HD DVD) even happenend...

1. Early adopters bought a 360 for games--neither HD DVD and HD DVD media were even on the market when it shipped.

2. Games won't be using HD DVD disks so this would not impact early adopters use of the unit.

3. There is still plans for an external device so early adopters can get all the features (HD media playback) with an upgrade.

4. MS surely will not move all SKUs to HD DVD due to their aggressive stance on cost/price reduction. Adding HD DVD to the core would add a year or two to getting under $199.

Body language says a lot.
 
The original source of the image was posted on Xbox-Scene.com. Here's a link to the direct news item:

http://www.xbox-scene.com/xbox1data/sep/EEVkFZZpFkDjNuJhIR.php

There's already been some pretty heated discussion in their forums. There hasn't been a consensus yet as to its legitimacy, but it's already been discovered that image must be backwards as it doesn't have the ports in the same order as the current motherboard. For reference I'm linking a photo that was included in Anand's Xbox 360 motherboard article.

http://www.anandtech.com/systems/showdoc.aspx?i=2611&p=2

Could be legit. I suspect Microsoft's response or lack of one will show whether or not it's legit.

Tommy McClain
 
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AzBat said:
The original source of the image was posted on Xbox-Scene.com. Here's a link to the direct news item:

http://www.xbox-scene.com/xbox1data/sep/EEVkFZZpFkDjNuJhIR.php

There's already been some pretty heated discussion in their forums. There hasn't been a consensus yet as to its legitimacy, but it's already been discovered that image must be backwards as it doesn't have the ports in the same order as the current motherboard. For reference I'm linking a photo that was included in Anand's Xbox 360 motherboard article.

http://www.anandtech.com/systems/showdoc.aspx?i=2611&p=2

Could be legit. I suspect Microsoft's response or lack of one will show whether or not it's legit.

Tommy McClain
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I'll take that one step further.

Not only are the ports in the wrong place, but if you look behind the ports on the right you can see a heatsink, and according to THIS that should be the end of the motherboard with nothing at all to the right, and if the picture were reversed there should be a power plug and another chip between those ports and the heatsink.
 
Are people concerned that the HDMI means a new SKU including an internal HD DVD drive, or just that a version of an Xbox 360 will include an HDMI out?

Because I can see adding HDMI to the Xbox 360 wouldn't be that expensive and wouldn't require a third SKU, while at the same time addressing the issue of HD DVD playback over component.
 
Sis said:
Because I can see adding HDMI to the Xbox 360 wouldn't be that expensive and wouldn't require a third SKU, while at the same time addressing the issue of HD DVD playback over component.
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The chip (or logic if they integrated it) done by the WebTV group for display only supports analog so that, too, would have to be redone which would increase cost. And supporting analog and digital ports and cables begins to creep up costs.

As for HD DVD over component, it seems that based on the Sony talking points that that wont be a major issue until 2011, at which time the Xbox 3 would be released anyhow.
 
Acert93 said:
The chip (or logic if they integrated it) done by the WebTV group for display only supports analog so that, too, would have to be redone which would increase cost. And supporting analog and digital ports and cables begins to creep up costs.
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Hmm. I'm sure there's some cost in that it's non-zero. But wouldn't that be a part of the cost of normal reconfiguring that every console goes through?
As for HD DVD over component, it seems that based on the Sony talking points that that wont be a major issue until 2011, at which time the Xbox 3 would be released anyhow.
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I believe Japan is the only one with a legal requirement for this. As far as I know, the studios have a "gentleman's agreement" not to turn on the ICT flag. However, nothing prevents them from doing so, other than that backroom agreement.
 
Powderkeg said:
I'll take that one step further.

Not only are the ports in the wrong place, but if you look behind the ports on the right you can see a heatsink, and according to THIS that should be the end of the motherboard with nothing at all to the right, and if the picture were reversed there should be a power plug and another chip between those ports and the heatsink.
Click to expand...

Here's the same image, but reversed. It was posted on Xbox-Scene.com forum's by Edy.

hdmiport_s400.jpg


The only thing different is that the power connector to the left of the AV/HDMI connectors is now slightly different. Possibly molex? They could have just changed the power connector to something a little cheaper. However, the heatsink in the background is still the same kind found covering Xenos. Since we are looking at it straight ahead instead of an angle, you don't get much sense of depth for the background objects.

Tommy McClain
 
launching a new sku Xbox360 with hardware driven HD would certainly toss a wrench into the Sony launch if they can manage it. If estimates are correct premium Xbox360s should be down to ~400 for manufacturing cost by fall, so its plausible that a new sku could be sold for as little as $400-$450 with relatively little profit loss. Thats of course if their absolutly dedicated to the adoption of HD-DVD.
 
I guess its natural that people dont normally think in 3D. Pardon my 60 second paintshop skills showing relative heatsink and mainboard location to a possible new port config.



There is no issue with the orientation of those parts. I switched the pictures around a little to make them correct and more easily pictured in your minds eye. And infact looking at what appears to be plates on the current Xbox housing around the current ports, i would say its all the more likely. All they have to do is some very very minor mold changes and it looks like a tiny bit of aluminum cutting.

if someone wants to get really technical they can meansure the distance of the space between the ports on the back of their xbox 360 and matching it up to the picture taken, i bet it matches perfectly. Also note the LAN port is switched horizontal rather then verticle(i switched it in my edit pic; wont effect anything cosmetically). Thats a detail i dont think a photoshopper would just randomly do. I think its legit myself.
 
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Maybe a pre-launch photo. Microsoft was intending to launch with the HD-DVD initially don't forget.

Can't see the logic of including a built-in HD-DVD now though even if it is an additional model rather than a replacement, since it can't be used for games. Sony is heavily into HD media players and HDTV so putting a HD player into PS3 at great expense to themselves I can understand, but what is in it for Microsoft to push a HD media player that has no games functionality?

Could it be that an HDMI socket might be there/might have originally been there without HD-DVD to overcome interconnectability issues to allow connection to a HDTV in some countries where HDTV and SCART only may be present in HDTVs?
 
Well dont doubt the impact of what ever the next dominant format will be. I wouldnt expect them to sell such a unit at much of a loss if any since it wont be primarily for gaming or a key product for profit, but primarily a HD-DVD player. Perhaps they have a deal with Samsung or one of the other companies that have invested in HD-DVD or perhaps they really want to see that become the next format for computers (what ever wins for tv's will turn into main IDE drives for computers and that media as well).

Sony is already marketing Blu-Ray movies, which i personally see as a decent head start over HD-DVD considering buyers of PS3s quite possably may pickup new titles on Blu-Ray as/if they become available. Even if they dont have HDTVs. HD-DVD certainly wouldnt be hurt by using the Xbox360 as a more popular launchpad as well to try to win over consumers.

My last thought is that one of the key things Sony is marketing over the Xbox360 is infact the ability to play 720p and 1080p movies on High Def tvs. If Microsoft were to launch an Xbox360 with a built in drive it may swing a very small percentage to purchase Xbox360s since they would be on almost equal grounds capability wise. Especially if the device is still cheaper then both PS3 sku. Call it what you want, but its still marketshare.

I really dont see how the detachable drive is going to work for serious videophiles who are really going to be the only ones interested in HD movies this early anyway. Problably be cheaper to do an integrated version too and i'm willing to bet it would sell better then an addon. Especially if the price is more agreeable then PS3.
 
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SugarCoat said:
I really dont see how the detachable drive is going to work for serious videophiles who are really going to be the only ones interested in HD movies this early anyway. Problably be cheaper to do an integrated version too and i'm willing to bet it would sell better then an addon. Especially if the price is more agreeable then PS3.
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I don't see how any console would work for any videophile serious or not for movie playback. I just think both formats are so flawed that the whole thing will be a failure and will lead to a much better format in 5 years.
 
RobertR1 said:
What's so crazy about having an internal HD DVD drive?
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What, you mean other than Microsoft denying such a product is being planned?

Perhaps that it would jack up the price significantly on a product that is already quite expensive, whilst at the same time adding zero value to its core purpose (namely playing games). There aren't very many HDDVD movies out to begin with, and there'll hardly be any either by the time such a theoretical 360 would go on sale.
 
Hopefully the hdmi will support 1080p scaling. My 1080p Tv likes a 720p signal alot better than 1080i from my 360. I would love to get a 1:1 deinterlaced pixel match.
 
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