Xbox 360 Hd-dvd

[korsjs]

something looks fishy with the above picture. every usb cable i have seen has something that looks like a rectangle connection on one end and a square connection on the other end.

the xbox 360 has the rectangle looking one in all three spots. the picture above above has the same connection as the 360? is there going to be a special cable or am i missing something.

 

[Customgamer1]

Ok I was reading up on this like mad because I really really want one.

1. It has "3" usb ports. 1 mini usb and that sends the "video" to the 360. The other full sized ones is to replace the one it takes up on the back of the console. It also comes with a spot to hook up the wireless and just plug it in the back of the drive. And the last one is just for extra stuff!

2. MS is going going to have HDMI at some point in time but first becasue there is no HDMI cable out ATM and component is fine for everyone with under 1080P tv. If you want a slight increase over the component cable buy a VGA cable for $40 USD and plug it into the back of your tv. Please note that you have to make sure your TV supports VGA and I know you can buy a VGA to DVI connector but some tv's will not allow a non digital single to be put into the dvi so make sure you check before you buy! I just bought the vga cable and I like it. I think it helped the PQ a little bit and they said it up converts the standard dvd's to HD lol well I did not notice that...

3. I am happy they did not release it with a HDMI or if they did they better have the extra audio cables on the back becasue my receiver like many don't support hdmi so like the ps3 you are kind of Screwed.

4. People get to pissed off and worried about HDMI. The difference is so small if any you will not notice the difference.

5. For those who have 1080P the VGA cable does not fully support it until the fall update and that will be coming soon!

 

[Sapient]

2. MS is going going to have HDMI first becasue there is no HDMI cable out ATM and component is fine for everyone with under 1080P tv.

HDMI is also needed for the best audio signal from HD DVD. Optical can't carry TrueHD. But it will be significantly better than what standard DVDs output.

 

[Customgamer1]

HDMI is also needed for the best audio signal from HD DVD. Optical can't carry TrueHD. But it will be significantly better than what standard DVDs output.

Well you can't get everything from a console lol. My wording on that last post was not the best but I did forget about the audio problem.

To me I really don't think that will blow a lot of people away from buying the add on? I mean how many people first have a HDMI receiver? Second you not only need a receiver that can take HDMI but one that can output TrueHD audio. Well for those who care that much I think would have bought a stand alone player anyways.

I would guess the video quality on the PS3 and 360 will not be as sharp as the stand alone but will offer a very good one so if you are nuts about audio/video like me you will get a stand alone player. I will buy the 360 add on just so I can save myself some money and when I get enough hd dvd's and the market is going more toward hd dvd like it should I might up grade to the stand alone! From what I was reading the PQ is almost the same if not equal but thats on the version 1 of the current gen player out I would think it can only get better! So who knows how it will look with the new set of stand alone coming out soon.

 

[Sapient]

I agree. If I go HD DVD, it will be through the XBox add on. My audio system is not good enough for me to tell the difference anyway. Heck, I doubt my ears are good enough.

Early reviews of the add on say the picture is excellent. I'd much rather spend $200 for a 95% solution than $400 for a 100% solution.

 

[Ilya]

The PS3 is a low price? The 360 + add on is a low price? You can pick up the HD-A1 for under 400 bucks. None of those can be had for under 400 bucks.

It's a low price if you consider that you are getting a bundle: a game console and an HD player.
My main point was that Microsoft would not be able to offer an add-on HD DVD drive for $200 if it was equipped with HDMI port. Not just because of the cost of HDMI itself, but because of the cost of the video decoders, that they would have to incorporate in it in order to enable HDMI.

 

[DTV TiVo Dealer]

We are still expecting to receive our large allocation of HD-A2s the week of October 30th. and the Xbox 360 HD DVD adaptors the week of November 14th.

To select any HD DVDs or 4 yr. extended warranty with your player order just make a note in the comments section when checking out.

If you want to order HD DVDs and no player just call, PM or email us.

-Robert

 

[John Kotches]

Robert:

Any word on whether this will really be recognized as HD-DVD drives on PCs?

I've heard a rumor that some PC based software will be released soon that would allow for playback of HD-DVD and Blu-ray on PCs.

Cheers,

 

[DTV TiVo Dealer]

John, not to my knoledge. This HD DVD adaptor can only be connected to a Xbox 360.

-Robert

 

[Ilya]

I am sure, technically this is possible. The question is whether Microsoft will be willing to do that. If they sell it at or below the cost, just to support Xbox 360 sales, then they may not want to offer this drive for PC. On the other hand, if they are making any money on that $200 drive, then why not offer it for PC as well. I guess we'll find out soon.

 

[Kevin Elm]

I am sure, technically this is possible. The question is whether Microsoft will be willing to do that. If they sell it at or below the cost, just to support Xbox 360 sales, then they may not want to offer this drive for PC. On the other hand, if they are making any money on that $200 drive, then why not offer it for PC as well. I guess we'll find out soon.

Someone on this board will try plugging the XBOX HD-DVD into the USB port on their PC!

For this to work wouldn't you need MPEG-4 AVC CODECs and some kind of playback software?

Now, if someone really wanted to start a rumor . . . doesn't the DishNetwork VIP-622 have several USB ports AND uses MPEG-4???

 

[John Kotches]

When you buy it, how does the seller know you're purchasing it for an XBox? They don't of course

The question is really whether or not drivers will exist for it as a generic HD-DVD drive via USB

 

[John Kotches]

Robert:

Does the HD-A2 output 1080p24 or just 1080p60?

Cheers,

 

[T2k]

Robert:

Does the HD-A2 output 1080p24 or just 1080p60?

Cheers,

None of them - 1080i only.

 

[John Kotches]

None of them - 1080i only.

Well, I meant the HD-XA2 which was listed as having 1080p capability and is shipping at year's end by the latest estimates.

 

[Ilya]

1080p60 only. So far, of all announed HD DVD and Blu-ray players, I believe only the most expensive one (Pioneer BDP-HD1 Elite) will support 1080p24.

 

[jgantert]

FYI, the 360 HD-DVD addon is sold out at Amazon.com now.

-John

 

[John Kotches]

1080p60 only. So far, of all announed HD DVD and Blu-ray players, I believe only the most expensive one (Pioneer BDP-HD1 Elite) will support 1080p24.

Sorry to be brusque...

What the hell is so difficult about taking content that's stored as 1080p24 and passing it through as 1080p24? Seems like this should be an easy task instead of a difficult endeavor.

I absolutely hate these Broadcom chips that everyone is using that's forcing the Telecine output from 24p to 60i, then deinterlacing the result to 60p.

That is, quite frankly, sh*t.

Cheers,

 

[T2k]

Sorry to be brusque...

What the hell is so difficult about taking content that's stored as 1080p24 and passing it through as 1080p24? Seems like this should be an easy task instead of a difficult endeavor.

I absolutely hate these Broadcom chips that everyone is using that's forcing the Telecine output from 24p to 60i, then deinterlacing the result to 60p.

That is, quite frankly, sh*t.

Cheers,

There are no 1080p sources everywhere, let alone 1080p24 so you are talking about most likely 1080i or 720p source first scaled then frame rate conversion with optional deinterlace... all this has to be done properly, very high-quality on-the-fly, in a desktop player. (For comparison I use this plugin kit in Fusion and it takes very long time on dual-core workstations...) BTW I'm not sure every 1080p TV would be equally OK with a 1080p24 source...

 

[John Kotches]

There are no 1080p sources everywhere, let alone 1080p24 so you are talking about most likely 1080i or 720p source first scaled then frame rate conversion with optional deinterlace... all this has to be done properly, very high-quality on-the-fly, in a desktop player. (For comparison I use this plugin kit in Fusion and it takes very long time on dual-core workstations...) BTW I'm not sure every 1080p TV would be equally OK with a 1080p24 source...

We're talking film here, in which case, you're completely wrong.

The HD discs are mastered from D5s which are 24p from the film.
D5s are about 300 Mbits/second if memory serves me correctly, but not truly lossless encoding. That's what is encoded to go onto the disc.

So in fact HD-DVDs and Blu-rays are 24p sources assuming the original was film based 24p. Not only that, but they're stored as 24p. So to output 24p, you really do just have to output the unprocessed frames. Getting anything other than 24p you have to go through the telecine process in the player. This is for 1080i/60 or 720p60.

How do I know? One of my best friends works directly on the VC-1 encoder. He spends about 1 week in month in Hollywood working directly with movie studios and production facilities to improve the encoder.

Let's talk some more about the lack of 24p sources when you're ready.