HD DVD drive for XBOX360

[Satfanni]

Hi Folks,

Can anyone confirm the launch date for the above add on drive for the xbox360? I had read that it was supposed to be 24/11/06 and then that it had been put back to 01/12/06:confused:

Can anyone confirm 01/12/06 as the definite launch date?

[3tv]

still the 1st dec for UK release atm. It better not get pushed back again ive got a few discs ready to play :)

[Satfanni]

still the 1st dec for UK release atm. It better not get pushed back again ive got a few discs ready to play :)

Cheers m8.

Here's hoping:D

[Spud_Hed]

actually the rumoured date is the 1st dec but there isnt actually an official release, when i spoke to the guys at my local gamestation they seemed doubtful it would arrive, but be advised supplies are going to be limited so get to the shop early if you want one. roll on friday!

[Satfanni]

D*xons website are now quoting the release date as 08/12/06:eek:

Another delay:mad:

[Spud_Hed]

well that would coincide nicely with the release of the nintendo wii but theyre leavin it a bit late to catch chrimbo

[retainedstatue]

My preorder at -sendit.com is showing as dispatched (to arrive 1/12 )

[josechun]

Not bad for £129 considering it works on a pc as well via its usb , sadly you need a hdcp graphics card/display tho.

[Spud_Hed]

really?? i thouht that the 360 hd dvd drive didnt have hdcp due to the fact that most 360 owners connect with component video cables which are incapable of using hdcp? also they added 1080p support through vga for the release of hd-dvd an that isnt hdcp capable either. the main problem is no apps support hd-dvd yet except the japanese version of power dvd, which is rather hard to come by. has anyones drive arrived yet? would be nice to have a first hand opinion

[Satfanni]

And still we wait:frown:

My pre-order on gam************* now showing possible dispatch date of 14/12/06:eek:

Got the discs but no hardware to play them on!

What is going on:confused:

[josechun]

really?? i thouht that the 360 hd dvd drive didnt have hdcp due to the fact that most 360 owners connect with component video cables which are incapable of using hdcp? also they added 1080p support through vga for the release of hd-dvd an that isnt hdcp capable either. the main problem is no apps support hd-dvd yet except the japanese version of power dvd, which is rather hard to come by. has anyones drive arrived yet? would be nice to have a first hand opinion

All I went with was this

h- t t p://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=325&type=expert&pid=3

[Spud_Hed]

im not sure but i think they were likening it to a standard pc hd dvd player, if i remember there was a load of hubbub about the hdcp support not being able to be implemented and it ended in them just letting it slide due to the number of units itll shift (they want to win the format war) unfortunately i dont have a unit to test it with yet so im not 100% sure, as soon as i do ill let you know

[retainedstatue]

Just got mine hooked up to the 360 so thought I`d give some first impressions.
In the package you get the drive, a media controller remote (same as the one you can buy standalone in the shops) and King Kong on HD-DVD (I suspect this is a special version as there is just the movie- no extras whatsoever that I could see)
Set up is easy, load the supplied disc onto the 360 which then prompts you to connect the drive (via usb). There is also a clip at the back of the drive to attach the wireless adaptor to if you have one, so you can piggy back it through the unit.
I`m currently using a 37inch 720p display which the 360 is connected to via componant. The picture quality is outstanding; not watched the whole film yet but did flick through various scenes, some dark, some with fastmoving action etc and can honestly say I couldn`t fault the picture. Puts even the best films on Sky HD to shame.
The sound seemed ok through my dd5.1 amp, couldn`t see any obvious settings to change it to any over the newer sound formats, although haven`t looked too hard as yet to be honest.
The drive itself looks a bit daft sat on top of the 360- the front fascia is in the same grey colour as the sides of the 360, rather than the off white of the front of the 360, and it looks a bit boxy, although as you may have gathered, if my main complaint is the colour of the drive then I`m happy.
Only other point I can think of is the 360 fans, which are on at the same level as if you have the 360 turned on with no disc in the drive, doesn`t bother me in the slightest and to be honest can`t hear it above the movie, but I suspect it will annoy some of the audiophiles amongst us.
Going to try and hook it up to the pc in the next couple of days to check the HDCP issue out, although as I understood it componant doesn`t carry HDCP so it can`t be an issue. I`m sure MS are just ignoring the official rules to try and get one up on bluray/ps3 and will worry about the implications or any comeback later.
Any questions anyone wants answering- just post them here.

[Satfanni]

@retainedstatue thanx for the info m8.

I'm still patiently waiting for my drive:frown:

Where did you order from?

[retainedstatue]

Got mine from _sendit.com , preordered back in early October though.

[glarus1]

hi guys u can get the hd drives from pc world 4 a £130, + king kong hd dvd...and yes u can plug it direct to u plasma or lcd tv and yes u do need hdcp graphics card in order 2 watch hd quality...! i nearly both one last saturday (02/12/06), and even the guy from pc world told us that u can plug 2 u pc and watch hd dvd's no problem...!

[retainedstatue]

Not altogether sure the guy at PC World knew what he was talking about to be honest. You definately cannot just plug this add on into your TV/projector. As far as I am aware you can plug it into your pc but you still need drivers for the pc ( _www.xbox360-hacks.com had them for download).

[zcar]

Not altogether sure the guy at PC World knew what he was talking about to be honest. You definately cannot just plug this add on into your TV/projector. As far as I am aware you can plug it into your pc but you still need drivers for the pc ( _www.xbox360-hacks.com had them for download).

I've just been reading up on Amazon reviews as I am thinking of getting the player for my elite, peeps do say that it will work stand a lone connected to the PC via a USB :)


Just a thought...since it has USB leads, I've tried to run it through the PC to watch Hot Fuzz & it worked!!! It recognised it straight away and was up and running in no time. So if you want you can bypass the 360 and use it on the computer instead.




Another great thing about the HD DVD drive is that all HD DVD's are region free so you can play Asian, Japanese, USA, UK and European HD DVD movies in your HD DVD drive (This does NOT apply to standard DVDs). I recently purchased a HD DVD that had quite a lot of scratches and it played fine Plus you can hook the external HD DVD drive to your pc and watch movies on there (provided your pc is powerful enough to do that)..

[paul01609]

why not just buy a blue ray player for your pc for around £140?

[zcar]

why not just buy a blue ray player for your pc for around £140?


Because the DVD is better viewing on my panny 42" plasma ;)

[adilmalick]

the Xbox 360 HD DVD player makes a perfectly suitable means of watching HD DVDs, and it's a good way for Xbox 360 owners to get in on the next-generation DVD action without investing too much.