News Xbox 360 could come with HD-DVD

[WilHarris]

http://www.bit-tech.net/news/2005/06...ox_360_hd_dvd/

Wow... seems like a bit of a weird strategy. Split their console ownership in half?

[Sord_Fish]

it seems a good idea to me. HD films wont be avaliable for a long time and we still haven't got HD broadcasting in the uk yet, not to mention the lack of cheap HDTVs.

Its a good move finacially, im sure that just a regular dvd-9 drive isnt going to cost the same as the DVD-HD drives.

Even so if you are one of the ones with a HDTV, MS has their own WMVHD films that are still on dvd9 and are amazing quality, all they have to do is get some of the big films on to that format and they have sony in an even bigger choke hold.

[Firehed]

oh christ, if we put bluray in ps3 and hddvd in 360, it won't even be a format war, just two competing formats going at once. One won't die off like vhs/betamax.

god save us!
bill just LOVES to be difficult.... finding any way to screw over the consumer. just another reason I don't buy his crap.

Well my vote goes to bluray, because it a) sounds better and b) oh t3h gigehbyt3s!

[mclean007]

But unlike VHS/Betamax, the physical media are the same size, so I predict within months of both formats being available, we'll see dual format BluRay/HDDVD players, and the "format war" will be a non-issue. It'll be much like the furore over DVD-R and DVD+R etc., or the high end audio showdown between SACD and DVDA - a dual standard drive comes along and everyone pipes down.

The real boon for MS would be if they could arrange that the Xbox 360 was among the first such dual standard drives - that would kick ass, and sell more than a couple of consoles I imagine.

Thing is, with Sony backing Bluray and shipping it with PS3, I'd be very surprised if that doesn't become the dominant standard.

[mclean007]

Originally Posted by Firehed

bill just LOVES to be difficult.... finding any way to screw over the consumer. just another reason I don't buy his crap.

I'd say that's a bit harsh - what option does MS have? As if Sony are going to license BluRay to them so they can put it in their rival console

It could work out as a bonus anyway - for those (I suspect many) people who end up buying a 360 AND a PS3, they'll have all the bases covered in terms of hi def movies.

[DarkInferno]

...and the PS3 streaches out its lead even further in my eyes.

You want one of the early models without the HD Drive to find out games don't work in your 'box 18 months later when the developers start using the HD-DVD. alternativly they could stick to DVD9 (possibly forced to by microsoft to support the earlier 360's) thus making the new drive practically useless except to watch films on.

PS3+Blu-ray wins out either way in my eyes. All the PS3's will have one, no compatability issues.

[3.5SE]

I think it would be a fine move for Microsoft only if they have an upgrade kit sold at a discount for the people who go out and buy the first run XBOX 360's without the HD-DVD support. Otherwise I think you'd piss off a bunch of people who go out and buy the first run units only to find out they didn't get a piece of the HD-DVD pie. Could be a good way to kill your launch. Wait a few months and you can buy the new and improved HD-DVD Xbox 360, might make more than a few people sit on the sidelines come launch time. I know I would but I'm not a hard core gamer. I'm a tech junkie and would rather have the HD-DVD support and wait a few months to play the games even if there was no HD-DVD media around to play. When it comes out I'd be ready. I'm not looking forward to this upcoming format war HD vs Blu-ray. I might decide to sit on the sidelines on that one two before I commit. I'll just buy the PC part rather than the set top box when the time comes.

[Da_Rude_Baboon]

Originally Posted by Sord_Fish

HD films wont be avaliable for a long time and we still haven't got HD broadcasting in the uk yet, not to mention the lack of cheap HDTVs....

..Even so if you are one of the ones with a HDTV, MS has their own WMVHD films that are still on dvd9 and are amazing quality, all they have to do is get some of the big films on to that format and they have sony in an even bigger choke hold.

If you build it they will come. When HD-DVD and Blu-Ray players are sitting under the TVs of a large portion of the UK public the films will very quickly follow. HDTV broadcasting starts the beggining of next year, just after the X-Box360 launch and before the PS3. 32" HDTV's can be bought for as little as £800 now.

You can not fit a true Hi Def movie onto a DVD.

[Da Dego]

You're full of **** about the faceplates, right?

[mclean007]

Originally Posted by Da Dego

You're full of **** about the faceplates, right?

wtf?

edit: oh I getcha - no, that's for real - there are skinnable/customisable faceplates - see www.xbox360.com

[Da Dego]

Originally Posted by mclean007

wtf?

edit: oh I getcha - no, that's for real - there are skinnable/customisable faceplates - see www.xbox360.com

Oh. Well, then.

Edit: Oh my lord, that webpage was by god the most difficult and dizzying piece of crap I've ever navigated. Someone should tell them that form needs to follow function in an information source...Wow.

[r-gator]

I personally don't expect it to matter much for HD-DVD or BluRay in the next couple of years. The user base for DVD is still only around 50%, and has yet to come into full swing. Believe it or not there are still lots of people out there without DVD players. The DVD consortium isn't ready to make another format change just yet. So the PS3 will have blu-ray for all the good it will do them. There won't be any media out there to use on it for some time to come.

On a more personal note. I'm sick of Sony trying to push their proprietary BS on us all the time. Blu-ray, Memory sticks, SACD, MiniDisc. It's all failed. Why don't they just get the picture.

[3.5SE]

Originally Posted by r-gator

I'm sick of Sony trying to push their proprietary BS on us all the time. Blu-ray, Memory sticks, SACD, MiniDisc. It's all failed. Why don't they just get the picture.

I agree with you 100%. If they dropped their proprietary ways they'd be much better off. But they make tons of money so what do I know.

[Da Dego]

Originally Posted by 3.5SE

I agree with you 100%. If they dropped their proprietary ways they'd be much better off. But they make tons of money so what do I know.

No, if they dropped their proprietary ways WE'D be much better off. THEY would be quite worse off economically.

[3.5SE]

You're correct Da Dengo we'd be much better off and much happier while Sony would lose a bunch of money.

[mclean007]

Originally Posted by 3.5SE

You're correct Da Dengo we'd be much better off and much happier while Sony would lose a bunch of money.

Money doesn't come in bunches - do you mean keys, grapes or bananas? None of these make sense in the context of your post. Perhaps you mean a LOT of money?

[Da_Rude_Baboon]

Originally Posted by r-gator

I personally don't expect it to matter much for HD-DVD or BluRay in the next couple of years. The user base for DVD is still only around 50%, and has yet to come into full swing. Believe it or not there are still lots of people out there without DVD players. The DVD consortium isn't ready to make another format change just yet. So the PS3 will have blu-ray for all the good it will do them. There won't be any media out there to use on it for some time to come.

Do you have some links to back that up? In the UK at least way more than 50% of people have DVD players. It is also the manufacturers and film studios that are pushing the change to HD-DVD and blu-ray. DVD players are so cheap that manufacturers make very little to no profit on them anymore and the film studio's want hardware encryption. With DVDs so easily copied they are demanding better protection which is what the next gen systems offer.

Blu-Ray isn't just a sony thing eiher.

[Da Dego]

Originally Posted by mclean007

Money doesn't come in bunches - do you mean keys, grapes or bananas? None of these make sense in the context of your post. Perhaps you mean a LOT of money?

Hmmm...that's a pretty common phrase, mclean007. If you were going to argue, you could at least do it on a topic that has relevance to the thread. Would you like me to look through your posts and find some theoretically absurd colloquialism that makes no sense when translated literally? What you just did is tantamount to attempting to trump a better argument by saying "Oh yeah? Oh yeah? Well, yo mama is fat!"

[mclean007]

Originally Posted by Da Dego

Hmmm...that's a pretty common phrase, mclean007. If you were going to argue, you could at least do it on a topic that has relevance to the thread. Would you like me to look through your posts and find some theoretically absurd colloquialism that makes no sense when translated literally? What you just did is tantamount to attempting to trump a better argument by saying "Oh yeah? Oh yeah? Well, yo mama is fat!"

C'mon dude, calm down. I was only kidding around. I'm not arguing with your point - it's unarguable that SONY are making a lot of cash out of their proprietary tech at the expense of the consumer.

Anyway, yo mama so fat, she jump up in the sky and get stuck!

[mclean007]

Further to my previous post, m'Lord, I plead not guilty to the offences of which I have been accused. I was merely attempting to correct the abhorrent linguistic behaviour exhibited by these luddite colonists.