Customer Reviews

Xbox 360 HD DVD Player

5 star:		(236)
4 star:		(59)
3 star:		(22)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(35)

 

 

I've been using this Xbox HD-DVD player for almost a month now and so far it works just great. I actually had no plans to buy either Blu-Ray or HD-DVD until one of those losers became a dominate player. Unfortunately it doesn't look like that's going to happen any time soon. And for $200, I couldn't pass it up since I already had an Xbox. And I couldn't bring myself to keep buying low-def regular DVD's with these awesome HD DVD's out there. AND, the HD DVD combo discs still have regular DVD content for normal DVD players in other rooms in the house.

Out of the box, this drive is extremely easy to setup. Just pop in the setup CD, plug it in, and you're ready to go. There is a separate power cord as well. The included remote is nice, but I'll stick with my Harmony 880. It's able to control all the basic functions of the player. The player is also unable take advantage of the improved audio quality of HD-DVD, so you just get the normal "good" audio quality you had with previous DVD's. Which isn't bad, but still somewhat disappointing. Otherwise, all the menu's work nicely, the player starts up fairly quick, and the picture quality is awesome - for component video at least.

Component is probably the biggest negative I can think of - and that's really due to the Xbox 360's fault, not the player itself. If you think HD DVD looks good on your xbox component connection in 1080i, just wait until you see it via your HDMI port in 1080i or even 1080p (if your TV accept 1080p and is big enough to take advantage of such a high res). Unfortunately, there is no word of HDMI for the xbox. So you only get 1080i via the Component connection. To get 1080p, you need the VGA cable, which has a somewhat better picture.

So I bought the VGA cable. The picture does look a little better on my 61' Samsung HL-S6187W since it's also at 1080p, but there is a 1-3" border around the screen, and the image is tilted. Samsung had no idea how to fix it. But I suspected that might happen since a TV with a VGA port is still a TV, not a PC Monitor. Your results will of course vary depending on your model TV.

The VGA port limitations aren't that big of a deal. If you REALLY want 1080p, you just need HDMI - period. I'll live with 1080i via Component for now until the 1080p players come down in price. In the meantime, at least I've got some awesome looking HD movies to watch on my new TV!

Pros:
* Cheapest HD-DVD solution if you have an XBox 360
* Easy to setup
* Accepts IR from your universal remote via the Xbox
* Great picture quality
* Includes Microsoft Remote and free King-Kong HD-DVD
* UPDATE: HDMI Output (with Xbox 360 Elite Only)

Cons:
* Only outputs 1080i via Component (VGA required for 1080p)
* VGA output has limitations, both due to Xbox and/or your TV
* Can't take advantage of HD-DVD improved audio quality formats

Bottom line, if you have an Xbox 360, and have a HD TV, you've gotta pick one of these up. You just can't go wrong for a $200 entry-level HD player!

*** ELITE/HDMI UPDATE ***

Just purchased the Xbox 360 Elite w/ HDMI. This HD DVD player is even more awesome than before. We just watched the entire Matrix Trilogy in HD DVD in 1080p on the 61" Samsung DLP - and it looked awesome. When compared to component, the HDMI picture is much more crisp, detailed, and even better black levels. Definately recommended!

Microsoft has released the HD-DVD drive as an obvious counterstrike to the PS3's Blu-Ray capability, but the drive is much more than a bullet point in the console & format war.

PROS: The HD-DVD drive is quite simply the most efficient and cost-effective HD solution for those of us that already own XBOX 360s. However, even if you were to consider buying a 360 with the HD-DVD drive solely for movie watching, it is still very competetively priced compared to the stand-alone models. Adding to its value, the package includes Microsoft's Universal Remote, and a copy of King Kong on HD DVD. The picture and sound quality is superb, as advertised, almost identical to the quality produced from Toshiba's newer HD DVD model. Add all this to the fact that installation and operation is quick and seamless, with load times for discs quicker than that of the Toshiba. Finally, for those of you with super-nice TVs, at the time of release the XBox 360 HD DVD drive is the only HD source (apart from Blu-Ray) that is capable of outputting in 1080p (full HD), if you have a TV that will accept a native 1080p signal.

CONS: There is only one real 'con' that I can think of - the drive's lack of HDMI connectivity. Although you can view the stunning 1080i picture over the XBox's HD component cables, for (I believe) copyright protection reasons you can't output HD DVD picture over component, despite the cable's capability. Therefore, if you want to take full advantage of the drive's picture capabilities, you'll have to utilize the seperately-sold VGA HD cable ($39.99), and this will only work if you have an 1080p HD monitor with PC/VGA input. Even with this, on my TV (Samsung 1080p DLP), a little black box is drawn around the picture frame, which slightly reduces the picture size, despite the increadible quality. Also worth mentioning is that while the drive has the same upconversion cababilities as the other HD DVD & Blu-Ray models for standard DVDs, this too is only obtainable through use of the VGA cable. Finally, without HDMI, the drive can't make full use of the newest HD Dolby Digital & DTS surround audio tracks, instead downconverting to the standard DD & DTS tracks you're used to on standard DVDs (still good quality, though).

In conclusion, the drive is fantastic, a tremendous value. Although the capability range of the drive is limited through the lack of HDMI connectivity, for most people this isn't going to be an important factor. Most people, even those with nice HDTVs, don't have 1080p TVs or 7.1 channel audio receivers with HD decoding capabilities. Hopefully, though, Microsoft will eventually produce an HDMI port for the XBox, which will unleash the drive's potential. In the meantime, this wonderful, small HD DVD player will be more than sufficient for most everyone looking to step in to the world of True HD (even those of us that can currently get around the 1080p issue with an extra cable).

This is a great product if you already own the XBOX 360. As everyone has already mentioned, it's no-brainer for $200.

Pros:
· Incredible 1080i picture that blows away any HD transmission from your cable/satellite provider even at 1080i - at least on my HDTV.
· Runs much quieter than the noisy regular DVD drive of the XBOX 360
· Up-scales regular DVDs. I did a real-time comparison with a regular DVD movie and quickly switched it from the XBOX 360 regular DVD tray and then into the HD-DVD player. I witnessed an incredible upscale in visual quality to the point that it was almost as good as an actual HD-DVD movie. The other amazing thing about my little experiment was that since both drives are "powered" through the same XBOX 360 processor/"brain", upon switching from one drive to the next, the XBOX was "smart" enough to pick up right where I stopped to the exact second in the scene from the regular DVD player. I was pretty impressed by that. Not sure how I would apply that again in the future, but it was cool nonetheless.

Cons - And it's a major one if you own any of the Sony SXRD line of HD TVs:
· No HDMI output = No 1080p picture if you own a Sony SXRD line of HDTVs like me. I have the amazing Sony SXRD 50" rear projection LCD TV which defies logic at how sharp the picture is and how vivid the colors are in HD. With that said, I have yet to enjoy a 1080p picture on it because: 1) My cable provider transmits only a 720p/1080i picture (which I believe every satellite/cable provider is currently limited to in the US), and 2) XBOX 360 can only "transmit" a 1080p picture through a VGA cable. Though my TV does have a VGA input, a 1080p picture can only be possible utilizing the HDMI inputs.
· Conflicting XBOX Helpdesk support- When talking to XBOX support, their helpdesks gave me conflicting advise about whether or not my TV would project a 1080p picture through my VGA input. However, when I touched base with Sony, they were quite clear that the VGA connection for my TV would only go up to 1080i. The HDMI cable was necessary for 1080p.

You might say, "So freakin' what?" However, when you've paid a considerable amount of money for a TV that has 1080p capability over a substantially less expensive TV that can only go up to 720p/1080i - you get the drift.

Hopefully, Microsoft can come up with a HDMI solution for current XBOX 360 owners (not just the rumored XBOX 360 version 2) and this problem will be solved. All in all, despite all of this 1080p nonsense, the HD player is a solid little add-on and I still highly recommend it.

This is an incredible HD-DVD player! Setup was a breeze. Just plug it in and pop in the install disc included. That's it. Just be sure to reboot your 360 after the install. Otherwise when you try and play a movie it will be incredibly jerky. A quick reboot and you're up and running.

Next, it's FAST. I mean REALLY fast. Not quite as snappy as a DVD, but still it's quick. It loads the movie in about 30 sec., the menus are responsive, and chapter skipping is quite good. If you've ever seen an Toshiba HD-A1 boot up, it's like comparing a Yugo to an F1 car.

Next the picture is amazing. I only have a 720p set running through component, but the detail and crispness are striking. I'll have to compare "King Kong" to "Batman Begins" when it comes tomorrow, but so far I am VERY impressed. The sound is also very good. I don't have a system that can handle anything better than DTS, so anything with Dolby TrueHD will have to be evaluated by someone else. However I don't know if the 360 can actually output Dolby TrueHD yet, but since everything is being done via software that's easy to remedy.

If you have a 360, buy this drive. It's the cheapest and best HD-DVD player out there for the price.

In one word, yes. As for picture, I think it says all I need to when I'm staring at the FBI warning screen and catch myself drooling. No I didn't use an HDMI cable and my Samsung DLP is rated only up to 1080i, but I own a $3000 Denon that plays 1080p, or lets you pick, and the image quality was better with the Xbox 360. Hey, it's using three core chips for signal processing, upsampling while the top Denon only has two(at 200+ MgHz), so am I surprised that the xbox player won...yes. I've been watching for about a week now and tested all the shows I could on my system and hands down, better sound, stunning image.

It loads WAY faster than the Toshiba HD-DVD player as well as the Samsung BR player. I like both formats, but when you take price, quality, and compare it to some high-end competition and it wins, I say go cheep. I've seen them all (I own an A/V company), so I know words are cheap. Therefore, all I can say is I live for sound and movies and this was the most impressive display I've seen. I may be dead wrong, but go with the warranty and check it out for yourself. Just don't get scared when the salesman starts talking about the HDMI cable. If you're worried, go with the S-VGA cable if your TV will take it and you want to try it versus the
component.

Overall, if you're looking for the next thing and want it now, try out the xbox-360 HD-DVD player.

Hope this helps and sorry I didn't put in a negative section, but I just haven't found something to complain about when compared to the other two players.

Happy shopping.

If you have an XBOX 360 and and HDTV, this HD-DVD drive add-on is a no brainer. Microsoft utilized the 360's three processor cores and implemented a software based solution for decoding HD video. The results are pretty amazing. The picture generated over a component cable connection is crystal clear and beautiful. Colors are strong and vibrant, and the picture quality is light years beyond DVD. I've found the alternative format (Blu-Ray) to be washed out and not nearly as clean and crisp as the HD-DVD format on my Samsung DLP (1080i). I was thoroughly impressed, and extremely happy that I made this purchase.

For a limited time, the package also includes a 360 media remote and a King Kong HD-DVD. Can't beat it. Worth every penny.

I've been watching HDTV programming for quite a while now, so I was expecting only a minor improvement going to HD-DVD/Blu-ray. Boy was I wrong! The picture quality on the included King Kong disc is absolutely stunning! The difference isn't the resolution, but rather the lack of compression artifacts, and the great care taken in the making of this HD transfer. I hadn't realized how much I had gotten accustomed to the compression artifacts in HDTV broadcasts. The stunning clarity of a well-mastered HD source really caught me by surprise. If you've already got an Xbox 360 and an HDTV, this HD-DVD drive is well worth the purchase.

Setup is extremely easy. Plug it into the wall, but don't plug it into the Xbox just yet. Power up the Xbox and plop the update CD into the internal drive. It will install an update to your system and then prompt you connect the external drive via the included USB cable. That's it! Put in a movie and enjoy!

Navigation with a remote works well, just like a normal DVD player. I actually used my univeral remote, so I can't comment specifically on the bundled Microsoft remote, but it looks pretty typical.

As a bonus, this drive is recognized by Windows XP when plugged into a USB2 port. At the moment, there's no way to watch the movie itself, but you can see all the files on the disc, and it brings hope that with the next releases of PowerDVD/WinDVD, we might be able to watch HD-DVD movies on a PC using this drive.

(edited March 2009)

As you should be aware, Blu-ray has won the format war. If you're looking at one of these, it's probably just as an accessory drive to reduce wear-and-tear on your 360's DVD drive. I still use mine for that purpose, although I wouldn't recommend paying more than about thirty or forty bucks for one.

Pros: Easy setup. Plugged it in, installed a firmware upgrade, and started watching a movie. The integration with the 360 is well executed; at any time in the movie, you can bring up the 360 guide blade, or even switch over to the 360 dashboard. So if you have a disc in each drive, you can switch between gaming and watching movies as much as you like without having to restart the console. This is surprisingly useful. Don't worry about losing a USB port on your 360, because the HD DVD player itself has an extra two input ports on the back, allowing you to use four wired controllers, should you so desire. Finally, the drive is extremely quiet, making it the obvious choice for standard DVD playback.

Cons: The external enclosure will unfortunately add more clutter and tangle to your setup, especially since the HD DVD drive has its own power plug. It does not upsample regular DVDs over component video cables, just like any other DVD player on the market; however, this can be done by any 360 (with or without the HD DVD drive) if you use HDMI or VGA cables instead of component.

Here's a quick feature list:

- Plugs into your 360 via USB.
- Has two additional USB ports on the HD DVD drive (allowing the use of a total of 4 wired controllers, should you wish to).
- Has its own, clunky power supply (it is not powered by the 360).
- Much, much quieter than the 360's built-in regular DVD drive.
- Software integrates it into the 360's Dashboard, allowing you to swap between playing games and watching a movie without restarting the console or ejecting the disc.
- No additional A/V cables, which means it displays on your TV through your 360.
- It DOES NOT upsample regular DVDs over component cables. However, it appears that all 360s (with or without this drive) can upsample regular DVDs if you use HDMI or VGA cables instead of component cables. (thanks to commenter Michael Andreev)
- If you have an old 360 without HDMI, you probably cannot view HD DVDs at higher resolution than 720p, unless your TV accepts 1080p over component cables (this is rare at this point) or your TV has a VGA port. If you have one of the newer 360 models with HDMI, you can output up to 1080p.

I hope this review has been helpful to you. If you have anything you think I should add or any changes to suggest, leave a comment and I'll check back occasionally.

bought this so i could watch hd-dvd's in my gameroom. while the piture quality is phenomenal, the sound will leave you wanting more. sound output seems very compressed, this forces you to crank your surround sound receiver to higher than normal levels just to hear what's going on. if you own a 360 then buy this, but if you want a good hd-dvd player tnat's serious about the audio, then i would look elsewhere.

Without getting into debates as to which hi-def movie format is the better one because that battle will still be going on for a while, I would rather tell you all why I purchased this product. It's simple. I'm a gamer first, so therefore I already owned an Xbox 360. So I viewed it as buying a HD-DVD player for far less than what one would cost in the store. Considering Blu-Ray and HD-DVD were still very expensive at the time I bought it, how could I pass it up? Owning a 360 essentially gives someone a headstart into the hi-def arena (granted, they are cheaper now than when I bought it, as is natural with technology so the difference isn't as great).

Like most Xbox 360 peripherals it's very easy to set up and works flawlessly, and I don't have a single complaint about it besides the fact that both HD-DVDs and Blu-Ray discs still cost way too much but that has nothing to do with the player. Unfortunately, my 360 is not one of the newer models with HDMI, but that really doesn't matter because I have a 720p TV right now anyway. The TV is what makes the real difference.

The market has changed since I bought this, but I'm happy with it.