Xbox 360 HD DVD Player Reviews

• Excellent entry-level HD DVD Player

  
  By A23QII83UGZP5U on 2006-12-15
  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!
  
  

• Wow!

  
  By A11SPSEM08VIXX on 2006-11-09
  OK, I just got it. King Kong has only been playing for 15 minutes. So far so good. Set up was easy. I became concerned when I thought there would be no spot for my wireless antenna. Luckily Microsoft added 2 extra USB ports on the back of the HD DVD drive, including an attachment spot for the wireless antenna. It's details like this that are very important and separate good products from bad ones. Also, the drive doubles as a DVD player and the quality there on traditional DVDs is far superior to the built in one on the 360. I have now scrapped my SONY DVD player in favor of this one. Too may devices are no good anyway, too much switching and turning things on and off. Now all the studios have to do is release feature films on HD DVD the day a film comes out in the theaters and I will not have to go anywhere, except perhaps to Target to buy the movie. I see so few films in the theater anymore anyway that the 4-6 month delay is all that troubles me now.
  
  

• Worked like a charm

  
  By A2Y1WNETD9AYHO on 2006-11-10
  Hooked it up and it worked like a charm. Video was great. I do wish it would up-convert via component but I its some mpaa rule orsomething so the real problem is the 360 itself needs an hdmi....
  
  Anyway , it does work and its fast and a lot cheaper than a stand alone hd dvd unit.
  
  If you deduct the 28.00 for king kong and 30.00 for the remote its like 142.00 for the drive...
  
  

• Not as happy as everyone else!

  
  By AP2UE3WSDDCBD on 2006-11-29
  This could be a rant, but I will spell it out.
  Picked up the XBox 360 HD DVD "Microsoft" product. Followed the install directions, because I read the manual. Software update went great. No problems. Put in King Kong, movie that came with DVD player. Yep, the picture froze within the first 5 minutes. I mean, hard freeze. No response from remote, or pressing the "X" to bring up the dashboard prompt (Y). Hard booted the system. Tried the movie again, and 20 minutes later: frozen solid.
  Tried a copy of Constantine, worked up to the fallen angel scene, and you guessed it...frozen. Solid as a pond in Maine.
  Returned the defective one and Amazon sent a new one overnight. (Amazon Rocks)
  Hooked everything up, fired it all up, put in Kin Kong (brand new out of the box DVD with new HD DVD player) Picture froze on the HD-DVD advertisement screen. Hard freeze again. Hard boot. Restart film. This time it worked to the first chapter, then froze again.
  
  The XBox 360 is put through 98% of it's total hardware ability, and all codecs were re-written by Microsoft to accomodate the HD-DVD format.
  I don't want to put my 360 through it's paces, I would rather do that with Gears of War.....so my money will be on a Toshiba HD-DVD...It was made for HD-DVD, not an add on to a game system. (remember Sega?)
  
  Add on....I even called Microsoft XBox support, and they had no answers. (they were actually pretty lame, asking if I had adequate ventilation, or if the disc was scratched.... I am not stupid....)
  No forums (teamXBox) even mention picture freezes. Nor do any of the Amazon reviews....maybe it is my dumb luck.
  
  

• No longer cost competitive

  
  By A2JR10TRIJXJ3R on 2007-08-23
  With the cost of real, dedicated HD-DVD players very close to the cost of this XBOX 360 add-on, the XBOX player is no longer a good investment.
  
  1. A real HD-DVD player uses dedicated video and audio hardware for decoding and sound processing (the Toshiba HD-A2 uses four dedicated Digital Signal Processors). The XBOX player uses its general processing power to do the same: not quite as good as dedicated DSPs designed for the purpose.
  
  2. The XBOX 360 is extremely noisy (almost vacuum cleaner loud). This is tolerable when you have the sound up for games, but movies have quiet passages and the XBOX 360 noise is very irritating.
  
  3. The XBOX 360 HD-DVD operation is clumsy compared to the more polished operation of a real, stand-alone HD-DVD player.
  
  4. The XBOX 360 is suffering a major manufacturing defect, and as of August 2007 Microsoft has extended the warranty from 1 to 3 years and admitted that millions of them may need to be replaced. If your player develops problems then you lose your HD-DVD player AND your game system. A stand alone player doesn't run this risk.
  
  If you already own the HD-DVD add-on for XBOX 360, it works well and is worth keeping. But if you're in the market in August 2007 or later then you should seriously consider one of the reasonably priced stand alone players.
  
  
• NO HDMI = LAME
  By AG1UJQEFD71J7 on 2006-11-15
  Firstly this thing is huge, it's ugly, and it's a waste of money since it doesn't support HDMI. If your 360 dies, so does your ability to play movies. Well and it's tied to your 360, meaning in 3-4 years it's just a piece of junk you'll try to pawn off for $10 on someone taking a $190 loss.
  
  You're better off waiting a few months and getting a "combo" drive which will play HD-DVD and BlueRay. And one that will be around in 10 years.
  
  But seriously, no HDMI is a HUGE deal movie studios can program discs to display at lower resolution when displayed via component-video outputs, which could render the Xbox 360 HD-DVD drive almost useless for many consumers.
  
  And if you don't think they will do this, look what the MPAA and RIAA have done to consumers over the years.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Be Careful!!
  By A3DKNG1ZXZ64BU on 2007-01-03
  this only works on some tvs. On mine the colors are all washed out. My tv is properly calibrated. If you buy this, make sure you can return it. I want to point out, my problem is fairly common. I have a dvi input on my tv so I had to buy a vga/dvi dongle. The vga cable is the only way to get the 1080p. I will say that the washed out pictures did look very sharp. It upconverts dvds nicely. If I connect through component, the color is fine, but no 1080p and no upconversion of standard dvds.
  
  
  Update: Well this is what I found on another site. Looks like it i'll never get a normal 1080p on my Mitsubishi
  
  "I have it connected by VGA, but the colors are all washed out!
  That's not technically a question, but yes, some TVs expect PC levels (0-255) in their VGA input, and the 360 sends video levels (16-235). The result is that a video black (RGB 16,16,16) looks gray, and white (235,235,235) looks grayer too. Try to see if your TV has an option to accept video levels on the VGA input, if not, then calibration can lessen this effect, however, your best bet is to use Component input. It is not known whether MS will try compensate for this problem, or if they do, when that will happen."
  I wonder how many of these reviewers are actually using the vga cable and seeing true 1080p?
  
  
  
  Update, I'm buying a vga to component converter. I'll post the results of this effort later. Hopefully this will allow me to watch upconverted dvds through component.
  
  
  Another update. watched Chronicles of Narnia. Upconversion through vga is incredible, but still the colors are washed out. Upconversion much better than my Sony. Sony upconverts to 720p. Xbox player is supposed to do 1080p on upconversion. Also since installing the updates for the dvd player, I can't connect to xbox live. Get dns failure. Microsoft blames my gateway even though it always worked before the update. Anyone else have this problem?
  Also I asked earlier how many people were actually watching 1080p. After reading the reviews, I see very few people are.
  
  Update, found on another site: I have it connected by VGA, but the colors are all washed out!
  That's not technically a question, but yes, some TVs expect PC levels (0-255) in their VGA input, and the 360 sends video levels (16-235). The result is that a video black (RGB 16,16,16) looks gray, and white (235,235,235) looks grayer too. Try to see if your TV has an option to accept video levels on the VGA input, if not, then calibration can lessen this effect, however, your best bet is to use Component input. It is not known whether MS will try compensate for this problem, or if they do, when that will happen.
  
  
• Is it really worth it?
  By A13784PW2VIHVH on 2006-11-25
  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.
  
  
• Great Little Add-On
  By A2ONKPI3JH5HUJ on 2007-01-24
  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.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Horrible add-on
  By A3DRCWLVWE0S2G on 2007-01-29
  ** Update, Timewarner just went Bluray exclusive, likely the format war is over, invest in a PS3 or a Bluray player, instead of an expensive addon that will be obsolete in weeks.
  
  Not sure why would anyone buy this $200 external add-on with the annoying cables ...etc. to watch an HD standard supported by less than 30% of the movie industry????
  
  Netflix collection of BlueRay is at least twice as large as HD and my new 1080P TV is not fully leveraged as this device CAN'T DISPLAY 1080P.
  
  Now between the cost of the XBox 360, the Wirless option and the HDTV, I got an expensive messy setup, that is less powerfull and MORE EXPENSIVE than the slick PS3, aside from the fact that a couple of my X-Box games never worked in the first place.
  
  I already put my X-Box on sale, and ordered a PS3 !! I also checked the new generation of PS3 games i.e. MotorStorm ..etc. THEY ROCK... I will miss my Halo though :(
  
  
• Limited HD player, limited usefullness, cheap unit
  By A19N3S7CBSU6O7 on 2007-05-06
  This is an ok unit, but before you buy it, I recommend you do your research first.
  
  I. Here's what you get for the $199 (plus applicable tax) price tag:
  
  - a basic external HD-DVD player that plugs into an XBOX 360 game console or PC. (it's a bit ugly, and heavy, but once you get past that it's Ok, just the wire is a pain to hide).
  
  - 1080p video playback. Warning though: Check your TV first to see if you have a 1080p compatable box. Most TV's will not accept 1080p via Component or VGA input. You will have to have XBOX 360 elite with HDMI to see visuals in 1080p in most cases. Also, most of the video is "up-scaling or up-converting", not true native 1080p feeds for you videophiles out there.
  
  II. Here is what you will not get:
  
  - HDMI 1.3 support, this is significant, you cannot use Dolby Digital Plus or Dolby TRUE HD. (This has more to do with the XBOX console, and it's important to note that to use HDMI you must have purchased the XBOX 360 Elite package, not the Premium or Core packages).
  
  - Will not act as a stand alone unit. This unit must be connected through a XBOX 360 gaming console or a PC.
  
  - Will not play Combo format HD-DVD. These are the ones that have both HD and SD on the same disk.
  
  - Minor issue: You cannot eject the disk with the remote control unit.
  
  - The ability to play games on the device. This is only a movie attachment, it doesn't playback games.
  
  - Unit is very sensitive to scratched disks, minor scratching may make them unplayable.
  
  - There have been some audio sync issues with this unit, especially with the title: Batman Begins. Some have speculated that this is due to not having Dolby TrueHD playback. Because this unit doesn't support that, the 360 is having to down-convert the signal into Standard Dolby Digital and there is a lag time.
  
  Warning: Some HD-DVD's have playback problems on this device. Children of men is one, Digital Video Essentials is another, and there are others. I'm not sure if it's the HD-DVD format or the player itself but, either way they don't play right on this device. In fact many times the system will not play it at all.
  
  In short, this is a very basic HD-DVD player with many problems. You should only buy it if you already have a XBOX 360 (and probably only if you have the elite edition) and you just want to get your feet wet with HD video without spending alot of money.
  
  You will not want to buy this version if you already have equipment capable of:
  
  (1) Displaying 1080p natively, or
  (2) Decoding Dolby TrueHD or Plus feeds, if you do, you'll most likely be disappointed.
  
  WARNING: XBOX 360 and PS3 comparison for HD content follows. This is not a fanboi fishing ploy, just a comparison for those trying to make the best judgement between the two machines:
  
  If your trying to decide between the PS3 and XBOX 360, and HD content is an important factor, you'll definitely want to get the PS3 with Blu-ray player built in. It's sleeker, has a fully capable Blu-ray player, costs less, and you'll have access to more titles as 7 out of 8 major studios are signed up.
  
  If you're an audiophile, you'll definitely want the PS3's audio playback prowess and videophiles will love the native 1080p feeds with no need to up-convert.
  
  In addition, you will not run into the various problems this XBOX unit has with titles that will not play or the audio not syncing up right.
  
  Also, when you add up the cost of the XBOX 360 (again you'll want elite for the HDMI output) and the cost of this HD-DVD add on, you're paying alot more - for alot less:
  
  XBOX 360 elite: Right now it's going for $648.34 on Amazon, although retail price is: $479.00. I will just use the retail price for comparison.
  
  HD-DVD external drive: $199.00.
  
  Total price for XBOX 360 plus HD-DVD add on: $678.00 (plus tax where applicable)
  
  PS3 20 gb: $579.99 (plus tax where applicable).
  
  (either version of PS3 may be purchased, but for this comparison the least expensive model with comparable features will be used)
  
  So PS3 is nearly $100.00 cheaper than an inferior XBOX 360 setup. And everything is included in the box, no external units or wires to hassle with.
  
  PS3's Blu-ray player can hold it's own with stand alone units.
  
  One other consideration: Blu-ray is outselling HD-DVD 3 to 1. While it's still early in the next-gen format war, it appears that Blu-ray is winning the battle. 70% of next-gen sales are on Blu-ray. Why is this important? It's an indicator of the way the market is going. I remember when VHS battled it out with Beta-max. When the numbers started going VHS's way, there was no looking back. Even early in the battle VHS was outselling and that turned out to be the deciding factor for consumers.
  
  
• HD-DVD is awsome and Microsoft's Implementation is flawless
  By A2Z789NLF33Z7W on 2006-11-10
  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.
  
  
• Early adoption on the cheap
  By A3HYHAXDGHKV70 on 2006-12-28
  (edited September 2007)
  
  I picked this up because (1) I already have a 360, (2) I only use my TV for videogames and movies, and (3) I have no faith whatsoever in Sony's proprietary formats. Given Sony's history (Betamax?) and the utter arrogance of their public statements ("you will have to save up for a ps3," "work two jobs to buy a ps3," "next-gen starts when we say so," and on and on...) I simply have no faith in Blu-ray, and I'll leave it at that.
  
  Pros: Easy setup for this drive. Plugged it in, installed a firmware upgrade, and started watching a movie. It's amazing to be able to see the individual hairs of the actors. Extremely inexpensive considering the cost of a standalone player. 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. Nice. Also, 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; don't let the 360's built-in turbine-engine-esque DVD drive scare you off.
  
  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. However, I already have tons of cables and cords around my center because I've kept all my old videogame systems, so I don't mind. Another drawback is that there is no support for HDMI cables for the 360 (nor, do I hear, are there any plans for said support). 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 the 360 if you use HDMI or VGA cables instead of component.
  
  You might find this feature list to be of use:
  
  - 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.
  
  Want to disable those xbox Live notifications while watching movies but not while playing games? Follow these steps:
  1. Pull up the xbox Guide by pushing the big X button on your controller or remote
  2. Select "Personal Settings"
  3. Select "Notifications"
  4. Uncheck "Show During Movies" and you're good to go!
  
  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.
  
  
• Amazing product, incredible value!
  By A2MPD6FIVTGBKL on 2006-11-14
  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.
  
  
• Almost perfect
  By A1RH82RI7A65D6 on 2006-12-08
  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).
  
  
• HD-DVD Died a few days ago when Warner Brothers Dropped Support
  By A3OZ6WIHZNUP72 on 2008-01-07
  Buying this device right now would be foolish. The news that Warner Brothers is dropping support for HD-DVD and going BluRay exclusive is the death of HD-DVD. You will only be getting about 1/3rd of all movies released on the HD-DVD format. Being that 2/3rds of the studios have now firmly backed BluRay, there is VERY little hope that HD-DVD survives the rest of the year, much less forever.
  
  If you really want an HD DVD player, do yourself a big favor and wait about five months. You should be able to pick up this useless addon then for about $25.
  
  Heck, the one studio the HD DVD has exclusive, Paramount, has their biggest producer, Stephen Spielberg, saying his movies must come out on BluRay. You have Michael Bay, the Transformers producer, actively railing against HD DVD and promoting BluRay. He was very vocal and ticked off that Transformers wasn't coming to BluRay. Well, given this Warner announcement, it should be coming to BluRay pretty soon now.
  
  
• DO NOT BUY!
  By A33PLQC2MOPSDP on 2008-01-14
  I got this player for Christmas and have only used it twice, and it's ALREADY BROKEN. It won't read any discs at all. Not only that, but now I find out that it isn't capable of true 1080p output?? What a piece of junk... Buyer beware!
  
  
• superb
  By A24VVEP0P6ZF5I on 2006-11-10
  this player is excellent quality overall. looks exactly as picture, sleek and goes nicely with the 360.
  
  for 200$ there is no better option for an HD DVD player. period.
  for many parents with children looking for their HD player, buying a 360 for the kid and the HD drive for yourself is not a bad option compared to some pretty steep pricing and relative low availability from the competition.
  
  a breeze to hook up and comes with a remote for the 360/HD player
  not to mention King Kong!
  
  someone stated above if you have a wifi adapter for your 360 that you have to hook it into the front usb. this statement is in-correct
  
  this drive actually gives you MORE usb connectors! so you can easily plug your wifi into the back of it! not only that but it gives you little brackets to hold the wifi adapter on the back of this HD drive (same style of attachment that is on the 360)
  
  microsoft really thought this through and made it very well. the price is unbeatable while a lot of people compare it to the PS3 saying "you dont have to buy a drive for PS3 to HD movies..." no... you just have to drop 600$ and you have no option of if you want HD movies and what format you want them!!! (HD or Blu ray)
  
  the 360 is all about options. you dont have to buy everything at once and be subjected to price gouging. simply buy as you need or can afford.
  
  by the way, amazon currently has a larger selection of HD Dvd's than Blu Ray dvd's for sell. just something to mention.
  
  
• Impressive!
  By A2OSKGZ44JN35I on 2006-11-12
  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.
  
  
• ***AUDIO WARNING***
  By A1X141RMLQCIS7 on 2006-12-03
  Please note that this HD DVD player will not output DTS!! If you select DTS for the movies audio it still outputs DD to your receiver. After a lot of research I've found out that the XBox 360 converts everything back to DD 5.1 at 640 kbps. This is very dissapointing, as I've always found the DTS to be far superior to DD on DVD's.
  
  Let me now tell you that DD on HD DVD's is far superior to DD on standard DVD's. The sound seems much more crisp and directional. There is also a rumor that Microsoft is planning to fix this problem with a live update that will allow output of 1.5 mbps audio for DD and DTS. I hope this is true and woud give a 5 star rating if this comes true.
  
  Edit: The DTS update was reported by a Microsoft employee on avsforum dot com. It is expected to be at a bitrate of 1.5 mbps. This will convert everything to DTS when the user selects the option, even DD will be converted to DTS. This creates a potential for loss of quality when converting between formats if the HD DVD uses only DD. Most of the work being done seems to be making sure this loss is minimal, which should be possible due to the dramatically higher bitrate.
  
  
• Picture versus Sound Quality
  By AJ16F4N2CW3Z3 on 2006-12-09
  I'm using a 1080i Viewsonic Projector, a Denon AVR 5803 7.1 receiver and Polk speakers for this review. I'm comparing the ouput of the XBox HD-DVD player to a Toshiba SD9100 standard defintion DVD player. The picture quality is fantastic and a vast improvement over standard definition DVD's. The picture just looks sharper and more distinct. However, the sound quality is anaemic in comparison to what you get out of a good high end dvd player. At first, I thought that a few of the movies I tried just didn't have their sound mixed very well. But after trying a combo disc (HD DVD on one side and the standard DVD on the other) and inserting Superman Returns and Miami Vice into my standard DVD player, they felt like completely different movies. The plane crash sequence in Superman and the shoot out at the end of Miami Vice sounded very flat and monotone off the HD-DVD player, but were explosive and very dynamic out of my standard DVD player. It was a big enough difference that my wife (who usually only comments about how loud it is and not on the overall sound quality) stated that she thought the sound was weak off the HD-DVD player. I'll sacrifice a little picture quality for the better sound which really brings you into the movie. Needless to say, I'm rather disappointed after being so excited to move into HD DVD. I'll just wait until one of the formats wins and buy a higher end player at that point (the current Toshiba HD products and Sony Blu Ray products are not of high build quality considering the $800 to $1,000 price tags for their so called top of the line players. The price is for development costs not the quality of the internal components and casing).
  
  
• should be built into the system
  By AHS8D00Z42LQI on 2007-05-09
  its a great addition to the system but i do have a few bones to pick:
  1. it isnt built into the system. this is bad because there are wires and stuff to mess with. it adds size o an already pretty big system. it wasnt the easiest thing to hook up either.
  2. there arent many good hd movies out there. i am not a fanboy but the blue ray has better movies. they both look great though.
  3. pricey. getting this bumps up the price to the ps3 price level.
  
  so in conclusion, it would be great if this was built into the system.
  
  
• Mine only lasted 2 months
  By A223587NJNOIGU on 2007-12-18
  The product worked great for the short time before it "crashed" with the red power light (eject button).
  
  The 1 star I give it is primarily for the Microsoft XBOX 360 support. The guy I talked to was polite but essentially didn't know anything about the product - and was asking questions off a script. When I finally was able to explain the problem to him - that the power light (eject button) turned red in the middle of a DVD movie and that the unit ceased working - his first suggestion was that the unit was overheating and that I should turn it off, wait 2 hours, and then try it again. I had to CONVINCE him that this was not a satisfactory solution and that the unit was defective. During this time, he put me on hold several times so he could "do some research on the problem".
  
  When I finally got him to agree to take back the HD drive, and ship me a new one, he said that I had to pay for shipping - this after being on the phone and on hold for over 40 minutes with XBOX 360 support. This being essentially the last straw, I asked to speak to a supervisor. I have now been on hold for over 30 minutes waiting to speak to a supervisor. (I've been writing this review while waiting for the supervisor.)
  
  Obviously, I'm not a happy camper!
  
  UPDATE on 01/21/2008: Still not having great luck with support. I had to call support 3 more times since the XBOX.com support web site did not accurately report their progress in fixing the HD drive after they had received it. Also, I was told that it typically takes 3 to 4 weeks (or more) for them to fix the drive and send it back.
  
  
• YOU NEED TO KNOW THIS BEFORE YOU BUY!
  By A2BQRXK6FGDA4X on 2007-12-22
  I WILL MAKE THIS SHORT....IT DOES NOT PLAY ALL HD DVD'S.........BOUGHT THIS AND KING KONG LOOKS GREAT.....HOWEVER IT DOES NOT READ MY NEW STAR TREK HD DVD.........IT READS THE STANDARD SIDE JUST FINE....FLIP IT TO THE HD SIDE AND IT SIMPLY SAYS READING FOR EVER.........I WISH THERE WAS A LIST OUT THERE OF WHAT THIS PLAYER CAN AND CAN NOT READ.
  *****ADDED THIS TO REVIEW-FOUND OUT THAT THE PROBLEM WAS IN THE STAR TREK DVD'S AND NOT IN THE PLAYER*******IF I WERE ABLE TO MAKE THIS PURCHASE AGAIN I WOULD NOT*********AFTER RESEARCHING WHICH I SHOULD HAVE DONE FROM THE BEGINING ...I'D RATHER PURCHASE A FULLY DEVOTED HD DVD PLAYER INSTEAD.....PRICES HAVE DROPPED AND THIS XBOX PLAYER IS NO LONGER SUCH A GREAT DEAL OR GOOD DEAL FOR THAT MATTER******HOPE THIS REVIEW IS HELPFUL TO SOMEONE OUT THERE.
  
  
• Obsolete. Toshiba to dump HD-DVD
  By A2Z9H86XRXBVEI on 2008-02-17
  As of today, February 17, 2008, all news report indicate Toshiba is dumping HD-DVD. So don't buy this, the writing is on the wall: Blu-Ray has won. If you want HD movies, try a standalone Blu-Ray player, but everyone knows the best price/features ratio is given by the Playstation 3.
  
  
• HD DVD is the way to go.
  By A2IDK7P9RNSPY6 on 2006-11-14
  I have had HD in my house for over a year. When we got our 1st HD set we were amazed by the picture quality of HDTV broadcasts. A year later and we are still impressed, but we have become more "used to it." Well, the reaction when I first showed King Kong to everyone in my house can be sumed up in one word, "Wow!" That's it, nothing else needs to be said.
  
  On the subject of HD DVD vs. Blu-ray, every movie I have seen for Blu-ray has looked grainy (even Mission Impossible 3). No such negative for HD DVD. For me, HD DVD is the clear (lol) winner.
  
  P.s. Please remember to re-boot your xbox after the install and before playing a movie. If you don't, you'll get choppy playback.
  
  
• HD DVD vs Upconversion + VGA Connection on XBOX 360
  By A19VFUBSCDAEAO on 2006-12-05
  I'll start of by saying that I'm very impressed with the HD DVD add on for XBOX 360. I've had it for a little over a week and picture quality has been outstanding. A lot of you might be wondering if this drive is worth getting and I wrote this review with you in mind.
  
  I decided to purchase the drive after going over to my friends house and comparing the HD DVD version of Batman Begins with the regular DVD version. My DVD was being played back on an Oppo 971 (the highest rated upconverting DVD player there is - read reviews on the Internet) connected via HDMI at 720p. The TV at my friends house was a 61 inch Panasonic projection with 720p.
  
  The difference between the HD DVD and the Oppo was noticible. It wasn't a big difference per se (on a scale of 1 to 100 with HD DVD being 100, the Oppo image was a 90). The colors were a bit brighter, the image a bit crisper and subtle details a bit more apparent. So was this a let down. Not really. When I went from regular DVD to my upconverting one, I was floored. Had I not been watching movies on this player for a year I would have been floored and I knew it.
  
  After about 30 minutes of watching Batman Begins between the two discs, we popped in Constatine on HD DVD. The details and colors were again amazing. You could see individual fivers coming of a spool of yarn and could see the dust that accumulated on the front windshiel of a car. Very impressive.
  
  After watching a bit on Constatine, we put the DVD version of Batman Begins on the HD DVD player and watched that. The most amazing thing is that even without upconversion (since the XBOX was hooked up with component cables) is that the image at 480p looked better than the 720p upconverted image on my Oppo. That floored me.
  
  This raises and interesting question. Should you buy HD DVDs? Two things to consider. The image we were watching was 720p. HD DVD can send a 1080p signal. 1080p is supposed to make a difference on TVs 50 inches and higher. With the price of HD DVDs not much higher than regular DVDs you might want to "future proof" your collection if you have the extra bucks. If not, then get the DVD and watch this little marvel upconvert your DVD to near HD quality. Which leads me to the VGA cables.
  
  You need to get the VGA cables for XBOX 360. Even if you don't get the HD DVD player, the difference it makes on just the games is great. Playing Project Gotham Racing 3, Oblivion and and upconverted SSX 3 (originally on regular XBOX) with the VGA cables brought out additional details and a sharpness that was unbelivable. For those of you who have played the Ekame Loop on Tokyo at night on PGR3 - prepared to be wowed. The depth perception is much improved and it's like seeing the game a new.
  
  Upconverted movies look phenomenal. I saw Serenity during the weekend on 480p and it looked good. When i started rewatching it on 720p thanks to the VGA cables, needed for the upconversion, the difference was dramatic. Actors' faces had so much more details, colors were better reproduced and details popped out everywhere. It really was that good.
  
  So with all that said, is there anything that should keep you from buying this HD DVD add on? Even if you have the Oppo 971 (and other upconverting DVD players don't compare - not gloating - please read the reviews) my answer would still be yes. Move the Oppo to the bedroom and hook up this HD DVD add on to your TV with the VGA cables. Regular DVD looks great and HD DVD is phenomenal. At $240 ($200 drive and $40 VGA cables) this is an incredible deal and you will be happy with your purchase.
  
  I can't wait until I have a 1080P TV and see it on that.
  
  
• Great entry into high def movie viewing.
  By A2913DBORRHDT1 on 2006-12-28
  First off, let me say I have no horse in the format race. It makes no difference to me who wins. My original intent was to wait for a winner and for player prices to come down to reasonable levels. This add-on to the Xbox 360, however, made me change my mind.
  
  For $200, the price can't be beat. Even if Blu-ray ends up as the HD standard (which likely won't happen for a couple of years), you will still get your money's worth out of this player.
  
  Set up was easy....just follow the instructions in the manual and you will be up and running in just a few minutes. The picture quality? To say it is amazing doesn't do it justice. Vibrant colors, crystal clarity, great sound. Movies never looked so good!
  
  Many people have complained about what they see are shortcomings on this player. Let me address some of these: No HDMI. In my view this is irrelevant. This is really only needed for 1080p. Since there are only a small percentage of 1080p capable TV sets out there (and will remain so for quite some time), this is not that big a deal for most people. Also, the difference between 720p/1080i is negligible to the naked eye except on very large screens.
  
  No TrueHD sound support. In my opinion, this is only a concern to audiophiles. 5.1 is still very good. Again....most people do not have 7.1 surround systems.
  
  What people who criticize this player forget is that this is nothing more than an entry level unit to get Xbox 360 owners into HD movies. At that, this player meets and exceeds expectations. $200 for an HD player, movie (King Kong) and remote is a bargain. Whether HD-DVD or Blu-Ray wins is of no concern. Users will get their money's worth on this player and then some. Later on...when a "winner" emerges and standalone players come down in price....if you want a player with all the bells and whistles you can buy one then. In the meantime, this unit fills the bill very nicely.
  
  
  
• You Can't Afford to Pass on this HD DVD Player...
  By A4680TVVB0UIS on 2006-12-31
  Awesome, simply awesome. This device is essential for anyone who owns a 360 and an HDTV. HD DVDs are truly perfection. The picture off of this thing is simply amazing. It lacks an HDMI connection, but I use a THX Monster brand VGA cables (they're pricy but if ultimate picture matters to you, you can't miss these) instead of the regualr component outs.
  
  Considering that there are standalone HD DVD players for twice or thrice the price, you can't miss out on this player if you own a 360.
  
  There are those out there that tell you to avoid commiting yourself to either new technology (HD DVD or Blu Ray) because you might end up with an expensive player and no DVDs. Let me tell you right now, HD DVD WILL win this technology war:
  
  1) Blu Ray is doing a horrible job at marketing itself.
  
  2) Blu Ray players are absurdly expensive
  
  3) HD DVDs can be made on existing DVD-making machines. To make a Blu Ray disk, factories are gonna need to buy new equipment.
  
  4) The DVD Forum (the governing body that decides what goes on in the DVD market) has already approved HD DVD, and has yet to do anything about Blu Ray
  
  5) Sony doesn't have a great history of putting itself behind succesfull technology (Beta, MiniDisk, etc...)
  
  6) Come on! How can you beat the price? Minus the media remote and the King Kong HD DVD, This player comes out to about $150! Can't beat that with a baseball bat...
  
  
• The Best HD Player on the Market Period!
  By A36MDL9RQGO7EN on 2007-03-04
  I was shopping for an HD player and had purchased the Toshiba player a couple of months ago and paid over $500 for the player and it only plays at 1080i. I came across the xbox 360 HD Player last night for $199 while i was shopping for a different HD player which ALL were more, $500 for HD,
  $799 for blue ray and $1,199 for dual hd/blue ray player.
  
  I thought there is NO way the 360 hd player would be any better than my current player, WRONG as i found it to be the ONLY hd player to play at 1080p. I purchased the Vega xbox connection to hook up to my xbox and samsung 46" lcd 1080p tv and of course the player which came with King Kong, Remote and necessary connectors.
  
  I was concerned about my wireless xbox connection as the player uses the USB connection on the xbox i previously used for my wireless connection, no problem as the player has a place for the wireless connection and works fine.
  
  Hooking up everything is simple and im no electronics guru and took about 10 minutes. When i turned on the tv the picture was HORRIBLE...so i went to the xbox picture controls and changed the Monitor resolution to 1920x1080 as it was hooked to the VGA connector and this would give me 1080p. Instantly the picture was very crisp and sharp on the xbox live menu. I put the movie in and WOW WOW WOW i could not believe my eyes. The whole family and a friend watched the entire movie as we had not seen such a sharp picture.
  
  My friend also has an HD player and as soon as the movie was over went up to the store and purchased the xbox hd player. Its really a no brainer for the price and is the ONLY hd player that allows 1080P while ALL the other HD players will only play at 1080i. My total cost at best buy was $250 which included the xbox VGA cables, however, the player is a real bargain because you get King Kong which is $30 seperately and the remote is $20+ if purchased seperately.
  
  Even if you TV does not support VGA I tried the supplied HD component cables for comparision and it was very very good with no noticeable difference at standard viewing range. For the money its the best bargain on the market for an HD 1080p player I have found. If you have lots of $$$ go for the dual HD/Blue ray player but again is OVER $1,000.
  
  
  
  

• An American Werewolf in London (Combo HD DVD and Standard DVD) [HD DVD]
• Dune (1984) [HD DVD]
• Slither (Combo HD DVD and Standard DVD) [HD DVD]
• Superman II - The Richard Donner Cut [HD DVD]
• Serenity [HD DVD]