XBOX 360 HD DVD

The war between Blu-Ray and HD DVD has been going on since mid 2006 and has been raging on with no end in site (until recently). A number of different movie studios have picked sides and it seems that some of the new game consoles have as well. The PS3 of course went with Sony’s Blu-Ray player whereas Microsoft decided to back the other side and went with HD DVD.

The Xbox 360 HD DVD external player is Microsofts attempt to break into the Hi-Def video market and they seemed to have done a good job. This external device connects into your 360 via USB port and then from the 360 to your TV.

Here are a few of the technical specifications for the Xbox 360 HD DVD player:

• Street price: $179.99
• Xbox 360 Universal Media Remote
• Comes with King Kong plus 5 other HD DVD videos
• Connects via USB

Things I like
The 360 HD DVD external player offers a relatively inexpensive jump into the hi-def video market. At only $180 this is one of the cheapest players to date and it’ll let you view all of your HD DVD’s and regular DVDs. The player can also connect wirelessly via the 360 wireless adapter if you don’t wish to connect it via the USB port. The great thing about the player is that with a little help (installing a few drivers) you can actually connect this to a Windows computer and have it run off there. This means that it’s also the first HD DVD external player for your PC’s.

Things I don’t like
Other than the support for a computer and it’s relatively low price there isn’t anything overly special about the Xbox 360 HD DVD player, especially since it seems that the Format Wars are coming to an end (with Blu-Ray in the lead). There isn’t anything wrong with the device. It works flawlessly and it does it’s job well.

Pros:

• Relatively cheap
• 1080p high-def output
• Can play HD DVD’s on your computer

Cons:

• Blu-Ray might win the format war
• Still expensive compared to DVD’s

Final Thoughts
Unless you already have a large HD DVD collection and want to use your 360 to play them I would hold off buying this for a while. It seems that Blu-Ray has won the Format Wars which means you’ll see very few titles going to HD DVD and most going to Blu-Ray. If you do have a number of HD DVD’s however the Xbox 360 HD DVD player will play them very well and you’ll enjoy the quality.