macraz's Full Review: Microsoft HD DVD for Xbox 360
OVERVIEW
In two words; Simple and Stunning. What you see is what you get. I think it's telling that the directions included are only a few pages long. Load a disc, plug it in, enjoy.
Immediately I was impressed with the beautiful picture. It looks every bit as great as the HD DVD pictures displayed at local retailers with a $600+ Toshiba.
Let me explain what I'm using to judge the quality. My Xbox 360 is connected to a 36 inch Sony CRT (via component cables of course) and set at 1080i. I use an Onkyo receiver for sound.
THE BUSINESS
Regarding HDMI vs. Component. Many naysayers have declared that the HD DVD hookup via component is substandard to HDMI. Google this topic and you'll find a myriad of opinions and explanations. The bottom line; it depends. Sometimes HDMI out performs component cables, sometimes it doesn't. I won't reiterate the entire debate here, but what you should know is the HD picture via component cables is spectacular. Some digital televisions may display a slightly better picture via HDMI, but most people couldn't discern the difference. Don't buy the hype and let it concern you.
Regarding Blu Ray vs HD DVD: I'm not going to fire up this debate, but I will state some things that swayed me. 1) Many people, Magazines, etc declared the HD DVD picture better than Blu Ray. (Don't take my word...google) 2) The Blu Ray requires 2 lasers vs HD DVD's 1. The lasers are in short supply (hence the reduction in available Playstation 3's)and it could be twice the chance for something to go wrong. 3) The cost of a Playstation or stand alone Blu Ray player is prohibitive 4) I like the studio support behind HD DVD 5)Almost all new HD DVD's will have a standard version that can be played in a regular non HD DVD player.
THE PICTURE AND SOUND
King Kong and Batman Begins look amazing. The colors are obviously more vibrant than standard DVD. The detail is absolutely stunning. Not only is the detail of the in focus area much clearer, but most noticeably, the detail in background images and motion is incredibly clear. The contrast, shading and shadowing is all the more visible making the overall effect everything you'd hope for in HD.
I haven't been able to discern any great difference in the sound. The sound is great, full and sharp. My receiver decodes the movies as Dolby Digital EX, playing strong through 6 speakers. Occasionally, I thought both movies felt fuller and had more bass than regular DVD, but I'm not enough of an audio file to truly discern the details.
FUNCTION
After loading the preparatory software, the HD DVD is recognized by the xbox and the play disc/game button is now split in half, allowing you to select either the standard drive or the new HD DVD drive. There are virtually no other settings or configurations to worry about.
It is important to confirm the HD DVD players output. In the 360's console settings display blade, you select the output for the 360, ranging from 480p to 1080p. That's it. If your tv is capable of displaying 1080p, the HD DVD player WILL output in full 1080p, thanks to the recent Xbox update.
The HD DVD player is controlled through the media remote, and/or game controller with everything working seamlessly. The new HD functions (Picture in Picture, Directors comments, bookmarks) all work perfect. I use a Harmony remote and it operates every function of the 360 perfectly, making it so I only need 1 remote. I highly recommend it, although the enclosed media remote is fairly good.
I noticed that (so far anyway) the drive is almost silent when playing a movie making no real noise. The power cord is quite long. The USB cable is somewhat short, but you can buy any longer USB cord if needed for less than $20. The drive can be laid flat or stood vertically. It is "always on" when the Xbox is on, but I don't see any real issue with that. If it's not playing a disc, your only drawing power to the led and any USB items plugged into it.
SUMMARY
1) The HD DVD add on is $300 less than any stand alone HD DVD player 2) It performs great with a superb picture 3) It's small and easy to use 4) For a limited time it comes with a media remote and King Kong DVD.
You've experienced next-gen gaming on Xbox 360 now experience next-gen DVD movies with HD DVD. Available November 2006, the Xbox 360 HD DVD Player is ...More at eBay
Stunning video and immersive surround-sound audio with up to six times higher resolution than standard DVD Innovative interactive content enables PIP ...More at Amazon Marketplace
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2010 Shopping.com, Inc.