tschorer's Full Review: Microsoft HD DVD for Xbox 360
If you have an xbox360, this is a great way to get into hd-dvd! For $199, you get all the stunning video, sound quality and ease of use of $500 HD-DVD players.
The little Book-shaped brick sits nicely on top of the xbox, plugs in via a standard USB cable (and yet another power brick). The back of the unit provides two more USB ports to add-on other peripherals. Set-up takes minutes, you can install software via xbox live or from the included disk. The package also includes the xbox infrared remote.
Insert the included King Kong DVD and you're off! And what a picture it is! My HD toshiba plasma is only 720p/1080i) but the picture is just stunning. Black levels, contrast, color saturation are all incredible. This is the way this movie was supposed to be seen! On the wife-o-meter it got a "Is it that much better?". so I put in my old (old!) SD-dvd of kong...yeah, it's that much better. The standard DVD is completely lifeless, downright fuzzy, and colors look washed out. "yeah, wow, I guess it is that much better!" said the bride!
Another remote! included with the unit is the xbox IR remote. It has a bunch of controls on it that don't seem to relate to either the dvd, or the xbox, so it must have some kind of universal remote functions, but it's just another remote to clutter the table. My xbox resides inside a hardwood entertainment center, behind wooden doors. The xbox controller works beautifully with the doors closed...yet the remote is IR and requires the doors to be open...silly.
One negative getting alot of press is the lack of 1080p output. Xbox doesn't support HDMI, so apparently 1080p is not possible. I've read varying opinions on the value of 1080p/1080i....some say you can't tell the difference, others can. you'll have to look and decide! My plasma only does 1080i, so it matters not to me. 1080p is not part of the HD standard and my hd cable box will only output 1080i.
I don't know who will win the format war, HD-DVD seems to have a slight edge now. But if I only pay $200 to be an early adopter, no harm done.
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