HD DVD player for XBOX 360

[Darth Loki]

I picked this up a couple days ago as well. I haven't taken it out of the box yet though. I wanted my first HD DVD experience to be LotR.

It may be in the box for a while. Last I heard, sometime in 2008.

I would love for someone to prove me wrong though.

 

[KitFisto]

It may be in the box for a while. Last I heard, sometime in 2008.

I would love for someone to prove me wrong though.

2008?? Ouch!

 

[Darth Waller]

I picked this up a couple days ago as well. I haven't taken it out of the box yet though. I wanted my first HD DVD experience to be LotR.

I'm guessing a high profile release like that would be held off until Christmas season 2007 at the earliest. Maybe they'll surprise us.

 

[Darth Loki]

2008?? Ouch!

Tell me about it. At least it gives us something to look forward to

Over under - which will come first, the LOTR on HD-DVD, or the next PF announcement?

 

[KitFisto]

Tell me about it. At least it gives us something to look forward to

Over under - which will come first, the LOTR on HD-DVD, or the next PF announcement?

Well, Since I am not getting the LOTR PF line, I hope the HD DVD's come out first LOL.

 

[Boba Fett]

Alright Kit! Keep yo pimp hand strong!

 

[KitFisto]

Alright Kit! Keep yo pimp hand strong!

, Pimpin' aint easy!

 

[Darth Caedus]

HAHA, No pimpin' ain't easy. Somebody mentioned HDMI a little ways back. Can you buy a seperate xbox360 HDMI cable or does the HD-DVD player add-on come with it. The video cables I have currently for 360 are the 5 red/white/etc, mine didn't come with HDMI.

 

[elwood49]

HAHA, No pimpin' ain't easy. Somebody mentioned HDMI a little ways back. Can you buy a seperate xbox360 HDMI cable or does the HD-DVD player add-on come with it. The video cables I have currently for 360 are the 5 red/white/etc, mine didn't come with HDMI.

The 360 doesn't have an HDMI out, which means none of the higher audio codecs are possible with the device (half of the appeal of HD-DVD is the higher sound quality such as Dolby True HD). I went with the Toshiba A2 as my HD-DVD player of choice. Only $450, and you get 5 free HD-DVD's.

Also, you don't need a 1080p display for Blu-Ray.

 

[Crash1207]

Alright....now you guys have me worried. I was all set to go out and pick this thing up after work today but seeing all the disussions about TV resolution and now the TrueHD thing, I'm starting to wonder if I wouldn't be getting much out of it.

I have a 50" Sony Grand WEGA LCD Rear Projection TV. It says it handles 1080i but then in the manual it says that it displays in 1350 X 768 resolution. (Those are not exact numbers, I couldn't remember what it said)

Am I going to be happy with this HD-DVD attachment?

 

[elwood49]

Alright....now you guys have me worried. I was all set to go out and pick this thing up after work today but seeing all the disussions about TV resolution and now the TrueHD thing, I'm starting to wonder if I wouldn't be getting much out of it.

I have a 50" Sony Grand WEGA LCD Rear Projection TV. It says it handles 1080i but then in the manual it says that it displays in 1350 X 768 resolution. (Those are not exact numbers, I couldn't remember what it said)

Am I going to be happy with this HD-DVD attachment?

You should be very happy. Your TV can handle 1080i. However, as I stated, unless MS comes out w/ an HDMI out for the 360, you can only get standard Dolby Digital/DTS sound. This is the same as a normal DVD gets through an optical or coax connection.

I would never use a game console as a movie playback device, but that's just me. I'll use the PS3 as a stopgap, since I'm not really into Blu-Ray, but I'll buy a standalone player if that format takes off.

Dolby True HD, and DTS HD are the new sound formats for HD-DVD/Blu-Ray. It basically is a way to deliver uncompressed PCM audio, which is supposedly identical to the studio master. I don't have the means to play this audio myself yet, but I will within the next year or so. The 360 device is not equipped to handle these yet, and will not be unless MS makes an HDMI out available.

Dolby True HD explanation:
https://www.dolby.com/consumer/technology/trueHD.html

I found a comparison between old DVD audio and Dolby True HD/ DTS HD:
https://www.dvdreview.com/html/road_to_hidef_2.html

My recommendation for you would be to get the new Toshiba A2 HD-DVD player. It comes out within the next 2 weeks, and is a FAR superior device to the 360 add-on. I've got one on order myself. Plus, Value Electronics.com has an offer for 2 free HD-DVD's, and Toshiba throws in an additional 3 HD-DVD's for free:

https://www.valueelectronics.com/Toshiba_HD-A2_HD_DVD.htm
https://www.valueelectronics.com/images/pdf/3_free_HD_DVD_movies.pdf

I've got mine on pre-order with Robert there, and I know many people from this forum ordered their A1's from him. I know Gruson did.

I ordered mine for $449+shipping from him, but it looks like that deal is over. You could probably send him an e-mail and see if you can still get that price.

 

[KitFisto]

You should be very happy. Your TV can handle 1080i. However, as I stated, unless MS comes out w/ an HDMI out for the 360, you can only get standard Dolby Digital/DTS sound. This is the same as a normal DVD gets through an optical or coax connection.

I would never use a game console as a movie playback device, but that's just me. I'll use the PS3 as a stopgap, since I'm not really into Blu-Ray, but I'll buy a standalone player if that format takes off.

Dolby True HD, and DTS HD are the new sound formats for HD-DVD/Blu-Ray. It basically is a way to deliver uncompressed PCM audio, which is supposedly identical to the studio master. I don't have the means to play this audio myself yet, but I will within the next year or so. The 360 device is not equipped to handle these yet, and will not be unless MS makes an HDMI out available.

Dolby True HD explanation:
https://www.dolby.com/consumer/technology/trueHD.html

I found a comparison between old DVD audio and Dolby True HD/ DTS HD:
https://www.dvdreview.com/html/road_to_hidef_2.html

My recommendation for you would be to get the new Toshiba A2 HD-DVD player. It comes out within the next 2 weeks, and is a FAR superior device to the 360 add-on. I've got one on order myself. Plus, Value Electronics.com has an offer for 2 free HD-DVD's, and Toshiba throws in an additional 3 HD-DVD's for free:

https://www.valueelectronics.com/Toshiba_HD-A2_HD_DVD.htm
https://www.valueelectronics.com/images/pdf/3_free_HD_DVD_movies.pdf

I've got mine on pre-order with Robert there, and I know many people from this forum ordered their A1's from him. I know Gruson did.

Question. When I selected "True HD" for the sound option it seemed to work fine and sound great. Even w/o HDMI cables. Why would I get any sound at all on the "true HD" setting? Or am I just getting regular DTS or 5.1 sound??

 

[Darth Loki]

Last I heard, MS is coming out with a HDMI cable. Don't know exactly how it'll work, but I think it's coming.

There is nothing wrong with a 1080i picture. Like someone said earlier, it's virtually the same as a 1080p, just how it's presented.

My tv supports 1080i and I love this attachment. So print out that coupon on some earlier page and go get this.

 

[tomandshell]

Question. When I selected "True HD" for the sound option it seemed to work fine and sound great. Even w/o HDMI cables. Why would I get any sound at all on the "true HD" setting? Or am I just getting regular DTS or 5.1 sound??

Are you using the 360 add on? It will downmix/convert the sound to send it out since it doesn't have an HDMI connection. It won't be TrueHD, but it will be the best the 360 can give you at this point.

 

[user 1190]

Crash it will still be MUCH better then a standard DVD. As far as the whole True HD unless you have a newer reciever that does HDMI switching it makes no difference you won't get TrueHD no matter the DVD player. If you want to get better Video from and good sound the 360 is a great deal, if you want the best of it all then a stand alone device is best right now.

 

[tomandshell]

Actually the Toshiba HD-A1 HD-DVD player includes a built in decoder and six channel analog outputs, so you can hook it up to any 5.1 receiver and it will decode and output the TrueHD audio. I have listened to the TrueHD tracks on Batman and Superman, and they are really outstanding.

Unfortunately, the HD-A1 is now being replaced with the A2, and the second generation model does not include the six channel output to enjoy the HD audio with your existing receiver--you will neeed to output it via HDMI into a new receiver that can handle TrueHD audio. In this case, the early adopters got a beneficial feature that is now being removed from future players.

 

[elwood49]

In this case, the early adopters got a beneficial feature that is now being removed from future players.

True, but most people will have HDMI switching eventually, which will make that feature on the A1 obsolete. It adds a lot of size/weight to the design, and one HDMI cable is much better than the nest of wires that the analog outs require. I'd rather have the slimmer model, since I'm due for a new receiver anytime now. I still have my Pioneer Elite receiver from '99 that needs an upgrade.

Question. When I selected "True HD" for the sound option it seemed to work fine and sound great. Even w/o HDMI cables. Why would I get any sound at all on the "true HD" setting? Or am I just getting regular DTS or 5.1 sound??

You're getting regular 5.1 sound downmixed from True HD.

 

[Fritz]

WTF!?!?!?! Why do I have to wait until 2007/2008 for Lord of the Rings in HD but King Kong is out already!?!?!?!!?

PS. Regarding all the issues some of you guys are bringing up regarding the audio not being full HD with the 360. Don't you all know that as long as you play whatever audio you have really really really loud, the format doesn't matter.

 

[user 1190]

WTF!?!?!?! Why do I have to wait until 2007/2008 for Lord of the Rings in HD but King Kong is out already!?!?!?!!?

PS. Regarding all the issues some of you guys are bringing up regarding the audio not being full HD with the 360. Don't you all know that as long as you play whatever audio you have really really really loud, the format doesn't matter.

Be glad there is a release date, I can't imagine how lone we will have to wait for a Blu-Ray/HD version of Star Wars.Im guessing somewhere around 2010 after GL makes 2-3 more DVD versions.

 

[Crash1207]

Finally!! I went back to CC last night after work and get a different salesman and he accepted the pritned off CC coupon. You can't beat the HD drive for $171!

Of course, the worst part is that I have to wait until my b-day until I get my 360 from my wife.