I read the same thing about Xbox360 being stressed as much playing movies as it does with games, but it was not my experience. During game play (not even GOW, pretty much any newer, fast game) my Xbox360 fans are running much louder and console seems to be much hotter than normal, after playing few HD-DVD movies, I've never seen fans going into higher gear or console being much warmer than normal. You didn't buy this console as piece of furniture to look at, you bought to use it. From my own experience most electronic equipment I ever owned, becomes obsolete way before it breaks down. BTW MS just increased Xbox360 warranty to full year but you already know that I'm sure.

The audio is not unbearable but it is definitely flat during explosions and such.

You can't be serious? Most of my HD-DVD movies sound fantastic and in most cases more alive than their DVD counterparts. Maybe you need a new subwoofer?

Case in point, the opening sequence in V for Vendetta is very loud and has a lot of substance to it.

You can't be serious? Most of my HD-DVD movies sound fantastic and in most cases more alive than their DVD counterparts. Maybe you need a new subwoofer?

Case in point, the opening sequence in V for Vendetta is very loud and has a lot of substance to it.


I think the audio sounds flat too. I have a Denon AVR-4806 connected to a DVD-5910 and the audio from that combo BLOWS away the 360 HD-DVD connection to the AVR.

I really noticed it in the T-Rex fight in KK. Hardly any of that crunch that I get with the standard DVD.

There is virtually NO bass in the Goodfellas HD-DVD, but of course that is older source material.

Do you try to play standard DVD? Do you have a VGA? If are you are using component video to play it, you'll be disappointed.

I don't think the HD-DVD drive stop you from playing DVD-R. It is likely to be your recording software, drive or blank disc. The entire HD-DVD ROM is manufactured the same way.

Yes, I did try to play SD DVD's in the new add-on and they played fine.

I prefer to use component because I use my AV Receiver to switch video. Also, all I have run to my projector is component. Personally, I think component looks really good. The HD-DVD looks awesome via component. I'm not really sure why you think I would be "disappointed" to use component. I can play the DVD-R's in 2 of my computers, on all 6 of my DVD players, but not on the Xbox or the Xbox add-on. I can't imagine it is a problem with the software, disks, etc. since the disks play fine on all my other players. Anyway, I'm no expert for sure, so I'll stop spewing info.

Scott

You can't be serious? Most of my HD-DVD movies sound fantastic and in most cases more alive than their DVD counterparts. Maybe you need a new subwoofer?

Case in point, the opening sequence in V for Vendetta is very loud and has a lot of substance to it.

I agree. I did some testing with my SPL meter and King Kong on both HD and SD DVD's. The HD-DVD plays about 5 to 10 db's lower than the SD version. This will make most people think it sounds flat when in reality it's just not as loud as people are used to. I too thought that at first then I turned my Denon receiver from -20 to -15 and Kong cam alive just like on the SD version.

Scott

If the HD DVD is Dolby Digital and I play it on my 360 add on, is it passing that dolby digital signal to my reciever?
When I play a movie with DD on my denon, my HK reciever will say Dolby Digital, but whel i do it on the addon, it does not.

Yes, the add-on will pass Dolby Digital to your AV Receiver, but you have to run a fiber optic cable from the xbox to your receiver for it to work.

Scott

I read the same thing about Xbox360 being stressed as much playing movies as it does with games, but it was not my experience. During game play (not even GOW, pretty much any newer, fast game) my Xbox360 fans are running much louder and console seems to be much hotter than normal, after playing few HD-DVD movies, I've never seen fans going into higher gear or console being much warmer than normal. You didn't buy this console as piece of furniture to look at, you bought to use it. From my own experience most electronic equipment I ever owned, becomes obsolete way before it breaks down. BTW MS just increased Xbox360 warranty to full year but you already know that I'm sure.

I have never seen any documented evidence or proof that the 360's cooling fans throttle to different speeds.

You can't be serious? Most of my HD-DVD movies sound fantastic and in most cases more alive than their DVD counterparts. Maybe you need a new subwoofer?

Case in point, the opening sequence in V for Vendetta is very loud and has a lot of substance to it.

It's not as simple as db output. There is something wrong with digital audio out that causes an effect similar to dynamic range compression. It is most obvious on explosions, such as the beginning of Mi:III. If it were just the db level nobody would care because you can easily fix that by turning up the volume.

The 360 HDDVD player has PC drivers, and IIRC can even be removed from the housing and installed internally in a PC.You're are correct. It is manufactured by Toshiba. A guy took it apart:Hacking the XBox 360’s HD-DVD for the PC (http://uneasysilence.com/archive/2006/11/8303/)

Yes it fills up every part of the screen as long as the ratio is 1.85:1 and anything else will have small black bars on the top and bottom. Check out my posts on how I did it, cause at first I was having some problems not displaying properly...

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=9230110&&#post9230110
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=9276815&&#post9276815

hope that helps, just let me know...Thanks..! But I am not interesting in VGA. My VGA cable is for testing only. I am very happy with component video, and I am using DVD player to unconverted standard DVD. The DVD player gives me better sound than the Xbox 360. I hope, MS can figure out the 6.1 and 7.1 options for Xbox 360. That would be very sweet. I am missing the ES and EX on the Xbox 360.

I just bought it tonight and WOW! I was going to wait until MS fixed the audio problem but I had a weak moment at Wal-Mart. The audio is not unbearable but it is definitely flat during explosions and such. Well worth the $200. I can now enjoy my Sammy HL-S5087W like never before :)Sorry to say this, but you could have got it from CC for $40 off. Please see the enclosed CC coupon.

You can't be serious? Most of my HD-DVD movies sound fantastic and in most cases more alive than their DVD counterparts. Maybe you need a new subwoofer?

Case in point, the opening sequence in V for Vendetta is very loud and has a lot of substance to it.I think that he is serious and he compared the Xbox 360 to his STD DVD with same AV setup. He does not need extra subwoofer to compare it. Xbox 360 is a little flat compares to the STD DVD, and it is missing the ES and EX. MS is working on the firmware to fix it. They supposed to release very soon.

Sorry to say this, but you could have got it from CC for $40 off. Please see the enclosed CC coupon.

i would like to use this but it says they won't accept copied or printed version os it. where did you find it?

Yes, the add-on will pass Dolby Digital to your AV Receiver, but you have to run a fiber optic cable from the xbox to your receiver for it to work.

Scott
Thanks!

i would like to use this but it says they won't accept copied or printed version os it. where did you find it?
They still accept it.

i would like to use this but it says they won't accept copied or printed version os it. where did you find it?They accepted at my local CC. I used it twice to purchase the Xbox 360 and HD-DVD add-on separately.

The barcode didn't work, but they punched it in by hand.

Why the heck would using the HD-DVD drive hurt your system? It is designed to be used, not to just sit there and look pretty. Stop listening to your friends. ;)

I have a HD-XA1 in my HT and it has been great. I just purchased a Xbox 360 HD-DVD add on for my bed room and I am amazed at how great this little thing is. I don't have surround sound in the bed room so the sound issue is no big deal but if they do fix it this add on will be one of the best players on the market, that is if you already own a Xbox 360.

Here are some pics:

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k223/CriPPleR_HD/P1010320.jpg
http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k223/CriPPleR_HD/P1010323.jpg
http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k223/CriPPleR_HD/P1010321.jpg

Update on my Xbox 360 HD-DVD player add-on not being able to play DVD-R's.

Well, that's not true since now I have found about 25 so far that mysteriously do play on it. This is so weird that some do and some don't. The ones that do are all Memorex brand made by Prodisc Inc. But, not all my Memorex made by Prodisc Inc. will play, so the search to find out the problem continues.

Scott

They still accept it.
i'm going to try it wish me luck woot woot 40 bucks off!!!!

I am thinking of picking up the HD-DVD add-on tonight after work, is the 'limited' bundle with King Kong still out there? I own a Samsung HP-S5053 which accepts 1080i signals (which I am currently outputting from my 360) and downconverts it to 720p. Does this picture look just as good ran at this resolution? Anyone with this TV or the 42" model have the add-on? I've heard PQ is negligble when comparted to standard DVD on some televisions.

Just picked up the "King Kong" bundle today. It should be still available in locations near you. Good luck!

Hey Crippler...how long ago did you get that TV and how much was it? I have the same one but the 46'' version. It's great.

Now for my question...Probably dumb, but...can I still keep my video game in the console and play a HD DVD in the add-on drive at the same time? Whenever I have a game in the console, and place a dvd into the add-on, both components come on/light up, but it'll just play my video game and not my HD DVD.

When I take out the game disc, it plays my HD DVD.

Sorry to say this, but you could have got it from CC for $40 off. Please see the enclosed CC coupon.

Hey thanks. I just took this coupon and my add-on receipt to Best buy, and the girl gave my $64 cash! I think she was confused but oh well. Between that and my $50 gift card I got 4 more HD-DVD's. :D

Scott

Just wanted to add that I, too, printed the coupon and was able to use it. It wouldn't scan due to it being a printout but the girl at the register just overrode the register and put it in manually. At $159 this thing is a steal! I only watched about 15 mins of King Kong but the PQ is truly incredible and I did not notice any audio syncing issues as I have heard on this board. Print the coupon and use it, they'll take it!

Thanks new04quest!!!!

Hey thanks. I just took this coupon and my add-on receipt to Best buy, and the girl gave my $64 cash! I think she was confused but oh well. Between that and my $50 gift card I got 4 more HD-DVD's. :D

ScottI am glad that you got the discount. That is a good idea. Anyone can bring the CC coupon to Bestbuy. They'll price match it. This coupon is good for anything in their store. You can continue to use it till 12/31/06.

Hey thanks. I just took this coupon and my add-on receipt to Best buy, and the girl gave my $64 cash! I think she was confused but oh well. Between that and my $50 gift card I got 4 more HD-DVD's. :D

Scott

maybe they match and beat it by 10% but even then she should have only given you $55-56 back so 64 was good.

how did you get the $50 gift card? jiust for buying the hddvd drive?

i'm thinking of getting the 360 using the $40 off coupon and then have best buy match and beat it also, ten return to Compusa where the only deal i got was 10% off any games and accessories i got with the 360

dpes CC stil have deal to get free plat hit game when you get 360? that was decent deal and when cusa had free wireless controller (basically 50 value)

Target has Gears of War for 39 so i got that and rturned to cusa where i got it for 54 (10% off 60) and Target has the nyko play and charge for 9.99 instead of 18

i dont know if i will lose my 10% off accessories if i return the 360 to cusa but i know i can find a better deal then that. like i said i've seen free controller, free game and one local pc shop even had some 100 off rebate

but the 40 off plus 10% matche/beat will be good. i just kno i have to do better while im' still in the return period with cusa.

think tht will be best deal on 360?

alread got best deal prob on geears and on the play and charge cable. just need better deal on the 360 itself and the 2nd controller and maybe the vga and optical cable but on those 10% off is prob best i can do.

Hey there !

Did anyone try to connect the HD-DVD player to both the Xbox360 and the PC simultanesously ? I currently connect the player to my X360 with the provided cable, but I also have a spare USB cable with a miniUSB plug at one end, and 2 USB plugs at the other end (I got it with an external 2"1/2 hard disk drive).
This would avoid pluging/unpluging the player everytime I want to try the new playback softwares on the PC.

Just wanted to add that I, too, printed the coupon and was able to use it. It wouldn't scan due to it being a printout but the girl at the register just overrode the register and put it in manually. At $159 this thing is a steal! I only watched about 15 mins of King Kong but the PQ is truly incredible and I did not notice any audio syncing issues as I have heard on this board. Print the coupon and use it, they'll take it!

Thanks new04quest!!!!
I should take mine back get a full refund since my wife bought it on Dec 24 and print out the coupon like you did and hopefully it works. I only say that because the small print says no photcopies will be accepted...

If I return it you guys think I have to pay a restocking fee? I hope not...

I think the audio sounds flat too. I have a Denon AVR-4806 connected to a DVD-5910 and the audio from that combo BLOWS away the 360 HD-DVD connection to the AVR.

I really noticed it in the T-Rex fight in KK. Hardly any of that crunch that I get with the standard DVD.

There is virtually NO bass in the Goodfellas HD-DVD, but of course that is older source material.
well I don't own an expensive or top-of-the-line receiver or anything like that, but with my Pioneer HTIB 600w setup the sounds is amazing. So I can only imagine what it would sound like if I had a better audio system.

Oh and btw I saw Goodfellas HD-DVD last night (thanks to BB online) and it looks really nice, sound is no KK material cause its an older title like you said.

maybe they match and beat it by 10% but even then she should have only given you $55-56 back so 64 was good.

how did you get the $50 gift card? jiust for buying the hddvd drive?

i'm thinking of getting the 360 using the $40 off coupon and then have best buy match and beat it also, ten return to Compusa where the only deal i got was 10% off any games and accessories i got with the 360

dpes CC stil have deal to get free plat hit game when you get 360? that was decent deal and when cusa had free wireless controller (basically 50 value)

Target has Gears of War for 39 so i got that and rturned to cusa where i got it for 54 (10% off 60) and Target has the nyko play and charge for 9.99 instead of 18

i dont know if i will lose my 10% off accessories if i return the 360 to cusa but i know i can find a better deal then that. like i said i've seen free controller, free game and one local pc shop even had some 100 off rebate

but the 40 off plus 10% matche/beat will be good. i just kno i have to do better while im' still in the return period with cusa.

think tht will be best deal on 360?

alread got best deal prob on geears and on the play and charge cable. just need better deal on the 360 itself and the 2nd controller and maybe the vga and optical cable but on those 10% off is prob best i can do.You can get the 360 at BB using $40 coupon, and use the 10% coupon at BB on accessories on your next trip to BB.

If I return it you guys think I have to pay a restocking fee? I hope not...No, not at CC and BB.

Hey there !

Did anyone try to connect the HD-DVD player to both the Xbox360 and the PC simultanesously ? I currently connect the player to my X360 with the provided cable, but I also have a spare USB cable with a miniUSB plug at one end, and 2 USB plugs at the other end (I got it with an external 2"1/2 hard disk drive).
This would avoid pluging/unpluging the player everytime I want to try the new playback softwares on the PC.It'll work, but your PC has to have proper playback software. PD Ultra is the latest software for HD-DVD playback. It is still troublesome, and your PC has to meet their hardware requirement. Good luck.

Here is a link to PowerDVD ultra: PowerDVD Ultra (http://www.cyberlink.com/multi/products/main_112_ENU.html)

I have a HD-XA1 in my HT and it has been great. I just purchased a Xbox 360 HD-DVD add on for my bed room and I am amazed at how great this little thing is. I don't have surround sound in the bed room so the sound issue is no big deal but if they do fix it this add on will be one of the best players on the market, that is if you already own a Xbox 360.

Here are some pics:

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k223/CriPPleR_HD/P1010320.jpg
http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k223/CriPPleR_HD/P1010323.jpg
http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k223/CriPPleR_HD/P1010321.jpg

hey, first off very nice vivid pictures there...just curious what kind of camera do you own and second how and what did u do to make those pictures looks so good? Thanks in advance!

Scored at CC with the coupon print out. Barcode scanned just fine. You may need to print it out on a laser printer for better quality.

$160 is just a stellar deal.

It'll work, but your PC has to have proper playback software. PD Ultra is the latest software for HD-DVD playback. It is still troublesome, and your PC has to meet their hardware requirement. Good luck.

Here is a link to PowerDVD ultra: PowerDVD Ultra (http://www.cyberlink.com/multi/products/main_112_ENU.html)
Hi all,

Because of the issues I had when getting PowerDVD Ultra working, I've started a little thread called "How to get the HD DVD add-on working on your PC in five minutes flat" where I've laid out the key things that I found you have to watch out for.

You can also discuss installation problems there and share.

I've done nVidia and laptops first - and I'll be getting to ATI installs later this week, as well as how to get the multichannel lossless audio over things like Fireware (ie from Laptops).

The thread is here http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=775177

Enjoy!

maybe they match and beat it by 10% but even then she should have only given you $55-56 back so 64 was good.

how did you get the $50 gift card? jiust for buying the hddvd drive?

i'm thinking of getting the 360 using the $40 off coupon and then have best buy match and beat it also, ten return to Compusa where the only deal i got was 10% off any games and accessories i got with the 360

dpes CC stil have deal to get free plat hit game when you get 360? that was decent deal and when cusa had free wireless controller (basically 50 value)

Target has Gears of War for 39 so i got that and rturned to cusa where i got it for 54 (10% off 60) and Target has the nyko play and charge for 9.99 instead of 18

i dont know if i will lose my 10% off accessories if i return the 360 to cusa but i know i can find a better deal then that. like i said i've seen free controller, free game and one local pc shop even had some 100 off rebate

but the 40 off plus 10% matche/beat will be good. i just kno i have to do better while im' still in the return period with cusa.

think tht will be best deal on 360?

alread got best deal prob on geears and on the play and charge cable. just need better deal on the 360 itself and the 2nd controller and maybe the vga and optical cable but on those 10% off is prob best i can do.

The gift card was just a Christmas gift. :)

Scott

Oh, and may I add that if you want good deals on HD-DVDs AVOID Best Buy and Circuit City. Right now at Amazon, if you purchase 3 HD-DVDs by 12/31 you get 10% off + 10% off of all HD-DVD purchases for an entire year! Read how to get the promo on their site, you have to enter a promo code at checkout. Not a bad deal. Wal-Mart also has good deals if you like to shop in-store.

Scored at CC with the coupon print out. Barcode scanned just fine. You may need to print it out on a laser printer for better quality.

$160 is just a stellar deal.I just got back from doing the same thing! Thanks to new34quest for posting this coupon!

However, my BB would not honor or price match the CC coupon price....

I just got back from doing the same thing! Thanks to new34quest for posting this coupon!

However, my BB would not honor or price match the CC coupon price....Congratulation Jack, and you'll enjoy it. That is weird. My two friends got their HD-DVD add-on at BB, and they used CC coupon. BB and CC are price matching any local electronics advertises. CC coupon is in store saving. BB should honor it. Make sure, you bring the entire sheet without the cut out.

$80 off from Xbox 360 and HD-DVD add-on is a steal..!

Oh, and may I add that if you want good deals on HD-DVDs AVOID Best Buy and Circuit City. Right now at Amazon, if you purchase 3 HD-DVDs by 12/31 you get 10% off + 10% off of all HD-DVD purchases for an entire year! Read how to get the promo on their site, you have to enter a promo code at checkout. Not a bad deal. Wal-Mart also has good deals if you like to shop in-store.Thanks. I use Buy.com w/ Google checkout deal, which is unbeatable deal for now. I'll check out Amazon. Another good site for HD-DVD: DeepdiscountDVD.com (http://www.deepdiscountdvd.com/)

Hi all,

Because of the issues I had when getting PowerDVD Ultra working, I've started a little thread called "How to get the HD DVD add-on working on your PC in five minutes flat" where I've laid out the key things that I found you have to watch out for.

You can also discuss installation problems there and share.

I've done nVidia and laptops first - and I'll be getting to ATI installs later this week, as well as how to get the multichannel lossless audio over things like Fireware (ie from Laptops).

The thread is here http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=775177

Enjoy!Thanks, but my HP z545 DEC (http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/genericDocument?docname=c00260626&cc=us&dlc=en&lc=en&jumpid=reg_R1002_USEN) is not capable of PowerDVD ultra. It doesn't meet the hardware requirement. I'll stick with Xbox 360 and HD-DVD add-on for now.

I bought the add-on yesterday...does BB honor a pricematch if I just walk in with my receipt and the coupon?

I bought the add-on yesterday...does BB honor a pricematch if I just walk in with my receipt and the coupon?Yes, they will honor it within 30 days. If not, return it and get it from CC.

Yes, they will honor it within 30 days. If not, return it and get it from CC.

Thanks...I got a $100 gift card from BB but I guess I could use the card for something else later if they won't honor it...thanks :)

Congratulation Jack, and you'll enjoy it. That is weird. My two friends got their HD-DVD add-on at BB, and they used CC coupon. BB and CC are price matching any local electronics advertises. CC coupon is in store saving. BB should honor it. Make sure, you bring the entire sheet without the cut out.

$80 off from Xbox 360 and HD-DVD add-on is a steal..!

Why take the whole sheet? Doesn't that make it look more like a photocopy/print-out?

Oh, and may I add that if you want good deals on HD-DVDs AVOID Best Buy and Circuit City. Right now at Amazon, if you purchase 3 HD-DVDs by 12/31 you get 10% off + 10% off of all HD-DVD purchases for an entire year! Read how to get the promo on their site, you have to enter a promo code at checkout. Not a bad deal. Wal-Mart also has good deals if you like to shop in-store.


there aren't many titles. i'd rather just rent from block buster online. problem is i've seen most movies that are in hddvd even some of the newer ones where my wife rented them just before i got it or without realizing there was an hddvd version

Congratulation Jack, and you'll enjoy it. That is weird. My two friends got their HD-DVD add-on at BB, and they used CC coupon. BB and CC are price matching any local electronics advertises. CC coupon is in store saving. BB should honor it. Make sure, you bring the entire sheet without the cut out.

$80 off from Xbox 360 and HD-DVD add-on is a steal..!

80 off? you mean 40 off the 360 and 40 off the hddvd?

yeah i need to get teh 360 with 40 off and then return the 360 i got full price to cusa.

deasl i've seen were free wireless controller from cusa which is actually a $50 value but you can get the controller not for 45 with 10% off from cusa or wherever and target has it for that price but still a 45 value then

and CC had free plat hit game (a $30 value)

best i've seen is 100 off with some rebate from a local pc shop. the 40 off 360 with cc coupon is close to as good as free wireless controller and better then the game and other deals so its good enough and better then what i paid.

80 off? you mean 40 off the 360 and 40 off the hddvd?

You're correct, and you have to make two separate purchases.

Why take the whole sheet? Doesn't that make it look more like a photocopy/print-out?It'll show them the complete offers by CC..!

Thanks to whomever first mentioned the coupon! I just went on my lunch break and just got $50 refunded! That makes the add-on $150! An even better deal!

Why take the whole sheet? Doesn't that make it look more like a photocopy/print-out?

I cut out the coupon only and it worked. :)

Scott

I printed two copies of the sheet on a color laser and then tore out the two coupons by hand to make it look like any other coupons I have used. I used one for the HD-DVD and the other one for a new all in one printer. That coupon saved me $80!!! Thanks again!

of course my Best buy wouldnt even match the CC coupon let alone beat it. CC is matching BB's deal though of free call of duty 2 game ($40 value) & a $20 gift card. a total $60 value. then i use $20 gift card to get wireless controller which they have for sale for $40 so i save another 10.

It is great to see everyone getting a great deal on his/her HD-DVD add-on. And everyone is very creative with his/her CC coupon. Don't we all deserve it, and it is nice to get a great deal once in while.

Now, let enjoy the HD movies. I grew up in the 80s as too fast and too furious. It is nice to watch Italian Job and 2fast & 2furious in HD. It is very impressive to see those little turbo car races across the screen on HD.

You can continue to use CC coupon till 12/31/2006.

thanks the coupon worked like charm saved 40 bucks. i was shoping for the best deal i could get and this convinced me to purchase it. thanks so much new04quest!!!

q regarding the hd vga cable...has anyone had any luck using it on a Toshiba DLP (I'm using 1080p 56hmx195)? I can only get 1360 x 768 to work, and the quality is awful compared to regular component. When I select 1920 x 1080 the screen never refreshes and it defaults back to 1360 x 768. I was hoping to move my OPPO dvd to another tv, if the upscaling would work well with VGA, but I can't figure out a way to get the pq right?
Thx

It is great to see everyone getting a great deal on his/her HD-DVD add-on. And everyone is very creative with his/her CC coupon. Don't we all deserve it, and it is nice to get a great deal once in while.

Now, let enjoy the HD movies. I grew up in the 80s as too fast and too furious. It is nice to watch Italian Job and 2fast & 2furious in HD. It is very impressive to see those little turbo car races across the screen on HD.

You can continue to use CC coupon till 12/31/2006.

since I already have the hd dvd drive, I am going to try to get the harmony 880 remote with the $40 coupon since its all sale for $199

Hey everyone, im kind of new to this whole HD-DVD thing but i got the drive as a gift and well all i had to watch it on was an EDTV, so it was pretty much worthless as the picture quality can only be so good on an ED so i recently purchased the panasonic PT-AX100 720p projector with a 92" screen, my question is, is it worht it to keep buying HD DVD material for a 720p projector or does it have to be 1080p for it to be worth it? thanks

Have you watched it? Mine is 720 and very much worth it. Get 1080p when the price comes down.

it hasent arrived yet i just ordered it 2 days ago

Hey everyone, im kind of new to this whole HD-DVD thing but i got the drive as a gift and well all i had to watch it on was an EDTV, so it was pretty much worthless as the picture quality can only be so good on an ED so i recently purchased the panasonic PT-AX100 720p projector with a 92" screen, my question is, is it worht it to keep buying HD DVD material for a 720p projector or does it have to be 1080p for it to be worth it? thanks

On a 92"screen, you will cringe while watching DVD's on anything but great quality DVD Players. An HD-DVD at 720p spread over 92", will be gorgeous!!!!!!!!!!!!

On a 92"screen, you will cringe while watching DVD's on anything but great quality DVD Players. An HD-DVD at 720p spread over 92", will be gorgeous!!!!!!!!!!!!

alright thanks alot, i guess im glad ive already started building my HD-DVD collection then!

since I already have the hd dvd drive, I am going to try to get the harmony 880 remote with the $40 coupon since its all sale for $199Would the Xbox 360 work better with Logitech® Harmony® Advanced Universal Remote (http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Logitech-Harmony-Advanced-Universal-Remote-for-Xbox-360-9662000403/sem/rpsm/oid/142704/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do) for Xbox 360? It is $99, and it is cheaper. You might be able to use the 10% for the $99 remote.

q regarding the hd vga cable...has anyone had any luck using it on a Toshiba DLP (I'm using 1080p 56hmx195)? I can only get 1360 x 768 to work, and the quality is awful compared to regular component. When I select 1920 x 1080 the screen never refreshes and it defaults back to 1360 x 768. I was hoping to move my OPPO dvd to another tv, if the upscaling would work well with VGA, but I can't figure out a way to get the pq right?
ThxYes, I had used VGA on Toshiba DLP but you have to do some adjustment to get it work properly. The PQ of VGA is comparable with component video. You have to set your HDTV to Widescreen if possible or Normal and go to the PC setup in your HDTV menu to set up the viewing screen to your desire.

I decided to stick with component video and use the standard DVD player to up-convert the DVD. The audio quality is better with the standard DVD up-conversion.

I bought that remote when I bought my Xbox 360, and took it back about three days later, and got a harmony 880. I didn't like the feel of that remote. It felt "cheap". The long button at the top got stuck a couple of times. I got store credit for it, and bought the 880 and paid the difference. Now, I'm a Harmony remote fan, but that remote was not worth the money ($130 back then)

If you're in Los Angeles, GAME PLAY stores are selling the add on (this weekend only) for $100! They sold out in five minutes, but I printed out the ad and took it to best buy woodland hills, CA and they price matched it. Had to get a manager's override becuase it was so cheap. I now have a second player (to go with my A1). King Kong and the universal remote it comes with would practically be the $100 alone!
http://www.joystiq.com/2006/12/30/99-for-xbox-360-hd-dvd-add-on/

If you're in Los Angeles, GAME PLAY stores are selling the add on (this weekend only) for $100! They sold out in five minutes, but I printed out the ad and took it to best buy woodland hills, CA and they price matched it. Had to get a manager's override becuase it was so cheap. I now have a second player (to go with my A1). King Kong and the universal remote it comes with would practically be the $100 alone!
http://www.joystiq.com/2006/12/30/99-for-xbox-360-hd-dvd-add-on/Good for you..and enjoy it.

I bought that remote when I bought my Xbox 360, and took it back about three days later, and got a harmony 880. I didn't like the feel of that remote. It felt "cheap". The long button at the top got stuck a couple of times. I got store credit for it, and bought the 880 and paid the difference. Now, I'm a Harmony remote fan, but that remote was not worth the money ($130 back then)Are you referred to Harmony for Xbox? I was at CC and the remote look okay. Does the 880 have the functionality for Xbox 360?

Are you referred to Harmony for Xbox? I was at CC and the remote look okay. Does the 880 have the functionality for Xbox 360?

My 880 will work the xbox 360. :)

Scott

Woohoo...whoever found that coupon is awesome. It's rare to see a coupon actually state that it is retroactive! $40 bucks off the HD-DVD player I picked up at the beginning of the month.

Ross

Yea, I brought my receipt to Best Buy along with the CC coupon and they honored it.

Thanks for posting it!

Ditto! This thing is much better in all ways including PQ than the Toshiba A1 I returned.

I'm trying to open the coupon to print it out but I'm getting a message that the page is not found. Help?

I'm trying to open the coupon to print it out but I'm getting a message that the page is not found. Help?Do you have Adobe Reader (http://www.adobe.com/downloads/)? You'll need it to open it. This is the last day to use the coupon.

Are you referred to Harmony for Xbox? I was at CC and the remote look okay. Does the 880 have the functionality for Xbox 360?


I got an 880 for Xmas and cannot find out how to use it on the XBOX360 HD/DVD... I can't find it in the setup online. If anyone has figured this out, please post!!

Happy New Year.

I have Adobe Acrobat 4.0 It's not working for me! I'm downloading the new version now. Hope it works.

Got it. I was trying to open it straight from the attachment. I had to download it first to my drive then open it.

So has anyone been told at Best Buy that they could NOT use a photocopy?

I got an 880 for Xmas and cannot find out how to use it on the XBOX360 HD/DVD... I can't find it in the setup online. If anyone has figured this out, please post!!

Happy New Year.

Don't worry about adding another device to your list. Just create another "watch DVD" activity using your XBOX360 device. That is what I did and it worked perfectly.

:)

I printed the coupon out on glossy paper, I'm heading down to BB with my receipt. We'll see what happens.

Does anyone else's add-on make a humming noise while running? I didn't notice it before but tonight I started up KK and it was humming like crazy (during a quiet scene I could hear it from 10 feet away)...KK ran fine but the sound of the drive was more than I would call acceptable...does anyone else hear this or is it worth trying to exchange it?

Does anyone else's add-on make a humming noise while running? I didn't notice it before but tonight I started up KK and it was humming like crazy (during a quiet scene I could hear it from 10 feet away)...KK ran fine but the sound of the drive was more than I would call acceptable...does anyone else hear this or is it worth trying to exchange it?
the XBOX was humming or the drive add-on? the add-on should be pretty silent.

the XBOX was humming or the drive add-on? the add-on should be pretty silent.

My add-on sits on top of my Xbox and I had just played 2 hours of Vegas...could it be the add-on's fan that is not seated properly or something? I just tried it this AM again and I didn't hear the sound anymore...did the xbox heat up the add-on last night and make the add-on's fan come on? Even with the fan on it sounded like an unpleasant high-pitched hum...

I can never hear the drive above the fans in the console. But once or twice I have had a rental disc that seemed to be slightly warped or out of balance so that it made a sort of buzzing sound spinning in the tray.

I can never hear the drive above the fans in the console. But once or twice I have had a rental disc that seemed to be slightly warped or out of balance so that it made a sort of buzzing sound spinning in the tray.

Does your add-on sit on top of the xbox?

Does your add-on sit on top of the xbox?

Nope. Both are vertical, six inches apart and out in the open for airflow. I can hear the Xbox fans in silent moments during a movie or game. I can't hear the drive unless I put my ear next to it, and then only the minimal sounds of disc spinup or access.

Together they make less noise that the HTPC in the same room and no more noise than the cooling fan in my DLP.

I got an 880 for Xmas and cannot find out how to use it on the XBOX360 HD/DVD... I can't find it in the setup online. If anyone has figured this out, please post!!

Happy New Year.Please refer to Haramony 880 (http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/downloads/software/US/EN,CRID=2109,contentid=10174) setup.

I have Adobe Acrobat 4.0 It's not working for me! I'm downloading the new version now. Hope it works.

Got it. I was trying to open it straight from the attachment. I had to download it first to my drive then open it.

So has anyone been told at Best Buy that they could NOT use a photocopy?No, I used three times at CC and my friends used two times at BB. They never say a word.

My add-on sits on top of my Xbox and I had just played 2 hours of Vegas...could it be the add-on's fan that is not seated properly or something? I just tried it this AM again and I didn't hear the sound anymore...did the xbox heat up the add-on last night and make the add-on's fan come on? Even with the fan on it sounded like an unpleasant high-pitched hum...It is more likely the noise from the Xbox 360 fan.

Just got back from Best Buy. Gave the girl at Customer service my receipt and the coupn printout. She showed it to another guy behind the counter and he said "If it's over $199 just give it to him. So with the pricematch they give an extra 10% on top of it. I ended up getting a refund of $47.80!!!

Anyway, I just picked up Superman Returns...

Thanks new04quest for your help with the coupon!

My first HD-DVD add on fan was EXTREMELY loud... I exchanged it and the 2nd one is super quiet. I would return it for an exchange.

My add on is un-noticable above the din of the fans on the xbox console w/ intercooler. I guess I could disconnect the intercooler when we are going to use the add on.... but, without it during game play, the console got almost too hot to touch in certain areas... but with the intercooler, it runs barely warm at the air outflow.

The only noise that the HD addon made was a disturbing loud CLUNK... when I first opened and then closed the disk drawer the very first time. Since then, no clunk and no noise from it that I have noticed?

I've heard that the new Xbox 360 v2 will run much, much cooler and possibly include the HD addon?

I picked up the Xbox 360 Harmony remote at CC yesterday using the $40 coupon. I combined movies and games to make it $200 so I can use the $40 coupon.

The Xbox 360 Harmony remote works very well. It looks okay to me. It matches the Xbox 360 console and the add-on perfectly. It is designed for it. I don't buy the Xbox 360 and its add-on for the look. It looks like a toy. I purchased it to play HD.

If anyone interesting in getting the Xbox 360 Harmony remote, it is worth it. I threw out 8 remotes and replaced it with a single remote. The entire buttons and functionality works okay for me. It is very similar to my Harmony 880.

It is very cool to be able to press a single button to turn on the Xbox 360, A/V receiver and TV at the same time. I use the Harmony 880 remote in my other HT up stair..!

Hey guys,

I have a problem and wanted to know your thoughts for help.

I bought the 360 in August. Works totally fine. It has freezed once or twice back in mid August when I played the NCAA game, but other than that, no issues.

I play the Madden game pretty often...and I purchased the 360 add on a little before Christmas. I sampled some HD DVD's in there--Kong, Superman, Ray--and it looked good. Never watched a full movie.

Well, on Dec 26th, I watched a full movie: Batman Begins. Worked perfectly with no issues. On the 27th, though, I played my Madden game in the 360. And it froze. I thought it was odd, but I said OK no biggie. If I remember correctly, it froze AGAIN, and so I disconnected the add-on drive to the 360. I was able to finally complete a couple games.

Now though, it's freezing again. It freezed through three games, and on the fourth try it just shut off. No red rings of death, but I cannot complete a game now.

This is the thing....the 360 HD DVD add-on WAS used when I bought it from Best Buy (so I got it discounted). The used add-on was the only one available in the store, so I bought it. I have since exchanged my 360 for a new one at Best Buy, and returned the HD DVD add-on. I was a little leery of buying the add-on, as I like to have a component for DVD's and a component for video games and not have them be one in the same (so things like this don't happen).

My questions is this: Have their been complaints about the HD DVD add-on screwing up 360's? Has anyone experienced something like this? I really love HD DVD's, and want to experience them. I know there is a Toshiba player out...but that is something like 400 bucks, right? I'm torn. On one hand, it may have just been an issue with the add-on being used and not new. But I'm not really sure if that was the issue or if people are having trouble with the add-on in general.

Any help/knowledge would be great. Thanks guys.

I initially posted this in a new thread, but I just realized it would probably reach more pertinent eyes and minds here:

1) Are the 360's upconversion/deinterlacing algorithms on par with the Denon's Faroudja?


The Faroudja is a de-interlacer, not an upconverter. Upconverting is no mystery -- also historically referred to as "scaling". If you have a Panasonic Plasma, for example, you don't need a "upconverting" DVD player at all, as the TV itself has good scaling capabilities.

My add on is un-noticable above the din of the fans on the xbox console w/ intercooler.

Intercoolers are known to kill quite a few systems, they don't use sufficiently beefy connections from the power cord's plug through the intercooler to the plug that goes into the 360, also they steal power from the 360. Don't box in your 360 and you won't need external cooling.

My questions is this: Have their been complaints about the HD DVD add-on screwing up 360's? Has anyone experienced something like this? I really love HD DVD's, and want to experience them. I know there is a Toshiba player out...but that is something like 400 bucks, right? I'm torn. On one hand, it may have just been an issue with the add-on being used and not new. But I'm not really sure if that was the issue or if people are having trouble with the add-on in general.

Quite a few of us with older (pre 2006) systems had theirs die around the time of the release of the hd-dvd addon and fall update, lockup and overheating symptoms. I believe some 2006 owners had issues too. At the time I counted myself lucky to have a 2005 model as they had extended the warrenty on those a year and I was still within that timeframe, so I contacted MS who sent me a coffin and sent it to them, they "fixed" it by sending me a new one. However, they recently announced extending warrenties to 1 year for all 360's, since they already did that everywhere else in the world. Failed hardware or no, MS was very quick to fix my system and get it back to me.

Firstly, it only costs $200 (or less) so it's practically disposable. :) Second, I have an extended warranty on my 360 (and you should, too).

So $200 (HD-DVD drive) is disposable, but $300 (Xbox 360) requires an extended warranty? :o

Bio...I got my system in August, 2006 though.

Have you heard anything about the 360 add-on hurting more recent 360's?

Just Got My HD DVD add on a few days ago love it so far but had a problem last night. Put in King Kong it stated reading the disk but did not start to play.. Ejected it manualy and let it go back in and heard a loud spining sound like the disk was not in properly "I was right next to the player". Ejected it again replaced disk and all went well no loud sound, read it fine and played without a hitch. Did it with a SD DVD as well but after replacing disk it did well.. Is this Add On sesitive to how the disk is placed on the tray. Would figure if it was a problem it would do it all the time seems like it is picky regarding placement of disk. Has anyone else had this issue. Thanks for any advice figure if is was a problem beyond disk placement I better know before the 30 days was up to get a replacement...

Just Got My HD DVD add on a few days ago love it so far but had a problem last night. Put in King Kong it stated reading the disk but did not start to play.. Ejected it manualy and let it go back in and heard a loud spining sound like the disk was not in properly "I was right next to the player". Ejected it again replaced disk and all went well no loud sound, read it fine and played without a hitch. Did it with a SD DVD as well but after replacing disk it did well.. Is this Add On sesitive to how the disk is placed on the tray. Would figure if it was a problem it would do it all the time seems like it is picky regarding placement of disk. Has anyone else had this issue. Thanks for any advice figure if is was a problem beyond disk placement I better know before the 30 days was up to get a replacement...

Personally, if I was weary about the drive and had the opportunity to replace it, then I'd return it for another. I wouldn't want to "hope" it plays every time I want to watch a movie.

This past week I have brought my 360 and HD-DVD drive to friends/family's houses to show off what HD is all about on their HDTVs and have had absolutely no issues putting different movies in, forwarding to different scenes, etc... whether it was SD-DVD or HD-DVD.

I just picked up my replacement drive (original had a super loud fan) and this one seems to have a problem with the eject button on the drive...I usually have to push it 3-4 times before it opens...are there certain moments during bootup of the 360, etc where the HD-DVD drive is supposed to be non-responsive? I can't remember if my first drive was like this so I can't make a comparison for myself...are there people out there that has one where it opens/closes EVERY time you push the button?

The Faroudja is a de-interlacer, not an upconverter. Upconverting is no mystery -- also historically referred to as "scaling". If you have a Panasonic Plasma, for example, you don't need a "upconverting" DVD player at all, as the TV itself has good scaling capabilities.

True, but there are benefits to doing the scaling and deinterlacing in the player and keeping an all-digital path to the display. That's why upscaling players have been so popular, the good ones do make a difference.

Because the 360 uses an analog path and software processing, it's not quite on par with the best upscalers. It's probably worth the $40 gamble on a VGA cable to find out whether it makes a noticeable difference on any individual setup.

I tried it, and wound up going back to component for the 360 and keeping my upscaling player. (Both my player and display use Faroudja deinterlacers, but 1:1 pixel mapping from the player gives me the best SD upscaling by a slight margin.)

I just picked up my replacement drive (original had a super loud fan) and this one seems to have a problem with the eject button on the drive...I usually have to push it 3-4 times before it opens...are there certain moments during bootup of the 360, etc where the HD-DVD drive is supposed to be non-responsive? I can't remember if my first drive was like this so I can't make a comparison for myself...are there people out there that has one where it opens/closes EVERY time you push the button?No and No, it is defected and you might want to replace it.

I've had my drive for a month now but still had a question about it (apologize if this has been asked before, must have missed it if it was). It seems that a game can not be inside the consoles main drive for a movie to boot up in the hd-dvd drive. Is that true or am I doing something wrong and a setting needs to be adjusted? I'd prefer it so if I pop in a movie into the hd-dvd drive the console boots and loads the movie not paying attention to the main drive.

True, but there are benefits to doing the scaling and deinterlacing in the player and keeping an all-digital path to the display. That's why upscaling players have been so popular, the good ones do make a difference.

Because the 360 uses an analog path and software processing, it's not quite on par with the best upscalers. It's probably worth the $40 gamble on a VGA cable to find out whether it makes a noticeable difference on any individual setup.

I tried it, and wound up going back to component for the 360 and keeping my upscaling player. (Both my player and display use Faroudja deinterlacers, but 1:1 pixel mapping from the player gives me the best SD upscaling by a slight margin.)I would stay away from the Xbox 360 VGA for now, but it might be worth a trial for $15. You will need some adjustments to match the PQ of component video. The up-conversion DVD player is better than Xbox 360 VGA. You will get better PQ and AQ from the up-conversion DVD player, and it will be less problematic compares to VGA. And do not bet on the up-scaling using a HDTV..!

I've had my drive for a month now but still had a question about it (apologize if this has been asked before, must have missed it if it was). It seems that a game can not be inside the consoles main drive for a movie to boot up in the hd-dvd drive. Is that true or am I doing something wrong and a setting needs to be adjusted? I'd prefer it so if I pop in a movie into the hd-dvd drive the console boots and loads the movie not paying attention to the main drive.Xbox 360 DVD-ROM is the default drive, and the external add-on HD-ROM is a slave. It'll always try to open the default drive before the external drive. It’ll always boot up using the default sequences..!

I'd prefer it so if I pop in a movie into the hd-dvd drive the console boots and loads the movie not paying attention to the main drive.

That is exactly what happens with my drive.

Part of the benefit of the add-on is that you can leave your current game disk in the main drive and watch movies in the HD drive.

When you boot your 360 does it boot a game or go to the dashboard? This is a switchable choice in the system. Regardless whether I have a disk in each drive on bootup, it goes to dashboard. If I'm in dashboard and insert any disk, that disk boots.

If you have a disk in the main drive and a disk in the HD drive and use the lower half button of the split drive circle button to activate the HD drive - are you saying that nothing happens? What about disk in main then insert disk in HD - still nothing happens? Then push HD activate button - still nothing? Remove game disk from main drive and repeat - success? If the latter then something is wrong with your system.

I just picked up my HD DVD addon over the weekend utilizing the Circuit City Coupon found earlier in this topic (thank you for posting!) Wow! Im using component hookups to my Philips 34PW850H and it is just spectacular so I am only at 1080i but WOW. My Blockbuster queue is now full of as many HD-DVD's as I could find! Now Im really getting spoiled. I can hardly stand to watch any SD tv content now.

One question though. On my DVD player, when I stop the disk or even eject it it remembers where it had been in the movie. It does not seem to be that way with the HD-DVD player. Should it remember where it left off?

Thanks again for the coupon and the wealth of info!

Nick

I just picked up my HD DVD addon over the weekend utilizing the Circuit City Coupon found earlier in this topic (thank you for posting!) Wow! Im using component hookups to my Philips 34PW850H and it is just spectacular so I am only at 1080i but WOW. My Blockbuster queue is now full of as many HD-DVD's as I could find! Now Im really getting spoiled. I can hardly stand to watch any SD tv content now.

One question though. On my DVD player, when I stop the disk or even eject it it remembers where it had been in the movie. It does not seem to be that way with the HD-DVD player. Should it remember where it left off?

Thanks again for the coupon and the wealth of info!

Nick

Didn't the coupon expire on NYE?

I think that it did. If I remember correctly it said 12/31/07. Maybe they would extend it one day? By the way, I got a little flak from the CSR about it being a printout coupon (it says will no accept duplicates etc). So I told him that I printed it from "the website" . I just didnt mention WHICH website! Good luck. It was 170 something after taxes.

I've heard some comments about people returning their drives because the 'fan was too loud.' I know when I am playing a movie via the HD drive, the fan on my XBOX is whirring like crazy. Apparently the drive uses the XBOX to its limits, so this is normal I assume?

Didn't the coupon expire on NYE?

I believe the coupon has been updated to run through 1-31-07.

Good news guys...CC $40 coupon is extended to 1-31-07. Enjoy it..!

That is exactly what happens with my drive.

Part of the benefit of the add-on is that you can leave your current game disk in the main drive and watch movies in the HD drive.

When you boot your 360 does it boot a game or go to the dashboard? This is a switchable choice in the system. Regardless whether I have a disk in each drive on bootup, it goes to dashboard. If I'm in dashboard and insert any disk, that disk boots.

If you have a disk in the main drive and a disk in the HD drive and use the lower half button of the split drive circle button to activate the HD drive - are you saying that nothing happens? What about disk in main then insert disk in HD - still nothing happens? Then push HD activate button - still nothing? Remove game disk from main drive and repeat - success? If the latter then something is wrong with your system.
Well I had it on the disk boot option. It seems that if a game is in, it will always boot to the game. It doesn't matter if I put in a disk before I start the 360, or during the initial boot up. It always boots to the game. If a game is out, it then boots to the movie automatically.

I tried adjusting so it'd boot up to the dashboard but didn't really like that either. It works better then the disk boot though since that would always boot to a game. This at least gives you an option of what you'd like to boot it to (either play a game or hd-dvd movie).

But I'd prefer it to boot up normally and if I put in a movie into the hd-dvd drive it'd then boot to that. Is there anyway for me to adjust mysetup so it works like that or am I simply out of luck?

No and No, it is defected and you might want to replace it.

Thanks for the advice...I just returned it for my 3rd drive and the eject button works every time on this one...

Well I had it on the disk boot option. It seems that if a game is in, it will always boot to the game. It doesn't matter if I put in a disk before I start the 360, or during the initial boot up. It always boots to the game. If a game is out, it then boots to the movie automatically.

I tried adjusting so it'd boot up to the dashboard but didn't really like that either. It works better then the disk boot though since that would always boot to a game. This at least gives you an option of what you'd like to boot it to (either play a game or hd-dvd movie).

But I'd prefer it to boot up normally and if I put in a movie into the hd-dvd drive it'd then boot to that. Is there anyway for me to adjust mysetup so it works like that or am I simply out of luck?Xbox 360 is a standalone game console. We added add-on to it. It'll always boot-up to its default drive before the add-on..!

I solved this problem for my parents using the Harmony 880.

I set the 360 to load to the Dashboard. Then I set appropriate delays and Down arrows, so that selecting Watch a DVD goes all the way down and selects the HD-DVD/DVD, and Play 360 Game goes goes down to the game and loads it. Therefore, they don't ever have to mess with the 360 interface or push extra buttons.

as i said before my Best Buy were total aholes about it. made me wait forever in line and wait for a manager only to say absolutely no to the coupon and i was wtf. everywhere else is absolutely doing it.

i tried to get Best buys deal of a free $40 game and a $20 gift cert on the 360 which is what i was using it on as i aleady got the hdddvd drive for cheaper then 160. and the game call of duty 2 was out of stock and so they woldn't even honor their own circular with another game or a raincheck for it or anything

i got to Circuit City and it was a pleasure. not as crowded or as much of a line. (i guess Best buy is more popular but i think CC is so much better and i always have more luck there with deals, price matches, returns, etc and therefore i love them way more)

The manager said he would match Best buys deal and the way t hey charged me was 340 for the 360 and separately for the game ($40) and for the gift card. therefore later i was able to return the game which the kid even told me i could when i got it.

and i used hte gift card to get a wirless controller for $20 plus 20 gift card as it was already on sale for 40 and returned the one i got form compusa for 45.

now i see CC has 360 with free wireless controller so i'm thinking i can take my receipt and get the controller then return one for full $40 plus tax back even though i used a gc for half of it so essentially ill have gotten the 360 for 300

i'm pretty much done as i think i've gotten best price on 360 , the hdddvd and accessories (including Gears of War for 40 instead of 60 and prey for 30 which i'll return for full refund when lost planet comes out) plus 10% off other accessories.

my 360 has frozen a couple of times though i think both times was during a dowloaded game demo but otherwise seems ok. it gets a little loud sometiems fan wise and even when off if play and chaarge controllers are plugged in.

also my hdddvd drive fans are noticably louder then the 360 even w hen not using it nad just using the 360 to the point where i i just unplugged it when not using but now i wanted to be able to use it for its extra 2 usb ports so plugged hdddvd back in and since its using the only rear usb port on the 360 i plus the wireless adapter into the hddvd drive which also gives it a higher elevation as i have them stacked horizontally not standing on their side vertiically.

i will have to keep an eye (really an ear) on the fan noise from the hddvd drive and if it continues to seem on the loud sound will have to exchange it.

as i said before my Best Buy were total aholes about it. made me wait forever in line and wait for a manager only to say absolutely no to the coupon and i was wtf. everywhere else is absolutely doing it.

i tried to get Best buys deal of a free $40 game and a $20 gift cert on the 360 which is what i was using it on as i aleady got the hdddvd drive for cheaper then 160. and the game call of duty 2 was out of stock and so they woldn't even honor their own circular with another game or a raincheck for it or anything

i got to Circuit City and it was a pleasure. not as crowded or as much of a line. (i guess Best buy is more popular but i think CC is so much better and i always have more luck there with deals, price matches, returns, etc and therefore i love them way more)

The manager said he would match Best buys deal and the way t hey charged me was 340 for the 360 and separately for the game ($40) and for the gift card. therefore later i was able to return the game which the kid even told me i could when i got it.

and i used hte gift card to get a wirless controller for $20 plus 20 gift card as it was already on sale for 40 and returned the one i got form compusa for 45.

now i see CC has 360 with free wireless controller so i'm thinking i can take my receipt and get the controller then return one for full $40 plus tax back even though i used a gc for half of it so essentially ill have gotten the 360 for 300

i'm pretty much done as i think i've gotten best price on 360 , the hdddvd and accessories (including Gears of War for 40 instead of 60 and prey for 30 which i'll return for full refund when lost planet comes out) plus 10% off other accessories.

my 360 has frozen a couple of times though i think both times was during a dowloaded game demo but otherwise seems ok. it gets a little loud sometiems fan wise and even when off if play and chaarge controllers are plugged in.

also my hdddvd drive fans are noticably louder then the 360 even w hen not using it nad just using the 360 to the point where i i just unplugged it when not using but now i wanted to be able to use it for its extra 2 usb ports so plugged hdddvd back in and since its using the only rear usb port on the 360 i plus the wireless adapter into the hddvd drive which also gives it a higher elevation as i have them stacked horizontally not standing on their side vertiically.

i will have to keep an eye (really an ear) on the fan noise from the hddvd drive and if it continues to seem on the loud sound will have to exchange it.

The fan might be bad but once I took my hd-dvd drive off of the 360 I haven't heard the fans at all...

I went by Circuit City today and used the $40 off coupon and got myself an HD-DVD drive. King Kong looked great, I will have to pick up a couple of other movies soon.

Probably Superman Returns and will have to find one more.

I went by Circuit City today and used the $40 off coupon and got myself an HD-DVD drive. King Kong looked great, I will have to pick up a couple of other movies soon.

Probably Superman Returns and will have to find one more.Welcome to HD add-on club. The newly released Jet Li- FearLess is very good too. If you have more things to buy for a total of $200, you can use the $40 coupon again..!

Update on my Xbox 360 HD-DVD player add-on not being able to play DVD-R's.

Well, that's not true since now I have found about 25 so far that mysteriously do play on it. This is so weird that some do and some don't. The ones that do are all Memorex brand made by Prodisc Inc. But, not all my Memorex made by Prodisc Inc. will play, so the search to find out the problem continues.

Scott

Not sure if anybody has already answered this, but just because they have the same brand and that they were indeed manufactured by the same company doesn't mean that they will be exactly the same. Disc manufacturing for DVD+R and -R has changed quite a bit sometimes rapidly and there is always the fact that some discs are just not as well created as others, bad batches an all. While they might still play in a computer these faulty discs can play in one device and have a problem in another without a good reason why.

The situation has gotten alot better though, so it might just be older discs that you are having problems with.

TimT

I've had good luck with Ritek DVD-R and +R, single and dual-layer. They are sold under their own brand name, and also as Verbatim and Memorex, among others. Newegg.com usually has them for a good price.

as i said before my Best Buy were total aholes about it. made me wait forever in line and wait for a manager only to say absolutely no to the coupon and i was wtf. everywhere else is absolutely doing it.

i tried to get Best buys deal of a free $40 game and a $20 gift cert on the 360 which is what i was using it on as i aleady got the hdddvd drive for cheaper then 160. and the game call of duty 2 was out of stock and so they woldn't even honor their own circular with another game or a raincheck for it or anything

i got to Circuit City and it was a pleasure. not as crowded or as much of a line. (i guess Best buy is more popular but i think CC is so much better and i always have more luck there with deals, price matches, returns, etc and therefore i love them way more)

The manager said he would match Best buys deal and the way t hey charged me was 340 for the 360 and separately for the game ($40) and for the gift card. therefore later i was able to return the game which the kid even told me i could when i got it.

and i used hte gift card to get a wirless controller for $20 plus 20 gift card as it was already on sale for 40 and returned the one i got form compusa for 45.

now i see CC has 360 with free wireless controller so i'm thinking i can take my receipt and get the controller then return one for full $40 plus tax back even though i used a gc for half of it so essentially ill have gotten the 360 for 300

i'm pretty much done as i think i've gotten best price on 360 , the hdddvd and accessories (including Gears of War for 40 instead of 60 and prey for 30 which i'll return for full refund when lost planet comes out) plus 10% off other accessories.

my 360 has frozen a couple of times though i think both times was during a dowloaded game demo but otherwise seems ok. it gets a little loud sometiems fan wise and even when off if play and chaarge controllers are plugged in.

also my hdddvd drive fans are noticably louder then the 360 even w hen not using it nad just using the 360 to the point where i i just unplugged it when not using but now i wanted to be able to use it for its extra 2 usb ports so plugged hdddvd back in and since its using the only rear usb port on the 360 i plus the wireless adapter into the hddvd drive which also gives it a higher elevation as i have them stacked horizontally not standing on their side vertiically.

i will have to keep an eye (really an ear) on the fan noise from the hddvd drive and if it continues to seem on the loud sound will have to exchange it.

Not to knock you at all but honestly I could never do all that cheating of the system. Its great that you were able to get all of that for the price but CC made no money on you and in no way are you a GOOD customer for them and thats why they will be gone soon enough....

I do have a question for the users of the HD-DVD Add-on. I too bought the Add-On at full price and I LOVE the PQ. It works great with my 880 and I am pleased with it. My question after looking at upcoming DVD releases there is 2-3x More Blu Ray coming out then HD-DVD. I have compared both PQ between the two and I really think all around the HD-DVD is better but what is the future when so much is coming out on Blu Ray....Should we all be waiting to see our buy Blu Ray or keep what we got? Just my oppions but I would like to see what you guys thought about the format war.

The HD DVD group should announce more releases next week since the CES is going on then.

Question for anyone.


I currently use my 360 as my main DVD player, seeing how my HDTV has only one component input, (it does have an HDMI input though) and my receiver only one optical input. Now, if I was to get the HD add on, it will connect with USB to the console, and use the consoles connections (component for video, optical for audio) to the receiver/TV correct?


That means I will have inferior video quality compared to if the 360 could output with HDMI, and I won't be getting Dolby TrueHD.

I can live with the lack of HDMI, but will the audio be better than a regular DVD? I'm pretty sure I saw someone mention a sort of scaled TrueHD, but will that work even with only the optical for the audio?

Question for anyone.


I currently use my 360 as my main DVD player, seeing how my HDTV has only one component input, (it does have an HDMI input though) and my receiver only one optical input. Now, if I was to get the HD add on, it will connect with USB to the console, and use the consoles connections (component for video, optical for audio) to the receiver/TV correct?


That means I will have inferior video quality compared to if the 360 could output with HDMI, and I won't be getting Dolby TrueHD.

I can live with the lack of HDMI, but will the audio be better than a regular DVD? I'm pretty sure I saw someone mention a sort of scaled TrueHD, but will that work even with only the optical for the audio?

Yes, it would use the same connections as the console itself, just plug the USB to the console (preferably to the back as its out of the way, if you're using the wireless adapter you can clip it to the back of the HD-DVD drive as it has a built in hub) and plug in the power mini-brick (think laptop power brick or smaller, it's almost as small as my cell charger). A quick software update later and you're in business.

The audio will be noticably better, just not "as good" as 5.1 analog or HDMI PCM 5.1. DD+ or TruHD re-encoded to 640kbps DD sounds worlds better than 384 and 440kbps DD encodes from standard DVDs. Whenever the DTS output update comes along, you'll have the option of full rate DTS instead of 640kbps DD for the audio.

HDMI only does you good if your receiver can take in PCM 5.1 via HDMI - if you have a receiver with HDMI I would hope it would, however. Mine doesn't have HDMI anything, but has 2 optical and 2 coax digital inputs, two components etc's, and I'm using VGA for upscaling (and using a 19" monitor until my CRT projector is up and running) so I'm hardly hurting for inputs.

Not to knock you at all but honestly I could never do all that cheating of the system. Its great that you were able to get all of that for the price but CC made no money on you and in no way are you a GOOD customer for them and thats why they will be gone soon enough....

I do have a question for the users of the HD-DVD Add-on. I too bought the Add-On at full price and I LOVE the PQ. It works great with my 880 and I am pleased with it. My question after looking at upcoming DVD releases there is 2-3x More Blu Ray coming out then HD-DVD. I have compared both PQ between the two and I really think all around the HD-DVD is better but what is the future when so much is coming out on Blu Ray....Should we all be waiting to see our buy Blu Ray or keep what we got? Just my oppions but I would like to see what you guys thought about the format war.I guess you're knocking on wood. The coupon and price match system is in place, and available to their customer. He/she didn't steal anything from CC. He/she's taking advantage of their offering. If CC is out of business because their customer is using their offering, it is not cause by their customer. It has a lot to do with their bad management.

If you feel better for buying the Xbox 360 and HD add-on at full price, please do so. We'll continue to shop smarter, and use whatever offering we can get.

Here is a list of the new HD-DVD releasing dates (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_HD_DVD_releases) :

Question for anyone.


I currently use my 360 as my main DVD player, seeing how my HDTV has only one component input, (it does have an HDMI input though) and my receiver only one optical input. Now, if I was to get the HD add on, it will connect with USB to the console, and use the consoles connections (component for video, optical for audio) to the receiver/TV correct?


That means I will have inferior video quality compared to if the 360 could output with HDMI, and I won't be getting Dolby TrueHD.

I can live with the lack of HDMI, but will the audio be better than a regular DVD? I'm pretty sure I saw someone mention a sort of scaled TrueHD, but will that work even with only the optical for the audio?There is a lot of way to connect it. I would connect the HD add-on to Xbox 360 using USB. I would connect the Xbox 360 to HDTV using component video and the audio directly to the A/V receiver using optical. And I would connect the DVD player to HDTV using HDMI and connect the audio from HDTV to A/V receiver using digital coaxial cable. I am presuming your HDTV has a component video and HDMI input and digital audio coaxial output. Connect Xbox 360 to TV or HDTV (http://www.xbox.com/en-US/support/systemsetup/xbox360/console/tvhdtv.htm)

Yes, it would use the same connections as the console itself, just plug the USB to the console (preferably to the back as its out of the way, if you're using the wireless adapter you can clip it to the back of the HD-DVD drive as it has a built in hub) and plug in the power mini-brick (think laptop power brick or smaller, it's almost as small as my cell charger). A quick software update later and you're in business.

The audio will be noticably better, just not "as good" as 5.1 analog or HDMI PCM 5.1. DD+ or TruHD re-encoded to 640kbps DD sounds worlds better than 384 and 440kbps DD encodes from standard DVDs. Whenever the DTS output update comes along, you'll have the option of full rate DTS instead of 640kbps DD for the audio.

HDMI only does you good if your receiver can take in PCM 5.1 via HDMI - if you have a receiver with HDMI I would hope it would, however. Mine doesn't have HDMI anything, but has 2 optical and 2 coax digital inputs, two components etc's, and I'm using VGA for upscaling (and using a 19" monitor until my CRT projector is up and running) so I'm hardly hurting for inputs.


I have to correct the part about the DD+ reencoded to DD sounds worlds better than standard DD. The Toshiba Players can do this but the xbox fails. The DD+ decoder in the xbox has a bug and it delivers "DD MINUS" instead of DD PLUS. This means the sound the xbox generates vom DD+ is much, much inferior to the sound of a mediocre DD from a standard DVD. The buggy DD+ decoder overly compresses the sound, dynamics are completly wiped out, music and emotions get killed. Unfortunately 90% of the HD-DVD Soundtrack are DD+ only. Microsoft knows about this bug (search this forum and you will see) but fails to acknowledge the bug (call their hotline and you will hear). Even if we get the DTS encoder update in some distant future this DD+ decoding bug might still persist. Because Microsoft does not care that they deliver a broken product to their customers. If they would care, the least to do would be to acknowledge the problem - even if they do not plan to fix it at all.


BTW if you are interested in a bug fix: Call Microsoft and tell them! Otherwise they do NOTHING!

I have to correct the part about the DD+ reencoded to DD sounds worlds better than standard DD. The Toshiba Players can do this but the xbox fails. The DD+ decoder in the xbox has a bug and it delivers "DD MINUS" instead of DD PLUS. This means the sound the xbox generates vom DD+ is much, much inferior to the sound of a mediocre DD from a standard DVD. The buggy DD+ decoder overly compresses the sound, dynamics are completly wiped out, music and emotions get killed. Unfortunately 90% of the HD-DVD Soundtrack are DD+ only. Microsoft knows about this bug (search this forum and you will see) but fails to acknowledge the bug (call their hotline and you will hear). Even if we get the DTS encoder update in some distant future this DD+ decoding bug might still persist. Because Microsoft does not care that they deliver a broken product to their customers. If they would care, the least to do would be to acknowledge the problem - even if they do not plan to fix it at all.


BTW if you are interested in a bug fix: Call Microsoft and tell them! Otherwise they do NOTHING!

You have a point but I think you're overstating your case. Microsoft does know about the problem, has acknowledged it and the fix is in the pipeline. In addition to improving the dynamic range of the DD+ to DD conversion, the patch will give us the option of converting to full-rate DTS, which should be a noticeable improvement over plain DD.

In the meantime, there seems to be a range of opinion on how bad the problem really is. Some don't notice it much at all and say the Xbox HD DVD audio is fine. Some see big differences on some discs and none on others. On the discs that offer alternate audio tracks (and I suspect it's more than the 10 percent you allow,) the sound is good to very good.

My own experiences lies somewhere in the middle. I have a decent Yamaha/Definitive Technology 5.1 system fed by the optical output from the 360. When I can pick a TrueHD or DTS track on an HD DVD it sounds strong and clear. The DD+ tracks vary with the disc and mix, of course. Most are OK but underwhelming.

The posts I've read in this forum from Amir and other insiders say the patch is complete and being tested. There is no scheduled release date, but it's not a matter of life and death to me.

In the meantime, I wouldn't advise anyone to dump their add-on or hold off on buying one. It's still one of the best AV bargains ever, IMHO.

This means the sound the xbox generates vom DD+ is much, much inferior to the sound of a mediocre DD from a standard DVD. The buggy DD+ decoder overly compresses the sound, dynamics are completly wiped out, music and emotions get killed.
as long as your not exaggerating. "emotions get killed" ????? lmao

I picked up the add-on over the weekend. Have it hooked up to a Sony KDL-40V2500 over VGA. The Sony does 1080p thru VGA (undocumented) and HDMI, not component. Need to do a picture comparison of VGA vs. Component - VGA looks great so far, but there are limited color tweaks available vs. compoment.

So far a SD World Trade Center DVD looked great over VGA (perhaps slightly washed, but clear). And King Kong was phenomenal. (However, I think I prefer Xbox games over component on my set.)

Anyone have comments/comparisons of the add-on as far as:
- VGA (1080p) vs. compoment (at 1080i)
- SD DVD performance/upscaling

I have to correct the part about the DD+ reencoded to DD sounds worlds better than standard DD. The Toshiba Players can do this but the xbox fails.

I disagree. As a test: I have Tokyo Drift, which is a Combo. I can flip sides and listen to DD (SD-DVD) and DD+ (HD-DVD). The HD-DVD side sounds much, much clearer, smoother. More like real sound, and not something thats been compressed and decompressed and had smooth waveforms replaced with harsh approximations.

Sure, people are complaining about how the audio is decoded and mixed, but to me the DD+ audio still knocks the socks off the DD audio, its less artificial sounding, even if I have to bump up the volume a few notches.

Please forgive me if this has already been asked/answered in this or some other thread, but can anyone give me a definitive answer on my absolute best PQ with the HD-DVD add-on, an HD-DVD movie (say, King Kong) and the Samsung 56" DLP from 2 years back? (Sorry, I am at work and cannot remember the exact model number, but I do know that it has a VGA input.)

*Edit* One chunk of info I forgot to include was that my DLP will not throw a 1080p picture, it's limited to 720p/1080i.

TIA.

Ryan

I disagree. As a test: I have Tokyo Drift, which is a Combo. I can flip sides and listen to DD (SD-DVD) and DD+ (HD-DVD). The HD-DVD side sounds much, much clearer, smoother. More like real sound, and not something thats been compressed and decompressed and had smooth waveforms replaced with harsh approximations.

Sure, people are complaining about how the audio is decoded and mixed, but to me the DD+ audio still knocks the socks off the DD audio, its less artificial sounding, even if I have to bump up the volume a few notches.

if anyone wants definitive proof that the xbox 360 audio decoding of dd+ tracks is messed up, play the SD-DVD of Mission Impossible 3 and watch the bridge/missile scene on your 360 hd-dvd player. then watch the same scene with the DD+ track on the HD-DVD. the difference is night and day - the SD audio is much much better.

You have a point but I think you're overstating your case. Microsoft does know about the problem, has acknowledged it and the fix is in the pipeline. In addition to improving the dynamic range of the DD+ to DD conversion, the patch will give us the option of converting to full-rate DTS, which should be a noticeable improvement over plain DD.

In the meantime, there seems to be a range of opinion on how bad the problem really is. Some don't notice it much at all and say the Xbox HD DVD audio is fine. Some see big differences on some discs and none on others. On the discs that offer alternate audio tracks (and I suspect it's more than the 10 percent you allow,) the sound is good to very good.

My own experiences lies somewhere in the middle. I have a decent Yamaha/Definitive Technology 5.1 system fed by the optical output from the 360. When I can pick a TrueHD or DTS track on an HD DVD it sounds strong and clear. The DD+ tracks vary with the disc and mix, of course. Most are OK but underwhelming.

The posts I've read in this forum from Amir and other insiders say the patch is complete and being tested. There is no scheduled release date, but it's not a matter of life and death to me.

In the meantime, I wouldn't advise anyone to dump their add-on or hold off on buying one. It's still one of the best AV bargains ever, IMHO.Amen..! Enjoy it and the fix from MS is on the way..!

Please forgive me if this has already been asked/answered in this or some other thread, but can anyone give me a definitive answer on my absolute best PQ with the HD-DVD add-on, an HD-DVD movie (say, King Kong) and the Samsung 56" DLP from 2 years back? (Sorry, I am at work and cannot remember the exact model number, but I do know that it has a VGA input.)

*Edit* One chunk of info I forgot to include was that my DLP will not throw a 1080p picture, it's limited to 720p/1080i.

Anyone have comments/comparisons of the add-on as far as:
- VGA (1080p) vs. compoment (at 1080i)
- SD DVD performance/upscaling

On my 720p projector (Benq) I get a nice little improvement overall (color/sharpness) after I replaced component with VGA (although the component was fine). Upscaling of SD-DVD is an improvement as well and looks clearly better than feeding 480p directly to the projector.

Only way to get 'definitive answer on VGA vs component is to try it on your specific display.

DD+ audio results on 360 addon varies from disk to disk, some good, some ok and a few are indeed clearly lacking punch. I need to try a few alternate audio tracks as I haven't taken the time to really check which of my disks have the DTS or TruHD tracks...

Yes, it would use the same connections as the console itself, just plug the USB to the console (preferably to the back as its out of the way, if you're using the wireless adapter you can clip it to the back of the HD-DVD drive as it has a built in hub) and plug in the power mini-brick (think laptop power brick or smaller, it's almost as small as my cell charger). A quick software update later and you're in business.

The audio will be noticably better, just not "as good" as 5.1 analog or HDMI PCM 5.1. DD+ or TruHD re-encoded to 640kbps DD sounds worlds better than 384 and 440kbps DD encodes from standard DVDs. Whenever the DTS output update comes along, you'll have the option of full rate DTS instead of 640kbps DD for the audio.

HDMI only does you good if your receiver can take in PCM 5.1 via HDMI - if you have a receiver with HDMI I would hope it would, however. Mine doesn't have HDMI anything, but has 2 optical and 2 coax digital inputs, two components etc's, and I'm using VGA for upscaling (and using a 19" monitor until my CRT projector is up and running) so I'm hardly hurting for inputs.


Thanks for the response. So it sounds like the audio will be improved over regular DVDs playing on the 360, but not great until MS unleashes that new patch. Also, the full rate DTS will be better than the DD+? It won't be better than the TrueHD correct?

As for the HDMI, no, my receiver is a home theater type, the only digital input is a optical, no HDMI anywhere, however my TV has it.

Thanks for the response. So it sounds like the audio will be improved over regular DVDs playing on the 360, but not great until MS unleashes that new patch. Also, the full rate DTS will be better than the DD+? It won't be better than the TrueHD correct?

As for the HDMI, no, my receiver is a home theater type, the only digital input is a optical, no HDMI anywhere, however my TV has it.

The Full Rate DTS will be at 1.5MB, as for TrueHD your not going to get the uncompressed audio until either Microsoft releases some kind of HDMI adapter (unlikely unless they are simply developing it and won't announce), or more likely if MS releases an analog audio / component / optical adapter for HD-DVD buffs.

However the TrueHD audio tracks sound superior to standard DVD, at least to me it does on the discs that I have that support the format. This is even with the down conversion to DD 5.1 at 640KB, once the DTS encoder is finished I'm pretty certain that it will sound awesome.

Batman begins definitely sounds better via the TrueHD track, since I live in an apartment and dont have a subwoofer, the improvement is subtle at 640KB but the audio is definitely clearer and the soundfield more pronounced. I'm sure that once I have heard the full uncompressed audio I too will get spoiled and would be disappointed with anything less. But for the moment I don't feel like spending $400 to $500 dollars on a new DVD Player when the 360 does a pretty decent job.

I hope that the update will be released soon as I am looking forward to seeing what improvements they are going to introduce to the HD-DVD Playback. If MS is smart they will not sit on their laurels and will keep improving the interface, and maybe even work with HD-DVD authors to incorporate special features only available via the 360 which would be cool.

TimT

as long as your not exaggerating. "emotions get killed" ????? lmao


Yes, it does kill emotions. You should compare Corpse Bride HD-DVD on the addon to Corpse Bride DVD. It is obvious.

In one scene the corpse bride sings a song that starts with something like " I can touch a burning candle, but I feel no pain...". This is a very sad song, the sadness is supported by some heavy bass effects that go straight into your stomach. This bass is just missing when you play the HD version on the addon, because it is muted by the broken decoder. Even if you crank up the volume until the rather silent song becomes a dinosaur like screaming, the bass is not there. On the xbox addon: it is gone. Destroyed. Away. It is an ex-bass. A late bass.... Sorry, I was just thinking about a Monty Python sketch. And yes! This addon is very much like Pythons dead parrot. I tell MS, this parrot is dead - they say, no it is not. It is just sleeping.... and so on... ridiculus.

Then there are some "scary" moments in the movie, e.g. when the corpse bride is punching her way out of the ground. Or Viktor is climbing up a wall and suddenly touches her foot. My couch in shaking in these scenes on the SD version - this is intense! - on the HD version via addon... just some mellow knocking, no particular effect at all, one does not really care about what is happening in the picture.

The music score in the end "A wedding, a
wedding, we're gonna have a wedding..." is so much fun in the SD version but on the addon - it is dead. No dynamics - no emotions - it is dead music! Why do you think are there such things in classic music like "forte" and "piano" - it is so horrible to erase the differences between loud an silent by some stupid, broken decoder.


Beethoven and Mozart would turn in their graves if they would hear what the xbox addon is doing to this wonderful Danny Elfman music score!


BTW I called MS for the second time. They forgot to call me back. Yeah right. But they promised again to call me back as soon as the right person is available. Yeah right. I guess I have to call them again in a week. But then, it is them who pays for my call...from a cell phone.


The xbox addon could be such a wonderful thing if they would just fix this stupid little software bug. It is just a stupid parameter in the codec - you can put it either on full dynamics or else in night mode with no dynamics. It should not be that hard to find this parameter in the software and to put the right number in place of the wrong number. And about delivering the fix - MS should know by now how to do this. They have done it often enough already.

I don't care about DTS, I only want my DD to work and I would already be happy and I would tell everybody to buy a xbox with the addon. But right now I find myself on a different kind of crusade.


My next moves will be:

- set MS a legally valid deadline to fix a broken product. Costs me probably 10 bucks, but this is a good investment if I have to ask for my money back (for xbox and addon) in order to get a Toshiba

- I wonder around how many corners I have to go in order to know someone who knows someone who knows someone who works for a newspaper and who likes to dicuss the topic "Microsoft delivers DD minus instead of DD plus" or "Nice new HD world: Microsoft HD addon delivers inferior sound to DVD" or "When did Microsoft stop to care about their customers". Hmmh, maybe I can even find someone from these high tech computer geek shows on TV. That would be fun.

Beethoven and Mozart would turn in their graves if they would hear what the xbox addon is doing to this wonderful Danny Elfman music score!


I just got this add-on so I did a comparison and would have to agree. Of course, I would think Beethoven and Mozart would be too astounded by electricity and electronics and hearing their music coming out of anything but a live orchestra to bother rolling over.

Kind of goofy, but. :p
I listen to the HTguys every week. They reviewed the 360 Addon on Tuesday 01/02. They said they weren't WOW'd by King Kong. So I emailed and suggested Chron Of Riddick. Today on the podcast, they mention me suggesting Chron Of Riddick. (Curtis) So hopefully this gets HD-DVD more exposure, because HTguys are in everyones computer! Great Podcast, you're missing out if you don't listen to these guys! www.htguys.com

http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.engadget.com/media/2007/01/xbox_zephyr.jpg (http://www.engadget.com/2007/01/05/the-second-xbox-360-revealed-codename-zephyr/)

finally! wow I bet there will be some pissed off xbox 360 owners - I hope they have an upgrade plan

finally! wow I bet there will be some pissed off xbox 360 owners - I hope they have an upgrade plan
I highly doubt they'd have an upgrade plan.

Note also that there is no optical out port. I'm not sure, but the size of the current AV cable would probably block that HDMI port, so it would be a problem. If so, either they could move the HDMI port a bit further away, or else release an optical-only cable for the AV port. That optical out cable would either be a $19.99 add-on item, or else included in the box (along with the included normal AV cable). The HDMI cable would be sold separately of course.

BuGsArEtAsTy , is this an actual picture of a 360 with HDMI. So are people who have the 360 already and want HDMI screwed.

BuGsArEtAsTy , is this an actual picture of a 360 with HDMI. So are people who have the 360 already and want HDMI screwed.
Click on the above pic to see the article.

Obviously, this is rumour until MS says otherwise, but at least it's not an obvious Photochop job. OTOH, even if it did exist, it could just be a prototype that wouldn't be released for quite some time.

For me it's kinda irrelevant though for the time being, as my main TV doesn't support DVI or HDMI anyway.

I was wonder which would be a better purchase for me I have a Samsung 42inch 4253 plasma and I plan on watching mostly sd DVD on it. How is the upconverting on the Xbox hd player?

Yes, it does kill emotions. You should compare Corpse Bride HD-DVD on the addon to Corpse Bride DVD. It is obvious.

In one scene the corpse bride sings a song that starts with something like " I can touch a burning candle, but I feel no pain...". This is a very sad song, the sadness is supported by some heavy bass effects that go straight into your stomach. This bass is just missing when you play the HD version on the addon, because it is muted by the broken decoder. Even if you crank up the volume until the rather silent song becomes a dinosaur like screaming, the bass is not there. On the xbox addon: it is gone. Destroyed. Away. It is an ex-bass. A late bass.... Sorry, I was just thinking about a Monty Python sketch. And yes! This addon is very much like Pythons dead parrot. I tell MS, this parrot is dead - they say, no it is not. It is just sleeping.... and so on... ridiculus.

Then there are some "scary" moments in the movie, e.g. when the corpse bride is punching her way out of the ground. Or Viktor is climbing up a wall and suddenly touches her foot. My couch in shaking in these scenes on the SD version - this is intense! - on the HD version via addon... just some mellow knocking, no particular effect at all, one does not really care about what is happening in the picture.

The music score in the end "A wedding, a
wedding, we're gonna have a wedding..." is so much fun in the SD version but on the addon - it is dead. No dynamics - no emotions - it is dead music! Why do you think are there such things in classic music like "forte" and "piano" - it is so horrible to erase the differences between loud an silent by some stupid, broken decoder.


Beethoven and Mozart would turn in their graves if they would hear what the xbox addon is doing to this wonderful Danny Elfman music score!


BTW I called MS for the second time. They forgot to call me back. Yeah right. But they promised again to call me back as soon as the right person is available. Yeah right. I guess I have to call them again in a week. But then, it is them who pays for my call...from a cell phone.


The xbox addon could be such a wonderful thing if they would just fix this stupid little software bug. It is just a stupid parameter in the codec - you can put it either on full dynamics or else in night mode with no dynamics. It should not be that hard to find this parameter in the software and to put the right number in place of the wrong number. And about delivering the fix - MS should know by now how to do this. They have done it often enough already.

I don't care about DTS, I only want my DD to work and I would already be happy and I would tell everybody to buy a xbox with the addon. But right now I find myself on a different kind of crusade.


My next moves will be:

- set MS a legally valid deadline to fix a broken product. Costs me probably 10 bucks, but this is a good investment if I have to ask for my money back (for xbox and addon) in order to get a Toshiba

- I wonder around how many corners I have to go in order to know someone who knows someone who knows someone who works for a newspaper and who likes to dicuss the topic "Microsoft delivers DD minus instead of DD plus" or "Nice new HD world: Microsoft HD addon delivers inferior sound to DVD" or "When did Microsoft stop to care about their customers". Hmmh, maybe I can even find someone from these high tech computer geek shows on TV. That would be fun.Enjoy what you have for now, and MS is working very hard on the firmware.

Just like any new products on the market, there will be bugs and rattles in the system. It is important that we feedback to them. It is not like MS not doing anything to fix it. The product is barely hit the market. Please give them sometime, and they'll fix it..!

I was wonder which would be a better purchase for me I have a Samsung 42inch 4253 plasma and I plan on watching mostly sd DVD on it. How is the upconverting on the Xbox hd player?If that is the case, I would stick with upconversion DVD player. Here are your choices: =6:372]DVD Player (http://www.pricegrabber.com/search_attrib.php/page_id=75/popup5[)

guys, take a look at this ;) It should help out a lot of you.
hdmi 360 (http://www.engadget.com/2007/01/05/the-second-xbox-360-revealed-codename-zephyr/)

guys, take a look at this ;) It should help out a lot of you.
hdmi 360 (http://www.engadget.com/2007/01/05/the-second-xbox-360-revealed-codename-zephyr/)
Is there an echo in here? (http://avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=9364432&&#post9364432) ;)

guys, take a look at this ;) It should help out a lot of you.
hdmi 360 (http://www.engadget.com/2007/01/05/the-second-xbox-360-revealed-codename-zephyr/)It wouldn't help a thing in the current Xbox 360.

If MS can provide HDMI cable and the firmware for the current Xbox 360, it would help the current owner.

I now own both the XB360 add on and the Toshiba HD-A1. As far as video goes I see very little difference between the two. I'm using HDMI for the Toshiba.

The audio sounds fine to me on both although I'm not nearly as particular in that department.

It is kind of nice to queue up a disc in the XB360 player and not have to wait forever for it to start.

Is there an echo in here? (http://avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=9364432&&#post9364432) ;)
no, but there is a link to actualy rumor mill info in my link and not just a pic. I just posted this here to help out everyone else, I do not follow this thread because of all of the bitching going on.

It wouldn't help a thing in the current Xbox 360.

If MS can provide HDMI cable and the firmware for the current Xbox 360, it would help the current owner.
I am almost positive it has been proven that the current 360 hardware (mainly the av breakout panel) cannot do hdmi output. Sorry.

It wouldn't help a thing in the current Xbox 360.
eBhey is your friend. It is the ultimate exchange program. :p


no, but there is a link to actualy rumor mill info in my link and not just a pic.
Is there an echo in here? (http://avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=9364909&&#post9364909) ;)

I am almost positive it has been proven that the current 360 hardware (mainly the av breakout panel) cannot do hdmi output. Sorry.For me, I am happy with the current component video and optical cables. If MS can provide a firmware to fix the audio output, I'll be happy. And they are working on it..! Xbox 360 can support HDMI, but will it? (http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2006/10/04/xbox-360-can-support-hdmi-but-will-it/)

no, but there is a link to actualy rumor mill info in my link and not just a pic. I just posted this here to help out everyone else, I do not follow this thread because of all of the bitching going on.The link is included within photo..!

I have the Sony KDL-40V2500 and keep going back and forth between component and VGA for the 360 HD-DVD. I can't decide which I like better. The colors seem more "real" over component for King Kong, for example, but perhaps a tad sharper over VGA (maybe because its a 1080p DVD into a 1080p connection, vs. a 1080i component connection?). Gaming I think I like component better, but switching cables is a PITA. Almost makes me want to ditch this and get a standalone upconverter and not worry about HD-DVD for a while.

I don't think I'll be upgrading my 360 just for HDMI, I don't even have a HDMI amp.

If they would release VGA and component cables with 5.1 analogue connections I would be happy.

there is already is the vga and component cables with 5.1 for the xbox 360.

therer already is the vga and component cables with 5.1 for the xbox 360.
He said 5.1 analogue.

any hope for a hack wich will allow xbox 360 HD DVD owners to upconvert DVD's to 1080i over component. like the LG LDA players?

so the current 360 has optical out, but no hdmi. the zypher 360 will have hdmi but no optical? is this correct? if so, that sucks. my new receiver doesnt take hdmi. am i screwed??

so the current 360 has optical out, but no hdmi. the zypher 360 will have hdmi but no optical? is this correct? if so, that sucks. my new receiver doesnt take hdmi. am i screwed??
The pic doesn't confirm that at all. Like I suggested before, if this pic is accurate (and that's a big if), it's still quite possible to have both HDMI and optical. Perhaps MS would charge $20 for the optical cable, assuming the current AV cable doesn't fit with the HDMI cable installed.

Or MS could simply make sure that the HDMI port and AV port are physically far enough apart in the final release model so that both the HDMI cable and the AV cable set could be attached at the same time.

Check out the following post for a video and proof of the HDMI XBox connection:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=781903

Check out the following post for a video and proof of the HDMI XBox connection:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=781903
Ok, here is the direct link to the video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcACuy4x8nA).

It's a pity they didn't show the config screen. No mention of optical out either.

Hi, after reading 75+ pages of this thread I went for it and ordered my Xbox360 HDDVD Add-on. I just got it this weekend and I have to say I'm really happy so far!

I bought 'Spy Game' in HDDVD, and since I already had it in DVD for a while I decided to take some comparison screenshots. I know it's been done before but I hadn't seen anyone do this particular movie and I thought it might be interesting to have another data point. I setup my camera on a tripod and A/B switched with the DVD in my Oppo 971h and the HDDVD in the xbox 360. The oppo is connected via HDMI and the Xbox through component cables.

Some thoughts:

* The drive for me is silent, and the XBox360 is very quiet fan-wise while running. I have it on the floor just behind the couch.
* The remote is great, I really like it.. better quality than I expected.
* Even though I didn't order until now, it came with King Kong! (from amazon). I was under the impression that was only the first run but I guess not!
* Comparing to my Oppo 971h, it's slower to FF/RW and stuff. But the menus work great and there are zero hiccups during playback!
* I did notice a slightly decreased dynamic range of audio, but at the same time, I am aware that there is more activity in all the channels too.. Not sure if that is just because the sound is remastered for HDDVD. I would be interested in seeing how DTS output changes things when/if that shows up.

And then my question(s):

So my projector is a Panasonic AE700, 720p native. Of course, it will scale 1080i down to 720p. After some messing around, it seems that setting the Xbox360 to 1080i looks better slightly than 720p. 720p looks a bit softer overall. Is this because the scaler in the projector is probably better than the one in the Xbox? Unfortunately, when set to 1080i, there are some intermittent 'interlace wiggles' where it almost looks like the projector took the wrong 2 fields to make a frame. It doesn't happen often. Any idea how to avoid that?


Thanks in advance for any help. Here is a sample chunk of an image comparison... Check out http://www.stesoft.com/hdvsdvd.html for the comparison screenshots.

EDIT: -- fixed to work in IE.. it uses javascript mouseover to change the images.


DVD:
http://home.comcast.net/~pjpjpj/example_dvd.jpg

HDDVD:
http://home.comcast.net/~pjpjpj/example_hd.jpg

Thanks!!

ok. im probably setting my self up for a really big bashing here, but i dont feel like reading through 100 plus pages of thread.....

so here it goes.
Has anyone successfully mounted this in their PC yet??
i mean cracked er open and used the mini atapi adapter thing and mounted it in a 5.25" drive bay?

If yes, is it really good or does it have unforseen pitfalls??
thanks, sorry for bein really late on this.

Apache.

ok. im probably setting my self up for a really big bashing here, but i dont feel like reading through 100 plus pages of thread.....

so here it goes.
Has anyone successfully mounted this in their PC yet??
i mean cracked er open and used the mini atapi adapter thing and mounted it in a 5.25" drive bay?

If yes, is it really good or does it have unforseen pitfalls??
thanks, sorry for bein really late on this.

Apache.
Mounting it internally seems possible, but it apparently uses a laptop IDE connector as you suggest. Now laptop connectors are only $5 on eBhey, but there a couple of knobs on the Toshiba drive that make it difficult to find a laptop connector that fits.

So, you're better off just using USB2. Works fine.

ok. im probably setting my self up for a really big bashing here, but i dont feel like reading through 100 plus pages of thread.....

so here it goes.
Has anyone successfully mounted this in their PC yet??
i mean cracked er open and used the mini atapi adapter thing and mounted it in a 5.25" drive bay?

If yes, is it really good or does it have unforseen pitfalls??
thanks, sorry for bein really late on this.

Apache.You'll need PowerDVD Ultra and a proper cable for the HD-DVD-ROM..you might want to check out this thread: Xbox HD-DVD add-on on PC (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=748426)

PJPJPJ,
It definately shows the increase in resolvable detail. These are perfect screen shots to show when people say they see no difference. I have a friend with a 42" Plasma that sits 15 feet back and he can see no difference. Neither can I because he is so far away. I told he needs to sit closer or buy a larger screen. This proves the resolution is in the details.

Your Scaler/Deinterlacer in the 700 series maybe similar to my LC series RPTV. Images seem to have a crisper look at 1080i than 720p. My TV throws away i full frame leaving me with an upconverted 540p frame. Techically for the most resolution I should be outputting 720p, but Panny must have made some internal calibrations to 1080i to give color a better look I guess.

The site you posted must no longer work, as no images appear.

ok. im probably setting my self up for a really big bashing here, but i dont feel like reading through 100 plus pages of thread.....

so here it goes.
Has anyone successfully mounted this in their PC yet??
i mean cracked er open and used the mini atapi adapter thing and mounted it in a 5.25" drive bay?

If yes, is it really good or does it have unforseen pitfalls??
thanks, sorry for bein really late on this.

Apache.

Maybe I'm crazy, but you gave me the thought wondering if it's possible to mount the HD-DVD drive in the XBOX 360 itself. Hmm...

PJPJPJ,
Your Scaler/Deinterlacer in the 700 series maybe similar to my LC series RPTV. Images seem to have a crisper look at 1080i than 720p. My TV throws away i full frame leaving me with an upconverted 540p frame. Techically for the most resolution I should be outputting 720p, but Panny must have made some internal calibrations to 1080i to give color a better look I guess.

The site you posted must no longer work, as no images appear.


Yeah... I have a 34" CRT Tube HDTV downstairs and I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be able to tell much of a difference (other than the transfer of some of these movies seems to be of higher quality overall). But any digital display capable of displaying HDTV should be able to show the differences here.

So you're saying your scaler just upconverts the 1080i field to make 540p? In that case, I'd think that 720p from the xbox would look better. I was thining my projector is somehow combining the two fields together (1920x1080 image), but then has to scale it into the 720p native resolution of the LCD, and that the projector might be better at scaling down the image than the xbox.

As for the site, it still seems to work.. http://www.stesoft.com/hdvsdvd.html But it requires Javascript because it's the kind where you mouse-over the image to make it change.

-- Edit: DOH it doesn't work in I.E. at all. -- Edit: I fixed it ..

Yea,
From what I understand (I may be wrong) the deinterlacer has 2 choices. Bob or Weave. Bob is where the first field is held and the 2nd field is tossed. It then upconverts the left over 540p field and scales to 720p. That is how my Panny PT-50LC13 does it.

Weave is where the deinterlacer creates an internal 1080p frame of the two interlaced fields.. It "weaves" them together in a sense, then scales to 720p.

Like I mentioned, I assume Panny is doing some kind of edge enhancement and better color calibration on a 1080i signal which is why I perceive it to be better.

When I force my SA-8300HD DVR to output 720p from a 1080i signal the image onscreen appears soft. Also, the lower right emblem of the station like TNT or CBS has jagged edges and appears squished than when I send a 1080i signal to my TV. My cable box may have a poorer quality scaler and/or deinterlacer in it also.

Then again, my TV's scaler may attempt to rescale 720p and screw it all up, who knows!!!

In the meantime, I wouldn't advise anyone to dump their add-on or hold off on buying one. It's still one of the best AV bargains ever, IMHO.

Totally -- you can buy this and wait out the format war until you are ready to invest "big bucks" on a standalone player. I don't think I'd have HD-DVD if it were not for this... (and it's far less flakey than the Toshiba players).

JW

i think hd dvds are better to invest in right now that blu ray, cuz dont all hd dvds also have a regular dvd in the package as well??? am i wrong?

i think hd dvds are better to invest in right now that blu ray, cuz dont all hd dvds also have a regular dvd in the package as well??? am i wrong?
yes, not all are combo disks. and combo disks aren't a selling point IMHO

yes, not all are combo disks. and combo disks aren't a selling point IMHO

Agreed. They raise the price $5-$10 per disk. I'd rather they stay as HD-DVD or DVD.

Deezul

Agreed. They raise the price $5-$10 per disk. I'd rather they stay as HD-DVD or DVD.

Deezul
I second that

The link is included within photo..!

For me, I am happy with the current component video and optical cables. If MS can provide a firmware to fix the audio output, I'll be happy. And they are working on it..! Xbox 360 can support HDMI, but will it?

How many posts can you make about the same thing?
By the way, that link proves nothing. Their PLATFORM is flexible enough to support hdmi, however they have had to redesign the ENTIRE thing in order to get hdmi to work now. A new motherboard and av breakout panel is not exactly an easy fix for MS. Either way I hope the new 360 has all of rumored goodies so I can get one when they launch.

i think hd dvds are better to invest in right now that blu ray, cuz dont all hd dvds also have a regular dvd in the package as well??? am i wrong?You're wrong..! There are very view movies w/ combination package.

HD-DVD is a better investment because it is better value, and HD-DVD identification sounded better than blu-ray (stingray). Stingray is not a well known name, and it is too fishy. HD-DVD PQ is better, and AQ is comparable.

I preferred a well known Bill Gates (MS) over Nobuyuki Idei and Sir Howard Stringer (Sony)..!

The link is included within photo..!This comment I referred to BuGsArEtAsTy's enclosed photo. You posted the same link as him, and his link is included in his photo. He keeps saying "Is there an echo?", but you never get it.


How many posts can you make about the same thing?
By the way, that link proves nothing. Their PLATFORM is flexible enough to support hdmi, however they have had to redesign the ENTIRE thing in order to get hdmi to work now. A new motherboard and av breakout panel is not exactly an easy fix for MS. Either way I hope the new 360 has all of rumored goodies so I can get one when they launch. MS can easily produce HDMI, but why? They can sale their Xbox 360 without it. You and I and million others bought it without HDMI, and I don't need HDMI. I am happy with the component video. The PQ is great for me, but they need to provide the firmware to fix the AQ. Another thing, they want to keep the price down. It is their advantage over PS. They'll always keep new ideas for the next console.

MS can easily produce HDMI, but why? They can sale their Xbox 360 without it. You and I and million others bought it without HDMI, and I don't need HDMI. I am happy with the component video. The PQ is great for me, but they need to provide the firmware to fix the AQ. Another thing, they want to keep the price down. It is their advantage over PS. They'll always keep new ideas for the next console.
I can't use HDMI, but I definitely see the advantage of HDMI on some systems.

A 360 release with HDMI will be a very big piece of news IMHO, and it will make many, many people very happy.

I do agree on the price issue though. I suspect one of the reasons they didn't release the 360 initially with HDMI was the cost, although other reasons such as handshaking issues, etc. would have factored into it as well. HDMI could have held up time-to-market. However, with a component-only model out there now (with 10 million+ units shipped), they have time to work through these issues. If and when an HDMI model will come I dunno, but I think a possible release date is late fall 2007, in time for the Xmas 2007 sales period.

The hdmi will be a push for the av enthusiasts, not the normal gamer. the hdmi will finally get rid of (hopefully) the 1080p compatibility issues for everyone with hdmi ports. I no longer will have to deal with the washed out vga colors, and the hdmi audio should please the audiophiles as well. I have heard there is no way in hell the hd-dvd will be internal, which is fine with me since I already have one, so that will be a wait and see type of deal. I am wanting the cooler processor, bigger hd, and hdmi though.
My biggest complaint would be the output of audio with hmdi. Can I still use toslink when using hdmi video? If not I need to pony up $250-400 for a decent hdmi receiver.

I know that the drive in the console makes an obnoxious amount of noise. I'm just talking about fan noise while the system is at the dashboard, or playing an HD-DVD. I have a launch unit and recently acquired the HD-DVD add-on. Love the drive, but the fan noise from the console is really killing me. Throughout any moderately quiet part of a movie, I can hear the fans constantly whirring and droning away, frequently changing pitch/speed. I hear so many accounts of people saying their consoles are "whisper quiet" when the system is at the dashboard, and I'm wondering if maybe I'm just overly sensitive to these things, or something is wrong with my console, because my console is anything but "whisper quiet" UNLESS I'm playing a standard DVD. I sit about 4-5 feet away from the system, and aside from the air purifier in my room, I'd say the 360 is the noisiest piece of hardware I own, even if it's just sitting at the dashboard.

I sit about 4-5 feet away from the system, and aside from the air purifier in my room, I'd say the 360 is the noisiest piece of hardware I own, even if it's just sitting at the dashboard.

I had a launch 360 and had to replace it when I got the three red lights. The new unit I have is much quieter. The DVD-ROM drive was replaced with a different model that is a bit quieter. If you bought an extended warrenty, consider saying it "died" and swapping it for a new one. Just don't forget to keep your hard drive! :)

Deezul

My launch 360's fans weren't loud, and neither was my replacement's (started overheating and locking up post Fall update). Make sure there's plenty of air volume around the console that it can breathe, so that it doesn't have to run the fans full tilt. Also be sure there's ventilation behind it, so air can flow from the front to the back and out of the area..

I know that the drive in the console makes an obnoxious amount of noise. I'm just talking about fan noise while the system is at the dashboard, or playing an HD-DVD. I have a launch unit and recently acquired the HD-DVD add-on. Love the drive, but the fan noise from the console is really killing me. Throughout any moderately quiet part of a movie, I can hear the fans constantly whirring and droning away, frequently changing pitch/speed. I hear so many accounts of people saying their consoles are "whisper quiet" when the system is at the dashboard, and I'm wondering if maybe I'm just overly sensitive to these things, or something is wrong with my console, because my console is anything but "whisper quiet" UNLESS I'm playing a standard DVD. I sit about 4-5 feet away from the system, and aside from the air purifier in my room, I'd say the 360 is the noisiest piece of hardware I own, even if it's just sitting at the dashboard.

Same boat here. With no game of HD-DVD in the drive it is very quiet. Throw in an HD-DVD movie or play a game and the fans get load. I even tried to allow better air-flow by clearing the sides of the unit and elevating it and still makes a ton of fan noise. I'm going to play with it some more and if it keeps up, take it back. I did get the extended warranty so I may take a chance on a different one being more quiet.

JS

I know that the drive in the console makes an obnoxious amount of noise. I'm just talking about fan noise while the system is at the dashboard, or playing an HD-DVD. I have a launch unit and recently acquired the HD-DVD add-on. Love the drive, but the fan noise from the console is really killing me. Throughout any moderately quiet part of a movie, I can hear the fans constantly whirring and droning away, frequently changing pitch/speed. I hear so many accounts of people saying their consoles are "whisper quiet" when the system is at the dashboard, and I'm wondering if maybe I'm just overly sensitive to these things, or something is wrong with my console, because my console is anything but "whisper quiet" UNLESS I'm playing a standard DVD. I sit about 4-5 feet away from the system, and aside from the air purifier in my room, I'd say the 360 is the noisiest piece of hardware I own, even if it's just sitting at the dashboard.
4 ft? i'd hear my pretty well too if i was only 4 ft from it. any way to move it a little further from your viewing point?

I know that the drive in the console makes an obnoxious amount of noise. I'm just talking about fan noise while the system is at the dashboard, or playing an HD-DVD. I have a launch unit and recently acquired the HD-DVD add-on. Love the drive, but the fan noise from the console is really killing me. Throughout any moderately quiet part of a movie, I can hear the fans constantly whirring and droning away, frequently changing pitch/speed. I hear so many accounts of people saying their consoles are "whisper quiet" when the system is at the dashboard, and I'm wondering if maybe I'm just overly sensitive to these things, or something is wrong with my console, because my console is anything but "whisper quiet" UNLESS I'm playing a standard DVD. I sit about 4-5 feet away from the system, and aside from the air purifier in my room, I'd say the 360 is the noisiest piece of hardware I own, even if it's just sitting at the dashboard.Mine is quiet! You'll need a new console!

I can't here mine at 4-5ft while idling, but when I am playing a game or upconverting a dvd to 1080p, I can hear the fans and the disc spinning at the same distance. Which is no different than your average PC dvd-rom drive spinning. Or a stock CPU fan running near full speed to keep the cpu temps down when being worked hard. I really hope when the 65nm chips come out, combined with the newer quieter fans, all you'll hear is the drive spinning.

Does anyone know if the HD-DVD add-on can properly display 1080p24fps? I guess this it the ultimate PQ for a movie, since this is how all movies are filmed in.

One more question: disregarding any noise coming from the 360 itself, is the HD-DVD add-on expected to make some noise? I wouldn't say it's a noisy device, but I can definitely hear the disc whirring in there and am wondering if this is normal. I seem to have bad luck with hardware, so the slightest hint of a potential problem gets me nervous.

One more question: disregarding any noise coming from the 360 itself, is the HD-DVD add-on expected to make some noise? I wouldn't say it's a noisy device, but I can definitely hear the disc whirring in there and am wondering if this is normal. I seem to have bad luck with hardware, so the slightest hint of a potential problem gets me nervous.

My HD-DVD drive is pretty silent when it's running. It's been sitting on my computer desk literally right next to my mouse as I have been testing it out with my PC. Silent, I mean by not whirring loudly like the Xbox DVD drive does. The HD-DVD does make a tiny bit of noise, but even being 2 feet away it's hardly noticeable.

Talking about the 360 fans, my 360 is also very quiet. The only time it makes noise is when the drive spins up! But I have mine in a component rack with a glass front, so if the door is shut it's hardly audible.

Can the XBox 360 upconversion to 1080p through VGA compare to that of an upconversion DVD player, like the Oppo?

I can't here mine at 4-5ft while idling
From the same distance and further my 360 is really noisy. The internal fans are always on whether I'm just in the dash or doing something else and if the console has been turned off for ages and just turned on the fans come on straight away and never turn off, even if I stay in the dash. The internal DVD drive is much noisier than the fans when playing 360 games. My HD DVD player is virtually silent though, but the console ruins this with its own noise, particulary during quiet moments in films.

Can the XBox 360 upconversion to 1080p through VGA compare to that of an upconversion DVD player, like the Oppo? Please refer to this link:
Setup HDTV (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/906663/en-us?sd=xbox)

Does anyone know if the HD-DVD add-on can properly display 1080p24fps? I guess this it the ultimate PQ for a movie, since this is how all movies are filmed in. Please refer to this link:
Understanding HD DVD Resolutions (http://www.xbox.com/en-US/hardware/accessories/20061003-hddvd.htm)

Please refer to this link:
Setup HDTV (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/906663/en-us?sd=xbox)

Please refer to this link:
Understanding HD DVD Resolutions (http://www.xbox.com/en-US/hardware/accessories/20061003-hddvd.htm)

My question is not how to do it, but how good the quality of the upconversion through the 360 is compared to a standalone DVD upscaling player.

From the same distance and further my 360 is really noisy. The internal fans are always on whether I'm just in the dash or doing something else and if the console has been turned off for ages and just turned on the fans come on straight away and never turn off, even if I stay in the dash. The internal DVD drive is much noisier than the fans when playing 360 games. My HD DVD player is virtually silent though, but the console ruins this with its own noise, particulary during quiet moments in films.

That sounds exactly like my 360...I love the add-on but even at 10 feet away I can hear the 360 fans...

My question is not how to do it, but how good the quality of the upconversion through the 360 is compared to a standalone DVD upscaling player.It is comparable, but it required proper setting and adjustment through VGA. You’ll need the included link to set it up properly. For me, the standalone DVD is better for up-conversion. VGA works well on some HDTV and not so good on another.

That sounds exactly like my 360...I love the add-on but even at 10 feet away I can hear the 360 fans...You'll need a new console! My Xbox 360 is quieter than my HTPC, and it is barely noticeable.

You'll need a new console! My Xbox 360 is quieter than my HTPC, and it is barely noticeable.
What is the build date of your 360?

What is the build date of your 360?I am away from home!

What is the build date of your 360?
Mine was manufactured on 3 January 2006 and I bought the console on 17 January 2006.

I just recently bought a hd-dvd player for my xbox and now notice that there is intermittent skipping in the background noise every so often on hd-dvd movies, not if i put in a regular dvd, however. Has anyone else noticed this, or have any ideas on what to do.

You'll need a new console! My Xbox 360 is quieter than my HTPC, and it is barely noticeable.

My manufacture date is 6/26/2006...yeah - I'm curious what your build date is (if there is any pattern to it)...

I just recently bought a hd-dvd player for my xbox and now notice that there is intermittent skipping in the background noise every so often on hd-dvd movies, not if i put in a regular dvd, however. Has anyone else noticed this, or have any ideas on what to do.

Nothing remotely like that with mine.

My manufacture date is 6/26/2006...yeah - I'm curious what your build date is (if there is any pattern to it)...

Mine is a October build date and relatively quiet. It's not near silent by any means but unless the movie has a point with dead silence you can't hear the 360 from about 5-6 feet away.

I bought mine late Feb 06, but I think it had a Jan build date. Its nowhere near silent. One of these days I need to send it in because it has a bad drive with issues reading disks. Maybe I'll mention the very loud fans at that time and see if they swap them for some newer ones.

Has anyone watched Miami Vice on HD-DVD? It is really pixellated, especially in the dark scenes...

Is that normal?

Has anyone watched Miami Vice on HD-DVD? It is really pixellated, especially in the dark scenes...

Is that normal?

Yes, I have seen this too, and it is normal (for this hd-dvd)

Has anyone watched Miami Vice on HD-DVD? It is really pixellated, especially in the dark scenes...

Is that normal?

It was like that in the theater too. It's intentional. It isn't pixels, it's noise.

I have a 360 hd dvd addon from the USA. I have connected it to my pal console.
It will not read the king kong HD DVD that came with it. I called MS customer support *shudders* and they say its because its region coded.
I can only connect that player to an USA console for it to work.
problem is it plays all my standard dvd's flawlessly.
Are these players region coded or not because I didn't think they were now MS are telling me otherwise.

I have a 360 hd dvd addon from the USA. I have connected it to my pal console.
It will not read the king kong HD DVD that came with it. I called MS customer support *shudders* and they say its because its region coded.
I can only connect that player to an USA console for it to work.
problem is it plays all my standard dvd's flawlessly.
Are these players region coded or not because I didn't think they were now MS are telling me otherwise.

My add-on is a US version on a UK PAL 360 and it plays HD-DVD discs fine.
The 360 does all the region coding so SD discs will have to be your region but HD-DVD doesn't have region coding.
Try telling them it's a UK (or where ever your from) add-on.

The addon is not avalable in New Zealan/Oz yet so there goes that idea :)
I think its just faulty equipment if it won't read any hd dvd when connected to my PC than it has to be a hardware failure.

I am not sure if I missed a setup change or not, but....

I read through the various threads on the connectivity options and resolution benefits for the hd-dvd add on. I have been using component to my HL-S6188w with positive results for games, hd dvds and traditional dvds. I figured with all the positive feedback, what the *#@$, so off I went to get the MS VGA HD pak.

Installed, setup 360 to 1080p res, adjusted input settings (movie) and proceeded to adjust screen (left, right, top, bottom, then stretch).

Played game, looked good. Slightly better. Played traditional DVD (the Matrix). Looked weak. Blacks not very black, colors washed. Not good. Played HD-DVD King Kong. Colors seemed washed as well. Put in dynamic and made better, but still missing something.

Reconnected via Component and I must say that the PQ (colors, black) look better? What am I doing wrong?

Thanks,

Ted

Try calibrating the VGA input with Avia or DVE. The dynamic preset uses WAY too much contrast and washes out the blacks.

For movies you want to start with cinema and then adjust your brightness, contrast and color settings with the help of some good test patterns. You still may wind up preferring component, but at least you'll be comparing apples to apples.

Nothing, the VGA cable has issues.

Does anyone know if the HD-DVD add-on can properly display 1080p24fps? I guess this it the ultimate PQ for a movie, since this is how all movies are filmed in.
Yes, but only from an HTPC, not from the Xbox 360.

Yes, but only from an HTPC, not from the Xbox 360.

Doesn't do much good though as apparently the software HD DVD players are decidedly subpar atm.

Try calibrating the VGA input with Avia or DVE. The dynamic preset uses WAY too much contrast and washes out the blacks.

For movies you want to start with cinema and then adjust your brightness, contrast and color settings with the help of some good test patterns. You still may wind up preferring component, but at least you'll be comparing apples to apples.

Colors were washed out and blacks more grey in movie, standard and custom. Not Dynamic. I put the dynamic comment in to indicate the colors were better in dynamic.

Thanks,

Ted

can someone link me to a post that describes the vga issue for the 360. Some guy was specifically asking about this (why stuff looks washed out) and I could not find the post that refers to teh rgb levels that the vga signal is sending out.

I am getting ready to get a 360 with this add-on, but I'm concerned about the sound quality. Is there a major difference between this and the stand alone toshiba hddvd players? Also, will this player support anything more than 5.1?

Doesn't do much good though as apparently the software HD DVD players are decidedly subpar atm.

they have a few quirks with menu type stuff and UControl disaster, but I would hardly call the output subpar, 90%, at least, titles don't even have any issues at all worse than having to click off subtitles as soon as the movie starts. I'm getting a get 1080p pic out of a software player and it decodes TrueHD and everything else too.

I've got the HD-DVD add-on and it seems to be working fine. A strange thing I've noticed though, is that if I'm watching a movie, then I hit stop and power everything down, the HD-DVD drive seems to keep going for a little while after being powered down. If I get close to the player and listen, I can still hear the disc spinning in there (or maybe it's a fan) and I can feel the slight vibrations of the player going even though the power is off. Eventually, the disc does stop, but I'm wondering if it's normal for the player to keep "going" for a while after it's been powered down. Thanks for any answers.

Does anyone know if the HD-DVD add-on can properly display 1080p24fps? I guess this it the ultimate PQ for a movie, since this is how all movies are filmed in.

1080p is not how movies are filmed, 24fps is the standard framerate for a film, but 1080p is still a step down from actual film quality. You won't be reaching actual film quality until you reach 2K or 4K digital imagery, and I believe even that is still not exactly what film is able to recreate. Quite amazing when you have to realize film has been around for more than a century, of course alot of advances in film processing etc have made the quality even more clear.

As for your statement, 1080p at 24fps would be the best quality to output to a display that "properly" accepts that input. But be warned there are quite alot of TV sets that will mangle things depending on their feature sets.

Before you base your purchase (although it's pretty hard to go wrong with a $200 HD-DVD player) on 1080p at 24fps, I believe that someone will have to confirm that the VGA output (which is the only way to get 1080p out of the 360 at the moment) does indeed support 24fps.

On top of that of course your set would have to support VGA, and hopefully it has a good processor for the VGA input, then you have to hope that it's 100% compatible with Xbox360's VGA as some people have had issues with the VGA and certain TV Sets.

TimT

Nothing, the VGA cable has issues.

You forgot to finish your sentence with "for some sets"...I use the VGA with my Panny 9UK and it looks fantastic...and I can't even adjust color/tint when using the VGA input...

they have a few quirks with menu type stuff and UControl disaster, but I would hardly call the output subpar, 90%, at least, titles don't even have any issues at all worse than having to click off subtitles as soon as the movie starts. I'm getting a get 1080p pic out of a software player and it decodes TrueHD and everything else too.

According to the few that use it, the picture quality is subpar.

I just bought the HD add on and have it hooked up to my samsung 4695 via VGA, watching king kong right now and it LOOKS SICK!!!

"Sick" good? or "Sick" bad?

Old and not very hip

"Sick" good? or "Sick" bad?

Old and not very hip
I'm gonna go with 'Sick' good. ;)

"Sick" good? or "Sick" bad?

Old and not very hip


Jeesh, you must be old. ;) I'm 41 and got it.

I watched Boondog Saints las night with VGA and once again after playing with the settings Dynamic looked best by far.... Not sure why. In game mode the 360 looks best on Movie.

You want "sick" goood.... put in the standard DVD of "King Kong" and synch it with HD DVD of it. Switch back and forth. You think it looks better watching HD DVD... side by side its..... SICK!

Problems! The drive has been working fine. Today, the light on the eject button did not come on. The unit has power and I can manually open and close the tray. I checked if the xbox USB slot is working with my Creative ZEN and it sees it fine. I next tried connecting the Creative to the HD DVD - the Xbox does not see the ZEN (or the HD Drive). I tried connecting the HD Drive drive to the front USB port as well. No luck there either.
Any ideas or suggestions?

hahaha, SICK GOOD!!!!!

Picture looked really good to me.

I was using the VGA cables from microsoft and a monoprice optical toslink for sound.

My add-on continues to "hum" after it and the 360 have been turned off...is that normal? It lasts for about 30 seconds...

My add-on continues to "hum" after it and the 360 have been turned off...is that normal? It lasts for about 30 seconds...

I think mine does too.... is it really worth stressing over?

Turns off at same time-no sound.

My add-on continues to "hum" after it and the 360 have been turned off...is that normal? It lasts for about 30 seconds...
the add-on has no power switch, as long as it's plugged in it's getting power. mine does the same thing.

I just bought the HD add on and have it hooked up to my samsung 4695 via VGA, watching king kong right now and it LOOKS SICK!!!You'll need a medicine!

My add-on continues to "hum" after it and the 360 have been turned off...is that normal? It lasts for about 30 seconds...
Same here too. Must be normal. Don't worry about it.

Same here too. Must be normal. Don't worry about it.

Good...I won't then :)...I am a little bummed with how loud everything is though...I've had to exchange the add-on twice (for different reasons) but all three are pretty loud during movies...and that's on top of the 360 fan noise...

I hooked mine via the vga cable. I sat 4 feet from my pio-503cmx to watch King Kong and couldn't see any artifacts. The picture is awesome and i don't use this word casually. I then watched unforgiven via component. the picture looked ok in 525p. Then I switched to vga 720p and WOW! a world of difference. I'm looking forward to re-enjoying my dvd collection.

Thanks for the testimonial. Usually when VGA gives great results, people go off the forum to stare hypnotized at their TV set. When it shifts the picture an inch to one side or the colors look dull, they come back here for multiple posts claiming VGA is broken on the Xbox.

Xbox 360 DVD-ROM is the default drive, and the external add-on HD-ROM is a slave. It'll always try to open the default drive before the external drive. It’ll always boot up using the default sequences..!
I just wish that the slave would work as the default if a disk was in it (or at least give you the option to choose set your xbox that way).

I solved this problem for my parents using the Harmony 880.

I set the 360 to load to the Dashboard. Then I set appropriate delays and Down arrows, so that selecting Watch a DVD goes all the way down and selects the HD-DVD/DVD, and Play 360 Game goes goes down to the game and loads it. Therefore, they don't ever have to mess with the 360 interface or push extra buttons.
This sounds like the way to go about it. How'd you setup your Harmony like that? I've tried find where those settings are, but only found the initial wizard setup. I'm sure I'm just missing something.

I hooked mine via the vga cable. I sat 4 feet from my pio-503cmx to watch King Kong and couldn't see any artifacts. The picture is awesome and i don't use this word casually. I then watched unforgiven via component. the picture looked ok in 525p. Then I switched to vga 720p and WOW! a world of difference. I'm looking forward to re-enjoying my dvd collection.You have to remembered, component video is not capable of up-converting standard DVD. The VGA cable is the only option through Xbox 360 for up-conversion. Most of us preferred standard DVD player for up-conversion over Xbox 360 up-conversion. We keep the Xbox 360 strictly for HD-DVD. The overall PQ and AQ for standard DVD player up-conversion are better than Xbox 360 VGA!

You have to remembered, component video is not capable of up-converting standard DVD. The VGA cable is the only option through Xbox 360 for up-conversion. Most of us preferred standard DVD player for up-conversion over Xbox 360 up-conversion. We keep the Xbox 360 strictly for HD-DVD. The overall PQ and AQ for standard DVD player up-conversion are better than Xbox 360 VGA!

at first i set the resolution on the 360 to output at my tv native resolution which is 1280x768. I thought this should give me the best picture. Wrong. The picture wasn't great. Then i changed it to 1280x720 and that made a big difference in the PQ.

I'm having SERIOUS issues with my add-on. 2 discs I recently purchased, Miami Vice and Fearless(both Universal titles), both quit to the Xbox 360 dashboard after playing for about 15-20 minutes.

Miami Vice played fine for the first hour or so, then crashed to the dashboard no less than 10 times in 15 minute increments thereafter. It was a real pain in the ass watching it this way.

As for Fearless, the movie played perfectly for the first 20 min. or so, then Oops! It crashed to the dashboard and repeated this every 20 min. for the duration of the movie. I haven't had this issue with any of the other universal titles I own or any other discs.

Did I get a bad batch of discs or do I need to perform a simple software update?