Microsoft Corp. today announced the release of the Xbox 360 HD DVD Emulator, enabling film studios and disc authoring companies to model the behavior of HD DVD disc content, including encoded video and HDi interactivity, in a virtual environment before committing to burning a single HD DVD disc. This comprehensive tool is among the first commercially available, software-based solutions of its kind, eliminating the need for expensive hardware or time-consuming and costly trial-and-error processes for testing HD DVD titles, helping to ensure that titles ship error-free.

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/071213/aqth035.html?.v=40

this is only the beginning of the xbox 360 hd dvd included system

this is only the beginning of the xbox 360 hd dvd included system

WoW!!! Talk about a stretch. That is not even what the article was about. That is like reading an article about Ford reducing production time on their Mustang, Then someone says "Say goodbye to global warming."

From what I understand it is an issue of drive speed compatibility that would keep the HD-DVD drive out of the xbox 360. Well that and the fact that MS wants to give people the "choice" if they don't want HD-DVD then they don't have to get it. Which lowers the price for those that don't want it. If you do want it then it is the cheapest entry into the HD-DVD player market.

If you do want it then it is the cheapest entry into the HD-DVD player market.

odd, i paid $98 for my A2

odd, i paid $98 for my A2

...WalMart market-squatting excluded of course.:rolleyes:

odd, i paid $98 for my A2When it came out it was and it still is the cheapest 1080p player that I know of.

Aside from the $400 PS3 of course.

WoW!!! Talk about a stretch. That is not even what the article was about. That is like reading an article about Ford reducing production time on their Mustang, Then someone says "Say goodbye to global warming."

From what I understand it is an issue of drive speed compatibility that would keep the HD-DVD drive out of the xbox 360. Well that and the fact that MS wants to give people the "choice" if they don't want HD-DVD then they don't have to get it. Which lowers the price for those that don't want it. If you do want it then it is the cheapest entry into the HD-DVD player market.


there was talk earlier in the year about lots of rumors in regards to a hd-dvd included system, thats what i was saying...

i didnt know i hit a nerve for just saying a couple of words

Aside from the $400 PS3 of course.
Well according to my math...179 is less than 400.

there was talk earlier in the year about lots of rumors in regards to a hd-dvd included system, thats what i was saying...

i didnt know i hit a nerve for just saying a couple of words

There has always been a rumor of a 360 with HD-DVD player in it. I am sorry I didn't mean to come off so harsh. Just don't want to give folks any false hopes.

Well according to my math...179 is less than 400.


Hmm, could that $179 USB device work by itself, or did it need to be plugged into another $300 device (or $400) before you can watch 1080p over component ?....oh wait a sec.

The fact that the xbox360 hardware was constantly updated to match native features of the PS3 is telling of the poor foresight during design.

This has left microsoft in a weird spot where newer games may require (hardware) features such as a HD and that would isolate all the people that bought the core. Now i cannot believe that they are thinking of adding native HD-DVD drive. i wonder if they would use it for games ? and if so what of statements regarding how unnecessary blu-ray is for games since dvd is enough.

Well time will tell if this strategy will work for them.

Update: I am not suggesting that the PS3 does not have its own design flaws, however i would prefer that people compare pricing properly (apples to apples) . As far as i am concerned the Wii is the only well designed device that showed it was properly targeted to an audience and designed for its market (it is the only console that has not done an incompatible upgrade or discontinued a version...so far).

"The fact that the xbox360 hardware was constantly updated to match native features of the PS3 is telling of the poor foresight during design."

That is not where I was going at all when I pointed out that the $400 PS3 seems to be the cheapest 1080p player. What native features are you speaking of anyway? HDMI and HD drive? Hmm... HDMI was still really rare in general back then, and HD drives weren't even out yet.

What native features are you speaking of anyway? HDMI and HD drive? Hmm... HDMI was still really rare in general back then, and HD drives weren't even out yet.

HDMI was rare and still is rare when you consider the current dissemination of HDTV vs. SDTV, but this falls under the argument of foresight or maybe highlights the possibility of microsoft (prematurely) shifting to a newer SKU at the detriment of original xbox360 purchasers.
Among HDTVs, HDMI was basically a standard port before the 360 went into production.

When I said HD i meant harddisk drives, which i believe were relevant (and somewhat offset the need to a HiDef disk drive) and i was saying this in reference to the 360 Core.

My point is that Microsoft has made radical SKU updates that leave consumers confused and (while not sure, time will tell) also leaves developers in a position where they may have to isolate a group (potential owners) due to a lack of hard-disks or (in the future) HD-DVD internal drives.

But please see my update on my previous message regarding my view on both systems.

I will also admit that i like my PS3 (for games and movies) and do not have a Xbox360 (only used a friends). I feel they both are relevant for this generation of gaming, however, i think one platform took a longterm view towards the design/longevity of the platform and the other did not.

Hmm, could that $179 USB device work by itself, or did it need to be plugged into another $300 device (or $400) before you can watch 1080p over component ?....oh wait a sec.

Well, this IS the Xbox area, so seeing as how there are few people still playing the original xbox everyone here should already have that other device...

When it came out it was and it still is the cheapest 1080p player that I know of.

That 1080p is sure going to be worth it to help keep your mind off that down-sampled TrueHD! :rolleyes:

Wow... not a single relevant post since the original. Not one of you has said a word about the actual product in the link. Kudos to Microsoft for helping give content creators a lower cost solution to error checking HD-DVD titles.

Hmm, could that $179 USB device work by itself, or did it need to be plugged into another $300 device (or $400) before you can watch 1080p over component ?....oh wait a sec.

Well first off...MPAA won't let you do 1080p over component. Secondly...It is not a stand alone player so it needs to be plugged into either an xbox or a windows PC. I never said it was a standalone player. I said it was the cheapest 1080p player.

The fact that the xbox360 hardware was constantly updated to match native features of the PS3 is telling of the poor foresight during design.

This has left microsoft in a weird spot where newer games may require (hardware) features such as a HD and that would isolate all the people that bought the core. Now i cannot believe that they are thinking of adding native HD-DVD drive. i wonder if they would use it for games ? and if so what of statements regarding how unnecessary blu-ray is for games since dvd is enough.

Well time will tell if this strategy will work for them.

Update: I am not suggesting that the PS3 does not have its own design flaws, however i would prefer that people compare pricing properly (apples to apples) . As far as i am concerned the Wii is the only well designed device that showed it was properly targeted to an audience and designed for its market (it is the only console that has not done an incompatible upgrade or discontinued a version...so far).[/QUOTE]
You know if both consoles came out the same time then I would agree with you but since they didn't I don't agree. You see when the 360 came out HDMI wasn't really out yet. HD-DVD nor Bluray were finalized yet. Sony waited around until just about the HDMI 1.3 standard was finalized. Ms just didn't have the options when it launched. Kinda like how Sony couldn't have the rumble on their controllers so they were shipped without it. Poor planning on their part not to settle the patent issue so they could ship with rumble. I also like the fact that the MS gave me the option of getting a HD-DVD player if I wanted rather than charging me more for something I wouldn't even have a TV to take advantage of it at the time.

That 1080p is sure going to be worth it to help keep your mind off that down-sampled TrueHD! :rolleyes: If my receiver did HDMI then maybe I would worry about it. I find it hard to hear the difference.

Wow... not a single relevant post since the original. Not one of you has said a word about the actual product in the link. Kudos to Microsoft for helping give content creators a lower cost solution to error checking HD-DVD titles.
Yes I agree with you. MS is doing a good thing here to help reduce production costs. Which should benifit us consumers by either reducing the cost of HD-DVDs or they get packed with more extras or even both.

Wow... not a single relevant post since the original. Not one of you has said a word about the actual product in the link. Kudos to Microsoft for helping give content creators a lower cost solution to error checking HD-DVD titles.

I was a little confused about the article's meaning...

Is this just something content creators should be interested in? What does it do? Just make sure HD-DVD discs are going to be comptabible with 360 HD-DVD players?

Or perhaps do something interesting like allowing HD-DVD games to be distributed on DVD-9 discs (for example allowing a smaller HD-DVD game to be put on a DVD disc via a zipped file or online update that's installed to a hard drive)?

I was a little confused about the article's meaning...

Is this just something content creators should be interested in? What does it do? Just make sure HD-DVD discs are going to be comptabible with 360 HD-DVD players?

Or perhaps do something interesting like allowing HD-DVD games to be distributed on DVD-9 discs (for example allowing a smaller HD-DVD game to be put on a DVD disc via a zipped file or online update that's installed to a hard drive)?

It's a product that costs about $3,000 that lets HD-DVD content creators quickly check their discs to ensure compatibility with all compliant players. The current process involves burning test discs, trying them in various players, testing each extensively, etc. Each HD-DVD title has to undergo these compatibility tests. The HD-DVD emulator on the 360 lets content creators run their discs through a complete test to ensure compliance and gives detailed diagnostics when problems occur so they can be easily fixed. It basically turns a game console into a very powerful A/V testing tool for studios and encoding houses.

The advantage of this is that they're letting content creators do this via network addressable storage or external drives, meaning they'll be able to reduce both the number of test discs burned and greatly reduce the time it takes to check for compliance with HD-DVD players.

That's it. It isn't a product aimed at the consumer. The only consumer benefit is that companies who use this product should be able to get HD-DVD product to market faster since the testing phase will be greatly accelerated.

What is really silly is that if you create and burn a HD-DVD image onto a DVD-5 or DVD-9, you cannot put it into the 360's tray and have it play. A couple of the guys here on AVS made a calibration HD-DVD image to burn to DVD and the only way the 360 will play it is if you put it into the HD-DVD add on. Not a big deal since I have the add on, but it could be pretty annoying for other people since there is no reason the 360 couldn't read and play a HD-DVD image burned to a DVD.

HDMI was rare and still is rare when you consider the current dissemination of HDTV vs. SDTV, but this falls under the argument of foresight or maybe highlights the possibility of microsoft (prematurely) shifting to a newer SKU at the detriment of original xbox360 purchasers.
Among HDTVs, HDMI was basically a standard port before the 360 went into production.

When I said HD i meant harddisk drives, which i believe were relevant (and somewhat offset the need to a HiDef disk drive) and i was saying this in reference to the 360 Core.

My point is that Microsoft has made radical SKU updates that leave consumers confused and (while not sure, time will tell) also leaves developers in a position where they may have to isolate a group (potential owners) due to a lack of hard-disks or (in the future) HD-DVD internal drives.

But please see my update on my previous message regarding my view on both systems.

I will also admit that i like my PS3 (for games and movies) and do not have a Xbox360 (only used a friends). I feel they both are relevant for this generation of gaming, however, i think one platform took a longterm view towards the design/longevity of the platform and the other did not.

I totally agree, especially with the last sentence.

Well, since this thread is going way off topic, I'll throw in my opinion.
I bought a 360 shortly after launch, and since it came out before the PS3, it was in the lead. Then, when PS3s became available (but not any good games), I bought one. At that time, I liked the 360 (better games), but saw some big advantages of the PS3, like it being cooler, quieter, built in BluRay and a web browser (I mean come on, Xbox is built by MS, and no web browser?). Now the PS3 is getting better games, a rumble controller, free online, and other little things, MS better get a move on to continue to be competitive.

Apparently, this product also makes it easier for content creators to add interactive and web-enabled features, and more likely as well, since it greatly reduces the effort of just getting a disc without such features to work properly.
Aside from the $400 PS3 of course.According to PriceGrabber (here (http://electronics.pricegrabber.com/blu-ray-hd-dvd-players/m/27344348/search=HD-A2/sort_type=bottomline)) you can get a new HD-A2 for as little as $199, delivered and from 7 e-tailers for less than $400, so yes, it still is the cheapest 1080p-capable HD video disc player.

I guess that if you have a use for the PS3 as a game playing device then it's a better deal, but I've owned a PS3 for a year now and I still haven't found a use for it as a game playing device :rolleyes:. It's a decent Blu-ray player, though.

http://kotaku.com/339293/gates-to-announce-dvr-360-at-ces .
I know it is still a rumor, but kotaku is quite good at prediction.
Strange how the majority if the thread follows the sentiments some people expressed in this thread.

I totally agree, especially with the last sentence.

Well, since this thread is going way off topic, I'll throw in my opinion.
I bought a 360 shortly after launch, and since it came out before the PS3, it was in the lead. Then, when PS3s became available (but not any good games), I bought one. At that time, I liked the 360 (better games), but saw some big advantages of the PS3, like it being cooler, quieter, built in BluRay and a web browser (I mean come on, Xbox is built by MS, and no web browser?). Now the PS3 is getting better games, a rumble controller, free online, and other little things, MS better get a move on to continue to be competitive.

I cant believe MS didnt stick internet explorer in the 360. That was too much of a bonehead move. But i guess they are not smart enought to even add it as a game disc option. Maybe the xbox just isnt powerful enough to run it.

I cant believe MS didnt stick internet explorer in the 360. That was too much of a bonehead move. But i guess they are not smart enought to even add it as a game disc option. Maybe the xbox just isnt powerful enough to run it.Yeah, right :rolleyes:. I guess you think that maybe MS is reading this and will be shamed by that profound insight into adding a web browser?

From the beginning, they've avoided adding generic PC apps to the original Xbox, because they knew, as a product of the world's largest PC software vendor, people were going to try to claim that the Xbox was not truly a gaming console, but just a thinly vieled PC. (It was a particular problem for the original Xbox, since it was composed of components from the PC hardware world--Pentium 3, NVIDIA graphics, embedded HDD, etc). They've struggled to establish and maintain the perception that the Xbox has nothing whatsoever to do with the PC side of their business and is purely an piece of entertainment equipment, all about games, music, video and (eventually) television. Of course, web browsing can be extremely entertaining, but it can also be used for serious business purposes--that won't do :).

Given the general crappiness of the console web browsers that I've tried (Dreamcast, PS3), the manufacturers may as well have saved whatever money they invested in those and applied it to something that their customers could actually use.

there was talk earlier in the year about lots of rumors in regards to a hd-dvd included system, thats what i was saying...

i didnt know i hit a nerve for just saying a couple of words

The point is that the article has nothing to do with what you said.

I cant believe MS didnt stick internet explorer in the 360. That was too much of a bonehead move. But i guess they are not smart enought to even add it as a game disc option. Maybe the xbox just isnt powerful enough to run it.

Nah that is ok...I prefer my xbox without Spyware thanks.

Nah that is ok...I prefer my xbox without Spyware thanks.
oops to late... its called xbox live and the friends friends list. hehehe.
sorry couldnt help it.
Could the xbox 360 even be able to get a virus, spyware, mallware, or whatever else im forgetting?

Yeah, right :rolleyes:. I guess you think that maybe MS is reading this and will be shamed by that profound insight into adding a web browser?

From the beginning, they've avoided adding generic PC apps to the original Xbox, because they knew, as a product of the world's largest PC software vendor, people were going to try to claim that the Xbox was not truly a gaming console, but just a thinly vieled PC. (It was a particular problem for the original Xbox, since it was composed of components from the PC hardware world--Pentium 3, NVIDIA graphics, embedded HDD, etc). They've struggled to establish and maintain the perception that the Xbox has nothing whatsoever to do with the PC side of their business and is purely an piece of entertainment equipment, all about games, music, video and (eventually) television. Of course, web browsing can be extremely entertaining, but it can also be used for serious business purposes--that won't do :).

Given the general crappiness of the console web browsers that I've tried (Dreamcast, PS3), the manufacturers may as well have saved whatever money they invested in those and applied it to something that their customers could actually use.

I dont expect anyone from microsoft to be reading this that has any athority in creating anything for the xbox.
If someone did read my post with the athority available to produce what i want and it shamed them into making it then i would get what i want. :) squeeky wheel gets the greese. hehehe. But anyway it was nothing more then an opinion i hold. If any company could make a good web surfing utility for the xbox 360 it would be MS. I seriously dont think it would be difficult to make IE work with the xbox. But then i dont know whats really involved in having IE work on the xbox. It may not be possible and the xbox may not be able to handle all the programs needed to run at one time. Which is the reason why you have never seen a good web surfing utility on a game system.

Price dropped from $2,999 to free.

"Developers who already paid for the program will be refunded."

The fact that the xbox360 hardware was constantly updated to match native features of the PS3 is telling of the poor foresight during design.



I find the above statement funny considering (http://news.filefront.com/in-game-communication-coming-to-ps3-this-summer/)