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On February 23, 2008, the Xbox 360 HD DVD player was abandoned by Microsoft.[5] This decision came just days after Toshiba's announcement to discontinue all HD DVD players and effectively end the format war between Blu-ray and HD DVD. Two days later, the price of the HD DVD Player was reduced to a clearance price of $49.99. Peter Moore had stated that if HD DVD loses the format war, Microsoft may also release an external Blu-ray drive.[6] This was later denied by Microsoft.
The HD DVD player connects to the Xbox 360 using a mini USB connection.[8] All of the audio and video processing and output come from Xbox 360 itself. The unit can also function as a USB hub, with 2 ports on the rear. It also includes a clip for attaching the wireless network adapter to it, much like what Xbox 360 consoles of the time had. The device also has an integrated 256 MB memory unit which is used for storage of HD DVD data and is accessible to the user for saving other data such as saved games.
The Toshiba optical drive used in the unit can read Compact Discs and DVDs in addition to HD DVDs when connected to a host that supports reading these formats (such as a PC). As the drive communicates via a generic mass storage protocol over USB the drive can be used as a standard optical drive on computers and operating systems that support USB optical drives. The operating system must have a UDF 2.5 driver to read data from HD DVDs. In addition a software player capable of playing HD DVD titles is required for playback of video. The 256 MB internal Memory Unit on the drive which is used for storage of HD DVD features is also accessible by manually installing USB Mass Storage drivers. Once installed, this can be formatted for use as a storage device although it will no longer function on an Xbox 360 unless it is reformatted.
Windows XP does not have a built in UDF 2.5 driver, instead requiring a third party one to be installed to access data on HD DVDs. Newer versions of Windows and Mac OS X 10.5 "Leopard" and later have native UDF 2.5 drivers. Mac OS X v10.5 introduced UDF 2.5 driver support for reading HD DVDs, but the included player software can only play HD DVDs authored by DVD Studio Pro.[10]
With the release of the PlayStation 3 and other HD players some people have already made their choice, but it's still too early to predict an outright winner. Not the least of all because Paramount recently announced it was pulling up stumps on Blu-ray and pitching its fortunes with HD DVD.
One of the problems is that Blu-ray and HD DVD formats are incompatible -- that means your Blu-ray player won't play HD DVD movies, and your HD DVD machine won't be able to read Blu-ray movies. There is currently one player on the market that will play both, but as with many players which are first to market it's been plagued with reports of compatibility problems.
No matter which format you choose, the new players aren't exactly what you'd call 'cheap', and the last thing any consumer wants to do is buy a machine that becomes obsolete in favour of another incompatible format.
1. Blu-ray and HD DVD: what's all the fuss about?Amidst all of the hype surrounding next-generation DVD formats, you may be asking yourself one simple question: what's all the fuss about? After all, your current DVD player produces a pretty good picture, right? Are Blu-ray and HD DVD really worth bothering about?
A major part of what made DVD an overnight success was the fact you could plug a DVD player into any television and immediately see improved visual quality. Don't expect the same to occur with Blu-ray/HD DVD -- if you have an old analog set (or even a newer flat-screen plasma or LCD with fairly low resolution) the picture Blu-ray/HD DVD delivers won't look much better than what DVD will produce.
As you can see below, while both Blu-ray and HD DVD offer much more than plain old DVDs, the differences between the two technologies aren't that pronounced. In terms of technology, Blu-ray can currently store more on a single side of a disc than HD DVD -- although double-sided, dual-layer and even other disc combinations coming in the future could see that storage difference become academic. Blu-ray can also currently output to 1080p -- most HD DVD units now output at 1080i, but the latest Toshiba HD-XE1 is able to display 1080p.
3. All HD DVD and Blu-ray players should incorporate built-in audio decoding and analog audio outputs. Those features should enable the newer Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Digital Plus, and DTS-HD surround formats to be heard by using existing A/V receivers and audio equipment -- but the resulting soundtrack may be a down-mixed Dolby Digital or DTS-EX version that lacks the theoretically better audio fidelity that's encoded on the disc.
4. Manufacturer and studio support is subject to change. With the exception of Sony's devotion to Blu-ray and Toshiba's to HD DVD, other manufacturers and studios can (and already have) switch sides, or they can support both formats. Also, the depth of support for companies aside from Sony and Toshiba has yet to be determined; while some have already released single-format players, "support" for both formats has largely been limited to press releases or future product schedules and remain theoretical until they are available for purchase.
5. Early-generation set-top (non-PC) HD DVD and Blu-ray players are players only, with no recording capabilities. Future set-top recorders are expected to become available in both formats in 2008 or later, but look for copy-protection and digital rights issues to severely restrict the HD programming you'll be able to record from TV.
8. As of autumn 2006, HD DVD discs and players are not region-coded, but that could be changed at any point in the future -- for example, the appearance of region-coded discs and a firmware upgrade for the hardware needed in order to play them. Blu-ray discs are coded to three regions (roughly, the Americas and Japan; Europe and Africa; and China, Russia, and everywhere else not included in the previous two regions) that are far more streamlined than the nine-region DVD system. That said, HD DVD and Blu-ray players should honour the nine-region system when playing standard DVDs -- so don't expect to play out-of-region discs.
1080p output1080p is the best image that's possible with consumer entertainment devices today -- and the image quality is, frankly, stunning and almost 3D-like. 1080p delivers a resolution of 1920x1080 at up to a 54MBit/sec bandwidth -- and to to put it into perspective, normal DVDs output at 576p, while the highest HD signal in Australia only comes out at 1080i (for more about screen resolutions, click here). While the software in most current HD DVD players can only display at 1080i resolution, we expect 1080p technology to become more widespread in future players.
Comes in the PlayStation 3 as standardGaming could be the dark horse here in deciding which standard will reign supreme. After all, Sony's inclusion of the then fledgling DVD format in the PlayStation 2 did wonders for that format. All PlayStation 3s come with a Blu-ray drive as standard, and as a result it is the highest-selling player of either standard.
PS3's aren't exactly be cheap, however. The retail price is still set at AU$999 for the next-generation games console, while its Wii and Xbox 360 competitors hover at the AU$400 mark. The price may be high, but it's still pretty cheap for a games console and next-generation DVD player in one.
More expensive than HD DVD playersWith only a couple of HD DVD players available in Australia at the moment, it appears that unless you but a PS# you'll end up spending more on a Blu-ray player. However, as the competition heats up there's bound to be price-cuts in place before the end of 2007.
Top of the line gear needed to make it shineForget about plugging a Blu-ray player into a CRT or older flat-screen panel -- you're going to need a display that can display at least 720p images to be happy with what Blu-ray can produce. And if you want to take full advantage of its image capabilities, you'll need a 1080p capable screen -- those screens are still very expensive compared to 720p models.
Cheaper prices for media and playersToshiba claims the fact that HD DVD can use the same manufacturing plants as DVDs (Blu-ray needs manufacturing plants built from scratch) is the major reason why HD DVD players will be cheaper for consumers. However, recent reports from the US have suggested that the difference in manufacturing costs are now minimal. On the hardware side, Toshiba currently sells the cheapest player on the market -- the Toshiba HD-E1.
"Twin disc" supportUnique to the HD DVD format is a "twin disc" capability, which allows both HD DVD content and DVD content to be imprinted on the same disc. Twin discs are HD DVD on one side and normal DVD on the other, which allows them to be played on both HD DVD players and DVD players. At the moment, however, none of these disks are available in Australia.
Backwards compatible with DVDs and CDsJust like Blu-ray, HD DVD players will be able to read and play DVDs and CDs, which means your existing collection of movies and music won't become obsolete overnight.
Most players max out at 1080i resolution1080i is the same standard as the Channel Nine and Ten HD TV feeds in Australia. While it's not as big a difference between 1080i and 576p (normal DVD resolution), the lower specification means HD DVD will be compatible with more flat-screen televisions. A minimum display capability of 720p is probably ideal, however. The second generation of HD DVD players -- which are starting to appear -- are capable of outputting at 1080p.
Getting caught out on the wrong side of Blu-ray vs HD DVD battle isn't the only thing you should be worried about when considering a next-generation DVD player. Here are a few more points CNET.com.au thinks you should consider before plonking your money down for either a Blu-ray or HD DVD device. 2b1af7f3a8