By Chris Chiarella • February, 2007
Games and movies collide, again, this time in high-def.
Microsoft's Xbox 360 HD DVD player is targeted specifically at the owners of the Xbox 360 gaming console—or those on the fence about purchasing one. It's an affordable way to bring HD DVD into your existing multimedia system. This small disc spinner will not work by itself; rather, it will only operate in conjunction with one of the two available versions of the Xbox 360, or with a PC (sort of, as you'll see later). It's another box (which will of course take up more space), and it lacks the sleek approach of a single-chassis solution. But the easily replaceable USB cable that connects the HD DVD player to your Xbox does offer a bit of placement freedom. This in turn makes the drive's integrated USB hub potentially more versatile.
nstallation is gleefully quick. The HD DVD player only needs the AC adapter and a standard USB 2.0 mini-cable hookup, which connects to the USB 2.0 port on the Xbox 360's rear panel. If you're using a wireless network adapter at the Xbox 360's rear USB port, you can remain networked if you simply disconnect it and plug it into one of the HD DVD drive's two rear ports instead. The player outputs the raw data from the HD DVD at its full bit rate, which could be as high as 36.55 megabits per second. It's no problem for high-speed USB 2.0, which specs out at a transfer rate of 480 Mbps. Software within the Xbox 360 then converts and decodes that video. This is one of the single most processor-intensive applications you can run on the Xbox 360. It flaunts the power of the triple 3.2-gigahertz IBM PowerPC cores. From there, just run the installation CD, which essentially enables the Xbox 360 to recognize and control the new drive via the onscreen dashboard. Ultimately, the Xbox 360 outputs video to the TV and sends audio to the receiver via digital optical output.
But Is She a Pro?
Microsoft has a recent, free firmware upgrade for the Xbox 360. It's automatic (via the Web), and it only took me two minutes. As a result, the Xbox 360 can now output video at 1080p from HD DVD and upconverted DVD, as well as games. Don't get your hopes up, though. Most TVs don't accept 1080p over component or VGA, which are the only two ways to get video out of the 360. Also, the Advanced Access Content System (AACS) protection will not allow copyrighted movies to play at 1080p over component video, even though the Xbox 360 is technically capable of doing so. But it can send 1080p over VGA, the Xbox 360's other high-end video-output option.
In the Xbox 360's menu screens, the DVD-player icon is modified into two semicircles that look a little like a Poké Ball. The bottom half denotes the HD DVD drive. It can be a bit tedious to navigate all of these additional menus on top of the HD DVD's onscreen interface, even for the 360-savvy. However, when you insert a disc into the HD DVD player, it automatically puts the Xbox 360 into HD DVD mode. At this point, you can operate the HD DVD drive directly via the included Universal Media Remote (the big one that Microsoft had been selling as a $30 accessory since the 360's launch in late 2005). In general, the remote works well. It operates basic playback functions and even offers direct access to the Xbox dashboard as needed, even while a movie continues to play. But, since Microsoft has not made any hardware or software changes to the remote, there are no dedicated HD DVD keys. Therefore, if you press the Open/Close button, for example, only the Xbox 360's tray will open, not the HD DVD player's. This can be annoying. The upside here is that the complete system with this new add-on puts two DVD players at your disposal, both of which can upconvert all the way to 1080p. The HD DVD drive doesn't have an IR receiver, so the Xbox 360 receives all of the commands and routes them back out to the drive via USB.
If you're an Xbox 360 gamer but have never made the acquaintance of HD DVD, you'll notice an appreciable improvement over standard-definition DVD. The familiar interface of dedicated menus is missing, replaced by organic pop-ups, which you can access throughout a movie. The advanced "U Control" special features on a title such as The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift are a blast, and they hint at big things to come from this next-gen home-video format. I did encounter the occasional hiccup and stutter, though. Thanks to the fans in the rear of the Xbox 360 and the drive's scarcely muffled whirring, this setup is slightly noisier than a more traditional HD DVD deck (which is noisier than a standard DVD player). This distraction should be a nonissue in a medium-to-large room and certainly should not be serious if you're accustomed to the requisite sound of other CE devices like TiVos. Picture quality is very similar to, if not indistinguishable from, Toshiba's own HD DVD players.
Read more at http://www.hometheatermag.com/xbox/207micro/
Wednesday, 25 April 2007
HD-DVD, Street Fighter II coming to 360
Bill Gates unveils external next-gen disc peripheral, new Xbox Live Arcade game at CES.
By Tor Thorsen, Ricardo Torres, James Yu, Curt Feldman, GameSpot
Posted Jan 4, 2006 9:43 pm PT
LAS VEGAS--The Consumer Electronics Show kicked off tonight with a keynote address from Microsoft founder, chairman, and chief software architect Bill Gates. And while just about anything the richest man in the world says makes the news--he was one of Time's 2005 Persons of the Year, after all--what he had to say tonight was of particular interest to gamers.
Besides offering brief comments about how Microsoft's next-generation operating system, Windows Vista, would interact with gaming--including a short demo of the next PC Flight Simulator, Gates also revealed that the Xbox 360 would be compatible with a next-generation disc format. As expected, the format in question is HD-DVD, the Toshiba-backed rival to Blu-ray Disc, which is supported by Microsoft's archrival in the next-gen console race, the Sony PlayStation 3. (Ironically, Toshiba partnered with Sony to produce the PS3's Cell CPU.)
Also, as one might guess given the fact the 360 has an internal standard DVD drive, the console's HD-DVD drive will be offered as an external peripheral. Microsoft's vice president of worldwide Xbox marketing, Peter Moore, who took the stage after a not-so-impromptu 360 Fight Night Round 3 bout between Gates and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer (who in keeping with his fiery reputation, threw down his controller in a moment of defeatist rage after being KO'd by Gates in the match), said that the drive would arrive later this year. However, he did not show a final form factor for the drive or name a price point, although stand-alone HD-DVD players are expected to cost in excess of $300.
Moore also took the opportunity to underline Microsoft's bullish predictions for the 360. First, he touted the high attach rates for the console--an average of four games and three accessories per console. Moore said that was "twice the previous record" without naming a specific platform--or the fact most consoles were sold in preorder bundles with games included.
Moore also said that by the end of June, there will be 50 Xbox 360 games on the market--up from the 19 currently available--in 30 countries. By June 2006, the company expects to have shipped 4.5 million to 5.5 million 360s worldwide. Previously, Microsoft predicted that it would sell 2.5 to 3 million 360s in the console's first 90 days on the market. However, that figure has come into question after widespread reports of 360 shortages in Europe and North America--though the console remains in abundant supply in Japan.
While Xbox 360s are currently hard to find for most gamers, Moore said that may soon change. He told the CES audience that Microsoft has enlisted a new manufacturing partner, the multinational Celestica, to help churn out more of the hotly sought-after consoles. Although Moore spun the Celestica announcement as something new, the fact that Celestica facilities were to manufacture the company's new console were widely reported last month in both Western and Asian media outlets. Moore did not specify whether Celestica factories were yet producing the consoles, saying only that Celestica "will join" existing Xbox 360 manufacturers.
Microsoft's CES presentation also had revelations for current Xbox 360 owners. In an almost offhand remark, Gates said that one of Capcom's most popular old-school arcade titles, Street Fighter II, will be available via Xbox Live Marketplace later in the year. If poker is your game, you'll be happy to know that a new Texas-hold-'em-game, it was revealed, will be available this year as well. Moore also mentioned that since the 360 went on sale on November 22, 2005, there have been more than four million individual downloads from the service. With the fanfare of factoids behind him, Moore weighed in with a flourish, saying such statistics demonstrated that the Xbox family of consoles was now a "proven form of mainstream entertainment."
GameSpot will have more news from CES 2006 as the expo progresses.
From http://www.gamespot.com/news/6141859.html
By Tor Thorsen, Ricardo Torres, James Yu, Curt Feldman, GameSpot
Posted Jan 4, 2006 9:43 pm PT
LAS VEGAS--The Consumer Electronics Show kicked off tonight with a keynote address from Microsoft founder, chairman, and chief software architect Bill Gates. And while just about anything the richest man in the world says makes the news--he was one of Time's 2005 Persons of the Year, after all--what he had to say tonight was of particular interest to gamers.
Besides offering brief comments about how Microsoft's next-generation operating system, Windows Vista, would interact with gaming--including a short demo of the next PC Flight Simulator, Gates also revealed that the Xbox 360 would be compatible with a next-generation disc format. As expected, the format in question is HD-DVD, the Toshiba-backed rival to Blu-ray Disc, which is supported by Microsoft's archrival in the next-gen console race, the Sony PlayStation 3. (Ironically, Toshiba partnered with Sony to produce the PS3's Cell CPU.)
Also, as one might guess given the fact the 360 has an internal standard DVD drive, the console's HD-DVD drive will be offered as an external peripheral. Microsoft's vice president of worldwide Xbox marketing, Peter Moore, who took the stage after a not-so-impromptu 360 Fight Night Round 3 bout between Gates and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer (who in keeping with his fiery reputation, threw down his controller in a moment of defeatist rage after being KO'd by Gates in the match), said that the drive would arrive later this year. However, he did not show a final form factor for the drive or name a price point, although stand-alone HD-DVD players are expected to cost in excess of $300.
Moore also took the opportunity to underline Microsoft's bullish predictions for the 360. First, he touted the high attach rates for the console--an average of four games and three accessories per console. Moore said that was "twice the previous record" without naming a specific platform--or the fact most consoles were sold in preorder bundles with games included.
Moore also said that by the end of June, there will be 50 Xbox 360 games on the market--up from the 19 currently available--in 30 countries. By June 2006, the company expects to have shipped 4.5 million to 5.5 million 360s worldwide. Previously, Microsoft predicted that it would sell 2.5 to 3 million 360s in the console's first 90 days on the market. However, that figure has come into question after widespread reports of 360 shortages in Europe and North America--though the console remains in abundant supply in Japan.
While Xbox 360s are currently hard to find for most gamers, Moore said that may soon change. He told the CES audience that Microsoft has enlisted a new manufacturing partner, the multinational Celestica, to help churn out more of the hotly sought-after consoles. Although Moore spun the Celestica announcement as something new, the fact that Celestica facilities were to manufacture the company's new console were widely reported last month in both Western and Asian media outlets. Moore did not specify whether Celestica factories were yet producing the consoles, saying only that Celestica "will join" existing Xbox 360 manufacturers.
Microsoft's CES presentation also had revelations for current Xbox 360 owners. In an almost offhand remark, Gates said that one of Capcom's most popular old-school arcade titles, Street Fighter II, will be available via Xbox Live Marketplace later in the year. If poker is your game, you'll be happy to know that a new Texas-hold-'em-game, it was revealed, will be available this year as well. Moore also mentioned that since the 360 went on sale on November 22, 2005, there have been more than four million individual downloads from the service. With the fanfare of factoids behind him, Moore weighed in with a flourish, saying such statistics demonstrated that the Xbox family of consoles was now a "proven form of mainstream entertainment."
GameSpot will have more news from CES 2006 as the expo progresses.
From http://www.gamespot.com/news/6141859.html
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