Microsoft - HD DVD Player for Xbox 360

The current drive bundle (soon to be expiring) with a free copy of the excellent film 300 packaged with the Xbox 360 HD-DVD drive seems to have helped Best Buy move a lot of inventory. It's no wonder that happened, since 300 is a great movie and comes across very nicely on HD-DVD. Considering the current release of 300 is combo format and runs $5.00 more than does the less feature packed Blu-ray version of the movie, getting 300 for free is an excellent bonus. $34.99 worth of disc for free, what is not to like? By the time you read this review though, that bundle may be gone and time may be running on out on getting the HD-DVD add-on for the Xbox 360 while there is also a mail-in offer to get 5 free HD-DVD movies with purchase (of the Xbox 360 HD-DVD add-on). The free movie selections you can pick from currently are a mixed bag, but 5 movies for free with average prices of $20 per really make the HD-DVD player for the Xbox 360 a bargain. Well, a bargain if you already have the Xbox 360 :-) There are a few nits to pick with the Microsoft HD DVD player for Xbox 360 though. First, the Microsoft Media Remote control offers an Open/Close button on the remote control but stupidly that button doesn't open the drive tray on the HD DVD player. It should offer the ability to open either the primary drive tray or the HD DVD player tray and may do so in the future, but doesn't right now. On the other hand, the remote control is a Universal remote control and does control the volume, mute function and other functions on most TVs. Nice bonus compared to the Blu-ray remote control for the PS3 which only works with the PS3 (since it is Bluetooth only). The remote control also works well for controlling Media Center options on an Xbox 360 if you have a Media Center PC in your home. The Microsoft HD DVD Player continues (at the time of this writing) to come with a free copy of Peter Jackson's King Kong. Not a bad movie, but not a great movie either. Again though, you are receiving a free movie with the player, along with the remote control and the player. Bought separately all of these items would probably cost nearly about $250. Factor in the 5 free movies (limited time offer) on top of all of that, and you are looking at about $350 worth of merchandise for just under $180. Not a bad deal at all.

The title says it all! This is truly the best and most affordable way to get into next-gen DVD's! I bought this machine simply cause of the price, the urge to get into the next-gen DVD format, and for a pretty decent collection of movies. So far I have Shooter and King Kong and both look OUTSTANDING on my HDTV on 720p. I ordered 300 and GoodFellas to also add to my collection since those are two of my favorite movies! Yes I know that 1080p is the way to go, but 720p still looks phenominal, especially being compared to regular ol' DVDs. Also the menus are quite nice, in that you can access the main menu anytime when watching the movie!! Some HD-DVD movies also have an ability to view special features, such as: picture-in-picture while watching the movie!! 300 is supposed to have some of the best special features on an HD-DVD!! Overall, if you own an HDTV whether it's 720p or 1080p, BUY THIS NOW!!!! It is seriously the most affordable way to enjoy your favorite movies in HD. And if (and most likely) Blu-Ray wins the format war, don't fret! At least you didn't spend $500 - $1000 dollars when HD-DVD players first came out. So what do you got to lose? Buy this machine now!!!

I would like to clear some confusion about the visual output, and audio output capacity of the Xbox 360 HD-DVD. Yes, it does support 720p, 1080i, and YES 1080P! However, there are some catches to this output in the way you connect it. Senario 1 - Xbox 360 withOUT HDMI output port. The HD-DVD player CAN support 1080P thru component cables, but ONLY if your HDTV can ACCEPT 1080P thru its own component INPUT. So if your HDTV can not accept 1080P thru component, you will be stuck with 1080i with this player. Senario 2 - Xbox 360 WITH HDMI output port. The HD-DVD player CAN support 1080P thru the HDMI, HOWEVER, the player is not CURRENTLY configured to run the newer AUDIO BITSTREAMS that make up the Newer Dolby TrueHD, and DTS-HD Master Audio. This may be update-able by Xbox Live, as Microsoft uses Xbox Live to update most all hardware devices configured to the 360, but this may not even be possible, only time (and Microsoft) can tell. It is worth noting that currently you will only be able to take advantage of the highest audio that outputs thru the Digital Optical cable. NOTE: This wont matter if you dont have a Audio Tuner capable of these newer HDMI carried Bitstreams. IF your tuner does not say Dolby True HD, or DTS-HD Master, you were incapable of recieving that sound to begin with, ie. no worries. Conclusion: This player is not the perfect HD-DVD solution for pure enthusiasts that want the absolute HIGHEST picture, with the HIGHEST audio, but that may change thru Xbox Live updates. However, it is THE PERFECT solution for a current Xbox 360 owner with an HDTV that wants to take advantage of what HD-DVD has to offer. The common consumer wont have the latest tuner that supports the newer bitsreams anyway. What this player misses thru features, it makes up for on price! Get in on HD-DVD now and JUMP IN!

I already owned the Xbox Elite with the HDMI connection in case I wanted to buy a HDTV in the future....well, I purchased the 40" Samsung 1080p HD TV and bought this player along with a Sony Blu-Ray player. First of all, already owning a XBOX 360, this is a VERY reasonable price if you want high def. DVD without going broke. It is only $180, is currently packaged with King Kong and has a rebate for 5 free HD-DVDs. The player will basically be all but free after you get those DVDs. EXCELLENT price for what you get. It has great up-converting for standard DVDs, comes with a remote control and also has the adaptor to attach component or digital audio to go to your home theater receiver. It adds an xtra USB connection to your Xbox as well so you get a total of 2 now. If you own an Xbox or plan on buying one and want high def DVDs, this is the best option on the market....it also plays HD-DVDs as well as the best HD players out there. The problems some people list with not playing certain movies and such are constantly being addressed via firmware updates and as this is attached to the "online always" Xbox, the firmware updates are very easy and painless as the Xbox installs it for you. If you are deciding Blu-Ray vs. HD-DVD, this is the way I would go. It is already using the advanced features Blu-Ray has failed to start using such as the interactive in-movie menus and picture-in-picture advanced options. It has NO lag while playing movies and starting them versus the 3 minute wait I had while loading Pirates of the Carribean on my Blu-ray player. I had to return my Sony Blu-Ray player already for the PS3 which was cheaper and had a better quality blu-ray player than any set-top box. The PS3 also has a slight loading time on Blu-Ray discs vs. the almost instant play of this machine. BUY THIS PLAYER!!!

With the new price point and the 5 free movies you cannot really go wrong with this player. Even if BluRay wins the format war, you will still have the movies you now own and be able to watch them. I am one who remembers beta max and vhs, I choose VHS, so im hoping I got it right again here, we will have to see, some movies are on both formats, and there is even a dual format disc in the works to carry both types of movies, i for one think the price point alone will help hd dvd win out, I guess we will see, Either way this is the best deal out there for a hd dvd player. The player runs great, and the picture is amazing! I have had no issues playing both regular dvd's or HD DVD's. It comes with a universal remote as well! Great deal, great product buy one.

The 6 free HD-DVD movies, easily $120 to $150 value alone, plus a universal remote control, plus the HD-DVD drive make this a steal. This drive can be used on WindowsXP and Vista (XP needs a driver available online) as well. If you have a home theater pc running windows, and Xbox360 is not even needed! I've already watched the HD-DVD of 300 and loved it. The movies are practically worth the price of this player, buying it is a no-brainer if you have a High-definition TV. Don't let the blu-ray sony (PS3) fans convince you otherwise, nearly all the movies I want are on HD-DVD.

If you already own a XBOX 360, this is a good buy and cheap-ish way to get into the HD DVD era. If you don't already own an XBOX (why are you even looking at this) it becomes too cost prohibitive ($458.99 when you add at least the new Arcade bundle to the cost of the drive. $529.99 with the PRO model) and there are better players for less money. The add-on drive doesn't fit well with any A/V set-up and the remote is below average. It currently doesn't support the new HD audio formats, TrueHD and DTS-HD, but could in the future with a firmware patch from Microsoft though no current plans have been anounced to do so. Video Quality and player speed are up to par with other players on the market. My recomendation is to wait for the next (3rd) generation of players or if Microsoft patches the drive for TrueHD audio output but if you must have a good HD DVD player now and own an XBOX 360, you can't go wrong with this one. Current freebies include King Kong HD (in box), Heros and 5 HD DVD's via mail-in rebate make this an almost "too good to pass-up" deal right now.

If you are an owner of a Xbox 360 this is the perfect add on to your system to start your HD DVD collection. The player itself comes with King Kong and they have a 5 free rebate movies, on the Xbox.com website that you can get. So you are practically getting the price of the machine in free movies. The player is an add on so it attaches through a USB port on your Xbox. However it has two USB ports itself. It runs very quietly even while running a disk. The one thing I have noticed is, log into your Xbox Live account when you are going to use it, and it will tell you if there are any updates available. It updates very easily and it is also very easy to install out of the box. I was watching the free DVD in a few minutes. The load times are fairly quick as well, less than a minute. As I stated it is an Add On so be aware that you have to have an Xbox 360 and it runs through your Xbox 360, so if you buy this you will have to always have an Xbox 360 for the machine to work. However this is at this point the most inexpensive entry into the high definition DVD format right now. So overall this is a great purchase if you own an Xbox 360 and are looking to upgrade to a higher definition format. No problems at all a great product.