HD-DVD add-on now available - General Discussion (HARDWARE only)

[quote name='toper']Ok, I'll bite:

Ummm, how can you watch HD DVD MOVIES without buying an HD DVD player or HD DVD movies?[/quote]
My guess is that he has an upconverting DVD Player, which I have as well, and even though it looks better than standard DVD players its still not HD quality.
 
But upconvertors don't play HD DVD movies, right? (referencing your 11:14am post that he originally responded to).
 
[quote name='toper']But upconvertors don't play HD DVD movies, right? (referencing your 11:14am post that he originally responded to).[/quote]

No. Only HD-DVD players play HD-DVD.
 
[quote name='toper']Ok, I'll bite:

Ummm, how can you watch "HD DVD MOVIES" without buying an HD DVD player or HD DVD movies?!?[/quote]

you can on 11/22 for a small price lol

he prob has hd cable
 
[quote name='guyver2077']you can on 11/22 for a small price lol

he prob has hd cable[/QUOTE]

HD Cable can't play HD DVD movies, either.

:)
 
[quote name='toper']HD Cable can't play HD DVD movies, either.

:)[/quote]

sorry your correct.. i though you just asked how you can see "hd" movies...
 
[quote name='FLSHADOW74']I haven't hooked mine up yet as I wanted to share the photos
of the box and it's contents.

Packaging




Contents Of Box
[/QUOTE]

You bastard! Uh, I mean grats. :) No, seriously, I'm glad SOMEBODY has gotten the damn thing. fucking amazon. Thanks for the pics too.
 
[quote name='Bigsauce']I can already do that without buying an HD DVD Player and $30 HD DVD Movies.[/QUOTE]
Not native, only upconverted from 720x480. And only with the VGA cable. Fact: you can only watch standard definitions on DVD. Fact: only HD DVD formats (HD-DVD and Blu-Ray) offer HD films (HD conventionaly defined as at least 720p).
 
[quote name='rodeojones903']I am soooo glad that King Kong doesnt just come in a DVD sleeve. :D[/quote]

That is good, with the after xmas returns, you could easily return it for a different movie, unless it doesn't have a UPC.
 
[quote name='KaneRobot']Thanks for the picks FLSHADOW74. Amazon or EB/GS (or somewhere else)?[/quote]

I ordered mine from EB online as when I went into order it
in the beginning of October the lovely clerk had zero clue
how to do it so i ordered it online.

Also for LinkinPrime, there is no UPC code on the King Kong HD Case.
 
I have a question about the vga cables..I am under the assumption you need that to watch in 1080p. It also doesn't come with the system, you need to buy seperate correct? The pictures I have seen online of it, it has a red/white cable, which I assume is for audio, and then a plug. Is the video going thru the plug like part of the cable?
 
I'm sorry for the confusion. I never said ( or meant to imply) that I could watch HD DVD movies. I'm upconverting as well. My point was that isn't not worth "upgrading" to this player if you DON'T have 1080p. Personally I HIGHLY doubt my eye, or yours, can distinquish (sp?) between Native and Upconverting DVD's. By all means if yer TV can do 1080p, go ahead and buy this and the more expensive DVD's if ya want. Also, just so you don't think I'm some punk kid mouthing off, here's my house. And when I say my house, I mean mine. Not my parents. ;)


My House
 
[quote name='Bigsauce']I'm sorry for the confusion. I never said ( or meant to imply) that I could watch HD DVD movies. I'm upconverting as well. My point was that isn't not worth "upgrading" to this player if you DON'T have 1080p. Personally I HIGHLY doubt my eye, or yours, can distinquish (sp?) between Native and Upconverting DVD's. By all means if yer TV can do 1080p, go ahead and buy this and the more expensive DVD's if ya want. Also, just so you don't think I'm some punk kid mouthing off, here's my house. And when I say my house, I mean mine. Not my parents. ;)


My House[/quote]

That's a badass entertainment room you got there. Can't begin to imagine how cool it would be to play 360 on that wall :drool:
 
[quote name='Bigsauce']I'm sorry for the confusion. I never said ( or meant to imply) that I could watch HD DVD movies. I'm upconverting as well. My point was that isn't not worth "upgrading" to this player if you DON'T have 1080p. Personally I HIGHLY doubt my eye, or yours, can distinquish (sp?) between Native and Upconverting DVD's. By all means if yer TV can do 1080p, go ahead and buy this and the more expensive DVD's if ya want. Also, just so you don't think I'm some punk kid mouthing off, here's my house. And when I say my house, I mean mine. Not my parents. ;)


My House[/QUOTE]

Personally, I HIGHLY doubt my eye, or yours, can distinguish between 1080i and 1080p. But the difference between HD DVDs and upscaled dvds should be obvious. Heck, OTA HD looks ALOT better than upscaled. If people are shown something and had to guess if it was 1080i or 1080p im sure people wouldnt know. HD-DVD vs upscaled DVD is a different story.

Back on topic: My local Gamestop just got these in today. I think im gonna wait until best buy gets them.
 
i think the people that think upscaled dvd's are gooo enough are nuts.. i barely notice any difference and its definitely not near hd
 
Yeah, it appears that the West Coast CC received their shipment today. I was going to wait for BB, but I'm impatient. I may just do a switch when the time comes....
 
[quote name='Bigsauce']I'm sorry for the confusion. I never said ( or meant to imply) that I could watch HD DVD movies. I'm upconverting as well. My point was that isn't not worth "upgrading" to this player if you DON'T have 1080p. Personally I HIGHLY doubt my eye, or yours, can distinquish (sp?) between Native and Upconverting DVD's. By all means if yer TV can do 1080p, go ahead and buy this and the more expensive DVD's if ya want. Also, just so you don't think I'm some punk kid mouthing off, here's my house. And when I say my house, I mean mine. Not my parents. ;)


My House[/QUOTE]

I have a 1080i set and HD DVDs look a *ton* better than upscaled DVDs.
 
[quote name='ryanbph']I have a question about the vga cables..I am under the assumption you need that to watch in 1080p. It also doesn't come with the system, you need to buy seperate correct? The pictures I have seen online of it, it has a red/white cable, which I assume is for audio, and then a plug. Is the video going thru the plug like part of the cable?[/QUOTE]

I'm not exactly sure what your question is but I'll try to answer it.

The HD DVD drive connects to the XBOX 360 via a USB cable. After that is done, the video from the HD DVD drive is output via the XBOX 360's video cable. If you wanted 1080p via VGA, you'd need to buy the VGA cable. One side of the cable goes into the XBOX 360, and on that end there is a port for a digital optical cable for 5.1 sound. The other end has the VGA plug for video to a computer monitor or HDTV along with analog L/R RCA cables for stereo audio in case you don't have a 5.1 system.
 
[quote name='doubledown']Yeah, it appears that the West Coast CC received their shipment today. I was going to wait for BB, but I'm impatient. I may just do a switch when the time comes....[/QUOTE]


Yes, some of the Circuit City's around me have them in stock. I used the website to figure out which stores have them and then ordered it with in store pickup. Driving down tonight after work to pick it up.

Not sure when BestBuy will get them. I was at my local one (Culver City) yesterday and had the guy check their inventory to see when they were coming in. He said they didn't even have any on order to come into the store and none of the stores in my area had them on order. He said they'd have to order them first before they even start shipping them to the store. You may want to have your local BestBuy check their inventory computer to see if they are even expecting them to come in.
 
[quote name='Ruined']I'm not exactly sure what your question is but I'll try to answer it.

The HD DVD drive connects to the XBOX 360 via a USB cable. After that is done, the video from the HD DVD drive is output via the XBOX 360's video cable. If you wanted 1080p via VGA, you'd need to buy the VGA cable. One side of the cable goes into the XBOX 360, and on that end there is a port for a digital optical cable for 5.1 sound. The other end has the VGA plug for video to a computer monitor or HDTV along with analog L/R RCA cables for stereo audio in case you don't have a 5.1 system.[/quote]


Yeah I guess I didn't word my question correctly. Thanks for the detailed response, I do understand how it connects to the 360 system, but I I wanted to know how to get the 1080p out of my 360 with and without the hd dvd player accessory. I have a 1080p tv, and I thought I had read that you can't get it thru the component cables and that vga was the way to go. I have been using the component cables that came with the system on my tv. I am assuming the other cable that is on the original multi output cable that came with the system is NOT vga. Th
 
Could someone explain about the audio formats? What happens with the newer TrueHD and I believe there's a new DTS as well. How will my system hear them? I saw in the deals forum a good-sounding argument about downconverting and loss of fidelity being likely. How does this affect me today and in the future?
 
I've been having my eyes on one of these... but all I use for my HD is my computer monitor. I do love good looking movies however; does anyone know if it would be worth it for me to get one, even if its only on my computer monitor? I know it won't look as good as if it was on a 40" TV... but will there even be a strong difference on my monitor?
 
Got mine tonight at Gamestop, Grand Parkway in Sugar Land, TX. I guess it's nice to get a universal remote plus King Kong. That way it's like getting an HD-DVD player for $145. Plus I had $150 in credit anyways. Not sure if I want to keep this or put the credit towards a Wii. We'll see. I'll be waiting for feedback on it. Someone post impressions soon please!
 
[quote name='ryanbph']Yeah I guess I didn't word my question correctly. Thanks for the detailed response, I do understand how it connects to the 360 system, but I I wanted to know how to get the 1080p out of my 360 with and without the hd dvd player accessory. I have a 1080p tv, and I thought I had read that you can't get it thru the component cables and that vga was the way to go. I have been using the component cables that came with the system on my tv. I am assuming the other cable that is on the original multi output cable that came with the system is NOT vga. Th[/QUOTE]

That's correct, you must buy the VGA cables seperately. However, before you do so ensure your HDTV has a VGA input (most actually don't). Even if it does not have VGA, though, odds are it will look great even over 1080i component because most 1080p HDTVs do a great job of deinterlacing 1080i to 1080p, to the point where you can't tell the difference between deinterlaced 1080i and straight 1080p. HDTVs can do this through a process called Inverse Telecine.
 
[quote name='Gojtron']Could someone explain about the audio formats? What happens with the newer TrueHD and I believe there's a new DTS as well. How will my system hear them? I saw in the deals forum a good-sounding argument about downconverting and loss of fidelity being likely. How does this affect me today and in the future?[/QUOTE]

The primary audio formats you will see on HD DVD are Dolby Digital Plus and Dolby Digital TrueHD as these are the mandatory formats to be decoded.

Dolby Digital Plus is an extension of the original Dolby Digital, the main difference being that Dolby Digital was originally limited to 5.1 channels and 640kbps bitrate. Dolby Digital Plus ups that limit to 7.1 channels and over 3mbps bitrate. That being said, Dolby Digital Plus is a "lossy" codec, meaning some audible information is being lost in the encoding. The XBOX 360 can decode Dolby Digital Plus.

Dolby Digital TrueHD is a new lossless format based on DVD-Audio's MLP format. Lossless means that a Dolby Digital TrueHD track sounds identical to the master, essentially perfect sound. However, the lossless sound comes at a price of essentially double the bitrate of Dolby Digital Plus - while you can do 24/48 Dolby Digital Plus at 1.5mbps, 24/48 TrueHD will cost you over 3mbps. Similarly, while you can do 16/48 Dolby Digital Plus at 640kbps, you need to spend 1.5mbps to do 16/48 TrueHD. This tradeoff means that you might have less space for extensive extras on the same disc, meaning the extras may be pushed to a 2nd disc if TrueHD is used on a longer movie with lots of extras; this is similar to DVD's "2 disc collector's editions", actually a rarity on HD DVD because the immense amount of space generally allows extras to be stored on the same disc (not that it really matters). The studios will therefore evaluate their options to select the best combination of sound options and extras. The XBOX 360 can decode Dolby TrueHD.

The catch is that though the XBOX360 can decode both of these formats, it cannot output them full resolution as that requires 5.1 analog outputs or HDMI output, neither of which XBOX360 has. So, the XBOX360 decodes both of these then re-encodes them to standard Dolby Digital for output over the standard optical port. While this means you are not getting the full resolution, it also means you will not have to worry about not being able to play any soundtrack on HD DVD as XBOX 360 will be able to play them all back though of course it may not be at full resolution. The advantage to this is that studios can feel confident in encoding these new formats on HD DVD as you will be able to read them; therefore when you buy a more deluxe HD DVD player 5 years from now, you will have DD+ and TrueHD on all those HD DVDs you bought over the timeframe as the studios will have felt comfortable in putting them on there.

So, in summary, the XBOX360 can decode and playback the new sound formats however the actual quality of the sound will be similar to a regular DVD; not that this is entirely a terrible thing as from my own experiences you need a multi-thousand audio setup to be able to hear the difference between standard Dolby Digltal and lossless TrueHD.
 
[quote name='equest943']Got mine tonight at Gamestop, Grand Parkway in Sugar Land, TX. I guess it's nice to get a universal remote plus King Kong. That way it's like getting an HD-DVD player for $145. Plus I had $150 in credit anyways. Not sure if I want to keep this or put the credit towards a Wii. We'll see. I'll be waiting for feedback on it. Someone post impressions soon please![/QUOTE]

The video quality is incredible on this device; I witnessed one firsthand. I urge you to open it and check it out. I promise you won't be disappointed once you pop in the included King Kong; instead you will likely be stunned by the video quality. HD DVD is eye candy to the max!
 
I purchased "Serenity" in HD-DVD format before my drive came so that I would have something to reference picture quality as I've seen it on my regular DVD player and again on HBO-HD and the HD-DVD blows them both away by far. Everything has a neverending depth and almost dimensional feel when you look at it.
 
I got mine today and ran a standard vs. HD-DVD comparison on Batman Begins and King Kong. Kong looked amazing on HD-DVD, but Batman Begins was exceptional. The difference between standard and HD discs was like night and day. There's no going back. I also have Mission Impossible III, and that too had my jaw hitting the floor.

I agree with the previous post, there is an added depth and dimension to the picture.

All this, and my set is a 4 year old 42" Toshiba at 1080i.

Fully recommended.
 
[quote name='Ruined']
The catch is that though the XBOX360 can decode both of these formats, it cannot output them full resolution as that requires 5.1 analog outputs or HDMI output, neither of which XBOX360 has. So, the XBOX360 decodes both of these then re-encodes them to standard Dolby Digital for output over the standard optical port. [/QUOTE]

Excellent, thank you, you addressed my concerns with an excellent post. Also the fact that whenever they release an HDMI cable, it will address those issues. So we'll need to buy new TrueHD receivers in a few years.
 
[quote name='Gojtron']Excellent, thank you, you addressed my concerns with an excellent post. Also the fact that whenever they release an HDMI cable, it will address those issues. So we'll need to buy new TrueHD receivers in a few years.[/QUOTE]

Not necessarily. Since the XBOX 360 decodes TrueHD, if an HDMI cable is released the TrueHD will be able to be re-encoded to 24/96 5.1 PCM and output that way via HDMI to any HDMI-capable receiver. Meaning that while you will need an HDMI receiver, you won't need one that decodes TrueHD as the 360 does that step. (This is how the Toshiba HD-A1 & HD-A2 output TrueHD via HDMI).

That being said, I'm not convinced that an HDMI cable will be released for the 360 anytime soon. However, I would not let that hold you back as the addon has incredible jaw-dropping video quality and you can't beat the price.
 
[quote name='Ruined']That's correct, you must buy the VGA cables seperately. However, before you do so ensure your HDTV has a VGA input (most actually don't). Even if it does not have VGA, though, odds are it will look great even over 1080i component because most 1080p HDTVs do a great job of deinterlacing 1080i to 1080p, to the point where you can't tell the difference between deinterlaced 1080i and straight 1080p. HDTVs can do this through a process called Inverse Telecine.[/QUOTE]
thanks again
 
Anyone have a good site for HD-DVD reviews? Digital Bits' lineup of reviews is pretty limited and I didn't see any on IGN's DVD site.
 
I tried to use the CC.com online coupon thru the Xbox live diamond card website that should give a 10% discount on any Xbox 360 Accessory.......

NO GO...

I guess the description for it is different and the website will not honor it, I was hopping to get $20.00 dlls off the price

Oh, well.......
 
[quote name='Ruined']That being said, I'm not convinced that an HDMI cable will be released for the 360 anytime soon.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, they're waiting until we all spend money on the component cable or VGA cable.

Something that kept popping into my head is they may be waiting for HDMI 1.3 so they can continue their obsession with matching Sony feature-for-feature...but with HDMI 1.3 right around the corner and no cable announced yet, that may not be the case.
 
[quote name='KaneRobot']Anyone have a good site for HD-DVD reviews? Digital Bits' lineup of reviews is pretty limited and I didn't see any on IGN's DVD site.[/quote]

Also try http://www.highdefdigest.com/

I think there reviews are very good for hd dvd's. They are also very quick with getting there reviews out.
 
[quote name='billym99']Also try http://www.highdefdigest.com/

I think there reviews are very good for hd dvd's. They are also very quick with getting there reviews out.[/quote]

Also, check out this very good thread from AVS Forum:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=705387

Basically lists all avaliable hd dvd's in a tier system for picture quality (pq). As a note, I have seen some of the tier 3's and while they are tier 3 the picture is still very good.
 
I'm just waiting to get mine....I've been checking most of the CC stores in MI (online) and it looks like they are slowly moving across the state....almost at my very close one. yeah!
 
holy shit my cc says in stock for in store pickup.. ordering now!!!!!!! please be true

dont they have your order ready in like 24 minutes
 
[quote name='guyver2077']holy shit my cc says in stock for in store pickup.. ordering now!!!!!!! please be true

dont they have your order ready in like 24 minutes[/quote]

Yup. If not you get a $24 giftcard.
 
wow like 2 mins later..

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] Y [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]$199.99[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]1[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]$199.99[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Xbox 360™ HD DVD Player
MS 882224379663 [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]shop fee:[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]$0.00 [/FONT]​
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]subtotal: [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]$199.99 [/FONT]​
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]shipping: [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]$0.00 [/FONT]​
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]vendor direct delivery:[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]$0.00 [/FONT]​
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]total sales tax:[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]$14.00 [/FONT]​
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]total current purchase:[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]$213.99 [/FONT]​


Your purchase is now available for pickup at the Customer Service counter of the store you selected. Please bring the following items with you:
1). A printed version of this email
2.) Photo identification (a valid state-issued ID or driver's license)
3.) The credit card used to make this purchase (if applicable)
Please note that in order to ensure the security of your order, you must pick it up yourself.
4.) Don't forget to bring in the coupons located at the bottom of this page.
 
[quote name='guyver2077']wow like 2 mins later..

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] Y [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]$199.99[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]1[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]$199.99[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Xbox 360™ HD DVD Player
MS 882224379663 [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]shop fee:[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]$0.00 [/FONT]​
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]subtotal: [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]$199.99 [/FONT]​
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]shipping: [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]$0.00 [/FONT]​
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]vendor direct delivery:[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]$0.00 [/FONT]​
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]total sales tax:[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]$14.00 [/FONT]​
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]total current purchase:[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]$213.99 [/FONT]​


Your purchase is now available for pickup at the Customer Service counter of the store you selected. Please bring the following items with you:
1). A printed version of this email
2.) Photo identification (a valid state-issued ID or driver's license)
3.) The credit card used to make this purchase (if applicable)
Please note that in order to ensure the security of your order, you must pick it up yourself.
4.) Don't forget to bring in the coupons located at the bottom of this page.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, cool for you....my local store still has none, I can drive like 15 miles though to get it, which I might in a bit here.
 
[quote name='doubledown']I'm just waiting to get mine....I've been checking most of the CC stores in MI (online) and it looks like they are slowly moving across the state....almost at my very close one. yeah![/QUOTE]
Dubs - just picked up one from the Great Lakes Crossing Circuit City, don't know what your proximity is to that but it is there, picked it up on my lunch hour. I think it'll be showing up in stock at more of the stores as the day rolls on though.
 
too bad i couldnt get it through bb as i could of used rewards card...o well..maybe ill still pass by bb to make sure...i can always cancel an in store pickup right?

my local eb only got enough for preorders..

so what happens if i get there and they dont have it..
 
[quote name='KaneRobot']Dubs - just picked up one from the Great Lakes Crossing Circuit City, don't know what your proximity is to that but it is there, picked it up on my lunch hour. I think it'll be showing up in stock at more of the stores as the day rolls on though.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, I'm looking for the Roseville one...the 3 closest to me do not have it, but I can go to TROY to get one....

You should be able to cancel the CC In-store anyways....it would basically be a return. Istill plan to go to Best Buy first, but would like to get it somewhere.
 
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