Xbox 360 to get a new HD DVD drive in 2008
By Nilay Patel 
posted Sep 20th 2007 4:29PM
posted Sep 20th 2007 4:29PM
Details are beyond sketchy at this point, but Personal Computer World is reporting that Mark Bennett, Microsoft's European HD DVD business director, announced that Microsoft would be shipping a revised 360 HD DVD drive in 2008 -- presumably one with improved support for HD DVD's HDi interactive features, which Microsoft is touting as being "nine months" ahead of Blu-ray. That's all the info we have for now, but you can bet we haven't heard the last of this one.[Thanks, ChronoZaga]
there better be an exchange program
I really hope that was a joke. It was right?
Yeah!!
Why would there be an exchange program? When anti-lock breaks came out did everyone without them demand a FREE upgrade?
Just like there better be an exchange program for my PS3 controls thatdo not have rumble. Or my BDP-301 and my PS3 that will not support the newer BD1.2 spec, or...
lol, i should have put on tags huh?
^^ that was supposed to be "sarcasm tags" but i guess engadget strips tag syntax :p
If you were trying to be funny in there, then I missed it in my post. I have tried putting scarcasm tags in posts before, and yes, they do remove them.
It just goes to show that people should probably just avoid HD-DVD for the time being.
@Maestro - Bad metaphor. Electronics companies such as MS, Apple, and others have adopted a business model which intentionally keeps the customers from making informed decisions about their purchases in order to attract press. Car companies do not. Customers can count on car models being upgraded every year. Also, most automobile manufacturers are not secretive about the upgrades that will become available. Information is made available to the customer as soon as decisions are made in order to allow the customer to make informed decisions about their purchases.
I do agree with the general consensus that electronics consumers need to come to terms with the fact that their purchases will invariably be somewhat outdated within a matter of time due to product upgrades. However, one can't help but feel betrayed when information is withheld intentionally in order to prevent the consumer from making the best decision possible.
@Maestro - Bad metaphor. Electronics companies such as MS, Apple, and others have adopted a business model which intentionally keeps the customers from making informed decisions about their purchases in order to attract press. Car companies do not.
>>>You have no business commenting on Maestro's metaphor....bad or not. So when you bought that brand new 1986 Chevy Cavalier without ABS, General Motors told you that the 1988 model was going to have it? Because they thought you might really want ABS so they "informed" you ahead of time? Wow, those are nice dudes. They really care. I'm pretty sure when you bought that car, General Motors knew that the 88 Cav would have ABS. But even if they knew you wanted ABS, they wanted your money more....and they wanted it now....not 2 years from now.
>>>When you say "attract press" what you should be talking about is planned obsolescence. If a product is a high volume type of commodity, I don't care what it is, there is always some sort of obsolescence that is bound to occur.
Also, most automobile manufacturers are not secretive about the upgrades that will become available.
>>>"Wait 2 years to buy our car even though you have $20,000 to spend now. We don't want your money....just you wait, in 2 years the car you are looking at in our showroom right now is crap by comparison." Your argument is making less and less sense isn't it?
I do agree with the general consensus that electronics consumers need to come to terms with the fact that their purchases will invariably be somewhat outdated within a matter of time due to product upgrades.
>>>Just like automobiles. THere are 5 year old phones that make calls on Sprint, why don't we all just use those? My Ford Model T has 4 wheels and an engine and gets me to the supermarket. Why must I drive a Hummer H2?
However, one can't help but feel betrayed when information is withheld intentionally in order to prevent the consumer from making the best decision possible.
>>>If you still don't get it, let me restate the fact that you need to think before you write.
I would hope there is a reason beyond enabling HDi. I don't easily believe that you can't simply enable that with a firmware upgrade...
oh damn, you threw me off with your double negative
what's HDi anyways? like.... HDMI? o?
The major changes they have made to justify a whole new drive include adding some red lights in a ring formation...
What does HDi have to do with the drive? The 360 has enough processing power.. maybe it doesnt have enough ram?
Sigh, is this gonna be another case of the early adoptor getting shafted?
THE HD DVD DRIVE CAME OUT A YEAR AGO
I thought the current drives supported HDi. I thought Every HD-DVD branded drive supported it. I know I can use the U-Control on Heroes and thats HDi.
The current drive does support HDi (as does ever other HD-DVD player). The Engadget poster misspoke saying it didn't.
MZx,remember your buying into a format that is currently in a FORMAT WAR. Every consumer gets shafted in a format war.
Will it match my Elite now?
better....They need to just make an HD/DVD-Blu-Ray combo drive
A Microsoft VP has said they'll make an HD DVD/Blu-ray combo drive for the XBox 360...
As soon as Sony announces HD DVD playback for the PS3!
...which means never.
Yea,
I hope it matches the elite. Aside from the technical benefits of buying the HD Drive. I really want it to match my Elite and that is one of the reasons why I'm holding out. Now there are two reasons.
@ Trent
I though I read an article where they (Microsoft) said that if there was a clear cut winner in the new DVD format that they would offer a drive that supported it. It seemed like at the time they were using that as part of their you have the choice to get into the format wars marketing campaign.
Or they could be waiting for the newer HD DVD drives with the higher capacity?
My guess is that it may have a video and audio decoder chip built into it to lessen the burden on the console.
As long as it works with Vista and XP...
The current HD-Dvd drive works Vista but not XP as far as I know.
You need drivers for XP, plug and play with Vista
ouch. i thought the current one supports HDi? maybe it'll improve the speed. mine is incredibly sluggish in terms of responding to remote/menu commands.. :T
uncool, bill
The 360's HD-DVD drive already supports HDi. If you read the article they are just stating how HD-DVD's interactivity is already present and working whereas Blu-ray's is still not out yet (although I'm not sure where he gets the 8-9 months. Nov '07 is the month I've heard for Blu-ray Profile 1, which includes Picture in Picture). I imagine what they are coming out with is probably a quieter and/or slimmer HD-DVD drive.
They should just build it into the next gen 360, and leave the USB port option for BluRay as external if HD-DVD goes extinct. I hope quieter too.
I was gonna buy the X360 HD-DVD Drive for my computer...and then I read this news.
This isn't news. It's speculation on a vague "comment." He's stating that Blu-ray is behind the times.. and HD-DVD is not. So don't worry. He probably meant they were releasing a Blew-Ray player. They just have to wait until the specs are finalized........ ;)
I bet it will be support for Dolby True HD and DTS HD.
Exactly my thoughts... hopefully.
does anyone honestly believe that the real reason is to limit/temporarily stop the hd-dvd ripping that folks are able to do with the current version? Otherwise the drive works fine and, as stated above, it will already do HDi.
Stuff like this makes me glad I'm broke all the time and can't afford anything when it's new. The longer I wait the more the prices come down and the more stuff they add to these systems.
Of course, I'm a PC gamer first and all these changes have done is make console gaming less appealing. I mean everyone who buys these things used to say "I only have to buy it once and it's good for 6 years. I don't have to add RAM and a graphics card every year, the games just work."
Well, now they change console components every 6 months anyway and instead of just adding RAM you have to buy a whole new system!
PC gaming will be back in force.
That was sarcasm right? The HD DVD drive isn't used for games... and all games out right now still work pretty darn well out of the box... i hope you die
If the 360 starts requiring a hard drive like people want it to, and is successful, I wouldn't put that past MS.
Holy crap, MDB, that was a bit harsh.
Sigh. The drive has nothing to do with HDi. It's just a friggin drive. Seriously. It spins and data comes off it.
Probably just a refresh. Maybe a bit faster. Who knows? Does it matter?
Probably a black version to compliment the Xbox360 Elite.
Since when did they make them spin?! Mine only spins the disc inside of it!!
GOD DAMMIT I HATE BEING AN EARLY ADOPTER!!
Mandatory Network Connection
Networking provides a limitless dimension for filmmakers and viewers to keep discs up-to-date with fresh content.
From http://www.thisishddvd.com
Also, means the firmware is upgradeable. From bink.nu:
“With Microsoft’s HDi technology, Toshiba is able to offer consumers a consistent movie- watching experience in a way that simply isn’t possible with today’s DVDs or available with any other format right now,” said Jodi Sally, vice president of marketing for Toshiba America Consumer Products. “Advanced navigation using Microsoft’s HDi technology has been offered on all of Toshiba’s HD DVD players — from the models introduced last spring to our third generation of models that are shipping today.”
that could also be added in a firmware update. the xbox 360 has an ethernet connection.
The XBOX 360 HD-DVD Player is already upgradable! They released an upgrade earlier this year for better support for some movies and other stuff. It's not a required download. If you do not have the HD-DVD drive, the 360 will not automatically download the update. Only when you plug in the drive and stick a movie in it and try to play it, it will check and update the firmware/software/whatever to the latest version.
BUILD IT INTO THE CONSOLE PPPPLLLLEEEAAASSSEEEE~
Nice - early adopters (myself included) get the shaft. Fortunately I've played a total of 3 movies off it and don't really care.
stop trying to be the first guy on your block with the latest and greatest and you wont ever feel shafted again.
to people who want a trade in:
get those dedicated hddvd/bluray players exchanged for the new models too.
i have a vcr i want exchanged for a dvd player for free because they didnt tell me technology would update!
My guess is that it will fix the flaw that so many of us have come to know and love: a way around HDCP.
There are no real details yet. Maybe they're just coming out with one to match the colors of the Elite.
this article doesnt make any sense at all and is totally inaccurate. first of all, the 360 already supports hdi, and secondly, how the hell would a drive have any effect on what is done in software? its a freaking drive, all it does is read bits off of a disk.
For gods sakes already. just add the hd dvd drive in as a replacement for the normal dvd-rom.
there's nothing wrong with upgrading a console (keep games on dvd only, not hd-dvd so there's no issues).
the problem is, people complain if you update a console. instead of realizing it extends the lifespan of the device (good for everyone that owns it!!) they complain because it's now better than theirs... very short sighted. we'd still be on 486's if we took that attitude with pc's.
Sod this format war - I'm on both sides of the fence! (I have a PS3 & 360 HD-DVD drive)
Although, having got both & watched a few movies on both formats I'm a lot more impressed with the HD-DVD, and that's mostly because of the HDi stuff but I think that's really important as the difference in video quality between HiDef & DVD isn't worth the markup alone
God you guys are a bunch of wieners.
The current drive supports HDi, plays EVERY HD DVD title, is fast, output quality is EXCELLENT, it decodes EVERY video and sound format inc Dolby True HD and DTS HD, it's inexpensive . . . For what it is it is close to perfect.
What is it again all of you lot are complaining about . . ???? Oh yeah, thats it, any reason to complain.
"Early adopter" blah blah blah . . sheeesh.
The HDMI on the 360 only carries 2channel PCM audio audio streams. The other option is to send the audio over the optical connection. So the fact that the drive does decode Dolby TrueHD doesn't mean you actually get to hear it. It decodes the TrueHD and then encodes it into normal DTS (with the latest update). So you lose a lot of the audio quality present in the TrueHD soundtrack.
Maybe the new HD-DVD drive is going to be for a new 360 revision that will fully support HDMI v1.3
Honestly, the only thing that I could see them doing is adding high bit stream audio support to the player(not sure if USB 2.0 will be able to handle this, but perhaps that's the reason for the revision), in addition to DTS HD and DTS Master Audio on board decoding. As it stands the player already decodes TrueHD and the other lossless/lossy audio formats in the same fashion as a standalone player would, and you're really not missing out on that much.
On top of that the current player is amazing. I owned it for close to a year (bought it the day it came out) and just recently had to let it go after a direct lightning strike to my house fried the drive, along with my receiver. I have since upgraded to the 3rd generation Toshiba A30 and I'm loving it quite a bit, but I'm missing the incredibly fast load times of the add-on.
The bottom line? If you happen to have the premium that is equipped with HDMI(or even if you don't) the current add-on is the absolute best option for anyone who is interested in HD DVD. There is no question. Not to mention the fact that with the official announcement of the new add-on the price will drop even further for the add-on before the year is out. Perhaps even to $150 or $100 at some places.
acctually I think the bottom line there was that lightning + electronics = bad.
did you not have a surge protector? or did it blow right through it?
I feel like holding my computer tight in my arms and keeping it safe now from the vengeful spite of mother nature...
Actually, the irony of it all was that my modem and router had been fried a week before, and I went out to buy a battery backup/surge protector for my home theater, in the hopes that I would avert a similar tragedy. However, since it was a direct lightning hit (the lightning struck the front yard/side of the house) the protector isn't guaranteed to protect against direct hits. What's worse? The plumbing for our house is kinda old and the lightning happened to burst the water main for the house, and since no one was home until my roommates and I all got off from work/school the front yard was like a pool, and we were without water for two days waiting for the plumber to fix the main.
Altogether the experience was awful to say the least.
I wish I could make love to my sister's bitches. They're pretty hot.
9 months ahead of Blu-Ray...
And it comes out when in 2008? 2nd quarter or so. LOL
Keep your lols to yourself...HDi's interactivity features are 9 months ahead of Blu-ray's (so far non-existent) advanced interactivity features. :)
WTF? The HD DVD drive is just that, a drive. HDi is handled by the XBox360. Pretty much everything to do with actually playing an HD DVD is handled by the XBox.
The "revised drive" I'm betting is nothing more than using cheaper Lite-On drives instead of Toshiba drives that it's currently using.
Wow - keep taking the pills, dude!
Wow, I saw this coming. I'm willing to bet this is why they are doing it too - With the old HDDVD drive you could hook it up to a computer and use it to pirate HDDVDs really easily. So they are going to make a new and improved "better" version with more features that could have been done with software probably, just so everyone who doesn't realize this gets rid of the old "crappy" one for this one. I was surprised they didn't issue a re-call.
They had to stop the piracy somehow, and this probably is the most effective method, unfortunately an Xbox 360 HDDVD drive isn't the only way in existence to pirate HDDVDs :P
I must admit I've had a few wonky issues with my HD-DVD drive. Nothing major, but a few discs read inconsistently, and there's been a couple times where it's spun up for no reason while I'm doing other things on my 360.
If the new version is a bit more elegant and matches the Elite, I might upgrade. But I'm happy with my current drive. I was one of the biggest scoffers of HD-DVD until I tried it. The movies look GREAT and the software feels nice. Good stuff.
"JUST LEAVE BRITNEY ALONE ALREADY!"
No problems. Rumor was false.
http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/rumor-smashed/relax-no-new-xbox-hd-dvd-drive-in-2008-302183.php
everyone can stop freaking out, this is a false report. microsoft has chimed in to say that they are NOT producing a new drive and that they are happy with the one they have.
Everyone knows the Xbox720 will feature a built-in HDDVD-RW/BD-RW drive, so there's really nothing to see here, people. Move along, move along...
Hey, remember this "debunked rumor?"
"We're always working on prototypes and new technologies and just playing with stuff in Redmond to see what's interesting," Satchell told GameSpot. "At the moment, everything you might have seen is just looking at our experimentation back in Redmond, not really a product that we're thinking about announcing."
Microsoft will "officially deny/debunk" rumors until the release date. They don't want people to stop buying them in anticipation of an upgrade.
See..
http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/rumor-smashed/relax-no-new-xbox-hd-dvd-drive-in-2008-302183.php
Nilay - the HDi stuff is done through software. It wouldn't need a new drive. So it's anyone's guess what the new drive is for. Maybe just cheaper, faster?
Why don't they just integrate this dumb thing once and for all and get it over with? Nobody wants an external drive.
Maybe it will be a slimmer version. HDi is handled in software, it's got nothing to do with the drive.
I have a PS3 and the 360 HD Drive and I go by how well made the player is not by what features it might have.
The PS3 has it all integrated in the PS3 so no need for this cheap a** drive like the 360 HD drive is.
Don't breath on the HD Drive or it might break.
The scary part is you can hear things moving in the HD Drive were you can't in the PS3.
The PS3 might be a lot more but your paying for many years of study and research in putting there technologies together.
Unlike the 360 and Wii that you need to get some other drive in order to view the HD part of movies.
I am all for putting the HD into the 360 I hate the seperate drive stuff.
It makes my 360 look junkie.
And for that matter the Wii only plays games and a few other features.
And for that matter I still get Standard DVD's cuzz both formats are still new and both have a big price tag on them.
They run about $25 to $130 depending on what movie or if it is a tv series etc.
When I can pay about $10 to $30 for standard dvd that looks fine.
And I don't care about picture in picture feature.
I don't use them.
I just watch the movie.
This is just another BetaMax Vs VHS tape and guess what the VHS which was crappier won out.
So neither of them may win it might be Standard DVD that wins out in this whole stink on me I stink on you war.
And too there are always bugs and product features that get added or taken off.
Just look at the early Standard DVDs it just had the movie on the DVD and nothing else.
This is similar with these two formats of HiDef discs
More features will come when they figure out how things work more on both formats etc.
And if I had to choose between them?
I would not pick either I would actualy pick Standard DVD since they have been around for about 10 years or more and have been going strong for awhile now.
Eventualy SD DVD's will go away like VHS has but for now SD DVD is still the winner here for being cheaper and not that much video quality lost on them.
Trie sticking a full 10GB DVD on a VHS it won't work very well so in the respect VHS is anchient.
Not saying SD DVD is not anchient either but it is newer then VHS.
So I guess my point is that these things are just rediculus as to which format will win out.
I personally could give a flying fig which one wins.
Later,
Daiwin