Xbox 360 to get built-in HD DVD drive in late 2008?
By Nilay Patel 
posted October 19th 2007 3:57PM
posted October 19th 2007 3:57PM
This certainly isn't the first time we've heard this rumor, but SmartHouse is reporting that Microsoft and Toshiba are working on an updated Xbox 360 with a built-in HD DVD drive. If that were all, we wouldn't bat an eye -- it's gotta happen sometime -- but there are some other, crazier aspects to this version of the rumor that set off some red flags: SmartHouse also claims that the new box will be Toshiba-branded and have dual HDTV tuners, electronic program guide capabilities, built-in wireless networking, and sport an "MP3 player" dock, which we'd imagine would be for a Zune. That's a hell of a box, right there, and while we've seen similar devices like Sony's PSX, they didn't exactly take the world by storm. Our money is still on a simple bump of the existing 360 to HD DVD, but get ready to hear a lot of about this rumor in the weeks to come.[Via Joystiq]
And all you have to do is buy TWO full-blown PC's and TWO xbox 360's. What an economical decision that's sure to be popular in homes in all income ranges...Homes that won't even buy ONE xbox 360 because they can buy a Wii for half the price. Boy, Microsoft sure understands the market!
wow, do you, um, work for microsoft? because that "digital home" idea is very bill gates (circa 1996)-esque
There will never be a final version of the Xbox 360 since it's obvious Microsoft was going to use the classic "new and improved" approach to selling the box since day one. I'm surprised they haven't started selling cars.
This wouldn't be connect to Toshiba's purchase of cell chips now would it?
This doesn't have to do with the PS3, but this is the way I see it. Toshiba and Sony got together and Sony decided they didn't want to be a chip manufacturer and offered Toshiba a deal. Toshiba would buy the fab plant and kick out chips for what they see is a winning format (Blu-Ray). In return, Sony will buy the chips from Toshiba and they can finally "get back to their roots" as they stated in a previous conference. Toshiba probably realizes that Blu-Ray is winning and they are "buying into" the winning format as to now lose everything from the war. Of course, it can be seen from many different angles. That's just one.
it was a joke
Wasn't Xbox 360 supposed to get IPTV by year end?
Consumers had made their choice very clear by buying Blu-ray movies at a ratio of 2:1 compared to HD-DVD. This should have sent a clear signal to the movie studios to go Blu-ray exclusive and end the format war. Instead companies like Paramount and Microsoft seem to be saying “Screw the consumer! We don’t give a crap what they think! We’ll tell them what to think!”
If it weren’t for Microsoft and Paramount the format war would be winding down and we could all enjoy HD movies this Christmas. Sadly they’ve seen fit to prolong the stalemate and like many people I’m waiting for a winner before I can enjoy HD movies. Adding HD-DVD drives as standard to the Xbox 360 would only prolong the war further.
Amen Brother!
http://www.dvdempire.com/Content/Features/hidef_wars.asp
"If it weren’t for Microsoft and Paramount the format war would be winding down and we could all enjoy HD movies this Christmas."
Rubbish.
If you want to enjoy something - STFU and simply enjoy it.
But since you came here with zeal, there should be something else to it. Isn't it?
Philips, I have over 2,500 DVDs which cost tens thousands of dollars. I don’t want to spend tens of thousands of dollars on a collection of high definition discs that I may not be able to find a player for in a few years. I hope that helps you realise the absurdity of your suggestion that I should “STFU and simply enjoy it.”
hey,
I disagree with you.
HD DVD is identical (picture and sound wise) to blu ray. blu ray has more storage. but blu ray players cost twice as much. In Toronto you can buy an HD DVD player for 299.99 or a ps3 for 499.99. CDN$. yes ps3 is appealing to gamers. but not everyone is a gamer. so why wouldn't the average person buy the cheaper HD dvd player that looks and sounds the same for half the price? this is what has been happening and will continue to happen. (there's speculation about an hd dvd player for $199.99 by xmas time)
the average consumer (which is majority) can't afford the new 1080p SONY SXRD television sets with 7.1 channel surround. it's still priced to high. but a lot of people want the new flat screen hdtv's and 720p 5.1 surround sound are getting affordable to that average consumer. so are hd dvd players. hence paramount and MS support HD DVD. I think HD DVD will win, it's doing so well considering blu ray is pushed more (in Canada at least).
sorry to go on for so long... sony's created a lot of hype around it's products and while I do believe blu ray should have been the sole HD disc it is not. and it is not worth the extra 200$ markup... all I can say in the end...it will go way of the MINIDISC! fiber optic internet will let you download HD movies within 2-4 minutes!...does it remind you of minidisc and mp3 players? be an educated consumer...I hate to say it (Microsoft is not the greatest corporations either) but blu ray is pushed because salesmen can make a higher commission off of sony products. I know people that work in electronic stores. HDTV's are ridiculously marked up as well! but there's only so much we can do...but continue to purchase overpriced product right?
competition keeps the monopoly away. do you really want a blu-ray only world? sure, this thing has to get settled, but think about it, if microsoft backs down, who the hell can tell sony to stop selling blu-rays for ridiculous prices. c'mon, think a little.
ycabrera, I think it’s you who needs to think a little.
Sony aren’t the only company making Blu-ray players; Panasonic, Philips, Denon, Samsung and many others are making players. Obviously they will be competing for sales which will lead to price and feature competition.
Contrary to what you seem to believe the format war is actually keeping the prices of Blu-ray players higher since it is delaying uptake of either format and thus reducing sales. With lower sales manufactures comes lower economies of scale and thus the prices are remaining high. If there was only one format we would be seeing considerably cheaper players by now since sales of the players would be much higher and thus manufacturers would be able to make them cheaper.
The longer the format war prevails the longer prices will remain high. Once a single format wins prices will decline more rapidly as sales increase due to mass market adoption.
@ ycabrera ^ ^
Ok, so how come Microsoft has a monopoly over operating systems?!
For MS to say they don't want anyone to monopolise anything basically adds up to the biggest pot and kettle ever.....in the world.....of all time!!!!!!!!!
Talk about ignoring customers if they start making HD-DVD games. Personaly I think it would be a dumb move. The external drive is the way to keep things until the next generation.
The only thing that interests me is the wireless. I'd like to try X-Box live, but the $100 price tag for the wireless adapter is absolutely ridiculous. Especially when you consider that every other current system including the handhelds has Wifi right out of the box.
WiFi has higher latencies compared to Ethernet.
The decision was made in favor of what pro gamers would choose. Thus Ethernet.
MSFT didn't used Blutooth for its wireless controller for the same reason - too high latencies. My WiiMote is bit sluggish compared to my friend's Xbox controller.
@Ihar
Yes...Wifi has higher latencies compared to ethernet but saying pro gamers would chose ethernet over wifi is a load of crap. I consider myself a pro gamer, i have all 3 next-gen systems, both a DS and a PSP and a gaming computer that I recently built. And the only things I have connected using a LAN cable are my file server, my Voip, and my everyday computer. My gaming computer, my PS3, my 360 and my nintendo are all wifi and work great!!! I play all my games over Wifi, when I play World of Warcraft my Lat is almost never over 300 MS and thats taking in account that im over in Germany and my server is in the US.
And the reason M$ didnt use bluetooth is so they can control the wireless divices attched to their systems. The M$ wireless is proprietary, they just recently let someone have rights to it, which is why GH3 is wireless. You cant blame the 'high latencies' for the reson the 360 isnt bluetooth. Cause my PS3 controller works great. When i hit the X button to jump my char doesnt sit there then jump, he jumps. Same as for the 360, when i hit the A button to jump, he dont jump any faster. If you see lag your eyes must be able to take in the .0000001 milisecond that may or may not be there.
Jeez.
What happened to the time when companies made one console and that was it? OK, so Sega made the Mega Drive II, Sony made the PSOne and slim PS2, but all those were at the end of the product lifecycle, not bang slap in the centre of it. Yes, fixing problems by fitting new kit is great, but features shouldn't change.
Maybe it's Microsoft's way of killing the console industry...
ill kick my current premiun version to ebay with the quickness if they do indeed release an hddvd/hdmi more memory version
several months back when it was revealed the HD DVD consortium had given millions of dollars to certain studios in order to buy some favortism, that money would have gone much further if they bought crates of HD DVD drives and donated them to Microsoft to be included inside X Boxes
I think that MS would have a winner. I don't really see why they would want to put in dual tuners, but then again I've never made a dime in developing or building new consoles.
And I think that this could be the next evolution in the 386. And if they can keep it around $400 then people will eat it up.
All of this is called PROGRESS. Live with it!
Youre mobile phone is outdated the day you buy it, that TV you just brought, Computer, PVR, iPod . . .
There will be a ps4, ps5, Xbox 720 . . .
This is the real world and it is big scary place.
It is called PROGRESS people. Stop the "I'm getting screwed" complaining, it is really pathetic.
Live with it or go and crawl under a rock and never make another purchase again!
By the way, I think this story is really nothing more than rumour anyway. :)
@Robinator
There's Progress and there's Ridiculous! Come-on, yes, there's going to be a PS4, but it's not coming out tomorrow is it? As consumers, we SHOULD expect the products that we buy, to work with software that is made for it, and during a reasonable amount of time from the date of purchase. So save all the tough talk about "the real world" (whatever that means?). Because a first Generation iPod (from 6 years ago) will STILL work with iTunes 7.x.x.
MS has every right to make ANOTHER Xbox 360 (v4), with an HD-DVD, and prolong this annoying HD Format war for another freaking year or more. Rumor or not, what if developers start making games on HD-DVD -- what then? Customer's have every right to be pissed. Are current Xbox360 owners seriously supposed to go out and drop ANOTHER $400 in the new and improved Xbox360- with go faster stripes?
The NES was out of 5 years
The Super NES was out 5 years.
all Sega Game Units
the first Xbox
the PS1
But for this console generation it's been different. In less than 2 years, everything that is completely unacceptable and in many ways against the law, is totally tolerated and cheered on as being the norm. Why, because they can, and they know we will tolerate it. MS (Sony and Nintendo), know dam well, that gamers will do and pay ANYTHING for the latest and greatest. And that we'll complete put up with this price gouging, region locked downs, and online extortion, just to say in the game.
I can't believe people are "high ranking" you for being an asshole
More likely this rumor is the first hint at the next Xbox.
I doubt it.
MSFT had decided against including any new DVD format into Xbox since that would raise costs and most importantly raise risks in case if the format wouldn't win the hi-def war.
BluRay does better compared to HD DVD. But all the rumors hint that HD DVD camp is going to counter attack with cheaper drives.
And that still holds: no clear winner. So everybody still sits on fence waiting.
P.S. You would also notice that MS is very slow at picking optical disk standards. CD burning appeared with XP. Only Vista included capability to burn DVDs. We did it with 2nd party software for ages - but Wind0ze itself was incapable. And only now 7(?) years later Wind0ze does support DVD burning. Ridiculous, if you'd ask me.
filiapau
you realize that they couldn't put the DVD burning software in because it would violate their antitrust agreement. Also, they would have to pay royalties for the software.
i thought when the ps3 came out, ms pretty much SWORE that it didn't want to go into a built-in HD direction because it would drive up the cost, and it wasn't what they wanted people to buy the system for?
niice. so, not only are you doing the same thing as sony by (possibly) planning an HD drive input, but... you're also copying how they do media releases? just saying they'll never do it and then doing it..
has to have CableCard
I'd settle for some anti-aliasing in Halo 3.
I don't think with a spec like that it would appeal to all regions. I know I'd have no use for Dual HD tuners here in the UK. A HD-DVD built in for movies would be a welcome change though.
Wouldn't be the first time something like this has happened. Remember the panasonic cube that was a gamecube with extras like dvd player and more:
http://ultimateconsoledatabase.com/others/panasonic_q.htm
See this is what bugs me about the 360 lately... It keeps evolving so quickly, making previous versions obsolete almost on a crazy monthly basis, making either those who have taken the plunge already feel alienated/tricked by their manufacturer, or those who haven't yet taken the plunge, feel like it'll never actually be the right time to purchase the system because it will always be less of a 360 than everyone else has.
This has to stop. Unless of course Microsoft has grown to enjoy getting thousands of old 360s returned to them in new 360 boxes.
This is what I am waiting for before buying another 360.
Personally, I was wondering when MicroSoft would farm the hardware part out to people who know how to do it right. If they license the 360 OS and requirements, the number of clones competing for the market would drown Sony out of the market. It already looks like they have decided to treat the PS3 as a BD player that plays games rather than the other way around. And if LG or another company makes a 360-compatible that is also a dualformat player, all the better.
I bought the 60gb when it went on sale since backwards compatibility is important to me, but I still only have one PS3 game. Sony definitely makes better hardware, but it takes a lot for me to buy from them since they will lie about their product changes right up to the release date.
Actually that's been tried by other companies... Twice.
It didn't work out to well. The CDi and the 3DO both bombed big time.
I think MS knows exactly what they are doing. Even though the consumer gets a bit shorted until MS has decided to play all their cards. And look at some of the comments here. People will buy it to replace the old model. The old model will be sold to people looking for a deal. MS sells even more consoles.
If it was pretty much the same model through its life(like the first Xbox was) then people won't buy a new one until the first one breaks.
MS has to go slow and allow other companies go create solutions first. If they put it in it "stifles the competition". Hard to compare Windows to any other OS when MS isn't allowed to put in features that are standard in others.
Why would this be a bad thing? There are many of us Mac users who would love to use our 360 as a full media center but would never purchase a Windows Media Center PC. the Dual tuners would most likely = DVR capability, which would be awesome. Although the idea of a "red ring of death" taking away my gaming, hd-dvd AND DVR in one swoop scares the crap out of me. I've had to send my 360 into repair 2 times now.
If MS does this, they need to update the sound capabilities in the 360 because as an HD DVD player, it's outshined by standalones like toshiba's HD-A2.
Just my opinion, but if MS are to turn the 360 into a real media centre, then they would have to totally change the look of it before i'd buy one.
There is no way I would have something that looks like that, next to my TV in my living room.
All I know is if MS decides to start releasing games that will require this new HD-DVD drive, MS better be prepared to start offering free upgrades.
hes the best thing anyone can do and will end this little kid fomat war , make hd-dvd the choice for movies and blu-ray for copture use only . .. hears the thing as far as movies go u cant see any diffence with hd or blu. but why pay 500 for the cheapest blue ray player ... blu-ray can hold more info . honsetly i watch a movie for the movie i dont care who made it where it was filmed who used the bathroom at what time too much space used for nothing . so use that for computers programming or data storage . its a real joke when u think about it
HD-DVD games would be awesome, but there is no way in hell we should have to cough up 170 bucks to play them. I'm not even sure why you would want to watch HD-DVD or Blu-Ray on a console. If you want to watch movies.. buy a piece of equipment that is dedicated to do nothing but play HD movies. I just bought my Xbox 360 to destroy you and hear you cry over the microphone. Maybe when they get bored and do a xbox 720 we can get all of that fancy stuff on it. But for now they should at least get the CPU and GPU down to 65nm to reduce heat issues. But so far no problems with my Halo3 console edition.
Well, this would be a nice console but no one seems to remember the fact, if this does go on what happens to regular dvd games? Because all the games would have to be transfered to HD DVD to play on the new xbox 360, as for dual HD TV tuners, that would be nice. As for the wireless network tuner, and the MP3 dock, taht could also be included in a new version. I still really doubt it since MS would have to go through alot of work to just get the old games on regular DVD format to work on HD DVD.
if i hear 1 more piss ass crier about the "red ring of death", it will be too soon. get some fans installed... find a way to get some ventiliation to your system(s). $20 at radioshack will get you a good fan. I bought 3, they provide for 360 and ps3 and wii, there is no heat in my enclosed cabinets with glass doors in closets. ever hear of a cold furnace. well i have one. for xmas maybe some of you criers should ask for a gallon size bottle of maturity.
Hmm... ANOTHER 360 you all have to go out and buy...
ramble on about ps3 all you want but these are to play games on and xbox has the best games.......hands down.