360 HD DVD Player

bigdavecox90 · 05-08-2008, 11:47 AM

Is it literally just for playing DVD's?

Seen one for £24.99

Worth getting for that price?

md1542 · 05-08-2008, 11:52 AM

Its literally just for playing HD-DVD's...

There are still a lot of HD-DVD's (some quite cheap) on the market available to buy, although the HD DVD format is now redundant.

Its really up to you if you want to buy one.

Personally, I'd use the money to start a saving fund for a blu-ray player!

landwomble · 05-08-2008, 11:53 AM

it also works with a PC to let you playback HDDVDs (and also rip them if you have the right software).

Delvey · 05-08-2008, 12:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by md1542

Its literally just for playing HD-DVD's...

There are still a lot of HD-DVD's (some quite cheap) on the market available to buy, although the HD DVD format is now redundant.

Its really up to you if you want to buy one.

Personally, I'd use the money to start a saving fund for a blu-ray player!

and i wouldnt
its cheap, the dvd's are cheap and most the same quality of blu-ray (he'll probably disagree, but ive seen 300 on both and there is no difference)
most dvd's are £5, and there are 100's of titles, so i would say go for it

pricklespons · 05-08-2008, 12:08 PM

Its all dependant on the codecs used on the films, but you wont find any difference in quality between the 2 formats!!!!

bluray is still very expensive - and there are lots of good HDDVD titles around to be able to dip ya toe in the water with (HMV are doing lots of titles of £2.99)

md1542 · 05-08-2008, 12:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Delvey

and i wouldnt
its cheap, the dvd's are cheap and most the same quality of blu-ray (he'll probably disagree, but ive seen 300 on both and there is no difference)
most dvd's are £5, and there are 100's of titles, so i would say go for it

Actually, *he* won't disagree. I have an Xbox 360 with the HD-DVD add-on AND a standalone blu-ray player, and in terms of quality, I can't say as I notice a difference either.

Both Delvey and Pricklespons are right; quality difference is negligible in most cases, and there are plenty of cheap HD-DVD's on the market.

That said, I personally still wouldn't bother buying into a technology thats discontinued. New movies will end up not being produced on the format, and if you want to continue to collect new films in a HD format, you'll *have* to get a blu-ray player eventually. Meaning you'll end up with 2 systems, and 2 separate movie libraries.

Perhaps none of this is an issue for you, in which case, ignore everything I've said and go for it!

After all, its not like its a fortune...

Ultimately, its just personal choice!

hermitd · 05-08-2008, 12:39 PM

here is my 2p on the subject:
* HD does increase the quality. the image is brighter and clearer. The audio is better too when compared to standard DVD (say you are looking at someones face.. on HD the picture is clear enough to make you seen individual hair or root or whatever)
* you need an good sized HD TV to appreciate the difference.
* i recently bought HD DVD drives just to get all the bargains... managed to get my fav movies at around 5 or less.
* nothing lasts forever... so if you have 100 quid to spare and are looking for some decent movies at cheap prices HD is good for now (same movies on blu ray cost around 10 - 15 each)

hermitd · 05-08-2008, 1:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by md1542

That said, I personally still wouldn't bother buying into a technology thats discontinued. New movies will end up not being produced on the format, and if you want to continue to collect new films in a HD format, you'll *have* to get a blu-ray player eventually. Meaning you'll end up with 2 systems, and 2 separate movie libraries.

Most media savy people use HTPC of some sorts.. it is very easy to use a single system to play both HD DVD and Blu Ray using HTPC option. It wouldnt cost any more than a PS3 or any other blu ray player would

Sandman · 05-08-2008, 1:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hermitd

Most media savy people use HTPC of some sorts..

Since when? Most a/v enthusiats use deditated players and not many would consider using the 360 because of the niose it makes.
I wouldn't be investing any money in HD DVD if I were you. Would you ever buy a music album on minidisc?

md1542 · 05-08-2008, 1:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hermitd

Most media savy people use HTPC of some sorts.. it is very easy to use a single system to play both HD DVD and Blu Ray using HTPC option. It wouldnt cost any more than a PS3 or any other blu ray player would

I disagree. I don't think *most* enthusiasts use a HTPC. Certainly some do, but not a majority.

And you can get a standalone blu-ray player now for £170 (including 4 free movies!). I doubt you could get a single system to play both HD DVD & Blu Ray for anywhere near that...

md1542 · 05-08-2008, 1:40 PM

Oh - and i agree with Sandman about the noise. Thats what turned me away from my HD-DVD add-on long before any concerns over the longevity of hd-dvd as a format....

hermitd · 05-08-2008, 2:04 PM

well i never meant to suggest that xbox 360 was the answer to all av needs. noise is a big problem... all i was saying is that you can build yourself a decent htpc for 300 quid or so that could play both formats... as long as you have device to play the media in.. what media you own doesn't matter much.. most hd dvds that are now being released on blu are being released without significant changes (except maybe true dolby).. paying 2 / 3 times the price is not worth it when a newer version of the same movie is re-released ever 2 years (hoping blu follows dvds on this one)

PS: When you use hd dvd drive on xbox... you dont have to worry about the xbox dvd drive spinning (which is the main noise generater)

PS II: No hardware player other than PS3 is future proof with the rampant profile changes to blu spec. The only other option is to have a software player.

Sandman · 05-08-2008, 2:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hermitd

PS II: No hardware player other than PS3 is future proof with the rampant profile changes to blu spec. The only other option is to have a software player.

What makes you say this? There are plenty blu-ray players that are upgradable over a network connection. The Sammy 1500 is due an upgraded firmware in the next couple of months to make it profile 2 enabled.

Delvey · 05-08-2008, 10:04 PM

if you havent tried any hd format yet, then it will be worth it to try out as its cheap
still, there are plenty of films out there, and blu-ray is still quite expensive imo at the mo

Nomis1 · 06-08-2008, 3:49 PM

I recently bought one of these and currently connect via Component to my TV. Can anyone please tell me if i will benefit in anyway by changing to VGA? My tv's native res is 1366X768.

Thanx all for your help.

md1542 · 07-08-2008, 6:49 AM

Here you go...

http://www.avforums.com/forums/archi.../t-436122.html

robtek70 · 07-08-2008, 6:10 PM

I have 2 of the drives one for my 360 and the other I connect to my Istar HD media streamer so I can play files from DVD's, mainly MKV's. I also have a Toshiba HD-EP30 HD DVD player but have recently have had a few problems with the odd HD DVD either skipping parts or freezing up. This doesn't happen with the 360 and drive which plays them perfectly.

hermitd · 08-08-2008, 10:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nomis1

I recently bought one of these and currently connect via Component to my TV. Can anyone please tell me if i will benefit in anyway by changing to VGA? My tv's native res is 1366X768.

Thanx all for your help.

The component only allows upto 1080i. Since your TV doesn't to 1080 i dont think it would make a difference.

duggtherugg · 11-08-2008, 8:32 PM

I recently bought planet earth to watch on my xbox 360 HD drive. the voice of david attenborough seems very quiet whereas the general sound sounds ok. is there anything i can do to adjust the levels or do i have to fanny about with the settings on my surround sound.

hermitd · 12-08-2008, 10:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by duggtherugg

I recently bought planet earth to watch on my xbox 360 HD drive. the voice of david attenborough seems very quiet whereas the general sound sounds ok. is there anything i can do to adjust the levels or do i have to fanny about with the settings on my surround sound.

Assuming you have a 5.1 system, you can increase the volume of front center speakers... those are normally used for voice whereas sound is distributed though other speakers

houdini_7 · 13-08-2008, 3:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nomis1

I recently bought one of these and currently connect via Component to my TV. Can anyone please tell me if i will benefit in anyway by changing to VGA? My tv's native res is 1366X768.

Thanx all for your help.

Certainly made a massive difference on my plasma, my screen is the same native res as yours and I can instantly notice the difference. I would not go back to the component input again.

I'm not saying that everyone should go out and buy the VGA lead it may just be the way that my LG plasma handles the VGA signal compared to component.

Just get a 2nd hand one on ebay or these forums, if it doesn't improve...sell it. The most you are going to lose is a few quid.

Definitley worth the £20 I paid

*DougieB* · 15-08-2008, 9:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nomis1

I recently bought one of these and currently connect via Component to my TV. Can anyone please tell me if i will benefit in anyway by changing to VGA? My tv's native res is 1366X768.

Thanx all for your help.

Hi Nomis

I have the 360 add-on connected to my LCD via VGA and the picture is razor sharp. If you do connect via VGA make sure yoou set the 360 to 720P and it will scale your DVDs to the screen resolution.

DougieB

DeadEye14 · 21-08-2008, 8:28 AM

Loads of places online selling HD DVD for under a fiver. If you have the money to make get up a good collection I'd do it, but not much point having a player for 2-3 dvds.

emo72 · 24-08-2008, 5:05 PM

hey guys and gals

anyone know where i can buy a hd drive?

probably left it a bit late though

bigriggers · 25-08-2008, 1:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by emo72

hey guys and gals

anyone know where i can buy a hd drive?

probably left it a bit late though

Good luck mate, I've been looking for the past two days but can't find any for a sensible price. All the local Game and Gamestation stores have sold out!

craigsrocco · 25-08-2008, 5:38 PM

I had same problem searching for a hd drive a few weeks ago. Only place i could find them was on that auction site but not for a reasonable price.

All i can say is just keep trying, i went to Nottingham a couple of weeks ago and just asked at 'Game' and they had a 2nd hand one in, complete and boxed £15.

Craig