Xbox as dvd player - what quality to expect?

Matthew Attoe

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Hi,

Could someone tell me how they rate the x-box as a dvd player?

What sort of standalone player is the x-box quality similar too? A £30 model, a £100 model, or something else?

Also, is there any way to enable an unmodified x-box to play dvds without the MS DVD Kit?

Thanks in advance,

Matthew
 
No worries,

I just found the answer... general consensus is it's not very good. Ho hum.

Thanks,

Matthew
 
depends how much you're expecting, i've got about 20 dvd's and they all play fine on my x-box, low contrast areas like a backgrounds with small variations in darkness can get a little blocky but it's barely noticable. You can play dvd's without the remote but you just lose the advanced features like zoom and looping ect. Bearing in mind you can get one with about £60 worth of games for about £120 it's worth it, the dvd player and games console are working out about £30 each.
 
Howe do you play without the remote?

I stuck a DVD in mine to have a look and it came up with some crap about needing the remote or some such.
 
Probly need it chipped mate, then you get all manner of media players on the dashboard.

I reckon it's OK as a DVD, a mate uses his for that and it's fine n his 20" TV. Depends what you're after really. If you want to run it into a 50" plasma you will see the problems but for a cheapy player it's sure going to beat VHS.
 
Originally posted by Games Guru
Howe do you play without the remote?

I stuck a DVD in mine to have a look and it came up with some crap about needing the remote or some such.


sorry, my mistake, you do actually need the remote reciever plugged in to play a dvd


that's what you get for re-gurgitating rumours without checking them for yourself :blush:
 
i found it to be totally identicle to my old toshiba sd-210e, which i think is more than good enough for a console.
 
I am actually quite surprised at how good a DVD player the Xbox is, it is hardly any worse than my Denon DVD-1000 on most discs, and plays back-ups much better than the fussy Denon. Some discs are not as good as others but the majority I find very good and I am very impressed considering it also plays games very good too! I am thinking of buying the Ixos scart lead to see if that will make things a touch better too! ;)
 
The quality's not bad, but it's a bit noisy!

For comparison take a small hoover, switch it on and place it near the TV and try and watch a DVD.
 
Its not bad actually.

I have a 32" Tosh with Dolby Digital and it looks fine.

The remote is needed though which would be better if it was thrown in free. You also get a dongle that goes in a controller slot.

I reckon the picture matches that of a £50-70 dvd player whcih isnt bad for £20.

(That excludes the Tosh 330E from Amazon)
 
What are you all using as the connection to your display medium? composite/svideo/scart rgb??

would this result be different if the Xbox was using a component feed instead??

Anyone out there using Xbox as DVD player via MS Hi-def kit? would be interested in you views on this, as it would be nice to use the Xbox as a media server etc.

It will be plugged into a Pioneer PDP-433MXE plasma, and is currently done via S-Video

cheers
Gary
 
I have a hidef kit and chipped xbox and dvd playback is still crap.
It doesnt output a dvd in anamorphic you have to zoom and i have never seen a picture as blocky, especially when its blown up to 7ft.
This was using a region 2 pal disc i will try some ntsc material when i get time.
 
The X Box does output in anamorphic if you specify this in the menu area :)

Picture quality isn't bad but to be honest i thought it lacked the more vibrant colours of higher priced DVD players and lost a litle detail to them but then for £20 to turn it into a dvd player its a good backup machine for when your main player needs maintenance.
 
The X Box does output in anamorphic if you specify this in the menu area

Is that in the dvd playback area or the ms dashboard as i wouldnt mind seeing what anamorphic looks like, cheers inza
 
its the MS dashboard, go to Video settings and set it to Widescreen..... easy as that.:smashin:
 

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