Xbox 360 HD-DVD Add-on

Does the Xbox 360 HD-DVD add-on upconvert normal DVDs? By the way, as announced today, the player is dropping to $179.99 and comes with FIVE free HD-DVDs. sberryhill20

Format is dead don't waste your money it will be gone by next year...

ye its pretty much dead... there is no point in getting oneadders99

Wow, so the Sony propaganda DOES work....

HD-DVD sales have actually been creeping back up on BluRay. This summer has seen a strong line of HD-DVD exclusives and the emergence of the $200 player with 5 discs. As a result of these 2, the last month or so has seen some pretty strong sales.

I actually think the HD-DVD format has more potential with its standard features. Just see the reviews for the latest big release on both platforms, 300. HD-DVD versions often have more bonus features (with the 300 PiP blue screen shots being lauded as one of the coolest and is impossible to do on BD) and typically get better reviews when a movie is available on both formats.

If nothing else, I've really enjoyed my player and have watched a ton of good movies on it that were exclusives (and even more on Tuesday when I grab Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz). For the price, especially with 5 movies, I think it's a great way to get your feet wet in HD movies.

Does the Xbox 360 HD-DVD add-on upconvert normal DVDs? By the way, as announced today, the player is dropping to $179.99 and comes with FIVE free HD-DVDs. sberryhill20

[QUOTE="adders99"]ye its pretty much dead... there is no point in getting onenosferatu

Wow, so the Sony propaganda DOES work....

HD-DVD sales have actually been creeping back up on BluRay. This summer has seen a strong line of HD-DVD exclusives and the emergence of the $200 player with 5 discs. As a result of these 2, the last month or so has seen some pretty strong sales.

I actually think the HD-DVD format has more potential with its standard features. Just see the reviews for the latest big release on both platforms, 300. HD-DVD versions often have more bonus features (with the 300 PiP blue screen shots being lauded as one of the coolest and is impossible to do on BD) and typically get better reviews when a movie is available on both formats.

If nothing else, I've really enjoyed my player and have watched a ton of good movies on it that were exclusives (and even more on Tuesday when I grab Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz). For the price, especially with 5 movies, I think it's a great way to get your feet wet in HD movies.

Link!?

[QUOTE="nosferatu"]

[QUOTE="adders99"]ye its pretty much dead... there is no point in getting oneItsBriskBaby

Wow, so the Sony propaganda DOES work....

HD-DVD sales have actually been creeping back up on BluRay. This summer has seen a strong line of HD-DVD exclusives and the emergence of the $200 player with 5 discs. As a result of these 2, the last month or so has seen some pretty strong sales.

I actually think the HD-DVD format has more potential with its standard features. Just see the reviews for the latest big release on both platforms, 300. HD-DVD versions often have more bonus features (with the 300 PiP blue screen shots being lauded as one of the coolest and is impossible to do on BD) and typically get better reviews when a movie is available on both formats.

If nothing else, I've really enjoyed my player and have watched a ton of good movies on it that were exclusives (and even more on Tuesday when I grab Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz). For the price, especially with 5 movies, I think it's a great way to get your feet wet in HD movies.

Link!?

It's due to the standard features of an HD-DVD player vs a BluRay player. I can look it up for you if you really need it, but BluRays are incapable of doing the Picture in Picture stuff in the midst of the movie like an HD-DVD player can. I honestly think the HD-DVD format is the stronger of the 2, but I think the BD alliance of studios is probably stronger unfortunately. Theoretically, BluRay can hold more (with a theoretical limit of around 200gb, although as far as I know, nothing over 60gb or sohas actually been made). I'll go dig up some stats and stuff about the supposed technological"superiority" of BDthat you might find interesting, give me a few.

UPDATED

Quote from over at AVSforums

Disc Capacity:How do the two formats compare in data capacity?

62% of Blu-ray Disc titles utilize BD25, single layer discs. 25 GB of capacity.

82% of HD DVD titles utilize HD30, double layer discs. 30 GB of capacity.

Advantage -->HD DVD - Most HD DVDs are actually higher capacity than Blu-ray discs.

Video Codecs: - How advanced is the technology being used to encode the discs' video?

53% of Blu-ray Disc titles use MPEG2 video - a 1990's technology developed for ATSC broadcasts and DVD.

96% of HD DVD titles use AVC (MPEG4) and VC-1 video - 21st century technologies that provide better video quality in while requiring smaller file sizes, and less bandwidth.

Advantage -->HD DVD - It makes the most of its capacity through using advanced video codecs.

End Quote

As much as I hate the combo (HD-DVD and DVD on the same disc) discs, I think they are a good thing for those on the edge. They can buy their movie for about $5-$10 more than a standard DVD and then they are a mere $200 player away from having an HD experience too at some point. In addition, it makes your movies more shareable with friends that haven't gone HD.

The BD experience has been VERY inconsistent so far (partially as a result of Sony having still not set down a set of standards that all players must have). Go read reports on the Fifth Element and Pirates of the Carribean discs for examples. In addition, the BD group keeps touting the potential of their format, but hasn't really delivered much yet. HDDVD has delivered on most of their stuff (with Universal's collection of Spielberg movies being one of the serious gaps).

There is no difference in picture quality either way, and so I must go with the format which is delivering on its promises and is capable of the better bonus features and the winner of that is clearly HD-DVD.

If nothing else, it's a lot cheaper ;)

Excerpt from the 300 Review at HiDef Digest (http://hddvd.highdefdigest.com/300.html) to describe the HDDVD features

"As if all of the above cross-format goodies were not enough, Warner has served up quite a treat for HD DVD fans with a cutting-edge assortment of high-def exclusives.

Easily the most anticipated bonus is the "Bluescreen Picture-in-Picture Version" of the film. A true first for any home video format, Warner has encoded the entire feature in its bluescreen, pre-post-produced version. Like your typical In-Movie Experience track, just activate the feature and a large picture box will appear in the bottom left of the screen, allowing you to watch the before-and-after versions of the film along with audio commentary by director Zack Snyder."

There are also web-enabled features and a game included in the package which, like the PiP feature, are only possible due to what Toshiba and the HDDVD group have dictated must be present in every HDDVD player.

[QUOTE="ItsBriskBaby"][QUOTE="nosferatu"]

[QUOTE="adders99"]ye its pretty much dead... there is no point in getting onenosferatu

Wow, so the Sony propaganda DOES work....

HD-DVD sales have actually been creeping back up on BluRay. This summer has seen a strong line of HD-DVD exclusives and the emergence of the $200 player with 5 discs. As a result of these 2, the last month or so has seen some pretty strong sales.

I actually think the HD-DVD format has more potential with its standard features. Just see the reviews for the latest big release on both platforms, 300. HD-DVD versions often have more bonus features (with the 300 PiP blue screen shots being lauded as one of the coolest and is impossible to do on BD) and typically get better reviews when a movie is available on both formats.

If nothing else, I've really enjoyed my player and have watched a ton of good movies on it that were exclusives (and even more on Tuesday when I grab Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz). For the price, especially with 5 movies, I think it's a great way to get your feet wet in HD movies.

Link!?

It's due to the standard features of an HD-DVD player vs a BluRay player. I can look it up for you if you really need it, but BluRays are incapable of doing the Picture in Picture stuff in the midst of the movie like an HD-DVD player can. I honestly think the HD-DVD format is the stronger of the 2, but I think the BD alliance of studios is probably stronger unfortunately. Theoretically, BluRay can hold more (with a theoretical limit of around 200gb, although as far as I know, nothing over 60gb or sohas actually been made). I'll go dig up some stats and stuff about the supposed technological"superiority" of BDthat you might find interesting, give me a few.

UPDATED

Quote from over at AVSforums

Disc Capacity:How do the two formats compare in data capacity?

62% of Blu-ray Disc titles utilize BD25, single layer discs. 25 GB of capacity.

82% of HD DVD titles utilize HD30, double layer discs. 30 GB of capacity.

Advantage -->HD DVD - Most HD DVDs are actually higher capacity than Blu-ray discs.

Video Codecs: - How advanced is the technology being used to encode the discs' video?

53% of Blu-ray Disc titles use MPEG2 video - a 1990's technology developed for ATSC broadcasts and DVD.

96% of HD DVD titles use AVC (MPEG4) and VC-1 video - 21st century technologies that provide better video quality in while requiring smaller file sizes, and less bandwidth.

Advantage -->HD DVD - It makes the most of its capacity through using advanced video codecs.

End Quote

As much as I hate the combo (HD-DVD and DVD on the same disc) discs, I think they are a good thing for those on the edge. They can buy their movie for about $5-$10 more than a standard DVD and then they are a mere $200 player away from having an HD experience too at some point. In addition, it makes your movies more shareable with friends that haven't gone HD.

The BD experience has been VERY inconsistent so far (partially as a result of Sony having still not set down a set of standards that all players must have). Go read reports on the Fifth Element and Pirates of the Carribean discs for examples. In addition, the BD group keeps touting the potential of their format, but hasn't really delivered much yet. HDDVD has delivered on most of their stuff (with Universal's collection of Spielberg movies being one of the serious gaps).

There is no difference in picture quality either way, and so I must go with the format which is delivering on its promises and is capable of the better bonus features and the winner of that is clearly HD-DVD.

If nothing else, it's a lot cheaper ;)

Excerpt from the 300 Review at HiDef Digest (http://hddvd.highdefdigest.com/300.html) to describe the HDDVD features

"As if all of the above cross-format goodies were not enough, Warner has served up quite a treat for HD DVD fans with a cutting-edge assortment of high-def exclusives.

Easily the most anticipated bonus is the "Bluescreen Picture-in-Picture Version" of the film. A true first for any home video format, Warner has encoded the entire feature in its bluescreen, pre-post-produced version. Like your typical In-Movie Experience track, just activate the feature and a large picture box will appear in the bottom left of the screen, allowing you to watch the before-and-after versions of the film along with audio commentary by director Zack Snyder."

There are also web-enabled features and a game included in the package which, like the PiP feature, are only possible due to what Toshiba and the HDDVD group have dictated must be present in every HDDVD player.

im sold im going to buy the hd dvd addon for the 360 and get 5 free hd dvd movies thanks nosferatu for the info

In all honesty, I'd buy the standalone Toshiba HD-A2 instead of the 360 add on. It's only another $20 at some places (I believe at Amazon still). When I bought my add-on (for $160), HDDVD standalones were still in the $500 range.

Also, HD-DVD is region free. This means that many of the releases that are "unavailable" on HD-DVD can actually be snagged from other regions and there are websites set up for this purpose. For instance, Bridge to Terabithia is technically aDisney film and thus a BluRay exclusive here in the states. Since HD-DVD is more popular in most foreign regions and since movies sometimes have different distributors over there, you can import region free HD-DVDs and get movies that aren't on the format here in the States.

[QUOTE="nosferatu"][QUOTE="ItsBriskBaby"][QUOTE="nosferatu"]

[QUOTE="adders99"]ye its pretty much dead... there is no point in getting onewickedmind

Wow, so the Sony propaganda DOES work....

HD-DVD sales have actually been creeping back up on BluRay. This summer has seen a strong line of HD-DVD exclusives and the emergence of the $200 player with 5 discs. As a result of these 2, the last month or so has seen some pretty strong sales.

I actually think the HD-DVD format has more potential with its standard features. Just see the reviews for the latest big release on both platforms, 300. HD-DVD versions often have more bonus features (with the 300 PiP blue screen shots being lauded as one of the coolest and is impossible to do on BD) and typically get better reviews when a movie is available on both formats.

If nothing else, I've really enjoyed my player and have watched a ton of good movies on it that were exclusives (and even more on Tuesday when I grab Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz). For the price, especially with 5 movies, I think it's a great way to get your feet wet in HD movies.

Link!?

It's due to the standard features of an HD-DVD player vs a BluRay player. I can look it up for you if you really need it, but BluRays are incapable of doing the Picture in Picture stuff in the midst of the movie like an HD-DVD player can. I honestly think the HD-DVD format is the stronger of the 2, but I think the BD alliance of studios is probably stronger unfortunately. Theoretically, BluRay can hold more (with a theoretical limit of around 200gb, although as far as I know, nothing over 60gb or sohas actually been made). I'll go dig up some stats and stuff about the supposed technological"superiority" of BDthat you might find interesting, give me a few.

UPDATED

Quote from over at AVSforums

Disc Capacity:How do the two formats compare in data capacity?

62% of Blu-ray Disc titles utilize BD25, single layer discs. 25 GB of capacity.

82% of HD DVD titles utilize HD30, double layer discs. 30 GB of capacity.

Advantage -->HD DVD - Most HD DVDs are actually higher capacity than Blu-ray discs.

Video Codecs: - How advanced is the technology being used to encode the discs' video?

53% of Blu-ray Disc titles use MPEG2 video - a 1990's technology developed for ATSC broadcasts and DVD.

96% of HD DVD titles use AVC (MPEG4) and VC-1 video - 21st century technologies that provide better video quality in while requiring smaller file ****, and less bandwidth.

Advantage -->HD DVD - It makes the most of its capacity through using advanced video codecs.

End Quote

As much as I hate the combo (HD-DVD and DVD on the same disc) discs, I think they are a good thing for those on the edge. They can buy their movie for about $5-$10 more than a standard DVD and then they are a mere $200 player away from having an HD experience too at some point. In addition, it makes your movies more shareable with friends that haven't gone HD.

The BD experience has been VERY inconsistent so far (partially as a result of Sony having still not set down a set of standards that all players must have). Go read reports on the Fifth Element and Pirates of the Carribean discs for examples. In addition, the BD group keeps touting the potential of their format, but hasn't really delivered much yet. HDDVD has delivered on most of their stuff (with Universal's collection of Spielberg movies being one of the serious gaps).

There is no difference in picture quality either way, and so I must go with the format which is delivering on its promises and is capable of the better bonus features and the winner of that is clearly HD-DVD.

If nothing else, it's a lot cheaper ;)

Excerpt from the 300 Review at HiDef Digest (http://hddvd.highdefdigest.com/300.html) to describe the HDDVD features

"As if all of the above cross-format goodies were not enough, Warner has served up quite a treat for HD DVD fans with a cutting-edge assortment of high-def exclusives.

Easily the most anticipated bonus is the "Bluescreen Picture-in-Picture Version" of the film. A true first for any home video format, Warner has encoded the entire feature in its bluescreen, pre-post-produced version. Like your typical In-Movie Experience track, just activate the feature and a large picture box will appear in the bottom left of the screen, allowing you to watch the before-and-after versions of the film along with audio commentary by director Zack Snyder."

There are also web-enabled features and a game included in the package which, like the PiP feature, are only possible due to what Toshiba and the HDDVD group have dictated must be present in every HDDVD player.

im sold im going to buy the hd dvd addon for the 360 and get 5 free hd dvd movies thanks nosferatu for the info

ItsBriskBaby:

The HD-DVD addon has about a 2% market penetration on 360s (which, with 9.5million 360s, is about 200,000 players). For a $200 add-on with a single purpose, that's actually pretty solid. I don't know if you could really call that a flop.

The 360 addons make up, estimated, about 1/3 to 1/2 of all HD-DVD players in the US. The PS3 on the other hand makes up, if I remember the numbers correctly, 1.4 of the 1.5 million BluRay players in the US. The difference is that every single HD-DVD player sold is purely for movies. Best estimates put approximately 25% of PS3 owners actually buying BluRay movies.

Oh, and as for sales being bad? Considering that HD-DVD was sitting at about 30% at the beginning of the year, you might find these sales numbers at DVD Empire (a retail site) interesting: http://www.dvdempire.com/Content/Features/hidef_wars.asp?view=1&userid=99365744096500

[QUOTE="sberryhill20"]Does the Xbox 360 HD-DVD add-on upconvert normal DVDs? By the way, as announced today, the player is dropping to $179.99 and comes with FIVE free HD-DVDs. ItsBriskBaby

[QUOTE="ItsBriskBaby"][QUOTE="sberryhill20"]Does the Xbox 360 HD-DVD add-on upconvert normal DVDs? By the way, as announced today, the player is dropping to $179.99 and comes with FIVE free HD-DVDs. ProjectPat187

Blockbuster will stickly be having Blue-Ray movies for rental in stores (you'll be able to rent HD-DVD movies online), Target announced they will be strickly caring Blue-Ray as well along with some East Coast major electronics store. Looking grim for Hd-dvd. It's game over if Wal-Mart goes the same route.

I said it before and I'll say it again, the HD-DVD add-on was and is a flop. Don't waste your money!ItsBriskBaby

I bought the Xbox360 HD DVD player since the day it was released and it is the best dvd type player that I have ever owned. I watch about 6 or more movies on it every week, and I have not used any of the other dvd players that I had before I bought the Xbox360 HD DVD player since I had it. The Xbox360 HD DVD player is great and works perfectly.

Save yourself the money and download HD movies off the marketplace, thats what I do (300 on Aug. 14th btw)chicagog19

The problem with the HD movies on the marketplace, they are only up to 720P atm. The HD-DVD add-on can produce the 1080P signal I prefer, and there is a difference that can be easily seen with the naked eye. I think the Movies on the marketplace are a GREAT idea, and it has allowed me to watch some BD exclusives like Crank.

In all honesty, I'd buy the standalone Toshiba HD-A2 instead of the 360 add on. It's only another $20 at some places (I believe at Amazon still). nosferatu

FYI The HD-A2 is only capable of 1080i, where as the add-on will do 1080P. My understanding is this isnt a big deal if your tv can de-interlace the picture properly. There is a small bug with the add-on right now however that it "forgets" where it left off if the movie is stopped for any reason. I am hoping this gets fixed soon because it used to not do that.

I am loving the post you made nosferatu, it gets very old listening to the Sony fanbois spout crap. I dont think Universal would have gotten behind the HD-DVD format if they didn't feel it had major potential.

Save yourself the money and download HD movies off the marketplace, thats what I do (300 on Aug. 14th btw)chicagog19

The problem with the HD movies on the marketplace, they are only up to 720P atm. The HD-DVD add-on can produce the 1080P signal I prefer, and there is a difference that can be easily seen with the naked eye. I think the Movies on the marketplace are a GREAT idea, and it has allowed me to watch some BD exclusives like Crank.

In all honesty, I'd buy the standalone Toshiba HD-A2 instead of the 360 add on. It's only another $20 at some places (I believe at Amazon still). nosferatu

FYI The HD-A2 is only capable of 1080i, where as the add-on will do 1080P. My understanding is this isnt a big deal if your tv can de-interlace the picture properly. There is a small bug with the add-on right now however that it "forgets" where it left off if the movie is stopped for any reason. I am hoping this gets fixed soon because it used to not do that.

I am loving the post you made nosferatu, it gets very old listening to the Sony fanbois spout crap. I dont think Universal would have gotten behind the HD-DVD format if they didn't feel it had major potential.

TK: You are right about the HD-A2 only doing 1080i, and you are also correct about that making no difference if you TV deinterlaces properly (since all HDTV types except the rare CRTs natively display a progressive scan picture). Essentially the TV (or player if it's outputting a 1080p signal) has to do a 2:3 pulldown ratio where it will repeat frames 2 or 3 times to reach the 60hz on the TVfrom the 24hz that the film is actually shot in. This can essentially nullify the interlace if the TV is half decent at it.

Blockbuster will stickly be having Blue-Ray movies for rental in stores (you'll be able to rent HD-DVD movies online), Target announced they will be strickly caring Blue-Ray as well along with some East Coast major electronics store. Looking grim for Hd-dvd. It's game over if Wal-Mart goes the same route.

Chopmo81

Not true, this has been proven to be a bit of a PR stunt. They will be strongly emphasizing BluRay over the holiday season. There's a little bit of a difference there. This is simply the kind of stuff that Sony has been doing all along. They have been buying off stores' and studios' "loyalties" in various ways then going and overemphasizing or exagerrating their claims. This shouldn't surprise anybody though, it's just how Sony works. Anyone remember how they introduced the PS2 saying it could pull off Toy Story-like graphics? How'd that pan out? I really have come to take everything that company says with a grain of salt.... if only they didn't have so much money and clout.

And Walmart has stated that they won't give either format much attention until they get players into the "mass market" price range which Walmart feels is below $200. HD-DVD players are pretty much there at this point and BluRay players are still at the $500 or somark, so take that info for what it might mean.

[QUOTE="ProjectPat187"][QUOTE="ItsBriskBaby"][QUOTE="sberryhill20"]Does the Xbox 360 HD-DVD add-on upconvert normal DVDs? By the way, as announced today, the player is dropping to $179.99 and comes with FIVE free HD-DVDs. Chopmo81

Blockbuster will stickly be having Blue-Ray movies for rental in stores (you'll be able to rent HD-DVD movies online), Target announced they will be strickly caring Blue-Ray as well along with some East Coast major electronics store. Looking grim for Hd-dvd. It's game over if Wal-Mart goes the same route.

[QUOTE="Chopmo81"]

[QUOTE="ProjectPat187"][QUOTE="ItsBriskBaby"][QUOTE="sberryhill20"]Does the Xbox 360 HD-DVD add-on upconvert normal DVDs? By the way, as announced today, the player is dropping to $179.99 and comes with FIVE free HD-DVDs. ItsBriskBaby

Blockbuster will stickly be having Blue-Ray movies for rental in stores (you'll be able to rent HD-DVD movies online), Target announced they will be strickly caring Blue-Ray as well along with some East Coast major electronics store. Looking grim for Hd-dvd. It's game over if Wal-Mart goes the same route.

By ownage approved do you mean that I already showed he was wrong with at least a part of what he said (Target is NOT exclusively carrying BluRay, it was just another Sony lie) or were you referring to self-ownage with thebad spelling? I also showed how the Walmartcomment actually seems to be going more the HD-DVD way.Please stop trolling in the thread Brisk.... you've offered absolutely nothing except unsupported babble that I keep having to correct.

[QUOTE="Chopmo81"]

[QUOTE="ProjectPat187"][QUOTE="ItsBriskBaby"][QUOTE="sberryhill20"]Does the Xbox 360 HD-DVD add-on upconvert normal DVDs? By the way, as announced today, the player is dropping to $179.99 and comes with FIVE free HD-DVDs. ItsBriskBaby

Blockbuster will stickly be having Blue-Ray movies for rental in stores (you'll be able to rent HD-DVD movies online), Target announced they will be strickly caring Blue-Ray as well along with some East Coast major electronics store. Looking grim for Hd-dvd. It's game over if Wal-Mart goes the same route.

First of all, who rents High Definition Movies? Ignorant, just buy them at the cost of rental now, 2 times wanting to see a movie and you have bought it.

Second of all, what kind of idiot buys movies from Target? They usually carry them at the highest possible price.

Frys is carrying both formats (HD-DVD and BD) and currently have an EXTREMELY large section for HD-DVD. They also have an HD-DVD display setup (dont currently have one for BD) so people walking buy as they enter the store can view the spectacular picture quality HD offers. Frys also has a very large selection of HD-DVD (non-combo) for $19, same price as a SDVD, things to make you go hmmm.

Wal-mart is much more likely to side with HD-DVD because of the price point, look around in Wal-Mart how many Sony products do you see in there versus other brands? If that does happen BetaRay may be headed the way of BetaMax.

[QUOTE="ItsBriskBaby"][QUOTE="Chopmo81"]

[QUOTE="ProjectPat187"][QUOTE="ItsBriskBaby"][QUOTE="sberryhill20"]Does the Xbox 360 HD-DVD add-on upconvert normal DVDs? By the way, as announced today, the player is dropping to $179.99 and comes with FIVE free HD-DVDs. nosferatu

Blockbuster will stickly be having Blue-Ray movies for rental in stores (you'll be able to rent HD-DVD movies online), Target announced they will be strickly caring Blue-Ray as well along with some East Coast major electronics store. Looking grim for Hd-dvd. It's game over if Wal-Mart goes the same route.

By ownage approved do you mean that I already showed he was wrong with at least a part of what he said (Target is NOT exclusively carrying BluRay, it was just another Sony lie) or were you referring to self-ownage with thebad spelling? I also showed how the Walmartcomment actually seems to be going more the HD-DVD way.Please stop trolling in the thread Brisk.... you've offered absolutely nothing except unsupported babble that I keep having to correct.

[QUOTE="ItsBriskBaby"][QUOTE="nosferatu"]

[QUOTE="adders99"]ye its pretty much dead... there is no point in getting onenosferatu

Wow, so the Sony propaganda DOES work....

HD-DVD sales have actually been creeping back up on BluRay. This summer has seen a strong line of HD-DVD exclusives and the emergence of the $200 player with 5 discs. As a result of these 2, the last month or so has seen some pretty strong sales.

I actually think the HD-DVD format has more potential with its standard features. Just see the reviews for the latest big release on both platforms, 300. HD-DVD versions often have more bonus features (with the 300 PiP blue screen shots being lauded as one of the coolest and is impossible to do on BD) and typically get better reviews when a movie is available on both formats.

If nothing else, I've really enjoyed my player and have watched a ton of good movies on it that were exclusives (and even more on Tuesday when I grab Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz). For the price, especially with 5 movies, I think it's a great way to get your feet wet in HD movies.

Link!?

It's due to the standard features of an HD-DVD player vs a BluRay player. I can look it up for you if you really need it, but BluRays are incapable of doing the Picture in Picture stuff in the midst of the movie like an HD-DVD player can. I honestly think the HD-DVD format is the stronger of the 2, but I think the BD alliance of studios is probably stronger unfortunately. Theoretically, BluRay can hold more (with a theoretical limit of around 200gb, although as far as I know, nothing over 60gb or sohas actually been made). I'll go dig up some stats and stuff about the supposed technological"superiority" of BDthat you might find interesting, give me a few.

UPDATED

Quote from over at AVSforums

Disc Capacity:How do the two formats compare in data capacity?

62% of Blu-ray Disc titles utilize BD25, single layer discs. 25 GB of capacity.

82% of HD DVD titles utilize HD30, double layer discs. 30 GB of capacity.

Advantage -->HD DVD - Most HD DVDs are actually higher capacity than Blu-ray discs.

Video Codecs: - How advanced is the technology being used to encode the discs' video?

53% of Blu-ray Disc titles use MPEG2 video - a 1990's technology developed for ATSC broadcasts and DVD.

96% of HD DVD titles use AVC (MPEG4) and VC-1 video - 21st century technologies that provide better video quality in while requiring smaller file sizes, and less bandwidth.

Advantage -->HD DVD - It makes the most of its capacity through using advanced video codecs.

End Quote

As much as I hate the combo (HD-DVD and DVD on the same disc) discs, I think they are a good thing for those on the edge. They can buy their movie for about $5-$10 more than a standard DVD and then they are a mere $200 player away from having an HD experience too at some point. In addition, it makes your movies more shareable with friends that haven't gone HD.

The BD experience has been VERY inconsistent so far (partially as a result of Sony having still not set down a set of standards that all players must have). Go read reports on the Fifth Element and Pirates of the Carribean discs for examples. In addition, the BD group keeps touting the potential of their format, but hasn't really delivered much yet. HDDVD has delivered on most of their stuff (with Universal's collection of Spielberg movies being one of the serious gaps).

There is no difference in picture quality either way, and so I must go with the format which is delivering on its promises and is capable of the better bonus features and the winner of that is clearly HD-DVD.

If nothing else, it's a lot cheaper ;)

Excerpt from the 300 Review at HiDef Digest (http://hddvd.highdefdigest.com/300.html) to describe the HDDVD features

"As if all of the above cross-format goodies were not enough, Warner has served up quite a treat for HD DVD fans with a cutting-edge assortment of high-def exclusives.

Easily the most anticipated bonus is the "Bluescreen Picture-in-Picture Version" of the film. A true first for any home video format, Warner has encoded the entire feature in its bluescreen, pre-post-produced version. Like your typical In-Movie Experience track, just activate the feature and a large picture box will appear in the bottom left of the screen, allowing you to watch the before-and-after versions of the film along with audio commentary by director Zack Snyder."

There are also web-enabled features and a game included in the package which, like the PiP feature, are only possible due to what Toshiba and the HDDVD group have dictated must be present in every HDDVD player.

sorry to quote this again but this is great info

Does the Xbox 360 HD-DVD add-on upconvert normal DVDs? By the way, as announced today, the player is dropping to $179.99 and comes with FIVE free HD-DVDs. sberryhill20

Since your question has been lost in the mini format war (HD-DVD will win because it is simply better for all the above stated and quoted reasons)-I personally called Microsoft support about 2 months ago and couldn't get a straight answer because none of the reps or their supervisors knew what upconvert was. However, it would seem to me from the information i have pieced together that it will upconvert standard DVDs to near HD quality (the definition of an upconvert DVD player which the Microsoft reps need to learn) and support 1080p. ALSO--there was a coupon that someone posted a link to a couple of months back that gave 10% (I think) OFF ALMOST ANY ITEM in Circuit City--andXBOX stuff was NOT EXCLUDED. DOES ANYONE KNOW ABOUT ANOTHER COUPON LIKE THIS?

[QUOTE="sberryhill20"]Does the Xbox 360 HD-DVD add-on upconvert normal DVDs? By the way, as announced today, the player is dropping to $179.99 and comes with FIVE free HD-DVDs. gruntkiller1

Since your question has been lost in the mini format war (HD-DVD will win because it is simply better for all the above stated and quoted reasons)-I personally called Microsoft support about 2 months ago and couldn't get a straight answer because none of the reps or their supervisors knew what upconvert was. However, it would seem to me from the information i have pieced together that it will upconvert standard DVDs to near HD quality (the definition of an upconvert DVD player which the Microsoft reps need to learn) and support 1080p. ALSO--there was a coupon that someone posted a link to a couple of months back that gave 10% (I think) OFF ALMOST ANY ITEM in Circuit City--andXBOX stuff was NOT EXCLUDED. DOES ANYONE KNOW ABOUT ANOTHER COUPON LIKE THIS?

The upconversion depends on which cable you are using. For standard DVDs if you are using component it only upconverts to 480P, if you are using HDMI or VGA it upconverts to 1080P.

[QUOTE="gruntkiller1"]

[QUOTE="sberryhill20"]Does the Xbox 360 HD-DVD add-on upconvert normal DVDs? By the way, as announced today, the player is dropping to $179.99 and comes with FIVE free HD-DVDs. tkemory

Since your question has been lost in the mini format war (HD-DVD will win because it is simply better for all the above stated and quoted reasons)-I personally called Microsoft support about 2 months ago and couldn't get a straight answer because none of the reps or their supervisors knew what upconvert was. However, it would seem to me from the information i have pieced together that it will upconvert standard DVDs to near HD quality (the definition of an upconvert DVD player which the Microsoft reps need to learn) and support 1080p. ALSO--there was a coupon that someone posted a link to a couple of months back that gave 10% (I think) OFF ALMOST ANY ITEM in Circuit City--andXBOX stuff was NOT EXCLUDED. DOES ANYONE KNOW ABOUT ANOTHER COUPON LIKE THIS?

The upconversion depends on which cable you are using. For standard DVDs if you are using component it only upconverts to 480P, if you are using HDMI or VGA it upconverts to 1080P.

again i heard several versions of this from Microsoft but now that I have and elite with HDMI (since my Pro console broke) i'm happy.:D

[QUOTE="nosferatu"][QUOTE="ItsBriskBaby"][QUOTE="Chopmo81"]

[QUOTE="ProjectPat187"][QUOTE="ItsBriskBaby"][QUOTE="sberryhill20"]Does the Xbox 360 HD-DVD add-on upconvert normal DVDs? By the way, as announced today, the player is dropping to $179.99 and comes with FIVE free HD-DVDs. ItsBriskBaby

Blockbuster will stickly be having Blue-Ray movies for rental in stores (you'll be able to rent HD-DVD movies online), Target announced they will be strickly caring Blue-Ray as well along with some East Coast major electronics store. Looking grim for Hd-dvd. It's game over if Wal-Mart goes the same route.

By ownage approved do you mean that I already showed he was wrong with at least a part of what he said (Target is NOT exclusively carrying BluRay, it was just another Sony lie) or were you referring to self-ownage with thebad spelling? I also showed how the Walmartcomment actually seems to be going more the HD-DVD way.Please stop trolling in the thread Brisk.... you've offered absolutely nothing except unsupported babble that I keep having to correct.

I see your trying to be on the defensive side just like a typical Lemming who doesn't want to accept what's being said. Why don't you go a play something on the 360, OH WAIT! Never mind, you must have too much time on your hands to be on these forums and must still be waiting to get your 360 back from MS repair department! Look! Time will prove things, so I'm done posting in here. This thread is filled with Lemrons!ItsBriskBaby

Thanks for squashing the last remaining modicum of credibility you may have had. I am not being defensive, I am being accurate. I simply present facts in the face of your slander and allow the reader to make his choice based on what I've said. As for not having a working 360, well... you can look at my gamertag in my sig and see that my launch 360 works just fine and always has, thank you very much.

And if you think the fact that Universal is the only studio exclusively supporting HD-DVD is a bad thing, you may be forgetting some things. ;) They have one of the strongest catalogs (eg: almost all of Spielberg's pre-Dreamworks stuff including Indiana Jones) and have done a MUCH better job of putting out their stuff in quality transfers and presentations than any of the BluRay camp has **cough** Fox **cough**

Don't hate cause I know more than you do and my opinion is informed.... ;)

[QUOTE="gruntkiller1"]

[QUOTE="sberryhill20"]Does the Xbox 360 HD-DVD add-on upconvert normal DVDs? By the way, as announced today, the player is dropping to $179.99 and comes with FIVE free HD-DVDs. tkemory

Since your question has been lost in the mini format war (HD-DVD will win because it is simply better for all the above stated and quoted reasons)-I personally called Microsoft support about 2 months ago and couldn't get a straight answer because none of the reps or their supervisors knew what upconvert was. However, it would seem to me from the information i have pieced together that it will upconvert standard DVDs to near HD quality (the definition of an upconvert DVD player which the Microsoft reps need to learn) and support 1080p. ALSO--there was a coupon that someone posted a link to a couple of months back that gave 10% (I think) OFF ALMOST ANY ITEM in Circuit City--andXBOX stuff was NOT EXCLUDED. DOES ANYONE KNOW ABOUT ANOTHER COUPON LIKE THIS?

The upconversion depends on which cable you are using. For standard DVDs if you are using component it only upconverts to 480P, if you are using HDMI or VGA it upconverts to 1080P.

Yeah, but my tv is a Samsung LN-T3242 bad ass. It supports up to 1080i. I don't care about 1080p. Will it upconvert to 720p or 1080i?

I got my hd dvd player like 2 weeks ago at an EB games I work at. Will the new 5 dvd deal be included in the new hd dvd player boxes, or will you just print out a form online and send it in with the serial number and a receipt proving you bought it between august 1st and september 30th, because if this is true then im just returning my defective at my store and buying it again so my receipt will say august 1st, or whatever date I do it on. firestorm9305

As I found out through online researching, you have to send in proof that you got it after August 1st and before september 30, so your deal won't work

I know, ill return it to the store, put the money on a gift card, and buy it on another transaction again, so my receipt WILL say a date between august 1st and september 30th, you get what Im saying?firestorm9305

If you actually buy it then and it isn't used, then yes that will work.

[QUOTE="ItsBriskBaby"][QUOTE="Chopmo81"]

[QUOTE="ProjectPat187"][QUOTE="ItsBriskBaby"][QUOTE="sberryhill20"]Does the Xbox 360 HD-DVD add-on upconvert normal DVDs? By the way, as announced today, the player is dropping to $179.99 and comes with FIVE free HD-DVDs. nosferatu

Blockbuster will stickly be having Blue-Ray movies for rental in stores (you'll be able to rent HD-DVD movies online), Target announced they will be strickly caring Blue-Ray as well along with some East Coast major electronics store. Looking grim for Hd-dvd. It's game over if Wal-Mart goes the same route.

By ownage approved do you mean that I already showed he was wrong with at least a part of what he said (Target is NOT exclusively carrying BluRay, it was just another Sony lie) or were you referring to self-ownage with thebad spelling? I also showed how the Walmartcomment actually seems to be going more the HD-DVD way.Please stop trolling in the thread Brisk.... you've offered absolutely nothing except unsupported babble that I keep having to correct.

Here now shut up. http://www.joystiq.com/2007/07/27/bjs-wholesale-goes-blu-ray/

Click related links to the other subjects relating to this matter. You proved nothing other than that you can make good assumptions that are wrong. Target isn't carrying BlueRay exclusively...yet, but they will. Now who is offering nowthing except unsuported battle that needs corrected?

[QUOTE="nosferatu"][QUOTE="ItsBriskBaby"][QUOTE="Chopmo81"]

[QUOTE="ProjectPat187"][QUOTE="ItsBriskBaby"][QUOTE="sberryhill20"]Does the Xbox 360 HD-DVD add-on upconvert normal DVDs? By the way, as announced today, the player is dropping to $179.99 and comes with FIVE free HD-DVDs. Chopmo81

Blockbuster will stickly be having Blue-Ray movies for rental in stores (you'll be able to rent HD-DVD movies online), Target announced they will be strickly caring Blue-Ray as well along with some East Coast major electronics store. Looking grim for Hd-dvd. It's game over if Wal-Mart goes the same route.

By ownage approved do you mean that I already showed he was wrong with at least a part of what he said (Target is NOT exclusively carrying BluRay, it was just another Sony lie) or were you referring to self-ownage with thebad spelling? I also showed how the Walmartcomment actually seems to be going more the HD-DVD way.Please stop trolling in the thread Brisk.... you've offered absolutely nothing except unsupported babble that I keep having to correct.

Here now shut up. http://www.joystiq.com/2007/07/27/bjs-wholesale-goes-blu-ray/

Click related links to the other subjects relating to this matter. You proved nothing other than that you can make good assumptions that are wrong. Target isn't carrying BlueRay exclusively...yet, but they will. Now who is offering nowthing except unsuported battle that needs corrected?

and that proves what exacty besides the fact that a store I've never heard of is doing somethingI don't care about?

[QUOTE="Chopmo81"][QUOTE="nosferatu"][QUOTE="ItsBriskBaby"][QUOTE="Chopmo81"]

[QUOTE="ProjectPat187"][QUOTE="ItsBriskBaby"][QUOTE="sberryhill20"]Does the Xbox 360 HD-DVD add-on upconvert normal DVDs? By the way, as announced today, the player is dropping to $179.99 and comes with FIVE free HD-DVDs. Food_Nipple

Blockbuster will stickly be having Blue-Ray movies for rental in stores (you'll be able to rent HD-DVD movies online), Target announced they will be strickly caring Blue-Ray as well along with some East Coast major electronics store. Looking grim for Hd-dvd. It's game over if Wal-Mart goes the same route.

By ownage approved do you mean that I already showed he was wrong with at least a part of what he said (Target is NOT exclusively carrying BluRay, it was just another Sony lie) or were you referring to self-ownage with thebad spelling? I also showed how the Walmartcomment actually seems to be going more the HD-DVD way.Please stop trolling in the thread Brisk.... you've offered absolutely nothing except unsupported babble that I keep having to correct.

Here now shut up. http://www.joystiq.com/2007/07/27/bjs-wholesale-goes-blu-ray/

Click related links to the other subjects relating to this matter. You proved nothing other than that you can make good assumptions that are wrong. Target isn't carrying BlueRay exclusively...yet, but they will. Now who is offering nowthing except unsuported battle that needs corrected?

and that proves what exacty besides the fact that a store I've never heard of is doing somethingI don't care about?

If you were smarter than a rock you would of seen the related topics links below the main story.

http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=8191 And that is only one example of how the Target story is wrong. They are all over the net. How things unfolded and some of the comments made in that article are particularly fishy given that Sony is currently under anti-trust investigation involving BluRay in the EU. I know that Blockbuster is going BluRay only in its stores, I didn't disagree with that.... I only corrected the WRONG things you said and gave my personal insight into your very own Walmart comment. And BJ's? Never heard of it, I'm pretty sure it's not a significant enough bastion of consumerism to sway anything dramatically.

Look, plain and simple, this guy wanted to know whether the HD-DVD drive was worth it. Some people came in here and spouted some useless junk and I corrected it with FACTS in order to help the OP make an informed decision that wasn't corrupted by hearsay. I told him I was happy with mine. The problem in this thread are all the fanboys that think Sony is the end-all-be-all of consumer electronics; a fact that couldn't be further from the truth. They've just been, for the most part, spouting garbage and lieswith no evidence. It's called blindly accepting whatever they see as fact without thinking or doing any additional research.

And if YOU were smarter than a rock, you would have seen all the spelling errors in your post..... and yes, I know I'm missing spaces in some parts. Every time I post it does that even though I put the spaces in so you don't need to comment on it.

[QUOTE="nosferatu"][QUOTE="ItsBriskBaby"][QUOTE="nosferatu"]

[QUOTE="adders99"]ye its pretty much dead... there is no point in getting onewickedmind

Wow, so the Sony propaganda DOES work....

HD-DVD sales have actually been creeping back up on BluRay. This summer has seen a strong line of HD-DVD exclusives and the emergence of the $200 player with 5 discs. As a result of these 2, the last month or so has seen some pretty strong sales.

I actually think the HD-DVD format has more potential with its standard features. Just see the reviews for the latest big release on both platforms, 300. HD-DVD versions often have more bonus features (with the 300 PiP blue screen shots being lauded as one of the coolest and is impossible to do on BD) and typically get better reviews when a movie is available on both formats.

If nothing else, I've really enjoyed my player and have watched a ton of good movies on it that were exclusives (and even more on Tuesday when I grab Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz). For the price, especially with 5 movies, I think it's a great way to get your feet wet in HD movies.

Link!?

It's due to the standard features of an HD-DVD player vs a BluRay player. I can look it up for you if you really need it, but BluRays are incapable of doing the Picture in Picture stuff in the midst of the movie like an HD-DVD player can. I honestly think the HD-DVD format is the stronger of the 2, but I think the BD alliance of studios is probably stronger unfortunately. Theoretically, BluRay can hold more (with a theoretical limit of around 200gb, although as far as I know, nothing over 60gb or sohas actually been made). I'll go dig up some stats and stuff about the supposed technological"superiority" of BDthat you might find interesting, give me a few.

UPDATED

Quote from over at AVSforums

Disc Capacity:How do the two formats compare in data capacity?

62% of Blu-ray Disc titles utilize BD25, single layer discs. 25 GB of capacity.

82% of HD DVD titles utilize HD30, double layer discs. 30 GB of capacity.

Advantage -->HD DVD - Most HD DVDs are actually higher capacity than Blu-ray discs.

Video Codecs: - How advanced is the technology being used to encode the discs' video?

53% of Blu-ray Disc titles use MPEG2 video - a 1990's technology developed for ATSC broadcasts and DVD.

96% of HD DVD titles use AVC (MPEG4) and VC-1 video - 21st century technologies that provide better video quality in while requiring smaller file sizes, and less bandwidth.

Advantage -->HD DVD - It makes the most of its capacity through using advanced video codecs.

End Quote

As much as I hate the combo (HD-DVD and DVD on the same disc) discs, I think they are a good thing for those on the edge. They can buy their movie for about $5-$10 more than a standard DVD and then they are a mere $200 player away from having an HD experience too at some point. In addition, it makes your movies more shareable with friends that haven't gone HD.

The BD experience has been VERY inconsistent so far (partially as a result of Sony having still not set down a set of standards that all players must have). Go read reports on the Fifth Element and Pirates of the Carribean discs for examples. In addition, the BD group keeps touting the potential of their format, but hasn't really delivered much yet. HDDVD has delivered on most of their stuff (with Universal's collection of Spielberg movies being one of the serious gaps).

There is no difference in picture quality either way, and so I must go with the format which is delivering on its promises and is capable of the better bonus features and the winner of that is clearly HD-DVD.

If nothing else, it's a lot cheaper ;)

Excerpt from the 300 Review at HiDef Digest (http://hddvd.highdefdigest.com/300.html) to describe the HDDVD features

"As if all of the above cross-format goodies were not enough, Warner has served up quite a treat for HD DVD fans with a cutting-edge assortment of high-def exclusives.

Easily the most anticipated bonus is the "Bluescreen Picture-in-Picture Version" of the film. A true first for any home video format, Warner has encoded the entire feature in its bluescreen, pre-post-produced version. Like your typical In-Movie Experience track, just activate the feature and a large picture box will appear in the bottom left of the screen, allowing you to watch the before-and-after versions of the film along with audio commentary by director Zack Snyder."

There are also web-enabled features and a game included in the package which, like the PiP feature, are only possible due to what Toshiba and the HDDVD group have dictated must be present in every HDDVD player.

im sold im going to buy the hd dvd addon for the 360 and get 5 free hd dvd movies thanks nosferatu for the info

Me too! Dude are u sure you don't work for Microsoft or anything cuz if your not they need to send you some royalties! HAHA You just got two customers right there!