Microsoft demos Xbox 360 HD DVD drive

By Greg Sandoval on 09 August 2006

Microsoft has offered the first glimpse of the external HD DVD drive built for the Xbox 360 game console. Kevin Collins, senior program manager at Microsoft, demonstrated the HD DVD drive, which he said is scheduled to hit store shelves for the upcoming holiday shopping season, to attendees of the DVD Forum held in Los Angeles earlier this week.

The device -- about the size of a hardback book -- played The Phantom of the Opera as Collins pulled up a menu bar to display a few of its navigation and interactive features that can be called up onscreen while a movie is playing. Collins said Microsoft's HD DVD drive will be among the least expensive of the HD DVD players, but he declined to disclose the drive's retail price.

"All the audio and video processing is done inside the Xbox," said Collins, who noted that research has shown that a majority of Xbox owners already own high-definition displays. An Xbox drive provides them with all the other equipment they need to watch HD DVD movies, he said.

"This gives consumers choice and keeps their cost down," Collins said Microsoft has chosen to back the HD DVD format over Blu-ray. Both technologies are vying to replace the DVD format and are represented by consortiums that include electronics makers and Hollywood studios.

Game consoles may prove to be a crucial battleground for the two formats, some observers predict. In November, Sony's PlayStation 3 is expected to debut equipped with a Blu-ray drive. In contrast to Microsoft's strategy to go with an external drive, PlayStation's drive will be built in.

Topics: dvd, hd, 360, xbox, hd dvd, drive, collins, microsoft

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Comments (1)

  • rica uk commented on 24/08/2006 05:23 Report abuse

    blu ray willl be included in the ps3 but will also be included in the price tag, and don't forget the copyright feature that will wipe a code from the disk as soon as you put in a new game or film so that it will only play on that ps3-so no trading when you're finished with it, blu ray discs are more expensive because they can't be printed on the existing machines but hd-dvd can. my 360 is connected to my tv via a vga cable and displays at 1360x768 with no picture scaling, will do the max on any higher resolution tv naturally and remember mini disc, and umd flopped so why should we want blu ray-all sony ideas, if the majority of the gaming world buy a ps3, blu-ray will win over hd-dvd but like the vhs/beta max war hd-dvd is the cheaper more viable option also most of the release ps3 games are out on 360 first. consider all of this before you waste your money!!!!!

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