The 360 with HDMI and 120GB hard drive... (1 Viewer)

[Cory S.]

...and the possiblity of having an internal HD-DVD drive.

http://www.engadget.com/2007/01/05/t...dename-zephyr/

Just a rumor, but an interesting one, nonetheless. I'd definitely trade in my current unit for one with HDMI without the internal HD-DVD drive....

 

[Peter Overduin]

Indeed, the question is whether this unit will come with a built in HD drive. HDMI alone is no reason for an upgrade. Interesting that alot of stuff seems to be announced or rumored just before CES!

 

[Carlo_M]

Wow, and I nearly bought one too (but instead went for a PS3). I will eventually buy a 360 for Halo 3 so hopefully if this rumor pans out, it will happen by the release of the H3.

 

[Cory S.]

For Microsoft to counter Sony, I don't see them putting an internal HD-DVD drive in the unit, mainly because they want to keep the cost lower than the Playstation 3.

Still, HDMI (1.3?) with a 120GB hard drive for probably the exact same price as 360's now, I say that's pretty nice.

I'd prefer to deal with a HDMI cable instead of a VGA cable when wanted to do 1080p for the HD-DVD player and games.

 

[Mike~Sileck]

As an early adopted, I'm pretty upset over this. I really want HDMI and much more importantly I want the upgraded HD.

Hmm..maybe I can pawn off my version 1 system to my girlfriend...and get a V2 for myself.

Oh and I second the fact that they won't be internalizing the HD-DVD drive. There's no reason to, and it wouldn't be cost effective at all. (I'd be shocked if the 120GB HD doesn't spike the price as it is....).


It'll be interesting to see how this pans out. What if MS drops the Core system all together, drops the current Premium package down to $300, and re-names this new package the....uh....Titanium!, and sells it for $400?

That'd make for a price drop, as well as a new system. Hmm...I guess we'll see in the next month or so....

Whats everyone else think?

 

[Cory S.]

Mike,

Dropping the Core Unit sounds pretty plausible to me. Either way, I'm not entirely upset. I just bought my 360 a month and a half ago for basically playing HD-DVDs. I wanted the option of playing games since I play games every so often. And the add-on was just too good to pass up.

With this v2, I'd take the plunge for the HDMI 1.3 and the larger hard drive because I've got to be honest, I'm hooked on that Xbox Marketplace. I mean, it would be neat to have the 120GB hard drive and be able to not only download movies, but to actually keep them. Because, there are some movies that I like but I won't neccessarily buy them. This could be a way to do with without filling my shelf up even more.

Now, all that needs to happen for my home theater to be complete is for a cheap Blu-Ray player to come out that's not a console, that has HDMI 1.3 and upconverts. When that happens, I could give two craps about which format wins. I'm going to be enjoying both of them.

 

[Mike~Sileck]

Cory, I gotta ask, why no Playstation 3 love?

I own one and love the Blu-Ray aspects.

I know you said "thats not a console", but I'm just curious why.


And yes, XBLM is awesome - the larger HD will be welcomed!

 

[Cory S.]

Mike,

From the outset, I did want a Playstation 3. But the idea of having to wait for a few months before they became available all the time in the store, I just wasn't down with. I wanted to make the jump to HD now and the 360 with the add-on was the easiest and cheapest way for me to do it.

So now, I want a dedicated Blu-Ray player for watching Blu-Ray movies. But, it has to be the right price, and right now, it's not. I'm hoping CES changes that.

I have nothing against the Playstation 3 at all. I've messed around with it and I think it's a fine console. But, I have a console now, so when it comes time to go Blu-Ray, I want it to be just that...a Blu-Ray machine.

Still, apart of me really still wants a Playstation 3 because the design of the console is just wicked. I love the look of the thing.

 

[RAF]

Actually, in my case, HDMI is exactly why I would want to upgrade. I'm using both the external HD-DVD drive on my current XBox 360and a Toshiba XA-1 to watch HD movies. While the XBox 360 HD-DVD blows away the Toshiba in a lot of areas (better remote, much faster load times, etc. etc.) one place that it definitely does not best the Toshiba is in the area of sound - specifically newer things like TrueHD. To hear TrueHD in all its glory you either need an HDMI connector to pass the LPCM or 5.1 analog outputs (the optical link does not pass the HD audio codecs). And once you've heard the difference between TrueHD 5.1 and "regular" DD5.1 you will be amazed. HDMI on the XBox360 would be just what the doctor ordered.



Incidently, I may be one of the few people who actually likes the fact that the HD-DVD player is external and not part of the main gaming console. I'm also running a PS3 and one of my pet peeves about that unit is that the same drive is used for games and for Blu-ray movies. With my XBox360 I can switch from "Play Game" to "Play DVD" by just going through the menus. In other words, I need not unload Gears of War to watch Superman Returns. The (almost) best of both worlds.

 

[Cory S.]

Robert,

I totally agree with you about the HD-DVD drive being external for the 360. And hopefully, with the release of v2, it'll stay that way.

As you said, HDMI on the 360 is exactly what is needed. Realistically, with HDMI, I might not have to buy another HD-DVD player again.

 

[RAF]

I'll take it one step further. If the XBox 360 had HDMI output (with full TrueHD and other advanced audio codec support) I'd sell my Toshiba in a heartbeat. Except for the audio advantage, it's been a great disappointment to me for my needs.

 

[Mike~Sileck]

I agree with everyone here. I'm glad the HD-DVD drive is sep. from the 360, this means that playing HD-DVDs will not "wear down" my drive, and playing games will not "wear down" my HD-DVD drive. I think this is very important.

I second the "upgraded audio" comments.

With regards to the PS3, Cory, you make it seem like the only reason you don't want a PS3 is because you can't find one? Maybe I took that wrong...

 

[Cory S.]

Mike,

At first, it was because I couldn't find one and I was too impatient to wait. Now, I have the 360 (again, addicated to that Marketplace) so I prefer to not have two consoles as my movie playback machines. Finally, I will end up owning both but I still feel, just based on specs and potential for the future, that Blu-Ray will win out. And that's the real reason why I want a Blu-Ray standalone player.

I love HD-DVD right now with the 360 add-on. I'm thinking I'll love Blu-Ray just the same. I just personally feel that the grass is greener on the Blu-Ray side and I want to invest properly in a standalone Blu-Ray player.

I do reserve the right to change my mind if the Playstation 3 continues to impress further.

 

[Mike~Sileck]

Ah, gotcha

Whats your Gamertag?

I'm CarpeD1em500 - love GoW, so add me!

Hopefully you jump on the Ps3 eventually also. Resistance is a lot of fun!

 

[jervis961]

Hopefully there will be some kind of upgrade promotion from MS for us who already have a 360. Otherwise I would still be willing to buy the new one and place mine in the kid's playroom(they alway want to play mine). I also like the external HD-DVD drive but want the True HD. If this is comes out I may just have to sell my Denon receiver and buy a new one that accepts HDMI.

 

[Chris S]

I saw this morning that Scott Henson, Microsoft Director of Platform Strategy, said there was no vision for the 360 to ever incorporate the HD-DVD drive into the console.


Linky

I personally agree with everyone else here. A separate drive is the best way to go for gaming consoles. Especially if it the newer format is never going to be utilized by game developers. Plus it gives those who want it the option to add it if they absolutely need it.

Edit: added the next paragraph as it speaks about game developers

 

[ppltd]

I second the reasoning. I have been enjoying my 360 HD drive, and don't have to unload my game disk to watch a movie. As I have recently sold my XA1 (XA2 should be delivered on the 9th ) it is currently my only means of watching HD-DVD's.

 

[Tim Glover]

Robert in regards to the HD-DVD drive for the XBOX, how do you rate the picture quality compared to the XA-1?

 

[Adam Portrais]

So I think that the V2 is a good idea but I have to wonder- if you're hooked up with HDMI and you don't have a receiver that accepts audio through HDMI then how would you get audio without the optical out that is currently on the AV input? Kinda sucks to have to buy a new receiver but I guess I was going to eventually do that anyway but.... damn it.

Anyway, I love the fact that the HD DVD drive is separate (and MS has said it will never be incorporated- for the reason, read on) because let's say that HD DVD doesn't become the standard or (what I think is more likely) the new deal that LG is rolling out duel format players and then we live in a world that accepts both formats. Then where would a system like the PS3 be then? SOL as far as I'm concerned.

And on a side note/rant, I'll go on record as saying I'm an Xbox fanboy. I've owned a PS and PS2 and I just decided that I've had it with Sony and all the lies. They don't listen to their customer base and tell you one thing and then say or do another the next second. With being a Blu-ray player the only leg the PS3 has to stand on right now, make mine an Xbox 360.

 

[Mike~Sileck]

Adam

I was wondering the same thing actually. I figured that maybe it would be possible to just plug in any ole AV connector, let the cables dangle, and just use the Optical Audio port. Not sure if this would be disabled or anything, I guess we'll see.


With regards to your rant, I'll go on record as saying that I've played my 360 like 100x more than my PS3 (or my Wii for that matter), but I'm still very glad that I own all three of them. The PS3 is an incredible piece of hardware, and I'm glad that I have a "rather" cheap Blu-Ray player. Over time I'm sure there will be software developed that makes the system shine, and heck, I still get a kick out of playing the free GT demo just because it looks so damn pretty.

Anyways, back on subject - it seems there is nothing to worry about with regards to implementing the HD-DVD drive into the console itself, so that is a moot point.

I guess the most important thing now is a release date and a price point.

(btw, isn't it going to be funny that people may camp out for 360 v. 2, and they'll be walking by all those un-sold Ps3's?! haha...and people said Microsoft would never make it in the gaming world....)



(btw, everyone here, I play Gears and everything else online, so feel free to add me to your friends list....)