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HD DVD Explained (XBox.com)
Xbox 360™ ushered in the era of high-definition gaming by standardizing high-definition resolutions and 16x9 widescreen support for every game (Xbox Live® Arcade included) on the system. What's more, Xbox 360, while powerful on its own, is also a foundation from which new technology and accessories can be added. Chief among these is the recently announced HD DVD add-on.
This much anticipated accessory carries with it an extension of the HD Era that Xbox 360 offers, and provides the most visually stunning movie watching experience available.
Understanding HD DVD
Understanding just what HD DVD offers and how it relates to Xbox 360 is the key to appreciating the kind of quantum leap forward the add-on provides. To most consumers, HD DVD is probably a new phrase, but it's simple to decipher. The HD is high definition and DVDs are those hundreds of millions of shiny discs sold worldwide.
"The major difference is going to be price, and all the leading indicators point to HD DVD winning."
In fact, HD DVD is the official next-generation optical format from the same international organization, the DVD Forum, that created the ubiquitous DVD format used for digitally storing movies, games, PC data, and more. That also means the new HD DVD players will also play back all of your current DVDs.
To be fair, there's a push from Sony to create an alternate HD format called Blu-ray. So now's a good time to examine why Microsoft®, and many other industry leaders, believe HD DVD is the clear winner for consumers.
Superior Quality
The current DVD format we've come to know and love provides a 480 progressive scan image, and while impressive, it simply doesn't match up to the advanced capabilities of high-definition resolutions HDTVs. HD DVD delivers a high-fidelity video and audio experience that far exceeds today's DVD, with video resolutions of up to six times the resolution of current DVDs and superior digital multi-channel, lossless surround sound effects.
When comparing the two formats, there is no difference in the video support with both offering 720p, 1080i and 1080p HD resolutions, leaving it to CE and PC manufacturers to determine which flavors they support based upon costs and consumer preferences.
"Both sides are laying their cards on the table, and the word is getting out that HD DVD is the best value."
This new accessory will connect to the Xbox 360 console with a USB cable, enabling it to harness the power of the Xbox 360 console for the HD video outputs and digital surround sound. As an accessory, it becomes another shining example of the flexibility of Xbox 360 designed into the console in order to grow and add new features. It's also just one of several new accessories being announced at E3. "There aren't any Blu-ray players available to test, but if you compare the requirements on paper it's going to be a wash in terms of video quality," said Albert Penello, Director of Global Marketing at Xbox. "At Microsoft, we've known that for some time. But the major difference is going to be price, and all the leading indicators point to HD DVD winning."
Pricing
With HD DVD, it is now becoming evident that the entire ecosystem—from players, drives, the discs, and manufacturing—is more economical than Blu-ray. Consumers and retailers can now see the immediate price gulf between HD DVD players and their upcoming competition. If you can find one of the new Toshiba HD DVD players (retailers nationwide sold out when they launched in April) they sell for as little as $499, whereas the expected starting price of Blu-ray players starts at $1,000 and rises rapidly after that.
HD DVD also offers new "twin discs" that have an HD DVD version and a DVD version on the same disc. This gives consumers an easy and affordable way to build their movie collection that will take full advantage of every TV in the house—whether it's the HDTV and new HD DVD player in the living room, or standard def TV and DVD player in another room, car, or even PCs and laptops.
Blu-ray's option is to require consumers to buy two discs at full price, an HD version and the standard DVD version separately.
Consumer Advantage
Outside of consumer prices, HD DVD is cheaper for manufacturers to upgrade their facilities to produce HD DVD discs and there are lower licensing fees associated with HD DVD interactivity—both key cost advantages. Ultimately, all of these advantages will lead to lower prices for consumers who choose HD DVD.
"Before January's CES trade show and before price announcements starting to come out, a lot of press and analysts were ready to declare HD DVD as DOA," commented Penello. "But we had really good insights into how these two matched up and we kept learning about technical problems with Blu-ray. Now that both sides are laying their cards on the table, the word is getting out that HD DVD is the best value. Consumers are voting by buying HD DVD players and movies. And since then, the industry momentum we've seen has been behind HD DVD."
Since January, CE and PC leaders like LG, Acer, Fujitsu (and Fujitsu-Siemens) have decided to support HD DVD in their products, while Sony, Samsung, and Pioneer separately delayed releasing their consumer Blu-ray players. (The first Blu-ray player is reportedly now slated for late June.) In addition, Sony delayed its PS3 game console launch and publicly blamed the problem on Blu-ray issues.
So what's the suggested price for the Xbox 360 HD DVD player? "Stay tuned. We decided to save that good news for another day, but we're clearly out to make this an affordable option for Xbox 360 owners," said Penello.
The last question is around studio support. HD DVD is supported by leading Hollywood and international studios including Paramount, Warner Brothers, Universal, Studio Canal, and more. It's expected there will be 150-200 HD DVD titles by the end of year.
"The momentum is with HD DVD. Eventually, we feel all the studios will support HD DVD, perhaps not exclusively. But the studios are too savvy to leave money on the table," said Penello.
Xbox 360™ ushered in the era of high-definition gaming by standardizing high-definition resolutions and 16x9 widescreen support for every game (Xbox Live® Arcade included) on the system. What's more, Xbox 360, while powerful on its own, is also a foundation from which new technology and accessories can be added. Chief among these is the recently announced HD DVD add-on.
This much anticipated accessory carries with it an extension of the HD Era that Xbox 360 offers, and provides the most visually stunning movie watching experience available.
Understanding HD DVD
Understanding just what HD DVD offers and how it relates to Xbox 360 is the key to appreciating the kind of quantum leap forward the add-on provides. To most consumers, HD DVD is probably a new phrase, but it's simple to decipher. The HD is high definition and DVDs are those hundreds of millions of shiny discs sold worldwide.
"The major difference is going to be price, and all the leading indicators point to HD DVD winning."
In fact, HD DVD is the official next-generation optical format from the same international organization, the DVD Forum, that created the ubiquitous DVD format used for digitally storing movies, games, PC data, and more. That also means the new HD DVD players will also play back all of your current DVDs.
To be fair, there's a push from Sony to create an alternate HD format called Blu-ray. So now's a good time to examine why Microsoft®, and many other industry leaders, believe HD DVD is the clear winner for consumers.
Superior Quality
The current DVD format we've come to know and love provides a 480 progressive scan image, and while impressive, it simply doesn't match up to the advanced capabilities of high-definition resolutions HDTVs. HD DVD delivers a high-fidelity video and audio experience that far exceeds today's DVD, with video resolutions of up to six times the resolution of current DVDs and superior digital multi-channel, lossless surround sound effects.
When comparing the two formats, there is no difference in the video support with both offering 720p, 1080i and 1080p HD resolutions, leaving it to CE and PC manufacturers to determine which flavors they support based upon costs and consumer preferences.
"Both sides are laying their cards on the table, and the word is getting out that HD DVD is the best value."
This new accessory will connect to the Xbox 360 console with a USB cable, enabling it to harness the power of the Xbox 360 console for the HD video outputs and digital surround sound. As an accessory, it becomes another shining example of the flexibility of Xbox 360 designed into the console in order to grow and add new features. It's also just one of several new accessories being announced at E3. "There aren't any Blu-ray players available to test, but if you compare the requirements on paper it's going to be a wash in terms of video quality," said Albert Penello, Director of Global Marketing at Xbox. "At Microsoft, we've known that for some time. But the major difference is going to be price, and all the leading indicators point to HD DVD winning."
Pricing
With HD DVD, it is now becoming evident that the entire ecosystem—from players, drives, the discs, and manufacturing—is more economical than Blu-ray. Consumers and retailers can now see the immediate price gulf between HD DVD players and their upcoming competition. If you can find one of the new Toshiba HD DVD players (retailers nationwide sold out when they launched in April) they sell for as little as $499, whereas the expected starting price of Blu-ray players starts at $1,000 and rises rapidly after that.
HD DVD also offers new "twin discs" that have an HD DVD version and a DVD version on the same disc. This gives consumers an easy and affordable way to build their movie collection that will take full advantage of every TV in the house—whether it's the HDTV and new HD DVD player in the living room, or standard def TV and DVD player in another room, car, or even PCs and laptops.
Blu-ray's option is to require consumers to buy two discs at full price, an HD version and the standard DVD version separately.
Consumer Advantage
Outside of consumer prices, HD DVD is cheaper for manufacturers to upgrade their facilities to produce HD DVD discs and there are lower licensing fees associated with HD DVD interactivity—both key cost advantages. Ultimately, all of these advantages will lead to lower prices for consumers who choose HD DVD.
"Before January's CES trade show and before price announcements starting to come out, a lot of press and analysts were ready to declare HD DVD as DOA," commented Penello. "But we had really good insights into how these two matched up and we kept learning about technical problems with Blu-ray. Now that both sides are laying their cards on the table, the word is getting out that HD DVD is the best value. Consumers are voting by buying HD DVD players and movies. And since then, the industry momentum we've seen has been behind HD DVD."
Since January, CE and PC leaders like LG, Acer, Fujitsu (and Fujitsu-Siemens) have decided to support HD DVD in their products, while Sony, Samsung, and Pioneer separately delayed releasing their consumer Blu-ray players. (The first Blu-ray player is reportedly now slated for late June.) In addition, Sony delayed its PS3 game console launch and publicly blamed the problem on Blu-ray issues.
So what's the suggested price for the Xbox 360 HD DVD player? "Stay tuned. We decided to save that good news for another day, but we're clearly out to make this an affordable option for Xbox 360 owners," said Penello.
The last question is around studio support. HD DVD is supported by leading Hollywood and international studios including Paramount, Warner Brothers, Universal, Studio Canal, and more. It's expected there will be 150-200 HD DVD titles by the end of year.
"The momentum is with HD DVD. Eventually, we feel all the studios will support HD DVD, perhaps not exclusively. But the studios are too savvy to leave money on the table," said Penello.
44 Replies
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6755 views
A reprieve for the 360. Exactly as I said, if ICT was turned on the HD DVD part of the 360 would be doomed. This is good news for consumers though. Maybe by 2010 they will forget about the ICT bologna.
http://www.cdfreaks.com/news/13458
Hollywood appears to be in agreement to delay ICT restriction
Posted by Seán Byrne on 23 May 2006 - 00:32 - Source: Ars Technica
With HD DVD already on the market and Blu-ray preparing to enter, in order to help consumers make the transition, many content providers have decided not to use the Image Constraint Token (ICT) in their discs. If present, consumers who do not have a HDCP complaint TV will face watching a much downgraded image resolution. Well, according to a German news source, there appears to be an unofficial agreement between Hollywood and various content providers, including Microsoft and Sony to not enact the ICT until at least 2010 to possibly even 2012. However, as the report is unofficial, Hollywood could still potentially change its mind to bring in the ICT sooner.
Even though the vast majority of new HDTV sets in the stores feature HDCP compliant HDMI inputs, another problem arose with Sony's budget PlayStation 3 announcement in that it lacks HDMI. A similar story can be said with Microsoft's upcoming HD DVD player add-on for the Xbox 360. This basically means that the consumer could have a fully HDCP compliant TV, but without a HDMI output on their game console, they will still face watching a downgraded image should content providers start enacting ICT on new titles.
Assuming this agreement does exist between the Hollywood, Microsoft and Sony, this may explain the reasoning behind both lacking HDMI on their game consoles, at least the budget PS3 and the present Xbox 360.
This "HDMI" connector standard is part of a "protected pathway" for video that was meant to combat piracy by making it impossible for pirates to tap into high-definition video output and press "Record," as it were. Many fear, however, that the only success HDMI will have is in making honest users miserable, inasmuch as consumers could be left with a product that plays at low quality or not at all if HDMI is not present on one's player or TV.
The conundrum isn't apparently lost on the consumer electronics industry or Hollywood. According to German-language Spiegel Online, there is reportedly a behind-the-scenes, unofficial agreement between Hollywood and some consumer electronics manufacturers, including Microsoft and Sony, not to use ICT until 2010, or possibly even 2012. Without providing more details, the report suggests that Hollywood isn't exactly happy with the situation, and could very well renege on the agreement, such that it is. But the agreement is there nonetheless, presumably to help the industry transition to HDMI. This could explain why the very same studios that pushed for HDMI and ICT have recently announced that they would not use it for the time being.
The full Ars Technica article can be read here.
From what I can see, there would be little point in Sony releasing a budget Blu-ray based console and Microsoft releasing a HD DVD drive console add-on, both lacking HDMI if they were unsure how soon ICT would potentially be enacted. However, as 2010 is a good while ahead, this gives plenty of time for the pricing of Blu-ray and HD DVD players to fall substantially such that by the time ICT does become enacted, consumers would have no problem affording a new player, much like how basic DVD players can easily be found on sale for under $30.
http://www.cdfreaks.com/news/13458
Hollywood appears to be in agreement to delay ICT restriction
Posted by Seán Byrne on 23 May 2006 - 00:32 - Source: Ars Technica
With HD DVD already on the market and Blu-ray preparing to enter, in order to help consumers make the transition, many content providers have decided not to use the Image Constraint Token (ICT) in their discs. If present, consumers who do not have a HDCP complaint TV will face watching a much downgraded image resolution. Well, according to a German news source, there appears to be an unofficial agreement between Hollywood and various content providers, including Microsoft and Sony to not enact the ICT until at least 2010 to possibly even 2012. However, as the report is unofficial, Hollywood could still potentially change its mind to bring in the ICT sooner.
Even though the vast majority of new HDTV sets in the stores feature HDCP compliant HDMI inputs, another problem arose with Sony's budget PlayStation 3 announcement in that it lacks HDMI. A similar story can be said with Microsoft's upcoming HD DVD player add-on for the Xbox 360. This basically means that the consumer could have a fully HDCP compliant TV, but without a HDMI output on their game console, they will still face watching a downgraded image should content providers start enacting ICT on new titles.
Assuming this agreement does exist between the Hollywood, Microsoft and Sony, this may explain the reasoning behind both lacking HDMI on their game consoles, at least the budget PS3 and the present Xbox 360.
The conundrum isn't apparently lost on the consumer electronics industry or Hollywood. According to German-language Spiegel Online, there is reportedly a behind-the-scenes, unofficial agreement between Hollywood and some consumer electronics manufacturers, including Microsoft and Sony, not to use ICT until 2010, or possibly even 2012. Without providing more details, the report suggests that Hollywood isn't exactly happy with the situation, and could very well renege on the agreement, such that it is. But the agreement is there nonetheless, presumably to help the industry transition to HDMI. This could explain why the very same studios that pushed for HDMI and ICT have recently announced that they would not use it for the time being.
The full Ars Technica article can be read here.
From what I can see, there would be little point in Sony releasing a budget Blu-ray based console and Microsoft releasing a HD DVD drive console add-on, both lacking HDMI if they were unsure how soon ICT would potentially be enacted. However, as 2010 is a good while ahead, this gives plenty of time for the pricing of Blu-ray and HD DVD players to fall substantially such that by the time ICT does become enacted, consumers would have no problem affording a new player, much like how basic DVD players can easily be found on sale for under $30.
Over the past few weeks, I have had problems connecting to streaming services (Netflix, HBO et al). When I go to the TV's native Channels, I have no problem. The Dish internet troubleshooter shows I have a good internet connection. I'm wondering whether it's an issue with my internet provider or a problem with the Dish software on the Hopper Plus. Anyone else seeing this?
0 Replies
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4 views
Staff member
HERE TO HELP YOU!
Cutting Edge
Sometimes a thread gets so many posts in it that is can cause issues for the server so that why today we introduce The Song Name Game Part 3!
So let the game continue!
The last song was added by Bobby who posted...
One Meat Ball - Andrews Sisters
CONTINUE ON AND HAVE FUN! WELCOME HOME TO SATELLITEGUYS.US!
Here are the original rules for the game as posted by WebbyDude back in 2006. http://www.satelliteguys.us/threads/68645-Song-Name-Game
Just name a song title and the band who performed it. The next person does the same thing, but needs to list a song title or band name which includes a word from the previous entry. Pick songs from any genre.
Example:
Long Live Rock and Roll -- Rainbow
Rainbow in the Dark -- Dio
Another example:
Ride the Lightning -- Metallica
Lightning Strikes -- Ozzy Osbourne
Get it?
An additional note: we all know that song titles, sometimes, use profane words. Because this is a family friendly website it is advised that you clean up that title up a bit. This is accomplished by using something like sh!t instead of the real word. Thanks....
So let the game continue!
The last song was added by Bobby who posted...
One Meat Ball - Andrews Sisters
CONTINUE ON AND HAVE FUN! WELCOME HOME TO SATELLITEGUYS.US!
Here are the original rules for the game as posted by WebbyDude back in 2006. http://www.satelliteguys.us/threads/68645-Song-Name-Game
Just name a song title and the band who performed it. The next person does the same thing, but needs to list a song title or band name which includes a word from the previous entry. Pick songs from any genre.
Example:
Long Live Rock and Roll -- Rainbow
Rainbow in the Dark -- Dio
Another example:
Ride the Lightning -- Metallica
Lightning Strikes -- Ozzy Osbourne
Get it?
An additional note: we all know that song titles, sometimes, use profane words. Because this is a family friendly website it is advised that you clean up that title up a bit. This is accomplished by using something like sh!t instead of the real word. Thanks....
68649 Replies
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2679745 views
Lifetime Supporter
I know HipKat said that they were working on conversions but we got the official news yesterday right from Dish that starting next month all DMA's will be on the western arc, and all customers will be assigned to that. That's gonna mean a lot of customers around here aren't gonna get Dish unless there are exceptions. Too many mountains and trees.
176 Replies
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5221 views
Pub Member / Supporter
Lifetime Supporter
5 Replies
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103 views
Supporting Founder
Really excited for this season with Kentucky having a new coach and some really exciting recruits. Probably won't last long, but here's hoping this season is great.
173 Replies
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2602 views
Interesting article about the work being done to develope an ATSC 3 converter box. Yes it does mention affordable.
www.tvtechnology.com
Pearl TV Issues Progress Report on Low-Cost 3.0 Converters in Advance of NAB Show New York
Group has secured lower pricing from key tech players to make less costly boxes available
www.tvtechnology.com
12 Replies
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657 views
It's dead, they just don't know it yet. They killed it by forcing DRM on it, and that TOTALLY botched implementing it.
There is absolutely NO compelling reason for anybody to switch to ATSC3.0. They only want it as a total and complete money grab.
S
WHAT ABOUT THE INTERNET PART OF IT. NO ONE WANTS A BOX CONNECTED TO THE INTERNET EITHER.
It's dead, they just don't know it yet. They killed it by forcing DRM on it, and that TOTALLY botched implementing it.
There is absolutely NO compelling reason for anybody to switch to ATSC3.0. They only want it as a total and complete money grab.
That would be handy. Download the latest RNA snippets that can be updated over 5G and no more shots! You're a Genius!Cough, cough. COVID vaccine implants.
Pub Member / Supporter
Lifetime Supporter
1 Replies
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83 views
Pub Member / Supporter
Susan Saint James, Emmy-Winning Star of ‘Kate & Allie’ and ‘McMillan & Wife,’ Dies at 80
Susan Saint James, the Emmy-winning actress who starred in "Kate & Allie," died Monday after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. She was 80.
variety.com
7 Replies
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100 views
. can we say over priced garbage!!!
TWiT Tech Podcast Network
Time for another AWESOME video from the TWIT Network!
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSBKxtzFi0Y
Direct YouTube Link - Intelligent Machines 894
TWIT's Website
TWIT Live Feed
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSBKxtzFi0Y
Direct YouTube Link - Intelligent Machines 894
TWIT's Website
TWIT Live Feed
0 Replies
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12 views