Finally bagged me a 360 HD-DVD add-on :D

davetherave2

davetherave2

davetherave2

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Well after months of waiting for this and having numerous pre-orders and not getting one I popped into my local console store and what do you know they had a nice shiny 360 HD-DVD add on. Have just had a quick look at King Kong that was supplied with it and have to say the opening scene is amazing. It seems to me like this portion of the movie was put in purely to show the difference between dvd and hd-dvd. The lines are so crisp and the colours are so vibrant.

Just can't wait until some of my favourite movies hit the HD format such as lord of the rings, fifth element, and all the pixar movies.

I think this is a must for any xbox 360 owner.

just wondering how others have found it. Assuming you have been lucky to get one.
 
davetherave2 said:
Well after months of waiting for this and having numerous pre-orders and not getting one I popped into my local console store and what do you know they had a nice shiny 360 HD-DVD add on. Have just had a quick look at King Kong that was supplied with it and have to say the opening scene is amazing. It seems to me like this portion of the movie was put in purely to show the difference between dvd and hd-dvd. The lines are so crisp and the colours are so vibrant.

Just can't wait until some of my favourite movies hit the HD format such as lord of the rings, fifth element, and all the pixar movies.

I think this is a must for any xbox 360 owner.

just wondering how others have found it. Assuming you have been lucky to get one.
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Overrated, it looks good, but the quality of films out at the moment is poor. I wasnt overly impressed with the results on my sony bravia 40W at 1080p, downloaded demo's look a lot more impressive running through a pc and hdmi.
 
i think with any new format the initial titles aren't the best but I am sure when the format matures in say 6 to 12 months time we will see better movies. When I compare the quality of the first dvd's I bought to the ones I have now they don't look as great. Plus it is a good step in the right direction.

Although I don't have a direct comparison between the original KK dvd and this version and can't see how this is much better.

I must admit I have watched much of the HD samples from the PC on my TV and they looked awesome but this is truely a great little addon for those wanting to get to next gen quality movies on a budget.

I have no idea now MS are doing this at such a low price considering the HP external drive OC are selling is over 300 notes.

MS must be subsidizing this to the hilt.
 
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hi,
im well impressed with it :)
having watched serenity and forbidden planet through it i think it was worth every penny. perhaps im not as picky/snobby (delete as applicable) compared to some in regards to what terms as outstanding picture etc so was pleasantly surprised it surpassed what i was actually expecting quality wise(after reading several doom mongers posts)
so...thumbs up from me.
 
I was highly impressed with it on my Lg32lx2r. Only managed to get it the other day after lots of failed pre-orders.

Ive watched some scenes from:- King Kong, Mission Impossible 3, The Hulk and We were soliders.

The colours are so much more vivid and everything just stands out, I was amazed when i first saw it. The quality just blows dvd away.

If you've got an xbox360, a HDTV and want to watch true HD films for £125 its the bargain of the year.
 
muzzler said:
hi,
im well impressed with it :)
having watched serenity and forbidden planet through it i think it was worth every penny. perhaps im not as picky/snobby (delete as applicable) compared to some in regards to what terms as outstanding picture etc so was pleasantly surprised it surpassed what i was actually expecting quality wise(after reading several doom mongers posts)
so...thumbs up from me.
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I guess i must be picky/snobby :p

Dont get me wrong, it does look better than DVD, but i guess i just expected more.

That said, i was in a shop yesterday and they had a standalone blueray player playing a film, and the quality didnt look any better than DVD, certainly the movie being shown wasnt anywhere near as good as the hd-dvd titles i have.
 
davetherave2 said:
I have no idea now MS are doing this at such a low price considering the HP external drive OC are selling is over 300 notes.

MS must be subsidizing this to the hilt.
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the player uses the 360's Cores, and so money was saved on the add-on as it didn't need its own built in processor(s) like the stand alone HD players.

So MS aren't really subsidizing much if at all.
 
Maniac618 said:
the player uses the 360's Cores, and so money was saved on the add-on as it didn't need its own built in processor(s) like the stand alone HD players.

So MS aren't really subsidizing much if at all.
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yes but surely the external hp drive that OC are selling is just a drive and has no processing power as well and costs £370.

so surely ms must be paying something extra to keep the price low.
 
I'd prefer a standalone player without the fan noise if I were to get a HD-DVD player (which I have no intention of doing any time soon).

The only reason I'm getting a Blue-Ray player is because I have no choice (PS3).
 
mmj_uk said:
I'd prefer a standalone player without the fan noise if I were to get a HD-DVD player (which I have no intention of doing any time soon).

The only reason I'm getting a Blue-Ray player is because I have no choice (PS3).
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Havent really noticed any noise coming from my 360 that detracts from the HD experience, im very happy with my import drive :)

As far as the Blue-Ray drive the PS3 will probably be the cheapest option over a standalone.
 
davetherave2 said:
yes but surely the external hp drive that OC are selling is just a drive and has no processing power as well and costs £370.

so surely ms must be paying something extra to keep the price low.
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I think that MS will be securing a very high number of units from the manufacturer... and companies will be competing with each other to make sure they get the Microsoft deal.

Just look at the original XBOX... the CPU for that changed right at the 11th hour from a 600MHz AMD spitfire core CPU, to the Intel 733MHz Mobile Celeron as Intel drastically undercut AMD with another offer at the very last minute and AMD weren't willing to sell for next to no profit! So i'm sure when MS put out tenders to source a HD-DVD drive companies were scrambling to make sure they got the deal as it guarantees them a very large contract over the next few years! :)
 
davetherave2 said:
yes but surely the external hp drive that OC are selling is just a drive and has no processing power as well and costs £370.

so surely ms must be paying something extra to keep the price low.
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Well I don't know the tech details well, but I have read that the HD add-on uses the 360 cores more than any game currently does, and so there must be something in the standalone drives that does whatever it is in a different way perhaps?
 
McDaniel said:
Anyone recommend some good films to show it off?
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MI-III and Superman Returns, both pin perfect. If you get MI-III keep an eye out for the Girl in the red dress and the yellow Lamborgini <--- stunning (both of them :P)
 
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McDaniel said:
Anyone recommend some good films to show it off?
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well I have to say from the samples that I have seen from King Kong and V for Vendetta you won't be dissapointed with these purchases. I am also awaiting Aeon Flux and this I think will look fantastic in HD.

I think the next movies I will be getting are Batman Returns and then the MI boxset. I'm also waiting for the superman boxset to come out as well.


But when or if the lord of the rings and matrix movies come out then these will be a welcomed addation to my collection.
 
TFaTF: Tokyo Drift has a superb picture and soundtrack.
Easily the best i've seen so far.

The film actually isn't that bad either. :o
 
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