I can't believe I bought a used xbox 360 hd-dvd drive on ebay

[yoda313]

yep I did it. I got one for 110.00. I actually did it the old fashioned way with biddind to the last second. 110.00 isn't bad - they are now down to 180 new at the store.

I wasn't really planning on it. It just sort of happened you know.

Now I can start looking for some hddvd movies.

the only downside I can see to the unit is that it apparently doesn't do the dolby plus and dts plus of the newest hddvd tracks. But that's not a big deal right now since my stereo is only dolby digital/dts normal audio not the plus formats. I shouldn't miss too much from that.

Wow I can't believe I've actually commited to one of the formats....... scary.....

I'll give reviews when I receive it and after I actually buy an hddvd movie. don't know what to get. I could get transformers but I already own it on regular dvd.

Any suggestions for first time hddvds??

[Xylob the Destroyer]

Pirates -- http://www.fascinationsdvdstore.com/
:P

[yoda313]

Pirates -- http://www.fascinationsdvdstore.com/
:P

uh thanks anyway xylob - not quite the direction I was looking for----- though I may save the link for another time

[Xylob the Destroyer]

c'est la vie -- it's not a "real" HD-DVD anyway. It's HD .wmv so it will only work in a PC.

[Conquest10]

Matrix

If you just want to watch for the visuals I say 300. Beautiful movie to look at but that's it. I rented it and I have got to say that is the worst movie I have ever seen. There are no words to describe how horrible it was. 15 minutes into it I just couldn't keep watching and I sent that disc back immediately.

[neomaine]

/off-topic...I loved The 300! You need to watch the whole thing. on-topic/

Yoda,

Actually, that would be a great test! See the difference between the DVD and HD-DVD on your TV and see what the difference is. If not, you may still get most of your money back!

Personally, with the excellent upscalling that the 360 does, DVDs look pretty good on my 46" lcd. I have absolutely no desire to go to HD-DVD or Blu-Ray.

[Heywould3]

i just got dish after messing with OTA and cable for HD al i can say is wow.. HD i mean true HD in any resolution be it 720P 1080I or P is awsome.. there are a lot of channels taht say they are HD but if the content isnt recorded in HD then it will only be upscaled. i know full HD is 1080P but channels like the discovery channel and animal planet etc that are true HD 1080i (i know not full HD) the picture looks un real. i can only imagine how much better a true 1080P picture will look. with 1080i it looks like you are looking through a window at the action seriously. you can see every detail

[yoda313]

I have a question for any hddvd/bluray users. Is the picture full screen totally? Do you have the bars at all? Is the aspect ratio still an issue? I know that with my insignia upconverting dvd player movies that have 2.35:1 ratio still have a small black bar on top and bottom. 1.85:1 movies have no bar and are full screen. Will this be the same phenomenon with hddvd/bluray movies??

I am tempted with the matrix set. I might start out with the first harry potter movie on hd-dvd. I don't have the dvd. I hate rebuying movies I already have. unfortunately I already own transformers. But if this hd-dvd is all it really is cracked up to be then I might rebuy it.

[Conquest10]

Depends on the AR of the movie. The Matrix will have the black bars on top and bottom but Disney movies and other 1.85:1 will be full screen. There is a zoom function just like regular DVD players on HD-DVD (don't know about Blu-Ray).

[yoda313]

thanks conquest. Guess i should have figured that. Just wasn't sure how different the 16x9 process would be for high def discs.

[rhegedus]

Miami Vice, the Bourne films.

[yoda313]

thanks rhegedus. Don't know about miami vice, didnt' see it and not sure. Bourne might be ok. I've seen maybe half of the first movie and was kind of interesting.

I'm thiking what I'll probably do is get at least harry potter 1, one if not all of the matrixes (again ), and one or two others to start. I may get superman returns and batman begins again on hd-dvd if this player lives up to my expectations. I don't really want to rebuy a lot of my movies but I'm hoping this will actually make it worth it. I may also get the first Mummy movie (the one with Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz).

[yoda313]

BUMP!!!

i got it Thursday night. All I had to do was insert an install disc into the 360 and took like a minute or something. Then I plugged the hd-dvd into the front usb port (my backport is used for my wifi adapter). It worked perfectly the first time!

That night I bought Superman Returns and Transformers on HD-DVD (i have both on dvd but wanted the high def versions).

VERY IMPRESSIVE! At first I didn't notice a whole lot of improvement over the upconverted dvds from my insgnia player. But then i started to get into the outdoor special effects scenes and the differences really stood out. The sharpness on everything is noticeable.

The dvd versions do feel softer now even watching them upconverted. The depth of the picture is what impresses me. Everything is clear. The end action sequences of Transformers totally rocks!!! I also love the onmovie menu system. No need to go to the main menu anymore.

I just bought the Matrix trilogy at Bestbuy today. WAY COOL! Only bummer is Matrix Reloaded doesn't work on the high def side for some reason. I'm going online to check it out right now.

I tell you Matrix 1 and 3 are incredible! The detail stands out a lot. The sound is awesome even on just dolby 5.1 that I have (I don't have a newer dolby true amp). Hopefully I don't have to return this because I've opened them and I don't know what Bestbuy's return policy is on opened movies.

Anyway I'm definitely glad I got the player. I just can't wait for Lord of the Rings and Star Wars to be released on HD-DVD!!! (one can dream ).

[Conquest10]

I also love the onmovie menu system. No need to go to the main menu anymore.

That's a feature I immediately fell in love with.

Hopefully I don't have to return this because I've opened them and I don't know what Bestbuy's return policy is on opened movies.

I'm sure if you just walk in and tell them that one of the discs doesn't work they'll let you get a replacement. The problems I think is when people want an exchange for their cash back.

[yoda313]

well conquest I got lucky and it worked after I had the unit powered down for awhile. I had checked online and it was a problem others had. Some had no problems others had problems with revolutions instead of reloaded. For now I'm happy.

I do like the performance.

One thing that puzzles me is that Bestbuy has about half the shelf space for hddvd movies as it does for bluray movies. Are they subliminily pushing bluray?????? The odd thing is they have a wide selection (300+) on their online website.

[Conquest10]

One thing that puzzles me is that Bestbuy has about half the shelf space for hddvd movies as it does for bluray movies. Are they subliminily pushing bluray?????? The odd thing is they have a wide selection (300+) on their online website.

I think that, as much as the Sony fanboys want to deny, Sony is going all out and is bribing these places. All the advertising they do. Toshiba does close to no advertising. Every Sony product has advertising for BluRay. My local Best Buy has a BluRay player as soon as you walk in the door displaying a movie. In the movie section there is another BluRay display. The HD-DVD display is in the back with the $200 digital cables.

The oddest thing is that most people still have no clue what BluRay is. I can tell them HD-DVD and they immediately know what that it. I still keep getting questions of "what is BluRay?" from people that have bought a PS3 and are confused.

[Guest]

when did you get a 360?

[rhegedus]

The oddest thing is that most people still have no clue what BluRay is. I can tell them HD-DVD and they immediately know what that it. I still keep getting questions of "what is BluRay?" from people that have bought a PS3 and are confused.

Makes you wonder who's buying all those BD disks...

[yoda313]

when did you get a 360?

a couple weeks ago. Got it used at gamestop. Halo 3, oblivion, star trek legacy and gears of war. I have now preordered ROCK BAND for the 360

I only play halo 3 at the moment. I am a first grade Gunnery sargent now! I even have had a triple kill on a king of the hill match!

I really like the hddvds. Now that I have just bought a logitech harmony 520 remote I can clean up the remote clutter! It works just fine with the hddvd drive. Really easy to setup too. A little time consuming but not difficult at all.

[yoda313]

Is there a list of exclusive hd-dvd titles?

I think I may buy a bluray player/playstation 3 in the next year or so. I don't want to buy a movie that I may want to buy in bluray instead of hddvd.

Just in the chance that hddvd may go the way of the dodo I would only want to stock up on exclusive titles that will take awhile to jump to bluray after any format death.

So does such a list exist? I know universal is only hddvd right? I also know paramount just jumped on hddvd. Are there others? Is disney on hdvd at all? I've seen them for bluray but don't know about hddvd.

TIA.

[rhegedus]

Currently, Paramount (with their Dreamworks division - excluding Speilberg titles) and Universal are 'exclusive' to HD-DVD.

Paramount were format neutral but titles for Blu-Ray exist (i.e. Shooter) - however, their 'exclusivity' is only for the next year or so.

There are rumours that Universal is about to go 'neutral'...

[yoda313]

hmmm... thanks rhegdedus..

[Xylob the Destroyer]

How's it working out for you so far?

I got a PS3 and have rented a Blu-Ray from Netflix, it was cool.
I'll get a bunch in the mail from the rebate deal (eventually, I hope).

Check this out: http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Star-Trek-Season-1-Promo/8408
I'm so pissed that they decided to stop supporting Blu-Ray!!!
I've been watching these eps on the local CW station and was so excited when they initially announced that they would be out on both HD formats.
On the plus side, the release is a combo format, so I guess I could get it and the remastered eps would still look better on DVD than they do on cable, but I already have the whole series...

[yoda313]

I like hddvd.

Xylob - if you have a htpc setup why not get a used xobx hddvd and hook it up? That way you could still get it. Or see if those discontinued toshiba hddvd players are still avaialbe for around a 100.00

[Heywould3]

my kid wants an xbox 360 for xmas. should i get one like the arcade version or the pro with the 20 gig hard drive? or would one of the old style boxes be fine? she will play games like tomb raider and she like the two person fight games like the old street fighter. she also wants (and i cant believe it) guitar hero of all things.. she will most likely jsut play these games on a CRT tv but we have to HD tvs in the house that wil get some use.

ive seen XBOX360 for 150 or less for the old version. or the xbox360 arcade for 270 or the pro for 350 and it seems that only adds a 20gig HD? both have wireless and games that come with it, along with cables for HD.

doesnt seem worth the cost,

am i missing something? should i spring for the pro or will the old standard be fine?

[yoda313]

my kid wants an xbox 360 for xmas. should i get one like the arcade version or the pro with the 20 gig hard drive? or would one of the old style boxes be fine? she will play games like tomb raider and she like the two person fight games like the old street fighter. she also wants (and i cant believe it) guitar hero of all things.. she will most likely jsut play these games on a CRT tv but we have to HD tvs in the house that wil get some use.

ive seen XBOX360 for 150 or less for the old version. or the xbox360 arcade for 270 or the pro for 350 and it seems that only adds a 20gig HD? both have wireless and games that come with it, along with cables for HD.

doesnt seem worth the cost,

am i missing something? should i spring for the pro or will the old standard be fine?

The only true differences are whether or not you have a hdmi output with it. It really only matters for hdtv users. You can actually buy a seperate larger harddrive later - like the 120gb.

One thing to note - if you don't already have a way to view photos and music/video wirelessly on your tv consider a 360. Granted it will only do wmv as far as video is concerned unless you use a push program like tversity (still haven't tried it well enough to get it working). But you can easily stream jpg's and mp3's/wma's to your tv. you can even stream subscription wma's from yahoo music and other encrypted wma sites if you have a subscription plan (or your purchased wma's). Great media extender.

Mine is a component only 360 model but it looks great on my hdtv. Unless you really want hdmi you can go for the cheaper component models.

[Heywould3]

doesnt the old Xbox come with some onboard memory? she has that now. does the base XBOX 360 have onboard memory for storing music or save games? this is not gonna be a media center by any means. just a gaming box with a few songs for playing durring games. i cant believe the old Xbox didnt store anything out of the box

[Guest]

get the elite if you can afford it.one of my favorite things about this system is the wireless controllers. Never a glitch. don't have to point at the console what so ever. get the rechargeable batteries. these will charge via console wires,so you wont have to interupt play.

[Heywould3]

get the elite if you can afford it.one of my favorite things about this system is the wireless controllers. Never a glitch. don't have to point at the console what so ever. get the rechargeable batteries. these will charge via console wires,so you wont have to interupt play.

the elite is almost 500 bux. the arcade version comes with wireless controlers, well one. i can buy another. and i see no use for wireless networking. it not a matter if i can afford it or not. its more a matter of is it worth the extra money. i could buy her other things with the savings. the whole point of my part of this thread is to find out if its really worth twice as much for the elite over the arcade version. and to jump up to the pro that only adds a 20 gig hd is almost 100 more. arcade is 279 pro 350 elite or other top 360 450+ or i could so what yoda did and get one of ebay for around 100.. i like that idea.

So im asking opinions or what the better route would be

[Conquest10]

only adds a 20 gig hd is almost 100 more

You say that like its nothing. Its not like you can just take out your regular hard drive and hook it up to a 360. The 360 20 gig drive retails for $90. Plus, you get the HD cables (which come in handy if you want to use it on an HDTV). It also seems that the Arcade version is not compatible with XBOX games.