Microsoft Xbox 360 HD DVD player user reviews

Pros Only $200 for the unit plus a Universal Remote and King Kong DVD .. A steal for current Xbox 360 Owners

Cons No HDMI connection . More Cords and Clutter!

Summary I purchased the HD-DVD stand alone unit after reading several reviews. I must say the reviews have been accurate. The picture quality is great and teh setup was a cinch. I hae compared King Kong on my Samsung upconverter DVD player to the HD-DVD player. The 360 player easily blows the Samsung away. You will not go wrong if you purchase this player. i have been a Playstation loyalist since the original PS; due to delays I decided to jump into the Next-Gen gaming market with the Xbox 360. The 360 has amazed me at every turn. I plan on buying the PS3 when it is readily available however I am much less inclined to rush and purchase it simply because Microsoft has put out a great product. I was previously sold on Blu-Ray format as supreme but after watching King Kong on my 61" DLP I am now torn between HD-DVD and Blu-Ray! It's a great time to be a consumer guys.

Pros Picture qaulity is outstanding

Cons Separate power block needed to plug in unit

Summary I received my HD DVD unit from CC yesterday. The setup was quick and easy. King Kong was up and running within 10 minutes of opening the box.

My XBOX 360 is connected to my HDTV via component cables. The highest resolution on my HDTV is 1080i. My understanding is that 1080i is the highest resolution available via the component cable hookup. For 1080p, you need to hookup via VGA cables. No HDMI connection at this time.


I rented the regular DVD of King Kong and compared several scenes to the HD DVD version. I am not sure if the XBOX 360 upscales the regular DVD, but I have always been pleased with the picture quality of a regular DVD on my XBOX 360. Honestly, I expected the picture quality of the regular DVD and the HD DVD to be very similar and was planning to return the HD DVD player if the differences were not significant.

I rate the picture quality of a regular DVD on the XBOX 360 as a 7/8 out of 10. The picture quality of the HD DVD on the XBOX 360 is a 9/10 out of 10. The improvement in picture quality between the regular DVD and the HD DVD is more evolutionary than revolutionary. The difference is not as extreme as switching from a non-HD cable TV channel to a HD cable TV channel. However, the HD DVD picture is clearly better than the regular DVD picture. The HD DVD picture appears cleaner and crisper with more detail and clarity throughout the frame. The picture resolution with the HD DVD is clearly higher than the regular DVD and the difference shows. However, the biggest surprise to me was the difference in color. The HD DVD picture colors were much richer and deeper (more saturated and more contrast) than the colors on the regular DVD. I was impressed with the picture quality and will be keeping my HD DVD for the XBOX 360. The current package comes with King Kong (a $30 value) and the universal remote (a $30 valaue). Given the performance and the total package, the $199 price seems reasonable to me for entry into the next gen HD DVD world.

The HD DVD unit did not make any noise that I could hear; however, the noise/fan coming from the XBOX 360 is the same as it always is and may be covering it up.

I did not have my 5.1 stereo system hooked up to the HDTV, so I cannot address the sound quality.

At this point, I think the biggest con is the lack of movie titles available in HD DVD and the cost of the movies (generally ranging from $19.99 to $39.99). However, that is not the fault of the XBOX HD DVD player. I am looking forward to more movies being released on HD DVD (and to the ability to rent them from video rental stores). Any future movies that I purchase or rent will be on HD DVD.

Pros awsome picture quality excellent sound great price

Cons nothing about this is bad

Summary this is a great hd dvd player one of the best i have seen. the sound is great the picture quality is great. sound is even better with the bose companion 5 speakers. the best part of this machine is the price low price for what your getting when i got mine i got 5 free hd dvd movies with it now i believe they come with 7 free movies which made me buy it even more cant go wrong with it hd blows out blue ray. who wants to pay 35.00 for a blue ray disc when u can only use it in blue ray players unlike hd where u can by the combo format which lets you play it in both standard and hd drives.

Pros Inexpensive

Cons NO HD play in Windows media player, hence the PowerDVD Ultra

Summary I noticed lots of comments on "Hacking the HD DVD" for PC. There is NO hacking. I am using it on Windows Vista Ultimate x64 without any issues. My onlu additional purchase was Cyberlink PowerDVD Ultra $99.US. The Xbox 360 HD-DVD is selling in Canada for $159CAD. That's a great price!