Everyone is curious...can the external HD DVD drive coming for the Xbox 360, be utilized with only a PC. A while back, we heard from an Internet source, Gizmodo, that Microsoft confirmed the device will be recognized by a PC. The only catch was, they had not tried the device with proper conditions to assure playback. Speculation is rampant and this is all it is, because the device will not be released until November 7, at least in the US. But, this bit of Internet chatter, is interesting indeed! We all thought, that some sort of firmware hack would be needed and it may be, who knows, but here is what I found today.
This "relatively inexpensive" drive, is a hot seller on Amazon, #2 in Computer Games category at the moment. Interestingly, there was a comment from an Amazon customer that made a bold statement. He said that the drive will work in Vista. So I followed the link! Below, you can follow my trail. First off, is the discussion point mentioned at Amazon.com. Second and third quotes are from the mentioned Robert McLaws blog. Here is the source link to the alleged confirmation to this issue.
 Initial post Breaking news: The XBox 360 HD DVD Player will connect to Windows Vista-based workstations via USB as both a data drive as well as a HD-DVD video player. (with appropriate HD DVD playback software like Intervideo, etc.) Imagine every Windows Vista PC going out this holiday season having a cheap external HD-DVD drive available for it. You can doubt the Xbox 360's viability, but it'd be foolish to doubt HD DVD. ********************* Posted on the Robert McLaws blog from the above Amazon link... Will you be able to plug your USb-powered Xbox 360 HD-DVD drive into your Vista Media Center and rock out movies in hi-def? Engadget seems to think so. I've wondered about this same question on this blog before, and after listening to Major Nelson this past weekend, I shot him an e-mail about it. He e-mailed me back and forwarded it on to Albert... who will hopefully have an official answer soon. If it IS possible, then personally, I think it makes HD-DVD even more compelling. Why buy a $500 player if you already own an Xbox 360 and can get a $200 external drive? I'll be able to take it with me on trips and watch HD movies in my hotel room. Sweet! ******************** The response.... Xbox 360 HD-DVD on Vista Confirmed A member of the Xbox 360 HD-DVD team confirmed for me today that the Xbox 360 HD-DVD drive will in fact be recognized by Windows Vista, but it will NOT ship with decoder software. I'm assuming that Intervideo will have a version of WinDVD sometime in the future that supports HD-DVD. Personally, I think the drive should come with the required software to dual-use enable the device (adding value to a non-trivial purchase), but I'm not a PM at Microsoft. |
Now, this is interesting. So, it appears at least in Vista IF this is true and IF the current situation is not altered in future iterations of Vista, that all we need is some decoding software. Of course, Microsoft cannot provide this. Below, a visitor to the blog site gives what appears to me at least, to give a very nice explanation to the lament on the Robert McLaws site, about the decoder situation:
"kurtsh said:
re: some1's comments
H.264 is certainly not too heavy for decoding. H.264 is no more complex than VC-1 and has its roots in video conferencing products like ISDN-based Polycom VTCs, Microsoft NetMeeting, etc.
The issue here is that H.264 in it's HD/BluRay video playback form requires that a playback license be paid for as well as the playback software itself. In the case of the Xbox360, Microsoft has chosen the ATI's H.264 software/technology to playback HD-DVD content - which should be no surprise considering ATI manufactures the video chipset used in the XBox360 making them the obvious best choice for creating the most optimized playback software for H.264 for the XBox360 video chipset.
You are correct that today, most (if not all) HD-DVD discs are encoded using the VC-1 codec to playback HD-quality video. This frankly has more to do with the fact that VC-1 is a visibly better codec in many common scenarios than H.264. So one would think that it would be relatively easy to use HD-DVD on Windows Vista-enabled workstations, given VC-1's origins. (VC-1 is a derivative of Windows Media 9.1 Video)
However, HD-DVD standards state that for any HD-DVD playback to occur, all codecs must be available and present on the player - one reason that a 3rd party player is needed. Additionally, compliance with a littany of "safeguards" to prevent HD-content duplication must be enforced by the player by the decree of the HD-DVD standards steering committee. (DVDForum) Hence, another reason 3rd party players come into play. They're the ones responsible for complying with these "enforced safeguard" rules.
So this has less to do with codec support and more to do with the standards and conditions by which HD content can be played back."
Well, there you have it. It is getting closer to a reality, that this external device will be compatible for PC use, providing we can meet the requirements for playback, including having the proper operating system, codecs and also the proper hardware. When I say hardware, I mean the kind that is compatible with the very stringent DRM requirements for movie playback. I guess we just need to get this HD DVD player "out in the wild" and do some testing, before we can know all the details for sure. However, it is beginning to look better by the day, that the our PCs will be able to make use of this tantalizing hardware.
What are your thoughts? Are you tempted to pre-order one of these devices? The first 500,000 will get a free HD DVD movie and also the $199 bundle at present, includes a 40 dollar remote. So, in actuality, you are looking at $120 dollars, no tax - delivered to your door!
Source: Various
