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Is it worth picking up a HD DVD xbox 360 player?

L

leeland

Diamond Member
Hi there...

I have never seen a xbox 360 HD DVD player in use, don't know how "great" the picture quality is vs. a Blue Ray...I know there are other factors involved as well..

so with that said, is the picture quality of the HD DVD's worth looking around (ebay, online) for a used or possibly new xbox 360 HD DVD player if I could get a decent deal

Under 40 bucks for the player and pick up random movies that are classics (at least to me anyways)?

I already have an xbox 360 and don't plan on making the blue ray jump for a long time (despise sony) if ever...

If anyone has any opinions I would greatly appreciate it.


Thanks,
Lee
 
For me, personally, I wouldn't bother. The format is dead. There aren't going to be any new releases and there weren't but a hundred or so releases on HD DVD to begin with.

Not really worth it.
 
"It depends."

The reasons I found it worthwhile:
1. Lets the wife watch a DVD/HD-DVD without taking the game out of the console.
2. Cheaper to buy HD-DVDs than rent DVDs when there's something we want to watch, but don't care about owning. (Extra points for HD-DVD/DVD combo discs!)

I would definitely not promote buying a ton of stuff in HD-DVD that you want to have around for a while - as others have noted, the format is dead, and players are not being made anymore.
 
If I were you, I'd invest in this technology called a "VCR" while you're at it. It's great stuff, and it's dead too! :thumbsup:

In all seriousness - no. Unless a high definition version of Hannah Montana is worth the money to you, then no. I have a Fry's literally next to me at work (I could throw a rock and hit their building) and they have piles of HD-DVD players for $40. There's a reason there's a big pile.

Blu-Ray is getting cheaper. I hate Sony too but I'll eventually pick one up sooner or later.
 
I agree with what the others have said, but to answer your other question, I wouldn't worry about Picture Quality. It's pretty much the same as BR.

After having invested a few hundred on HDDVD "Classics", I can say the prospect of buying them again on BR is extra painful. Don't throw good money after bad, go with BR if you're going to go at all.
 
One reason it might make sense is if you own or are buying a netbook, then you could also use it as the DVD drive for installing programs.
 
Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
One reason it might make sense is if you own or are buying a netbook, then you could also use it as the DVD drive for installing programs.
Click to expand...

Or installing Windows/Linux (been there... much easier than the USB flash drive options)
 
If you can get it at a bargain basement price, it would make a nice optical drive for a netbook. There's no point in getting one for watching HD-DVD movies though. The format is getting rare and eBay is only going to go so far. Plus there will be no new movies released for it. You can get a BD-Live player for as low as $250 now. Costs more but it won't gather dust like an HD-DVD player would.
 
I'll put it to you this way, I've got 3 HD-DVD players, including the XBox HD-DVD drive, and I'm looking to convert my HD-DVD collection to Blu-ray. I would rather just have ONE player, and that player is a Blu-ray player.
 
Originally posted by: mmntech
If you can get it at a bargain basement price, it would make a nice optical drive for a netbook. There's no point in getting one for watching HD-DVD movies though. The format is getting rare and eBay is only going to go so far. Plus there will be no new movies released for it. You can get a BD-Live player for as low as $250 now. Costs more but it won't gather dust like an HD-DVD player would.
Click to expand...

Well that is kind of what I was thinking...however I was on ebay last night browsing and they had over 6000 auctions for HD DVD movies...so there is still a market...

I guess my simple mode of thinking was the following...

if I could get a used HD DVD player for under or around 30 bones...I would be fine with that...

and if I could pick up some older movies along the way for couple bucks here and there that are ones I like to watch still to this day even better...

The only things I didn't know about HD DVD's (and my own fault) I didn't look to see if the sound was improved drastically vs watching a regular DVD...to improve the listening pleasure...ect...and if the picture quality was that much better over regular DVD's.

I would assume it would be on both fronts but I hate to assume.


I wasn't planning on re-doing my movie library on HD DVD's just some classics I like to watch...if and only if I was able to get a deal or something...

I would think that someone is always in the market to buy that stuff...

but you all make a great point...I just won't drop the money on Blue Ray until the players make its way down to the 100 dollar range (if that ever happens)...call me cheap...

 
You have a nice PC, ever think about a BD or even a combo drive for it ? Those are pretty cheap now ( not sure if you need to buy software too, or if its bundled)
 
I found a seller on Amazon selling HD-DVDs for $5 each. Combine that with a cheap HD-DVD player I picked up from someone here and I got a pretty nice movie collection for not much money. Better quality than DVD and equal or sometimes lower price.

No, it's obviously not good in the long term, but it's not a terrible decision. BTW, there were a few hundred movies released on HD-DVD. I heard around 300 domestically and 700 globally.
 
Originally posted by: AstroManLuca
No, it's obviously not good in the long term, but it's not a terrible decision.
Click to expand...
The wisdom of your decision is going to be mostly based on a few factors, the way I see it:
1. How long will HD-DVD hardware be available? It could be a while (Laserdisc gear is still available, used), or it could be phased out shortly (HD-DVD didn't get produced as long as LD).
2. How fast will BR-D prices drop? That is to say, an HD-DVD for $5 today that prevents you from having to purchase a $30 BR-D until it's dropped to $15 actually makes financial sense ($20 vs $30).
3. Will Blu-Ray survive in the long-term? Personally, I think it will, but there's always the "digital distribution wins all!" crowd that thinks it'll die sooner than later. Being married to one dead format is no worse than another.

"HD-DVD is dead, don't buy it" oversimplifies the argument... a lot.
 
I saw a couple at Fry's for $30. I was thinking of picking up one. I have a CRT HDTV and don't wanna spend the $$$ on Bluray until I get a real HDTV with 720p/1080p and since the movies are so cheap, you could get a couple of movies for the price of one Bluray movie.
 
Optical drives usually die eventually, and then your collection of HD-DVDs will be useless (or you'll have to buy another old, used player). At some point you may decide that it's not worth having the HD-DVD drive hooked up, and then your collection of HD-DVDs will be useless.
 
Originally posted by: mugs
Optical drives usually die eventually, and then your collection of HD-DVDs will be useless (or you'll have to buy another old, used player). At some point you may decide that it's not worth having the HD-DVD drive hooked up, and then your collection of HD-DVDs will be useless.
Click to expand...

All media becomes "useless" eventually. Some more than others, sure - laser disc, betamax, etc.

I stopped buying physical discs a long time ago, but if you're into that kind of thing, HD-DVDs can be had extremely cheap - even check the FS/FT forums here where people would basically pay you to get their HD-DVD movies off their hands. Hell, a movie rental costs about the same, if not more than an HD-DVD movie.

The biggest downside is the pool of movies to choose from is limited and is no longer growing.

Movie quality is on par with Blu-Ray, though.
 
Originally posted by: ducci
Originally posted by: mugs
Optical drives usually die eventually, and then your collection of HD-DVDs will be useless (or you'll have to buy another old, used player). At some point you may decide that it's not worth having the HD-DVD drive hooked up, and then your collection of HD-DVDs will be useless.
Click to expand...

All media becomes "useless" eventually. Some more than others, sure - laser disc, betamax, etc.

I stopped buying physical discs a long time ago, but if you're into that kind of thing, HD-DVDs can be had extremely cheap - even check the FS/FT forums here where people would basically pay you to get their HD-DVD movies off their hands. Hell, a movie rental costs about the same, if not more than an HD-DVD movie.

The biggest downside is the pool of movies to choose from is limited and is no longer growing.

Movie quality is on par with Blu-Ray, though.
Click to expand...

Sure, but even DVDs will be watchable longer than HD-DVDs.
 
Besides, if it ever really becomes a problem, you can hook up the drive to your PC and rip all the movies to HDD.
 
Just remember that the Xbox will not output any audio formats beyond DD5.1 or DTS even with HDMI. Mine is currently in the box sitting in a closet. Just not worth having it out and taking up space for 5 or so movies.
 
Originally posted by: KentState
Just remember that the Xbox will not output any audio formats beyond DD5.1 or DTS even with HDMI. Mine is currently in the box sitting in a closet. Just not worth having it out and taking up space for 5 or so movies.
Click to expand...

If I can please ask an ignorant question...

If you have a 5.1 surround sound system...then you should be fine correct?

If you have a 7.1 surround sound system you would get no output from the back speakers?


As for the comments...it is just hard to pass up IMO a deal where (if you have an xbox 360) hooked up already and can get the few movies you like for dirt cheap (under 5 dollars) in a HD format...and a player for under 40 bucks shipped...that you wouldn't splurge...

I know that it is totally dead and nothing is being produced but there are some classic movies still laying around and yes you still have the chance of it crapping out...

that being said...unless a blue ray player magically comes down in price (where I can get the boss a.k.a. wife) to approve and to drop 20+ plus on a movie is out of the question for me anyways...it is a win-win.

Good comments all around though...thanks for the input!
 
Originally posted by: leeland
Originally posted by: KentState
Just remember that the Xbox will not output any audio formats beyond DD5.1 or DTS even with HDMI. Mine is currently in the box sitting in a closet. Just not worth having it out and taking up space for 5 or so movies.
Click to expand...

If I can please ask an ignorant question...

If you have a 5.1 surround sound system...then you should be fine correct?

If you have a 7.1 surround sound system you would get no output from the back speakers?


As for the comments...it is just hard to pass up IMO a deal where (if you have an xbox 360) hooked up already and can get the few movies you like for dirt cheap (under 5 dollars) in a HD format...and a player for under 40 bucks shipped...that you wouldn't splurge...

I know that it is totally dead and nothing is being produced but there are some classic movies still laying around and yes you still have the chance of it crapping out...

that being said...unless a blue ray player magically comes down in price (where I can get the boss a.k.a. wife) to approve and to drop 20+ plus on a movie is out of the question for me anyways...it is a win-win.

Good comments all around though...thanks for the input!
Click to expand...

The sound issue is that the Xbox will down mix everything into DD or DTS. The entire sound advantage of HD-DVD or Blu-ray is in the lossless audio which you get with a real HD-DVD player or Blu-ray player. Also, something that you have to consider is that the Xbox can be loud during a dialogue or near silent scene, plus you are working a device that is known to RRoD. Do you have an HDMI capable Xbox or does your TV do 1080p over component? Only a select amount of TVs allow 1080p over component.

My suggestion is to spend a little more and get a nice stand alone HD-DVD player that is does great up-conversion especially with HDMI. Otherwise, I would stick with DVD because you are buying into a dead format and are missing all the benefits of the improved audio and maybe a lack of 1080p.

I've had the add-on since it was released so let me know if you have any questions.
 
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