Should Microsoft Release A Blu-ray Addon For Xbox360 In 2008? Options

[LeeDude]

I'm completely for Microsoft's stance on not incorporating an integrated high-definition drive into the gaming console. In the long run, it seems to make much more sense to have it external. Drive lasers have life expectancies. Sony incorporating a high-definition movie drive into a gaming console ensures us that the laser life expectancy is just cut in half, meaning half the time playing games before it craps out, and you need to send it in for expensive repairs, or buy a new one (granted you watch as many movies as the games you play).

Microsoft, on the other hand, seems to be working towards preserving the drive and console as a gaming machine with a significantly longer life expectancy (setting aside the RRoD crap, which will hopefully be phased out by the end of 2008).

Granted Blu-Ray wins, I don't think Microsoft should worry with creating a mixed-media high-definition drive, or an external Blu-Ray drive. Instead, I think they should stick with what they're supposed to be good at, and work hard at making the download-able media great. I don't particularly like the way it's being handled, with DRM and what not, but if there was a DRM-free future with the ability to purchase media and maintain it, permanently on a storage device, I would be greatly pleased.

Imagine my modified xbox1 as a high definition media player, with all of my movies easily accessible right from my hard disc drive... That's what I want.

[mrp04]

I'm completely for Microsoft's stance on not incorporating an integrated high-definition drive into the gaming console. In the long run, it seems to make much more sense to have it external. Drive lasers have life expectancies. Sony incorporating a high-definition movie drive into a gaming console ensures us that the laser life expectancy is just cut in half, meaning half the time playing games before it craps out, and you need to send it in for expensive repairs, or buy a new one (granted you watch as many movies as the games you play).

Microsoft, on the other hand, seems to be working towards preserving the drive and console as a gaming machine with a significantly longer life expectancy (setting aside the RRoD crap, which will hopefully be phased out by the end of 2008).

Granted Blu-Ray wins, I don't think Microsoft should worry with creating a mixed-media high-definition drive, or an external Blu-Ray drive. Instead, I think they should stick with what they're supposed to be good at, and work hard at making the download-able media great. I don't particularly like the way it's being handled, with DRM and what not, but if there was a DRM-free future with the ability to purchase media and maintain it, permanently on a storage device, I would be greatly pleased.

Imagine my modified xbox1 as a high definition media player, with all of my movies easily accessible right from my hard disc drive... That's what I want.

The life isn't going to drop a whole bunch because it can play movies. Many people use their PS3 and 360s as their DVD players anyways. By the time the drive dies, the system will be cheap enough to buy another.
Everyone on this site is so biased. I own both a 360 and PS3 (360 since launch, PS3 this summer).
Everyone here is very biased and probably wouldn't admit that the PS3 has a higher build quality and even a better value for your money (the system itself, not including games).

I hope blu-ray wins, and it will, and once it does Microsoft should make an add-on so that all the anti-PS3 kids can get a good deal on a blu-ray player.

[brandogg]

If Microsoft wanted HD DVD to win, then all they would need to do is put the drive in the console, and leave teh price where it is. Nearly all of Blu Ray's hardware sales are from the PS3, and the PS3 sales are crap for a console, but good for a Hi-Def DVD player.

[0 Executer 0]

i own 360/ps3 and infact have 10 hd movies and 1 bluray..

so im not that fussed..but imo HD is better

[Elemino]

What if instead they released a HYBRID that plays both formats as well as DVD?

This post has been edited by Elemino: Jan 28 2008, 06:09 AM

[Chancer]

Drive lasers have life expectancies. Sony incorporating a high-definition movie drive into a gaming console ensures us that the laser life expectancy is just cut in half, meaning half the time playing games before it craps out, and you need to send it in for expensive repairs, or buy a new one (granted you watch as many movies as the games you play).

What a load of rubbish. Someone who is a movie fan may not play as many games. Some people that play games only play twice as many games as others. Total Anti Sony BS.
I don't like add ons but i vote for a BR add on if MS can make it pay and it gives extra choice to consumers.

[suppository]

the majority of the workload for the hddvd player is done by the 360 itself, perhaps the 360 could be taught to do bluray without another external drive,otherwise this would be silly. could you imagine having 2 external drives for your 360 ?micro$oft has done wierder shit before though.

[LeeDude]

What a load of rubbish. Someone who is a movie fan may not play as many games. Some people that play games only play twice as many games as others. Total Anti Sony BS.

I guess the line in the parenthesis

Drive lasers have life expectancies. Sony incorporating a high-definition movie drive into a gaming console ensures us that the laser life expectancy is just cut in half, meaning half the time playing games before it craps out, and you need to send it in for expensive repairs, or buy a new one (granted you watch as many movies as the games you play).

is invisible.

[djkneegrow]

a better poll would be "how many of you that may have bought an HD player for the 360 would also buy a blu-ray player for it too?"

[brunobelo]

From the Jeff Gerstmann blog. And I totally agree with him:


Warner Goes Blu-Ray - Does Anyone Care Yet?
January 5th, 2008 at 3:55 pm

So while I was hanging out in the pitch-black darkness of my power-free home yesterday, Warner Bros. made it known that they were going to drop support of HD DVD in favor of Blu-Ray this May. Here's the full press release, for those of you into this sort of thing.

This is somewhat similar to the announcement Paramount made last year, when it dropped support for BD in favor of HD DVD.

I'm sorry, but I'm still having trouble caring about either format,, especially as it relates to the video game console "war." When I'm buying a movie, which is happening less and less often these days, I'm will choose one of the HD formats when it's available, but I feel like this entire business is rapidly becoming less and less relevant to more and more people.

We live in a world where low-quality streaming YouTube videos bring in millions of hits. Where people download bootleg videos that were shot with a camera pointing at a movie screen and are, for the most part, satisfied. Where torrents of complete seasons of television, compressed down to sub-broadcast quality, are often easier to get than the real, licensed products. Is video quality of the 1080p variety really a concern for the general public? Is anyone running out and buying new TVs just so they can watch Superbad in 1080p? I don't think so. As far as I'm concerned, HDTVs are primarily for video games and cable/satellite programming that you can't get any other way, like live sporting events. The whole "better version of this movie" thing is just a bonus.

Don't get me wrong, I'll usually try to choose the highest quality format available, and I own both an Xbox 360 HD DVD drive and a PS3, so I'm equipped to go either route, if necessary. But plenty of people out there want it fast and without hassle. And as time goes on, the path of least resistance is going to be a download (legal or otherwise), not buying or renting a disc in some next-generation video format.

So my stance on this whole thing is that this is a battle for videophiles on the fringe of the disc-buying public. And as bandwidth speeds increase, enabling faster transmissions of higher-quality video, this whole battle over which disc is better is going to become increasingly silly and pointless.
Posted by Jeff Filed in TV/Movies

[blaz3d]

m$ will if hd dvd totally fails, which i doubt it will

[jesterrace777]

What if instead they released a HYBRID that plays both formats as well as DVD?

Already done. Samsung and LG both have standalones that do this but the cheapest one runs about $600 so it really isn't practical. Problem that I see is that right now there really is no cost effective way for them to even make a Blu-Ray add-on and make it worth it over the PS3 or a standalone.

[TreyTable]

I think they mean "add-on", since "Addon" refers to one of the persons named in Neh. 7:61 who could not "shew their father's house" on the return from captivity.

Seriously, I think Microsoft should put more time into making XBOX 360s that don't malfunction and at the same time reduce the MSRP of the 360 so I can just go buy an HD-DVD / Blu-ray Disc hybrid player.

This post has been edited by TreyTable: Jan 30 2008, 01:53 PM

[PerfectGun]

If Blu-ray is the clear winner, they shouldn't release an add-on. They should release a new SKU to compete against the PS3 and have the drive internal. Even better if they made it a dual-format drive.

Yes, one can dream can't they??

I honestly think MS is just going to ride the Xbox 360 out and leave it with all it's short commings and then release a whole new console in 2010-2011. Do you honestly think the 360 was designed with more than a 5 year life span?? I don't.

[thejt]

They should offer a dual format player, then I could give a sheit what format wins.