What's new? Compatibility improvements with certain titles and additional support for network features, according to the source, but we're hearing rumblings that it will soon weigh down your papers with much higher clarity. Yes, it is awesome!

HD DVD Update [Xbox Lives Major Nelson]

Those stuck with HD-DVD players getting gift cards {CNN.com - Thanks, Robert]

The full statement from Microsoft is just after this, full of digital distribution good wishes and stiff upper lips. Rest in peace, Xbox 360 HD-DVD player.

As a result of recent decisions made by Toshiba, Hollywood studios, and retailers, Microsoft plans to withdraw from HD DVD. Xbox will no longer manufacture new HD DVD players for the Xbox 360, but we will continue to provide standard product and warranty support for all Xbox 360 HD DVD Players in the market. As we stated earlier, we do not believe this decision will have any material impact on the Xbox 360 platform or our position in the marketplace. HD DVD is one of the several ways we offer a high definition experience to consumers and we will continue to give consumers the choice to enjoy digital distribution of high definition movies and TV shows directly to their living room, along with playback of the DVD movies they already own.

The company said it will continue to sell HD-DVD products for a while but will stop further development of HD DVD. Meanwhile, it said its DVD factories in Aomori Prefecture, northern Japan, would be closed.

Market observers said that Toshiba could suffer a loss of hundreds of millions of US dollars.

Ouch, if it's true.

Toshiba plans to withdraw from HD-DVD production [NHK] and Toshiba to give up on HD DVD, end format war [Reuters]

"We've listened to our customers, who are showing a clear preference toward Blu-ray products and movies with their purchases."

Wal-Mart will continue to sell HD-DVD products in the coming months, but expect to be Blu-ray exclusive soon with a heavy shift happening in the next thirty days. Add to that this week's announcement of Netflix's Blu-ray exclusivity and you've got what looks like an end in sight to the format wars.

Wal-Mart on Blu-ray bandwagon [CNN Money]

We can't wait until we stop having to pretend to care about the format war, but anticipate the thousands of submissions featuring Xbox 360 HD-DVD add-ons repurposed for homemade Gundam suits and whatnot. Someone's probably in the process of gutting an NES and stuffing it in the thing right now.

Netflix, Citing a Clear Signal From the Industry, Will Carry High-Def DVDs Only in Blu-ray Format [Netflix - thanks, everyone!]

Though HD-DVD backers may still limp along in their support or fanboyism of a movie format, this "war" couldn't look any more like one camp has won at this point. It's all over but the crying, blanket clutching and Michael Bay gloating, it seems.

Blu-ray could win high-def battle [Variety]

Yesterday when Reuters reported that Microsoft will consider going to Blu-Ray if consumers demand it some people sort of freaked. Among the list? Microsoft. Today the company reached out to us to "clarify" a story they say was missing some much needed context.

There was a critical element of our comments missing from the story — Microsoft currently has no plans at this time to consider Blu-ray as an option. We continue to believe that HD DVD is the best optical solution for consumers, since it's the only format today that delivers quality experiences at affordable prices.

When I pressed the spokesperson for a little more details about how the story was contextually incorrect, they cut to the chase:

While the article states that Microsoft might possibly look into Blu-ray, we just want to emphasize that there are no current plans to consider Blu-ray as an option. Microsoft continues to be dedicated to the HD DVD format and we don't want the Reuters article to mislead or suggest otherwise.

So HD-DVD has at least one stalwart supporter in their corner still.

Microsoft Will Consider Going Blu-Ray if Consumers Demand [Kotaku]

Microsoft's Xbox could consider Blu-ray support [Reuters]

The reason for Warner's new Blu-ray allegiance? According to WB CEO Barry Meyer, "The window of opportunity for high-definition DVD could be missed if format confusion continues to linger." He's seconded by President of Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group Kevin Tsujihara, who says in press release form "A two-format landscape has led to consumer confusion and indifference toward high definition, which has kept the technology from reaching mass adoption..." Confusion, as you can see, is the cause.

That's right, PlayStation 3 backers, the upcoming hi-definition release of Catwoman is all yours. Print out your commemorative press release, which you'll find after the jump.

Warner Bros. Entertainment to Release its High-Definition DVD Titles Exclusively in the Blu-Ray Disc Format Beginning Later This Year

January 04, 2008

In response to consumer demand, Warner Bros. Entertainment will release its high-definition DVD titles exclusively in the Blu-ray disc format beginning later this year, it was announced today by Barry Meyer, Chairman & CEO, Warner Bros. and Kevin Tsujihara, President, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group.

"Warner Bros.' move to exclusively release in the Blu-ray disc format is a strategic decision focused on the long term and the most direct way to give consumers what they want," said Meyer. "The window of opportunity for high-definition DVD could be missed if format confusion continues to linger. We believe that exclusively distributing in Blu-ray will further the potential for mass market success and ultimately benefit retailers, producers, and most importantly, consumers."

Warner Home Video will continue to release its titles in standard DVD format and Blu-ray. After a short window following their standard DVD and Blu-ray releases, all new titles will continue to be released in HD DVD until the end of May 2008.

"Warner Bros. has produced in both high-definition formats in an effort to provide consumer choice, foster mainstream adoption and drive down hardware prices," said Jeff Bewkes, President and Chief Executive Officer, Time Warner Inc., the parent company of Warner Bros. Entertainment. "Today's decision by Warner Bros. to distribute in a single format comes at the right time and is the best decision both for consumers and Time Warner."

"A two-format landscape has led to consumer confusion and indifference toward high definition, which has kept the technology from reaching mass adoption and becoming the important revenue stream that it can be for the industry," said Tsujihara. "Consumers have clearly chosen Blu-ray, and we believe that recognizing this preference is the right step in making this great home entertainment experience accessible to the widest possible audience. Warner Bros. has worked very closely with the Toshiba Corporation in promoting high definition media and we have enormous respect for their efforts. We look forward to working with them on other projects in the future."

What you don't understand is corporate politics. Microsoft wants both formats to fail so they can be heroes and make the world move to digital downloads. That is the dirty secret no one is talking about. That is why Microsoft is handing out $100 million dollar checks to studios just embrace the HD DVD and not the leading, and superior Blu Ray. They want confusion in the market until they perfect the digital downloads. Time will tell and you will see the truth.

Is Michael Bay in need of a sturdier tinfoil hat or is Microsoft intentionally sabotaging the next-gen format war for its own benefit? Since we haven't been on the receiving end of any $100 million checks, we can't say for sure. Or is that just one of the stipulations of our continued payment from Microsoft? *dun dun duunnnn*

DVD Formats [The Official Michael Bay Forums via Blu-ray.com - thanks, Joe!]

According to the Associated Press' report on Stringer's speech, sales of the PlayStation 3 have doubled in the U.S. following the recent price cut and that it has taken the number one spot on the European charts.

We have no idea exactly how Sir Stringer is quantifying that. Probably with some crazy equation that involves an intricate pounds to dollars to yen to volume. There's probably a 1 carried in there. Unfortunately, since the NPD group has decided to deny publication of hardware sales going forward, we'll have a less clear idea on how it's actually faring in North America.

Sony CEO sees 'stalemate' in disc fight [AP/Yahoo]

By John Gaudiosi

Sony learned the hard way with its Betamax tape format that consumers ultimately want only one choice when it comes to new movie formats. The DVD format continues on a record pace because it was a unified disc with all of the movie studios and hardware manufacturers on board. The home entertainment industry is in turmoil with two competing formats, one backed by Sony (and others), the other by Microsoft (and others).

This war between Blu-ray Disc and HD-DVD is extremely nasty, as members from each camp throw barbs at each other. Unlike the console wars, which has Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo actually expanding the overall videogame market, this next gen DVD battle is not helping consumers, retailers or anyone not affiliated with one of the two sides.

Having lost the Betamax war to VHS, Sony placed its new Blu-ray Disc technology in the PlayStation 3 and the majority of movie studios came on board given Sony's track record with getting PlayStations into homes around the world in record numbers. While PS3 has been slow to gain traction thus far, recent hardware price reductions have the home entertainment industry excited.

I spent two days in Los Angeles in Hollywood, Century City and Universal City checking out the latest BR-D movies and new playback functionality for BR-D players, including PS3. Execs from major Hollywood studios as well as Sony and Panasonic took time to talk about the format war.

"We want this to happen quickly because we believe the longer the continued existence of two formats goes on it's not good for the industry," said Gordon Ho, executive vice president of marketing, product and business development, Walt Disney Home Entertainment. "I think we have to have a single disc format because it's what the consumers and the retailers want."

According to those in the Blu-ray Disc camp, the writing's on the wall for rival HD-DV, the only thing that seems to be keeping the format alive is Microsoft. With Universal Studios Home Entertainment and Paramount Pictures Home Entertainment exclusively supporting the format (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment supports both next generation DVD formats), Blu-ray Disc movies are outselling HD-DVD movies by a margin of 2 to 1. (The HD-DVD counters that HD-DVD movies maintains a 4 to1 software attach rate over Blu-ray.) The Blu-ray supports say that HD-DVD should surrender, but instead are taking some "last gasp measures" to continue the consumer confusion.

The reason gamers won't be able to play the Transformers movie on PlayStation 3 is because Toshiba anted up cash to Paramount to lure the studio over to its exclusive HD-DVD camp. Previously, Paramount had released all of its titles on both platforms. According to industry insiders at the event this week, Paramount was paid as much as $150 million to make the exclusive move for an undisclosed amount of time (perhaps as long as 18 months). The studio is rumored to have been paid $50 million alone for the Transformers HD-DVD exclusive, according to executives at the conference who didn't want to be identified for this story.

"Our decision to back HD-DVD was based on having the benefit of fully experiencing and exploring both formats for the past year and after careful analysis deciding to dedicate our resources to support the format best suited for the most compelling consumer offering and the future of our business," said Alan Bell, Chief Technical Officer, Paramount Pictures. "Beyond that, it's our policy never to comment publicly on the details of company agreements."

After the Paramount HD-DVD announcement, Steven Spielberg came out saying his movies would not be released on that format. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is releasing Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind on BR-D this fall. Michael Bay has also been outspoken about his movie only being available on HD-DVD.

The other route HD-DVD is taking to encourage consumers to upgrade to their format is lower hardware prices. Kmart is only selling HD-DVD players. Toshiba's HD-A2 player retails for under $200 at Wal-Mart, Target and Amazon.com. Consumers get five free movies with this hardware. On Black Friday, Sears will sell Toshiba's HD-A3 for under $169, which will come with seven free HD-DVD movies. (On the BR-D side, Blockbuster is only selling and renting BR-D movies.) And this Friday Wal-Mart has a limited number of players for under $100.

"With all the retail momentum behind HD-DVD, I've even seen prices as low as $164 for the $179 Xbox 360 player that include a free copy of 'Heroes: Season 1' on HD-DVD, plus the free movie in the box along with five free mail-in offer that comes with your purchase, regardless of where you buy," said Jordi Ribas, General Manager of HD-DVD, Microsoft. "I can't speak to specific numbers, but based on recent NPD data, there have been more Xbox 360 HD-DVD players sold than all Blu-ray standalone players combined. The Playstation 3 simply hasn't been the gamer changer Sony had hoped it would be."

One home entertainment executive, who supports Blu-ray Disc, said if Microsoft was serious about HD-DVD they would put it inside of the Xbox 360. In reality, many home entertainment executives believe Microsoft is doing all it can to continue the format war for as long as possible. For Microsoft, which wants digital delivery of entertainment like its Xbox Live Video Marketplace to become the key form of consumer consumption of entertainment across multiple PC and Windows Vista-enabled devices, having a clear-cut winner in the next gen DVD war is not to its benefit. The longer consumer confusion continues and the longer many consumers remain on the sidelines awaiting a single format to emerge victorious, the more digital delivery-enabled devices are sold into the market.

"There's an 800 pound gorilla trying to confuse the consumer in an effort to get control of online content in the future," said Mike Dunn, worldwide president of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. "A lot of people will end up paying money for a format that won't be around in 18 months."

Ribas countered that this is a completely baseless claim.

"Microsoft has a team dedicated to the success of the HD-DVD optical format and we will continue working closely with our partners to provide the best experience and value for consumers," said Ribas. "We are helping bring movie lovers a format which offers a consistent and compelling high definition experience, all at the most affordable price. Superior picture and audio are a given, you have to have this, but interactivity and web-enabled features utilizing Microsoft's HDi technology allow movies to live beyond what was stamped on the disc—this is critical. Ultimately, connected entertainment experiences are the future of our business, and HD-DVD was developed with this in mind."

Bell said this format war is not about who wins or loses. He said that currently, mainstream consumers are reluctant to invest in the next generation formats because they don't want to make the wrong decision.

"We believe the combination of affordable players and a strong slate of films can influence consumers to make an informed and gratifying decision," said Bell. "We feel we're putting our weight behind the right choice for consumers when it comes to the best in high definition home entertainment."

The game industry was once a two-horse race, but Sega and now Microsoft have proven that consumers will support three competing formats. But exclusive games are different than exclusive movies. Gamers have to buy an external HD-DVD drive to watch Transformers or Heroes and use their PS3 to watch Spider-Man 3 and Hostel II. The average consumer is not going to buy both, so in the end, one format will lose. With both camps claiming victories (which are often negated by the other camp), there's no end in sight for this battle. And that's not good for the home entertainment industry or the consumer.

The official Stuff site's version of the story, one that looks to have been properly copy edited, quotes the Toshiba rep differently. In this version of the half-denial, the PR mouth spewed "Toshiba has no comment to make on this matter. The Xbox 360 is not a Toshiba product."

Indeed. Hardly reads like a solid denial either way, does it? It's just a volleying of the rumor back to Microsoft's side of the court who most likely won't confirm such a product's existence until it's been on store shelves for at least a day or two.

What's that thing about Microsoft rumors again?

Toshiba says no to new Xbox 360 HD DVD rumour [Stuff]

The category breakdown looks like this. New buyers can pick one title from each.

Category A
Aeon Flux
Babel
The Italian Job

Category B
Hulk
Pitch Black
The Thing

Category C
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Swordfish
Full Metal Jacket

Category D
Firewall
The Frighteners
U2: Rattle and Hum

Category E
Black Rain
Darkman
Troy

More details on the offer are available at Xbox.com. For folks looking to nab an additional disc, the site also has details on the Wal-Mart exclusive offer that awards consumers who pick up an Xbox 360 with a DVD/HD-DVD combo disc of 300.

The Perfect HD Offer [Xbox.com]

Xbox 360 High-Def Bundle [Amazon]
[via Destructoid]

NeoGafer Alcibiades points out that Best Buy has dropped the price of the Xbox 360 HD DVD drive... again. Now the thing is hovering at a penny under $150. Plus you can tack on that Toshiba deal for five free HDDVDs. Too bad Best Buy's website is already listing the 360 peripheral as sold out. Let's hope that's temporary and not the sign of a disappearing act by one of the HD video formats.

HD-DVD + 5 movies = 179$ [NeoGaf]

Pachter.

In his 2007 state of the industry report, our favorite analyst suggests that motion picture studios and not we, the gaming public, will ultimately decide the winner of this round of the console wars. Wedbush Morgan's Michael "Really Needs a New Headshot" Pachter speculates that with many of the same titles, the 360 and the PS3 will be battling it out on the DVD front, and he's got his money on Blu-Ray for the win.

As an owner of both a PS3 and now the 360 HD-DVD player (happy birthday to me), I can tell absolutely no difference between the two, so yeah - essentially it would come down to which format gets what movies.

As an aside, you think analysts put side bets on their predictions? Someone should write a suspense novel about an analyst who bets all he has on a company's downfall prediction, and then has to sabotage it to try keep from losing it all. I'll take a special thanks credit.

Anyway, Pachter's prediction for the console wars are Sony with 36% of the market, Nintendo with 34%, and Microsoft with 30%. It's a lovely everybody wins scenario that will drive console fanboys bonkers. Go Pachter! Michael Fahey

WMS: PS3 to 'Win' Console War Because of Blu-ray [GameDaily.biz]

If you are a member of Sam's Club and have any interest in picking up an HD-DVD drive for your Xbox 360, you might want to go check their prices.

It looks like some Sam's Clubs may be having a sale, knocking the price down to a piddly $72. It's not clear why or where the price is being dropped, but it is clear it's not at every Sam's Club, so call first.

Gizmodo points out the sale may be due to certain clubs no longer stocking the device anymore. A reader on our sister site points out that this is a price drop that takes place when the store has two or less of the HD-DVD drives.

So it's not a given, but worth a call if you're on the hunt. Brian Crecente

Dealzmodo: Sam's Club Xbox 360 HD DVD Drives for $72 [Gizmodo]

In a recent interview with the BBC, Xbox UK head Neil Thompson said that Microsoft is open to the possibility of eventually supporting the Blu-ray player on the Xbox 360.

"Whatever format wins it is highly likely we will offer a solution. The only debate is if you want to watch Blu-ray movies and pay the extra money for that feature. We prefer to offer the consumer choice."

The interview comes in the wake of news that the Blu-ray is outselling the HD-DVD format by more than 2-to-1. Brian Crecente

Microsoft Admits Xbox 360 Blu-Ray Support Possible [Gamasutra]

We posted it as a rumor this morning, based off of a Games Informer article, but the mag's editor has since contacted us to confirm that the story that is running in the latest Game Informer is no joke: A new Xbox 360 is arriving next month.

While Microsoft declined to comment on the story, sources tell us they plan to send out a press release next month, which is pretty much the only time they could, announcing the story.

According to the mag article, the new black Xbox 360 will arrive in late April and feature HDMI output, an HDMI cable and a 120GB harddrive all for $479. Unfortunately, there appears to be no talk of a 360 featuring a built-in HD-DVD drive. Perhaps that's down the line. There also seems to be room for a 360 with support for the IPTV announced at CES earlier this year.

Four SKUs, sounds like a bit much to me, but I thought two different Xbox 360s were out of line, so what do I know? Brian Crecente

Game Mag Says Black Xbox 360 is Coming [Kotaku]

Chris Kohler over at Game|Life is reporting that the first South Park episode ever to be presented in HD will be an Xbox Live exclusive. Starting Tuesday, March 6, the episode, Good Times With Weapons, will be available on the Xbox Live Marketplace free of charge for the first two weeks. Then, from March 20 to April 3, Best Buy will be giving away free copies of the episode on HD-DVD with the purchase of an Xbox 360 or it's HD-DVD player.

In case you're like me and episode titles mean nothing to you, Good Times With Weapons is one where the boys acquire ninja weapons from the county fair. The bulk of the remainder of the episode is presented in letterbox format and animated in a great spoof of anime style. If you haven't seen it, I would highly suggest checking it out as it is (in my opinion anyway) one of the ten best South Park episodes ever made. You get ninja weapons, dead on anime style animation, Butters as Professor Chaos and Cartman's genitals. Who could ask for anything more? Flynn De Marco

First HD Episode of South Park Exclusive to Xbox 360 [Game|Life]

"Great," you say, "but this is Gamepro. Am I really going to learn anything?" Maybe! Sure there are a few opinions disguised as "myths", such as the stance that console first-person shooters are on par with their PC brethren.

However, the fallacy that porn will settle the upcoming battle between HD-DVD and Blu-ray? Nonsense! Michael McWhertor

Feature: 14 Gaming Myths Exposed [Gamepro]

Sony Computer Entertainment of America points out that the Blu-Ray is now officially beating HD-DVD on several levels:
* Blu-ray has surpassed HD-DVD in cumulative sales
* Blu-ray titles outsold HD-DVD titles by more than a two-to-one margin during the first week of January (47.14 HD DVD titles for every 100 Blu-ray titles)
* Blu-ray titles outsold HD-DVD titles closer to three-to-one during the second week of the month (38.36 HD-DVD titles for every 100 Blu-ray titles)

Source: Nielsen VideoScan, the consumer research firm for the VHS and DVD sell-through industry.

Sony is quick to point out that this is probably due to the Playstation 3 and the fact they have now shipped two million of the consoles wordlwide.

According to their customer survey data, 90 percent of PS3 users have watched at least one Blu-ray movie on their PS3, 80 percent said they plan to purchase a Blu-ray movie and 72 percent said they plan to rent a Blu-ray movie.

Whether you like the PS3 as a gaming console or not, you can't overlook it's built-in ability to play Blu-ray movies and to do so for less than most stand alone players. That's Sony's trojan horse right now, I think. Brian Crecente

The 360 versus PS3 argument often comes down to the question of hi-def DVD format. With neither Blu-ray nor HD DVD taking a clear lead in the format wars and consumers confused over which side they should back, in rides the white knight, Warner Bros. Next week at CES they plan to announce the Total HD disc, which is media capable of playing both HD formats, allowing studios to release one version of their productions instead of having to make two versions or worse, completely snubbing one install base altogether.

This is just brilliant, really. If the Total HD disc gains widespread acceptance then consumers won't be as wary of choosing a player, gamers can go back to arguing over games instead of movies, retailers will move more product, and neither HD DVD or Blu-Ray formats have to admit defeat by the other.

The only thing that could screw this up is pride on the part of the specific format backers, though I put forth that any studio that tries to force a format down our throats once the Total HD disc becomes widely available doesn't care enough about the consumer to warrant our money anyway. Michael Fahey

New disc may sway DVD wars [CNET via Evil Avatar - Thanks Chilly!]

Basically the program circumvents the checking of the software code on the disc. The kicker is that in order for it to bypass the software code, you have to first know the software code, making an extra step necessary. An extra step Muslix hasn't provided yet. In his video brag below he advises us to keep watch for source code in January.

It looks like Sony's grand scheme to turn the Playstation 3 into a Blu-ray Trojan Horse may have backfired. A recent survey here in the US points to a distrust of Sony and their strong-armed, cram-Blu-ray-down-your-throat tactics as a major factor in consumer negativity surrounding the Sony-backed format.

Personally, Sony's tactics didn't bother me much. The PS3 costs less than some Blu-ray drives, so I see it as a nice add-on feature. What did annoy me and continues to annoy me to this day, is that the console's delay was, it seems, caused mostly by Blu-ray issues and that on-going stock shortages can also be traced back to the Blu-ray bits.

I still haven't made up my mind about which format, via a game console, I like more. Right now I'm sorta leaning toward HD-DVD, though I think that has more to do with the PS3's still percolating interface. Brian Crecente

Consumers Favour HD DVD over Blu-ray due to negative perceptions of Sony [Tech digest TV]

Gloom and doom tech articles, love 'em! They're like Nostradamus for dorks. And Slate's got a whopper soothsayer piece up, which lays out why the Sony backed Blu-ray and the Microsoft supported HD-DVD are dead out of the gate. Sean Cooper writes:

The movie studios and electronics manufacturers think—wrongly—these new high-def formats will extend the market for home-entertainment media indefinitely. Both formats will fail, not because consumers are wary of a format war in which they could back the losing team, a la Betamax. Universal players that support both flavors of HD should appear early next year. No, the new formats are doomed because shiny little discs will soon be history.

Things like Xbox Live's movie-rental and download service, on-demand cable, pricey new disc players and bigger hard drives seal the formats' grim fate. Smart piece, good points—anyone disagree? Brian Ashcraft

Blu-ray, HD-DVD Dead [Slate]

We're in the midst of a format war with HD-DVD and Blu-ray duking it out and me wondering why the hell they can't get along. There's money to be made, consumers to be screwed and some Nintendo exec doesn't like it. Good for him.

Nintendo Canada's version of Perrin Kaplan (minus the woman part) Pierre-Paul Trépanier not only uses three names, but also has had it with these big multi-national corporations forcing their money making formats on me and you. Pierre-Paul says:

When I'm buying a gaming system, I'm focused on the games; I want to play games, and I think that's the primary reason why someone would buy a gaming system. I think forcing a decision on consumers would certainly not be part of Nintendo's strategy, because we want to get more people into gaming and we want to make it affordable. Forcing people to adopt a technology and a model that's proprietary and still not established is unfair to gamers.

A gaming system is for playing video games? *GASP* Brian Ashcraft

Format War is Not Cool, Just So Not Cool [Games Industry]

If you've got a Windows based PC, some time on your hands, and either $200 of spending money or an Xbox 360 HD-DVD player, you can watch your HD-DVD's on your PC.

You won't need much, just a handful of drivers and your HD-DVD software player of choice, both of which you should download at your own risk. Sorry, Mac users (hey, that's me!), but while OSX recognizes the drive easily, the kids over at Uneasy Silence couldn't point us to a software player yet.

Not a bad deal, considering current prices for HD-DVD players are hovering around $500 right now. Thanks for the tip, Joshua. Michael McWhertor

Hacking the XBox 360's HD-DVD for the PC

Here you go, the definitive comparison of this and the last generation of video game cases. I threw in Blu-ray and HD-DVD cases for good measure. Brian Crecente

I'm not a video snob. When I first got my big-ass high-def television I really wasn't that impressed. The non HD signal looked like crap and the HD stuff looked OK, but it didn't make my eyes bleed. I guess I heard one too many people tell me that an HD picture looks 3D.

But when I finally got a chance to check out an HD DVD I understood what everyone was talking about. The picture is beautiful, amazingly crisp. I didn't really care that much about the other features, the picture-in-picture commentary, the ability to access the menu without pausing the movie.

But if you own a high-def television you need to get a high-def movie player, otherwise what's the point.

The 360's HD-DVD player seems to do an admirable job of playing movies, but it's not the best design. It would have made a lot more sense for Microsoft to just build the thing into their console, something I'm sure they will be doing as a third SKU down the line.

As it exists the player connects to your console with a USB cable and has its own power supply and brick. While the USB cable takes up one of the plugs on the back of the console, it has two of its own. You can even attach the 360's WiFi dongle to the back of it, which is a cool little design feature.

Once you plug the two devices together you need to update your console with an included disc and then run a quick update so it recognizes the player.

Once updated, you can access the console by scrolling down on any of the blades to the option that typically is used to launch a game. Now that circle is divided in half, the top lets you play a game and the bottom an HD-DVD.

While I think the need for two separate pieces of hardware is unnecessarily unwieldy, Microsoft developed the interface in a way that allows you to access all of your neat 360 features while watching a movie. So you can still chat and get messages and alerts while watching a movie.

Unfortunately, there are also some missteps. For instance, the included remote control works fine, but I couldn't get the eject button to work. When I pushed it the 360's tray popped open instead of the HD-DVD player's. Not a huge deal, but a little annoying. Another annoying thing is that the neither the remote nor the 360 controller seem to let you access certain features, like zooming or pan.

It's also a little annoying that the HD-DVD doesn't seem to have a separate power button. Instead you just need to let it stay on whenever your console is on. Not only does this draw more power, it adds to the noise and heat of the console. This is completely unscientific, but I think that HD-DVD player, when it's playing a movie, is actually louder than the Xbox 360. Fortunately, while the HD-DVD player gets warm, it's no where as big a heat producer as the Xbox 360.

If you own an Xbox 360 and are looking for a less expensive way to get an HD-DVD player I'd say definetly pick this up. The inconvenience of having two devices instead of one and the increased noise is far, far outweighed by the low price for what is another wise fine player. Brian Crecente

I just wanted to throw up this quick video showing the HD-DVD player in action. Nothing super exciting but it shows how the 360 and HD-DVD player work together and such. Brian Crecente

For those with 1080i TVs, PS2s and component cables, here's a boot disc for you. Apparently, just pop it in the PlayStation 2 tray before starting up a game. Boot menus appear that let players select which resolution they want and software will then convert the game to that resolution. But, those games weren't designed for that resolution? Nope, but according to software's site: "Progressive mode sends twice the number of lines per frame (game permitting), so the resolution is increased vertically (interlaces games need 2 screen updates, or twice the amount of time to send the same video data). Progressive mode and up-scaling best describe the method used by the Xploder HDTV Player." Sounds cool, but who cares how it sounds. How does it look? Brian Ashcraft

Coming Soon [Official Site via Siliconera]

Here's the Microsoft TV spot for the Xbox 360 HD-DVD player, complete with Adidas sneakers and heavy-handed symbolism. I'll be picking this up when drops in Japan—to balance out the PS3 Blu-ray player for the time being. Anyone else? Brian Ashcraft

Xbox 360 HD-DVD Spot [Slashing Games]

Microsoft has confirmed what a lot of us suspected today, the Xbox 360 HD-DVD player will sell for $199.99 here in North America starting in "mid-November."

The HD-DVD player add-on will include a copy of King Kong in HD DVD for a limited time and a 360 Universal Media Remote. It will sell for 199.99/ 129.99 in the UK, France and Germany.

"The Xbox 360 HD DVD Player is the best high-definition movie experience and value on the market," Peter Moore said. "The reviews, the word of mouth and the consumer response have all been crystal clear — HD DVD is the format of choice. We're not forcing movie technology on game players but are instead letting them choose how to personalize their experiences. If they want HD DVD, there's no better value out there."

HD-DVD players deliver up to six times higher resolution than a standard DVD player and as part of the fall 2006 console update all Xbox 360 consoles will have the ability to output native resolution 1080p games and movies, according to Microsoft.

The company went on to say that more than 150 movies will be avilable by the holidays for the format.

Brian Crecente