Xbox 360 HD-DVD Drive

[O.G]

Xbox 360 HD-DVD Drive

Turn your Xbox into an HD-DVD seXbox… for £130!

With Toshiba’s standalone HD-DVD players starting at around £400 and Blu-ray decks going for at least £1,000, this block-like add-on for the Xbox 360 is the bargain of the year.

Setting it up is child’s play. Just fire up the 360, stick in a disc to update the software, then plug in the drive using the supplied USB cable. That’s it.

Put a disc in the drive and it starts up in a matter of seconds – far quicker than existing HD-DVD and Blu-ray players, in fact. It’s also near silent, although there’s still a bit of fan noise from the Xbox 360 itself. It’s not the 747-whoosh you get when playing a game, but you’ll notice it during films aimed squarely at the fairer sex. You know, the ones with all the talking and that.

Impeccably minimalist, the drive only has an open/close button, so you need the 360 controller or the handy supplied media remote to play and navigate discs.

Picture quality is incredibly good for the price. You can choose between the usual Hi-Def resolutions, all the way up to 1080p. However, few HDTVs support this format via component, so you’ll need to connect using VGA or go for 720p or 1080i. Trust us – you won’t miss much.

King Kong is thrown in with the drive, and it’s a great showcase for what it can do, with tons of detail and loads of depth to the colours. There is a bit of judder during pans, and the odd jagged edge visible on a staircase or railing – but overall it’s a massive step up from DVD.

Dolby Digital 5.1 sound is awesome but unlike the top Toshiba HD-XE1, this isn’t compatible with lossless surround sound formats like Dolby TrueHD. Home cinema purists might turn up their noses at this, but with very solid performance at a silly cheap price, for our (limited) money, this is the best next-gen player around.

Price: £130

A top performer at a silly price. If you’ve got an Xbox, it’s a no-brainer: buy one

[TGLucario]

i kno, good price, but i'll stay with my PS2

[Saurgrist]

Yeah, if you have one, it's worth it... since those players are so much more expensive as it is.

[StarliteJo]

hey all I just got an x box(not a 360) and I was wondering if you play burnt games on it if anyone knows how that won't cost me please let me know thanks to all in advance

[Oyabun]

Originally Posted by StarliteJo

hey all I just got an x box(not a 360) and I was wondering if you play burnt games on it if anyone knows how that won't cost me please let me know thanks to all in advance

I heard you have to chip the xbox and burn games and play that way, I heard that its possible to transfer cd games into your hard drive so whenever you turn your xbox on you would be able to play a game off your hardrive but not very certain.

Very good price btw but still I'd rather stick to making some pocket money for the up coming PS3.