360 adds 1080p & HD-DVD drive in Japan!!

quad_red

http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/20/xbox-360-adds-1080p-hd-dvd-drive-for-november-17th-in-japan/

A software update over Live this year will enable 1080p output on the Xbox 360! Your rig will finally benefit by pushing the full 60 megapixels per second of visuals to your compatible HDTV. Sorry, no HDMI cable yet (or ever?), though, this is only over component and VGA. Users can expect 1080p upscaling immediately on current games and DVDs and native 1080p on compatible HD DVD titles, but Microsoft hasn't yet announced future games that will rock 1080p natively.

The Xbox 360 HD DVD drive finally has a price and date of launch -- for Japan. The land that forgot the Xbox are first to have their HD DVD add-on announced, due to hit overseas streets on November 17th for ¥19,800. That's about $170 US, which is not only an awesomely and unexepectedly low price for an HD DVD device (especially when bundled with a Xbox 360 Universal Media Remote), but it's also a good indication that the US version of the device should be around the $200 range when released in the US,

Ri_Nollaig

beat me too it, show this on digg
i really dont know what to make of this hddvd addon, like on one side having the option to buy it later if hddvd takes off is better then been forced to buy it from the start. But then on the other side atleast when you buy the ps3 you get everything together... only time will tell i guess

CiaranC

Im no expert on HD, but wont native 1080p put even more pressure on the system?

It runs into problems with tearing, framerates and stuttering on a lot of titles already...

Ciaran500

CiaranC wrote:

Im no expert on HD, but wont native 1080p put even more pressure on the system?

Yep

CiaranC wrote:

It runs into problems with tearing, framerates and stuttering on a lot of titles already...

But its up to the devs to use it, we won't be seeing Gears of War or any other graphically intense games using 1080p.

savemejebus

If developers start creating games with 1080p resolutions won't that require more space on a disc? And if so then won't that make the advent of hd-dvd games on the 360 kind of inevetable?

kippy

The increas in pressure will be on the TV that is displaying the 1080p.
I think the tearing etc that you mention on existing games is caused by the display device and not the Xbox itself.
Kippy

Ciaran500

savemejebus wrote:

If developers start creating games with 1080p resolutions won't that require more space on a disc? And if so then won't that make the advent of hd-dvd games on the 360 kind of inevetable?

No reason to use more disk space just to increase resolution.

kippy wrote:

I think the tearing etc that you mention on existing games is caused by the display device and not the Xbox itself.
Kippy

Its all the Xbox.

mcgovern

It just means the devs can use it if they want.
AFAIK only one of the PS3 launch titles supports 1080p without upscaling?

savemejebus

Ciaran500 wrote:

No reason to use more disk space just to increase resolution.

would it not mean that devs need to create more detailed models, backgrounds etc. which would take up more space?

CiaranC

I think the tearing etc that you mention on existing games is caused by the display device and not the Xbox itself.

Nope, Ive tested the likes of Oblivion, Saints Row, MotoGP and LOTR BFME2 on multiple HD displays and they all exhibit the same flaws.

Either the devs havent got to grips with it or the 360 hardware isnt up to scratch.

Vegeta

Ciaran500 wrote:

Its all the Xbox.

I don't know about this.

The 360 generates all the video signals and the TV has to display them.

I work for an electronics company who buy the most expensive TVs on the market (got a 56" one this morning) and try and improve on them and then offer the new parts to the TV companies. The goal is TV on one microchip by 2009-2010

TV's do play a huge role in this aswell. Its a mix of both i'd say.

Kristok

savemejebus wrote:

If developers start creating games with 1080p resolutions won't that require more space on a disc? And if so then won't that make the advent of hd-dvd games on the 360 kind of inevetable?

If a game needs more than a dvd then it can be spanned onto two its been done loads of times in the past plus with the hard drive you can load uncompressed content onto that and read the rest from the dvd there is no case for using hddvd other than the fact that the ps3 is using bluray.

savemejebus

Is there any case for using 1080p apart from the fact that the ps3 is doing so?

Microsoft will most likely want to be seen as competing on an even playing field in all aspects of the console which could lead to HD-DVD becoming an essential purchase despite MS saying that they won't force unnecessary tech on consumers

CiaranC

I don't know about this.

The 360 generates all the video signals and the TV has to display them.

The problems are definately with the xbox. For example, Saints Row has vsync disabled to improve the frame rate. Tearing will appear even on the best display.

Kristok

1080p is a higher resulution than the current xbox max which presumably makes games look better, i dont know if allot of people would notice the difference but seening as its only a software mod why not offer it and take away any advantage the ps3 has.

savemejebus

I think it's a great addition, i just hope it's not the first step in making my new xbox purchase obsolete unless i buy a hd-dvd box

CiaranC

i just hope it's not the first step in making my new xbox purchase obsolete unless i buy a hd-dvd box

Major Nelson intimated pre-launch that at no point would a game appear that required the HDD and thats already happening, so I wouldnt rule it out

Vegeta

CiaranC wrote:

The problems are definately with the xbox. For example, Saints Row has vsync disabled to improve the frame rate. Tearing will appear even on the best display.

well then that's not the 360s fault its the game isn't it i.e. software

CiaranC

Like I said, either the devs havent been able to get to grips with it, or the hw isnt up to scratch. Making the games require the ability to run without a hdd is definately an issue.

Disabling vsync on SR is a dirty fix to improve framerates. Even then there is noticable slowdown.

Maybe its bad coding, maybe not. We'll see with the next round of games.

Ciaran500

CiaranC wrote:

Major Nelson intimated pre-launch that at no point would a game appear that required the HDD and thats already happening, so I wouldnt rule it out

I don't ever remember anyone from Microsoft saying that, link?

shortys94

sorry for noobish question but could someone tell me the asnwer to this.
With say a xbox 360 or dvd player displaying a normal dvd through a hi definition signal what is the difference between that and the new hd dvd player and such?

Sorry again if its a stupid question

CiaranC

Playing a normal dvd on a hddvd player will give you the exact same results as playing it on a normal dvd player.

In order to see a difference, you will need to buy the hddvd version of that dvd. Thats right, you'll have to replace your dvd collection before your new hardware is of any use.

Ciaran500

shortys94 wrote:

sorry for noobish question but could someone tell me the asnwer to this.
With say a xbox 360 or dvd player displaying a normal dvd through a hi definition signal what is the difference between that and the new hd dvd player and such?

Sorry again if its a stupid question

To play on a LCD/plasma/DLP screen any image is scaled to the screens native resolution. But most screens internal scalers don't do a perfect job of this so thats why alot of DVD players now upscale images. You get a sharper, cleaner image but you don't get any increase in detail.

With HD-DVD you get a sharper image and much more detail on screen.

00sully

does anyone know if you can play 360 games through the hd dvd drive? my hitachi dvd drive is waaaayyy to noisy! it'd be sweet if you could - another reason other than HD DVD's to buy one

anyone have an idea?

Ciaran500

I'mm 99% sure I read you can on Major Nelson, not sure how much quieter it will be though.