Hddvd?

RuggieBear

Have a vista Home premium media centre.

If i buy the xbox 360 hddvd would i be able to watch HD stuff?

Do i need special software? Is it possible to buy the versions of cberlink/windvd software required over here?

Do i need a HDCP/HDMI compatible monitor and gfx card?

Would an amd 64 3200 and x800 pro be powerful enough for 720p?

Bit confused and would love to know if it is even possible.

8T8

If i buy the xbox 360 hddvd would i be able to watch HD stuff?

Yes.

Do i need special software? Is it possible to buy the versions of cberlink/windvd software required over here?

Yes Cyberlink or WinDVD, recommend Cyberlink PowerDVD Ultra which supports HD-DVD & Blu-ray.

Do i need a HDCP/HDMI compatible monitor and gfx card?

Technically yes DVI or HDMI equipped with HDCP display but with AnyDVD HD you don't so watch away on any digital link :cool:

Would an amd 64 3200 and x800 pro be powerful enough for 720p?

Hard to say MPEG2/VC-1 might be okay which is less demanding but H.264 is too much but luckily H.264 movies are quite rare but down the road they will become more common.

I can test an Athlon 64 3200+ with an ATI X1300 under Vista if you'd like as I have all of the above hardware/software already though never tried it out so it may take an hour or two before I get back to you.

RuggieBear

that would be awesome. tbh, it's a little bit of a pipe dream at the moment as i'm completely broke but just working it out keeps me entertained:D

8T8

Okay bad news;

Cyberlink PowerDVD Ultra doesn't work. WinDVD HD doesn't work & refused to co-operate at all.

Cyberlink works but comes up with the dreaded black screen in video but can hear audio problem which happens if the graphics card isn't good enough (on HDMI or VGA doesn't matter not a HDCP problem).

According to the Cyberlink advisor minimum ATI card required is X1600 series I have an X1300 and X800 series not supported at all.

Unfortunately I don't have a X1600 card on hand or anything more powerful that will do the job that I want to put into that so for the time being the experiment can go no further.

The good news;

The CPU was only pegged at 20% in the background when playing the video/audio even if I couldn't see it so your best chance of getting it to work is to probably get a GeForce 8/Radeon HD low end card & sticking that into the PC in the future.

I'll probably do that myself at some point so if it works I'll post in this thread to let you know.

RuggieBear

cheers. thanks for that. Looks like i'll just have to save a bit and upgrade everything....which is what i had planned to do but had to spend the money elsewhere.

8T8

I hoenstly wouldn't spend the money on HD-DVD for a HTPC if that's it's only purpose given the software issues, you would be better off buying a proper HD-DVD player for the €400+ or whatever the cheapest one costs now.

Low end GeForce 8 or Radeon HD 2xxxx €100
Xbox 360 HD-DVD €200
AnyDVD HD €20
PowerDVD Ultra €70

Looking at €390

TOSHIBA HD E1 HD-DVD Player €371 on Pixmania cheaper than anywhere else and cheaper than refitting the HTPC to play the discs.

RuggieBear

8T8 wrote:

I hoenstly wouldn't spend the money on HD-DVD for a HTPC if that's it's only purpose given the software issues, you would be better off buying a proper HD-DVD player for the €400+ or whatever the cheapest one costs now.

Low end GeForce 8 or Radeon HD 2xxxx €100
Xbox 360 HD-DVD €200
AnyDVD HD €20
PowerDVD Ultra €70

Looking at €390

TOSHIBA HD E1 HD-DVD Player €371 on Pixmania cheaper than anywhere else and cheaper than refitting the HTPC to play the discs.

Ah but that would be admitting defeat!!! lol
Tbh i'm as interested in the "hack" as i am with playing HD DVD content. Sad but true.

8T8

I know the feeling it's why I have the software anyway though it tends to has it uses for occasional other purposes.

It's finicky at the moment playing HD material on computers with drivers and players still buggy though AnyDVD HD eliminates the buggiest element which is HDCP.

Although Vista MCE has the capability as far as I can tell neither PowerDVD Ultra nor WinDVD HD public versions integrated themselves into media centre for HD playback however I have seen OEM machines which such options like play Blu-ray or HD-DVD in Vista MCE so that is an extra annoyance.

There is probably some sort of hack out there that turns on the menu item but you can see how messy it is and the amount of money that needs to be put in to get it to work will get you something which gives much less grief.

The one possible item that would sway towards a HTPC is the new combo drives which opens up HD-DVD and Blu-ray so that would be a very handy feature for a HTPC.

RuggieBear

8T8 wrote:

The one possible item that would sway towards a HTPC is the new combo drives which opens up HD-DVD and Blu-ray so that would be a very handy feature for a HTPC.

now that looks interesting