Microsoft halts production on HD DVD add-on

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I don't get what is up with Engadget, Joystiq, and X3F about this whole format war. It seems that they believe that now that HD DVDs will no longer be produced, that all the current movies have all suddenly stopped working! THIS IS NOT THE CASE!! Seriously, you guys need to STFU about how we can get rid of our HD DVD players! They can still play movies, and they will still do so in the future! Plus, we can look forward to Terminator 2 being released in Germany soon, and being able to import it here to watch in glorious HD with tons of web-enabled content and bonus features. Don't start destroying all of your HD DVD content, because soon you will wish you hadn't when the movies come out on Blu-ray and don't have all the bonus features the HD DVD version did. Plus, there is no guarantee that all the movies you have on HD DVD will even be re-launched on Blu-ray.

somehow I thought the video would be better...

Was anyone as put off by how ugly the damned add-on was?

I know this is kinda comparing apples to oranges, but the size of the ps3's internal Blu-ray is a hellva lot smaller than this. It is bigger than the friggen Wii for crying out loud!

it might be big due to the extra usb ports and the power supply... and the vents and the coolers... the ps3's internal drive is cooled by the main coolers for the console but, this is outside, and if you compare it to other regular dvd external burners for pcs it is the same size.

My Gamestop manager buddy tells me that the used HD-DVD drives in stock will be (or have been this weekend) dropped to $50, but the new units remain at the retail price.

I'm pretty sure there is no such word as haults...

Yeah, sorry. I'm Canadian so I feel morally inclined to add the letter U to every other word.

I blame the British.

Seeing as we're fanboys here, I thought I would bring the fanboys perspective to this.

MS did the right thing by releasing an external HD-DVD drive, they can just toss it in the garbage and make a Blu-Ray drive now. If Blu-Ray had lost then the PS3 would've been stuffed sideways.

Oh and Xav, Britain FTW.

"Microsoft took the opportunity to reiterate its sediment".

It's sediment?!?

You guys wouldn't happen to read proof your stuff now,would you?

Obsolete addon for an obsolete console. Very fitting

The King is dead. Long live the King!

hm might get one cheap, if can get for $20-30... play my reg olde dvds on it instead of the 360 drive.

Yeah I don't know where sediment came from because liquid had nothing to do with this.

It was a 1am story and proof reading is for wimps.

LOL, 2 mistakes. Nice catches. Fixed.

With the add-ons, I dont really see why it matters so much. You can get cheaper HD-DVD and BluRay players for a cheaper price and that will offer more features and that are just a better quality player over all.
The only way I would by anything related to HD format for the 360 is if it would use the format towards games. The extra space would be great for future games. Sadly, we all know this wont happen with the 360. I love my 360 and the great games that have come out for it. However, with in the next year or two, I think the PS3 game developers will start taking an advantage using the BluRay extra space to make games much better and deeper and richer. Sooner or later, it will show that the capacity of DVD9 for the 360 will truly start hurting games compared to the PS3s games.

I dont have a PS3 and dont plan on getting one any time soon. But if the superiority of games and exclusivity of games start shifting to the PS3, then I will probably get one. And frankly, that is a huge possibility that that will occur. You can already look at 2008, and it seems the PS3 has more exclusives. GoW2 is the only one the 360 seems to have that is worth the hype. Imagine Gears or Halo on an HD format. More features and such. At this point in time, I cant wait for the next Xbox. To me, the sooner the better as it will learn from the mistakes of this generation, even though it did well. But in the end, I see the 360 falling to second place once its all said and done. The PS3 just seems to offer a lot more, except for their Online.....so far.

could some one tell me if the hd-dvd add on up converts dvds to 1080i or p

thanks

external blue ray player has to come out for the 360. they wont give up on hd video

We are all sad that HD-DVD lost. Sure, we have our $200 HD-DVD add-ons (well, that's what they used to cost), we all have our collection of $25-$40 HD-DVDs (I have 18), but this was never a PS3 vs 360 "war". Sony was willing to have a year delay on releasing their console, so they could include the BluRay with their console. A business decision they made, which, most would say, has cost them a large portion of the market of "next gen" consoles.

MS decided to stay with a regular DVD drive, and come to market a year earlier. As MS was also one of the supporters of the HD-DVD format, they decided to release an *optional* add-on. You didn't have to buy it. Heck, stand-alone players were the same price. (I'm still yet to see a bluray under $400).

The way I see it...as long as the 360 keeps working, and the drive keeps working, my collection of movies will keep working. And I will continue to enjoy real High Definition quality (which is much better than tv-hd quality... large compression there).

And while I'm at it, I'll have an upscaling DVD player as well. (And the other day I watched a (urgh) regular DVD, and I couldnt believe how much better it looked being upscalled)

My wife....she says we'll have to get a player that does both formats. Well perhaps more will come out, ones that are good, and not $800. Or perhaps, down the road, I'll get a stand-alone bluray (Panasonic DMP-BD50 looks nice..although $600 is a little pricey).

And for all who want a 360-BluRay add-on. Remember, there will come a time when the 360 is no longer considered the current gen. Then what? You'll complain you'll have spent money on an add-on that no longer works with your new console?

Do people always need a reason to complain? Hey, you have a house, a car, heating, electricity, food. Not to mention an expensive HD TV, plus an expensive console or two, and who knows how many $60 games. (US prices). Things could be a lot worse than "oh, the HighDef format I wanted to win, didn't. Boo Hoo."

Oh goodie...I just worked out I have two profiles... OSpazX and Spaz. Well, I think I've got it fixed now :)

@Killswitch On

If you think within the next 5 years bdrom is gonna make a diffrence in gaming quality your mental.First of all the 360 is in the lead about 8 million consoles.Its gonna continue to sell considering it has the best lineup this year "regardless of what you sony fanboys say" its the truth.

You sit and say all we have that matters is gears?

Gears2
Fable2
Ninja Gaiden2
Frontlines
Lost Odyssey
Too Human
And i could go one forever not counting the exclusives from 2007.

You seem to think games like kz2 a rehash of a shit game to begin with and rfom2 a game which its predecessor only sold due to it being the only game at launch that wasnt on 360.If thats really how anyone thinks they need there head examined.

As for mgs4 its a game that not everybody want to play.Its not a true shooter and everyone knows thats what sells especially in the states where sony isnt doing to good as it is.

Game companys are gonna drop games where the money is and currently that on the 360.It sells more games than the fucking wii which is at over 20 million in sales.

The ps3 title sales are pretty much non existent.Look at rockstar they could have made a super exclusive gta4 for ps3.But they chose to give ms the exclusive content and better game.Why you ask yourself? MONEY

As long as microsoft remains the biggest richest company in the world of gaming they will drop dough to make sure they have the best games possible.

Developers want money period.The only reason sony is seeing any exclusivity is because of idiot developers who somehow think that sony is gonna come out on top and just maybe sony will throw them a bone for sucking there cock.

Any studio thats smart knows where to find money is called microsoft period.

Bluray makes no diffrence this gen.People buy ps3's as bluray players and never buy games for them then couple that with the fact that not every home has a hdtv to benefit bluray.

By the time every home has a hdtv you will see a better form of media distribution its called digital and its the future.

The best Sony could have done if Blu-Ray lost was switch to a dual-format drive and maybe offer upgrades.

Microsoft doesn't HAVE to use a dual-format drive when (stiff if?) they launch a Blu-Ray player but it would be nice for their previous purchasers.

I figure if I repeat this dual-format idea enough, it might be seen by the right people...

I agree

Seriously hyping kz2 is equal to some jackass hyping the next installment of a harrypotter game.Are they that desperate for games that they need to hype garbage like that.Then they go and hype a game like mgs4 thats going to contain more movie cutscenes than actual gameplay.What are we going back to the fucking cdi now we have to watch our games?

Maybe mgs4 will sell well for sony considering all they sell is fucking movies.