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Ruined · 01-02-2008, 05:37 PM

Well, we know the HD DVDROM drive in the HD-A2/A20/XA2 was too slow at reading DVD for XBOX 360. It could only do 8x IIRC and the 360 needs 12x; since all 360 games are standard DVD media and will continue to be standard DVD media for the life of the console, an internal 360 HD DVDROM drive would need to be able to read standard DVD at 12x.

The Toshiba HD-A3/A30/A35 all have brand new Toshiba drives, different ones than in the HD-A2. We don't know their performance capabilities with DVD, so it may be technically possible with the gen3 drives to have an internal 360 HD DVD drive.

It certainly does look fishy that they started production of a whole new drive for the HD-A3 when the one in the HD-A2 would have worked just fine in the HD-A3 with no performance difference. Especially since they had gotten the read performance so stable in the latest HD-A2 firmware, why switch now to a totally different drive (that had to go through two firmware upgrades post-release to bring it up to speed with the HD-A2's drive)? The only reason I could see them switching is: A) The new A3 HD DVDROM is cheaper to produce than the HD-A2 one somehow, B) The new A3 HD DVDROM is significantly better/less picky at reading HD51 (though this is not too likely as even the gen1 NEC had readable HD45 in its specs - and HD51 will only be used if Disney jumps into HD DVD), C) The new A3 HD DVDROM drive can do 12x DVD and hence work with the 360.

IMO, MS does need to come out with an internal HD DVDROM 360 if they want to compete with the PS3 using the Elite price point. Basically they either need to drop the price of the Elite significantly or replace the Elite SKU with one that has builtin HD DVD. A quick check of BestBuy.com and Circuit City.com indicates the the 360 Elite is completely gone from Circuit City and not available in stores at Best Buy. Amazon no longer has the Elite listed for sale from them, only from third parties. Hmm, looks like somethin is a brewin, because it appears the Elite is discontinued; not too dissimilar to what happened with the Core just before the Arcade SKU was announced.

However, I do not see MS putting HD DVD in the Premium or Arcade - that would be a waste. Keep those with standard DVD to keep the prices low and compete with Wii. And that will be the key difference here - just like all of the other 360 "upgrades," this will be an optional one that you can choose to pay for or not to pay for. And one that allows MS to compete at all levels with their two competitors.

01-02-2008, 05:37 PM	#5 (permalink)
Ruined It's Good to Play Together Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: NJ, USA	Well, we know the HD DVDROM drive in the HD-A2/A20/XA2 was too slow at reading DVD for XBOX 360. It could only do 8x IIRC and the 360 needs 12x; since all 360 games are standard DVD media and will continue to be standard DVD media for the life of the console, an internal 360 HD DVDROM drive would need to be able to read standard DVD at 12x. The Toshiba HD-A3/A30/A35 all have brand new Toshiba drives, different ones than in the HD-A2. We don't know their performance capabilities with DVD, so it may be technically possible with the gen3 drives to have an internal 360 HD DVD drive. It certainly does look fishy that they started production of a whole new drive for the HD-A3 when the one in the HD-A2 would have worked just fine in the HD-A3 with no performance difference. Especially since they had gotten the read performance so stable in the latest HD-A2 firmware, why switch now to a totally different drive (that had to go through two firmware upgrades post-release to bring it up to speed with the HD-A2's drive)? The only reason I could see them switching is: A) The new A3 HD DVDROM is cheaper to produce than the HD-A2 one somehow, B) The new A3 HD DVDROM is significantly better/less picky at reading HD51 (though this is not too likely as even the gen1 NEC had readable HD45 in its specs - and HD51 will only be used if Disney jumps into HD DVD), C) The new A3 HD DVDROM drive can do 12x DVD and hence work with the 360. IMO, MS does need to come out with an internal HD DVDROM 360 if they want to compete with the PS3 using the Elite price point. Basically they either need to drop the price of the Elite significantly or replace the Elite SKU with one that has builtin HD DVD. A quick check of BestBuy.com and Circuit City.com indicates the the 360 Elite is completely gone from Circuit City and not available in stores at Best Buy. Amazon no longer has the Elite listed for sale from them, only from third parties. Hmm, looks like somethin is a brewin, because it appears the Elite is discontinued; not too dissimilar to what happened with the Core just before the Arcade SKU was announced. However, I do not see MS putting HD DVD in the Premium or Arcade - that would be a waste. Keep those with standard DVD to keep the prices low and compete with Wii. And that will be the key difference here - just like all of the other 360 "upgrades," this will be an optional one that you can choose to pay for or not to pay for. And one that allows MS to compete at all levels with their two competitors. __________________ For every shadow, no matter how deep, is threatened by morning light. Last edited by Ruined : 01-02-2008 at 05:58 PM.