Microsoft plays HD DVD for Xbox 360 card

Stan Beer
Tuesday, 09 May 2006 16:51

Your IT - Home IT

Microsoft has gone into bat for the Toshiba HD DVD technology on it Xbox site extolling the virtues of the high definition video format while explaining why it is better value than the competing Blu-ray technology from Sony.

In an online pamphlet on its Xbox site, titled HD DVD Explained, Microsoft talks about its proposed HD DVD add-on, which will connect to the Xbox 360 console via a USB 2.0 port.

It is fairly clear from the outset of Microsoft's diatribe, that its intention is to denigrate Blu-ray, while elevating HD DVD. The pamphlet a touch misleadingly says that there is no difference between the video support of the two formats as far as HD resolution is concerned, while ignoring the clearly superior storage capabilities of the Blu-ray disks. HD DVD stores 15GB on each side, while Blu-ray can store 25GB per side.

Then Microsoft plays up the advantages of a double sided HD DVD and DVD disks recently announced by warner Home Video, without of course mentioning that they cost double the price of ordinary disks and are probably the dumbest idea to come out of the video industry.

Finally of course, Microsoft focusses on cost. HD DVD players start at $499 (not $500), while the cheapest Blu-ray players are "expected" to start at $1000 (not $999). Of course, as Microsoft fails to mention, consumers could wait for the arrival of PlayStation 3, and get a high-end games console and integrated Blu-ray player all for $499 (not $500).

Now Microsoft promises that the cost of HD DVD add-on for Xbox 360 will be good news. That's nice to hear. Well it had better be less than $100 for the combination console and HD DVD player to come in under the price of the PS3. However, let's imagine it does come in at say $49.95, which would make it $50 cheaper than the PS3. Does this not make the price difference of $500 between HD DVD and Blu-ray players currently purveyed around the marketplace sheer nonsense?

Judging by the history of DVD player pricing, both Blu-ray and HD DVD players, once they become widely available, will before too long become commodity items costing something like $39.95 at a bulk electrical store. Eventually all desktop and notebook PCs will have them on board as standard.

Forget pricing, it's a red herring. For once, let's forget the marketing hype and let the better technology win.