DVD Talk Forum - MS announces an external HD DVD drive for the Xbox 360

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- - MS announces an external HD DVD drive for the Xbox 360 (https://forum.dvdtalk.com/video-game-talk/451007-ms-announces-external-hd-dvd-drive-xbox-360-a.html)

Well, i see the HD-DVD drive connecting to the 360 ala the 32X connected to the Sega Genesis. How will they connect, who knows....a USB cable, not really sure how. I think it may be MS way of selling a standalone HD-DVD player, since NO games will be able to play on it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sracer

Do the HD-DVD standards you are referring to only apply to standalone players or to the drive component itself? An "add-on" drive will probably only provide the data stream to the 360 itself and rely on the 360 as a conduit to the display device.

But I'm thinking in terms of connections:
HD-DVD -> 360 -> HDTV

If it really will be:
360 -> HD-DVD -> HDTV

...then that's simply dumb.

The standards apply to all drives. If Microsoft wants to ensure that all HD-DVD movies output HD, then they will have to include a HDMI cable somewhere in there. Someone posted earlier that the Xbox360 actually has a DAC (digital to analog converter) before the output, meaning you would have to reverse the process (redundancy) in order to connect a HDMI cable to the 360 itselt. That doesn't seem logical. If you could tap right onto the board (like the Sega Genesis), then it would be more logical, but I do not believe such a connection exists on the 360 (for fear of piracy).

More likely than not, the add-on itself will have a HDMI output. This would mean HD-DVD -> Xbox 360 -> HD-DVD -> TV. Yeah, its a little crazy, but could work over USB 2.0 (there is enough bandwidth there). Its definitely not optimal, but it can work.

Quote:

Originally Posted by joshd2012

The standards apply to all drives. If Microsoft wants to ensure that all HD-DVD movies output HD, then they will have to include a HDMI cable somewhere in there.

Is there an online version of the standard that is publicly available?

What prevents MS from providing an embedded HDMI->Component converter in the add-on itself? Or from Toshiba granting a deviation from the standard? (which could be a reason for the off-hand comment about the 360 also supporting an external Blu-Ray drive as well... to put pressure on Toshiba to provide such a deviation)

Quote:

Is there an online version of the standard that is publicly available?

No. It's not a free standard -- you have to pay several thousand dollars to the DVD Forum to access it. But here's an article covering the HDMI/HDCP issue:

Quote:

The players will be required to recognize and respond to a digital flag, called an Image Constraint Token, inserted into the movie data.

If the flag is set to “on,” the player must down-convert the analog signal. If set to “off,” the player can pass the full high-def signal over the analog connections.

The studios are divided over whether to require such down-conversion and are likely to follow separate policies.

Hardware makers had generally resisted the requirement, but under the new deal, ICT recognition will be included in the AACS license that all device makers and playback software vendors will have to sign.

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What prevents MS from providing an embedded HDMI->Component converter in the add-on itself?

The entire point of HDMI is it allows built-in hardware copy protection at the connection level (via HDCP), which isn't possible with component. If you convert HDMI to component you're removing the secure connection and you may as well just allow HD over component, in which case you wouldn't bother with the ICT requirement in the first place.

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Or from Toshiba granting a deviation from the standard?

Toshiba doesn't control the standard. They'd have to get an exemption from the DVD Forum, which a) might be difficult given the objections that would come from the content providers (particularly Warner Bros., who are supposedly very gung-ho on downrezzing over component) and b) would result in accusations of favoritism -- if they grant MS an exemption from the ICT requirement, why shouldn't LG and Sanyo and Toshiba themselves get the same exemption?