Korean Job Discussion Forums

gsxr750r · Joined: 29 Jan 2007

http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/02/08/ms_black_xbox_360/

The "black xbox 360", which is said to include an HDMI output, will begin shipping in select locations in March -- possibly as a move to hurt PS3 sales when they are introduced in certain areas.

smogdonkey · Joined: 19 Dec 2006

Sucks if you have an old one already... like when the video ipods came out like 6 months after i got my 20 gig.

gsxr750r · Joined: 29 Jan 2007

Only sucks if you bought an older Xbox360, and want HDMI. Not a lot of difference between the two, otherwise, I read.

No one is sure if it would ship with an HDDVD drive or not. That would certain make things interesting -- add a 3rd Xbox360 to the mix which has an HDDVD drive internal, for more money, but cheaper than a PS3.

The big question is, what would happen to games? I hear the HDDVD drive add-on is not able to transfer game information. If they added an HDDVD drive to the black 360, then would they start making games available on HDDVD disks? I have no idea.

What then of the old Xbox360s? Maybe they would make CD games for the older ones for a number of years.

smogdonkey · Joined: 19 Dec 2006

Well, that's what I mean. I haven't read anything about HDDVD being included, but I have read about a 120 gig HD being included, but the price would be around 600 US. Recently, there have been pictures of a black HDDVD drive (the same as the addon, only color change), which would seem to indicate that it wouldn't come with HDDVD capabilities on it's own. At this point it just doesn't seem like people will ever buy a 360 with watching movies in HD in mind. If that's really important to you, you probably have a nice setup, and the noisiness of the system, along with having the extra drive and power brick, aren't ideal.

I'll eventually expect the same to happen to the PS3, because the thing is frickin' HUGE!

corroonb · Joined: 04 Aug 2006

http://www.engadget.com/2006/05/22/studios-wont-downgrade-hd-video-for-now/

HDMI is relatively unimportant right now and won't become so until at least 2010 or possibly 2012. Studios won't be implementing ICT (Image Constraint Token) for quite a while so Microsoft will gain nothing from releasing a new model with a HDMI port. The new hard drive is more likely and there have been images of a 100 GB hard drive from X06 which was held in Korea. Component is capable of outputting 1080p.

gsxr750r · Joined: 29 Jan 2007

HDMI looks better through my LCD than Component does. I've seen it. That's why I want HDMI.

smogdonkey · Joined: 19 Dec 2006

I couldn't tell you why, but my $8 HDMI cable looks noticeably better than my $20 name brand component cables on the PS3, at least on my LCD. HDMI also carries hi-def lossless audio, which is solid if you have an HD audio/video receiver set up to handle your surround system.

smogdonkey · Joined: 19 Dec 2006

Also, I don't know why, but it seems to be popular belief that you can't enjoy 1080p HD DVD through the 360 because of the lack of HDMI, and you also can't get the same quality audio. Adding HDMI seems like a necessary step to make the HD DVD add-on a legitimate purchase. Again, if someone is going to shell out $200 more for HD movie watching capabilities, they're going to want the best connection/resolution/audio quality possible.

gsxr750r · Joined: 29 Jan 2007

The PS3 provides lossless PCM audio via HDMI, I hear.

Some LCD and PDP sets don't allow 1080i or 1080p via component. Nevermind if the Xbox 360 will pass it or not.

corroonb · Joined: 04 Aug 2006

smogdonkey, the 360 HD-DVD drive is able to output in 1080p through either component or VGA. Also the basic model PS3 with a 20 gb hard-drive does not come with a HDMI port and can still output Blu-Ray in 1080p.

smogdonkey · Joined: 19 Dec 2006

I have the base ps3, yes it does.

**Edit for clarity's sake, was in a rush: every PS3 has HDMI out. That was a change they made before launch, contrary to pre-launch reports.

I realize this is a few months old, but here is an example of how easy it is to get a 1080p signal out of a 360 with the HD DVD addon:

http://www.hdtvsolutions.com/Xbox360_HD_DVD.htm

It works on some TVs, and only through a VGA connection for movies. Unfortunately, I can't seem to find any kind of database of which ones do and don't. Trial and error, I guess.