In the format wars, Microsoft supported HD DVD in the battle against Sony’s Blu-ray. The company even released an HD DVD player for the Xbox 360. But, HD DVD lost. Blu-ray won. More »
The Orlando Sentinel took at look at the now years-old tech of Blu-ray players, trying to determine whether it’s worth investing in a new player. Their conclusion: Yes and no.
Remember that format war? Good fun. Blu-ray battling it out with HD DVD. Sony pinning its hopes and dreams for dominance on the PS3, while Microsoft released an HD DVD player for its console.
Web clearance joint OverStock Dealz are, *ahem*, overstocked with 360 HD-DVD drives. You’re no doubt aware why. So they’re offloading them for the ridiculous price of $US30 a pop. I only post this because, well, $32 is a steal, and with HD-DVD movies also at rock-bottom prices there are worse ways to blow a rainy weekend than stocking up on obsolete high-definition movie discs and indulging in the shiny future that never was. MICROSOFT XBOX 360 HD DVD Player [OverStock Dealz, thanks Rob!]
The dust has settled. Long ago. HD DVD is way dead, way dead. But Micrsoft Game Studios boss Shane Kim hasn’t given up! The man is an optimist. He can see the bright side of a train wreck. Bless him. According to Shane Kim:
OK, folks. We’re almost entirely passed the debacle that was HD DVD. But we thought that we’d betterlet you know that Amazon is offering $US 50 of credit back to those who purchased HD DVD players before February 23, 2008.
But if we’re reading the fine print correctly, there are two super cool things about this deal. First, you don’t need to give up your HD DVD player. It’s simply free money. Second, there is no start date to this offer, so if you bought an HD DVD player from them when the technology hit the market, you should still be eligible for the rebate.
Here’s the full offer from an Amazon email.
Still saddled with that Xbox 360 HD-DVD add-on? You know, the “most affordable way to jump into the next generation of DVD technology” that was recently discontinued? Studio support may be down the toilet, but the thrill of downloading software updates for the thing isn’t over yet, as Larry Hryb noted on his blog that the accessory will get at least one more update, just for kicks.
That little HD DVD experiment was pricey! But when you are Microsoft, what are trivial things like money? Nothing! Just look how smug Xbox 360 UK boss Neil Thompson is. Think the death of HD-DVD keeps him up at night? No way. This guy sleeps like a baby. No, he sleeps like two babies. Says Thompson:
Wondering what the heck is going on in this blurry shot of what looks like a receipt? I can confidently say that it is, indeed, a receipt, one that reader Lawrence received when he purchased a few bits and pieces at Dick Smith Electronics. One of those pieces included an Xbox 360 HD DVD, which Gavan got for just $25.
Sure, it’s mostly a glorified paperweight at this point, but if you feel like putting together the world’s cheapest collection of high-definition movies, here’s a good place to start.
Update: Lawrence is our Dick Smith shopper, not Gavan. More »
