Microsoft Does Something About Sketchy Xbox 360 HD DVD Playback

[Jeremy Charette]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/prnewswire/AQTH03513122007-1.htm' target='_blank'>http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/prnewswire/AQTH03513122007-1.htm</a><br /><br /></div><i>"Microsoft Corp. today announced the release of the Xbox 360 HD DVD Emulator, enabling film studios and disc authoring companies to model the behavior of HD DVD disc content, including encoded video and HDi interactivity, in a virtual environment before committing to burning a single HD DVD disc. This comprehensive tool is among the first commercially available, software-based solutions of its kind, eliminating the need for expensive hardware or time-consuming and costly trial-and-error processes for testing HD DVD titles, helping to ensure that titles ship error-free...While the tool enables the testing of content playback on the Xbox 360 HD DVD Player specifically, it effectively eliminates layers in the testing process for other HD DVD players as well."</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/XBOX-HDDVD.jpg" /><br /><br />Both Jason and I have had problems with playback of HD DVD discs in our Xbox 360. Frozen screens, unrecognized discs, you name it. Typically Microsoft releases a patch for each disc in fairly short order, but these fixes aren't always perfect. Apparently Microsoft recognizes the seriousness of the problem, because they've made a development kit available to content producers and disc authors. HD DVDs can now be tested on the Xbox 360 without having to take the time to physically burn a disc, saving hundreds of hours of development time <i>per month</i>. One HD DVD production house says they've been able to reduce the number of test discs they make by 75%. This should mean quicker development times, lower disc costs, and fewer problems for Xbox 360 owners down the road.

[Macguy59]

So the distributors are required to do something special just so it will work properly on the 360 HD drive? You would think they would tell MS to fix the problem on their end. What am I missing here?

[Jeremy Charette]

It's not just the Xbox 360, I've seen reports of problems with certain discs on certain players, both HD DVD and Blu-Ray. Unfortunately the standards can't cover every possible permutation of hardware and functionality. At least this gives publishers a way to test Xbox 360 compatibility without the hassle of having to burn a new test disc every time they change something. That will cut down on development cycle time and cost, and shouldhelp compatibility with other brands of HD DVD players.

Microsoft is doing what they can to fix the issue after the discs are released to the public, this will help prevent those issues from making it to retail in the first place. A win-win for both the publishers and the consumers.

[Macguy59]

Fair enough. I don't recall hearing or reading about problems with players from other manufacturers.

[Jeremy Charette]

CHeck AVS Forum. Or any of the Amazon.com player and disc reviews.

http://www.cdrlabs.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=166527