Report: Xbox 360 to get Blu-ray drive

08 Oct 08 23:59 by Randomus in category Uncategorized To news archive

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Speculation over a possible Blu-ray drive add-on for the Microsoft Xbox 360 have floated around since the Toshiba-backed HD DVD format died in January. Numerous unconfirmed reports have popped up, with Microsoft quickly and quietly denying the need for an external Blu-ray player.

A report in the Financial Times published on Friday indicated Sony and Microsoft executives have been working together in preparation for a Blu-ray drive for the console. Microsoft immediately responded saying the company hasn’t made an announcement yet.

In the past, Microsoft officials said an optical drive isn’t necessary because the future involves downloading movies, TV shows and other content directly to the console. But according to a report published on tech news site Xbit labs, Toshiba and Samsung are said to be responsible for creating an external Blu-ray drive for the Xbox 360.

Microsoft is aiming for a drive in the $100-to-$150 price range, and exact specifications of the drive have not been released.

Microsoft not surprisingly chose HD DVD when deciding an optical-based high-definition format. Even though the Sony PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 are competing against one another, Microsoft could be losing out on a tidy sum of money because it refuses to offer a Blu-ray drive, while customers are being drawn to the PS 3.

The only hiccup is Microsoft doesn’t appear pleased to have to support BD-Java, especially because Sony hasn’t warmed up to Microsoft’s HDi format.

It would make sense if Microsoft tried to release the Blu-ray drive prior to the holiday season, in an attempt to steal away possible PlayStation 3 buyers. But due to the rather pitiful demand for Blu-ray at the moment, the Redmond, Washington-based company could wait untit the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.

Microsoft public relations did not respond to e-mails sent by CDFreaks.

10 Comments

Randomus: Posts: 2622; Posted on: 09 Oct 08 01:03

I'll believe it when I see it!

CES obviously receives a lot of publicity from international media and bloggers, but I think trying to have something to compete with Sony this holiday season would make sense.

And then Ballmer can still hype the Blu-ray drive during CES.

(Of course, this is assuming the rumor is true, and the Xbox 360 will be getting a Blu-ray drive.)

Crabbyappleton: Posts: 5757; Posted on: 09 Oct 08 02:12

I have read the XBox cannot decode Bluray as it does not have the power to do so as it was built for games not movies. If this is the case, then the "external drive" will need to have a built in decoder. I wonder if the drive would be possible at the price point mentioned in this article - 100 to 150 dollars. Or possibly, this is "one" of the problems....

Zod: Posts: 642; Posted on: 09 Oct 08 02:51

Xbox had enough power to decode HD-DVD, and deep down inside they use h264 in both. Actually old blurays used mpeg2 didn't they, so they even need less power. 360 has plent of power to decode blu-ray. BTW I won't believe this until i see it either, this article looks like all the other ones claiming a bluray addon, but offers no proof or source.

Crabbyappleton: Posts: 5757; Posted on: 09 Oct 08 04:39

Bluray= Data transfer rate 36 to 48 MBPS average - capable of up to 54
HD DVD= 36 MBPS (Megabits per Second)

It is my understanding that the Xbox struggled to decode HDDVD - it did it- but it was barely able to. Perhaps a resident expert here can tell us for sure. I am not sure of the capabilities of an Xbox and how well it can decode Bluray in software. (or HD DVD for that matter)
My feeling is that thhis is one reason that we have not seen a Bluray external drive as MS would not want to admit that the PS3 could do something the Xbox could not. Having said that- if this was true- you would think Sony would be crowing about it, so i do not know for sure what is true.

guest: Posts: 15284; Posted on: 09 Oct 08 06:01

I'm going to say this sounds like B/S. The 360 has more than enough power to decode Blu-Ray but I don't think Microsoft will bother with a format that still is a failure even though it outlived HD-DVD. Blu-Ray sales are a joke so why waste development costs on a format that will die long before it's preceeding format.

FreqNasty_RiseS: Posts: 50; Posted on: 09 Oct 08 10:29

Maybe it's because certain game developers, notably ID, have said they can't fit their upcoming game onto one dual layer disc. This might become a more common problem in the next couple of years as developers release more extravagent games. I did read the next dashboard update will allow games to be saved to the hard drive. Good move.

Grrrrl: Posts: 27; Posted on: 09 Oct 08 19:23

Yes but they can still fit more data on one disc, that's a benefit for sure!

psychoace: Posts: 351; Posted on: 09 Oct 08 20:54

Uh what could be the factor in botched playback is that the drive was crap. A system like the xbox 360 with a high end gpu and 3 cpu's can easily handle the load but if the drive is like any other xbox 360 drive it compromises on quality. So just hope the drive is good on this one cause the usb cable can handle 480Mbs and the system can handle the decoding (remember it also upconverts reg dvd's to 1080p) the bottleneck is the drive.

Randomus: Posts: 2622; Posted on: 10 Oct 08 00:22

Got a "no comment" response from Microsoft representatives, as expected.

Zod: Posts: 642; Posted on: 10 Oct 08 03:12

I don't think bluray has been around long enough to be a failure yet? Early DVD adoption wasn't much faster. Once the masses have adopted HDTV's and bluray prices fall, it seems like it would catch on to me? There's no rush to replace bluray, it does 1080p quite well, and for anything to need a higher resolution, that average TV size is going to have to superbig. I think that gives bluray quite a long time frame to exist.

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