360 and Blu-Ray: Where does that stand again?

Idx86

I had been searching around this afternoon during my 'coffee breaks' to see if I could definitively find an announcement that Blu-Ray technology was being integrated into the 360. I'm purchasing an LCD television soon, and Best Buy has a $100 off either a PS3 or 360 with the purchase of a TV over a certain dollar amount.

I'd like to leverage that discount to buy a 360 as the exclusivity of some of the established franchises outweighs the PS3 (at least in one man's opinion.) That being said the Blu-Ray has become important to me. I know the Blu-Ray/360 rumor thingy had been hot for a bit, but was there ever an official announcement add-on coming in the future?

Sorry for the redundancy of this topic if it had been addressed recently.

Six

No, there was never an official announcement. In fact, it was denied, as I recall.

Roxtar

Idx86 wrote: »

I had been searching around this afternoon during my 'coffee breaks' to see if I could definitively find an announcement that Blu-Ray technology was being integrated into the 360. I'm purchasing an LCD television soon, and Best Buy has a $100 off either a PS3 or 360 with the purchase of a TV over a certain dollar amount.

I'd like to leverage that discount to buy a 360 as the exclusivity of some of the established franchises outweighs the PS3 (at least in one man's opinion.) That being said the Blu-Ray has become important to me. I know the Blu-Ray/360 rumor thingy had been hot for a bit, but was there ever an official announcement add-on coming in the future?

Sorry for the redundancy of this topic if it had been addressed recently.

While I wouldnt doubt it would happen, I also wouldnt hold my breath. Last I heard MS stated (if I remember correctly) that they were completely behind HD-DVD and would never go bluray, this was long before the war was finished though and I havent heard anything since.

Edit: seems this is written http://www.tomshardware.com/news/xbox-blu-ray-360,5272.html says 360 to get bluray by q3 2008. While its promising I still doubt it will be as early as Q3.

Idx86

Shit, that wasn't exactly what I was hoping for. All of my friends do have 360s with extensive libraries though. The cost of borrowing those games instead of buying them, and then purchasing a stand-alone Blu-Ray probably outweighs that of getting a PS3 with Blu-Ray and then having to buy all of the games I want (GTA 4, CoD4, etc, etc.) by a wide margin.

Guess I will just have to wait with baited breath to see if MS makes the move.

cloudeagle

Some Microsoft folk have denied it, while others have said they're in talks.

So who the hell knows. Personally I think it'll happen eventually, but don't count on it.

ElJeffe

Honestly, I wouldn't hold out based on that. By Christmas you'll be able to get a standalone player for under $200. Assuming a BD add-on retails for $150, you're talking a $50 savings. I guess it might be $100, which I could see MS doing if they want to kill Sony's BD advantage, but even so that's not a huge chunk of change.

And if a BD add-on is like the HD-DVD one, it won't be anything to crow about. Actually watching the films was nice - the PQ was fairly good, in spite of the lack of HDMI - but everything else about the add-on was sort of weak. PQ on regular DVDs was mediocre at best, and without HDMI (or VGA, I guess) there's no upconversion. The feature set was so-so, the player was loud as fuck, and it meant power running to two systems at once. And it was sort of silly-looking. If they put out a BD player of similar quality, it would be easily worth an extra $100 for a standalone, assuming the standalone was a good one.

Post Blue

You won't exactly be blu-blocking yourself by going with the 360 because, if there's ever a blu-ray option for the 360, it will indeed be an optional add-on much like the HD-DVD oversized dongle. Microsoft will never fragment their user base by distributing games on blu-ray discs, so it's highly unlikely that they would ever absorb the cost of building the drives into their consoles. Sony pushed blu-ray into the winner's circle for the optical HD format war, and Microsoft will eventually offer that alternative as a sort of 'in case you cared' gesture.

Six

ElJeffe wrote: »

Honestly, I wouldn\'t hold out based on that. By Christmas you\'ll be able to get a standalone player for under $200. Assuming a BD add-on retails for $150, you\'re talking a $50 savings. I guess it might be $100, which I could see MS doing if they want to kill Sony\'s BD advantage, but even so that\'s not a huge chunk of change.

And if a BD add-on is like the HD-DVD one, it won\'t be anything to crow about. Actually watching the films was nice - the PQ was fairly good, in spite of the lack of HDMI - but everything else about the add-on was sort of weak. PQ on regular DVDs was mediocre at best, and without HDMI (or VGA, I guess) there\'s no upconversion. The feature set was so-so, the player was loud as fuck, and it meant power running to two systems at once. And it was sort of silly-looking. If they put out a BD player of similar quality, it would be easily worth an extra $100 for a standalone, assuming the standalone was a good one.

DVD PQ on the 360 is the same with or without the hd-dvd add-on. Also, there\'s no upconversion over component with a bluray player either.

Another thing to keep in mind with a 360 add-on is that (at least for hd-dvd), it didn\'t support losless audio. I\'d assume that a bluray add-on would have the same limitation.

If you\'re really interested in BR movies, I\'d go for a Ps3 or a standalone you like.

EggyToast

How much would the games cost for you to buy them separately? 5 games pays for a 360, and then you just mooch off your friends indefinitely. It would be a little sad to own two consoles and not any games, but if you want Blu Ray you basically either wait for a cheaper standalone or buy a PS3. I can't imagine Microsoft would release anything for the 360 now that it's been out 3 years -- they'll just wait for the 720 or whatever and make it standard.

Not to mention that putting out a blu-ray addon essentially says "OK, you guys were right, blu-ray is pretty cool."

scootch

get the 360 and save up for standalone blu-ray player.

Willeth

It'll never be in the box itself. As an add-on, maybe, but MS are playing the digital distribution card pretty heavily right now.

If you want Blu-Ray specifically, the best deal is still the PS3. It's one of the cheapest, can obviously play games, and is one of the few players that will be able to handle Blu-Ray Live immediately.

ToyD

I would say put the in-store discounts toward the PS3. The Blu-ray player is REALLY nice on a good television. The 360 arcade is getting cheap enough to not have to worry so much about using that discount. The PS3, on the other hand, is still up there.

ElJeffe

Six wrote: »

ElJeffe wrote: »

Honestly, I wouldn\'t hold out based on that. By Christmas you\'ll be able to get a standalone player for under $200. Assuming a BD add-on retails for $150, you\'re talking a $50 savings. I guess it might be $100, which I could see MS doing if they want to kill Sony\'s BD advantage, but even so that\'s not a huge chunk of change.

And if a BD add-on is like the HD-DVD one, it won\'t be anything to crow about. Actually watching the films was nice - the PQ was fairly good, in spite of the lack of HDMI - but everything else about the add-on was sort of weak. PQ on regular DVDs was mediocre at best, and without HDMI (or VGA, I guess) there\'s no upconversion. The feature set was so-so, the player was loud as fuck, and it meant power running to two systems at once. And it was sort of silly-looking. If they put out a BD player of similar quality, it would be easily worth an extra $100 for a standalone, assuming the standalone was a good one.

DVD PQ on the 360 is the same with or without the hd-dvd add-on. Also, there\'s no upconversion over component with a bluray player either.

The problem, though, is that every PS3 has HDMI out. Only the Elite 360s do. If you want to talk about the Elite, we're adding another $50-80 to the cost as compared to waiting for a standalone BD player under $200.

DisruptorX2

ElJeffe wrote: »

The problem, though, is that every PS3 has HDMI out. Only the Elite 360s do. If you want to talk about the Elite, we're adding another $50-80 to the cost as compared to waiting for a standalone BD player under $200.

Thats incorrect. The pro also has HDMI.

It was, however, added like a year after launch, so older models won't have it.

randombattle

I think you should probably just decide on a console based on the games it has and not if it can play blu-ray.

DisruptorX2

randombattle wrote: »

I think you should probably just decide on a console based on the games it has and not if it can play blu-ray.

Yeah, its more the other way around. If you want a blu-ray player, you should just consider getting a ps3, because it also plays games.

If you're looking for a console, the blu-ray is more of just a bonus.

randombattle

DisruptorX2 wrote: »

randombattle wrote: »

I think you should probably just decide on a console based on the games it has and not if it can play blu-ray.

Yeah, its more the other way around. If you want a blu-ray player, you should just consider getting a ps3, because it also plays games.

If you're looking for a console, the blu-ray is more of just a bonus.

Well from the OP it sounds like he is more interested in the gaming library of the 360 over the blu-ray player in the PS3.

It just makes more sense to me to get the games you want and just get a cheap secondary player for movies and save the cash rather then buying a PS3 and also a 360 if you want the games it has too.

Xenogears of Bore

It's not going to happen most likely. 360 only has another two years or so on the market, three at most. It's too late for an add on, and there's no real point into making a Super Elite priced higher than the PS3.

Microsoft is going for a slow burn for the rest of this cycle. Low and slow, nice and easy. Reductions in hardware costs with very infrequent and minor pricedrops or slight updates.

Willeth

DisruptorX2 wrote: »

ElJeffe wrote: »

The problem, though, is that every PS3 has HDMI out. Only the Elite 360s do. If you want to talk about the Elite, we're adding another $50-80 to the cost as compared to waiting for a standalone BD player under $200.

Thats incorrect. The pro also has HDMI.

It was, however, added like a year after launch, so older models won't have it.

So does the Arcade. All 360s made after the Core/Arcade switch have HDMI as standard.

VoodooV

Despite the format war being over, I still do not feel one iota of compulsion to buy any higher def movies.

IMO, nothing's really changed, the higher resolution alone doesn't make it worth it. Even if I did want to switch, I'd probably do the same thing for when I switched to DVD. My first DVD drive was a computer drive, not a standalone DVD player and I watched all my movies on computer, while at the same time, I took advantage of the higher capacity DVD for computer storage So I had two reasons to do it. I did eventually tire of watching DVDs on my computer instead of my living room, but I kept doing it that way until I got an oXbox for $99. And again, there were multiple reasons for that purchase: The recent price reduction to $99, playing Xbox games, and the ability to play DVDs in my living room.

So right now, I only have one reason to upgrade to Blu-Ray, which is the higher def reason, but even that reason is rather flaky *for me* because I just don't require the best in definition to enjoy my movies.

So give me more reasons to switch and I will, make them ridiculously cheap so that when I upgrade to my next computer, it simply makes sense to just get a blu-ray drive, include it in the Xbox 720 or whatever. I don't feel any compulsion to get a PS3 as I'm not interested in any of their games.

The only reason I can even dream up to get a blu-ray drive is that eventually, I'd like to build an HTPC, and I'd like to have multiple optical drives built into it and it would just seem to make sense that Blu-Ray would be one of drives. But even that's a purchase that's at least 6 months to a year down the road for me.

So I'm kinda glad MS isn't jumping on the bandwagon and offering a one-use peripheral like a blu-ray drive. but then again, it seems like the only reason they're resistant to is just because Sony won.

EggyToast

Personally, I love blu-ray. The increased definition doesn't seem like much on paper, but for most movies it's such a huge difference in picture quality that it pains you to even watch an upconverted DVD. Even movies that you wouldn't think would see much increase in quality are substantially better looking.

But I'm big on visuals in movies (cinematography, not explosions), so for me it's a no-brainer, and I own a PS3. BUT, I watch more movies than I play games, on an average week, simply because I'm busy and can watch a movie with my wife.

If I was serious about gaming and spent a significant amount of time doing it, and really wanted to play 360 games, I'd wait on blu-ray. The fact that the blu-ray catalog is still on the small side helps that argument, and the longer you wait the more movies there will be, anyway.

I'm not saying anything all that different from what's above -- if you want hi-def movies, and that's important to you, you should absolutely get the PS3. But if you find yourself playing games more often, and look forward to playing games online with your buddies and borrowing their stuff, then the 360 is the obvious choice. Mostly, my point is that blu-ray is really, really worth it if you like being visually stimulated by movies.

As for buying, Netflix offers every blu-ray movie available, so you can rent them as well. But it really comes down to which you find more important -- hi def movies, or 360 games.

randombattle

EggyToast wrote: »

Personally, I love blu-ray. The increased definition doesn't seem like much on paper, but for most movies it's such a huge difference in picture quality that it pains you to even watch an upconverted DVD. Even movies that you wouldn't think would see much increase in quality are substantially better looking.

But I'm big on visuals in movies (cinematography, not explosions), so for me it's a no-brainer, and I own a PS3. BUT, I watch more movies than I play games, on an average week, simply because I'm busy and can watch a movie with my wife.

If I was serious about gaming and spent a significant amount of time doing it, and really wanted to play 360 games, I'd wait on blu-ray. The fact that the blu-ray catalog is still on the small side helps that argument, and the longer you wait the more movies there will be, anyway.

I'm not saying anything all that different from what's above -- if you want hi-def movies, and that's important to you, you should absolutely get the PS3. But if you find yourself playing games more often, and look forward to playing games online with your buddies and borrowing their stuff, then the 360 is the obvious choice. Mostly, my point is that blu-ray is really, really worth it if you like being visually stimulated by movies.

As for buying, Netflix offers every blu-ray movie available, so you can rent them as well. But it really comes down to which you find more important -- hi def movies, or 360 games.

Yep this sums it up. If you will watch more movies then games go with a PS3 but if you plan on gaming more go with the 360 since you like the library more.