In you haven't had enough
Xbox 360 (let alone Wii and PlayStation 3) news lately, we've got one more tidbit for you. While we knew the device would
sport USB connectivity, the recently released (and
unboxed)
HD DVD add-on drive has reportedly already been hacked to function on plain ole PCs, no Xbox 360 necessary. Utilizing Toshiba drivers, users have apparently been able to not only view the file contents of their HD DVD flicks directly within a Windows XP environment, but have been able to play back the film on PCs well-spec'd enough to handle the load. By enabling the computer to read the UDF (Universal Disc File system) v2.5 -- which is currently used by Toshiba's first generation HD DVD drives -- you can avoid throwing down the coin required for an Xbox 360 if you so choose. But as these roundabouts always go, we wouldn't count on things working out so smoothly for too much longer, especially with
HDCP always lurking and waiting to pounce.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
blippy @ Nov 12th 2006 8:52PM
I wouldn't call it a hack. There is no real hacking needed at all to get this working. Just knowledge about Windows XP, software installation and hardware compliancy.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=8880622&&#post8880622
Thank You MadPoet for the confirmation of it working and what was needed.
Thank You CandyRocket786 for the great tips especially on how to order WinDVD8 Platinum from Japan!.
Thank You Monkeyboy1010 for the Blueprint UDF 2.5 driver for XP.
Thank You Microsoft and Toshiba for HD-DVD, the Xbox 360, All the great software (looking forward to Vista) and the Addon! Special thanks to AmirM and the MS AVS presence
Thank You Universal/Warner/Paramount for giving us awesome HD-DVD's
Thank You AVS for all the great information and for the Circuity City coupon bringing the total price down to $173 for the HD-DVD addon + king kong HD-DVD + remote
Link to Circuit City Coupon.
Below is a link to CandyRocket786's guide for ordering
CONFIRMED!!!! It's working with Batman Begins HD-DVD =)
It works and it works great!
Audio: Dolby TrueHD can be selected. When I have Intervideo WinDVD menu/setup/Audio Tab/Audio Output Configuration set to Analog sound card it does work but appears to be 2 channel only. When I switch to Digital S/PDif out to external processor which is what I typically use for DVD's, then i get nothing but static noise. Normal Dolby Digital works fine though with Digital S/PDif to ext proc.
Video: Looks great but not perfect =( Under Setup/Performance there's a slider for decode quality/compensation. Unfortunately it appears we are only getting 960x540 progressive right now? This had better be fixed by Intervideo soon. But for now I'm happy that it works. Software always gets better in the future. The video quality did look better from the HD-A1 and the Xbox 360 with HD-DVD addon connected. At this point definitely better than SD-DVD but not yet 720P or 1080I/P. Can anyone confirm what Cyberlink PowerDVD outputs?
Playback: Startup takes 30-45 seconds depending on what sequence of startup you use. From no disk in drive to first video (studio opening logo) it's about 37 seconds for me. If for some reason the drive decides to do a double read from autorun + WinDVD autostart it seems to add 5-10 seconds. With disk in drive and WinDVD program already opened but not playing it takes like 11 seconds =) Menuing system is instantaneous. Just as responsive as Xbox 360 and more responsive than Toshiba HD-A1. However I couldn't find how to operate U-Control within WinDVD. Maybe this is why it's not out in the USA yet? Just a side note, the Xbox 360 + HD-DVD addon is still the fastest startup from no disk in drive, 7-9 seconds for me.
DON'T run the Cyberlink Advisor if you are playing WinDVD HD-DVD at the time. The video in WinDVD disappears =( sound keeps working though. Stopping and restarting the player (without closing it) fixes it.
Related Software used:
MS Windows XP Pro SP2 (note this isn't WINMCE2005 or Vista atm but will upgrade to Vista later)
Intervideo WinDVD 8 Platinum ordered from Japan as per the above link.
BluePrint UDF 2.5 inf file for Xbox 360 HD-DVD addon drive (you may or may not need this driver)
*some screenshot software*
Related Hardware used:
Gigabyte K8N-UltraSLI motherboard
Enermax Liberty ELT-620AWT power supply
Athlon 64 X2 4600+ (Manchester core)
4 gigabytes of RAM PC3200
800 gig local HD (5 terabytes networked storage)
Creative Labs Audio 2 ZS Platinum Pro
ASUS EN7950GT (Nvidia Geforce 7950GT with HDCP support)
Xbox 360 HD-DVD addon drive connected via USB2 on Motherboard
Westinghouse LVM-37W1 1080P LCD connected via DVI1 (HDCP compliant) 1920x1080 32-bit 60hz
The below are 1920x1080P 32-bit screencaps, Jpegs though so some artifacts as you can tell from the full desktop capture. But the important thing is everything works =)
Report from WinDVD Setup/Information tab
Version:
7.5 B42.052
Navigation:
Type: HD-DVD
Region: None
Drive: H:
TV System: Unspecified.
Macrovision Level: 0
CGMS Level: 3
Video:
Hardware:
Vendor: Nvidia
Connection type: MEDIASUBTYPE_YUY2
Downstream renderer: CLSID_DisplayServer
Stream:
Type: VC1
Bitrate: 18.999 Mbps
Framerate: 29.970 Hz
Resolution: 960x540
Aspect ratio: 16x9
Audio:
Hardware:
Audio Device: directsound
S/PDIF: Present
Number of speakers: 8
Stream:
Type: DD+
Bitrate: 640 Kbps
Number of main channels: 5
LFE Channel: Present
Sampling Frequency: 48khz
Bits Per Sample: 16
Output:
Sample Rate: 48 KHz
Bits per Sample: 16
CPU:
Name: AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 4600+
Family:15(Gen:15) Model:11 Stepping:1
Standard Feature: 0x178bfbff
Hyper-Threading: Not supported, Not enabled
Instruction support:
Intel MMX: Enabled
Intel SSE: Enabled
Intel SSE2: Enabled
Intel SSE3: Enabled
AMD 3DNow!: Enabled
AMD Enh 3DNow!: Enabled
AMD 3DNow! Pro: Enabled
nate @ Nov 12th 2006 9:47PM
Thats from AVS isn't it?
Brian @ Nov 12th 2006 11:23PM
Anyone out there try it on a mac? I'd love to see HD-DVD on my 24" monitor.
Ed @ Nov 13th 2006 9:55AM
maybe you wanna tell apple to already include the drive in macs instead of waiting for a "clear" winner like apple has said. come one hd dvd is the right way to go.
humpty @ Nov 12th 2006 11:58PM
They cant seem to get the full 1080p image playing; only the quarter frame, 960x540, which are the specs for the HDCP image constraint token.
GhostDoggy @ Nov 13th 2006 5:32AM
Humpty, that is strange. I thought ICT was not going to be enabled until some future date, which is why Microsoft didn't do a digital video path.
Jason @ Nov 13th 2006 9:26AM
I'm confused about the HDCP thing as well. If someone enables ICT, wouldn't that mean everyone using an Xbox 360, which has no HDCP compatible outputs, would be getting a quarter frame image?
Erick @ Nov 13th 2006 12:28PM
I think thengadget used an appropriate title, functioning...but it still seems misleading.
For that long detailed post. Even if quarter image, etc...it's still only able to show ONE video source, correct? Not full featured HD-DVD usage, with the iHD or picture-in-picutre content, right?
And that rig looks pretty powerful to not decode better...
Erick @ Nov 13th 2006 12:33PM
Oops, got interupted at work..."I think that engadget"...
And, since not fully HD-DVD compliant, I'm not as interested in using with my PC, which stutters with HD sources sometimes (just WMV files from ign, or elsewhere), so wouldn't want to even try, anyway.
For tweakers though, this is a nice thing. Like they said, software can get better, and could make this work better, but I still don't see a decent PC running full HD-DVD features for 6-8 months, and that rig would be more pricey than a standalone player. good for gamers buying a super-rig anyway, maybe.
Vanillacide @ Nov 13th 2006 12:54PM
The ICT down-rezing of analogue output to 960x540 is a limitation of WinDVD8 Platinum. If the AVS poster tried an HDMI graphics card connected to an HDMI monitor (or DVI monitor with HDCP) you can bet it would display in 1920x1080.
* All HDMI has HDCP compatibility.
"Hacking" would be altering WinDVD8 Platinum so it ignored the monitor connection, rather than installing Toshiba drivers.
Drew @ Nov 13th 2006 4:07PM
not true. no one has gotten windvd8 to go over 540p yet. windvd has admitted that they have intentionally restricted it due to concerns over aacs.
blippy @ Nov 13th 2006 5:47PM
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=748426&page=1&pp=30
Read the thread. U-Control is not working properly yet that I can tell, but iHD/IME is working it seems. Also this setup was with HDCP video card and HDCP LCD monitor. The Cyberlink HD-DVD/Blu-ray advisor shows it passing the HDCP check to the monitor properly. The main point though is that you cannot get 1080P HD-DVD playback on PC yet. But with proper software you probably could. You CAN definitely playback current movies but only at 960x540P until Cyberlink or Intervideo releases new software.
Justin @ Nov 15th 2006 6:09PM
There is another aspect of this that seems to have been missed here. So the xbox 360 HD-DVD add on can be hooked up to a pc via usb. The PS3 also has usb ports. The PS3 will support Linux. Will that mean if/when someone comes up with some software and drivers the PS3 could be used to output both HD-DVD and Blu-Ray. The PS3 does come with hdmi out on both models now, so HDCP won't be an issue. It looks to me like PS3 may be the first dual-format player out there. Well, sort of.