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Blu-ray On The Xbox 360 — Not So Fast
March 28, 2008
Ever since the demise of the HD DVD format there has been ongoing speculation that the Microsoft might embrace Blu-ray for the Xbox 360. First, a few questions need to be asked. The most important one is — Why?
The Xbox 360 never actually used the HD DVD format for games, and the system has done fine with normal DVD technology. Blu-ray wouldn’t really add much to the system either. Game developers couldn’t use the Blu-ray technology, so at best the Xbox 360 would become another affordable Blu-ray movie player. It would be an add-on feature that actually adds very little.
In fact, the Xbox 360 was never a very good HD DVD player. Despite various firmware updates, the system still had issues with dual-format DVD/HD DVD discs, which would continue to lock up. And unless you had the Elite version with the HDMI connection, you missed out on the full 1080p goodness too. The HD DVD drive was a nice add-on, and a good alternative to buying a stand-alone player. I was happy enough to watch HD DVD discs on the Xbox 360 — at least when these didn’t lock up — but it paled in comparison to a stand-alone player.
Sony’s PlayStation3 originally only fared slightly better as a Blu-ray player, but it has been a very affordable Blu-ray player. And in fairness, while it hasn’t been without issues, the PS3 is upgradeable — something many first generation stand-alone players were not.
In fact, until the recent 2.20 firmware update, the Resume Play option, which allows viewers to begin playing a DVD or Blu-ray from the point where it was previously stopped, wasn’t even available. Accidentally hit “stop” on the remote control — which I’ve done a few too many times — and you have to restart the movie to get back to the point where you stopped.
However, the firmware updates have been far more notable with the PS3 than those of the Xbox 360, at least when it comes to movie playback. Thanks to the updates, the PS3 is also getting a few new bells and whistles; most notably, this 2.20 patch includes the BD-Live (Blu-ray Disc Profile 2.0), which will enable users to experience interactive features such as downloadable video content and games. The BD-Live will not only make the PS3 a better Blu-ray player, but will enhance the PS3’s interoperability with the PSP. This will allow for the ability to transfer music and photo playlists from the PS3 to the PSP, and even use the PSP as a remote control for music played through the PSP.
We still have to hold out hope for the “future capability” Portable Copy that would enable movies from the PS3 to be transferred to the PSP for viewing on the go. Sony has hinted that this could eventually come to the system, but considering the copy-protection issues demanded by the movie studios, I wouldn’t hold out hope of seeing this all that soon. We’ll have to settle for those other updates in the meantime.
Obviously Sony is able to add these improvements more easily to the PS3 because the Blu-ray drive was built into the core of the system. So where does that leave the Xbox 360? Well, maybe the company will forgo the optical disc option entirely.
According to GameDaily this week, the Xbox Live Video Marketplace could include a video-download service from Netflix (http://www.gamedaily.com/articles/news/netflix-coming-to-xbox-live/?biz=1). The movie rental company has already announced a deal with LG Electronics to produce a set-top box to stream movies to HDTVs. So much for those nifty disc mailers!
And while Blu-ray could be a part of any future Xbox system (such as the already-rumored Xbox 720), the download option is likely where Microsoft will take the Xbox 360 as well as any future system. With competition from various download services and devices including Vudu, the 360 won’t have an early monopoly on movie downloads. But Microsoft has always been a company to look at emerging technologies very closely. It isn’t surprising to see Microsoft looking beyond optical discs to the next generation of video delivery.
Posted by Peter Suciu on March 28, 2008 | Comments (2)
