Posted by AirRaid on 08/08/06 19:03

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By Greg Sandoval
Staff Writer, CNET News.com

Published: August 7, 2006, 6:50 PM PDT

LOS ANGELES--Microsoft on Monday offered the first glimpse of an
external HD DVD drive built for the Xbox 360 game console.

Kevin Collins, senior program manager at Microsoft, demonstrated the HD
DVD drive, which he said is scheduled to hit store shelves for the
upcoming holiday shopping season, to attendees of the DVD Forum here.


The device--about the size of a hardback book--played "The Phantom of
the Opera" as Collins pulled up a menu bar to display a few of its
navigation and interactive features that can be called up on screen
while a movie is playing. Collins said Microsoft's HD DVD drive will be
among the least expensive of the HD DVD players, but he declined to
disclose the drive's retail price.

"All the audio and video processing is done inside the Xbox," said
Collins, who noted that research has shown that a majority of Xbox
owners already own high-definition displays. An Xbox drive provides
them with all the other equipment they need to watch HD DVD movies, he
said.

"This gives consumers choice and keeps their cost down," Collins said

Microsoft has chosen to back the HD DVD format over Blu-ray. Both
technologies are vying to replace the DVD format and are represented by
consortiums that include electronics makers and Hollywood studios.

Video game machines may prove to be a crucial battleground for the two
formats, some observers predict.

In November, Sony's PlayStation 3 is expected to debut equipped with a
Blu-ray drive. In contrast to Microsoft's strategy to go with an
external drive, PlayStation's drive will be built in.

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