News
Microsoft Displays HD-DVD For XBox
The new drive should be available by the holidays.
By Phillip Swann

Washington, D.C. (August 10, 2006) -- Microsoft this week showcased its new external HD-DVD drive for the XBox 360 game console.

Company officials said the drive will be available by the 2006 holiday season.

Sony has announced that its new PlayStation 3 console, scheduled for release in November, will have a Blu-ray HDTV DVD drive built in.

HD-DVD and Blu-ray are competing for the new high-def DVD market. The two formats are not compatible with each other.

Kevin Collins, a Microsoft senior program manager, displayed the HD-DVD drive at the DVD Forum in Los Angeles. CNET's News.com reports that the external drive is about the size of a hardback book.

Collins told reporters that the XBox 360 will be one of the least expensive HD-DVD-capable players on the market, although he refused to reveal the retail price.

Toshiba's low-end HD-DVD player now costs $499.

Microsoft is backing the HD-DVD format over Sony's Blu-ray.
 

And click TVPredictions.com to see the rest of today's Swanni Sez.

© TVPredictions.com

---

Phillip Swann is president and publisher of TVPredictions.com. He has been quoted in dozens of publications and broadcast outlets, including CNN, Fox News, Inside Edition, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, The Financial Times, The Associated Press and The Hollywood Reporter. He can be reached at swann@tvpredictions.com or at 703-505-3064.

And click TVPredictions.com to read more news and features on TV technology.