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Hack Your Xbox 360 External HD DVD Player to Work with Your Windows XP PC

By Alexander Grundner | November 13th, 2006 Interest Level: SMOKING HOT


xbox 360 hd-dvd player boxed

NEW DETAILS – This is probably one of the coolest hacks ever! As you know set-top HD DVD players these days are still quite pricey, which makes them off-limits to most consumers on a budget. Anyways, a while back people started speculating if they could attach Microsoft’s forthcoming Xbox 360 HD DVD Player [check prices] to their Windows XP PC as a cheap alternative. As it turns out, it IS possible, but the PC needs a little coaxing.

To make a long story short, here’s what you need to do:

* FYI, there’s is no mention in the how-to if you can strip the drive out and install it into your PC – remember it’s a USB drive (but I’m sure there’s a power converter hack for this as well)

UPDATE 1: After further discussion, it turns out that this HD DVD drive, when used outside of the Xbox 360 on a Windows XP PC, will give you a drive that reads HD DVD discs, but won’t be able to playback off-the-shelf HD DVD movie titles at full resolution because WinDVD 8 and Power2Go do not include AACS support (according to Chris Lanier) or pass HDCP hardware security (unless you follow the guide linked to above and follow ALL its recommendations).

UPDATE 2: New facts are popping up in this post’s discussion thread. It looks like if your PC is HDCP compliant, the software will work with an “upgrade” pack.

UPDATE 3: Looks like no drivers are required to read data, but you’ll need drivers if you want HD DVD playback according to this post at PC Perspective.

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Short URL: http://bit.ly/bVj2dX [+]  Filed in: Peripherals  
____________
Alexander Grundner is the Editor & Publisher of eHomeUpgrade. He has been following "Digital Home" developments since 2003. He's also a fan of cross-platform, open development software and industry standards related to media, networking, and the web. You can catch his daily tech musings on Twitter: @agrundner.
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  • Genius74
    ChrisL01 said: Well, it is going to be a "hack" because it's not going to work just it says above. Nothing you can purchase from InterVideo or Cyberlink plays HD DVD's. At some point they will releases packages to do so, but you can't play them back without having a version of the software that supports AACS.




    To make it work you either need a "hacked" version of playback software, or you need to purchase the Japanese version which supports AACS (although I'm not sure anything had got the output above 540p yet).





    Chris





    Regardless of output, buying the 'correct' software today will have this thing playing back an HD-DVD on a PC. I'm not going to expect full rez thru non-compliant hardware or an SDTV, (or anything for that matter if the software doesn't exist) but it still *works* without being hacked. Sounds plug and play to me. Some people may argue w/o full rez it's useless, but I wonder itf they'd ever owned a TV prior to their 1080P sets?!!? :confused: :D





    And yes, Alex, It'll be moved by hand, much easier that moving a stand alone Player.. (prankser) :cool:





    It will be nice if managed copy ever materialized. Actually a downloadable version (no frills) (yeah I know, it's huge) would be great.
  • If I could hook it to my TV withOUT a PC or Xbox, then it would a nice hack. ;) Speaking of which, how much are the HD movie downloads going to cost next week?
  • True. But when the "upgrade pack" is released, it shouldn't be an issue if your PC is HDCP compliant. And like Blippy stated (ref. to users' success at AVS Forum), if you want playback support now, all you have to do is buy the Japanese version.
  • Alexander Grundner said: Just noticed this line from InterVideo's news release on WinDVD 8:





    But notice that you can't currently purchase the extra needed software on their website.





    Chris
  • blippy
    They took the info probably from AVS forum at this thread. Especially since that jpeg of the tumbler came from my post there heh.




    http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/show...26&page=1&pp=30





    It is HDCP video card and HDCP LCD monitor so that's not the issue. The issue why we can't get 1080P yet is in the software from Intervideo which is locked at 960x540P currently. Once new software is released this shouldn't be a problem. And it is working right now as posted, not perfect, but definitely functional. Batman Begins played through as you can see from the screenshots.





    By the way if you use the Circuit City coupon mentioned in the thread it is $160 + Tax for the HD-DVD Addon making it THE CHEAPEST way to get started even if you add in the cost of a low end HDCP video card and the Intervideo WINDVD 8 Plat from Japan.
  • Just noticed this line from InterVideo's news release on WinDVD 8:

    Go High-Def






    As more and more high-definition Blu-ray and HD DVD discs are entering the market, InterVideo, as the technology leader in video and audio decoding, has complied with all the requirements for playing back these advanced disc formats in full, high-definition quality. WinDVD was selected as the player of choice for OEM customers like Sony and Toshiba, bundling the HD version with their first-to-market HD DVD and Blu-ray-capable PCs.





    Users who buy WinDVD 8 Gold or Platinum can get HD DVD/Blu-ray Disc Playback functionality by purchasing the HD Upgrade Pack, available separately from www.intervideo.com .
  • So far, I have not seen any reports of people getting full (1080i/p) output (or even 720p). I've seen several 540p reports.




    To get any output, you will still need software that support HD DVD playback. Right now, there is a Japanese version of WinDVD 8 that has been out for months. People are getting 540p playback with this. The US version, doesn't support any HD/BD playback at this point. You will be able to purchase add-on packs that have support, but these are not for sale yet.





    Without the playback software, you will be able to read (ie, view the file system) of any HD DVD and that's about it.





    Chris
  • Interesting. I assumed the guys at UNEASYsilence tested a HD DVD movie (Batman Begins [HD DVD]) as part of the test. I can see what you're saying about AACS, though. I'm guessing it would fail all HDCP checks as well now that I think about it.




    So basically using this drive outside of the Xbox 360 will give you a drive that reads HD DVD discs, but won't be able to playback premium content at full resolution.
  • Well, it is going to be a "hack" because it's not going to work just it says above. Nothing you can purchase from InterVideo or Cyberlink plays HD DVD's. At some point they will releases packages to do so, but you can't play them back without having a version of the software that supports AACS.




    To make it work you either need a "hacked" version of playback software, or you need to purchase the Japanese version which supports AACS (although I'm not sure anything had got the output above 540p yet).





    Chris
  • It's also a nice solution for powerful multimedia laptops :cool:




    Genius74 said: All in all, I think it's a good product that can be shared around the home network.



    Hehehe -- as in, by hand (aka Sneakernet).
  • Genius74
    Well, not to get way off topic here, I definitely wouldn't call it a crack (my definition of that (at a very high level) would be to circumvent or alter a process/procedure in some way).




    If this is a hack:


    (partial quote)





    "innovators who explore and experiment, unearth shortcuts, create useful tools, and come up with fun things to try on their own."








    Then my whole life is a hack! (especially the last part) ;)








    All in all, I think it's a good product that can be shared around the home network.
  • Genius74 said: This doesn't sounds like a hack at all. I'm sure you're using the word loosely, but it sounds more like a (unsupported?) straight/easy way to get this to work.


    It's "Hacks" in the spirit of the O'Reilly Hacks Series (not to be confused with "Cracks"): "O'Reilly's Hacks Series reclaims the term 'hacking' for the good guys--innovators who explore and experiment, unearth shortcuts, create useful tools, and come up with fun things to try on their own."
  • Genius74
    This doesn't sounds like a hack at all. I'm sure you're using the word loosely, but it sounds more like a (unsupported?) straight/easy way to get this to work. Granted, the drive doesn't ship with all of the pieces, but they can be obtained rather easily, all w/o voiding the warrantee and 'bricking' (for lack of a better term) your PC or HD DVD Drive...




    All of that said.. I had faith this would work when it was going to be a USB external drive. This will be a lot easier to move between the theater/game room and the game/theater room (Also known as the basement and the living room).
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