Ok, so the Xbox 360 HD DVD drive is something we’ve known about for a while and speculation is rife about whether an HD DVD drive will eventually replace the Xbox 360’s standard internal DVD drive.
The thing is, if Microsoft does upgrade the Xbox 360 to include an HD DVD drive, those of us with a standard Xbox 360 are going to be left out in the cold. Hence the need for an external HD DVD drive.
Now, normally, the partners who supply components for the Xbox 360 keep a fairly low profile but it seems that Toshiba is happy (and has been given permission) to let everyone know that it's making this add-on for the Xbox 360, which is why it was proudly displaying the drive on its own stand.
Click for larger image
The Xbox 360 HD DVD external drive is roughly the same size as four stacked DVD boxes or one Nintendo Wii console. The outer casing is styled by Microsoft to match the Xbox 360 - what Toshiba does is supply the HD DVD drive inside.
Round the back there's a separate DC input for an external power supply, plus three USB ports - two standard size, one mini. The drive connects to an Xbox 360 using one of those ports but, right now, though, we don’t know which one.
We'd guess that since the Xbox 360 doesn't have any mini ports, it will be a standard port that's used - leaving the mini and one standard port free. But whether that means you'll be able to connect a digital stills camera to the Xbox via the drive, we simply don't know.
Be sure, though, that once we have more details we'll let you know.[advert]
Thoughts? Share them with us in this thread in the IFA 2006 forum.
HEXUS.links
HEXUS.community :: discussion thread about this articleAll HEXUS IFA coverage :: IFA - Internationale Funkausstellung - Berlin 2006
