A month or so ago I bit the bullet and got an HD-DVD player, and honestly, I am very happy with the purchase. Watching Planet Earth in high def is breathtaking, with the original BBC commentary not found in the American television broadcast. While the HD-DVD vs Bluray war is still far from over, the HD-DVD price advantage is gaining momentum with the Xbox 360 HD-DVD drive’s price dropping from $179 to a reported $129 soon. As of this writing, Amazon still lists the price at $179, but Toys R Us has it at $129 (but is sold out).

What price would it have to be cut to before you would get the drive?

I just got off the phone with Xbox Support, and I am dumbfounded by how ridiculous my experience was.

I was calling because the DVD-ROM drive in the console is constantly buzzing. It is a loud annoying buzz, that starts up whenever a disk begins spinning. The problem only occurs when a disk is in the drive, and never happens during an Xbox Live Arcade game. This means it is not from a fan, but is related to the drive.

Xbox 360 support helped me set up a registration with them (I hadn’t done that yet), and then asked about my problem. The tech then dropped the marketing-speak bombshell by claiming the noise was from:

“Fans kick in, transistors start working.. it could be that the console’s too power packed”

I am a system administrator and computer technician as my profession. I know this is a bad drive bearing. I questioned his idea that transistors were causing my dvd-rom drive to buzz, but he restated that he thought that was the cause. He then stated that if I wanted to send it in anyway it would cost me $99.

This is a far cry from some of the excellent support experiences I’ve heard about. I was left with no resolution.  Marketing speak has no place in the tech support room.

Back in 2004, the new Atari released the Flashback, it was a plug ‘n’ play unit shaped much like the Atari 5200. It was preloaded with a bunch of classic 2600 games along with a handful of 7800 games but alas the hardware inside that sleek new package was deceptive. The brains of the unit was nothing more then a Nintendo-on-a-Chip, the same chip that powers those cheaply made 100-in-1 controllers you may have seen in the mall. Hence all the games loaded into it were nothing more then poorly written ports. Flash forward to 2005 and Curt Vandel, the designer of the Flashback rectifies the problem with a sleek new chip that emulated the Atari hardware perfectly. The Flashback 2 is born.

Design: 80/100
Gone are the 7800 games but in their place several more classic 2600 games along with several Homebrew games Atari thought were good enough to be included with the classic collection for a total of 42 games (including 2 hidden ones). With authentic 2600 guts powering the games you had a brand spanking new Atari 2600 preloaded and gone is the need for those clunky Manual RF Switchboxes. As simple to set up as any modern console.

The design is great, not only do they capture the aesthetic look of the 2600, it’s sleek and tiny. Though the rather large bright orange buttons now on the faceplate of the unit are slightly garish but do not take away too much from the overall appeal of the unit. For those who relish the days of fake wood paneling (lol) they have included it as a retro sticker where the wood paneling was on original 2600 “Woody” model for added nostalgic value.

As for the hardware? It’s very solidly made, the games themselves play just like they did on the original hardware. As an easter egg for the purists, Vandel had included jumpers on the PCB for those adept with a soldering iron to attach a real working cartridge slot and play their old 2600 carts on it. Also the new video hardware does away with interference and other garbage that RF modulation caused back in the day.

The package also includes two new legacy style controllers, which are much more responsive then the originals and just as well built. Since they use DB-9 connectors they can also be used on an original Atari 2600. Pretty nice deal if I do say so myself.

Reliability: 89/100
The reliability of the unit is pretty high. there are no moving parts to wear out thus no motors or hard drives to worry about breaking down after years of play. Unlike the original Hardware however it’s not built like a beast. Some of the plastic case feels a little flimsy but it’s far from being cheaply made.

The controllers are without a doubt built like bricks, extensive play will not be an issue as these controllers will take a beating and still work. Definitely a nice factor if you go through controllers like a mad man.

Value: 78/100
While this may only really appeal to the older generation, it’s still a really sweet deal for those who want to try the games of their parents or those seeking a bit of Nostalgia. The 2 hidden games however are paddle games, the unit does not include a paddle controller so most gamers will find these games unplayable but other then that the rest of the 40 are playable right out of the box. The ability to modify the console to accept real Atari cartridges adds quite a bit of incentive as well.

With the trouble the new Atari has seen as of late, it’s sad that the proposed Flashback 3 (an Atari 8-bit computer/5200) and the flash based Atari Flashback Portable have either been shelved or indefinitely delayed till either Atari gets it’s act together or somebody better suited to run the company takes the reigns. So if your looking for a great way to play those old games without having to fish out your system and games, it’s quick and easy way to go back down memory lane. Also these can now be had for less then $20 so it could make a great present for that certain gamer on your list.

Apparently the good folks over at IBM have patented a method in which movie rentals can be made cheaper by inserting 2-3 unskippable commercials into the disc. Now.. inform me if I’m wrong but isn’t the reason for buying or renting movies at home to watch them uninterrupted? So for a buck or two less you can have your movie but be subjected to interruptions by advertisements for products we could care less about. It stinks, I think it’s terrible idea as I myself find myself wanted to chew on glass trying to watch a movie on Sci-Fi channel where they show the same 4 commercials over and over again, sometimes more time is spent on commercials then the film they heavily edited. Fun stuff, particularly if the “fine” people who make Extenze or Girls Gone Wild get on the bandwagon… I think I’ll stick with paying $3.99 for an uninterrupted movie experience. Lets just hope this is entirely optional and not forced down our throats.

[Via Ars Technica]

Apparently our friends across the seas are fans of arcade flight sims.  Tech.co.uk has the story that for a week, the Xbox 360 sales passed those of Playstation 3 in the land of the rising sun, with 17,673 units sold vs 17,434.  The hot game Ace Combat 6 lead the way, no doubt bringing many new 360 owners with it.  The timed exclusive on that title was a smart move by Microsoft.  The Wii still lead the way in console sales, but these glimmers of success by the 360 in Japan are few and far between.

Aussie tech site SmartHouse broke some news that Toshiba and Microsoft are working closely to create an Xbox 360 with both a built-in HD-DVD drive and a larger Hard Drive. I think it would be silly for Microsoft NOT to do this, and they should have done it a long time ago.

Microsoft certainly cannot be happy this news broke, because there’s bound to be a lot of people who will hold out on buying a 360 this holiday in hopes this new model will arrive by next Christmas. I am hoping this release might drive down the price of the HD-DVD add on for those of us who already have the console.

If the HD-DVD drives become much much more commonplace, can you see a future where some games come in both multi-dvd or single-HD-DVD flavors? (Or even, only on HD-DVD?) I can.

[via TeamXbox]

With the new Falcon 65nm chips appearing in 360 consoles already, Mercury News has leaked plans for Microsoft to have a new motherboard ready for next Fall, code named Jasper. This motherboard will not only have the smaller die CPU, but also a 65nm graphics chip from ATI, and smaller memory chips. All this size reduction should (in theory) cool down the 360 even further, helping to alleviate the overheating issues that have plagued early versions of the console. Microsoft has stressed that their improved heatsink in Falcon consoles should eliminate overheating. They probably aren’t too happy this news leaked out, though, as some people will wait until next year to purchase their console, just to be on the safe side.

A couple days ago Slashdot had an article about HD-VMD, a new contender in the High Def video market brought forward from until now unheard of New Medium Enterprises.  They promise capacity of 40 GB (right in the middle of what HD-DVD ad Bluray can support) at a price point only slightly higher than standard DVD media.  This price is possible thanks to reusing existing technology to manufacture the disks and lasers in the players.  Rather than a blue laser, VMD disks use the same red lasers as current DVD players.

Only a few titles will be available at launch here in the US, although with the players coming in under $200 (with $150 being the number that seems to be going around) and availability through Amazon, this could quickly be a major figure in the HD wars.

I like the idea of cheaper HD, but I’m afraid this will draw out the resolution of this media format war even longer, and make it even more complicated for us, the consumers.

Yes you heard me! The Messenger Kit with the slick new keyboard attachment is slated to be released on the 4th of this month. The device itself as we all know having seen official images attaches to the bottom of the controller, how does this effect headset connectivity? Well.. unfortunately you can not use your standard headset with it BUT the device comes with a new compatible headset that has the volume and mute functions on the cord. I know I’ll be getting one when they hit the shelves.

Gear Live got the opportunity to get their hands on a pre-release and has posted a nice gallery of the whole package. Check it out!

In a decision that’s almost certain to move some units, Best Buy has further dropped the price of the HD-DVD attachment for Xbox 360 to a paltry $150US. You can further expand this deal with the 5 free dvds offer from Toshiba. While I’m not certain which way to go yet as far as HD formats go, this makes a compelling case for HD-DVD.

Via Evil Avatar.

[Looks like it's sold out online now, and the price is back up to $179. -ST]