Using an Xbox 360 HD-DVD Drive on a PC

The picture certainly looked high definition but we have no way of quantifying what we were seeing since PowerDVD disables print screen software and the inbuilt video properties option, making thorough analysis tough.

Even when we watched the video at a resolution of 1024x576 (which is what PowerDVD automatically resizes to when you play the HD DVD film), the video is still far sharper and more vivid than a DVD, thanks to the superior VC-1 codec used in our test film, King Kong.

When using the Nvidia card and DVI output, the movie played for two seconds before turning off, complaining there was no High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP) on the digital signal. This was because the card didn't have an HDCP silicon image chip on it.

We then switched to an ATI graphics card, a prototype of the PowerColor x1600Pro with an HDMI output and full HDCP compatibility.

Although ATI drivers don't currently accelerate decoding like Nvidia's do, we were at least getting a digital picture. We were unable to confirm a high resolution result (720p or 1080i/p) and this is something we will further test in PowerDVD Ultra in the new year.

As if the high definition wars between Blu-ray and HD DVD weren't enough to confuse customers, there are far more issues to deal with.

If anything, chosing the analogue VGA output instead of a digital output is the simplest option to connect your PC to your high definition TV. As you can read from our blog, you shouldn't suffer if using an analogue connection until 2010 at the earliest.

Although this experiment was more of a proof of concept guide than a conclusive how to, PC users now have an affordable high definition route through the Xbox 360 HD-DVD.

This DIY option isn't suitable for everyone, especially since you need a reasonably powerful PC. The lack of playback software is still the biggest problem but new packages lie just around the corner.

Which means if you do own an Xbox 360 and plan to buy the HD DVD Drive, you now know how to also connect it to your PC should you wish.