GamePro Labs: Microsoft Xbox DVD Movie Playback Kit
- November 21, 2001 13:42 PM PST
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Somehow it made sense when Microsoft first announced that you would need a playback kit which would be sold seperately in order to play DVD movies on the Xbox.
Somehow it made sense when Microsoft first announced that you would need a playback kit which would be sold seperately in order to play DVD movies on the Xbox. They argued that they really want the consumer to enjoy the Xbox as a gaming machine and not a poor man?s DVD player. What made it seem more palatable was the fact they they had promised that if consumers did indeed want DVD movie playback, they would get a kick-ass experience.
Well, the Xbox DVD Movie Playback Kit is here and it does what it?s supposed to: it allows the Xbox to play movies. The kit itself comes with the remote itself and an IR sensor that plugs onto the controller port. There is also some documentation, which explains the various functions of the DVD player. The feel of the remote is a bit light and nowhere near as cool and elegant as Sony?s recently introduced DVD remote. However, the Xbox remote has quite few advantages over Sony?s. The first is button spacing. They?re nice and spread out so you don?t accidentally hit Stop when you wanted Forward. You don?t get as many choices up front, but who really wants a cluttered controller face anyway?
The Display, Select and Directional buttons glow in the dark (after being held up to some light) which an invaluable feature. Probably the biggest trump card is that you have the option of having 16x Forward search--a crucial bonus when watching the odd disc that has no chapter stops. The IR sensor is one area that can kill the effectiveness of a remote as we have witnessed with many 3rd party controllers for the PS2, but the Xbox sensor is great. Although it doesn?t have the range of Sony?s, it does a fine job.
So with all these thoughtful ideas, why doesn?t the remote rate any higher? First off, $30 is pretty steep for a system that already costs $300. That wouldn?t be so bad if you were buying some sort of crucial component that keeps the cost of the Xbox as low as possible so gamers are only getting what they pay for. One look at the IR sensor will tell you that it?s basically a dongle that tells the Xbox that it?s ?OK? to play DVD movies. There?s absolutely no reason the Xbox shouldn?t be able to play DVD movies right out of the box and that?s disappointing. It?s understandable that you can?t enjoy a DVD movie properly by using a game controller to toggle the controls, but should you force consumers to buy a $30 remote? Sony?s DVD remote is only $20 and that also comes with batteries (the Xbox remote does not) and a DVD player installer CD.
If you can shake the feeling of being gouged for extra dough, the Xbox DVD Playback Kit does indeed do a fine job of playing movies.
