Posted Mon Apr 30, 2007 at 09:02 PM PDT by
Amid growing online complaints of playback issues with 'Digital Video Essentials' on the Xbox 360 HD DVD add-on, the disc's distributor has acknowledged the problem and says that a fix is on the way.
While Joe Kane's highly-anticipated calibration disc finally hit stores last Tuesday, many owners of the Xbox 360 HD DVD add-on had a rude awakening when they attempted to boot up the disc, experiencing a series of hiccups and outright stalls that rendered key portions of the disc unplayable.
Needlesstosay, the complaints quickly found their way online, and onto the boards at AVS Forum. But as readers there were relieved to find out, the disc's distributor is aware of the problem, and promises that the next Xbox 360 dashboard update will solve it.
Here's how DVD International spokesperson Jeffrey Goodman responded in a post dated April 20, 2007:
"As many of you have seen, 'Digital Video Essentials' HD DVD experiences severe playback issues on Xbox 360 HD DVD add on players. All other players have been tested extensively in their current firmware build. All Toshiba players play this disc.
As has been suggested in this thread and others concerning DVE playback, you are correct - past delays were due to slight changes in each new firmware build - and the program had to go through the same rigorous testing and revisions each time. Finally, a disc was produced that adhered to the spec set forth by the DVD forum, which has been confirmed by its working status in all current firmware builds of Toshiba players.
The XBOX 360 dashbord update to be released on May 7th will fix these problems. All HD DVD players must have Internet upgrade capabilities, and we are all learning first hand why this was built into the spec."
We here at High-Def Digest followed up with Microsoft regarding dashboard update, and as of late Monday afternoon, the company confirmed that it is currently still on schedule for May 7 availability.
We'll keep you posted on any further developments to this story, and we've also added an editor's note regarding the Xbox 360 playback issues to our recently-posted review of 'Digital Video Essentials,' which can be read in full here.
See what people are saying about this story in our forums area, or check out other recent discussions.
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