The HD-DVD add-on for the Xbox 360 flat out rocks.

If you already own an Xbox 360 and have it hooked to an HD capable TV, you need to get the HD-DVD drive add-on.  I've spent a few weeks with it and I have to say it works great.

Included in the well packaged box is of course the drive itself which is about the same size as a Nintendo Wii, a separate power adapter, and for a limited time Peter Jackson's King Kong, on HD-DVD or course, and a Media Center remote made for the Xbox 360.

Since I already had the Logitech Harmony remote that is Xbox themed, I just tossed the included inferior remote aside and began installing the player which took a whole five minutes.  First you have to install an update disc in the Xbox 360's drive and a few moments later you receive an instruction to plug the player itself into any of the three USB ports on the Xbox-360 (I used the backside one for convenience).  And that's it.  I'm dead serious-it was that easy.

The first disc I tried was King Kong.  Although the picture didn't; fill up my entire screen (I have a 42" plasma by Phillips) it did look noticeably sharper than the DVD I have of said movie.  The next one I tried was The Last Samurai and I could immediately notice the sharpness in the detail of scenes with mountains and foliage.  The next two movies I tried surprised me.  I put a regular DVD of Serenity in the HD-DVD player thinking it would look better upscaled to 480p.  I was wrong.  I couldn't tell the difference between the movie in the regular Xbox 360 DVD drive or the HD-DVD drive.  The next and final movie I tried was Clerks 2.  I tried it first in the DVD drive and it looked fantastic.  But when I put it in the HD-DVD drive I was blown away at how sharp and clear the picture was.  Both Serenity and Clerks 2 were both widescreen editions but Clerk 2's video quality blew Serenity away.  There are a number of factors too many to list here, but the bottom line is is that not all DVD's are created equal and the same goes for HD-DVD's no matter what player you put them in.

Overall, the HD-DVD player is a great buy especially for the incredibly low price of $199.99 USD.  I totally recommend it if you like to watch movies how they were meant to watch.