Why I am not getting an Xbox 360 HD DVD External Drive

I recently got a Toshiba HD-A2 HD DVD player from a local thrift store, which is a more common HD DVD player that you will find second-hand.

The Toshiba HD-A2 costs less than a hundred dollars than the other models, but since I have a couple of Xbox 360s in the office, it would be redundant to get an Xbox 360 HD DVD player when I have a better Toshiba unit hanging around with better features!

These Xbox 360 Externals were a commercial failure, but someone on YouTube had found one on eBay back in 2019 below this text:

Jacob R’s video of his eBay purchase of the external drive back in 2019.

Wikipedia has information about the Xbox 360 HD DVD player, and also, Classic Game Room did a similar review on it below this text:

Classic Game Room review video on the Xbox 360 HD DVD player.

In the advent of the growing popularity of Blu-ray Discs (and improved upon with UHD ten years later), HD DVD was discontinued in 2008, but I just want to step back to 2006 and look at some promotional videos of HD DVD provided by The Media Hoarder and DATABITS on YouTube to see why the format never took off:

2006 HD DVD promo captured and uploaded by The Media Hoarder.

HD DVD vs Blu-ray video uploaded by DATABITS.

eyeh8cbs has uploaded a TV Spot for HD DVD during a time when Blu-ray won out in 2008:

The last HD DVD promo we ever get to see in 2008 on television.

So no, I’m not going to get an HD DVD external drive for my Xbox 360, but my Toshiba HD-A2 probably is the better choice for my 4k Home Theatre. The PlayStation 3, on the other hand, can do Blu-ray Discs, which is Sony’s own format for home entertainment releases, and everyone loved it! I also have an iMac 4K and a Custom Built High Performance Windows 10 PC that can do Blu-ray as well, thanks to my LG drives with the OWC Mercury Pro USB 3.2 Gen 1 enclosures!

HD DVD was short lived for two years, and I only got two movies on the HD DVD Combo Format, which are The Break-Up (2006), and Mr. Bean’s Holiday (2007). I’ve seen some HD DVDs from all of my local thrift stores that I go to in my area, and I’ll be on a hunt for them next time I go out! I also got my Toshiba HD-A2 programmed with a Universal Remote Control, so that would save me the trip to go on AliExpress to find the proper remote for my Home Theatre devices that I use.

Short Answer: No. It’s redundant!

But anyway, HD DVD deserves a place in my 4k Home Theatre, but I think I’ll save my Xbox 360 for the games that I already own and play! And If you like this blog post, stay tuned! There’s lots more to discover on Katie Cadet’s Computer and Video Game Collection! For now, take care!