Microsoft DVD Movie Playback Kit for Xbox
- Connectivity: Wireless
- Console: Xbox
- Brand: Microsoft
- Type: Remote Control
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Complete Control
Pros
Decent DVD player,all necessary functions of DVD remote
Cons
Mine broke,Region coded,shouldn't have been required
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
Those who lack DVD players but have an Xbox should probably buy one, but don't pay too much, and if you already have DVD,don't bother
One of the reasons I managed to talk my parents into buying me an Xbox for Christmas a few years back, was the DVD Playing function of the machine, which meant I would give them my stand-alone DVD player. However, unlike the PS2, to play DVD's on the Xbox, you are required to shell out an extra #20 in the UK for the privelidge, by purchasing this DVD Playback kit, which includes the Remote Control and a sensor that plugs into a controller port on the console.
The remote control is about the same size as the majority of TV/DVD/VCR remote control units, at least all the ones in my house, and it is comfortable enough to hold and use. It features all the buttons you would expext, Fast-Forward,Rewind,Play,Skip Scene Forward,Skip Scene Backwards, Menu,Pause, select,directional buttons to move the cursor in DVD menu's and a number pad to jump instantly to a scene, amongst the other buttons such as Stop and title which other buttons serve much the same purpose as. The only other real notable button is the 'Display' button, which is located right at the top of the controller, and the only coloured button(green of course) that isn't a directional arrow or select button. When pressed, a little bar appears at the top of the screen, allowing you to make use of the subtitle and language changing features, as well as viewing how long of the DVD has been viewed, and how long there is to go, what chapter you are on etc.
The unit, as shown in the picture, is mainly black, with the majority of the buttons being white, with the exception of the 6 green ones. You can't really see it in the picture, but the Xbox logo, and the DVD logo, are both raised out of the plastic on the front of the controller, and in general, the unit has a fairly curvy and sleek look, and the colours fit in perfectly with all the other official Xbox accessories and so on.
The unit requires 2 AAA batteries, that you do not get with it, and why Remote controls always use these, instead of the far easier to come accross AA size will always baffle me. This could easily fit them in, why they chose to go AAA I don't know. Thankfully the battery case just slides off, so no screwdrivers are required.
The unit is very light-weight, made out of a similar, but lighter feeling plastic to the console's controllers. It feels very brittle, but the physical aspects of it have proven surprisingly sturdy, although, and this is where my major fault comes into play, for absolutely no reason, mine has just stopped working. I wouldn't have been half as annoyed had I actually done anything to it, but it just stopped working one day, with no prompting. My initial reaction was that the batteries had died, but upon trying new ones, I discovered that this wasn't the problem. Turns out it just decided to stop working.
This is a shame, because the DVD player itself is actually of a pretty good quality, although I have to say that I felt it was a bit out of order that you were required to buy the playback kit, especially seeing as it wasn't Multi-Region as I had read. One nice touch, was that you could also use the Remote to control CD playback, which was a nice thought.
In general, recommending the Xbox DVD playback kit really comes down to one thing: if you already own a DVD player or not. The Xbox is a good DVD player, but it's far from top-of the range, and if you own one of those, then there really isn't much point. Although, the Xbox would make a good alternative, maybe if you have the DVD player in the living room, and just want a cheap and casual DVD for the bedroom, and have an Xbox in there, it would suffice.
If you don't own any variety of DVD player, but have an Xbox, then yeah, you probably should invest in one of these, Im confident the mishap of mine breaking like that was one in a million, and sure it's a bit shady having to pay for it, when it should have come with the console, but #20/$30 isn't that much, and it allows you to get more from your console.
So, I think I'll settle on 3 Stars and a Recommended for the Remote Control. While it does everything you would expect from a Remote Control, the fact that you have to buy it, as well as the Region coding and the fact that mine broke without reason saw to it that it wasn't getting a too high score. It's a decent piece of kit, and necessary if you want to get the most out of the Xbox in terms of all it's features, but now I own a seperate DVD player, Im not at all interested in buying a new one.
Review also posted at DooYoo.co.uk
The remote control is about the same size as the majority of TV/DVD/VCR remote control units, at least all the ones in my house, and it is comfortable enough to hold and use. It features all the buttons you would expext, Fast-Forward,Rewind,Play,Skip Scene Forward,Skip Scene Backwards, Menu,Pause, select,directional buttons to move the cursor in DVD menu's and a number pad to jump instantly to a scene, amongst the other buttons such as Stop and title which other buttons serve much the same purpose as. The only other real notable button is the 'Display' button, which is located right at the top of the controller, and the only coloured button(green of course) that isn't a directional arrow or select button. When pressed, a little bar appears at the top of the screen, allowing you to make use of the subtitle and language changing features, as well as viewing how long of the DVD has been viewed, and how long there is to go, what chapter you are on etc.
The unit, as shown in the picture, is mainly black, with the majority of the buttons being white, with the exception of the 6 green ones. You can't really see it in the picture, but the Xbox logo, and the DVD logo, are both raised out of the plastic on the front of the controller, and in general, the unit has a fairly curvy and sleek look, and the colours fit in perfectly with all the other official Xbox accessories and so on.
The unit requires 2 AAA batteries, that you do not get with it, and why Remote controls always use these, instead of the far easier to come accross AA size will always baffle me. This could easily fit them in, why they chose to go AAA I don't know. Thankfully the battery case just slides off, so no screwdrivers are required.
The unit is very light-weight, made out of a similar, but lighter feeling plastic to the console's controllers. It feels very brittle, but the physical aspects of it have proven surprisingly sturdy, although, and this is where my major fault comes into play, for absolutely no reason, mine has just stopped working. I wouldn't have been half as annoyed had I actually done anything to it, but it just stopped working one day, with no prompting. My initial reaction was that the batteries had died, but upon trying new ones, I discovered that this wasn't the problem. Turns out it just decided to stop working.
This is a shame, because the DVD player itself is actually of a pretty good quality, although I have to say that I felt it was a bit out of order that you were required to buy the playback kit, especially seeing as it wasn't Multi-Region as I had read. One nice touch, was that you could also use the Remote to control CD playback, which was a nice thought.
In general, recommending the Xbox DVD playback kit really comes down to one thing: if you already own a DVD player or not. The Xbox is a good DVD player, but it's far from top-of the range, and if you own one of those, then there really isn't much point. Although, the Xbox would make a good alternative, maybe if you have the DVD player in the living room, and just want a cheap and casual DVD for the bedroom, and have an Xbox in there, it would suffice.
If you don't own any variety of DVD player, but have an Xbox, then yeah, you probably should invest in one of these, Im confident the mishap of mine breaking like that was one in a million, and sure it's a bit shady having to pay for it, when it should have come with the console, but #20/$30 isn't that much, and it allows you to get more from your console.
So, I think I'll settle on 3 Stars and a Recommended for the Remote Control. While it does everything you would expect from a Remote Control, the fact that you have to buy it, as well as the Region coding and the fact that mine broke without reason saw to it that it wasn't getting a too high score. It's a decent piece of kit, and necessary if you want to get the most out of the Xbox in terms of all it's features, but now I own a seperate DVD player, Im not at all interested in buying a new one.
Review also posted at DooYoo.co.uk
