Microsoft DVD Movie Playback Kit for Xbox
- Connectivity: Wireless
- Console: Xbox
- Brand: Microsoft
- Type: Remote Control
Available From
Why are these offers here?
Smart Buy!
Lowest price from a Trusted Store
Lowest Price!
- Overview
-
Reviews
- Compare Prices
User ReviewRead All Reviews »
Outstrips a $300 piece of equipment
Pros
Great quality (image & sound), feels sturdy, unlocks more Xbox potential
Cons
Are there really any?
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
If you have the Xbox, invest in this.
MY STORY
Well, it came out like this: I blew my 14-day-in-a-row, one-review-a-day streak. This is because of the great Columbia Space Shuttle tragedy (and oh yes, I remember – the great picture incident (more on that later)). Anyhow, it's no big deal because here is my next review, only a day away. I really am hoping for a big FAT bonus on my eroyalties update, but hey. I do it for you guys; I hope it makes you happy.
There's not much of a story. Since I transport the Xbox between houses awfully often, and I have a DVD player at home, I needed a portable DVD player for back and forth between TVs and houses and states and whatever. After realizing, Hey! My Xbox plays DVDs with the Playback Kit!, I immediately went to Epinions to check it out. Overall, people seemed to like it, and I didn't care about the quality as long as it wasn't THAT bad.
INCLUDES:
The package includes a remote control and an infrared receiver that takes up a controller port on the front of your Xbox. This is NOT THAT BIG OF A DEAL. Most people complain: "It takes up a controller port," "One less controller port to work with." Honestly. Who plays games with 4 controllers anyhow? And if you do, simply UNPLUG the darn thing. You don't watch DVD movies while having 4 controllers hooked up to it – they're not even functional. REALLY. That's just dumb. Anyways, setup is really easy. You plug in the infrared receiver and then put in a DVD. You use the remote that's included for DVD Features navigation and Playback settings such as rewind, fast-forward etc.
NAVIGATION
To navigate the DVD menus which happen to be on every DVD unless it's a rare collector's item, perhaps, you can use the arrow buttons to move the cursor and press select to go into that menu/select that option. Navigation works exactly like a normal DVD player would; that in itself makes this more appealing. Some people will not like it just because "it's not a real DVD player..." but, it actually is. It works and acts like a DVD player and that's all there is to it!
PLAYING DVDS
Wow. I must say I was blown away when I watched the first movie on this thing. It was EXCELLENT. It could even be considered better than my $299 Toshiba if I cared to compare the quality. The sound is also excellent, usually played in Dolby Digital whenever possible. The Xbox can do an amazing job of DVD discs, I can say that. The picture was so sharp, and yet it wasn't so sharp it was obvious that it was trying too hard. All I can say is that it looked excellent, compared to my Toshiba – the entire system cost less than it!
PLAYBACK OPTIONS
This thing also has better playback options than my Toshiba. The FF/RW speeds on my current DVD player are 2X, 8X and 32X. The Xbox can do 2X, 4X, 8X, 16X, and 32X. Also, the 2X is very smooth and clear, like it was acted out in fast motion. My Toshiba is jumpy and not very smooth when it comes to fast forwarding. The Xbox, amazingly, also has more advanced features such as A-B Repeat and even a zoom that goes from 2X to 10X! That's one of quite a few things that I got but did not expect. All of the features are easy to use and are accessible easily; this also makes for a great DVD player.
REMOTE CONTROL
The remote control is very sturdy, and has white/green buttons. It feels very solid and I feel confident that it would survive a toss across the room or even a fall from the counter to the kitchen floor (about 4 feet). A universal remote CAN be used in place of it, but any one I've tried is more complicated because, for example, the POWER button on the Universal Remote means DISPLAY on the Xbox remote. I really like the feel of the remote, all buttons are easily accessible and it makes the DVD Playback Kit look even better!
CONCLUSION
If you think you're skimping by buying the DVD remote for your Xbox instead of a real DVD player, you're not. It beats most anything I can compare it to, and it costs about $100 less than an average-good player. I got mine on sale for $19.99, with a little searching you can too. Overall, this thing has really impressed me and I am so, SO happy with the purchase. I believe you'd all like it too.
----------------------------------------------------------
THE GREAT PICTURE DISASTER
Writer's corner: General Non-Fiction – Coming soon to midknight2k3's profile… near you! ;^)
Well, it came out like this: I blew my 14-day-in-a-row, one-review-a-day streak. This is because of the great Columbia Space Shuttle tragedy (and oh yes, I remember – the great picture incident (more on that later)). Anyhow, it's no big deal because here is my next review, only a day away. I really am hoping for a big FAT bonus on my eroyalties update, but hey. I do it for you guys; I hope it makes you happy.
There's not much of a story. Since I transport the Xbox between houses awfully often, and I have a DVD player at home, I needed a portable DVD player for back and forth between TVs and houses and states and whatever. After realizing, Hey! My Xbox plays DVDs with the Playback Kit!, I immediately went to Epinions to check it out. Overall, people seemed to like it, and I didn't care about the quality as long as it wasn't THAT bad.
INCLUDES:
The package includes a remote control and an infrared receiver that takes up a controller port on the front of your Xbox. This is NOT THAT BIG OF A DEAL. Most people complain: "It takes up a controller port," "One less controller port to work with." Honestly. Who plays games with 4 controllers anyhow? And if you do, simply UNPLUG the darn thing. You don't watch DVD movies while having 4 controllers hooked up to it – they're not even functional. REALLY. That's just dumb. Anyways, setup is really easy. You plug in the infrared receiver and then put in a DVD. You use the remote that's included for DVD Features navigation and Playback settings such as rewind, fast-forward etc.
NAVIGATION
To navigate the DVD menus which happen to be on every DVD unless it's a rare collector's item, perhaps, you can use the arrow buttons to move the cursor and press select to go into that menu/select that option. Navigation works exactly like a normal DVD player would; that in itself makes this more appealing. Some people will not like it just because "it's not a real DVD player..." but, it actually is. It works and acts like a DVD player and that's all there is to it!
PLAYING DVDS
Wow. I must say I was blown away when I watched the first movie on this thing. It was EXCELLENT. It could even be considered better than my $299 Toshiba if I cared to compare the quality. The sound is also excellent, usually played in Dolby Digital whenever possible. The Xbox can do an amazing job of DVD discs, I can say that. The picture was so sharp, and yet it wasn't so sharp it was obvious that it was trying too hard. All I can say is that it looked excellent, compared to my Toshiba – the entire system cost less than it!
PLAYBACK OPTIONS
This thing also has better playback options than my Toshiba. The FF/RW speeds on my current DVD player are 2X, 8X and 32X. The Xbox can do 2X, 4X, 8X, 16X, and 32X. Also, the 2X is very smooth and clear, like it was acted out in fast motion. My Toshiba is jumpy and not very smooth when it comes to fast forwarding. The Xbox, amazingly, also has more advanced features such as A-B Repeat and even a zoom that goes from 2X to 10X! That's one of quite a few things that I got but did not expect. All of the features are easy to use and are accessible easily; this also makes for a great DVD player.
REMOTE CONTROL
The remote control is very sturdy, and has white/green buttons. It feels very solid and I feel confident that it would survive a toss across the room or even a fall from the counter to the kitchen floor (about 4 feet). A universal remote CAN be used in place of it, but any one I've tried is more complicated because, for example, the POWER button on the Universal Remote means DISPLAY on the Xbox remote. I really like the feel of the remote, all buttons are easily accessible and it makes the DVD Playback Kit look even better!
CONCLUSION
If you think you're skimping by buying the DVD remote for your Xbox instead of a real DVD player, you're not. It beats most anything I can compare it to, and it costs about $100 less than an average-good player. I got mine on sale for $19.99, with a little searching you can too. Overall, this thing has really impressed me and I am so, SO happy with the purchase. I believe you'd all like it too.
----------------------------------------------------------
THE GREAT PICTURE DISASTER
Writer's corner: General Non-Fiction – Coming soon to midknight2k3's profile… near you! ;^)
