“Updated Xbox 360 disc format” is likely piracy fix

In the US…

That’s what it says yes. Unfortunately.

Disc format? I take it they’ve got something cooking to give the devs a bit more space?

^ There moving onto blue-ray

Security thing, probably.

@4
5+ years of the format and you haven’t dropped the ‘e’ from your spelling yet?

/beingacompletedick

Anyway, this will be an increased DVD size thing surely? Nothing to do with Blu-ray.

can someone explain what this means? im a bit confused by it.
is it like the playstation rewards thing that sony had running but there’ll use it to test out new disk formats? :-/

Someone’s just told me on IM to put up a massive Blu-ray logo as lead, covered with a big red question mark.

It’ll be magic day in fun land before a DVD drive can magically read a BD via a firmware update.

That was a joke, by the way.

Pat shit-stiring again

Well, there you go ^_^

What?

*flashes giant Blu-ray symbol*

Didn’t ‘scientists’ all ready invent a holographic DVD that can store upwards of 500 gigabytes? I think it needed a special laser however, to read info from several different angles…perhaps this is a downgraded version ?

Probably just a new type of DVD

BLU RAY

If its not Betamax, they can get nobbed.

I dont think this is a Blue ray, i think it will be the new tech holographics discs (HVD), that holds 100 dvd in 1 dvd (500 GB), the cost for this tech will be cheap, according with the experts, in 2011 or 2012, G.E is leading the charge with this tech, so i think this were microsoft is heading this will lead to the blue ray death as a format IMO.
P.D this disc can save CD, DVD and Blue Ray formats, and the information is store on the surface and on the bottom of the HVD

Presumably this is merely to test a new way for Microsoft to store data on the existing format.

I don’t profess to know all the specifics — can’t say it’s an area of huge interest to me — but I believe that due to the way 360 games are pressed each disk has a maximum usable capacity of 6.9GB whilst the actual potential of a standard dual-layer DVD is closer to 8.5-8.7GB. When you factor in compression freeing up more functional space might curb the current trend of 2-disk 360 games, cutting costs all round.

Probably just a survey for their next system in development

Re-read article title – scratch that.

@17 I don’t think you can quite kill Blu Ray tbh. Not now anyway. Regardless of the tech specs of HVD or even if a console uses it, people have just begun to invest in a new format and it’ll take more than just more space to unseat BD because people simply don’t want to change formats every 9 minutes.

Be advised before you start, must have 360 box present to do this as it asks for serial and console numbers.

Oh you idiots.

Microsoft is just preparing for the 1st APRIL you fools!

Unless MS are about to launch a new console, it wont be Blu-ray.

wtf, US Only…?

Fuck You Microsoft.

its propably this AP25 crap thing against pirates plus NO new features ^^
maybe a new twitter app or something ~.~

I’ve added MS’s response in there. For what it’s worth.

no point adding a new format disc, how long is the life cycle for 360 got left?
it’s going to 5years now. It’s not too soon for them releasing a new xbox.

The dvd space is proving a problem however introducing a new format that would last for a few years until next xbox arrive would be a waste of money.

Probably just security related. That, or they’ve found a new way of compressing data onto DVDs.

Interesting. I agree pretty much with the general consensus here, it’s likely to just a new way of formatting the existing DVDs in order to squeeze a bit more onto them. Quite why they limited it to 6.9gb anyway, I have no idea – the original Xbox could fit more on a DVD than that!

And of course, a revised disc format would mean that every existing console could play the new discs without anything more than a dash update. Although I’m not quite sure how they’d handle people who aren’t connected to the internets.

“..the original Xbox could fit more on a DVD than that!”

Really?? Thats interesting.

I’m pretty sure I didn’t dream that.

Regardless, a standard-format DVD9 on your computer can hold 8.5gb, iirc. If they even increased it to that amount it’s an increase of over 1.5gb!

@ Blerk – You were right. From anandtech.com:

“Generally speaking, original Xbox titles used less than half of the 9GB DL-DVD capacity, leaving some room for growth for Xbox 360 games.”

http://www.anandtech.com/show/1864/inside-microsoft-s-xbox-360/11

Just completed app. Worth it alone for free copy of Halo Reach.

Oh, and if belrks right about 6.9GB current limit, than that’s exactly what this is……testing to allow full 8.5GB which should have been in the first place, but i don’t know the technical reasons behind this stuff.

Doesn’t the 360 already run the double-layered DVD9 thingies? If that’s the case, the only thing I can imagine this could be is a new security standard. Although I can’t imagine why they’d need to do a wide beta on that, unless certain versions of the Xbox are going to be unable to run the new format.

Confirmed: MS bricks old 360s for new games! You heard it here first! /joke /ihope

As others have touched upon, MS can’t adapt Blu-Ray. They certainly would if they could, and they certainly will with their next system. Which broaches the question of why the hell MS is changing formats when the 360 is presumably nearing the end of its lifecycle anyway.

IGN has a quote confirming this is NOT blu-ray.
“Hryb told IGN in a separate e-mail this is not an update to Blu-ray discs”
http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/115/1158240p1.html

I hope they do brick my system. I’ll get a nice shiny new one, AND a second copy of Reach compliments of Micro$haft.

“Oh, and if belrks right about 6.9GB current limit, than that’s exactly what this is……testing to allow full 8.5GB which should have been in the first place, but i don’t know the technical reasons behind this stuff.”

Technical reason was that the “missing” space is taken up by a security system… which was worthless the second hackers realised Microsoft had used a standard DVD drive in the console (leaving it open to firmware hacking).

I always want to do stuff like this, but then wait, something about being a Test Guinea Pig and Bricking the System always has a way of putting a damper on the, “Microsoft is NOT responsible for exploding Xbox 360 during test Process”…LOL

^^ yeh to hell with that, I don’t even download new dashboard updates right away, if possible I let the monkeys test em’ out first lol. Used to do this with windows service packs too. Anyway, Im off for 2 days so its time to start Crysis 2 baby!! *starts install*

If it goes to Bluray, will this take care of the problem of releasing DLC due to not enough space on the previous format the discs are using? That would be nice.

It’s not Blu-Ray you fucking idiots. They’re dishing out new copies of Halo Reach, not new disk drives. What are the beta testers going to test Blu-Ray disks on? They’re not going to dish out thousands of new consoles with Blu-Ray drives in them. It’s either a new compression technique on DVD or as some people are saying, a new anti-piracy method on DVD.

Do a Google search for ‘xgd3′ and you’ll find out what this is. The pirates are worried.

Seems to be an extra gig of space for games and an updated security system to thwart the naughty types. At least temporarily.

Ooh, thanks.

That’s updated. Thanks for that.

No probs. I figured the pirates would be the first to know.