I have been told that you can play DVD movies on an XBOX game system. How is the XBOX as a DVD player? Is the quality of picture and sound just like what you would expect from a regular DVD player, is it superior, inferior, etc? Any help is appreciated. Thanks
I personally think it is good enough if all your looking for is 480i. I replaced a DVD player with the XBox. If your looking for a DVD player that can do 480p, then the XBox is not for you as they didn't enable it for movies for some reason they had. That's the only downside for any HDTV(or HD ready) TV owners....no progressive scan for movies.
While that is correct, the data on DVDs is only 480i in the first place. Progressive scan DVD players contain a chip that converts the data from 480i to 480p. If your HDTV upconverts signals less than its native resolution (which it probably does) then a progressive scan DVD player really gains you nothing, at least in theory. When HD-DVD's come out, that's when a player capable of outputting the data encoded on the disc at the desired "progressive scan" resolution (which should be 1080p) will be important. However, if you do notice a difference between a 480i and 480p signal input into your HDTV, then it's probably worth the upgrade.
The Xbox can technically play DVDs in progressive, but you'd have to get a mod chip to turn on that function. Doing so could void your Xbox live account. The reason MS turned it off is pressure from media companies over piracy.
