not necessarily, skip - it's a usb drive. or you can remove the drive from its enclosure and hook it up internally to your PC...

 

To hook it up to your PC though you also need an HDCP compliant video card (Nvidia and ATI both make one), and then you also need a HDDVD capable software player like PowerDVD or WinDVD which will set you back about $100 for the software (assuming you obtain it through legal channels).

All in all, its probably more trouble than buying a set top HDDVD player -- but if you've already got all the right equipment except the 360 HDDVD player then I guess its a bargain. The CC $40 off $200 Coupon brings the price down even further.

 

I got mine as a present from Jamie... so it cost me a lot more than $399

 

And I was 75% kidding. For an apartment or a place that you use your 360 as your DVD player, yea it's good. But to be used instead of a real HDDVD player, then no. It's received mixed reviews.

I'm not ready to jump into the HDDVD/Bluray market yet. The media is too expensive and I've got too many DVDs to start replacing them

 

I noticed today that Best Buy put their price on their web site for the Pioneer 5071 that I got back up to the price marked on the store shelf ($3323.99). Good thing I bought it THAT DAY... They matched their web site, where it was marked $3149 ... must have been an error

Still, I could have gotten it cheaper if I went with Invision Displays out of Oregon (AVSForum sponsor and authorized internet dealer, according to Pioneer's site). Still, for something this big, I prefer a local source.

 

Another reason I chose my local Tweeter. I already had a great relationship with them, however, if the plasma did go kapukt, I only had to transport it 2 miles back to the store.

 

Hell, even a big retailer like B&H has it for ~$2900 including shipping... *shrug* I'll keep watching the prices for 60 days, you better believe it. The problem is, I can't find anyone locally carries the 5070/1, aside from Best Buy... I'll keep my eyes peeled.

 

Tweeter carries the 5070, no? 5071 is exclusive to BB.

 

Tweeter doesn't even carry the 5070. And my salesman at Best Buy was willing to match a local 5070 price, even though, yes 5071 is a Best Buy exclusive p/n.

 

as an update, BB dropped the price on the 5071 to $2999, so I got another $150 back (well, credited to my 3yr 0% card).

I returned the Denon 1930CI and got a Toshiba HD-A2 HD DVD player.

The only problem? My receiver doesn't take DTS and the HD-A2 only outputs DTS. So I either get the amazing technological wonder of STEREO audio or nothing at all. Time to drop another chunk of change on a f**king new receiver. That'll make 3 that I own...