Xbox HD-DVD Player Lookin' Gooooood!

One of the major complaints from people wanting to get into high-definition DVD is that it's prohibitively expensive. Well, if you've got an Xbox 360, that argument may be fading away: The Xbox 360 HD-DVD Player add-on is only $199 and is so far meeting with positive reviews. PC Perspective has the most comprehensive coverage I've seen (and Tom also has a mini-review)... and there's more.

Turns out the Xbox 360's HD-DVD player also works with any PC right out of the box. You don't even need drivers for it. Just plug it in via USB and Windows recognizes it as any USB optical drive. Thus, it may be a great choice even if you don't have an Xbox 360 but still want to get HD content on your computer.

But if you want HD-DVD on your TV (and I'd expect that's where you would want it), your excuse that the Xbox is too expensive may run out. From the look of things, you'll be able to get the $300 Xbox 360 Core System (which has no hard drive and a wired controller) for a cool $100, beginning Thanksgiving Day at 11am PST. How do I know this? Amazon is running a promotion where customers vote on which mega-discount they want. The $100 Xbox 360 is, by far, winning the vote, and I expect its 90% share of the vote won't budge within the next week. So head on over to Amazon come Thanksgiving, get your $100 Xbox and $199 HD-DVD player, and, boom, you've got an HD-DVD setup for $120 less than the very cheapest standalone HD-DVD player that Amazon sells. And you can play Viva Pinata with it.

While I'm still not entirely sold on high-def DVD, this at least removes its single biggest obstacle. Am I crazy? I'm sure you'll let me know...

Meanwhile, if anyone else can find a better deal, let me know in the comments section below!

Update: Amazon is now listing there would be only 1,000 units of the $100 Xbox if (and when) it wins the poll, so you better be ready right at 11am on Thanksgiving morning. Visit Amazon's home page to see the deal!