hdvd.jpgAccording to Microsoft employee Shaheen Gandhi, the software powering the HD-DVD video and audio decoding pushes the Xbox360 hardware to the limits. Since the Xbox360 hardware doesn’t support the sort of technology HD-DVD needs, everything is emulated, as Gandhi explains,

“Other players on the market have specialized chips (called DSPs) that decode things like H.264, MPEG, VC1, DTS, Dolby Digital, and other codecs. Much like how backwards compatibility for Xbox 1 works on Xbox 360, the heavy parts of HD DVD are all done on Xbox 360’s triple-core CPU.”

The software takes up 4,7 million lines of code, and uses all 6 of Xbox360’s hardware threads during HD-DVD playback, only surpassed by Gears of War, during demanding parts of the game. The Xbox360 HD-DVD add-on goes on sale later this year for $199 (£129 in UK/EU), including a copy of Peter Jackson’s King Kong.

Read (MSDN)

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Tags: Hardware, Software, Technology, Video, Xbox360