Floppyhead – Digital Media and Streaming

Well, this did not take long. According to EngadgetHD,

Utilizing Toshiba drivers, users have apparently been able to not only view the file contents of their HD DVD flicks directly within a Windows XP environment, but have been able to play back the film on PCs well-spec’d enough to handle the load. By enabling the computer to read the UDF (Universal Disc File system) v2.5 — which is currently used by Toshiba’s first generation HD DVD drives — you can avoid throwing down the coin required for an Xbox 360 if you so choose.

I guess the real question to ask is whether Microsoft made it intentionally easy to modify the drive. If people can easily modify it to work on a PC, shouldn’t Microsoft just release it for the PC themselves? This would definitely help adoption of the format in comparison to Blu-ray. By not officially sanctioning the use of the drive on the PC, the company can be “outraged” about the situation when in discussions with the MPAA and the studios. Interestingly, the drive can play on a Windows XP system. Such as system does not support HDCP as of now. $200 for an HD-DVD that works on on a Windows XP machine is pretty cheap if you ask me.