Microsoft HD-DVD Job Posting

[Wolfgang]

Over at Microsoft (http://www.microsoft.com) is a job posting for a Software Development Engineer in Test (http://members.microsoft.com/careers/search/details.aspx?JobID=55F8A28D-DBBE-4816-8926-58A480FE31C2&start=1&interval=50&SortCol=DEF&SortOrder=DEF).

Here's the job description:

Do you lie awake at night thinking of better ways to enable Home Digital Entertainment? Would you feel a sense of accomplishment in increasing the quality of DVD playback on the Xbox 360? Would you love to work on High Definition Video? Do you want to help Microsoft win the HD format wars by making a great HD-DVD player for the Xbox 360? Do you have a strong passion for digital media technologies and the home theater experience? Then we are looking for you!

The Xbox 360 console team is looking for some great SDETs to help us take the 360 platform to the next level. We are starting work now on the next generation of Digital Entertainment initiatives that will help take Xbox 360 beyond just the best gaming platform in the world.

Are you one of the great SDETs that we need to help us succeed in this effort? The best candidates for this role will have a solid foundation in testing and development skills. We need you to test, automate and help drive your functional areas to be the best in the world. We’re looking to build features that are truly ‘magical’ from a customer’s point of view and the testers in this area will play a key role.

We are looking for the following pre-requisites: BS/MS degree or equivalent experience in computer science or related technical discipline; hands-on testing experience shipping software; excellent customer empathy in the Digital Entertainment space; and automation experience in C/C++. Experience with Digital Media Technologies and prior testing experience with audio/video codecs is a plus.
This job was posted on 4/20/06 with a location of Redmond, Washington.

[bapenguin]

Seems a little late for this job...unless the HD-DVD drive isn't coming out till X-mas.

[mkelehan]

Here I was under the impression the HD-DVD player was just about done and going to ship soonish. Ah well; I won't get it unless Blu-ray crashes hard anyway.

[Reanimated]

[quote]Would you feel a sense of accomplishment in increasing the quality of DVD playback on the Xbox 360?[/quote



Hmmmm, looks like they're also looking at updating the 360 to enable upscaling of standard DVDs.

Seems like they would/should have been working on this stuff a long time ago.

[markster3000]

unless the HD-DVD drive isn't coming out till X-mas.
The HD-DVD market is pretty small right now, (i.e. very few movies available) so it wouldn't make too much of a difference now or 6 months from now. They may as well wait, and make sure it's a quality piece of equipment.

I wonder what the chances are of the Premium SKU being upgraded to an HD-DVD drive... (like, a year or two in the future)

[Chimpster]

Even though they've said no, I wonder if Microsoft will start making games in this format once we see what Blu-ray game potential is/will be?

[Wolfgang]

Even though they've said no, I wonder if Microsoft will start making games in this format once we see what Blu-ray game potential is/will be?

Current games don't even fill up a DVD, the only thing Blu-Ray/HD-DVD will provide is HD video on the disc.

City of Heroes/Villains: 1.94GB
Battlefield 2: 1.94GB
Steam: 8.75GB includes: HL:2, CS:S, HL2: Lost Coast, DoD:Source, Sin Ep1, HL2: DM

Ultima Online: 1.2GB

No single game comes close to using a full DVD. They are nearing about half a single layer DVD (4.7GB) or they could use a dual layer DVD and get about 9GB of storage.

[Qoz]

Oblivion is filling out my DVD nicely.
This same argument was posted when the DVDs came out.

We will offcourse see future titles with more graphics (textures), sound and video.
Magazine HD-DVD will have even more space for the good stuff.
Film (and especially TV series) need as much space as they can get.

This is a transition and we will be fine with DVD for another 2 years (like we were fine with the CD for a long time). Still it's good things are progressing. In a few years we will need the space and then HD-DVD (or Blueray) will be mainstream (like DVD is today).

[Wolfgang]

Oblivion is filling out my DVD nicely.
This same argument was posted when the DVDs came out.

We will offcourse see future titles with more graphics (textures), sound and video.
Magazine HD-DVD will have even more space for the good stuff.
Film (and especially TV series) need as much space as they can get.

This is a transition and we will be fine with DVD for another 2 years (like we were fine with the CD for a long time). Still it's good things are progressing. In a few years we will need the space and then HD-DVD (or Blueray) will be mainstream (like DVD is today).

You can only have so much high res textures/different textures before you eat up the RAM, so that is the limiting factor more so than the DVD itself.

HD-DVD/Blu-ray will provide for HD prerendered movies that many Eastern developers like to use.

[bKangy]

HD Era is the stupidest "revolution" in entertainment ever regardless, I'm kinda glad MS is only putting half their ass into HD-DVD.

"Hey look! We're charging you more again so there's a better picture. Well, if you have a TV that works with our tech, and if the movie you want is out on the format you chose, oh yeah, and if the screen is big enough to actually notice much of a difference. Spend more money, consumers!"

[Borys]

Here's a tip MS: release Halo 3 and Halo: The Movie on HD-DVD only.

BAM! End of the road for Blu-Ray.

[Nath5000]

Ah, I was hoping that this drive would come out by at least July, but I guess thats out the window. This HD drive probably wont ship until november... that sucks.

[Achilles]

Well it is an SDET (a programmer who supports testing of a product) position, so it could easily be someone to support a product which has already shipped, or working with a programmer to refine the software for the 360 or any number of other things. I wouldn’t form up a HDDVD drive release schedule based on this job posting.

[Zeal]

Here's a tip MS: release Halo 3 and Halo: The Movie on HD-DVD only.

BAM! End of the road for Blu-Ray.

Told the fuck off http://www.evilavatar.com/forums/images/icons/icon14.gif

[balamoor]

I interviewed with MS a few years back..... The parallels between City 17 in HL 2 and Campus are eerie. :rolleyes:

[solinari6]

Current games don't even fill up a DVD, the only thing Blu-Ray/HD-DVD will provide is HD video on the disc.

No single game comes close to using a full DVD. They are nearing about half a single layer DVD (4.7GB) or they could use a dual layer DVD and get about 9GB of storage.
I'm pretty sure Myst:Revelation is a 2 DVD game.

[Roc Ingersol]

Yeah, given that it's an SDET, It sounds to me like it fits right in with having USB2.0 HD-DVD drive out for the holiday season.