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Microsoft has offered the first real demonstration of its external HD-DVD drive for the Xbox 360 since its fleeting appearance at E3, but remains silent on pricing or a confirmed release date.

Demonstrating the device to attendees at the DVD Forum in Los Angeles, Microsoft's senior program manager, Kevin Collins, refused to be drawn on the exact price point for the device - stating only that it would be among the least expensive of the HD DVD players to reach market.

"All the audio and video processing is done inside the Xbox," Collins stated, noting that research indicates the majority of Xbox 360 owners already have HD televisions. The drive will provide them with all the other required equipment to watch HD DVD movies.

"This gives consumers choice and keeps their cost down," he added.

Sony's rival Blu-ray format, the drive for which will be built into the PlayStation 3 console as standard, is slated for a worldwide in November. Microsoft has chosen to support HD-DVD instead, and insists that it will keep the HD-DVD drive as an external device for the Xbox 360 in a bid to offer consumers a choice.

Whilst the picture quality has been deemed equal to most HD-DVD drives demonstrated at the event, the question of cost - something which every consumer is going to be acutely aware of - remains unanswered at this stage.

Microsoft is expected to launch the drive in time for Christmas, and it's thought that a specific release date and price point will be announced shortly.

With Toshiba's HD DVD players setting consumers back $400-500 or more and Blu-ray players costing as much as $1000, Microsoft has vowed that its Xbox 360 HD DVD add-on will be the cheapest hi-def movie player available when it ships later this year. More within...

While Microsoft recently demonstrated its upcoming HD DVD player for the Xbox 360 at the DVD Forum event in Los Angeles, an exact price and date for the peripheral has yet to be announced. The device, which will contain a Toshiba drive, will ship during this holiday season, and many are expecting a price point somewhere in the range of $200.