Average Rating: 
Rating: - Aimed at those without a dedicated DVD player
This device is worth the purchase price if you do not have a DVD player. As explained already, you are mostly playing licensing fees, as well as a few dollars for the manufacture of the infrared unit and remote. Interestingly, the infrared unit is basically a "dongle", meaning that all it does is tell the Xbox it's "OK" to play movies - the Xbox is basically capable of doing this already (unlike the PS2, which has to be taught via a CD which comes with the remote package) and the DVD playback kit simply enables the feature.
It IS annoying that there is no open/close or power button on the remote, nor is there a "zoom" button. Still, this small shortcoming aside, it's a very capable unit. Also, it features glow-in-the-dark buttons - a feature which is lacking on the PS2 remote.
I put off purchasing a DVD player due to the fact that I would be buying an Xbox. I'm not the least disappointed that I did so and I find that this is a more than acceptable alternative to the many dedicated DVD players I have used in the past.
Rating:  - Well designed little guy...
1. put the dongle into the 3rd controller slot, it fits best there.2. the first time you pop in a video dvd disc, there will be a slight delay before anything happens. This is because the usb dongle containing the IR tranciever also contains a .5MB ROM used for *something* (yet unknown) in DVD playback. 3. this device is region specific -- do not buy one from the US if you live in the UK, it won't play region 2 DVD's. 4. the remote is surprisingly high quality. big, light, excellent overall button response and IR response. 5. no power or eject buttons, annoying but forgivable. 6. the dvd playback application included on the xbox puts out a great picture and fast-forwards and rewinds effortlessly. 7. much to my surprise, the xbox was able to handle several rented discs scratched to the point of being unplayable by me middle end sony player without a hitch. 8. if you don't have a DVD player, buy this thing. it's wonderful. yes, the money you're paying is mostly liscensing, but c'mon, [amt] for a CD that costs at most [amt] in it's entirty? no complaints here.
Rating: - worth the money
Ok, kids, system loyalty or Microsoft hatred aside, this is a quality product. Yes, we all would have liked to have been able to watch DVD's without buying a remote. Nobody likes spending more money after shelling out the price of an Xbox. However, what some of you are'nt taking into account is that the Xbox is saving you money over the PS2 in other areas. Example: an included hard drive and ethernet port. Buying these things for a PS2 sure as heck is going to cost more than a remote for the Xbox. Last time a checked, PS2 memory cards cost as much as the Playback Kit, and guess what? You HAVE to buy a memory card with your PS2 if you wanna save anything. And as for the picture quality, it is MUCH better than the PS2 (and yes, I do have both, so I know what I'm talking about). If you don't already have a decent DVD player, just spend the money for this kit. If you're using a PS2 or a cheap player, this is definitely worth the cost.
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