Microsoft's Video Marketplace

Wouldn't this stimey their HD-DVD drive sales? I guess it's gonna depend on the content available for download which makes you wonder just how good the download content will be. But still, I hope it turns out to be as good as it sounds.
 
Very, very cool. Congrats to Microsoft for making it happen. The only thing that makes me wonder is the download time... I don't have enough time during the day to wait for a full length movie especially in HD. I would rather drive to the rental store to pick up a HDDVD. Hopefully they can improve this in some way.
 
Microsoft Unveils the Video Marketplace
Television shows, HD movies and more are coming to Xbox 360.
by Erik Brudvig
November 6, 2006 - Not ready to pick sides in the upcoming HD format war? Maybe you don't have to just yet. On November 22nd, Microsoft is launching the video marketplace for Xbox Live. This new service will allow Xbox 360 owners with access to a high speed internet connection to download a variety of HD and standard definition video content to their consoles and view it on their television. That means all Xbox 360 owners with an HDTV will have access to HD movies, regardless of whether they own an HD-DVD or Blu-Ray player. It doesn't end with movies, though. The video marketplace will also feature television shows, music videos and game videos to purchase with Microsoft points. The service will be available to both Xbox Live Silver and Gold members and promises over 1,000 hours of unique content by the end of the year, with at least 200 of that available in both standard and hi-definition. Sound interesting? Read on for the gritty details.

The big question on everybody's mind at this point is surely cost. Unfortunately, Microsoft wasn't very forthcoming with answers to this question saying only that the digitally distributed videos would be "competitively priced." However, a tutorial video put up on Xbox.com shows the HD movies priced at 480 Microsoft points ($6 USD) with the standard definition price of 320 points ($4 USD) while both versions of television shows clocked in at 240 Microsoft points ($3 USD) Television shows will be sold in much the same way that Live Arcade games are. After purchasing them with Microsoft points, owners will begin downloading them and will own the show. That means they can delete it off of their hard drive and download it at a later date without having to pay for it again. Movies will be output in a rental format. This is necessary in part due to the limited space on an Xbox 360 hard drive and the massive size of an HD movie. The standard definition movie we were shown clocked in at 1.2 GB while the HD version of the same movie was nearly four times as big at 4.7 GB. Once you download a movie, you'll have 14 days to begin watching it. After you start watching it, you'll have 24 hours before the rental expires and the movie is "returned."

These HD downloads can get huge and we all know how slow Xbox Live can be when we're trying to download the newest demo or trailer. To help solve that problem, Microsoft is launching a new service to handle the video marketplace that is outside of the one currently used for the old marketplace. Also, you'll be able to begin watching videos before they are fully downloaded, something you can't do right now with trailers on Xbox 360. Still, no guarantees were made about speed. We were told that downloading an HD movie would be more of an "overnight type of thing" or something to be done in the background while playing a game.


Master Shake is coming to Xbox 360.

Accessing the video marketplace and finding the content you want appears to be a simple enough task. The video marketplace will be accessible through the media blade on the Xbox 360 dashboard. When you click on it, you'll find categories for movies, tv shows, music videos, game videos, and clips. Each category is broken up into subgroups when you click on them. For example, the tv shows category expands to have sorting options for new arrivals, network, clips, genres, and all. From there you can customize the search even further with the ability to sort by title, episode number or download rank. You'll also notice a difference in the appearance when you access a particular show as Microsoft is providing networks the ability to customize their store's look. When customers go to a particular show's library, the background and colors will change to match it. Controlling what is watched will follow the same parental controls already present on Xbox 360. All video will be content rated and can be restricted according to those ratings through the dashboard.

Microsoft feels this service is a powerful one in that it provides choice. Rather than being forced into buying an entire season of a show, consumers will be able to pick which shows they want to purchase. Just to make sure you're not purchasing anything you don't want to, each video clip will have a preview button that will stream a small clip of the show on the right side of the screen. They're also providing choice in how you get your HD content. Those who want to go out and purchase the HD-DVD add-on are free to do so, but Xbox 360 owners can also get their HD movies and shows through a digital distribution format. Going further, they also presented the hypothetical, though currently just a thought, situation where content providers would like to make just a fraction of their show available for download at a very small cost. Perhaps NBC would want to put a single skit from SNL on the marketplace and charge a microtransaction fee. With this service they would be able to.

How inclusive will the service be? We already gave the figure of 1,000 hours of unique content by the end of the year, but exactly where that content is coming from is important.. Obviously, you won't be seeing any Sony Pictures movie releases on the video marketplace. The networks we were told would be providing content initially, with more to come, are CBS, Turner, Warner Brothers, Paramount, UFC, and MTV Networks (including VH1 and Cartoon Network). It's up to the content providers to determine which shows or movies will be up on the new-look Marketplace and what formats they will arrive. In general, if the content is available in widescreen or HD, then it will appear that way on the service alongside their standard definition cousin. Some shows we were demoed, such as Aqua Teen Hunger Force, are only available in standard definition by default so no HD versions will be available. Others, such as CSI, will be made available for the first time in a digital distribution HD format through the video marketplace. The availability of the content will be determined by the providers. Some television shows will be available the next day for download, while other videos, such as movies, will obviously take longer to reach the marketplace.

Here is a list of the examples of content available by the end of the year from the official press release:



Robot Chicken" and "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" from Adult Swim.

"CSI," "Survivor" and "Star Trek" from CBS.

Emmy and Peabody award-winning "South Park." and "Chappelle's Show" from Comedy Central.

"The Real World" and "Pimp My Ride" from MTV.

"Avatar: The Last Airbender" and "SpongeBob SquarePants" from Nickelodeon.

"Skyland" and "The Nicktoons Network Animation Festival" from Nicktoons Network.

"M:i:III," Nacho Libre" and "Jackass: The Movie" from Paramount Pictures.

"Carpocalypse" and "Raising the Roofs" from Spike TV.

"Race Rewind" from by NASCAR.COM.

Select episodes of the original season of "The Ultimate Fighter" reality series and the "UFC: All Access" shows from the UFC.

"Breaking Bonaduce" and "Hogan Knows Best" from VH1.

"The Matrix," "Superman Returns" and "Batman Forever" from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment.

The issue of taking your videos off of the Xbox 360 might make the service a little less appealing to some. Although you can take your Live account to a friend's and watch the videos you have purchased, there won't be any way to move the videos from the Xbox 360 to another piece of equipment. We asked about any interconnectivity with the upcoming Zune and were told that there won't be any initially although there may be some in the future.

Another downside: The plans for adult content will likely fall in line with Microsoft's policy for games which is to not allow adult only games on to the system. It looks like downloading HD porn to your Xbox 360 isn't going to happen. Sad, we know.
 
Very, very cool. Congrats to Microsoft for making it happen. The only thing that makes me wonder is the download time... I don't have enough time during the day to wait for a full length movie especially in HD. I would rather drive to the rental store to pick up a HDDVD. Hopefully they can improve this in some way.



My math could be way off but on my connection of 8mbps and a large movie of 6 gigs they said most would be 2-4. I think your looking around 125 minutes or 2 hours. Depending on the movie and if the software even allows it you could watch it in almost real time. Maybe give it 30 minutes to download then start watching it and you should be good.
 
My math could be way off but on my connection of 8mbps and a large movie of 6 gigs they said most would be 2-4. I think your looking around 125 minutes or 2 hours. Depending on the movie and if the software even allows it you could watch it in almost real time. Maybe give it 30 minutes to download then start watching it and you should be good.

I think that these numbers sound right in a perfect world. But XBOX marketplace is far from perfect. There will be a bunch of people trying to get at the same movie at the same time. I think it will really jam up the server.
 
OK, now they REALLY need that bigger hard drive.....

I had watched the 40 minute Battlestar Galactica recap show they had available and the PQ was really mediocre due to heavy compression....
 
Link from IGN

Looks like someone predicted it correctly. Can't remember who said it though.

Looks like what I posted a few days ago. I saw the headline on Google News somewhat surprised really (not that it would happen, just that it happened so soon after I posted on it.)

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"I believe the title of the post was Xbox360 - How the HD disc format war could be irrelevant"

 
It's actually quite brilliant....... As soon as Sony comes out of the gate touting how great BluRay is and why you need it, MS comes out and blunts it with an HD DVD drive AND an HD over IP system. Now they need a USB hard drive to supplement the 20GB which now seems REALLY too small.

Sony bigwig: "Yeah, but WE have 1080p!"

Sony underling: "um, sir.... so do they now"

SB "Grand Theft Auto 4 next year!"

SU "...them too"

SB "Ridge Racer!"

SU (sighs) "sir, that didn't fly well at E3"

SB "cue the ducks demo again"

SU (sensing SB needs a bone) "maybe a prerendered movie of Killzone again..."
 
It's actually quite brilliant....... As soon as Sony comes out of the gate touting how great BluRay is and why you need it, MS comes out and blunts it with an HD DVD drive AND an HD over IP system. Now they need a USB hard drive to supplement the 20GB which now seems REALLY too small.

Sony bigwig: "Yeah, but WE have 1080p!"

Sony underling: "um, sir.... so do they now"

SB "Grand Theft Auto 4 next year!"

SU "...them too"

SB "Ridge Racer!"

SU (sighs) "sir, that didn't fly well at E3"

SB "cue the ducks demo again"

SU (sensing SB needs a bone) "maybe a prerendered movie of Killzone again..."


Lol actually this was sony's response
http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4154&Itemid=2

Sony has issued a statement criticizing its rival Microsoft's TV and movies announcement, arguing that it cuts out Core system users, who will not be able to store the content, thereby splitting the user-base.

Image Microsoft's TV and movie downloads are available to owners of the higher-priced (and more popular) version of Xbox 360, but not to Core system owners who do not have a hard drive. A spokesperson for Sony offered, "PlayStation 3's content is designed for everyone to enjoy right out of the box, no matter which configuration you purchase. We would never segregate or shut out any of our consumers from our entertainment experience because they didn't buy the top of the line system. Both PlayStation 3 versions available on November 17 include hard drives for downloading content."

We'll have more on this from Microsoft later.
 
Honestly, the $6 price tag on the movie is not that bad, but I don't like the fact that I can't watch it when I want to or re download it at a laterdate/store it on a massive external drive. M$ should have be prepared to allow 3rd party external storage by adopting this. We should also have the option to keep the movies that we purchase forever, of course for a greater fee. This IMO is more of a niche technology than BD or HDDVD.

I would hope when most people look at the price point and the DRM that they would realize that we are not ready for this yet. And also realize that they are wasting money in the long run by not being able to purchase a physical storage medium.
 
Also, this just came to mind.

4.7 GB HD Movie. So apparently we don't really need HD-DVD at all huh??


Has anyone seen a SD 480P DVD movie compressed down from its (estimated average movie size) 5.0-6.0 GB size to 1.2 GB? That would have to be horrific...

An HD movie compressed down to 4.7 GB??? And we are complaining about HD-Lite on D* and E*!

Thanks but no thanks...I wouldn't pay $6 for that.
 
Has anyone seen a SD 480P DVD movie compressed down from its (estimated average movie size) 5.0-6.0 GB size to 1.2 GB? That would have to be horrific...

An HD movie compressed down to 4.7 GB??? And we are complaining about HD-Lite on D* and E*!

Thanks but no thanks...I wouldn't pay $6 for that.

Thats exactly what got me thinking. I don't see any way you can call a movie HD at 4.7GB when a movie cant even fit on a DVD9 in HD at 8.5 GB. This is ludicrous
 
I think this may be the Mark Cuban/Rupert Murdoch/Charlie Ergen groupthink where slapping an "HD" label on something is good enough. As most people are still watching on HD sets and using mostly for DVDs or HD from their cable/satellite company they may feel this may be sufficient.

My gut feeling is that this is a way to blunt Sony's marketing attacks this season, and that's it. They aren't going to win over any home theater enthusiasts with this...
 
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