Movies and TV!

Well, movies and television shows have come to the Xbox 360 via Xbox Live. It just launched today, and it looks like there is quite a bit of material in there. TV shows in plain definition run US$2 and high def at US$3. Old movies are $3 or $4.5 (SD or HD), and new movies at $4 or $6. It seems the servers are quite swamped because when I first tried it, I got a lot of errors. Now, things are working better, but are a bit slooooooow.

The prices seem kind of reasonable. $4 to rent a movie in 480p (same as a DVD), and that matches what I pay at Hollywood Video. However, I don't get the extras that most DVDs come with. I do get to rent these things without even leaving the house, which is nice, but it isn't exactly "on demand". The SD version of Unforgiven (starring Clint Eastwood... great movie!) weighs in at a 1.4 GB. And the high def version? 5.7 GB!! ... sheesh. Microsoft better come out with a storage attachment for the 360. I don't have that much space, and 5.7 GB is gonna take a while to download, too...

I love the idea, and this is a bold move by Microsoft to get into our living rooms. The whole Xbox program was designed for exactly this. They are in our workplace, and our home office. They want the living room, though. That is where untold millions of consumers are located, and are people they can sell to. You might call it Big Corporate, but I call it an awesome game playing device, and Xbox Live as a wonderful source of continuing enjoyment.

They may be onto something truly spectacular here. Let's see how it shakes out...

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'll be getting a 360 next week(finally), and I can't wait. Being able to download movies is cool, but of course the main reason I want one is for the games. Just like most people I'm guessing. Espesially Halo 3(typical, I know).

I kept hoping the prices would have gone down by now, but I guess it is still too soon.

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Anonymous said...

The Xbox is being smuggled into countries where it hasnt been launched. I could get one in Delhi (India) for around $250. But its worth it.

Anonymous said...

Awesome product! I would love to buy one of these and show off to my friends.

Anonymous said...

Hmm..I really hope that I can buy the Xbox one day..hehe