On-demand HDTV now on XBLM

Gamers looking to give their thumbs a break can now kick back with a digital movie rental or buy TV shows by the episode.

Popcorn Time!

The premise of letting people watch what they want to watch whenever they have the impulse to watch it is a powerful profit-driver. Just ask TiVo, or any cable or satellite TV provider offering on-demand pay-per-view.

Microsoft's bid to tap into that on-demand desire launched today. The company is offering dozens of downloadable films and TV series through its Xbox 360 Marketplace. The company announced the initiative earlier this month, along with six content partners that would help to populate the service with initial offerings.

For the service's launch, Microsoft is offering 48 movies for rent, with a handful of them available in high-definition (720p) downloads as well as standard-definition (480p). Downloaded movies remain on the hard drive for up to two weeks, but once a user begins watching the movie, it is deleted 24 hours later. For that period, however, the movie can be viewed as many times as the purchaser wants.

The initial lineup is a wide-ranging sampling of films from cherished classics (Rebel Without a Cause, Chinatown) and art-house fare (Akira Kurosawa's Dreams), to recent hits (V for Vendetta) and curios and oddities (Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever, Pootie Tang, Congo). Films available in high-definition include ATL, Clash of the Titans, V for Vendetta, Unforgiven, Poseidon, and The Perfect Storm.

The new Video Marketplace.

There are two pricing structures set up for the film rentals. New movie rentals cost 320 Microsoft points ($4) for a standard-definition download, while the high-definition option will run 480 Microsoft points ($6). For older movies, the 480p download will set users back 240 points ($3), while classics in 720p are offered for 360 Microsoft points ($4.50).

Space could quickly become a concern for gaming film buffs, because some of the service's longer films (around 130 minutes) can eat up 1.7GB in standard definition and top out at 5.7GB in high definition. The only hard drive currently available for the Xbox 360 is 20GB, and it typically holds a user's Xbox Live Arcade games, gamer pics, themes, game demos, ripped music, and game saves.

On the TV side of things, gamers can purchase episodes or download free clips from 47 series. In addition to a wealth of animated humor programs like Aqua Teen Hunger Force, South Park, and Beavis and Butthead, the service offers more straight-faced fare, including dozens of episodes of CSI and its offshoots, a season's worth of the original Star Trek, and selected Ultimate Fighting Championship matches.

Pricing is a little more uniform for the TV shows. Standard-definition downloads will cost users 160 points ($2), whether it's an 11-minute episode of Frisky Dingo or a 44-minute installment of NCIS. High-definition episodes are available only for select shows (CSI, NCIS, and Jericho, to name a few), and each one will set users back 240 points ($3).

The Marketplace also hosts free clips for a handful of shows, including Late Night with Conan O'Brien, The Family Guy, and Viva Pinata, created in conjunction with the Xbox 360 game of the same name. A 44-minute TV show in high definition can take up as much as 2GB on the Xbox 360 hard drive.

Each studio will set its own release dates. Microsoft expects TV shows to be available on Xbox Live the day after they air on television, just as they're made available online by some networks. Some of the shows are already up to date. For instance, the service is offering the "Stanley's Cup" episode of South Park, which premiered last Wednesday.

360 Comments

  • NamanOWNSyou

    Posted Dec 28, 2006 9:32 am GMT

    For everyone saying use torrents, almost all video formats are unsupported by the 360. The 360 reads blank discs (most? few?) but it says NO VIDEOS FOUND or something when there are videos inside.

  • majin_vegeta300

    Posted Nov 27, 2006 5:30 am GMT

    pretty cool if they get a lotta movies...saves a trip to the store, and wont need HD-DVD drive for high-def movies

  • mojahid_1st

    Posted Nov 26, 2006 5:14 pm GMT

    is there anyone living in Australia who has seen this on XBLM? i can't seem to find it anywhere...

  • darkrocker1208

    Posted Nov 26, 2006 4:47 pm GMT

    now lets try and calm down boys

  • EvanO_O

    Posted Nov 26, 2006 2:26 pm GMT

    Hey WWIAB, where are the PS3 shipments to your own country? Yeah, stop talking **** because that's all sony is giving you.

  • WWIAB

    Posted Nov 26, 2006 8:49 am GMT

    So wheres the british service you B*stards

  • rikhan_z

    Posted Nov 26, 2006 5:51 am GMT

    44 minutes show takes up 2GB... you will need more then 60GB indeed... something like... 200GB or 1TeyaBytes (if they ever made one in time). It makes me question if the service will make enough profit to run the company.

  • GrimBee

    Posted Nov 26, 2006 4:13 am GMT

    "ps3_forsure
    grimbee you only have 20 gigs to download stuff i would say you have to have at least 60 gig for this to work. (Hint) "

    With a name like yours, it's hard to take that xbox 360 comment seriously 20gb, i agree isn't enough for REGULAR content downloaders. Its fine as of now (I have never met anyone who has filled the drive up completely, but the one which had, had enough money to buy 3 other drives (which he did ).

    20gb, for downloading tv episodes is not enough. But this service is only taking off. It would be stupid of Microsoft to manufacture a 100gb hd if this service proved unpopular.
    The thing I have found with Microsoft with the xbox consoles they have made, they are keen to take suggestions. Starting out with the redesign of the massive pad on the original xbox...

    I think that when this service is used alot, and demand is high. Then Microsoft will be able to strike some deals, make a 100gb hd (keeping costs relatively low on it) and just perfect the service.

    What is online at the moment is just testing the water.

  • StumpyTrash

    Posted Nov 25, 2006 11:45 pm GMT

    It's a great idea but what a complete rip! They need to get real with their pricing. Sure, some of the shows are only two or three bucks to "rent" but if you're spending that much you should be able to keep them like iTunes. You could rent HD-DVD Netflix for pennies on the dollar compared to this $hit... I'm voting otherwise with my cash.

  • Attunnel

    Posted Nov 25, 2006 5:19 pm GMT

    Wooh! This negative response from the community is fantastic! I like it however, I've downloaded a couple shows. Space could become a concern, but if it really does you could always just delete the shows off your harddrive and download them for free if you want to see them again later. I sorta wish the 360 shipped with a bigger harddrive oh well, I still think it's kinda cool.

  • earwicker7

    Posted Nov 25, 2006 3:57 pm GMT

    You'd have to pay me to watch C for Crap, I mean V for Vendetta, again. What an utterly pretentious piece of garbage. Those Wachumpski brothers or whatever their name is haven't made a decent movie since The Matrix.

  • ps3_forsure

    Posted Nov 25, 2006 1:41 pm GMT

    grimbee you only have 20 gigs to download stuff i would say you have to have at least 60 gig for this to work. (Hint)

  • Mechakucha

    Posted Nov 25, 2006 1:15 pm GMT

    Like I'm gonna spend $3 for HDTV when I can either:

    a) download it off BT before it's even on the marketplace or
    b) just get it for free off the airwaves

  • acummuta

    Posted Nov 25, 2006 8:56 am GMT

    I only care about the HD content that I'd be curious about owning on HD-DVD...like V for Vendetta. Never seen it. One rental could be enough. For that, I'll use it. Otherwise I'll be fine renting the regular stuff elsewhere, or just not bothing with the content.

    As far as the tv shows...too much money. I'll feel like I'm being ripped off. So I won't support that.

    Just the HD movies.

  • FOO_JY

    Posted Nov 25, 2006 8:49 am GMT

    Is this only in US ?? cause I don't see any On-Demand TV for me... or could it be because I don't have an HDTV ??

  • gskehans97

    Posted Nov 25, 2006 5:36 am GMT

    This...i Iike.....BUT...I still needs Xbox Live & a HDTV!

  • SilentHillX

    Posted Nov 25, 2006 1:29 am GMT

    -GTAPsychoFan

    "I live in a place worse than africa"

    I dont know why, but I genuinely laughed out loud when I read that, and that rarely happens to me when reading something, as opposed to watching it. LOL

    Take it easy.

  • brandontek

    Posted Nov 24, 2006 9:19 pm GMT

    woah! i got a movie and it took my whole hard drive space up. any reason y? i had enough space.

  • GrimBee

    Posted Nov 24, 2006 5:39 pm GMT

    "Also it will be cheaper to rent BD movies from Blockbuster or any other source than to download from the Microsoft service."

    Firstly, Any problems you have with downloading will be rectified very shortly, no worries.
    Secondly, its not cheaper to rent a DVD from Blockbuster for $4! Think of the travel costs. You dont even need to leave your home to watch movies via the 360. If you had a 360 you wouldn't be so biaded, imo.
    I have rented movies from Blockbusters, oh so many many times. Its dang annoying when a movie is scratched up and skips entire chapters, or even freezes ultimately ruining your evening, of which you have to return to the store, and get another one (if they have one in there of course).

    So this service, for what its worth, is a pretty good deal imo. And it runs in the background so you can play games and download at the same time, unlike with the ps3.

    The current state of the marketplace is fine. I have several friends in the good ol land of uncle sam, and they are downloading demos and stuff like usual. No problems at all, and not only that, when it was a bit slow (one had mentioned one episode he downloaded was a bit slower than usual) he could do other things, like play games etc etc whilst this run in the background.

    If the 360 forced you to watch the download bars, this would be considered bad. But as of now, its fine and with any internet service connection speeds vary from time to time, it might not even be M$'s fault that download speeds are slower.

    Anyways.. I agree with DarthFrag, pricing structure should be more detailed and fair. It is a great idea, its doing what other media players only DREAMED of doing. But I guarantee that if this proves popular, and it becomes embedded with vista aswell with xbox live anywhere, you will definately see a more varied structure of content and pricing. And that download speeds with be consistent as they will know what to expect with the demand in place.

    "PS3 is not just hype for HD movies because one BD can store more movie data than 3 Xbox 360s"

    People who want to download this much stuff will probably not use the 360 as their main entertainment centre.
    Besides, you forget that you can also stream content right from your pc! I personally have well over 900gb of FREE SPACE on my pc's harddrives, 400gb of which is used up. All I need to do is stream that to the 360, bob a job.
    Cheaper than any bluray drive let me tell you.
    The thing is, this service is for rentals (mostly, imo) and I think its a great idea. They have been doing this sort of thing for years with pay-per-view movies etc, with a download all you need to do is download it, you dont even need to return it.
    And basically you would need only 5gb of space free as the movie will be deleted after a certain time.

    Bluray is cheaper? Not on your nelly!

  • Ansem_Rev

    Posted Nov 24, 2006 5:33 pm GMT

    Here’s an idea let’s Create a fun loving monopoly intended medium of a sorry excuse of a new format. Then to make it really fun let’s make it really expensive and then let’s “invest” $2.3 Billion Dollars in testing along with the emotion system like chip set called “the cell” (movie from J lo) then let’s use the Spiderman text and write Playstation 3 on it and call it a day. We did all this in a year!!! WOW. O but to make it really worth while let’s take Xbox’s idea of an online service and Wii’s idea for a controller and take out the rumble feature from the dual shock 3 and call it a day. Yeah that sounds like a great idea!

    This is Beta phase 3.
    #1 was Beta #2 was UMD #3 was Blu Ray

    WOW it didn’t work the last 2 times… We might as well nuke ourselves when we start selling Ps3 losing over $304 USD per unit SOLD! So our plan is to sell 2 Million Next year totaling another 1 billion Dollars in losses on top of our last fiscal year as a company trying to create Blu Ray of $1.71 Billion.

    Kiraj: Yeah lets do that
    Sony CEO : Wow its all too easy …

  • RunnerGunner480

    Posted Nov 24, 2006 2:32 pm GMT

    darthfrag- tv shows are for purchase not rent

  • HarakoMeshi

    Posted Nov 24, 2006 2:10 pm GMT

    PS3 is not just hype for HD movies because one BD can store more movie data than 3 Xbox 360s, and you will fill your HDD very quickly just watching a few movies. Also it will be cheaper to rent BD movies from Blockbuster or any other source than to download from the Microsoft service.

    I tried the service over the past few days. At first it was impossible to download any movies because the service was overwhelmed with requests. Yesterday evening I finially managed to download one. It was very slow, much slower than my DSL can do (6mbit), so it was limited by the service. It's still too slow to be considered good.

    As an added 'bonus' the launch of this service has slowed down all downloads from Xbox Marketplace. It took ages to download some demos and game videos last night. I'd rather they just take their weak on-demand service offline until they can get it right in terms of bandwidth.

    In the past Xbox Marketplace had been nice to use. Now a lot of newcomers who buy a 360 this holiday season are going to be very dissapointed with the current the state of Marketplace.

  • crills

    Posted Nov 24, 2006 1:45 pm GMT

    flex49 jbaird is not lieing about the price i pay 10 dollers for my dvr service from cablevision and g4 and mtv are on the basic package that cost 13.99$. but that does not mean its not a good idea ms can sell these things to people who dont got no other way to watch these shows or movies and they just need to get some up to date ones. this just proves the ps3 is just hype cause you dont even need a hd dvd player in your 360 to watch hd movies so they did not have to put a bluray player in the ps3 they just want that money.any i dont care for none of this i rather play with my wii thats why i love ninendo they know how to make you have fun and all you in here can say what ever you want my brother got a ps3 and i got a wii and even he had to eat his words.the ps3 might have way better graphics but the wii is way better to play the gameplay is something that will have you playing for hours unlike his ps3 and 360 games were they all play the same with differant storys and the same gameplay from years ago thats not next gen thats new tech the wii is the only real next gen . real gamers and you know who you are what ever happened to just turning on your console and playing games

  • darthfrag

    Posted Nov 24, 2006 1:31 pm GMT

    Great idea, poor pricing structure. Why should I pay the same money for an 11 minute episode as a 44 minute? Based on the different prices for standard and HD movies, they're charging more for larger files, so why not less for smaller ones? I'm not interested in paying $2-4 for a rental of a show when I can buy it outright on iTunes for the same or less... Again, this is a great idea, but it needs tweaking.

  • evolutionex

    Posted Nov 24, 2006 1:15 pm GMT

    High Def content requires serious amount of bandwidth, especially if you want to watch it quickly, no one is going to use Xbox360 as an alternative to Bittorrent , this service is only for those who either posses god like Connections (6mbit+) or have LOTS of free time in their hand.

  • phSychO_AtDawn

    Posted Nov 24, 2006 12:06 pm GMT

    This is nice for those people who don't have cable in their room or they have family who hog up the TV (this is why I play games)

  • HuusAsking

    Posted Nov 24, 2006 11:56 am GMT

    I'm sure Microsoft realizes that space could soon become a concern and will take appropriate steps as time passes. Movie rentals coulb be a concern because of their size, but since they have relatively short lives on your unit (2 weeks or 24 hours after first view, whichever's first), the problem is at least mitigated. Similarly, the TV episodes can be cleared off and then redownloaded later.

    If Microsoft isn't announcing a bigger hard drive this holiday, perhaps they're laying groundwork for a spring expansion, complete with new Premium packages and at least a decent amount of stock.

    And it's not like Microsoft is making this service a centerpiece of Live: just another cool thing you can do, much as you can stream from certain PCs. It's basically another "And that's not all!" Microsoft can boast, one in particular it can use to match Sony.

  • thebrazenone

    Posted Nov 24, 2006 11:51 am GMT

    it's a really good concept in theory. but, downloading 720p content takes more than an eternity (i don't care what speed connection you have), and the 480p content looks plain bad (at least on my bravia). that pretty much ends my experiment with downloading this content.

  • K1LLSWITCH

    Posted Nov 24, 2006 11:04 am GMT

    This is all fine and dandy but aren't we straying from what this industry was meant to be about, video games? Again features such as this is nice but it's definently not needed especially when the storage device used to save all of this content is only a 20GB hard drive.

  • georgebull

    Posted Nov 24, 2006 9:39 am GMT

    hi!i am of europe and i have usa profile in xbox live.i want to see HDmovies but i can not take mspoints.Anybody know how i can take prepaid card for usa?

  • Sheiko

    Posted Nov 24, 2006 9:01 am GMT

    These are actually some pretty good prices i might aswell go buy me a xbox 360 but maybe when games mature and some good ones come out like halo 3. As well as the newer better components come in 2007. Really need to find a alternative to that $200 hdd though man thats pricey for these prices.

  • theKSMM

    Posted Nov 24, 2006 8:29 am GMT

    This is a good move on Microsoft's part. Not only does it expand the usefulness of the XBOX 360, but it let's them show the competition that their gaming network (XBOX Live!) is still the most sophisticated.

    Granted, the selection may not be up to par yet, but just wait. I'm sure they'll make similar moves to Apple's to get their content levels up.

    Of course, they still need to allow users to use secondary USB storage for media files. And if I had a way to stream my XviD videos to my 360 from my PC, I'd be in high heaven. But that might be wishful thinking for now.

  • Britesparc

    Posted Nov 24, 2006 7:57 am GMT

    This is cool, can't wait till it comes to UK

    And as for people arguing over the cost of DVR, etc... it's moot. This isn't a TiVo/Sky+ replacement; it's a Blockbuster replacement. I might download the odd South Park episode or the like (assuming the lineup is similar in the UK) but what I'm really looking forward to is "renting" movies by downloading them to my Xbox. So they delete themselves; who cares? If I want to own the movie, I'll buy the DVD.

    Hooray for Microsoft!

  • hotdogman949

    Posted Nov 24, 2006 7:48 am GMT

    If you buy a tv show its yours forever to keep. You can delete it whenever you want and just download it again at a later time just like you can download your gamerpics and themes over after deleting them.

  • nausea64

    Posted Nov 24, 2006 7:15 am GMT

    So what about the tv shows? Do we get to keep those or are they deleted like the movies?

  • gaarcham

    Posted Nov 24, 2006 7:00 am GMT

    It could be Beta 4, don't forget the mini disc was going to replace cd's

  • ffgothic

    Posted Nov 24, 2006 6:44 am GMT

    it's gonna grow to be awesome! I could watch some shows on my 360 when my sister hogs the TV in the living room

  • flex49

    Posted Nov 24, 2006 5:47 am GMT

    jbaird1981
    This is lame. My DVR records any show i want, high-def or not for 8 dollars a month. Meanwhile, Microsoft is charging an over priced sticker tag for old Star Trek episodes and Beavis and Butthead?? I mean come on, get with the times. I watched Beavis and Butthead when i was 12 years old, I understand a sense of nostalgia when necessary, but this is just rediculous. If you want beavis and butthead, watch mtv 2. If you want star trek, watch G4TV. And guys, if you want to watch old Japanese animation or lame a*s action movies, go to your local video store and rent them for two bucks. I am a techie at heart, and believe me , when I first read about Microsofts attempt at "on demand" I was intrigued. But, this is just straight up lame. At least have top shows like LOST, The Office, Heroes, My Name is Earl, Prison Break, etc etc. If you want action, have new and up-to-date movies like X-Men 3, not Poseiden (what a half-as* remake) - which received below par ratings. On demand is off in my book. Go mainstream before you waste valuable microsoft points on movies and tv shows that in reality are not really in demand. *****

    Stop lying to these people, jbaird...you know that DVR in NYC doesn't cost 8 dollars a month...try 80 dollars...and it cost more if it's in HD. I can't believe you can make a such a judgment about the content they have and it's only been 2 days old. They will have more...in time. Also, MS can only put shows and movies they have contracts with not just what YOU want, jbaird. Then you have to nerve to tell people to go to the video store and get it for 2 dollars (like the whole point of On Demand is so you don't have to go to the store....doh!)....Do you live in Brooklyn, NYC in the year 1990?? Where are you getting all these cheap prices from? There's alot of people who don't have MTV2 and G4TV!!!

  • devinj

    Posted Nov 24, 2006 1:48 am GMT

    I cant wait to play some of the HD movies, the HD movie section on movies on demand is horrible, i think its like 7 movies total with the best choice being bloodrayne, ive been dieing to see some HD movies on my new set. Cause i realy dont feel like spending hundreds on an HD dvd or blueray player.

  • imperial_agent

    Posted Nov 24, 2006 1:24 am GMT

    the amount of space on the 20gig hardrive is really not a big deal.

    i have a ton of Xbox games, demos, plus Xbox Live arcade games, music, etc... and it only eats up about 12 gigs. Adding a few movies on the drive is really not a problem. Plus, since the movies delete themselves 24 hours after the first movie, it doesn't take up any space afterwards. My only gripe is that you only have it for 24 hours. That kinda sucks. But it's not really so bad. I'm really looking forward to watching Jericho. My tv has no cable reception, and I stopped downloading it off iTunes because frankly it isn't fun to watch TV on a computer monitor instead of a big screen HDTV.

    yay Xbox!

  • grandma1

    Posted Nov 23, 2006 10:32 pm GMT

    its a really neat idea. I'll try 2 rent V for Vendetta this weekend

  • MalevolentKadaj

    Posted Nov 23, 2006 10:32 pm GMT

    @ Ansem_Rev

    So... you'd rather have a hard drive so small you're going to be running out of space faster than a Hummer guzzles gas, then pay more for a console that uses a next generation disc and can use any laptop hard drive? A 160GB PS3 is no problem at all (and around $170). Or would you prefer to have 8 separate hard drives (over $800)?
    Also, the HD DVD drive for the Xbox360 brings the 360's cost up to the PS3 cost point.

    And just so you know, a major reason Beta failed is because Sony didn't license it to the porn industry, which they have done with BluRay.
    UMDs should have never been intended for movies.

  • Ansem_Rev

    Posted Nov 23, 2006 8:49 pm GMT

    Yeah um can anyone else Say it with me?

    Xbox 360 ROXORZ joor BOXORZ Sony. U just got teh pwned. Here's an idea that works lets send out Blu ray. and then to make it fun lets make it really expensive. Then let's force mutl billion dollar movie studios to buy from us as if they are gonna give competetion money? This is Beta phase 3 . First Beta then UMD and now Blu Ray. Well i got news for you. U nuked urself have fun everyone when you pick up a ps3 next year for $50 dollars. Just like Dreamcast!!!! WOOT!

  • WhiteSnake5000

    Posted Nov 23, 2006 8:42 pm GMT

    xfan-atic, have you ever heard of Bosnia?

  • Fly-Boy123

    Posted Nov 23, 2006 8:17 pm GMT

    This is the best. I love my Xbox360. My #1 console of all time.

  • -HCMF-

    Posted Nov 23, 2006 8:16 pm GMT

    very nice.

  • JLCrogue

    Posted Nov 23, 2006 8:15 pm GMT

    GTAPsychoFan
    "i hate my life, i live in a country that there is not even xbox live! and the xbox costs $1500, i won't tell you where i am cause its embarassing.

    worst than africa! guess where. "

    Do you live in France? JK!!

  • Riverwolf007

    Posted Nov 23, 2006 7:43 pm GMT

    Comeon GTAPsychoFan i give up where are you from man, Nobody here will make fun of you we promise. If its really worst than where you said perhaps we can all chip in for a plane ticket outta there. I bet xfan-atic needs a roomate.

  • jared81799

    Posted Nov 23, 2006 7:19 pm GMT

    how about some more first party stuff? i dont see the need for the tv shows. you can watch any of them for free anywhere else. south park in HD? lol

advertisement

Hot Stories

Newsmakers

Featured Stories

Submit News

Got tips? Send them in!

Recent News

See All News »

Site Blogs