Users of Microsoft’s Xbox Live online video game services will be able to download high quality movies and television shows from November 22nd.
Initially available only in the United States, the multimedia service will be part of Xbox Live Marketplace and promises to have about 1,000 hours of unique video content, 200 of which will be at 720p High Definition resolution, available by the end of the year.
Microsoft has signed with six content partners including CBS, Turner Broadcasting, Warner Bros., Paramount, MTV and its properties (Comedy Central, Cartoon Network, VH1, and more), and UFC, the Ultimate Fighting Championship league.
Television shows and movies will be available in both High Definition (720p) and standard definition (480p). While TV programmes will be buy-to-own and remain on the Xbox 360’s hard drive until the user delete it, movies will be delivered on a rental basis.
Downloaded movies remain on the hard drive for up to 14 days, but once a user begins watching the movie, it is deleted 24 hours later. For that limited time period, however, the movie can be viewed as many times as the purchaser wants.
The addition of movies and television programmes to Xbox Live Marketplace instantly raises the question of hard drive space. A typical full-length movie in 720p will take up five gigabytes in size, which will take a while to download… Fortunately for those who want near-instant fulfillment, videos can be viewed while downloading once a sufficient amount of buffer is established. Microsoft said that standard definition television programmes were “ready to play within minutes” of the download beginning.
The new content will be accessible through a new area of Xbox Live Marketplace appropriately titled Video Marketplace. From there, gamers can go through a menu screen with the following options: Movies, TV Shows, Music Videos, Game Videos, and Clips, which will contain bonus content such as DVD extras.
Each studio will set their own release dates, and Microsoft expects TV shows to be available on Xbox Live the day after they air on television, just as some networks do online (like Amazon’s Unbox and Apple’s iTunes).
Pricing has not yet been determined, but will be competitive with other similar services, like on-demand cable or Apple’s iTunes store. Video content will be available to both Silver and Gold Xbox Live members simultaneously.
So what’s available on Xbox Live Marketplace? The full list of movies and TV shows are:
[Adult Swim]
Robot Chicken, Aqua Teen Hunger Force
CBS
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Survivor, Star Trek
Comedy Central
South Park, Chappelle’s Show
MTV
The Real World, Pimp My Ride
Nickelodeon
Avatar: The Last Airbender, SpongeBob SquarePants
Nicktoons Network
Skyland, The Nicktoons Network Animation Festival
Paramount Pictures
Nacho Libre, Jackass: The Movie
Spike TV
Carpocalypse, Raising the Roofs
Nascar.com
Race Rewind
UFC
The Ultimate Fighter, UFC: All Access
VH1
Breaking Bonaduce, Hogan Knows Best
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
The Matrix, Superman Returns, Batman Forever
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