Xbox Live Video Marketplace is live, $6 HD rentals [update 1]
by Christopher Grant 
{ Nov 22nd 2006 at 10:43AM }
Happy birthday Xbox 360! For your first birthday, daddy got you something really cool ... downloadable movies and television shows! While the PS3 Blu-ray marketing machine is busy selling folks high-def movies on little discs, Microsoft decided to forgo the discs and just sling the bits straight into your 'box. They already spilled the beans on this one a couple weeks ago, and we even picked Microsoft's Scott Henson's brain on it, but there was still one thing they wouldn't dish on: the price.
Prices are broken down into six categories: new release movie rentals, classic rentals, and television purchases, with high-def and standard-def offerings in each.
New releases
"Classic" feature film Television purchase So far they've got 48 movies and 50 TV shows broken down between 2 movie studios and 12 television networks. We're surprised Universal, who're supporting the HD-DVD and Zune platforms in a big way, didn't climb on board for the initial launch but we're certain there's a warehouse full of lawyers working to get more content partnerships established. Pics of the service after the break.
[Update: Video of the service added after the break]
Nothing new here ...
What's that? Movie and TV Shows and Star Trek?
The Movies page. KHAAAAAAAAAAN!
9-1/2 Weeks totally nails the lonely teenager demographic ... well, it doesn't nail it. You see, what we meant was ...
A classic, to be sure (and one of our favorites) but it didn't win the Academy Award for best picture in 2006! At least the prices reflect the "classic" scheme.
V for Vendetta on the other hand is most certainly a new release and priced accordingly.
Here's a classic without a high-def counterpart. We wonder if there will be a reduced fee upgrade option should one arrive ...
If you can't see The Lake House in high-def, then why bother, y'know?
High-def movie trailers; another arena where Microsoft is challenging Apple's dominance.
The TV Shows page ...
More Star Trek. What are they trying to say?
More demographically astute programming.
You can search by network so you can keep all your CW shows in one place!
Check out the branded sub-pages. Pretty swanky.
Where's our Daily Show? We're guessing the whole "daily" part may be a problem.
Some shows even have the network branding built right in there, like CSI here.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Steve @ Nov 22nd 2006 10:53AM
Fantastic, although $6 seems a little steep for a current High Def movie.
ahtheirony @ Nov 22nd 2006 10:54AM
The only problem is... Microsoft will need to make bigger (and reliable, unlike mine which is broken) hard drives. This will never lift off for that. And by the way, I don't recommend heavy use of your 360 HDD... unless you want it to fail.
And guess what, this can and will also be done on the PS3, except you get more space on the HDD and you can add more at will of the brand you want, no crappy proprietary HDDs. PS3 FTW!
Steve @ Nov 22nd 2006 10:54AM
p.s. I also need a larder hard drive, mine is almost full, and I love the fact that they are moving forward in the Movie Trailer department.
ahtheirony @ Nov 22nd 2006 12:55PM
Oh, and internet is too slow for this anyway. It's going to take more time to download shows and movies than to actually watch them. lol
Too late, Microsoft. HD-DVD should have been in the box since last year.
JJ @ Nov 22nd 2006 10:56AM
Definately a neat little feature, i was going over it today, but i dont yet quite feel like ordering HD movies and stuff yet, i mean... i do have ONdemand cable service and majority of the stuff is free so i dont think i'd bother to D/L this stuff, but i do see the use for it for those who dont subscribe to a cable TV provider.
Still a pretty neat feature they finally added.
Erwos @ Nov 22nd 2006 10:55AM
Selection is bad, but the rental pricing is reasonable. The TV show pricing is so-so, IMHO - it's cheaper to buy the DVDs, although getting the HD versions might be worth it to some folks.
I could see myself using this, though. Good job, Microsoft. Just get Battlestar Galactica, and you'll be rocking.
SickNic @ Nov 22nd 2006 10:56AM
I agree. $6 is a bit much for an HD movie you can only watch once.
The downloadable TV shows are looking great though. Adult Swim FTW!!!!
maximus @ Nov 22nd 2006 10:57AM
No thanks. I want movies on a disc that i can keep and watch whenever i like, $6 for a rental? Get bent.
Isaiah @ Nov 22nd 2006 11:11AM
Its my bday to.... best birthday ever!!!!
Paul @ Nov 22nd 2006 11:04AM
south park.. adult swim... please tell me the office is on there
Sam McConnell @ Nov 22nd 2006 11:02AM
Aww, and I was hoping for an HD transfer of The Wrath of Khan.
rrenna @ Nov 22nd 2006 11:05AM
#4: PS3 could do this, of course, so could wii. Alot of people just love the whole "pay for potential" marketing jazz, how about we compare it to what's actually avaliable.
#7: You keep it on your HD for 14 days, when you watch it the first time you have 24 hours to watch it as many times as you want.
Daxter1985 @ Nov 22nd 2006 11:04AM
*hugs netflix*
no thanks I can easily rent any of those movies or tv shows from netflix
Jordan @ Nov 22nd 2006 11:42AM
I could see myself taking advantage of this. I have standard cable which looks like garbage on my TV. Plus with blockbuster rentals going to $8 bucks for a standard-definition dvd, $6 for a HD rental doesn't seem too shabby, not too shabby at all.
Definatly need a bigger hard drive, though. The 100GB hard drive cant come soon enough.
Alric @ Nov 22nd 2006 1:00PM
Hmm..Galactica and Heroes in HD? Wake me up when it happens and I'll get a 360.
> @ Nov 22nd 2006 11:05AM
Those MS Points are obtuse; if they want this to be mainstream they need to use real money like the rest of the world.
Daolohua @ Nov 22nd 2006 11:06AM
If ya don't have a HD Drive (Blu-ray OR HD-DVD) then a few rentals at 6 bucks is "ok" and TV Shows to own for 3 bucks is definitely worth it.
They just need a bigger drive, already. Whether it comes in the form of a new HD to buy or support for an portable HD via USB - make it happen, MS.
Phranctoast @ Nov 22nd 2006 11:06AM
So...
1.how large (GB) are these "rentals"?
2.After you "rent" them, and delete of your HDD for space reasons, do you need to rebuy them if you want to see them again?
Ciaran Gallagher @ Nov 22nd 2006 7:08PM
Absolutely brilliant stuff!
It's pretty cheap too. If there was a new release out and it looked good, instead of travelling the whole way to the video store and spend more money, I can use the afternoon to download it (or background download it! :) ) and then watch it in HD glory in the evening!
Class!
One question though, if the movies expire, can I still transport them to another 360 to watch them there instead of just on the box I download it to?
Jordan @ Nov 22nd 2006 11:09AM
To add to my other point,
If MS introduced a subscription of something like $30-40 per month for unlimited downloads, I could very potentially cancel my cable tv subscription and do-away with blockbuster...
Interesting...
jharr @ Nov 22nd 2006 11:10AM
I am personally excited for this. We have an HDTV but no HD-DVD or BD player and I like the idea of being able to rent HD movies without having to upgrade completely to a new player. I think that $6 is reasonable for a HD rental. I told my brother and sister in law about this and they are excited to rent movies in HD as well. I am glad that there is some sort of alternative to HD-DVD/BD.
ncxcstud @ Nov 22nd 2006 11:12AM
For those saying the rentals of the HD versions are 'a bit high' how much do you think B&M stores like Hollywood or Blockbuster will charge? DVDs already rent for 3.99 which puts those pretty on par with the SD versions of the movies. I can see blockbuster charging 5.99 for HD movies once those come available.
I'll agree with everyone though...MS needs to introduce a new and AFFORDABLE HD very, very soon.
Scott @ Nov 22nd 2006 11:15AM
Size + Cost + 24 hour rental period on the movies = thumbs down.
I'll give the TV shows a try though.
Hopefully, they'll be constantly adding new content as well as releasing larger HDDs though I think allowing an external HDD would be better.
rrenna @ Nov 22nd 2006 11:14AM
Jesus you guys pay 4 bucks for DVD rentals in the states? In canada it's like $8. This is potentially cheaper for me (even after the exchange)
AirIntake @ Nov 22nd 2006 11:16AM
MS isn't stupid. They're perfectly aware of how many times 5gigs goes into 13. I'm sure they'll either release an update that gives USB hard drives full capability, or they'll release a larger hard drive in the next few months.
C @ Nov 22nd 2006 11:17AM
Where's the discount for Xbox Live Gold members?
Derek @ Nov 22nd 2006 11:17AM
I rent movies at Blockbuster, because it's the only store in my neighborhood (they pushed out all of the local stores). The going rate for a movie rental is $5.75. I would definitely use the marketplace to rent movies - it's cheaper than Blockbuster and it saves me a trip to the video store. I live in Canada and a ten-minute walk to the video store can be freezing cold in the middle of January!
StuffLuster @ Nov 22nd 2006 11:19AM
If I rent more than 2 or 3 of these, I'll be over my monthly bandwidth cap! Time to upgrade to Extreme High Speed.
Jason Lynx @ Nov 22nd 2006 11:18AM
Sounds good. Xbox 360 owners have lots of options now.
Brian B. @ Nov 22nd 2006 11:19AM
$6 isn't bad at all for an HD movie rental, sure wish I could fit one on my 360's hard drive.
Gary @ Nov 22nd 2006 11:19AM
When atm machines were first introduced, they were free, as the bank made it's money from reductions in staff as a result of automation.
Then realizing that they could take advantage of the virtual oligopoly that major banks enjoy, they made money from both ends by charging for the atm services that they were already benefitting from.
Microsoft is trimming much of the overhead of a brick and mortar Blockbuster store through digital distribution. They could discount the movie prices and enjoy the same kinds of profit margins as the brick and mortar stores.
But no. They're going to charge similar prices, snatch up the savings for themselves and try to have their pr staff convince enough of the younger demographic that online renting through their Xbox is cool and will make them reek of sex and revolution.
I like my 360 but I recognize Microsoft as the devil I know.
Kevin @ Nov 22nd 2006 11:19AM
#4 - Has your HDD failed from overuse? If not, STFU.
ncxcstud @ Nov 22nd 2006 11:22AM
#28 - Would you complain if this Video Marketplace becomes successful enough that they could offer XBOX Live Gold for free? It has the potential...
Josh Smith @ Nov 22nd 2006 11:24AM
I'm sure Universal is holding out for a dollar fifty of each 360 hardware sale.
Frosty22 @ Nov 22nd 2006 11:25AM
Actually I am all for this. I rented a Southpark Episode today and was kind of ticked at the download time... but then 5 minutes later a button popped up saying I could go ahead and watch it. It was only 50% done but would let me watch it while the rest was downloading, and it was flawless.
If you want an entire season... it's not worth it. But if you want to just download an episode here and there from a season, it is worth it. As far as the Hi Def movies... yeah 6 is kind of high. But It beats buying an HDDVD or BluRay for $30 plus bucks, especially if you are like me and will only watch it one or two times. At this price, it is still cheaper to rent it 4 times than it is to buy it (how often do you guys rewatch your dvd's?)
I'm impressed with this service. Now just get some more shows and movies as well as a bigger hd and I'm a happy camper.
Frosty22 @ Nov 22nd 2006 11:31AM
Oh and all of you with full harddrives... why not just delete all the junk in them that you NEVER watch! You can redownload this stuff as often as you'd like!
Nossy @ Nov 22nd 2006 11:29AM
$6 too steep for HD movies? Blockbuster have SD movies going for $4. It's about right, I'd say.
There are major flaws to this Video Marketplace as some mentioned above. 20GB? 1 HD movie will fill up almost half the drive (We only have access to 13 GB). And where is the HARD DRIVE upgrade before this (Maybe they're waiting to see how it pans out?). And does this mean all the Core owners are shit out of luck unless they spend another $100 for the Hard Drive?
Secondly, 5GB of download will take a 2-3 hours to download on a good connection day.
Hmm...That PS3 is looking very attractive just about now, if I can actually find one for the actual retail price. Beat Gears of War in one sitting (kinda dissapointed actually, don't know why there's so much praise about the game). R6 Vegas (Demo looks good already) will be on PS3. COD3 is on PS3.
360_haters_suck @ Nov 22nd 2006 11:29AM
I love this feature and I love this idea.
I don't have any HD players, nor do I have Tivo and all that stuff as I don't watch much t.v. I have basic cable so for wife, son and I this is awesome.
Being able to rent an HD movie from the comfort of my own home is plane sick and it doesn't take that long to do it. It does however sicken me to the core how some of you will find anything to complain about, something that runs rampant in society today, spoiled ass kids/teens. Being a gamer for over 23 years and haveing a family of my own, we didn't have cool stuff like that coming up. Download a movie on your Turbo Grafx 16?, hell what is a download would've been more like it. Thank you MS for raising the bar again. At least older gamers, those of us who have been there since the beginning anyways, for upping the entertainment value of your product.
360 is a great name for a great system. Centered on games, revolves around entertainment, that's hot.
Yaktastic @ Nov 22nd 2006 11:46AM
So if the HD-dvd addon allows for emulated upscaling beyond 720p, would that also apply here?
I don't have an HDtv let alone and 360, but i am interested in how thought through and integrated that addon hardware is to the whole system
Jelly @ Nov 22nd 2006 11:30AM
Well, i'm in the UK and it's not there for me... Oh well.
Jdoki @ Nov 22nd 2006 11:29AM
I'm at work at the moment so can't check, but I'm guessing this is a US only roll out. Any idea when we get this in Europe?
I can't believe the negativity round here sometimes...
@#3 ahtheirony... your 'internet is too slow' statement is the lamest bash against the Xbox360 I have ever heard.
If people think $6 is too steep, vote with your wallet.
I like the idea of being able to download HD shows and movies for a small amount. It's all about choice and promotes impulse purchases. If I want to watch something do I have to go down to Blockbuster? Nope. Do I have to go and buy the disc? Nope.
The 20GB HDD is too small, waaaay too small, but is the 60GB PS3 HDD any better when GB's of space may be snatched for installs?
The Xbox360 may have lost 7GB, but that's it for caching, OS etc, and I've still got 8GB left since buying the console at launch - some people just have to let go of those crappy trailers... just how many times CAN you watch the DoA Extreme 2 trailer??
By the way, out of interest, how much of the 60GB PS3 HDD is actually available?
the Brayn @ Nov 22nd 2006 11:30AM
Gary, grow up. MS does not own the rights to the movies/tv shows they are offering. There are royalties that need to be paid to the parent companies and then there are costs incurred from the servers that store the information. Get over it, a company is in business to make money. The convenience of not having to get into your car and drive to a B&M store should be worth it when the movie costs the same because you are not wasting money on gas.
burn @ Nov 22nd 2006 11:31AM
"High-def movie trailers; another arena where Microsoft is challenging Apple's dominance."
Not really.. considering that anyone with access to the internet can watch these, and more at http://apple.com/trailers
You don't need a 360 for that. What exactally is the challenge here? Apple isn't attempting to dominate the highly competetive HD MOVIE TRAILER market.. come on.. *eye roll*
Rich @ Nov 22nd 2006 11:35AM
#14 "Those MS Points are obtuse; if they want this to be mainstream they need to use real money like the rest of the world."
AMEN to that!
pinksage @ Nov 22nd 2006 11:32AM
The price is fair. Like it said before, it's the same price as Comcast Ondemand HD movies, that last 24 hours.
ahtheirony @ Nov 22nd 2006 11:34AM
Kevin:
It doesn't matter of what it failed. It failed, period. All my computers have had better lasting, better, bigger and still cheaper HDDs. I shouldn't have to pay another 100 bucks for 13 gigs when there are better HDDs out there that are cheaper, especially if it's Microsoft's fault. As I said, I'd be on my third HDD (the first one failed, the second one didn't work to begin with), learn to read. Too bad Microsoft won't support them. Now, you can STFU.
"13. #4: PS3 could do this, of course, so could wii. Alot of people just love the whole "pay for potential" marketing jazz, how about we compare it to what's actually avaliable."
Don't worry. It'll be better than this. Sony has a Music studio of their own, and two huge movie studios. It'll be a lot better than this; especially considering you have more HDD space. It's not just "potential", it'll be there. Use your think-tank next time. NEXT.
cohagen @ Nov 22nd 2006 11:43AM
no streaming? that's a problem that cable or even the proposed itv/itunes store doesn't suffer from. i will try an hd movie or two just because i don't feel like waiting 6 months for some movies but i get enough hd tv and movie content from a hefty cable bill otherwise.
rjg @ Nov 22nd 2006 11:54AM
"3. Oh, and internet is too slow for this anyway. It's going to take more time to download shows and movies than to actually watch them. lol"
Yeah, if you are a loser.
I have a 10 mbit connection and it seems to be working pretty nicely to me.
Enjoy your ps3 fanboy.
Frosty22 @ Nov 22nd 2006 11:37AM
#42
You sound like an idiot. Just wanted to point that out.
NEXT
que @ Nov 22nd 2006 11:39AM
dvd rentals are $5.99 plus tax here in manhattan. HD rentals will probably be more. plus you dont need to take a trip outside.