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Microsoft's rumored tablet may be a Barnes & Noble collaboration with Xbox Live video streaming
Rumors swirling around Microsoft's mystery event on Monday have repeatedly centered on a tablet, but if TechCrunch sources are right, Microsoft may only play a partial role in the project. The unveiling, according to the claims, may instead be a tablet, e-reader or a crossover of the two built in teamwork with Barnes & Noble -- a company that just recently established a vague partnership with Microsoft after many months of legal wrangling over Android and the Nook. The slate may not include Windows 8 RT at all, despite earlier assertions, but that's not to say that Microsoft wouldn't be breaking ground in other areas. One of the reported insiders believes it could be the first device without the Microsoft badge to get Xbox Live video streaming, which might explain Redmond's eagerness to turn Xbox into a general media brand at its E3 keynote. It's still very much unknown if there will be any hardware at all, although decisions to host the event in the media capital of Los Angeles and detach the invitation from any existing Microsoft division provide at least indirect support for the notion. Whatever happens, we'll be there tomorrow to give you the lowdown.
Microsoft Xbox video marketplace ad banned for being misleading
Apple isn't the only one to run afoul of the UK's Advertising Standards Authority, now that one of Microsoft's recent ads (embedded after the break) promoting its video rental service has been banned. Challenged because it fails to mention the viewing window (24 hours after pressing play / 14 days after download,) the board agreed, saying users may be influenced to purchase on the basis of being able to download and keep movies, which currently they can't. Microsoft argued that the ad was too short to get into the details of its DRM requirements, but maybe next time they'll hire one of the fast talking individuals from oh-so-many pharmaceutical ads for the last second disclaimer.[Via Joystiq Xbox & CVG]
A silent guardian, a watchful protector, 'The Dark Knight' on XBLM
If you happen to be one of three people in the world who have yet the watch "The Dark Knight," here is your chance. Microsoft has added the critically acclaimed film to its popular online movie rental service. Available in both high definition and standard definition, at 480MS and 320MS points respectively, The Dark Knight continues the story of The Batman and his quest to rid Gotham City of its seedy criminal underbelly. With the help of District Attorney Harvey Dent and Lieutenant Jim Gordon, The Batman faces his greatest threat of all, a ruthless murderer known only as The Joker. Watch this one, again and again.Update: Reader DBoyFlex also adds a few Dark Knight treats are available. Check it out for a new regular theme and some video content.Add The Dark Knight to your Xbox 360 download queue
Microsoft adds Universal, NBC to Xbox Live Marketplace, calls #1 in HD
Microsoft just announced Universal, and NBC Universal programming is coming to Xbox Live, delivering The Office, Monk, Battlestar Galactica, The Mummy, Bourne Supremacy and others to the service. Xbox Live Video Marketplace now claims over 10,000 movies and TV shows on the marketplace, which it says puts it as the number one HD provider. MGM and Constantin are pushing things forward in Europe, adding 700 new titles to the library starting today. Check out more details from the E3 keynote in the live blog.
Xbox Live queues up more HD movies & TV for March
Xbox Live Marketplace has been busy adding videos all year and it looks like March will be the same way, with Afro Samurai hitting the service in HD only next month. More South Park is coming too, starting March 10, along with a free episode of Lewis Black's new show and Robot: Chicken: Star Wars. No word on if the latter two are available in HD, but check after the break for some of the movies showing up for rent next month.
MGM movies, Disney TV shows now available on Xbox Live Marketplace
As promised, those MGM flicks have hit Xbox Live Marketplace, satisfying our deep seated need for downloadable HD Rocky and James Bond flicks. Disney's releases popped up on the service last week, however since High School Musical 2 was a TV movie, its available only for purchase, at a cost of 1920 MS points ($23.99), the same as the Blu-ray version on Amazon. Its hard to make the argument the Xbox 360 doesn't need a Blu-ray add-on if HD movies cost the same amount for a lower quality (and more restrictively DRM'd) edition, not that we were really looking forward to downloading all 720p's of Zac Efron or n e thing.[Via Gamerscore Blog]
Sundance short films coming to Video Marketplace
If you'd like to give your Xbox 360 some culture, you may be interested to know that the Sundance Institute will be releasing 45 of the short films from this year's Sundance Film Festival on the Xbox Live Video Marketplace. The films are to go on sale Friday, January 18 for the attractive price of 160 Microsoft Points (about $2) each. Keep in mind that these are being offered as permanent downloads, not rentals. Not only do you films at a super low price, but you get to show your significant other (or would be significant other) that you really care about the arts. Not bad. Find descriptions of all 45 films after the break.
Xbox Live Video Marketplace launches in five new countries
Right on cue, the Xbox Live Video Marketplace has indeed launched in Europe today, and our neighbors to the north are being treated, too. Effectively immediately, Xbox Live users in Canada, France, Germany, Ireland and the United Kingdom can dip into features made available to Americans last year. More specifically, gamers will be able to rent downloadable flicks in HD and SD forms, and while the former will run folks "as little as 250 Microsoft Points (£2; $4.06)," high-definition versions will cost upwards of 380 Points (£3.20; $6.49). Also of note is the inclusion of additional Warner Bros. films such as Batman Forever, Batman Returns and Analyze That -- all of which will be available by the year's end. Lastly, Microsoft will be offering up a "mystery HD [Warner Bros.] title" to UK users for just £0.99 ($2.00) on December 28th, but we can't say we're brimming with excitement over it.[Via Pocket-Lint]
Xbox Live Video Marketplace to launch in Europe next week
Just over a year after launching the Xbox Live Video Marketplace in the US, Microsoft is finally ready to bring the service to Europe, with Computer and Video Gaming reporting that it'll open for business on December 11. Sadly, it looks like it'll be rental-only, at least at first, with 720p flicks going for 320 MS points (about £3.23, or $6.64) and SD movies for 250 points (about £2.13, or $4.39). Rentals will stick around on your hard drive for 14 days after you download them, but once you hit play they'll delete themselves after 24 hours -- a system which seems needlessly complicated to us, but we'll take what we can get. Peep the full list of titles available at launch after the break.
Xbox Live Marketplace adding HD Looney Tunes episodes
We'll admit it, we had an idea Microsoft's just-announced Xbox 360 Arcade was coming. What we didn't expect was that it would be accompanied by a flood of family-friendly content headed to the Xbox Live Video Marketplace. Along with standard-def content from Nickelodeon, Warner Bros. will make 50 high definition episodes of Looney Tunes available for download. Of course, owners of the new Arcade unit won't be able to download the shows without a HDD, but why sweat the details (like pricing, which wasn't mentioned)? The new content hits "starting today", but doesn't appear to be up just yet, so keep an eye out for Acme-brand items landing on your HDTV.
Xbox 360 HD DVD player now just $179
The already nicely priced Xbox 360 HD DVD player just got slashed to $179. The new US-only, retail pricing also includes 5 free HD DVD flicks when purchasing the player between August 1st and September 30th -- you know, the same time period 300 and Heroes goes on sale in HD DVD format. Unfortunately, the free titles must be made from a selection of just 15 pre-selected films which Toshiba considers "popular." Nevertheless, the $20 price cut makes the Xbox 360 HD DVD player all the more enticing as an easily hacked, USB-player for HD flicks on your PC.Update: Xbox 360 owners will be getting downloadable treats to promote the add-on, Microsoft announced that the movie 300 will be available on Xbox Live Video Marketplace in HD starting August 14th. In a repeat of the South Park promotion earlier this year, the first episode of Heroes will be made available for free prior to the release of the boxed set on HD DVD for a limited time.[Thanks, Andrew and PacoDG]
Microsoft announces Disney movies in HD on Xbox Live right....now
Microsoft's E3 conference is still ongoing, but they were more than happy to note that Xbox Live Video Marketplace has already raked in more than $125 million in revenue, and is bigger than any cable providers' VOD offerings. As if that wasn't enough, for everyone who thought Blu-ray would be their only option for Disney films in HD, Microsoft announced that it is bringing both catalog and new releases to Xbox Live, in high definition, starting tonight. Our friends outside the U.S. have something to look forward to as well, because it plans to bring the video marketplace to Canada & Europe by the end of this year. Check out the live blog for more details.Update 1: Check out the official details after the break.Update 2: More info from Reuters indicates 35 titles from Disney are available now, including Bridge to Terabithia, The Queen and Deja Vu, but no Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (currently available on iTunes in theaters) on the way yet.
Newsbreak: Stewart and Colbert Report on XBLM
Microsoft dropped off a little missive today letting us know that The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report will now be available on Xbox Live Marketplace. Starting today, new episodes of each show will be available on Marketplace within 24 hours of the original airing on Comedy Central.We booted up our Xbox just to check, and sure enough, there they were. Episodes are available in 480p for 160 MS Points (US$2). Of course, Comedy Central airs the previous day's episodes three times during the next day, but don't let a silly little thing like logic keep you from paying for your favorite programs.Video Marketplace, you're on notice.
South Park's first HD episode hits Xbox Live tomorrow
The Xbox Live Video Marketplace is getting some of the truly compelling content we've been waiting for, as Wired is reporting that the first high definition episode of South Park will be available for download tomorrow. At the incredibly great price of free -- for the first two weeks -- all Xbox Live members can download the "Good times with Weapons" episode. If you for some reason don't have a 360, or don't have the internet and are reading this via teletype, Best Buy will also be making the episode available on HD DVD discs free with the purchase of an Xbox 360 or the HD DVD add-on between March 20th and April 3rd. Animated TV shows have been missing in HD for too long, hopefully we'll see more of those and more HD content on XBLM -- like HD Battlestar Galactica episodes we don't have to wait 6 months to see, as suggested by our friends at Joystiq. [Via Joystiq]
Marketplace movies that don't expire?
Joseph Molnar of the Pensive Gamer is reporting a new "problem" with Video Marketplace downloads. As avid users know, movies are considered rentals on Video Marketplace. After the play option is chosen, the movie expires after 24 hours. According to Joseph, though, his copy of Superman Returns has never expired. He has successfully watched the movie on multiple days without issue. We're not sure how widespread this "problem" is -- or if it's something that could be further exploited -- but we'll take a budget HD copy of Superman Returns any day. Then again, we're saving room on our hard drive for the Halo 3 beta.Has this happened to anyone else?
XBLVM a big success, Lionsgate on board
A recent press release confirms that the Xbox Live Video Marketplace has been a huge success. In only two months, Video Marketplace has become one of the top distributors of high definition downloadable media. According to Comedy Central senior vice president, Caleb Weinstein, Video Marketplace has become the second highest performing digital outlet for the network. Warner Bros. vice president for video on demand, Andrew Mellett notes that the service has "exceeded" expectations and has become one of Warner Bros' "top distributors." Again, this is a substantial achievement for a service that just debuted in November.In related news, Lionsgate has signed on to bring several of its movies to Video Marketplace in 2007. Some of the notable movies on the list include Crank, Blair Witch Project, SAW III, Ninth Gate, and the best date movie of the year 2000, Requiem for a Dream*.*This is a joke. Requiem for a Dream is not a good date movie at all. It's weird and it gives us nightmares.See also:Video Marketplace tops similar services
Superman Returns now on Xbox Live Video Marketplace
We were wondering how long it would take to get a high definition blockbuster movie onto Xbox Live Video Marketplace, and it looks like Microsoft and Major Nelson just got in under the wire for 2006, adding Superman Returns yesterday. Weighing in at 7 GB for the 720p HD version (2 GB in 480p SD... for the masochists out there) for the 154 minute movie, it's finally time to clear off some of the Xbox 360 demos we downloaded and see if digital distribution works better in 2007 than it did last year. We'll be back with our impressions of the service, now that they've posted something we want to watch on our HDTVs.
Video Marketplace tops similar services
Variety -- our go-to source for gaming journalism -- praises Microsoft's Xbox Live Video Marketplace in a recent article. While no specific numbers are mentioned, the article claims that sources have confirmed that Microsoft's download service is outperforming several similar services -- in particular, Amazon's Unbox service. The article further notes that this is from a user base of only 3.5 million Xbox 360s in the US, versus other services that can be used by anyone with a broadband connected PC. Another interesting note, HD versions of movies are downloaded far more than standard versions. What's the big difference between other download services and Video Marketplace? It's simple, Video Marketplace puts movies right on your TV. Other services allow users to download movies to their PC, which isn't exactly optimal for movie viewing. Sure, some people have the know-how and the hardware to get PC movies onto a TV, but it can be daunting for the average viewer. Variety expects that the movie download boom won't really begin until more services offer the same easy functionality -- something Apple's upcoming iTV claims to do. We have to admit, we were skittish when the Video Marketplace launched. However, as new content keeps rolling in (The State FTW!) we're finding more reasons to skip the video store. How often do you use the Video Marketplace?[Via Planet Xbox 360]
Xbox Live Video Marketplace goes live
Surprise, surprise, it's November 22nd (happy birthday Xbox 360!), and Microsoft has taken its new Xbox Live Video Marketplace live. The biggest mystery at this point was price, which turns out to be $2 for SD TV shows, $3 for HD, while movie rentals will run you $3 for SD and $6 for HD. This is all converted from the various, confusing MS Points involved in each purchase (80 Points = $1), which we're sure we'll all be well sick of after a couple months of using the Marketplace -- if not already. The current word on selection is 48 movies and 50 TV shows available for download, and we're sure that'll be growing -- though V for Vendetta is already available as a HD rental... what more could you want?[Thanks, TexRob]UPDATE: Joystiq has some more info and pics galore of the service. They clarified the pricing scheme as well: movies are divided into "New" and "Classic" releases, and priced at $6/$4 for the former, $4.50/$3 for the latter.
Video Marketplace is open for business
Where the 360 is concerned, it seems like good things come in spurts. Small Arms hit the arcade today, the Lost Planet multiplayer demo drops tomorrow, and now the Video Marketplace is online. We took a break from Small Arms to check it out. The Video Marketplace itself will be familiar to anyone who has used Marketplace before to download demos or videos. Getting there is easy enough, open up the Media blade, select Video Marketplace, and you're there.The videos are divided among TV, movies, music videos, clips, and game videos. From these selections, videos can then be organized by studio, download rank, etc. Not all videos are available in HD, but a handy "HD Available" image is attached to all videos that do, so you won't have to go all the way to the download screen to find out. Interestingly, the "standard definition" content is actually 480p, not 480i, though it's possible that the 360 merely recognizes what connection you are using (VGA in our case). We loaded up a preview clip of Borat in about 15 seconds. The preview clips show up in a small window and include sound, which was missing from our earlier preview. Movies are available to watch 14 days after purchase, or 24 hours after selecting the "play" option. Frankly, we think that's a little stingy. There really isn't any reason you shouldn't be able to watch your movies for the entire period, but we digress. And the big issue we've been waiting for: the price. TV shows, it seems, are 160 points ($2) for standard definition and 240 points ($3) for high definition. It seems like these prices apply regardless of length, so you'll pay the same 160 points for an hour long episode of CSI or a 15 minute episode of Aqua Teen Hunger Force. Movies seem to be divided into two categories: old and new. Older movies run 240 points ($3) for standard definition and 360 points ($4.50) for HD. New movies, on the other hand, are 320 points ($4) for SD and 480 points ($6) for HD. When compared with most movie rental chains, the prices seem fair enough, though it probably won't convince anyone to drop their online rental services.The SD Borat clip we downloaded wasn't the best quality, but it was passable. The HD Eragon trailer looked much better (and way better than the game, amirite?). We haven't actually downloaded any HD movies or TV, because, you know, we're not wealthy. Overall, the Video Marketplace is pretty much what you'd expect, and a welcome addition to the Xbox 360's growing list of features.Anybody out there downloading TV or movies yet? Does the quality live up to your standards.
