Audio Video News

Microsoft announced this week that it has secured deals with a number of major studios to sell downloads of movies and TV shows through its Xbox Live Internet service for the Xbox 360 game console. Although the bulk of the programming available will be standard definition, some content will be available in HD out of the gate, with more to follow. The service will go live November 22nd.

Studios offering content over Xbox Live at launch include CBS, Paramount, and Warner. Microsoft also claims to have deals inked with MTV, Turner Broadcasting System and Ultimate Fighting Championship.

No pricing has been announced for downloads but Microsoft did acknowledge that HD content will cost more than standard def due to the greater bandwidth required to deliver it with high enough quality. No speculation was made on data rates, or on how long it will take to download an HD movie or TV show.

Films are available only as rentals, and will appear during the video-on-demand window and TV shows will be offered for permanent download the day after original broadcast. Initial movies to be available over Xbox Live include recent hit releases like Mission: Impossible 3, Nacho Libre, Superman Returns, and The Matrix.

It's worth noting that unlike Sony's PlayStation3, the Xbox 360 is equipped only with component video outputs, not HDMI outputs.

The obvious significance of this move is that Microsoft, through its Xbox 360, is making a major move into the living room, which is where the game console is most likely to live. The company has already announced an add-on HD DVD drive, and thus the software giant is taking on Sony in gaming and next-gen HD disc playback while also attacking Apple on two fronts. Apple is selling movie and TV shows through its iTunes online store, and it has also announced that next year it will release an iTV set-top box that will allow users to stream those movies and TV shows from their computers to their TVs using this Mac-Mini sized device.

With Xbox Live service and the Xbox 360 to deliver the content, Microsoft and Apple are now set to battle for lving roon supremacy in 2007. And we thought the Blu-ray vs. HD DVD format was fun.