HD-DVD for 360 price cut + free movies

[mzkhadir]

gizmodo

 

[mugs]

Meh. Pretty weak.

 

[Queasy]

Yeah, the free movies are pretty good but a mere $20 price cut is rather .

I do like this though:

Microsoft unveiled exclusive content for Xbox LIVE® Marketplace. Xbox LIVE will offer "300" on demand in HD starting Aug. 14, and is working with Warner Bros. at Comic-Con on a Bringing It Home campaign featuring "300" and other Warner Bros. properties. In advance of the street date for the "Heroes: Season 1" HD DVD boxed set, Xbox LIVE members will be able to download for free the show's pilot episode in high definition for a limited time.

Since I don't have a HD DVD or Blu-Ray player and have no plans to get one, I'll probably try renting "300" through Live Video Marketplace.

 

[bucwylde23]

haha, $20? What a waste of time.

Knock it down to $99 and I'll be interested..

 

[PricklyPete]

I would have been interested if it had dropped $50-75...but $20 just doesn't do it for me unless the 5 free movie choices were fantastic...but that is unlikely. Does anyone know of a list where the 15 movies to choose from are?

 

[DAPUNISHER]

I'd have bit on the deal if it had been a few weeks sooner. The PS3 deal came along first though, so no sale.

 

[purbeast0]

Originally posted by: PricklyPete
I would have been interested if it had dropped $50-75...but $20 just doesn't do it for me unless the 5 free movie choices were fantastic...but that is unlikely. Does anyone know of a list where the 15 movies to choose from are?

http://www.thelookandsoundofpe...erfectoffer_advert.pdf

 

[MikeyLSU]

I know Microsoft/Bill Gates, thinks these HD players will never become a major market because on demand will do better. But I just don't see it at the prices that Microsoft charges.

To rent a movie, MS charges about $6 for an HD movie that you can only keep for a day.

What they need to offer is a DL that you can keep on your HDD forever. Say, $20. It should be cheaper than at a store by taking the middle man out of the equation, but I guess MS becomes the middle man.

 

[Queasy]

Originally posted by: MikeyLSU
I know Microsoft/Bill Gates, thinks these HD players will never become a major market because on demand will do better. But I just don't see it at the prices that Microsoft charges.

To rent a movie, MS charges about $6 for an HD movie that you can only keep for a day.

What they need to offer is a DL that you can keep on your HDD forever. Say, $20. It should be cheaper than at a store by taking the middle man out of the equation, but I guess MS becomes the middle man.

MS is the middle-man in this equation though. This was the deal they had to work out with the movie publishers to get all this content on Live. I would prefer a 48-72 hour rental viewing window though.

You can download the movie and keep it on your HDD for two weeks without viewing it. As soon as you start watching a movie though, the 24 hour clock starts counting down.

 

[bucwylde23]

Originally posted by: Queasy

Originally posted by: MikeyLSU
I know Microsoft/Bill Gates, thinks these HD players will never become a major market because on demand will do better. But I just don't see it at the prices that Microsoft charges.

To rent a movie, MS charges about $6 for an HD movie that you can only keep for a day.

What they need to offer is a DL that you can keep on your HDD forever. Say, $20. It should be cheaper than at a store by taking the middle man out of the equation, but I guess MS becomes the middle man.

MS is the middle-man in this equation though. This was the deal they had to work out with the movie publishers to get all this content on Live. I would prefer a 48-72 hour rental viewing window though.

You can download the movie and keep it on your HDD for two weeks without viewing it. As soon as you start watching a movie though, the 24 hour clock starts counting down.

I've rented several movies off of the marketplace, and while I wish the cost was a bit lower, I have no problem with the 24 hour viewing period. It works out perfectly for me when I want to watch a HiDef movie since I don't want to go out and rent it. I also don't have an HD-DVD player so I have no other option for hi-def rentals.

 

[tatteredpotato]

Originally posted by: Queasy

Originally posted by: MikeyLSU
I know Microsoft/Bill Gates, thinks these HD players will never become a major market because on demand will do better. But I just don't see it at the prices that Microsoft charges.

To rent a movie, MS charges about $6 for an HD movie that you can only keep for a day.

What they need to offer is a DL that you can keep on your HDD forever. Say, $20. It should be cheaper than at a store by taking the middle man out of the equation, but I guess MS becomes the middle man.

MS is the middle-man in this equation though. This was the deal they had to work out with the movie publishers to get all this content on Live. I would prefer a 48-72 hour rental viewing window though.

You can download the movie and keep it on your HDD for two weeks without viewing it. As soon as you start watching a movie though, the 24 hour clock starts counting down.

That's not bad, truth be told when I rent movies I only watch them once. The longer window would be convenient if you wanted to allow other people to watch it though.

 

[Yreka]

Originally posted by: ObscureCaucasian

Originally posted by: Queasy

Originally posted by: MikeyLSU
I know Microsoft/Bill Gates, thinks these HD players will never become a major market because on demand will do better. But I just don't see it at the prices that Microsoft charges.

To rent a movie, MS charges about $6 for an HD movie that you can only keep for a day.

What they need to offer is a DL that you can keep on your HDD forever. Say, $20. It should be cheaper than at a store by taking the middle man out of the equation, but I guess MS becomes the middle man.

MS is the middle-man in this equation though. This was the deal they had to work out with the movie publishers to get all this content on Live. I would prefer a 48-72 hour rental viewing window though.

You can download the movie and keep it on your HDD for two weeks without viewing it. As soon as you start watching a movie though, the 24 hour clock starts counting down.

That's not bad, truth be told when I rent movies I only watch them once. The longer window would be convenient if you wanted to allow other people to watch it though.

Yeah, I don't need it for longer than a day, but lets get the cost down to around 3 bucks.. $6 gets 0 rentals from me. Hell, for $3 more I can get a whole months of rentals from netflix.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Weak, at that price you might as well get a near-silent standalone HD-DVD player that uses 20 watts to play instead of 200 watts.

Blu-ray has so much more studio support though that I'm not feeling much pressure to add a HD-DVD player just for Universal.

For me it's just like 360 owners saying the PS3 "has no games" because they don't count cross-platform. Since I have blu-ray, Universal is the only "exclusives" for HD-DVD while blu-ray has Pixar, Disney, ... even FUNimation for Dragon Ball Z

 

[Narmer]

Originally posted by: chrisg22

Originally posted by: Queasy

Originally posted by: MikeyLSU
I know Microsoft/Bill Gates, thinks these HD players will never become a major market because on demand will do better. But I just don't see it at the prices that Microsoft charges.

To rent a movie, MS charges about $6 for an HD movie that you can only keep for a day.

What they need to offer is a DL that you can keep on your HDD forever. Say, $20. It should be cheaper than at a store by taking the middle man out of the equation, but I guess MS becomes the middle man.

MS is the middle-man in this equation though. This was the deal they had to work out with the movie publishers to get all this content on Live. I would prefer a 48-72 hour rental viewing window though.

You can download the movie and keep it on your HDD for two weeks without viewing it. As soon as you start watching a movie though, the 24 hour clock starts counting down.

I've rented several movies off of the marketplace, and while I wish the cost was a bit lower, I have no problem with the 24 hour viewing period. It works out perfectly for me when I want to watch a HiDef movie since I don't want to go out and rent it. I also don't have an HD-DVD player so I have no other option for hi-def rentals.

Do you have to pay again if you want to watch it again?

 

[bucwylde23]

Originally posted by: Narmer

Originally posted by: chrisg22

Originally posted by: Queasy

Originally posted by: MikeyLSU
I know Microsoft/Bill Gates, thinks these HD players will never become a major market because on demand will do better. But I just don't see it at the prices that Microsoft charges.

To rent a movie, MS charges about $6 for an HD movie that you can only keep for a day.

What they need to offer is a DL that you can keep on your HDD forever. Say, $20. It should be cheaper than at a store by taking the middle man out of the equation, but I guess MS becomes the middle man.

MS is the middle-man in this equation though. This was the deal they had to work out with the movie publishers to get all this content on Live. I would prefer a 48-72 hour rental viewing window though.

You can download the movie and keep it on your HDD for two weeks without viewing it. As soon as you start watching a movie though, the 24 hour clock starts counting down.

I've rented several movies off of the marketplace, and while I wish the cost was a bit lower, I have no problem with the 24 hour viewing period. It works out perfectly for me when I want to watch a HiDef movie since I don't want to go out and rent it. I also don't have an HD-DVD player so I have no other option for hi-def rentals.

Do you have to pay again if you want to watch it again?

Not within the 24 hour window. Once you start playing it, you can play it as much as you want for 24 hours.

 

[Queasy]

Originally posted by: Narmer

Originally posted by: chrisg22

Originally posted by: Queasy

Originally posted by: MikeyLSU
I know Microsoft/Bill Gates, thinks these HD players will never become a major market because on demand will do better. But I just don't see it at the prices that Microsoft charges.

To rent a movie, MS charges about $6 for an HD movie that you can only keep for a day.

What they need to offer is a DL that you can keep on your HDD forever. Say, $20. It should be cheaper than at a store by taking the middle man out of the equation, but I guess MS becomes the middle man.

MS is the middle-man in this equation though. This was the deal they had to work out with the movie publishers to get all this content on Live. I would prefer a 48-72 hour rental viewing window though.

You can download the movie and keep it on your HDD for two weeks without viewing it. As soon as you start watching a movie though, the 24 hour clock starts counting down.

I've rented several movies off of the marketplace, and while I wish the cost was a bit lower, I have no problem with the 24 hour viewing period. It works out perfectly for me when I want to watch a HiDef movie since I don't want to go out and rent it. I also don't have an HD-DVD player so I have no other option for hi-def rentals.

Do you have to pay again if you want to watch it again?

As long as you are within the 24 hour period, you don't have to pay again. Outside of the 24 hour period, you'll have to pay but won't have to re-download if you didn't delete it.

The TV shows are different. Once you buy them, they are yours forever. You can delete them and redownload them again for free later.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Downloads are convenient, but if you rent 10 movies or sets of TV episodes a month from MS the extra $40 (vs. netflix) would buy you a PS3 in a year.

If you already have netflix or bb and rent an extra 4 HD movies a month from MS that's still an extra $288 a year.

What size are the HD rentals? A lot of HD-DVD/blu discs are using 20-30 GB for high bitrates for the audio and sound, so that would give some idea of how much is being dropped to make the movies fit on the 360's 20GB HD.

 

[PricklyPete]

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
Downloads are convenient, but if you rent 10 movies or sets of TV episodes a month from MS the extra $40 (vs. netflix) would buy you a PS3 in a year.

If you already have netflix or bb and rent an extra 4 HD movies a month from MS that's still an extra $288 a year.

What size are the HD rentals? A lot of HD-DVD/blu discs are using 20-30 GB for high bitrates for the audio and sound, so that would give some idea of how much is being dropped to make the movies fit on the 360's 20GB HD.

The HD movies are around 6GB and are certainly no match for HD-DVD/Blu-Ray. They are only at 720P from my understanding and they don't have fancy sound formats bast 5.1. That being said, they are more than adequate for my movie tastes...and I like movies. I like movies a lot...but i'm not a video/audiophile. I just like them to look good and sound decent...but I'm not anal about it...and neither are most people I know.

I used the movie download service from MS about twice a month...and that is generally as many movies as I rent in a month. I generally just get the 480p quality video though as they range from 3-4 bucks and are plenty good enough for me quality wise (I'm watching on a 720P 42" LCD).

The PS3 is far and away a better HD movie machine than the 360 as BR certainly has better support than HD-DVD...but to me it is in material as I have no interest in either format. I'm fine with DVD's...so the extra expense/minor quality improvement is not worth it to me.

As far as games go...the 360 is 20x better than the PS3 at the moment...so I haven't been tempted to jump on a PS3 as of yet. That may change next year...but certainly not with the lineup MS is bringing this fall.

 

[Queasy]

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
What size are the HD rentals? A lot of HD-DVD/blu discs are using 20-30 GB for high bitrates for the audio and sound, so that would give some idea of how much is being dropped to make the movies fit on the 360's 20GB HD.

HD movies on Live Video Marketplace are encoded using VC-1 (same as HD DVD) in 720p with Dolby Digital 5.1 audio. It ends up being about 5GBs for a two hour HD movie. SD movies are about 1.5GBs for every two hours.

Live Video Marketplace has been pretty profitable to this point and they keep expanding it by getting a deal with Disney for content (all Disney studios - Miramax, etc) and expanding to Europe and Canada this fall.

 

[bucwylde23]

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
Downloads are convenient, but if you rent 10 movies or sets of TV episodes a month from MS the extra $40 (vs. netflix) would buy you a PS3 in a year.

If you already have netflix or bb and rent an extra 4 HD movies a month from MS that's still an extra $288 a year.

What size are the HD rentals? A lot of HD-DVD/blu discs are using 20-30 GB for high bitrates for the audio and sound, so that would give some idea of how much is being dropped to make the movies fit on the 360's 20GB HD.

THe downloads are convenient, but I don't make a habit of it I only rent one maybe once every 2 months, if that. I rented Norbit in standard def last week (all they had) and it was about 1.1 GB. I rented the departed a while back in HD and I think it was around 4-5 GB perhaps? I don't recall exactly at this point. But that's still no where near 20-30 GB. They look pretty good though.

 

[tatteredpotato]

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
Downloads are convenient, but if you rent 10 movies or sets of TV episodes a month from MS the extra $40 (vs. netflix) would buy you a PS3 in a year.

If you already have netflix or bb and rent an extra 4 HD movies a month from MS that's still an extra $288 a year.

What size are the HD rentals? A lot of HD-DVD/blu discs are using 20-30 GB for high bitrates for the audio and sound, so that would give some idea of how much is being dropped to make the movies fit on the 360's 20GB HD.

10 movies seems a little excessive, I'd consider one movie a week to be pretty frequent. I woundn't suggest this service over netflix, but rather to supplement if you happen to see a movie you want but don't feel like waiting.

Also the movies are smaller because they are only 720p, so they didn't "cut" anything to fit on a HDD.

 

[DaveSimmons]

^ by cut I meant dropping some visual quality (using a lower bitrate) not editing content.

Do the downloads include any of the extras like deleted scenes or making-of featurettes?

I don't care about them for a lot of movies, but the extras for Letters From Iwo Jima, Apocalypto and The Fountain were all worth seeing.

 

[tatteredpotato]

AFAIK you just get the movie file, I'm not sure about alternate audio tracks either.

 

[Queasy]

No alternate audio tracks and no subtitles (though there are a ton of people requesting this).

 

[Oyeve]

This is lame. HD-DVD is already failing. BR has better studio support. If MS was smart thay would make a hydrid player, but that will never happen. I am waiting for a clear winner and 3rd or 4th gen HW.