Xbox 360 to get digital downloads as future over Blu-Ray
Microsoft has shot down the latest Blu-Ray drive rumor and has apologized for the "red ring of death" failures and Xbox Live outages. What it is not being apologetic over is the lack of Blu-Ray support as Microsoft believes digital downloads are the future.
I don’t hold that belief one bit, not one bit. First of all, I don’t want 480p or 720p content, it’s got to be full on 1080p and a full movie download at the resolution would take forever.
Where I am fine with digital downloads is rentals and if I’m just renting a title then 720p will do just fine. In this day and age, 480p is simply unacceptable.
Microsoft hasn’t been clear on its digital downloads future but the way things appear is that the company believes that digital downloads will replace physical formats (Blu-Ray discs and DVDs). Maybe some day, maybe. But probably not in the next five or ten years. If I had to guess, I’d say we’re looking at more like 20 years before physical formats become insignificant.
Broadband Internet does not yet have enough bandwidth to deliver high-def digital downloads in a timely manner and even if such a service does exist, I’m sure that the average consumer can not yet afford it.
Then there is owning only a digital copy which would probably be tied to the device it was downloaded on and could not be watched anywhere else but I’m sure for a small fee that limitation would be waved. I would also not be willing to spend $20 for a high-def digital download when I could just buy the Blu-Ray disc for not much more and watch it anywhere I want, when I want.
Microsoft isn’t known for producing the most reliable hardware either. Let’s say you have the Xbox 360 mark II with that fancy 2TB internal hard drive and it melts down, with all your purchased content on it. Sure, you can hope and pray that Microsoft lets you re-download the content after repairing your console but customer service is a mixed bag, some get lucky, others do not.
People want a disc they can hold in their hand, it won’t break (under normal use), it won’t wear out (under normal use), it won’t overheat or shatter (under normal use) and it won’t crash in the middle of watching it.
Microsoft can go ahead and delude itself for as long as it wants, digital downloads will serve as a replacement for rentals but will never replace physical formats when it comes to actually owning the video.
By Christmas, I bet we’ll be hearing from voices within Redmond, "Folks, we’ve got a huge announcement for you, the Xbox 360 is now Blu as in Blu-Ray. Available this holiday season as a revised Xbox 360 or add-on for existing customers, it’s never been a better time to get Blu-Ray."
Just wait, it’s coming; Microsoft is in denial right now.
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April 3rd, 2008
Microsoft said they will have downloads down to 1/2 hour by the end of the year. I downloaded Michale Clayton the other day. I’m not sure how long it took but I’m gussing 1 1/2 – 2 hours. Don’t quote me as I did not pay that much attention. But digital dowloads through the service is fine. You really don’t miss bluray or dvd once you realize that I don’t have to go to the store to look if I can find something. just browse through the catalogue and get what I need, simple. Microsoft might be right. Besides Disk and so prown to damage. To have a digital library is the way to go. The Ipod/MP3 Players has turned everyone in that direction and so many people have them. I believe it is sooner then you think.
April 3rd, 2008
I think digital download are much closer then you think, in the news yesterday, comcast announced they are rolling out a new service
Comcast Unleashes New 50/5 Mbps
they state you can download a 4 gig hd movie in 10 minutes, and that within two years they can get the speed to 100-150 Mps
http://sev.prnewswire.com/television/20080403/NETH02303042008-1.html
Now it is expensive, but the price can only come down. so if they can get the speed tripled, you get that HD download in 2-3 miuntes.
And Netflix is said to be ready to offer streaming to the xbox 360 and ps3, with no wait time, basically it will stream it in the back ground and start playing the movie right away.
April 3rd, 2008
@ CDA, how are MS going to ensure that everyone with their xbox connected to the internet are going to receive downloadable movies in a half hour?
This sort of issue is the sole responsibility of the ISP, MS can’t do anything to increase your download speeds, but that fairy tale land you live in looks interesting, what’s it like?
April 3rd, 2008
@ Dave, that’s great news, however it’s not when the tech becomes available it’s when market saturation reaches more than 70 per cent, that’s when you will see the beginning of the end of physical storage media, and believe you me, I can’t wait for that day, but sadly it is a long way off. 5-10 years at least.
April 3rd, 2008
@ Moustachio, good point, it will be a long time before it reaches that level of saturation.
Another advantage of physical media is you can resale it when you done, and recoup some of your inventment. can’t do that with a download.
this is my current problem with downloads, they don’t really cost much less then the physical media
April 3rd, 2008
@ Dave, Wouldn’t it be neat if you could resell digital downloads, I don’t know how it would work, but I think it would add furthur incentive to those unwarey about taking the plundge.
April 3rd, 2008
@ Moustachio
Here is the article:
Boston (dbTechno) – According to Virgin Media and Microsoft, high-definition movie downloads over Xbox Live should only take around 15 minutes to download. This means that by the end of 2008, HD movies may seem like a much more desirable asset for the Xbox 360.
Virgin Media stated that with the speeds of broadband services improving, it is likely that HD movie downloads will have shorter and shorter times in the future.
Virgin Media’s 50MB broadband service will be ready for over nine million homes by the end of 2008, and that is expanding to other broadband services as well.
Microsoft has been trying to push HD movie downloads over the Xbox 360 via the Xbox Live Marketplace, and has been pretty successful thus far.
Things are only going to improve though if they do manage to get the download times this small.
An Xbox spokesman stated that the downloads should be between 15-minutes and a half-hour.
April 3rd, 2008
How it all works, I don’t konw
April 3rd, 2008
@ CDA, one word, and one word only, WOW, colour me impressed. Of course, I’ll wait to see it to believe it. I may even set my 360 up online if this is the case.
April 3rd, 2008
@ Moustachio
Dude you got a 360 and have not setup online. Everything is free except for any pruchases you want to make and of course you have to pay to play online with others. What are you waiting for?
April 3rd, 2008
Blu-Ray has the same chance as digital downloads to make it as a viable format/way to get movies or other media.
I mean, let’s not forget that both Blu-Ray and HD-DVD’s were figthing over 1% of the home video market, with the rest 99% still dominated heavily by ordinary DVD’s.
It will take at least a decade before Blu-Ray comes close to owning even half that market. By then, all this talk about digital downloads not being possible or affordable will be considered nonesense.
April 3rd, 2008
I doubt a decade and this is the reason why. You walk into Best Buy and you see the HDTV’s on display and they look fabolous. You buy one and when you get home and hook it up it looks nothing like it did in the store. Why, because regular Cable is not displayed in 1080P. It will look shity and pixely and you will be like what the &^$%. Then you play a DVD and it also look like shit. Bottom line is you have to get the toys that make the TV worth it. So that means that you have to contact your cable company and get a HD set top Box to get a decent but not perfect picture but at least better then what you had. Don’t worry as time goes on the picture will get better. Some HD Chanels don’t even look HD. Next you need a Bluray player or the more affordabe DVD upconverting player which all seem to support DIVX. That will make your dvd not look so bad. No one sells the old TV’s anymore. It all about HDTV’s and it is happening NOW. I just got a letter today from my cable company telling me they are increasing the usage allowance and not too long ago they increased my connection speed. It Happening wether you believe it or not.
April 3rd, 2008
Oh I forgot to mention my favorite. You can get a 360 and hook that up to your HDTV and get hi-def gaming and movies. Peace
April 3rd, 2008
umm… to me this is the future. to me at this point, sony is once again too late. why would anybody want to go from disc to disc???? HD is nice and all without having to use blu ray. to me blu ray is nice, but its not a necessity. it may have a slightly better picture. but what are we as consumers wanting??? a movie at a decent price and truly that is what dvd’s already have and they have been around for a long time. the jump from movie to dvd was huge, i mean its a totally new product. this is a new product but its once again a disc!! and nobody cares about storage, the average consumer is watching one movie so why should it matter about how much storage it has. i know that that has to do with the way blu ray presents itself for the picture and stuff, but to me blu ray is nice, but it honestly is not needed. now downloading has been a very popular thing nowadays. netflix would be the one to partner with microsoft. they have been offering downloads for the last few years. more recently netflix, with its new commercial for downloading movies on PC. well netflix wants to gain popularity. they offer blu ray discs on netflix, so why are they so interested in this new digital downloading??? well its obviously a new technology considering its not a tangible thing, it makes it that much more convenient. unless you want to collect blu ray discs, i dont see how you would want to considering that the average person has like 50 dvds in there collection. so why have to buy when you can download at a cheaper price and actually virgin the company has stated that at the end of 2008, it will take less then 15 minutes to download one movie or show. and you dont have to worry about pesky mailbacks or scratches, and yes blu ray is not scratchable, but why invest in something that is so similar to DVD. ?? hheheeh. one thing that also contradicts blu ray is that about one year ago the capability to record movies on cassette and transfer them to a dvd just came out. also more and more companies like TIVO, DirectTV, Dish Network, and Time Warner all offer HD tv shows and movies and pay per view and HBO, and Show times are all still very popular, because its so convenient!!! the truth is, and i have noticed this, is that me and my family do not collect dvds anymore and the same goes for music. its not like cds are needed anymore, to me movies are following the same path. ipods you download!!!!! music!!! why cant we just do the same??? heheheh. and my mom is part of blockbusters mail back thing, and it beats having to buy another disc and have a place to store those discs. and sony is offering BD Live and that is similar to XBox live marketplace, but the key thing here is that netflix wants microsoft because of what microsoft is planning other than video games and HD movies. microsoft is honestly trying to take over all of media. and they are doing a pretty good job. they have created the zune, they have created the 360 for great gaming that has great games like Gears 1 and 2, fable 2, ninja gaiden 2, halo 3, bioshock, mass effect, and the sequels to those also. Microsoft is also planning to gain yahoo to take over internet to introduce a more powerful windows vista. for windows vista has led the opportunity for xbox live to have not only xbox 360 gamers in, but pc owners also. genius! and also the new Sync for cars. and i believe truly that microsoft will eventually be the standard and best at every aspect of media, for all these products will eventually probably all be connected to one source, could the zune music downloads, hd movies, and amazing games and the opportunity to create and produce your own videogames and internet all be on xbox live?? mabye, could this be there plan??? maybe. the term “live” seems to be all over the place though. windows vista live search bar, xbox live, what will microsoft think of next???? its only a matter of time. but i do think that downloading is the future, like blu ray it will take a while for people to see this new invention, but eventually i think microsoft will be the winner. but i do give props for sony, they are bloody smart for creating new technology. heheh. anyways later!
April 3rd, 2008
The funny thing about all this HD Xbox crap is that Microsoft consistently told everybody that this is a “Video Gaming Machine” and not a “Movie Player”. (with fingers pointed at the PS3) Now that they imputed all of this, it seems to me like they are hypocrites.
April 3rd, 2008
@ CDA, the reason I don’t have my 360 online is beacuse the reason I bought it in the first place was for Halo3, and I really only wanted closure after the second one, only other games I own are Bioshock and Mass Effect (great games btw) but don’t throw a fanboy stick at me when I say this: I use my PS3 for online, only because most of my friends have one and my clan is only on the PSN, and I’m all out of spaces on my router to put a cord in. So I guess when you boil it down: I’m lazy, like a rug on valluum(whoa, I didn’t spell that right, oh well, too lazy.) lol
April 3rd, 2008
Your lucky, If i had the dollars, I would get xbox 360 (I own PS3) purely for halo series and bioshock but that is it.
April 3rd, 2008
Again I read Jonathan, so I knew it was another biased “Sony” thread.
April 3rd, 2008
they did say that they were not focusing on it that much and that had to do with the current HD-DVD player, which lost, which to me was not worth it, just like blu ray. but you have to understand that microsoft is not going to roll over and surrender. for they have also stated that the reason why they went with HD-DVD and have it separate was so that it did not interfere with the gameplay. Blu ray as many game producers say, is making creating games for the PS3 very complicated. it takes them either a while to format to the PS3 or they just dont have the technology, or its too expensive. games like bioshock, mass effect, and ninja gaiden 2 are three examples of how it had to do with the PS3’s cell processor. but Microsoft at the same time of HD-DVD, was also already offering its live marketplace, so it had two things going for it. since blu ray is built into the PS3 people have no choice for blu ray, some PS3 owners dont care about blu ray, and just want to play the games, where as microsoft DID focus on games and kept the HD-DVD thing separate. Now they are teaming up with Netflix which has like over 1 million users and virgin to create less than 15 minute downloads for not only movies, but tv shows. like i said movies are taking the same shape and form as music, its only a matter of time. like CD’s, discs will eventually be gone, and people will be carrying devices like the PSP and the zune and the ipod and iphone to watch movies and shows via a downloadable service. and thats why sony has created BD live, so that people can download movies and tv shows, just like live marketplace. so to me this blu ray disc stuff was just an experiment, and i definitely think it will not outlast this year, and we will see the future which is truly downloads.
April 4th, 2008
“No one sells the old TV’s anymore”.
^^^ Pfft! Yes they do. Just in the US, where the most rich people of the world live, only 17% of the entire population (that owns TV’s) have HDTV’s. The rest use regular CTR sets. Now… in the rest of the world, the vast majority still uses (and still will for a VERY long time) CTR TV sets. And I can still find regular TV sets at Best Buy or any other electronics store. So fooey to your little theory.
“It all about HDTV’s and it is happening NOW. I just got a letter today from my cable company telling me they are increasing the usage allowance and not too long ago they increased my connection speed. It Happening wether you believe it or not.”
And because it happens to little old you, then it applies to the rest of the world? Silly boy. So naive.
Thing is, once upon a time cassette tapes where the future. Then CD’s and DVD’s. All replaced. One got replaced faster than the next. And something tells me, Blu Ray will be replaced as soon as in the next 5 years. When it starts barely to gain ground on the 1% of the Home Video market it currently enjoys.
April 4th, 2008
@ Moustachio
Well you mentioned a truth that no one ever really say. That is that one of the criteria for picking a console is where your friends are at. My friends happen to be on the 360 so that is where I rather be. It’s also is a convincing point for other friends to follow your lead because you can play online together. But the fact that the 360, about 75% of the time, has the better graphics and a bigger library, It’s what makes me sway towards the 360. Everything after that is just bonus. The movies and everything else it offers, add to the experience.
April 4th, 2008
Firstly, you mention that “the average consumer can not yet afford it…”, when referring to some super fast broadband for downloading HiDef video…
1. You can download a compressed HiDef (1080p DivX) film pretty quickly on an 8Mbps line these days
2. The average consumer doesn’t have a HiDef TV and isn’t interested in HiDef, yet…
3. The average consumer doesn’t want to fork out for a BluRay player or more expensive discs either
Secondly, “People want a disc they can hold in their hand”, errr iTunes anyone? MP3 has quickly replaced the standard model of going to the shops and paying for a piece of plastic that can slowly gather dust on a shelf for a few years. As a society we are obsessed with material gain, having something on a physical disc appears (to some people) to have more worth than being able to stream or download the same contents from the Web. However, consumers have already adopted digital distribution methods for music, it’s a natural progression for video and other digital entertainment to follow.
As for the crippling DRM applied to downloadable HiDef film, it’s taken a few years, but the record companies are lifting the DRM from their tracks and allowing people to download music without restrictions. Don’t you think the film industry will follow suit? The DRM on BluRay (and WMV) is broken, it’s been hacked and it will be hacked again if they try to plug the holes.
Whether Microsoft decide to add BluRay to their console or not, digital distribution of media over the Internet is the way forward. This is a very good example of extremely poor journalism, with little or no research or knowledge of the subject in question. ‘Flamebait’ springs to mind…
April 4th, 2008
@ CAD? or CDA?, ya, that whole better games on the 360 was rough for the better part of last year, luckily for someone like me, it only afflicted games I didn’t care about (ie: Madden and a like)
Also, it’s great that recent releases are sitting at parity with eachother, a few examples would be Burnout, Dark Sector, COD, etc. it will get better for both consoles in the long run.
April 4th, 2008
I dont know about all this download stuff, but I downloaded good luck chuck in hd 720p and it took me 2 days on my elite!!!?? I have dsl.
April 4th, 2008
@ johnson, 2 days? OUCH!!!!!
April 4th, 2008
Digital D/l’s compete against bitorrent vids – it’s net profit for the studio which doesn’t trust the technology (new US movie d/l releases avail 30 days, AFTER video store availability)
Outside the US, it’s nightmare of rights and disrtributerships that are honoured before you see it.
April 4th, 2008
@ Johnson
I think your getting ripped off. You might be paying for DSL but I don’t think you got DSL. You need to check with your provider.
April 4th, 2008
When playing gears of war or halo 3 my system and net never hesitate, my brother and i always have a great time playing online! but when i try to download a movie or demo, the movie takes at least 2 days, and demos take a couple of hours?
April 4th, 2008
hardly a problem as microsoft knows what I have purchased and I can download it again at any time…If a temp movie download goes PFFFT before Ive watch it…they will take care of it. No BS Microsofts customer service for the 360 is the best. You get a human being on the phone who knows and understands your problem and works to fix the problem as fast as they can. 1 800 4my xbox = no run arounds. Spare me the MS cant handle its customers needs because its just not true.
April 4th, 2008
Guys Microsoft will keep your media warm and dry forever. No scraches, No cracks, No warps, No lost, No borrowed and not returned, No spills, No dropps. Will Sony and blue ray keep YOUR media high and dry forever? No! it will die as soon as (see above) or Sony changes its format again. Im done with optical media and purchase as little as possible…and you will soon when you se people like me doing it right
April 4th, 2008
i believe MS is on the right foot. Netflix, BB, and Itunes have proven they can make enough money from ecommerce to build and expand their business models. it’s important to remember there was a time when 56k was state of the art. I don’t see that big of a difference between 720p and 1080p for the author to turn his nose up at 720p movies. anyone’s who seen them side by side will tell you the same, but that’s his choice. i think they will co exist for a time, but eventually physical mediums will become the minority. evolution.
April 4th, 2008
“Microsoft can go ahead and delude itself for as long as it wants, digital downloads will serve as a replacement for rentals but will never replace physical formats when it comes to actually owning the video. ” – Easily the most myopic view i’ve read since Bill O’Reilly’s insane babblings.
April 4th, 2008
Many of you are in denial. Digital download the future? The future of what or when? So, only developed country will be able to watch HD movie? What about counrties with low income? Or do you think that in Latino America dn otehr countries we can afford even a 5 MB/S conection.
Let’s get real. Most of the people who support Digital Download are 360 users. I preffer to go to the store, do my weekly shopping and get a movie. Do you think everyone knows how to go to the internet, create an account and download a movie? No. But it is a no-brainer to go to the store, get a Blu Ray and insert it on your PS3.
In my country, Dominican Republic, many people still use Dial Up. Now, you are telling me tha in 5 to 10 years they gonna have a 50MB per second conection? Come on. Lets start making sense.
And to the guy that said “blu ray is a transiction from disc to disc.” People want more storage and quality. Diskette? about 1 MB, Video Cassete about 2 hour video, CD 700 MG, DVD 8.4 DL GB, Blu Ray 50GB. People look for quality, storage and physical material.
In 5 to 10 years, we will me moving to Europe because US economy fell.
April 4th, 2008
I agree that digital download is very definitely the future of movies. It certainly is with music. Just today, it was reported that iTunes sold more music than WalMart – For the first time ever.
Do you even know anyone who carries a “Discman” with them ever anymore? I don’t.
The very recent HD DVD fiasco makes me believe more than ever that physical media is on its way out, and rightly so. I have been using XBox Live! for movie and TV downloads since its launch with very good luck. I DID have 2 instances that did disrupt the movie down load, but I must say, they were right there to correct the situation – and in both cases – gave me 1000 MSFT points for the inconvenience. I didn’t ask, I just found they had done it the next day. I agree with JMS whole heartedly, that Microsoft customer service has done a 180 in the last few years. They are actually what I would consider leading edge as of late. You would know if you ever had to deal with the likes of…lets say…Sprint.
April 4th, 2008
“Sure, you can hope and pray that Microsoft lets you re-download the content after repairing your console but customer service is a mixed bag, some get lucky, others do not.”
I’m guessing you haven’t downloaded anything via the xbox marketplace? you can already do this. MS isn’t Apple; your purchased content isn’t tied to your box, it’s tied to your account, so you can already re-download whatever whenever.
April 4th, 2008
“In my country, Dominican Republic, many people still use Dial Up. Now, you are telling me tha in 5 to 10 years they gonna have a 50MB per second conection? Come on. Lets start making sense.”
No offense but how well digital downloads do in the Dominican Republic means nothing. Hell, the Betamax can still be hot there as well and it still wouldn’t matter.
We’re talking about how it all goes down in the markets where it has great importance.
April 4th, 2008
When I have snow up to my hind end-end and its two hours in nasty weather to get anyplace that sells the expensive blueray disc? I’ll pass and sit in my warm home and down load a 720p movie to watch thank you very much!
April 5th, 2008
ahh i don’t care i rather have a reliable disc than having to download a movie that you can’t keep for decade, MS don’t care about everyone they just care about U.S (like always), then messed up other company on what they do best then MS adopt it and do worst, i can’t even trust their product it’s very unreliable it crashes and it has a lot of bugs then the other thing is their vista don’t support old software or games, i sold my computer then bought a ps3 and a mac for work, i guess a lot of people saying is true microsoft is trying to take over the world by force with money…man, i hope they get karma for all the things they do..
April 6th, 2008
@JMS and other people who believe that digital media is completely reliable
I have a computer like most people, and everybody I have known had their CPUs die on them in a period of 4-6 years. In which doing so, their digital media (e.g. iTune Music) was completely wiped off from the face of the planet.
Oh and for the people who believe that the Xbox will be reliable for keeping said digital media, remember when people downloaded their games and etc into the Xbox then having a RROD right in front of their faces. All of that payed information got destroyed including Gamertag, DLC, downloaded games, the works. With a %17-%33 rate, that would mean an average of 1/5 of people will lose all of their ‘hard-work’ and payed products, this includes the saved files.
Please do not fool yourself that download content is 100% reliable. Fact is, optical media, if destroyed, will lose a single program, game, movie, or a set of music wherein digital media will destroy all of it.
April 7th, 2008
^^^ Hey TONTON, ever heard of the iPod?
Digital media downloads have been succesful for YEARS already.
Remember, the iPod started to replaced using CD’s to the point record companies got their act together and started working with companies that offer such downloads.
Same thing will happen with games and films.
April 7th, 2008
^^^ Hey LAURA, I have an iPod!
And do you know what it did to me?
I lost 800 music tracks (several in which i have bought) and I’m not the only one who had that happen to me. I’ll requote myself because apparently somebody is using the strawman ways of doing things.
“I have a computer like most people, and everybody I have known had their CPUs die on them in a period of 4-6 years. In which doing so, their digital media (e.g. iTune Music) was completely wiped off from the face of the planet.”
An iPod is USELESS without a computer.
April 7th, 2008
Let me continue as well. The strawman way of doing things is such that: To purposefully misinterpret an argument and try to make it seem as though that person is wrong.
Your comment as such:
“Digital media downloads have been succesful for YEARS already.”
Which had nothing to do with my part of the argument, which was that digital media is prone to having 100% deletion, apart from optical media which has a more controlled destruction. Also, I’ve never once denied the fact that digital downloads have been successful.
“Remember, the iPod started to replaced using CD’s to the point record companies got their act together and started working with companies that offer such downloads.”
Again your argument did not coincide with mine. Which is explained for your first comment.
“Same thing will happen with games and films.”
Digital downloads are the future which in my opinion our society is not ready for it until at least another 10-20 years.
Next time when you try to counteract an argument, please interpret said argument correctly.
April 7th, 2008
The funny thing about high def is that for most of us on our HD TVs (32″ – 50″) it’s not always that impressive.
Some people might not want to admit this and the Blu-ray fans might be blind to this but the general public are not into spending huge sums on what is often a very marginal benefit.
That’s why 720p/1080i HD TV is the limit of many HD TV owners ambitions.