TV, movie downloads launch on Xbox 360; PS3 in works
Last Updated: Wednesday, November 22, 2006 | 4:37 PM ET
CBC News
Related
External Links
(Note: CBC does not endorse and is not responsible for the content of external sites - links will open in new window)
Microsoft Corp. launched a digital video download service Wednesday that lets Xbox 360 owners buy television shows and rent movies, while Sony works on a similar PlayStation 3 offering.
Launched on the console's first anniversary, Microsoft's service — available only in the United States for now — lets people with a broadband internet connection purchase standard and high-definition content through the Marketplace store on its dedicated Xbox Live network.
The move makes Microsoft the first console maker to offer such a service.
Sony Computer Entertainment Inc., which launched its own network with its PlayStation 3 console on Nov. 17, currently offers short video clips of movies and video games for download, but plans to increase its offerings.
"The content will grow on PlayStation 3 and the PlayStation Store," Matt Levitan, marketing and public relations manager for Sony Computer Entertainment of Canada told CBC News Online. "The plan will be to have full length content and make it a one-stop shop."
Levitan said he expects to see offerings increase weekly, with more substantial content debuting before the end of the year.
Nintendo Co. Ltd. has no plans to offer video downloads for its Wii console, launched Nov. 19, a spokesman told CBC News Online.
Television series being offered for download through Xbox Live Marketplace include crime drama CSI, remastered episodes of the original Star Trek and reality TV show The Ultimate Fighter, which documents athletes' training regimes for bouts of the Ultimate Fighting Championship mixed martial arts matches. The fights are also available for download.
Feature length films to be available by the end of the year include Superman Returns, M:I:III — the latest instalment in the Mission: Impossible franchise — and The Matrix.
Service tested in May
Microsoft's first public test of its network's ability to let people download video to the Xbox 360 occurred the week of May 7, when it offered through the Xbox Live Marketplace online store free, three-minute high-definition video clips of a documentary film about the making of the science fiction action game Gears of War.
On Oct. 31, the company sent a software update through Xbox Live to Xbox 360 consoles that added a range of video playback functions to the game machine.
The new capabilities include the ability to stream video in Microsoft's proprietary WMV file format from a computer running Windows Media Center software, the ability to play video files from CDs and DVDs, and increasing the console's video output to full high-definition resolution, known as 1080p.
Microsoft earlier this month announced agreements with television networks CBS, MTV, Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.; movie companies Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment; and the Ultimate Fighting Championship, which produces mixed martial arts competitions.
The downloads are available to Xbox Live members irrespective of whether they have a free or paid account.
Share Tools
Top News Headlines
- Conservatives move again to have robocalls suits tossed
- The Conservative Party has filed a second motion to dismiss the robocalls lawsuits filed by the left-leaning Council of Canadians, calling council chairperson Maude Barlow a "virulent critic" of Prime Minister Stephen Harper who has "orchestrated" the litigation. more »
- Reclaiming the dead on Mt. Everest
- The difficulty, danger and expense of removing the bodies of climbers who died in Mount Everest's "death zone" mean most of the dead remain on the mountain as a stark reminder to other climbers of the risks. more »
- Teens share bullying tales in confession booth
- Raw stories about bullying emerged when a video booth was set up inside a Quebec high school. more »
- Wind and lightning threaten to worsen northern Ontario fires
- Shifting winds are expected to increase the size of wild fires near the communities of Timmins and Kirkland Lake in northern Ontario this morning, as the weather forecast calls for windy conditions and lightning. more »
Latest Technology & Science News Headlines
- Facebook unveils camera app for iPhone
- Facebook unveiled a photo-sharing application on Thursday that allows users to take pictures on their mobile device and post them directly to their Facebook accounts. more »
- Neil Armstrong grants rare interview to accountants organization
- Legendary astronaut Neil Armstrong, who was the first person to walk on the moon, has surprised the media establishment by granting a rare and comprehensive interview to an unexpected interviewer: the Certified Practicing Accountants of Australia. more »
- 'Safe' stem cell discovery unveiled in Calgary
- Scientists in Calgary say they have discovered a way to create stem cells by the millions more quickly and safely than ever before. more »
- Canadian Hurricane Centre predicts 9 to 15 storms in 2012
- The early arrival of a tropical storm off the U.S. east coast does not mean Eastern Canada should brace for a particularly active hurricane season, Canadian forecasters said Thursday. more »
Bob McDonald's Blog
Underground lab may solve cosmic mystery May. 18, 2012 4:22 PM A new astronomical observatory opened this week - one more than 2 kilometres below the ground in Sudbury, Ont. - that may finally answer the mystery of Dark Matter in the universe. SNOLAB will attempt to capture the elusive Dark Matter particles as they pass right through the Earth.
Quirks & Quarks
- May 26: Before the Lights Go Out May. 24, 2012 10:14 AM A new book, "Before the Lights Go Out: Conquering the Energy Crisis Before It Conquers Us", suggests that the unpredictable, unplanned, ad-hoc way our energy use developed in the past will shape our energy future.
Latest Features
- Reclaiming the dead on Mt. Everest
- Workers' EI history to affect claim under new rules
- Quebec faces mounting pressure amid student crisis
- Gatineau police to question suspect in multiple homicides
- Conservatives move again to have robocalls suits tossed
- Suspect arrested in decades old N.Y. missing boy case
- Double-lung recipient Hélène Campbell dances for joy
- B.C. man fined $6,000 for feeding 'pot bears'
- B.C. to end AirCare car program in 2014
