Video Marketplace
Posted November 30, 2006
When the infamous Fall Dashboard Update came out in late October, there was much speculation at a new option that was seen in the media blade – Video Marketplace. What could this mean, was it a location to consolidate all the game videos that have been released over the past year, or was there something a little deeper. Some intrepid gamers noticed a new bit of verbiage on their downloaded videos which further spurred speculation, the words Does Not Expire caused immediate concern across the internet.
On November 22, all the cards were laid on the table and the questions had answers. The Video Marketplace was not only used as a gathering point for all videos but also as a location for users to download TV shows, but also movies in both standard definition and in high definition. How will this work? Let's check it out shall we.
What's on there:
Aside from a currently small selection of movies featuring new releases like V for Vendetta and Lake House, classic features are also available to rent on the marketplace such as Clash of the Titans and Unforgiven. While some are remastered in HD, not all movies are available. With regards to television content, items range from UFC fights to the latest episodes of South Park or Supernatural, and yes even the infamous Rick James episode of Chappelle's Show is on there.
Not content with only television and movies, some additional music videos are also downloadable without cost, as are additional movie trailers and clips.
What's it cost:
Cost varies based on the item that you want to download. New release movies in HD cost 480 points while the standard definition cost 320 points. Classic features come prices at 360 & 240 points.
TV shows are priced at 240 & 160 points, regardless of the length. This is a part I have a problem with, because imagine I spend the 160 points to watch a standard definition episode of CSI which clocks in at around 45 minutes, or I get an episode of South Park at around 22 minutes. If I was to download an episode of Robot Chicken however, that clocks in at a whopping 11 minutes yet I pay the same price as a viewer getting the 45 minute show. Perhaps a method needs to be created which also prorates based on length.
What's the catch:
TV shows have no catch, once you pay for an episode it's yours to keep. Even if you delete it at some point to make room on your now paltry hard drive you can download a previously paid for episode at any time and watch it as often as you'd like.
Movies on the other hand are a tricky situation thanks to copyright laws. Upon downloading a movie, you have 14 days to watch it before it expires and cannot be viewed. Additionally, once you start the movie you have exactly 24 hours to complete it or watch it as many times as you'd like. Once 24 hours have passed since initially pushing play, the download expires and it becomes unviewable.
AV department:
The HD movie that I downloaded was my first real experience with full length HD content, and to be honest it looked fantastic. The movie I watched was clear, crisp and showed no major issues with compression that one might expect seeing as the file size is barely above that of a standard definition DVD. Audio came through in nice 5.1 Dolby Digital with room rattling explosions and crisp clear dialog. The only complaint I have is the lack of subtitles being an option, surely a couple extra megabytes can be added to enable this feature. Unfortunately I can't compare the audio-visual component to HD-DVD or Blu-Ray as of yet, but soon I will have that data point and can update this section.
Closing arguments:
As it stands, I have not noticed any updates to what was initially released on the marketplace even though it was announced that weekly updates would occur. Perhaps I just need to be patient, but if Microsoft wants this model to succeed then new titles will need to be added at regular intervals to keep people interested in checking in the marketplace. Nothing stops people from downloading content like stale content.
The greatest feature that I noticed with this video marketplace is the ability to start watching a video or movie even while it's being downloaded. So if the thought of waiting for your six gigabyte download to finish is scaring you off, don't let it. The program has some way of estimating actual download time combined with the running time of the feature to allow seamless downloading while watching. Major kudos to this point.
Also, the horror stories of excruciatingly slow downloads were true but have been rectified. I've been able to download video content now in record time, or perhaps it's the streaming aspect which makes the wait seem less painful. Either way, the kinks have been worked out and the video marketplace is open for business.
On November 22, all the cards were laid on the table and the questions had answers. The Video Marketplace was not only used as a gathering point for all videos but also as a location for users to download TV shows, but also movies in both standard definition and in high definition. How will this work? Let's check it out shall we.
What's on there:
Aside from a currently small selection of movies featuring new releases like V for Vendetta and Lake House, classic features are also available to rent on the marketplace such as Clash of the Titans and Unforgiven. While some are remastered in HD, not all movies are available. With regards to television content, items range from UFC fights to the latest episodes of South Park or Supernatural, and yes even the infamous Rick James episode of Chappelle's Show is on there.
Not content with only television and movies, some additional music videos are also downloadable without cost, as are additional movie trailers and clips.
What's it cost:
Cost varies based on the item that you want to download. New release movies in HD cost 480 points while the standard definition cost 320 points. Classic features come prices at 360 & 240 points.
TV shows are priced at 240 & 160 points, regardless of the length. This is a part I have a problem with, because imagine I spend the 160 points to watch a standard definition episode of CSI which clocks in at around 45 minutes, or I get an episode of South Park at around 22 minutes. If I was to download an episode of Robot Chicken however, that clocks in at a whopping 11 minutes yet I pay the same price as a viewer getting the 45 minute show. Perhaps a method needs to be created which also prorates based on length.
What's the catch:
TV shows have no catch, once you pay for an episode it's yours to keep. Even if you delete it at some point to make room on your now paltry hard drive you can download a previously paid for episode at any time and watch it as often as you'd like.
Movies on the other hand are a tricky situation thanks to copyright laws. Upon downloading a movie, you have 14 days to watch it before it expires and cannot be viewed. Additionally, once you start the movie you have exactly 24 hours to complete it or watch it as many times as you'd like. Once 24 hours have passed since initially pushing play, the download expires and it becomes unviewable.
AV department:
The HD movie that I downloaded was my first real experience with full length HD content, and to be honest it looked fantastic. The movie I watched was clear, crisp and showed no major issues with compression that one might expect seeing as the file size is barely above that of a standard definition DVD. Audio came through in nice 5.1 Dolby Digital with room rattling explosions and crisp clear dialog. The only complaint I have is the lack of subtitles being an option, surely a couple extra megabytes can be added to enable this feature. Unfortunately I can't compare the audio-visual component to HD-DVD or Blu-Ray as of yet, but soon I will have that data point and can update this section.
Closing arguments:
As it stands, I have not noticed any updates to what was initially released on the marketplace even though it was announced that weekly updates would occur. Perhaps I just need to be patient, but if Microsoft wants this model to succeed then new titles will need to be added at regular intervals to keep people interested in checking in the marketplace. Nothing stops people from downloading content like stale content.
The greatest feature that I noticed with this video marketplace is the ability to start watching a video or movie even while it's being downloaded. So if the thought of waiting for your six gigabyte download to finish is scaring you off, don't let it. The program has some way of estimating actual download time combined with the running time of the feature to allow seamless downloading while watching. Major kudos to this point.
Also, the horror stories of excruciatingly slow downloads were true but have been rectified. I've been able to download video content now in record time, or perhaps it's the streaming aspect which makes the wait seem less painful. Either way, the kinks have been worked out and the video marketplace is open for business.