Xbox 360 LIVE Marketplace expands HD movie offerings
When I switched from a Verizon rented HD DVR to the TiVo Series 3, I gave up video on demand and pay per view. At first glance this may be significant for many of you, but my family rarely purchased a PPV movie or event, and the VOD offering was entirely standard definition. Well, it's looking more and more like the Xbox 360 is going to fill in the PPV movie void if needed. Not only that, the LIVE Marketplace just got a whole lot bigger and better with the deal we just signed with Disney. Here's a juicy excerpt of the press release:
"In a move that will add to the incredible popularity of Xbox LIVE Marketplace, Microsoft announced an agreement with Disney-ABC Domestic Television to make high definition and standard definition feature films from Walt Disney Pictures, Touchstone Pictures, Miramax Films, and Hollywood Pictures available for rent on demand to members of Xbox LIVE in the U.S. A growing catalogue of current and library titles will be available this July with more blockbusters to come. Microsoft also announced the highly anticipated rollout of the high-definition video store on Xbox LIVE Marketplace for customers around the globe. Microsoft will begin bringing content to living rooms in Europe and Canada by the end of this year. Currently offering more than 2,350 hours of premium entertainment content from 28 networks and studios, and nearly 500 hours of HD content alone, this puts the U.S. on-demand, high-definition library for Xbox 360 at more than twice the size of the nearest cable provider."
See http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2007/jul07/07-10E3UmbrellaPR.mspx, http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2007/jul07/07-10XboxLIVEDisneyPR.mspx and http://www.xbox.com/en-US/community/events/e32007/articles/disneystudiosnowonmarketplace.htm for more information on the deal. Sounds awesome to me.
Now I need to find my Xbox LIVE Marketplace point to USD calculator...
