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At A Glance
- Elle has the skinny on the new Xbox Video Marketplace.
Maybe you were surprised when you heard and maybe you weren't. There's no denying, however, that Microsoft made a splash earlier this month when they announced movie and TV show downloads on Xbox 360™. Never before has a console offered full-length movies and TV shows!
Enter the Xbox 360 Video Marketplace.
Video Marketplace
The more astute among you may have noticed the addition of a Video Marketplace button on the Media blade with the recent November update. Until the announcement, however, you may have been puzzled about why it was there. Well, now you know.
When you enter Video Marketplace, you'll notice a slick new design, and lots of pretty pictures as well. You can browse movies, TV shows, music videos, game videos, and clips. (More on the categories below.)
Movie and TV show navigation is extra special. When you enter those areas, you'll see that the content is organized into subcategories. For movies, the categories are new arrivals, trailers, clips, genre, and all. For TV, it's new arrivals, networks, clips, genre, and all. There's also a list of the top fifty downloads in each category, in case you just don't know what to watch. Between top downloads and new arrivals, there will always be something good to watch.
Once you pick a subcategory, you will see a list of downloads. Here, we've introduced a new way of navigating, affectionately known as 'the twist.' (Tidbit: you'll also find the twist on Zune.) Use the twist to change the sort order. Depending on the screen you're on, you can sort by release date, download rank, title, network, and studio, just to name a few.
Movies with a twist.
Categories
Back to those categories I was talking about—here are the types of content you'll find in Video Marketplace:
- Movies: This is where you go to download movie trailers and full-length motion pictures. Movie-related clips can be found here, too.
- TV Shows: Check out the latest episodes of your favorite series, individual shows, and TV-related clips.
- Music Videos: Get your groove on with the latest music videos.
- Game Videos: This is where the game videos and trailers went. Check out trailers, videos from the community, and tips and support.
- Clips: View clips, featurettes, and promos. All the video clips related to movie and TV shows can be found here as well as under their individual categories.
Pricing
Pricing is competitive and will vary based on format, media type and whether it’s a new release movie or classic feature film. High-definition TV shows will be 240 Microsoft Points per episode and standard-definition TV shows will be 160 Microsoft Points per episode. New release movies in high definition will be 480 Microsoft Points, and standard-definition new release movies will be 320 Microsoft Points each. Classic feature films in high definition will be 360 Microsoft Points, and standard definition will be 240 Microsoft Points. After purchasing a high definition TV show or movie, gamers can download the standard definition version at no additional charge.
| | Pricing Summary
(Microsoft Points) |
|---|
| SD | HD |
|---|
| TV Content | 160 | 240 |
| Library Movies | 240 | 360 |
| New Movies | 320 | 480 |
Usage Rights
You can download two kinds of content from Video Marketplace: Purchase and rental. What is now called purchase is pretty much what you're already used to. You download the video and you can view it on your console with any profile. In addition, you can download and view any video on another console as long as you're signed in to Xbox Live®with the profile you originally downloaded it with. Most of the time you'll see a "does not expire" tag when you check the info for this kind of video.
Rentals are a new concept for Video Marketplace, so I want to be very clear about how this works. Think of it as a combo rental/pay-per-view deal. When you rent a video, you have 14 days to watch it. Once you start watching it, you have 24 hours to finish watching it, so long as it's still within those 14 days.
Check out video ratings.
When you look at the info for a rental video, you'll see that it's tagged with an expiration countdown clock. When you first confirm the video download, the 14 day countdown will start. This countdown starts the moment you confirm your rental, whether you start the download or not. Once you start watching the video, it switches over to the 24-hour countdown clock. You can watch the video as often as you like until it expires.
One note about rentals: You have to watch them on the console you originally downloaded them on. You can't watch it on another console through your profile like you can with purchases. Also, if you delete a rental before the 14 days are up, you'll have to rent it again.
Family Settings
If you went digging for changes in the November '06 update, you may have noticed an update to Movie Ratings in the Console Controls area of Family Settings. This area was renamed Video Ratings to encompass our new broader range of video content. If you've already set up your Family Settings, revisit the video ratings area to set up the new options.
So, when you select Video Ratings, you'll have the following choices:
- Movie Ratings. This area should be familiar if you've set the movie ratings on the console before. In addition to DVD movies, ratings also include movies from Video Marketplace. In this area, you select the highest movie rating you want to allow to be played on the console. If the console detects a movie that's rated higher than what is allowed, it will ask for a pass code. If the viewer does not know the pass code, they cannot watch the movie.
- TV Ratings. Similar to movie ratings, but using TV parental guideline ratings instead. In this area, you select the highest TV rating you want to allow on the console. Just like with movies, the viewer will be asked for a pass code if the console detects a show with a rating higher than the one set.
- Explicit Video. Some videos may be marked with an explicit rating. Set this control to block video marked as explicit.
- Unrated Video. Block videos or DVDs that are unrated or do not contain rating info.
The unrated video control is actually more important than you may think. Some videos and DVDs are not encoded with a rating, even if they have been evaluated by a ratings board. This may mean that even though the box has a rating on it, the video itself does not. If the console has no way of knowing the video's rating, it will register it as unrated if that rating is blocked, and you will be asked for your pass code.
For more info about Family Settings and video ratings, see Video Ratings for Xbox 360.
Article by Elle
