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Nodnarb · Nov 25, 2006, 12:21 AM

http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2006/1...ive_video.html

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6180120.stm

US Xbox 360 owners are able to download high definition TV programmes and films, including shows such as Star Trek and CSI.

But Xbox's Larry Hryb has said "technical issues have resulted in a very unpleasant experience" for users.

Speed problems and video not being delivered is being blamed on "the extremely high number of downloads".

I have a 360, looked at this (before I knew there were problems) and got annoyed with microsofts interface over anything else. iTunes is the best, so you can see tons of items at once. The 360 just lists them all in the small right corner that you can slowly scroll through.

I'm sure they'll eventually fix this problem, it's just hilarious that they can't even get this right when you know the traffic isn't nearly as high as iTMS.

mdc · Nov 25, 2006, 07:49 AM

On Thursday at 10:34am I started downloading the 6gb HD version of V for Vendetta. Last night when I had to unplug my xbox360, it was at 44%.

If things don't speed up (which they *have* to) people are going to plan to watch the next week's movies so the downloads will be finished in time.

Nodnarb · Nov 25, 2006, 11:22 AM

Another thing that sucks about it is the whole microsoft "points" thing. Since I have xbox live, they already have my credit card, and it would be great if they had the price of the items in dollar value next to it and I could just buy one movie if I wanted. I'm hesitating because I do not want to buy 500 microsoft points and be forced to buy a couple movies.

Apparently they are doing the same pricing scheme with the Zune marketplace.

mdc · Nov 25, 2006, 04:19 PM

I got home today and my download had cancelled itself. I tried to resume it, the xbox said it couldn't, and I'd have to pay for it again.

I phoned Microsoft and got my 480 points back.

imitchellg5 · Nov 25, 2006, 04:21 PM

The hampstor® must be sick.

ghporter · Nov 25, 2006, 04:49 PM

I wonder what kind of networks they are "requiring" for these 360s in the first place. A fast home network should handle HD video without any problem. A not-so-great home network can screw up a tiny file transfer... Gotta wonder.

idyll · Nov 26, 2006, 04:46 PM

what kind of movies can one download? i like the sound of this..

OwlBoy · Nov 26, 2006, 08:08 PM

eh, miss post

mdc · Nov 27, 2006, 10:32 AM

Originally Posted by idyll

what kind of movies can one download? i like the sound of this..

Xbox.com | Marketplace - Movies and TV on your Xbox

Dark Helmet · Nov 27, 2006, 10:48 AM

They are having load issues as too many people are trying it. They said they are working on it.

Nodnarb · Nov 27, 2006, 11:57 AM

Originally Posted by Dark Helmet

They are having load issues as too many people are trying it. They said they are working on it.

Right, but wouldn't they have anticipated demand for it when they were hyping the feature a few weeks prior to it's release? And lets not forget, this is Microsoft, so I would have imagined them spending every dime necessary to ensure a smooth launch.

Dark Helmet · Nov 27, 2006, 12:44 PM

Originally Posted by Nodnarb

Right, but wouldn't they have anticipated demand for it when they were hyping the feature a few weeks prior to it's release? And lets not forget, this is Microsoft, so I would have imagined them spending every dime necessary to ensure a smooth launch.

Hey I totally agree with you. I mean if anyone gets discounts on servers it is them. They are losing money because they didn't prepare properly and it is giving people a bad first impression.

All they can do now is try to fix their mistake.

mdc · Nov 27, 2006, 02:26 PM

I think it is really bad that it turned out *this* badly.
When E3 was going on they put a bunch of demos and videos up and the xbox live marketplace came to a standstill, downloadwise.

Now they're putting up 6gb videos and apparently they didn't anticipate people would like it this much, or they didn't do anything after the E3 debacle.

The fact that my download would've taken around 3 days if it didn't cancel itself is ridiculous.

I hope throwing servers, bandwidth, and money at the problem fixes it because I don't know what other options they have.

pooka · Nov 28, 2006, 11:13 AM

Problems aside, I checked it out last night for the hell of it. All I can say is that Apple better get their **** together and respond. Personally, I think the point system is retarded, but being able to download roughly 4 HD movies for $20 is pretty damn compelling. I don't know if the pricing structure will change or if their library will grow, but damn. That and I don't have to leave my computer hooked up to the tv. And from what I've seen, the video quality kicks itunes ass. I'm still dumbfounded that xbl is actually pretty freakin cool.

ort888 · Nov 28, 2006, 11:21 AM

From what I hear, it has improved a lot in the last few days. As had been mentioned, the system was just overwhelmed.

I also hear that the movies aren't really proper hi-def quality. Which should be pretty obvious since they are all about 6 gigs. I hear they look about DVD quality, which is disappointing.