I think I've come across my perfect situation.

I collect movies in one format (HD DVD) and I make the occasional BD rental also - but not all films are available on either.

So I've started downloading HD films on Xbox Live, which works out great! Even though they are at 720, they are still as sharp as some HD/BD releases, and way sharper than DVD anyway.

How many of you supplement your HD or BD addiction with HD films from XBox Live?

'twas the only way to get the new Babylon 5 flick in HD. I was surprised at how well the Xbox Live download system works, and how good the video quality was.

'twas the only way to get the new Babylon 5 flick in HD. I was surprised at how well the Xbox Live download system works, and how good the video quality was.I've been playing with it today and it is very slick and easy.

Anyone who has an XBox should definitely plug it into their internet.

The selection of HD movies is really great. I haven't timed the download time yet, but my internet connection is tested to 7.5 megabits (out of a rated 8 megabits).

HDM is the ultimate presentation, of course, but this really helps fill in the blanks. I think that many will be surprised at how easy this is when they check it out.

I now also have six playable game demos downloading right now for a few racing games (just ordered my XBox 360 wireless racing wheel today, along with PG4, Dirt, Forza 2, Fight Night 3, and Scene It: Lights, Cameras, Action)

Ive downloaded around 20 movies since the service launched... its just too damn easy to rent good quality hd movies. esp those that appear that i forgot about in theaters and was gonna netflix. then there is the whole issue of netflix not having enough stock of hd-dvd/bluray movies most times (almost every hd-dvd is a long wait in my queue as are most blurays). those movies that are available on the xbox i usually download and remove them from my netflix queue.

Over priced lower quality HD versions, no thanks.

I've been playing with it today and it is very slick and easy.

Anyone who has an XBox should definitely plug it into their internet.

The selection of HD movies is really great. I haven't timed the download time yet, but my internet connection is tested to 7.5 megabits (out of a rated 8 megabits).

HDM is the ultimate presentation, of course, but this really helps fill in the blanks. I think that many will be surprised at how easy this is when they check it out.

If they were to offer it in a netflix-like X hrs/month for $Y/month, I'd be all over it. But I just can't see "buying" individual movies like they want me to. I guess it's not really a lot different than if I set myself a budget (say $15/month) and only "rented" that many, but I just have a problem with paying for DRM'd, time-limited things.

I now also have six playable game demos downloading right now for a few racing games (just ordered my XBox 360 wireless racing wheel today, along with PG4, Dirt, Forza 2, Fight Night 3, and Scene It: Lights, Cameras, Action)

You're in for a treat, Forza 2 with the wheel is spectacular. PGR 4 is pretty good, I'm not quite used to that combo yet.

Is there anything that is available only on it? If not, no sale.

As soon as it becomes available in Canada I will.

I've been using it to watch BD only movies, since it's a step up from SD DVD and is good enough for me until BD releases a 1.1 player, and one that I feel is worth the money (IMHO, no flamebait intended).

Is there anything that is available only on it? If not, no sale.

there are a few movies that are available only on the marketplace in hd....the superman doomsday movie was... i didnt see a hd-dvd or bluray release as was the babylon 5 already mentioned.

plus they have quite a few movies already online in hd from disney not available on bluray yet.

Is there anything that is available only on it? If not, no sale.

agreed... and i think such a service is coming sooner than people think. and i have to say (ive said it here before) if they get one or two more studios i will seriously consider dropping netflix and going exclusively to xbox live. the user experince is already better than netflix (faster and doesnt have the stock issues) and the only think holding them back is the pricing (and to a lesser extent the quality but as long as the pricing is right i will deal with the very slight difference in quality).

How much do the HD movies cost on XBox live?

How much do the HD movies cost on XBox live?About $6

You're in for a treat, Forza 2 with the wheel is spectacular. PGR 4 is pretty good, I'm not quite used to that combo yet.I'm drooling! :)

I am not even going to touch that service until you can keep the download for at least a week after hitting play. I think after paying $6 for a movie that you can only keep for 24 hours is complete BS and will never buy one because of it.

Also it's a down grade in PQ and AQ so no I will stick with Netflix to rent HD-DVD's!

I got the free download of South Park "Good Times with Weapons" episode in HD.

It was free and you got to keep it forever on your HDD.

I got the free download of South Park "Good Times with Weapons" episode in HD.
I also grabbed this when it was released just to test things out and was relatively pleased with the results. However, I don't use the Live rental service for two main reasons.

First, the rentals are just way too expensive compared to physical disc rental options. Second, as much as I love my 360 for gaming, it makes a completely unacceptable amount of noise for watching movies or TV shows. My PS3 is only borderline tolerable in the noise department, but the noise levels of my 360 are completely unacceptable for any kind of non-gaming use.

Many years of PC and console gaming have conditioned me to tolerate a noisy game machine, but I just can't deal with a noisy media player. I look forward to purchasing a stand-alone HDM player (probably dual-format, unless the format war is miraculously settled) sometime next year to replace the PS3 as the main media player in my setup and I don't see myself utilizing downloadable video rentals/purchase anytime in the near future unless they can be delivered to quieter playback devices.

I have rented two movies from the xbox live service, Renaissance and Superman:Doomsday. It was the only way to see those titles in HD.

I am not even going to touch that service until you can keep the download for at least a week after hitting play. I think after paying $6 for a movie that you can only keep for 24 hours is complete BS and will never buy one because of it.

I agree, I'm waiting for somebody (other than netflix) to realize that they should charge per hour used, not per movie. If XBLM offered an option for $15/month that would let me watch 15 hours of XBLM content, I'd probably drop netflix in a heartbeat.

Also it's a down grade in PQ and AQ so no I will stick with Netflix to rent HD-DVD's!

Netflix would be great if I could actually get a "new" release without waiting three months.

i made the mistake of downloading the movie, watching about 5 mins of it and had to run off and do something.. sat down again the next day and it was expired.. it's a good service that they offer but i like to keep what i buy so i only do it when there's something i really want to watch. I own HD DVD only btw

I am not even going to touch that service until you can keep the download for at least a week after hitting play. I think after paying $6 for a movie that you can only keep for 24 hours is complete BS and will never buy one because of it.

Also it's a down grade in PQ and AQ so no I will stick with Netflix to rent HD-DVD's!
Comcast OnDemand is the same.

$3.99 for SD OnDemand
$5.99 for HD 720p OnDemand
*OnDemand only is available for 24 hours as well.

My local Hollywood Video charges $4.99 for HD DVD/Blu-ray rentals.

Tried it and it is simply not worth it. As others have said, overpriced and lower quality. I can get much better quality in blu-ray at better prices as well. Plus the 360 isn't quiet like the PS3 which is annoying during scenes that are supposed to be quiet. I'm sure one day the technology will be there and deliver quality content on demand but that day isn't here yet.

I just rented Zodiac HD on Xbox over the weekend. I didn't get to see the flick in theaters, so it was my first time watching it and I LOVED it. Will definitely be buying this on HD when it comes out in January.

Comcast OnDemand is the same.

$3.99 for SD OnDemand
$5.99 for HD 720p OnDemand
*OnDemand only is available for 24 hours as well.

My local Hollywood Video charges $4.99 for HD DVD/Blu-ray rentals.

Um, I rent HD on OnDemand through Comcast and...it's...3.99 for HD. Not 5.99.

Of course, the one reason I might use Live instead of OnDemand is they have proper OAR on Xbox Live. Everything is cropped to 16:9 on Comcast.


Nonetheless I use Xbox Live occasionally. The 24 hour period thing is the main problem though. I have a thing where I watch in pieces, so having only 24 hours means I don't sometimes get to finish the movie. If it were 48 hours, it'd be so much better.

I'm Blu-Ray only too. I like marketplace, there's some decent stuff there. But when MS priced their 120 gig harddrive at $180, quite frankly, right then I decided that I'm not going to use their service that much. The 20 gig fills up really fast. I WANTED to rent Zodiac, but I never have 7.2 gigs available on my 360. Combine that with how the UI on the 360 is a bit slower than the PS3 and not as much to my liking, I look forward to my PS3 introducing a similar service. But for now...it's nice to have the option.

I tried it a few times. I didn't like the slow download speeds (didn't max out my connection, or even close) or waiting to watch it (buffering too longer than I would have liked). I didn't like the quality of the movies compared to BD, and I disliked the draconian usage limitations.

For cheaper and in less time I can drive to Blockbuster and get a movie I can watch as many times as I want for a week.

I think the service could be great if they dropped the price to match up with how limited your content rights are, or kept the same price and upped how long you're able to watch it. Until then it's just a novelty.

Oh, and I really hate having to buy "points" to then use to buy the content. Just let me charge it to my credit card already.

Finally, the 360 howls like a banshee, which is fine during an intense Halo 3 match or something, but quite distracting when trying to hear quiet dialog.

I tried it a few times. I didn't like the slow download speeds (didn't max out my connection, or even close) or waiting to watch it (buffering too longer than I would have liked). I didn't like the quality of the movies compared to BD, and I disliked the draconian usage limitations.

For cheaper and in less time I can drive to Blockbuster and get a movie I can watch as many times as I want for a week.

I think the service could be great if they dropped the price to match up with how limited your content rights are, or kept the same price and upped how long you're able to watch it. Until then it's just a novelty.

Oh, and I really hate having to buy "points" to then use to buy the content. Just let me charge it to my credit card already.

Finally, the 360 howls like a banshee, which is fine during an intense Halo 3 match or something, but quite distracting when trying to hear quiet dialog.

I have a 8mbit cable connection and the xbox marketplace usually maxes it out... so I can usually watch a HD movie 5 mins after starting the download.

As for the credit card... thats how mine operates more or less. Its not as good as a direct credit card but its pretty freaking close. Takes about 20 secs to add more points to the xbox from my credit card.

I know alot of people have problems with the sound but mine is very quiet when watching a movie.... Maybe I got a good one. The only time my console ever makes enough noise for me to hear it is when the dvd rom spins up. When playing demo's, arcade games etc I cant hear it. But I got mine repaired a few months ago.

Where's the option for - I own both formats and have but no longer download from XBL?

I had to try it out, but legacy audio on lowbitrate HD Lite is a no-go for my preferences.

I absolutely refuse to buy movies from xbox live, becuase the HD presentations are not good compared to actual disc content.

I absolutely refuse to buy movies from xbox live, becuase the HD presentations are not good compared to actual disc content.

You don't buy movies from XBL, you rent them. I know you know that, but there is a misconception out there that people can buy the movies from XBL permanently

I own HD DVD only, and do NOT rent from XBox Live...

ONLY because I'm in Canada, and it's not offered yet (grrr)

I get HD off the satelite, HD DVD, Blu-ray, and XBL market place.

I feel sorry for people who demand that their movies come off optical disc. They are missing out on a lot of content and a lot of convienance. There are a lot of movies that I wouldn't necessarily buy on HD DVD or Blu-ray, but I'm more than happy to pay a few bucks for a pay-per view off the satelite or download from XBL. I would hate to be limited to "only" optical disc as a source of HD content, because I see a lot of movies I wouldn't off HBO HD, Showtime HD, etc.

I've used it a few times. Mostly I'll just netflix hd-dvd's or use comcast (3.99 for most of the HD selection is $2 cheaper). The quality is quite fine for a rental in my opinion. The one's I've watched are probably a bit better than comcast, but not as good as hd-dvd. I would use it a lot more if they made the pricing a bit more competitive and relaxed the rental window...even just 48 hours would be more convenient.

As of now I only own HD DVD (Once Samsung gets the dang Duo out that will change). I have rented HD (Braveheart) in the past but I no longer do so. For now I would rather own the movie and right Now I am thinking of selling off my complete Xbox\Add-on system when I go neutral so I want to seel the system with the points I have.

I was not disappointed though in the quality and if I wasnt thinking of selling the system I would still rent HD content off Live.