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Instant 1080p HD on Xbox 360 this fall

Jun. 1, 2009 Paul Thurrott | Paul Thurrott's Supersite for Windows

Today, during the Xbox keynote at E3 Microsoft announced that "Zune video on Xbox LIVE will feature instant on, smooth streaming content in 1080p HD with 5.1 surround sound. This technology was developed within the Zune team and provides a great experience for accessing on demand video."

More details are available on Xbox.com:

Continuing a pioneering effort that began with the introduction of the industry's first video marketplace in November 2006 and broke new ground with the announcement of the first live TV straight from a gaming console last week in the U.K., Xbox today announced it would deliver yet another first-to-the-world: instant on 1080p streaming HD movies and TV with 5.1 surround sound—direct to TVs worldwide through its Xbox LIVE social entertainment network.

Instantly stream blockbusters like The Dark Knight in 1080p.
Instantly stream blockbusters like The Dark Knight in 1080p.

Starting this fall, a broad selection of movies and TV shows from Zune video on Xbox 360 will be available to start and stream instantly, in the highest video quality at the push of a button. No discs, no downloads, no waiting. Get the selection of a video megastore, the best video clarity available and the convenience of cable, only on Xbox 360.

Additional Markets
Additionally, Microsoft announced it will more than double the number of markets where Xbox LIVE offers its TV shows and movies, growing from eight to 18, by adding Austria, Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, and Belgium. Xbox LIVE members in every market will have access to instant on 1080p streaming HD video.

Additional details of Zune video on Xbox LIVE:

  • Video startup is as close to instantaneous as possible by seamlessly transitioning between many different bitrates and resolutions of video
    • Video playback will start at a low bit rate for fast download time and then ramp up to a higher bitrate and quality
    • This process enables delivery of up to 1080p with 5.1 surround sound
  • Xbox LIVE party mode let you watch movies with your friends even when you’re sitting in different locations
  • Enhanced search functions within Zune video on Xbox LIVE let you find your favorite film at the touch of a button

Discuss this Article 36

daProject
on Jun 1, 2009
how is this possible? current 720P video is about 6GB? 4 times the resolution and you have a LOT of bits to download.
yipcanjo
on Jun 1, 2009
@daProject It's possible via "compression", and the fact that *streaming* means that you only need to be downloading the next little bit of the movie -- not the entire thing.
daProject
on Jun 1, 2009
I know how streaming works :-) My point is that the bit rate that MS use for video on Xbox means that it's an awful lot of bits per second to stream @ 1080P. Enough to question the "instant on" sell.
gorath
on Jun 1, 2009
Wel, they explain in the description that this isn't actually 1080p - at least in the vast vast majority of cases right here... "•Video startup is as close to instantaneous as possible by seamlessly transitioning between many different bitrates and resolutions of video " many different bitrates and RESOLUTIONS of video. Well, if it ain't 1920x1080 is sure as hell ain't 1080p. On a 4megabit connection, which I believe is only slightly below the UK average, it takes well over three hours to download a 720p (still of questionable quality) video. There is no way in hell the majority of users are going to be able to stream a 1080p film, because that means they'd first have to be able to download the entire film, in the time it takes to watch the film. This is bullcrap, pure and simple. All of this "tv on demand" stuff is crap anyway. The picture quality bares no resemblance to DVD films, or HD broadcast via calbe or sattelite, let alone BD (or HD-DVD)
Lindy
on Jun 1, 2009
Pure marketing BS. There is simply no way to deliver true 1080p faster than you deliver today's 720p. I have no doubt that when its out, it will be torn apart by many to expose what it really is. Reality is, massive compression to get something on your screen fast. Then it ramps up 1080p ish eventually and possibly drops down if someone in your house starts downloading something else and jacking your bandwidth. Lets hope MS has tons of bandwidth when this roles out or you can count on yet another Live outage.
CompactDstrxion
on Jun 1, 2009
Would have been nice if they could have said they'll fix the dash and guide freezing
johnbaxter
on Jun 1, 2009
Is MS planning to release a silent 360 on which to run this stuff? Or are they expecting everyone to blast music or other sound constantly, loud enough to cover the noise of the helicopter next to the TV.
meason
on Jun 1, 2009
@CompatDstrxion agreed, the giude and dash freezing seem to be getting progressivly worse
niyokochan
on Jun 1, 2009
Awesome news to hear. This should be nice for those that really have the speed to enjoy, but that number around the world is increasing. Many in Europe and Asia can take full advantage of this new service. And those with fast enough connections in the US should enjoy as well. I would like to see the 5.1 Surround added to 720p movies as well. I personally think 1080p is useless for anyone without a +50" LCD. I set my Xbox360 to 720p and it looks fine and video downloads are faster. Can't tell or care about the difference. The 5.1 Surround is very big I think.
techdribble
on Jun 1, 2009
@johnbaxter rehoused my 360 in a Lian Li case which made the 360 pretty much silent.
Lindy
on Jun 1, 2009
@techdribble yeah Joe User is going to drop another $100+ so they can strip the guts out of their 360 case, voiding any warranty so they can make it quieter, and bigger??? One word. PS3.
shark47
on Jun 1, 2009
"@techdribble yeah Joe User is going to drop another $100+ so they can strip the guts out of their 360 case, voiding any warranty so they can make it quieter, and bigger??? One word. PS3." Considering how well the PS3 is doing, you're right. Joe user is not interested in spending $100 more to get a quieter and bigger case. By the way, "PS3" is not really a word. That's like saying "WTF" is a single word.
jjesusfreak01
on Jun 1, 2009
@Lindy Apparently RED found a way to do this. Their RedRay system can do 4k compressed to 10Mbps (megabits) with very little apparent loss on high end projection equipment. 1080p is nothing compared to that. Apparently we have been fooled into believing that these bitrates were necessary, when really the codecs were just ridiculously inefficient. http://reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?t=29384&page=2
johnpapola
on Jun 1, 2009
Awesome. Too bad my 360 just red-ringed.
mikegalos@msn.com
on Jun 1, 2009
1080p streaming is nice but the big news from E3 is Project Natal. That's (pardon the expression) game changing. http://www.xbox.com/en-US/live/projectnatal/
lketchum
on Jun 1, 2009
@mikegalos, ref Project Natal Boy, you're not kidding. Natal, as Steven Spielberg and others have well noted, is going to change a lot more than just gaming and entertainment. I am frankly stunned by the accomplishments coming out of Microsoft these past months. Bing, 7, E2K10, Xbox's Natal, Zune HD, VS 2010, SL 3. Amazing. I appreciated Steve Ballmer's recent and oft repeated observation opposite Google, as he identified that they had but one business... as he spoke to the many real business units Microsoft operates. The work coming out of the company this year speaks to that extremely well. What a world - now if we could only extend that to so many more people not so blessed as to be born into such fortune.
jjesusfreak01
on Jun 2, 2009
I wonder if the majority of the technology in Natal is even patentable. I believe there is alot of prior art for everything they did even to joint recognition. Nintendo might just be able to copy MS for a change and have this built into their next system. For all we know, a similar system may have been in the works for years now.
Lindy
on Jun 2, 2009
Shark you are right the PS3 is fairing worse than the Wii or 360. Its not a word but a term or acronym but I even you got my point. That said its sold 22 million so far. http://nexgenwars.com/ and its been out 1 year less. I am thinking we will see a $100 drop on the PS3 before the holiday season and a slim version. Overall I just think the PS3 is much better platform for game/media center than the 360. Online media downloads are in the news a lot right now, with everyone trying to crack that market with some solution but just recently I read consumers still prefer DVD's over online media, which bodes well for BD and Sony. Natal looks cool but, no dates, not games listed to support it. Its vapor ware at this point. Its like Microsoft surface, cool but when will it be main stream. As for that RED stuff, looks great and very promising but again when???? Looking at the FAQ.... How Many Files Are On RedRelay? (top) As of February 27, 2008 the file statistics stand as: Video Files: 131 R3D Files: 10 DPX Files: 9 TIFF Files: 14 Total Files: 164 Are they up to 200 files you can download now??
mdsharpe
on Jun 2, 2009
For us in the UK, just having a bit more content would be nice, regardless of resolution. We've been ripped off for far too long with Xbox Live Gold subscriptions. The experience is dramatically inferior yet we pay the same price (or more?).
shark47
on Jun 2, 2009
"Natal looks cool but, no dates, not games listed to support it. Its vapor ware at this point. " That, I agree with. As of now, it is vaporware. It is an interesting concept, otherwise. Microsoft is doing a lot on the software front. Now, if only they did something about the hardware...
subzerohitman721
on Jun 2, 2009
Lindy, I disagree. The mistake of bundling the most powerful hardware specs for the PS3 hardware was a classic and often repeated mistake in video game console history. Sony didn't need the Cell processor in conjuction with Blu-Ray to sell PS3's. If anything, the Cell Processor was overkill and expensive, dooming the PS3. PS3's are silent, but its games aren't as well designed as the Xbox 360's. Month after month, the Xbox 360 games outscore world wide and in the U.S. over their counterparts. This is why Nintendo might sell more console units battle, Xbox 360 wins this generation via upgradeable content, downloadable content, more software units sold (Where the real money is.), and peripheral upgrades. The Apple Store is proof enough that digital downloads is best way to go. DVD's are nice and I do still collect them. However, I"m leaning more and more each day towards downloads from the Apple Store. The only time I buy DVD's is content I can't get in either Blu-Ray or digital downloads such as anime. Why? I can back up all my content. I don't have to drive anywhere. I don't have wrapping to deal with. I don't have to put up with lines, annoying people, and pressure sales tactics. It is a huge win for the consumer. DVD's and Blu-Ray will hang around for awhile, but I think Microsoft is definitely on the right path. Besides, if you're really enjoying movies like I do, I turn my sound up high. It drowns out that Xbox 360 because I love the audio component as part of the movie watching experience. Besides, I've noticed that a movie projector at a theatre is just as loud as an Xbox 360. To my ears, it is just gives me that theatre background noise experience, IMO.
lotsamystuff
on Jun 2, 2009
"1080p streaming is nice but the big news from E3 is Project Natal. " Both of which are completely eclipsed by Google Wave: http://pixelatedgeek.com/2009/05/google-wave-announced-at-io/
lotsamystuff
on Jun 2, 2009
"I've noticed that a movie projector at a theatre is just as loud as an Xbox 360. To my ears, it is just gives me that theatre background noise experience, IMO." Wow. You should work for Microsoft's marketing group. If you can sell that to yourself, you can sell just about anything.
shark47
on Jun 2, 2009
"Both of which are completely eclipsed by Google Wave:" Wow. You should for work for Google's marketing group. You seem to be able to find the most novel ways to criticize Microsoft and praise Google's products. Oh, and by the way, maybe you can offer robertsjoe some tips on how to troll while still giving the impression of being on topic.
Lindy
on Jun 2, 2009
@subzero....may 12th 2009 http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10238602-93.html "Your average U.S. consumer paid about $25 per month on video purchases and rentals, with 63 percent on DVD purchases, 7 percent on Blu-ray Disc purchases, 18 percent on rentals, 9 percent on video on demand, and only 3 percent on digital downloads." For movies your part of the 3% crowd, congratulations. Music is a totally different story. The 360 is still loosing money? After its RROD 1 billion write off and now even more for the E74 errors. Sony will probably announce today? That the PS3 is now breaking even or will very shortly. What most people dont think about is that Nintendo and Sony both have other devices that sell and make money as well. The PS2 still to this day sells something like 180,000 consoles per month. The PSP is still selling a lot as well. April 2009 stats.. Nintendo DS - 1,040,000 Nintendo Wii - 340,000 Xbox 360 - 175,000 PlayStation 2 - 172,000 PlayStation 3 - 127,000 PlayStation Portable - 116,000 Add that up and MS is last. For software you are probably right. However both have their exclusives and all of the major selling 3rd party games are on both. Modern Warfare 2 will probably be the block buster this year and it will be everything.
mikegalos@msn.com
on Jun 2, 2009
Oh, and Microsoft announced that Windows 7 supports seamless GPU accelerated video transcoding. http://www.bit-tech.net/news/bits/2009/06/02/microsoft-reveals-native-wi... nVidia demoed it at Computex running on their ION graphics architecture.
lotsamystuff
on Jun 2, 2009
"Oh, and by the way, maybe you can offer robertsjoe some tips on how to troll while still giving the impression of being on topic." Huh. So I guess it's only OK to marginally change the topic if your name is "mikegalos" and the company is "Microsoft". Should we call that "the rule according to Sharky"?
mikegalos@msn.com
on Jun 2, 2009
" So I guess it's only OK to marginally change the topic if your name is "mikegalos"" Yes.
Dipsh t Admin
on Jun 2, 2009
lotsa, did Ocean hack in to your account? The OT Google Wave link and the tinyurl hidden link yesterday are trademarks of that troll. And just so I'm sure as to what Google Wave is, since I have heard little news about it, you know, with the news being eclipsed by E3 and Bing. To transform in to and anti-rj for a second, LOL, Google is the new GM, stodgy and boring. And not innovative like Microsoft or Apple. ;) <-- wink, wink, and yes, I said it, Apple is innovative... - - - - - - - - - - at marketing. ;) <-- wink, wink again, all is forgiven, right lotsasnarkiness?
shark47
on Jun 2, 2009
So, how much money did the games division at Sony make last year, lindy? http://www.joystiq.com/2009/05/14/sony-reports-continued-loss-expects-ga...
Dipsh t Admin
on Jun 2, 2009
Some text is missing from my previous comment. If I understand what Google Wave is, it is an improvement to the IM client? Kind of underwhelming. And anyone remember Hello? I binged it and found that it was shut down over a year ago, which was also a IM client of sorts. Let's hope they stay the course with this.
hamiltonstallings
on Jun 2, 2009
@Lindy, "Xbox 360 - 175,000 PlayStation 2 - 172,000 PlayStation 3 - 127,000" I didn't read your whole post because I didn't care, but you are right on this one. The xbox 360 has out sold the PS3.
mikegalos@msn.com
on Jun 2, 2009
Lindy "What most people dont think about is that Nintendo and Sony both have other devices that sell and make money as well." Where, by comparison, Microsoft doesn't make anything but the XBox 360. Oh, wait a minute... "PlayStation 2 - 172,000, PlayStation 3 - 127,000" Looks to me that the market has not only given up on the PS3, the die-hard PS fans have gone back to the previous generation (which can't drive all those new-generation game sales or Blu-ray discs). And, while PS3 sales are down from last year, XBox 360 sales are up 28% even in a down economy. "Sony will probably announce today? That the PS3 is now breaking even or will very shortly." Well, Sony's press conference starts in 12 minutes. Still want to hold with that prediction?
tayme
on Jun 2, 2009
Arrogance abounds... --tayme
Lindy
on Jun 2, 2009
Microsoft only makes the 360, you dont say?? Man Mike you are a walking genius. Thanks for making my point clear. April 2009... Sony gaming consoles sold = 415k MS gaming consoles sold = 175k I think you cant take it from here genius boy. PS2 went to $99 in April, sales jumped 60k month over month because of the price drop. It probably cost Sony $50 to make it these days.
shark47
on Jun 2, 2009
So, you can get a PS2 and an XBox 360 for the price of a PS3? That's pretty impressive.

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