“You don’t need to invent anything, you just have to do traditional research where you look at history and then compliment that with scientific research where you’re trying to do something new. That can lead to a lot in the business and technology sectors these days” – Bill Buxton
A chat with Microsoft Principal Researcher Bill Buxton, Part I
Ever since the New Xbox Experience was released a couple weeks ago people all around me want to know what my opinion on the Netflix HD video service is and how it compares to Sony’s flagship HD media option, Blu-ray. It’s hard to compare the two considering one is a download service and the other is a physical product. For argument’s sake let’s look at them this way: they both offer HD content to a general public that knows very little about high-definition media and what it has to do with entertainment. The statistics are overwhelming in favor of low-resolution DVDs and non-digital television leaving one to think that neither Netflix HD nor Sony Blu-ray really matter all that much to anyone other than gamers and computer nerds.
Personally I think there is not an assumption in the world that is more wrong. HD content is the future of movie and television entertainment, it’s only a matter of time before the FCC follows through and removes non-digital cable and more companies jump on the high-definition bandwagon. For that reason alone this battle between Blu-ray and the Netflix HD service on the Xbox 360 is important to everyone who cares about this form of entertainment. I will look at the positives and negatives of each service and at the end choose a sole winner, based only on these points and my personal interaction with the service (which has ramped up over the past month for purposes of this article). This is only a comparison of the actual Xbox 360 Netflix service, as that is what most of our readers would want to know about.
Blu-Ray: It’s well-known that the major reason Blu-ray was able to conquer HD-DVD in the format war was the release of the Playstation 3, which had a built in Blu-ray player and was offered at a much lower price than anything the competition could sell. Once the format war was over and Blu-ray won it’s right to be the lone-provider of disc-based HD content to consumers most thought this was the end; it was Blu-ray or nothing (see below why this is not the case). Blu-ray has a ton of positive things going for it: 1) the resolution is unbeatable, 2) it is easier to sell movies in a physical form, for now, 3) thanks to the PS3 it has a huge user-base, and 4) many studios exclusively support Blu-Ray for their HD content. The negatives for me are a bit more serious: 1) expensive (around $20 per movie), 2) expansive but not complete catalog of available films, 3) physical nature of Blu-rays can be destroyed/lost/damaged, and 4) inconvenience of going to brick-and-mortar store to pick-up/purchase a Blu-ray (or delivery time from internet).
Netflix HD: It was a big day when Microsoft announced that it’s New Xbox Experience (NXE) would include the option to use Netflix’s service right from the comfort of your own home via the Xbox 360 console. At first I was a bit skeptical but after some time with the service it has become a daily thing in our family’s home. If there is some down-time me and my wife pull up the Netflix webpage, put some movies in our queue and sit down to decide what to watch. The process is so simple that I have taught my brothers, sister, and parents how to do it (they all now use Netflix instead of their Blockbuster subscriptions). For me the positives of the integrated Netflix HD service are overwhelming: 1) ease of use, 2) availability of HD movies, documentaries, and television shows (lots of unknown content), 3) instant access (no wait for store trip or delivery time), and 4) decent HD quality of content. The few negatives are: 1) not as large of a selection as Blu-ray and 2) depending on internet issues watching movies can be a hassle.
And the winner is . . . Netflix HD, by a small margin. This could change over time and feel free to bash and/or disagree with my opinion. The future of entertainment is heading in a downloadable direction, personally I have been getting a lot more use out of the Netflix service than my growing Blu-ray collection. People want instant access to things, and Netflix HD is currently the best option for that. Only time will tell if the service continues to be supported and the movie selection continues to grow. Sound off in our forums by clicking the link here or in the comments section below.
Source: PlanetXBOX360
Tags: NetFlixHD, Xbox 360, Blu-Ray, Sony HD movies, nxe, Xbox Live
If you wouldn’t mind looking up from that avatar creation screen for a second — yes, we’re aware of how much that t-shirt selection means about you as a person — you might notice that your Xbox 360 is dead. At least, a few hapless souls on the Xbox forums seem to think NXE is to blame for such atrocities. Numerous folks are reporting variously bad red ring configurations, random freezing and a huge pile of blockbuster titles that won’t just play themselves. The biggest problem is that Microsoft isn’t universally treating problems caused by NXE as an “oh, our bad” sort of situation, and at least from anecdotes we’re seeing has charged quite a few folks $100 to fix their freshly-out-warranty Xbox 360s — not to mention separating them for weeks from their precious murder simulators.
Source: Engadget.com
Attention Xbox 360 owners: The New Xbox Experience is coming. November 19, if you’re wondering. Some of you might have read our hands-on preview of the free downloadable update, but we know there are still many questions still unanswered. So, we thought it would be a good idea to ask you, the lovely VideoGamer.com readers, what you wanted to know before we left for a NXE session with James Houlton, UK product manager, LIVE, and Robin Burrowes, EMEA product manager, LIVE. Read on for the answers you so crave.
Source: Videogamer.com
Tags: NXE, Xbox Live New Experience, Xbox 360, Avatars
For those who can’t wait until November 19th, here is a really nice video showing the process for creating avatars on your Xbox 360 new Live Experience:
http://www.xbox.com/NR/rdonlyres/B59496E6-D737-4F63-8A82-C92D06F4F964/0/vidCreatingAvatarsHi.asx
Wuld you linke more information? visit the official XBOX site at http://www.xbox.com/en-CA/live/nxe/default.htm
Tags: Xbox360, Xbox Live experience, NXE, Xbox Avatars
