While chewing the fats across the workplace lately, we bought to speaking about how all of us go about watching movies on these uncommon – oh so uncommon – events the place we out of the blue discover ourselves with a few hours to spare.
And the stunning range of film-watching habits to emerge from this dialog out of the blue made us realise that whereas we recurrently evaluate Blu-ray gamers, we’ve by no means actually executed in-depth investigations from a film perspective of film-offering options just like the Xbox 360 Video Marketplace, BT Vision service and Sky HD receiver.
This appears significantly remiss of us given how individuals wish to bleat on proper now about how Blu-ray’s window of alternative is already getting closed by different downloading and broadcasting companies.
So as we speak we’re beginning to put this sorry state of affairs proper, with the primary half of what’s going to in the end be an intermittent trilogy of linked evaluations of ‘alternative’ movie sources. Starting with Microsoft’s Xbox Live Video Marketplace.
The Xbox 360 is, after all, in the beginning a video games console. Indeed, when the console first launched, its potential for providing a movie service was nothing greater than a twinkle in Bill Gates’ eye, hinted at by the truth that you could possibly obtain trailers for upcoming video games and some music movies.
Yet on November 22nd 2006, US Xbox 360 house owners out of the blue discovered they may obtain full TV programmes and movies by way of their Xbox Live accounts. And the identical service lastly went absolutely dwell within the UK in time for Christmas 2007.
Since then the amount of downloadable movie content material has grown exponentially, as new offers have been struck with totally different content material suppliers (the latest being Universal in February this 12 months). To date, the variety of movies out there by way of Xbox within the UK stands at round 200.
With so many titles out there, any expertise of the Xbox 360 Movie service has to start with a take a look at how nicely its interface holds up. With the previous ‘blade’ interface sported by the primary Xbox 360s, I personally discovered monitoring down a selected movie a little bit of nightmare. But fortunately the brand new ‘tile/folder’ system launched with the NXE replace improves issues significantly.
You can now instantly entry quick ‘highlight’ lists of the latest and hottest titles, as an example, with all of the titles proven like a row of dominos so that you can scroll alongside. The scrolling is fast, and the presentation high quality such that you would be able to normally inform at a look which movies the listing comprises even with out scrolling via them.
Alternatively, you’ll be able to browse the complete movie choice based mostly on first letter or style, wherein case you simply get a extra customary alphabetical ‘list’ presentation of the titles out there beneath the class or letter you choose.
All in all, whereas the system is not any competitors for a very good internet browser itemizing – or Sky’s EPG – it really works fairly successfully contemplating all you’ve bought to navigate it’s a joystick.
Also fairly commendable is the extent of data offered for every movie you’re considering of ‘renting’. You’re advised at a look if a movie is accessible in excessive in addition to customary definition, in addition to being proven the 12 months the movie was made, its operating time, its certificates, the dimensions of the obtain file, what audio system it makes use of (normally 5.1-channel Dolby Digital), what subtitle tracks can be found (if any) and what decision it’s offered in. For essentially the most half, this implies 480p for traditional def downloads, and 720p for HD downloads.
Which instantly offers us trigger for concern, really. For whereas 720p may be very a lot an HD format, an increasing number of TVs within the UK are turning in the direction of a Full HD decision of 1,920 x 1,080 pixels. So for these screens to indicate a 720p movie, some kind of video scaling processing goes to must happen, with a doubtlessly damaging affect on the ultimate image high quality.
As nicely because the ‘technical’ info, tiles are offered for every movie giving a fairly in-depth synopsis and key credit – normally simply the principle actors and the director. One closing pleasant contact is the truth that you’ll be able to obtain a brief preview of every movie earlier than committing to a purchase order.
Once you’ve dedicated to purchasing a movie, you pay for it utilizing Microsoft’s Point system, with movies costing from 250 factors for the standard def model of an previous film via to 540 factors for an HD model of a brand new title. This works out to roughly £2.10 for the most affordable movies, as much as £4.50 for the most costly HD ones.
For this, you get to ‘own’ a movie in your console for 14 days earlier than it’s deleted, however when you’ve began to look at it you then have to finish your viewing inside 24 hours. Or you’ll be able to, if you want, watch the movie a number of occasions inside that 24-hour interval.
This cinema-like strategy is clearly a really totally different situation to what you get with Blu-ray, the place you pay far more up entrance, however then get to maintain your movie for ever, to look at as typically as you want. Which strategy you favor is, after all, totally as much as you.
Having simply talked about variations with Blu-ray, I suppose it’s additionally price me stressing that you just don’t get any of the additional options – director’s commentaries, documentaries and so forth – with a movie downloaded by way of Xbox Live that you just are likely to get included on a Blu-ray disc. But once more, we all know there are many individuals who received’t be bothered by this in any respect.
There’s another relatively necessary distinction between the Xbox 360 film expertise and shopping for a Blu-ray, too: time. For whereas a Blu-ray is accessible to play inside seconds – relying in your participant!! – of placing it into the disc tray, downloading a movie inevitably takes time.
To offer you some thought of how a lot time, utilizing a wonderfully regular BT broadband connection, I downloaded the 5.0GB file of ”Wanted” in HD in a single hour and 55 minutes. Clearly, then, if you wish to watch an Xbox Live movie, it’s essential assume forward – possibly leaving a title or two downloading once you go to mattress the night time earlier than you plan to look at one thing.”’(centre)HD DVD was the unique excessive definition film choice for the Xbox, however sadly that didn’t work out(/centre)”’
I ought to add right here that the Xbox service does mean you can begin watching a movie as soon as part of it has been downloaded whereas the remainder of the obtain continues within the background. But you’re nonetheless taking a look at a fairly hefty delay between deciding to obtain a movie and really having the ability to begin watching it.
Mind you, I suppose you could possibly argue that until you’ve already purchased a Blu-ray you wish to watch, the time taken to pop to Blockbuster to lease the Blu-ray may nicely be longer than it takes to obtain a movie to the purpose the place you can begin watching it by way of Xbox Live…
With file sizes for full feature-length movies on the Xbox service ranging between 4.5 and 7GB, anybody considering of utilizing their Xbox as their major supply of movies additionally severely wants to contemplate having not less than a 60GB HDD of their console (that is customary within the £170 Xbox 360 Pro) or ideally the 120GB supplied by the Xbox 360 Elite.
For the needs of this take a look at, we downloaded six movies in whole, to examine the steadiness and consistency of the system. But for the efficiency exams we focussed particularly on ”Wanted” and ”The Dark Knight”, given our familiarity with these movies of their Blu-ray incarnations.
Starting with the image high quality delivered by the Xbox film service, it’s finest summed up pretty much as good with out hitting the identical heights offered by the most effective Blu-ray pressings.
The HD variations of ”The Dark Knight” and ”Wanted” we downloaded each clearly look HD, as an example, with a big enhance intimately and sharpness. It’s a aid, too, to find that even with ”The Dark Knight”, a comparatively lengthy movie, there doesn’t appear to be an excessive amount of nasty video compression happening. In different phrases, HD footage seldom grow to be softened throughout motion sequences, and don’t undergo with hefty quantities of MPEG blocking over backdrops.
The Xbox does a sterling job of reproducing the additional color vibrancy and subtlety skilled with HD footage too, and footage are decently contrasty – even when darkish components of the image arguably look only a fraction too darkish infrequently. However, whereas our two major HD film downloads look sufficiently sharp and detailed, there’s little doubt in any respect that the Blu-rays of each movies look sharper nonetheless – considerably so in the case of ”Wanted”.
For occasion, you get a a lot clearer sense of the cinematic grain within the ”Wanted” switch when watching the Blu-ray than you do when watching the Xbox obtain. Also edges look extra outlined, textures look extra exact, crisp and tangible, and the image usually seems barely extra three-dimensional. To attempt to offer you a way of the extent of distinction we’re speaking about right here, if we are saying that the Blu-ray of ”Wanted” scores a 10 for image high quality whereas its customary definition DVD model scores a 5, the Xbox would notch up an eight.
It’s tough to say whether or not the slight discount in crispness and detailing is right down to the truth that the Xbox delivers a 720p switch relatively than the 1080p switch from the Blu-ray, or is attributable to some file compression processing. But the explanations behind it aren’t actually all that necessary; all that issues is that the distinction exists, and videophiles ought to pay attention to it.
Videophiles also needs to bear in mind that the Xbox 360’s HD footage aren’t fairly as polished and flawless as these you’ll anticipate from a top-notch Blu-ray participant/disc. For whereas, as I mentioned, the Xbox’s footage usually look pleasingly free from MPEG compression noise, there are often indicators of it, akin to over the shot of the PC display screen the place Wesley Gibson Googles his personal identify solely to seek out no hits.
One extra concern comes from the truth that you’ll be able to manually select the video output your Xbox sends to your TV. So if you happen to’re not cautious you could possibly have the Xbox 360’s barely common video upscaling circuitry changing the 720p supply materials to 1080p earlier than passing it onto your display screen – a course of which made the image look grittier but additionally extra noisy throughout my exams.
When it involves audio, the Xbox 360 holds its personal towards Blu-ray moderately nicely – inside its limitations. What I imply by that is that whereas the Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack delivered by way of the Xbox service with each ”The Dark Knight” and ”Wanted” seems kind of equivalent in high quality to the equal soundtracks from the Blu-rays, the ”Wanted” Blu-ray carries an extra superior (by way of energy and readability) DTS-HD Master Audio combine, whereas ”The Dark Knight” carries a equally stronger Dolby TrueHD combine.
”’Verdict”’
While in a great world the Xbox film service would ship an AV expertise to rival Blu-ray, in actuality this was unlikely to occur. For as with all obtain companies, the Xbox Live strategy is extra about worth, comfort and disposability than the final phrase in AV glory.
Having mentioned that, its AV efforts actually aren’t dangerous by any means, and as such they be a part of forces with a stable working system and smart, clear pricing construction to make the Xbox 360 an enticing if uninspiring different manner of watching HD movies.
And let’s not overlook, after all, that once you’re not watching movies on it, the Xbox 360 can even gobble up numerous hours of your life with its excellent catalogue of video games.
Score intimately
Value 8
Features 8
Design 7