Slashdot Mirror
Bugs Plague New Xbox 360 Video Service
eldavojohn writes "The BBC is running a story on problems with the Xbox 360's HD video service that went live a few days ago. I have wondered quite a bit how Microsoft runs the proxy caches for this service and how they are ensuring that their end consumers are not creating high amounts of internet traffic while downloading HD video." From the article: "Gamers can buy TV programmes but the movies are rented and are automatically deleted from the console's hard drive after a fixed period. 'We've made progress over the past 24 hours, and the team is dedicated to fixing the issues and continues to work as fast as they can around the clock to get the service running as seamlessly as you have come to expect,' wrote Mr Hryb, who is Xbox Live's director of programming, on his Major Nelson Xbox blog.
Well.. I logged into live on the first day this service was offered (stupid I know) and have been trying to dl a HD movie for a couple of days now. When I went to bed last night it was at 59%. If this is the best they can do "It's not soo good!". IMO.. :)
--Hired Net Grunt
There will be bugs for a while. Microsoft will attempt to iron out those bugs. Microsoft has the advantage that this is an added feature. People buy the Xbox 360 as a game system, it won't be a big deal if the video download service takes a while to get up and running. Of course people who have paid for downloads that haven't worked will be pissed.
I'm surprised there aren't a million "Zomg! Microsoft is teh sux, x rullzz" (where x is the name of their console of choice) comments already. The troubling thing is that Nintendo seems to have the same problem, and I bet once Sony has stuff to sell in their online PS3 stores they'll suffer from it as well. It is obvious that there is a demand for online movie/ television sales, but this raises a damn fine question, are ISPs really able to dish out enough bandwidth? I think that while we are entirely ready to receive these services it is evident that our ISPs and Microsoft's/Nintendo's/Sony's server farms are not ready to provide us. I see in the news all the time that in the UK and Japan 10MBit/S connections are fairly common, but here in the US and Canada a 1 to 3 MBit/S connection is fairly uncommon. (Keep in mind I'm talking about home connections, not business or corporate)
It's like our ISPs are keeping their services low, their profits high, and their pockets lined. . . But that's a whole other ballgame. . .
disclaimer: I've been known to store numbers in my ass for which to dig out when quantities are required.
Why do they even have a fixed period of time before a movie is deleted from a person's hard-drive?
The XBox 360's hard-drive is 20GBs which (should) allow for (about) 20 to 40 SD movies or 5 to 10 HD movies; eventually they will have to 'return' the movie (that is delete it) or they will run out of hard-drive space. Currently most rental places have eliminated late fees (with a small restocking fee after a week), and online services have no time limitations, so why would I pay the same ammount and be put in a far more limited system?
The God's honest truth is that the general bandwidth available and the 360 hard disk size conspire against downloadable HDTV content. If you're using this service, you're basically trying a beta service that going to have difficulities until the consumer infrastructure is updated.
That said, this is the future. Pure and simple. IMHO, Bluray and HDDVD disks will not gain traction in this generation, and will end up losing to download services like iTunes and 360 Videos. So keep an eye on this space, but expect a few bumps until the technology is ready.
(Not that Bluray and HDDVD isn't without their own bumps...)
Javascript + Nintendo DSi = DSiCade
But.. if this was another one of Sony's screwups, they'd be vilified as being "evil" here on /. at this time. Or if it was Nintendo, people would be claiming that Nintendo's screwups just make things more fun or some such nonsense.. =P
Yeah, so this does in fact suck for people wanting to use this service. OTOH, it's a hard problem, and I don't see any other company offering a similar service. I didn't expect this to go off without a hitch.
So, I take it you'll give Sony an equally easy pass when their HD movie download service has similar growing pains?
Sticking feathers up your butt does not make you a chicken - Tyler Durden
V for Vendetta: 132 minutes
Standard Definition: 1.7 GB, $4
High Definition: 6.1 GB, $6
Poseidon: 98 minutes
Standard Definition: 1.3 GB, $4
High Definition: 4.5 GB, $6
Clash of the Titans: 117 Minutes
Standard Definition: 1.3 GB, $3
High Definition: 5.2 GB, $4.50
CSI Season 6, Episode 1: 43 Minutes
SD: 745 MB, $2
HD: 2.6 GB, $3
UFC Fights, Episode 1: 9 Minutes
SD: 240 MB, $2
HD: 997 MB, $3
Transformers Teaser Trailer: 1 minute
SD: 25 MB, Free
HD: 86 MB, Free
(1000 points for $12.50)
SD AVG: 10 MB per minute
HD AVG: 50 MB per minute
The quality of the normal-res shows are about what you'd expect for a mid-bitrate rip. I'm guessing a rip from an already compressed video source, just by the particulars of the artifacting. It looks fine for most filmed daylight videos, assuming there isn't too many solid sheets of light or dark. It does break down quite a bit on cartoons, a place where WMV has not done traditionally well, as the solid color gradients get stepped like a mayan temple and edges get fuzzy. Unfortunately, I haven't seen a high-def show on a high-def set, but the high-def videos that I've seen on regular resolution seem worth the upgrade if you like pretty pictures. If you just want to laugh at the South Park Warcraft video, the regular resolution stuff is fine. If you want to own a pristine, perfect, never-to-be-touched version... wait for the blue-ray.
BTW, a 100 GB disk is rumored / expected shortly. And now, badly needed.
The ______ Agenda