You’re right, I’m not shocked but happy to see that this is becoming a reality. I’ve been wanting a good way to download movies for a long time, and this looks like it’s likely to be a winner. Microsoft will be offering HD movie rentals via its XBox Live service that will play on your big-screen TV in the living room via the XBox 360.
While a good part of me is excited about this, the other part of me knows that like so many other services that tried this in the past there will be next to zero content available in the Canadian market. I could be wrong, oh how I hope to be wrong, but whether it be cable VOD, CinemaNow, MovieLink, or any other service you sign in expecting to see all the great content that they have in their banner ads only to find a “Ohhhhh… you’re from Canada. I think we might have some independent films you can watch. No? How about this one - it has subtitles! Everyone loves subtitles!”.
Archive for the ‘Movies’
XBox Live HD movie rentals and TV
Office Space psycho thriller recut trailer
It’s rare that I post cool links up on the blog, but this one was just too good to pass up. Office Space is right up there as one of my favourite comedies of all time (if only “The Office” could be as funny) and this recut trailer that someone put together is really good. They take a bunch of Office Space clips, cut them together with some anxiety-inducing music and make Office space look like a really cool thriller. It’s brilliant!
Zip.ca Review - Part 2
As promised here is a followup review of the zip.ca service.
I created my ZipList on a Thursday afternoon, and by Monday I had received my 4 DVD selections in the mailbox. Each DVD came in a thin paper envelope, pictured below. To open the envelope, you break the 4 circular stickers that are holding it closed on the top and bottom edges.
Opening the envelope reveals another pocket inside, which contains the actual DVD you’ve ordered. Instructions on the envelope clearly state how to reuse this carrier for returning the DVD as well. Notice that the return envelope is pre-stamped (odd that this is actually a traditional stamp and not a bulk-mail preprinted envelope).
The DVD itself is in a slightly more durable vinyl jacket, with movie details printed on the front.
I returned my first movie on Tuesday afternoon, depositing it in my friendly neighbourhood mailbox. I live in the Toronto area, and the DVD needs to travel back to Ottawa so I had expected that this would take a few days to get back to them. On Thursday morning (1.5 days later) they acknowledged receipt of the movie and sent out my next title, which was the title I had marked “ASAP” (Jersey Girl in case you’re wondering). Wow, that’s good service!
Conclusion:
This is a service that I really like and will continue to use. The web site is well-done, the service itself is prompt, and the process is brain-less. As mentioned in part 1 of the review, I will most likely switch to their $19 plan, which allows you to have 2 DVDs checked out at any given time.
I’ve sent along a few suggestions for improvement to the web interface, but they are all small items that I think will get rectified quite easily with time.
Based on my experiences, I would recommend the zip.ca service (and I’ll let you know if that opinion changes).