Xbox Live getting OnDemand-like video download service.....

this is cool stuff, as long as Microsoft decides to release a bigger hard drive.....

From Gamespot.com

Today, Microsoft revealed it plans to further blur the line between the Xbox 360 as a gaming console and multimedia machine. Beginning November 22, the company will begin serving up on-demand movies and television programs from major studios for the console over Xbox Live. Initially available only in the Unites States, the service will be part of Xbox Live Marketplace and promises to have about 1,000 hours of unique content, 200 of which will be at 720p high-definition resolution, available by the end of the year.

Microsoft has signed with six content partners in the endeavor, including CBS, Turner Broadcasting, Warner Brothers, Paramount, MTV and its properties (Comedy Central, Cartoon Network, VH1, and more), and UFC, the Ultimate Fighting Championship league. The company would not go into details about the terms of the deals, nor would they say whether or not they had exclusive rights to the programming.

"This really highlights the difference between us and Sony," Shane Kim, general manager of Microsoft Game Studios told GameSpot. "Sony has a very hardware-centric approach. You have to buy the Blu-ray drive whether you want it or not... The fact that we're a software company gives an enormous competitive advantage, because we can add capabilities like this. This is totally integrated seamlessly for our users. .... That's a big, big difference when you talk about future-proofing and flexibility. ... We're in a much better position to continue to add capabilities, that's the big difference between the hardware-centric and software-centric approaches."

Television shows and movies will be available in both high-definition (720p) and standard definition (480p). While TV programs will be buy-to-own and remain on the Xbox 360 hard drive until it is deleted by users, movies will be delivered on a rental basis. Downloaded movies remain on the hard drive for up to two weeks, but once a user begins watching the movie, it is deleted 24 hours later. For that period, however, the movie can be viewed as many times as the purchaser wants.