Monday, May 7, 2007
Robbie Bach Talks Zune Video Offerings
Posted by Jason Dunn in "Zune Talk" @ 10:38 AM
"In an interview with CNET News.com, Bach said Microsoft is looking at other areas where it can combine consumer devices with online services, such as its community site Windows Live Spaces. Later this month, it plans to let Xbox Live users share their "buddy" lists with people who use its Windows Live Messenger. "Ultimately, the idea of us going to create one social community throughout Live services is a very powerful idea," he said. Separately, Bach said that Microsoft is considering ways to offer video delivery services for its Zune media player. He said certain video types, including TV shows, comedy and user-generated content, work well on small screens like Zune's, but not feature-length movies. Microsoft is contemplating which business models are best suited for these content types."
None of this is shocking news, but it's the closest I've seen to Microsoft actually saying "You'll be able to purchase episodic TV content, the same stuff on Xbox Live, for your Zune." We all knew this was coming, though many were surprised it wasn't ready right out of the gate - I suppose it's an infrastructure issue in part, having to have 320 x 240 versions of the TV shows available for download. When you purchase a show in HD via Xbox Live, they also give you access to the standard definition (SD) version for free. So I'm going to hope that the price of Zune shows are going to either be less expensive than the SD versions, or the same price but you'll get the Zune + SD version of the TV show for the same price. Are you willing to pay to watch TV shows on your Zune?
None of this is shocking news, but it's the closest I've seen to Microsoft actually saying "You'll be able to purchase episodic TV content, the same stuff on Xbox Live, for your Zune." We all knew this was coming, though many were surprised it wasn't ready right out of the gate - I suppose it's an infrastructure issue in part, having to have 320 x 240 versions of the TV shows available for download. When you purchase a show in HD via Xbox Live, they also give you access to the standard definition (SD) version for free. So I'm going to hope that the price of Zune shows are going to either be less expensive than the SD versions, or the same price but you'll get the Zune + SD version of the TV show for the same price. Are you willing to pay to watch TV shows on your Zune?
