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SvennoJ on 01 March 2013
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Zappykins said:
JayWood2010 said:
darkknightkryta said:
Sony, iTunes and Zune have a great selection. I just wish all 3 of them used a unified DRM so I can use their content on any device, since I'm not sure of any portable players Zune videos run on other than Windows Phones. I don't plan to buy another Apple device on a while so iTunes is out of the question (Though iTunes has the best selection). Sony doesn't have as much content up here so it's not worth for me to invest in it.


I havent looked around on the PS3 yet.  I'll look around on it tonight as well.

I was just shocked that it is already able to replace DVRs.  Ill try and get a list up on later of everything it has.  Everything I looked for it has though inluding ESPN and Free TV.  It was oddly missing Dexter though.  I dont watch Dexter but I know it is popular so i looked it up.  It has showtime so they will most likely pick up dexter soon.  I guess showtime might hold out on that show since it is popular and they want you to pay for there subscription

I know! Dexter used to be on netflix, but they pulled it off.  I like it too.   You can get it on Amazon Video (I think) which is almost as good as Xbox Video.

I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who likes the service.  The 1080P 5.1 streaming is great.  A couple of years ago I did a back to back comparison of Blu-ray to 1080p 5.1 streaming of the same stuff, and, yes, you could notice a slight differeance, but not much.  I'd rather buy things on streaming as I don't have to carry anything around when I go to a friends house.

Just log in, and vola! you entire library, and no disk to track down, scratch or lose.  The only reason I’ve found to buy the disk, is if you can’t stream it, or if it’s 4 times cheaper.

The new streaming format (H.265) they approved should make things even better.  1080P video will use half the bandwidth of today, with the same picture. (but the computers on each end have to work 4 times harder.)

PS Wait! Why isn't Doctor Who (or Torchwood, or both) on that list? 

A unified service would be nice. PSN has game of thrones, Skyfall and Argo in Canada, not on Xbox video. But Game of Thrones episodes are $4.49 each (guess they know it's not on xbox so it's a dollar more per episode then regular) and although movies on psn are a dollar cheaper in Canada, you get a lower bandwidth version. (about 50% bigger file size on xbox, upto 10mbps for pre-downloaded versions)

I'll stick with blu-ray for now. I also compared the quality a few years ago and it's a huge difference for me.  Streaming services all use lossy dolby digital 5.1 and picture quality doesn't hold up very well in action scenes. (Nor extras, comentaries, original language plus subtitle options) If you wait a bit you can buy the blu-ray for not much more then the HD rental price, and definitely cheaper then what they charge for digital ownership.

I found my old comparison pictures. Here is 2 scenes from the Transformers trailer on some blu-ray disc and Transformers movie on Zune at the time.
                     
It's taken with dslr of screen, stored as jpg but you still get the idea.

Xbox video does look better then HD tv in action sequences, my cable provider still uses real time mpeg2 compression yuck.