Why Use Xbox Video Marketplace Instead of Netflix?
The obvious question is why buy or rent videos through the Xbox Marketplace instead of just using Netflix. Selection is the biggest thing. Just about every movie or TV show you could want is on the video marketplace, but not necessarily on Netflix. It also gives you the option of buying a movie and keeping it forever if you want. Both services are great, so we recommend taking advantage of both.
Renting vs. Buying
A great feature is that you can rent movies and stream them right away. Many are available to rent digitally two weeks before they’re available to buy on Blu-Ray or as a digital download, so if you want to watch a hot new release you can see it earlier on Xbox than if you waited for the physical version! Rentals only give you a 24-hour window to watch a video, though. If you want to keep a movie forever (or as close to forever as a digital product can be), you can also buy a movie or TV show and download it to your hard drive so you can watch it as much as you want.
Xbox Video Marketplace TV Shows
These TV shows aren’t free, though. A season pass can set you back anywhere between $15-40. That comes out to about what a season of a show costs when you buy it on DVD or Blu-Ray, so it isn’t too bad. Once you buy a season pass of a TV show, those episodes are yours forever.
Xbox Video Marketplace Movies
Microsoft has also made partnerships with movie studios to bring you full-length movies. Most of the big studios are represented, and you can download many movies the same day they’re available in stores. Another great thing to note is that many movies available in high-definition only on Blu-Ray are available for download on the Xbox network. The cost of downloading these movies is about the same as a movie rental. Prices range from $3 for standard-definition on up to $6 for high-def movies. It also must be noted that you cannot keep the movies you rent. Once you start watching a movie, the rental expires in 24 hours. You can watch it as many times as you want in that time period. After you rent a movie, you have up to 14 days to start watching it before the 24 hour time period kicks in. If you buy the movie you, obviously, keep it forever and can watch it as much as you want.
Other Things to Consider
Broadband internet speed matters a lot when it comes to streaming video. The better your connection and speed, the higher quality the video that can come true. You need at least 3Mb/s to effectively stream video. If you download full videos instead of streaming them they can fill up your hard drive pretty quickly. Make sure you have plenty of space beforehand.
