Microsoft expands Xbox Live audio and video offerings
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In addition to gaming news, Microsoft announced several enhancements to the Xbox 360's media capabilities. (Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET) Microsoft announced a host of forthcoming media upgrades for the Xbox 360 at its E3 press conference Monday. The chief highlights: an updated video store, now using the Zune branding, that will allow instant-on 1080p video purchases of movies and TV shows; improved Netflix integration; access to Last.fm’s streaming audio service; and expanded access to online video content in more countries around the world. (Disclosure: Last.fm is owned by CNET’s parent company, CBS Interactive.) For starters, the Xbox Video Marketplace will be rebranded as the Zune Marketplace. The pay-per-view movies and TV shows will be upgraded to 1080p (from their current 720p incarnations), and will be available as instant-on streams rather than “queue and view” downloads. Availability of the service will also be expanded from its current 8 countries to 18. The Zune branding was hinted at last week when Microsoft announced the updated Zune HD portable media player . Despite indications of cross-linked functionality, the Zune HD did not make an appearance at the Xbox event, nor were any specifics on syncing between the Zune and Xbox provided. …
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