Forget iTunes. Microsoft makes it's first foray into television content distribution with a full-length episode of Battlestar Galactica.
Now, listen up Microsoft. You have a golden opportunity to make some serious inroads on subscription-based entertainment here. Don't f%^$ it up.
Here's what I want from an Xbox TV Service:
- Downloading: I'm not going to wait 45 minutes to start watching a TV show. Spend two minutes downloading a buffer and then let me start watching. You guys can fix this.
- Schedules: Let me subscribe to a series and automatically download every new show that is available.
- Pricing: Each show should be less than $1.99 a piece. There is no way in hell that I'm going to pay $45+ for the "priviledge" of watching a complete series on my computer. I can pay that much for the DVD, and they're no physical media or distribution costs. Gimme a break. 75 Points a piece would make them $0.94 USD a pop. That sounds fair.
- Portability: Let me transfer it to any computer on my home network. Let me compress it and watch it on my Zune device. This would mean that I don't have to worry about the hard drive space on my 360. With Xbox Live Anywhere, this is completely doable.
- Media Center: Make it compatible with Vista Media Center so it shows up on my Recorded TV list.
- Sharing: Let me see what people on my friends list are watching.
That's what I want from Microsoft. What would you want?