Xbox Videos for Marketplace in Canada

[Lazybones]

http://www.joystiq.com/2007/12/04/xbox-video-marketplace-in-europe-canada-dec-11/


Hmmm, I hope there is a big boxing day sale for xboxs.

[Thorin]

Well, that does add another little reason for owning a 360 and paying the XBL membership charge (there is a charge still, isn't there?).  I like that you can download it and the 24-hour expiry timer doesn't start ticking until the first time you start watching it.  I don't like that there's a 14-day expiry timer on the download itself.

How much does 250 MS Points cost?

[Lazybones]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Points#Point_cost_per_region

[Lazybones]

http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2007/12/07/canadian-video-markeplace-pricing-unearthed/
Might not be worth using currently.

[Shayne]

Its crazy expensive, and only 37 movie titles currently available and no TV shows as of yet.

That being said, i did download TMNT in HD to test it all out.  Download was pretty quick, looks stunning in HD (as you'd expect).  In the end its not even close to as good as Zip.ca.  They gotta get the selection up and the costs down.

Thorin:  The membership is NOT required to use the marketplace.  Only required to download demos (for the first couple weeks, after that anyone can) as well as play games online against others.

[Thorin]

Good to hear that XBL's Marketplace doesn't require a membership fee to be paid to use it.  Lazy, that link you gave shows that Americans pay about USD$0.12 per point, whereas Canadians pay about CAD$0.15 per point.  On top of which they're charging more points.  They pay less tax and they pay less for goods...  I think I know what I'd like Harper to tackle.

The thing that bugs me about Zip.ca is their surprisingly long Terms of Use, which includes this little gem:

Stolen DVDs
Occasionally rented DVDs may be stolen in transit. Zip.ca treats reports of such incidents very seriously, and requires completion of a Stolen DVD Form, to assist authorities in investigating such incidents and to minimize future occurrences. A copy of this form will be provided to the Canada Post Corporation and to police authorities for investigation. In cases where DVDs have been reported stolen, Zip.ca reserves the right to suspend service until a Stolen DVD Form has been completed, whereupon Zip.ca may, in its sole discretion, resume service and send a replacement of the Stolen DVD, discontinue service indefinitely, or suspend your membership and charge you the retail price of any DVD that is stolen. Zip.ca will contact you to discuss this before charging your credit card or debiting your chequing account.

Now I'm guessing they don't always or even usually charge the customer for the lost DVD (that'd receive some pretty negative press), but that they left this door open in case the customer is lying and it wasn't stolen in transit.  Still, it bugs me that there's a clause that provides Zip.ca with monetary compensation if the customer does something bad but nothing about what the customer gets if Zip.ca does something bad.

All in all, I'm sticking with the tried-and-true visit-the-video-store method.  Dunno why, really, I guess I just want my kids to be used to the experience of going somewhere to get something.

[Shayne]

They can ya, but I have had 4 DVDs go missing (over the last 2 years) between my house and them and never once was I charged for replacements.  Normally their is a few days where they don't send anything while they "investigate" but after that service returns to normal.  The problem I have with Rogers/Blockbuster is their constant increasing prices and lack of HD content.  I like being able to queue up 50 movies that I want to see and they come in as they are available.  I always found that going to Rogers the video that I really want to see is out, or the one I bring home is horribly scratched, or worse.

In direct contrast to your "going somewhere for something" I decided to experiment and did ALL of my Xmas shopping online this year and compared pricing, etc.  Customer service is dead at 90% of the retailers I normally frequent so why bother other then to hold and inspect the merchandise (which I did on a few occasions) but then shopped around on the net to make my purchase.  Such a success that we will be doing the same for future Xmases.

Off topic (but conversations in person evolve), maybe somebody will split this post, but its an interesting topic none-the-less.