What about Live Marketplace sales?
 

Considering how many HD Live Marketplace titles they are releasing, what if it's selling better than BR or HDDVD. No one seems to consider it.

Are any of those even 1080i or 1080p? Most of what I've labeled as HD on the Marketplace is 720p.

I downloaded Saw 3 in 720p and very pleased with the quality. I use VGA cables.

It's a nice way to enjoy Lionsgate stuff without having to pony up the cash for a BD player: The Descent, Crank, etc.

720p is more than adequate in many cases. The Lions Gate stuff looks great from Xbox Live.

I'm surprised at the responses. If an HD-DVD was released at 720p the angst would be palpable....

But I'm not expecting BD or HD-DVD quality. It says the sound is 5.1 DD it's only costing only a few dollars and at 5GB it was long enough to download as it was.
I was more than pleased with what I got.

I'm not really I have watched a few titles and have not been disappointed with what I have got. The picture is clear, the sound is decent. Also, for the price it wasn't bad at all. If the title isnt available on HD DVD ie Lionsgate movies then we have no comparison. I have the HD DVD player and the picture is "clearer" but it is acceptable for the price and the convince of not having to deal with Blockbuster. For many gamers and Joe6Paks they haven't a clue on the real difference between 1080p and 720p nor do they care. I know many people with the 360 without an HD Tv set so the difference to them wouldn't even be noticeable. I am personally using the download service for movies that I can get on HD DVD until I get a BR player to be neutral.

That's because with an HD-DVD, nothing less than 1080p is expected.

Marketplace downloads are a completely different story because:

1. You're simply renting the HD-Movie content for a few bucks.
2. File Sizes are no where near the 15-20gb range.

That's cool that you guys are satisfied with that. Seriously.

Maybe I'm too loose with my cash, but this is why I got a BD player. No waiting for downloads, and full 1080p. I know most of you hate Blu-Ray, but I've been enjoying quite a bit. Also the convenience of having the discs ready to go is worth something to me.

Well.... I'm contemplating a possible PS3 purchase (if management approves), but my concern is the additional amount of money I'll spend on the software to be "format neutral." .

The recent lack of HD titles has been kind to my bank account. ;)

I can understand it...Xbox live marketplace is a secondary place for me to watch movies behind buying hd discs or renting them.

I think for stuff like the Saw movies it probably doesn't make much of a difference at all though. Crank is one that would probably show a difference.

The question was not about the quality but about the sales figures. Why is Microsoft releasing an Xbox with HDMI and no HD-DVD player? Because they want all HD content to be video-on-demand. How long can BR and HD-DVD stick around before they ursurp DVD? And how long can Microsoft keep HD content on their hard drive? Granted I think both can co-exist but it's something to think about.

I think Microsoft is smart for not adding a HD-DVD player to the 360 Elite. There is no clear winner yet for either side, so keeping the HD-DVD an add on gives them the option of switching to Blu-Ray if things sway that way. It's a win win all the way around for Microsoft.

*If HD-DVD wins they are set and the PS3 will greatly suffer.
*If Blu-ray wins they bring out a new Blu-Ray add on and those that have the HD-DVD still can enjoy all the movies they have already purchased as well as buy the new Blu-Ray player and move on from there.
*If both formats fail, Microsoft already has the infrastructure in place for HD Downloading...which I think will ultimately reign supreme in the long run.

So really they are poised to take the cup in anyway possible.