Xbox 360 and Zune video

Hardware and technical stuff
1

I’ve been purchasing episodes of Fringe S2 on the 360, and the purchase screen indicates that I can download them onto the 360 and to my computer and/or Zune (which I don’t own). But I’ll be damned if I can figure out how to get them to my computer. Have any of you ever messed with this?

Thanks.

2

I haven’t tried it, but I believe you’re supposed to just download them with the Zune software for free.

If you don’t have the Zune software on PC, get it from http://www.zune.net/en-us/products/software/download/default.htm

Then when you run it, sign in (your “Zune tag” is the same as your gamertag, and you share one pool of points, so sign in with your email/pass for your Xbox gamertag). When you then go to the Zune video section and find the same episode you have bought on your 360, it should just say “in collection” or something. Or at least, when you click to buy it, it should say you have already purchased it and can download it again for free.

3

Ahh, yep. I think you’re right. Downloading the Zune software now.

4

How did it go? I’m genuinely curious what the experience is like. I’m a Zune user, but I haven’t bought videos on the 360 (or the PC for that matter…I use it for music). Did you try using the Zune client for anything else?

5

I have used it to download the TV shows I’d already purchased on the 360, but I don’t believe I’ve watched any of them yet. I don’t care much for the interface - to me, it’s a lot more confusing than Itunes.

6

I’ve only used the Zune client a few times, but watching a video on it was like… watching a video. The interface is different than iTunes, but you can fight about which is better all day, and at the end of the day the experience isn’t so drastically different that you couldn’t grow to like either one. They’re filling the same role, just with different skins: they’re music/movie storefronts that will also manage your existing collections and handle the transfer to the appropriate hardware.

So the problem is you probably either

  1. Already have iTunes and are invested in that, whether financially through your purchases or just the investment of time to get your library/playlists/ratings adjusted to your liking.
  2. Hate iTunes because it’s bloated, you don’t buy music/movies online, you don’t want it managing all your blah blah blah you want to edit meta data tags via command line from your linux media server anyway, so take that, entertainment industry, and you’ll hate the Zune software for all the exact same reasons.

I’m in the first camp. I don’t have cable or satellite (or even a regular OTA antennae for my TV) so there are a few television shows that I’ve purchased whole seasons of via the former XBL Marketplace, now Zune marketplace. I think it’s really nice that I can also access them on my PC, but practically speaking I have no reason to. Most people spend their energy trying to go in the other direction, getting their content to the TV in front of the couch. Everything else is already tied up in iPhones and iTunes, so the Zune player is almost never used.