One of the best applications on Xbox Live is the ability to watch and download movies. The console can do more than just play games, like all the other next-generation consoles do. There are several ways to play movies and download them through Xbox Live. All you need, firstly, is an active Xbox Live account. The service has affiliated itself with several websites and partners to ensure that you’re able to stream the latest movies and even some classics to your console. The main venues through which you can download Xbox Live movies are through the Live Marketplace and through Netflix.

The Xbox Live Marketplace works by customers buying movies and the like with points. Marketplace points can be purchased with a credit card at most retail stores or other outlets, and these are used in the Marketplace to buy movies and new games on Live Arcade. To buy movies, simply log in to the marketplace website from your Xbox 360 and go to the movies section. From here you can download movies for approximately 300-400 Xbox Live points, depending on the movie. There are many different genres available. Mainly, what seems to be top on the list are independently made films.

Netflix has also collaborated with Microsoft so customers of both companies can stream Netflix movies directly over their Xbox Live account. The process works by connecting the console to the Internet, accessing the Netflix website and then you can play Xbox movies directly from Netflix. The process takes as little as 30 seconds for the video to start streaming. To do it, all you need is an active Netflix account as well as an Xbox Live account that’s been upgraded to gold status. Also, you can watch TV shows this way as well. These are the two most prominent methods of getting movies to play on your Xbox 360, but more are sure to come in the future.