Why Xbox Video Service Needs BitTorrent

With the release of the new Xbox Live Video download service last week, many users have been in their element downloading to their heart’s content. But the service which should have been a ray of light to all the video-loving Xbox 360 owners out there turned out to be a little slow. Some users couldn’t even download videos and others experienced very slow download speeds, warranting a refund for Video Marketplace users.

This begs the question, how can they make the service better? Many gamers have been thinking that a peer-to-peer (P2P) alternative like BitTorrent would give faster downloads and decrease the load on the Xbox Live Video servers.

Here’s Gizmodo’s 6-point plan for a faster Xbox Video downloads service:

1. Users can have the option for faster downloads through Live’s P2P sharing network.
2. By Microsoft heavily controlling super-seeding (distributing different parts of files evenly), a P2P-shared file could hit an efficient early transfer/share rate.
3. For a portion of your upstream bandwidth (that could be specified by user), gamers are able to download faster (and as a top uploader, you get access to top downloading speeds).
4. Microsoft rewards power users with points per preset upload amount (1gb=50 Live points).
5. Brian Lam stops getting error messages.
6. Unicorns return to Earth.

Of course, the last point is completely irrelevant but you get the jist. A similar P2P system is used by games such as World Of Warcraft, where as you are downloading the new patch some of it is being uploaded from your computer to another. Hopefully Microsoft will listen to the criticisms and improve the Video download service.

With the release of the new Xbox Live Video download service last week, many users have been in their element downloading to their heart’s content. But the service which should have been a ray of light to all the video-loving Xbox 360 owners out there turned out to be a little slow. Some users couldn’t even download videos and others experienced very slow download speeds, warranting a refund for Video Marketplace users.

This begs the question, how can they make the service better? Many gamers have been thinking that a peer-to-peer (P2P) alternative like BitTorrent would give faster downloads and decrease the load on the Xbox Live Video servers.

Here’s Gizmodo’s 6-point plan for a faster Xbox Video downloads service:

1. Users can have the option for faster downloads through Live’s P2P sharing network.
2. By Microsoft heavily controlling super-seeding (distributing different parts of files evenly), a P2P-shared file could hit an efficient early transfer/share rate.
3. For a portion of your upstream bandwidth (that could be specified by user), gamers are able to download faster (and as a top uploader, you get access to top downloading speeds).
4. Microsoft rewards power users with points per preset upload amount (1gb=50 Live points).
5. Brian Lam stops getting error messages.
6. Unicorns return to Earth.

Of course, the last point is completely irrelevant but you get the jist. A similar P2P system is used by games such as World Of Warcraft, where as you are downloading the new patch some of it is being uploaded from your computer to another. Hopefully Microsoft will listen to the criticisms and improve the Video download service.