Microsoft Admits to Video Marketplace Problems

A representative at Microsoft's Xbox Live support line says they are busy this morning fielding calls from Xbox 360 owners who have run into snags with their video downloads.  I called the line early this morning when my download problems went from bad to worse.

I reported yesterday that the Video Marketplace database had hiccupped during my download of a Star Trek episode.  My hopes of a traditional turkey dinner with the family, repeating all of Ricardo Montalban's lines from Space Seed were dashed when the download service gave me the wrong episode.

The backup plan of watching an HD copy of Poseidon has also turned to dust.  The 4.2GB file stopped downloading at 30%, after 6 hours, and started displaying a "0%" status bar.  After an hour or so, with 4.2GBs of space now taken up on the hard drive, but no movie to be found, I stopped the download.  Now, the movie and $6 worth of Microsoft points are gone.

The genuinely pleasant phone rep explained that his manager is aware of both of these problems happening to many users, and the company is working to fix the problems within the next few days.  As he said, "This service is new, and we have to work out the problems still."  For now, he suggested I not download anything for a few days, while they refund my points and work on my support ticket.

The Video Marketplace is the first of its kind on consoles, and we can expect some kinks.  Cold comfort for me this weekend, with no Poseidon and no Khan, but at least their customer support was good.  I also have my Small Arms to keep me warm.