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A few months ago Microsoft announced that their partnership with Netflix will allow for users to stream movies directly from Nexflix to their Xbox 360.

The reason that I feel as though this is important is because it moves us (consumers) one step closer to digital downloads replacing optical media (cds & dvds) in terms of how media is delivered.

Keep in mind that I feel that the original Xbox as well as the Xbox 360 have just been Microsoft’s first attempts at controlling the living room which is what Microsoft, Sony and cable companies are after.

There are some draw backs of streaming movies from Nextflix from to the 360, for example the movies won’t be 1080p or 1080i at launch however with the increasing broadband speeds (or should be increasing speeds) from cable companies, true HD quality movies won’t be an issue (eventually).

Think about this scenario:

You purchase a media hub (xbox 360 in this example) for yourself or for one of your kids.

After playing around with your kids new toy you find out that it has the ability to connect to your computer, network as well as your high definition television.

Not only can you play games, record television, listen to music but you can also stream content directly from the same machine that you paid less than 300 bucks for.

There have already been reports that movie studios are planning on having “block buster” movies released on the web at the same time that they’re released in theaters.

I’d love to not have to deal with a bunch of kids at a movie that I just dropped 50 bucks on (multiple tickets, concessions, etc).

Hard drives continue to get larger in storage space and cheaper (reliability however is another issue) and broadband speeds are increasing (yet the prices aren’t falling the way that they should).

It’s only a matter of time before buying a dvd is like purchasing a vhs tape, unheard of.

Not a matter of if but when.