With the announcement of a collaboration between Microsoft and Universal which sees a new range of movies coming to the Xbox 360, can games consoles now be seen as an important driver in making online video a mainstream part of the living room?

Netflix U.S. Only

When the Xbox 360 recently got a makeover to the New Xbox Experience, Xbox Live users in the U.S. gained access to the full range of ‘Watch Now’ movies on Netflix. That’s over 12,000 titles that are now available to stream through the Xbox and onto your television.

Unfortunately, Netflix is a U.S. only operation, and so Xbox 360 users in Europe and elsewhere weren’t afforded such luxury. But now, those of us in the UK and Ireland are at last starting to get some titles filtering through. Paramount, Warner Bros., and MGM already offer titles through the system, and now another studio has climbed on board.

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Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations Synopsis

Chef, author, and gourmand Anthony Bourdain is the host and narrator of No Reservations. Bourdain travels around the world to experience the rich and varied food and culture of many countries, cities, and regions. His wry and insightful commentary gives a unique voice to the travelogue genre.

The Travel Channel has aired Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations since 2005. Since then, Bourdain has traveled to and sampled local dishes in more than 40 countries. Future episodes have been already filmed or planned for Ethiopia, Melbourne, Papua New Guinea, Thailand, and Beirut.

The Beirut episode will be his second visit to the city. An Emmy-nominated special was made from his first visit, in which Bourdain and his crew found themselves trapped in the middle of the Lebanon War in 2006.

• Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations on Amazon (US, $1.99/episode)
• Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations on iTunes (US link, $1.99/episode)
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Project Kangaroo, the joint project between the BBC, ITV, and Channel 4, may be dead, after having been killed off by the Competition Commission in early February. But its successor, Project Canvas, ultimately more exciting and more ambitious, is just now getting off the ground.

Project Kangaroo

Kangaroo was envisioned as a one-stop online video portal which would have put content from the BBC, ITV, and Channel 4 into one central place. Unfortunately, due to complaints from BSkyB and cable companies, the project was forcibly canned.

Project Canvas

But even before this happened, the BBC and ITV had signaled their intentions to work on a new collaborative effort, along with phone operator, BT. Project Canvas is its name and the details of the plan are just now being revealed. The reason being that the plans have to go before the BBC Trust before being put into action.

Project Canvas is an effort to develop a new open standard for online video, which could be used by all who wanted to do so. Any Internet-enabled television or set-top box could then be modified to run a range of online video services, such as, but not limited to, the BBC iPlayer and ITVPlayer.

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Skins Synopsis

Skins is a British teen drama that debuted on E4 in 2007.Created by a father and son writing duo Bryan Elsley and Jamie Brittain, it follows a group of teenagers growing up in Bristol, England.

After season 2, there was a complete change of cast, with only 2 characters remaining from previous season. Producers plan to introduce a whole new cast every two season, however there will be links to previous season for continuity.

The series won a number of awards, including a BAFTA and is currently in it’s third season.

• Watch Skins on iTunes
• Watch Skins on Channel4 Catchup (UK residents only)
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Top Gear Synopsis

Top Gear is a BBC television show about motor vehicles. Presented by Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, James May and Stig (the anonymous test driver) it relaunched in 2002 and is currently in it’s 12th season. It is shown in over 100 countries around the world and it is estimated it has up to 1 billion viewers (source).

This could make Jeremy Clarkson the most well-known sarcastic man of the world.

So far there are two international versions of Top Gear, one in Australia and one in United States. A Russian version has also been announced.

Top Gear has been hailed by the critics and has won a BAFTA and an international Emmy award.

• Watch Top Gear on BBC iPlayer (UK residents, recent episodes only)
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• Top Gear Channel on YouTube
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In Plain Sight Synopsis

In Plain Sight stars Mary McCormack as deputy US Marshal Mary Shannon, who works in the Witness Protection Program. She’s capable but often too attached to her witnesses. Her partner is Marshall Mann, who takes a more detached approach to their job. Their different styles often cause conflict, although they trust each other.

Mary also has conflicts in her personal life, mostly in her complicated relationships with her non-traditional mother Jinx, flighty sister Brandi, and off-and-on boyfriend Raph. She tries to balance her professional and personal lives, with mixed success.

In Plain Sight premiered in June 2008, where it became USA’s highest-rated new series debut since Psych in 2006. It was renewed for a 16 episode second season, which will premiere on April 19, 2009.

• In Plain Sight on Amazon (US, $1.99/episode)
• In Plain Sight on iTunes (US link, $1.99/episode)
• In Plain Sight on USANetwork.com (US, latest episodes)
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• In Plain Sight on TV.com (US, latest episodes)
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Prison Break Synopsis

Prison Break stars Wentworth Miller as Michael Scofield, a structural engineer who has deliberately gotten himself thrown in prison in order to break his out wrongfully accused brother, Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Purcell).

Scofield’s plan to escape is elaborate and involves people on the inside and the outside. However, an organization known as The Company has framed Michael’s brother and wants to keep him there.

A serialized thriller, Prison Break features an ensemble cast that includes Peter Stormare, Robert Knepper, Rockmond Dunbar, Amaury Nolasco, Marshall Allman, and Robin Tunney.

Watch Prison Break online

• Watch Prison Break on Amazon Video on Demand (US, all seasons, $1.99 per episode)
• Watch full episodes of Prison Break on iTunes (US link, all seasons $1.99 for standard and $2.99 for HD)
• Watch Prison Break on Hulu (US, recent episodes only)
• Watch Prison Break on Fox’s website (US, recent episodes only)
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• Watch Prison Break on Global TV (Canada)
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