Microsoft's Xbox Live movie service may well be at the forefront of paid movie downloads, according to a story by Variety. The online edition of the magazine reports that the recently launched Microsoft service is dramatically outperforming Amazon's Unbox store, which in some cases sells as little as 100 downloads per day on its titles.

Although no figures are available to directly compare Xbox Live's success with that of iTunes, Variety's Ben Fritz adds that the former's service is much better suited to TV use, as the console is already connected to a TV and has the ability to purchase as well as rent HD-quality content, while Amazon's service is limited to computers and at best matches the quality of DVDs. Apple too faces these restrictions and may depend heavily on its anticipated iTV media hub to match Microsoft's technology.