Amazon streams video to Xbox 360 consoles

Online retail powerhouse Amazon.com on Tuesday announced a collaboration with Microsoft to begin streaming films and television shows to Xbox 360 videogame consoles.

An 'app' was made available for free download to let people with subscriptions to Xbox Live Gold view Amazon Prime video using Microsoft's popular videogame consoles linked to Internet.

'Amazon Instant Video on the Xbox 360 console is among one of the most requested video features from our customers,' said Amazon.com vice president for video Anthony Bay.

The Instant Video application for Xbox synchs with Kinect accessories to let users peruse and select content by speaking or gesturing, according to Bay.

Amazon technology also lets people switch between watching shows or films on Kindle Fire tablets and Xbox consoles without losing continuity.

'Working with Amazon.com marks a significant milestone in our mission to make the entertainment you love more amazing on Xbox,' said Xbox Live entertainment and advertising general manager Ross Honey.

'By bringing the Amazon Instant Video app to Xbox Live and adding voice search and voice control through the magic of Kinect, we're transforming the way people discover and experience entertainment.'

Prime and Xbox Live Gold are both premium services, but there is no added charge for watching video on the videogame consoles, according to the companies.

Prime Instant Video boasts a vast library of movies and television shows including 'Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol' and 'Mad Men.'

Xbox Live offers its own video rentals as well as applications for viewing content from online streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu.

The Amazon Instant Video application was available in the Xbox Live Marketplace. More information was available online at amazon.com/instantvideo/xbox.

Annual subscriptions to Amazon Prime cost $79 while Microsoft has a variety of Xbox Live Gold accounts starting about $60 annually, according to the companies' websites.