When Apple Inc.(NASDAQ: AAPL) introduced the Apple TV product earlier this year, fans came out of the woodwork on how this system would finally bridge the divide between PC content and all the viewing and listening greatness on newer flat-panel televisions and surround sound systems There were other choices, but they were largely considered inelegant and not easy to use. Apple, by reputation alone, always makes things that are easy to use, right?

Although the masters of marketing in Cupertino steal the thunder from most other companies, there are success stories outside of that universe. One appears to be from Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), which has stated that downloads of video content (movies) from its Xbox 360 video on-demand service are now growing by double-digits every month. That is growth, folks.

The one minor thorn is that some customers are complaining (naturally) that high-definition downloads are taking hours to complete, which is more of a broadband internet problem than a Microsoft problem, I would surmise. Still, the growth rate of video on-demand content for the Xbox 360 platform is very impressive thus far, so perhaps Microsoft's strategy of making the Xbox 360 a central, living-room entertainment hub may work after all. That is, as long as those internet pipes get faster and faster. Right now, consumer internet, for the most part, is way too slow to start pushing hi-def content to millions of customers.