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A screenshot from the Xbox Live Video Marketplace. (Click for larger image.)

Here's a surprise twist in the console wars: Microsoft will launch movie and TV downloads for the Xbox 360 this month. As explained in this story, it's not likely to give Steve Jobs any sleepless nights, but it might make Microsoft's competition with the Nintendo Wii and Sony PlayStation 3 just a little more interesting. Here's a summary of how the Xbox movie and TV downloads will work:

Availability: Nov. 22, through the Xbox Live Marketplace.

Content: Movies and TV shows, including some in high-definition. Microsoft's initial partners are CBS, MTV Networks, Paramount Pictures, Turner Broadcasting System, Ultimate Fighting Championship, and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment.

Terms of use: TV shows can be watched indefinitely and repeatedly. Movies will be available for viewing during any 24-hour window within 14 days of download. The 24-hour clock begins counting down upon the initial viewing.

Download times: Will vary depending on connection speed. Microsoft says people will be able to watch standard-definition content within minutes, while the program is still downloading. High-definition movies will take hours to receive, the company says, suggesting that people download the content over night.

Prices: Microsoft isn't saying yet, except that they will be "competitive." It will work through the company's existing pre-purchased points system.

Transfer movies and shows to portable devices: Nope, although the inherent connections between the Zune and the Xbox would seem to make that a likely scenario down the road.