You’ve already heard about Microsoft’s Spring update, which will add Windows Live Messenger support to the Xbox 360, allowing gamers to chat with their friends without even leaving the couch. But the update isn’t all about chatting - it’s got more than that.

Besides chatting, the update will add a richer Achievement notification pop-up, showcasing the name of the unlocked Achievement as well as the gamerscore value. The update will also add enhanced family settings for Xbox Live; a new Xbox Live Marketplace blade; let users quickly see which Xbox Live Arcade games their friends are playing, and join in on the fun; expanded Tell a Friend capabilities; and faster access to the entire collection of free, trial-version XBLA games.

That’s not all: the update also adds new progressive download controls, letting users watch videos as they are being downloaded. The background download facility has also been enhanced, allowing owners to set their consoles to turn off automatically after downloads are complete. However, the biggest addition in this update is H.264 and MPEG-4 video playback support: gamers will be able to stream and playback videos from their computers, or devices attached to the console. No longer will one be constrained by WMV.

The Spring update will go live for free to all users of Xbox Live in the week of May 7.

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Tags: Xbox 360