In this work, we investigate the integration of H.264/AVC based video into the multimedia broadcast/multicast service (MBMS). MBMS allows simultaneous distribution of live video with reasonable quality to several or even a large number of users within a serving area. We discuss several system design options and propose a simple, but nevertheless efficient cross-layer design concept, which helps to determine an optimal set of both application and transmission parameters for maximizing the quality at the user terminals for different link conditions. In order to validate our concept, we present detailed performance results using realistic test conditions provided by 3GPP.