You told us how much you loved the flexibility you have today with games delivered on disc. So, today I am announcing the following changes to Xbox One and how you can play, share, lend, and resell your games exactly as you do today on Xbox 360. #dealtwithit
Xbox
Microsoft: A 10-Year TV Timeline Before the Xbox One
Microsoft has been a frenemy to the pay-TV industry for a long, long time. So now that the company is taking over TV interfaces with its Xbox One HDMI pass-through feature, I thought it worth looking back over the company’s (sometimes torturous) history with pay-TV providers. (Note: Nothing on Media Center PCs or WebTV here. That’s another story.)
Timeline
2003 –Â Microsoft TV Foundation Edition Launches in June at the National Show
Microsoft’s software platform for the cable industry includes an interactive program guide that operators can use to create “On-Demand Storefronts”
2004 – Microsoft and Comcast do a deal to bring the Foundation software to subscribers in Washington state
Microsoft gets its big break in the cable industry
2006 –Â AT&T launches U-verse IPTV service with Microsoft inside
U-verse is the first major IPTV service in the U.S., and it runs on Microsoft code
2006Â – Microsoft announces the Xbox Video Marketplace
New video store cements the Xbox as a Trojan Horse in the living room
2007 –Â Comcast gives up on Microsoft’s Foundation software
Microsoft’s short (and not sweet) dance with Comcast ends
Microsoft Studios Adam Orth on Xbox 720
Sorry. I don’t get the drama around having an ‘always online’ console. Every device now is ‘always on’. That’s the world we live in. #dealwithit
SlingPlayer Headed To Gaming Consoles?
EchoStar’s Sling Media is out with a survey today testing the waters for console-based placeshifting. While the SlingCatcher is dead and buried, SlingPlayer for Connected Devices has been slowly bringing Slingbox feeds to various set-top devices including Google TV, WDTV Live, and Boxee. Next up, your Xbox, Wii, or PS3? From the emailed survey (pictured below):
In this section, we’re trying to gauge your interest in using SlingPlayer on your game console. Imagine if you could watch your Slingbox in full HD on your big screen TV using your game console. Essentially, you could enjoy everything on your main TV but you would use your gaming device. In other words, you could:
- Watch all your live TV, DVR recordings & On-demand content
- Control everything using your game console controller
- With a picture quality comparable to your normal TV experience
A big advantage is that you would NOT PAY for another cable or satellite set top box.  A couple of situations where you can enjoy this are:
- A vacation home
- A 2nd bedroom, recreation room, or basement
- College student’s apt or dorm
- Replace any set top box
While the proposition is appealing, I’m not sure a game console is the most efficient platform for delivery… for Sling or for us. Assuming our Slingboxes will never stream content to Apple TV, Roku is an ideal platform if Sling can work out the technical challenges — it’s small and cheap, with an open SDK and much greater penetration than say the WDTV Live Sling currently supports. How much would an app like that be worth to you?
Microsoft Xbox Smart Glass To Take On Apple Airplay
Ahead of the annual E3 gaming convention, Engadget’s gotten their hands on what appears to a legit Microsoft presentation documenting Xbox Smart Glass. And it looks to be both a feature and series of apps that’ll offer remote Xbox control and enable the beaming of content from smartphone or computer to the big screen via … Read more
Free Xbox Live Gold Weekend
Microsoft’s offering a free weekend of Xbox Live Gold service to entice new subscribers. While an Xbox 360 ($200 and up) nets you a solid gaming platform, to enable the most compelling online features, such as collaborative gameplay and Netflix streaming, one must subscribe to “Gold” — which retails for $60/year. As regular reader James (jcm) says, the Xbox 360 currently offers arguably the most complete video streaming experience in terms of quantity/quality of apps, polished interface, and integrated search. Yet, the annual subscription irks me and I’ve allowed my service to lapse. Heck, for the same money, one could buy a fee-free Roku LT streamer ($50).
But I went ahead and dug my Xbox 360 out of the closet to partake in the Free Gold Weekend (6/1 – 6/3) to check out the new Amazon Instant video streaming app. As an Amazon Prime member ($80/year), I’m entitled to all sorts of “free” content. Although, I have to say my primary motivation was to check out Amazon’s new Watchlist — overcoming their most significant technical shortcoming compared to say Netflix or Hulu Plus, as recently pointed out by Engadget HD’s Richard Lawler: No queue is a bizarre way to live.
Microsoft Tests Subsidized Xbox Hardware ($99)
In a page out of the mobile industry’s playbook, Microsoft is testing a subsidized Xbox bundle via their branded storefronts. Instead of paying $300 up front for a 4GB Xbox 360 console with Kinect, and potential $60 annual service fee covering online services, this dealio requires only a $99 investment… followed by $15/month for the duration … Read more