The more i think about it, the more I think the level of functionality will vary wildly, depending on who your TV supplier is.
I think Sky customers will be best accommodated due to their past relationship with MS. Sky+HD boxes are already able to be controlled by external devices, including accessing recordings from the HDD. This is all done via Ethernet meaning that HDMI CEC is not required.
The key will be developing a fully functional app for the Xbox One, which Sky already do for iOS and android. Not only can it change channels, but it can access recordings and on demand too. With the correct combination of voice commands and gestures they might actually pull it off.
However, if you've got a generic Freeview HD box, i'd say the experience will be entirely different. "Channel up, channel down" is perhaps the best you can hope for.
But for me, my big concerns still remain. Are voice commands practical in the real world? And Is it worth having an Xbox One powered on all day just to avoid using a perfectly good remote?
Everyone seems to hung-up on the voice commands. I'm sure you can use the controller and no doubt a remote control will be released too.
The voice commands are just another option, it's not the sole one.
The idea of the TV integration is just MS way on having you use their box for everything. Some people may like it, others won't. But it's nice at least MS are trying to give the consumer more, making the console more than just a gaming machine.
Everyone seems to hung-up on the voice commands. I'm sure you can use the controller and no doubt a remote control will be released too.
The voice commands are just another option, it's not the sole one.
The idea of the TV integration is just MS way on having you use their box for everything. Some people may like it, others won't. But it's nice at least MS are trying to give the consumer more, making the console more than just a gaming machine.
I still don't understand why people would power on 3 devices (their cable box, their tv, their Xbox One) in order to just watch tv or just play a game?
Currently, I only power on 2 devices (tv and Xbox 360 OR tv and cable box) which achieves the same result as above...!!?!?
I still don't understand why people would power on 3 devices (their cable box, their tv, their Xbox One) in order to just watch tv or just play a game?
Currently, I only power on 2 devices (tv and Xbox 360 OR tv and cable box) which achieves the same result as above...!!?!?
And that's what you do, fair enough and myself too. But some people would probably like the idea they can just hit a button on the controller and it switches from a game to Sky and back again without having to do anything else. Plus they may like the Live integration while watching TV so they know if any of their friends have come online so they can jump back into a game.
It's all just down to the way you like to do things, MS are at least giving people the option.
I like it, I have 3 HDMI ports on my TV and my HDMI splitter broke, so I'm now having to change between my Xbox and TiVo box, with the Xbox One, that won't be the case. Plus the voice commands is a great idea because I'm forever losing my remotes
It will be interesting to see how far this whole TV thing actually progresses. MS have been promising TV services since 2007/2008, then there was the BT Vision deal that disappeared without trace, only to be replaced by a half-hearted Sky Player / Sky Go app, where all the social aspects were dropped. Meanwhile, Microsoft are in the process of selling its IPTV business Mediaroom to Ericsson. Even most of its on demand services, freely available on a plethora of other devices, are hidden behind a paywall.
What we are left with is a fragmented, clumsy service which seems to rely on service providers doing all the groundwork and providing additional hardware. It won't be ready at launch, and there's no guarantee that your service provider will even support it.
Normally, I'd just think of it as another service, and good on them for adding additional features. But the fact that they pinned their hopes to it so strongly at the original reveal is puzzling indeed.
Comments
I think Sky customers will be best accommodated due to their past relationship with MS. Sky+HD boxes are already able to be controlled by external devices, including accessing recordings from the HDD. This is all done via Ethernet meaning that HDMI CEC is not required.
The key will be developing a fully functional app for the Xbox One, which Sky already do for iOS and android. Not only can it change channels, but it can access recordings and on demand too. With the correct combination of voice commands and gestures they might actually pull it off.
However, if you've got a generic Freeview HD box, i'd say the experience will be entirely different. "Channel up, channel down" is perhaps the best you can hope for.
But for me, my big concerns still remain. Are voice commands practical in the real world? And Is it worth having an Xbox One powered on all day just to avoid using a perfectly good remote?
The voice commands are just another option, it's not the sole one.
The idea of the TV integration is just MS way on having you use their box for everything. Some people may like it, others won't. But it's nice at least MS are trying to give the consumer more, making the console more than just a gaming machine.
I still don't understand why people would power on 3 devices (their cable box, their tv, their Xbox One) in order to just watch tv or just play a game?
Currently, I only power on 2 devices (tv and Xbox 360 OR tv and cable box) which achieves the same result as above...!!?!?
And that's what you do, fair enough and myself too. But some people would probably like the idea they can just hit a button on the controller and it switches from a game to Sky and back again without having to do anything else. Plus they may like the Live integration while watching TV so they know if any of their friends have come online so they can jump back into a game.
It's all just down to the way you like to do things, MS are at least giving people the option.
What we are left with is a fragmented, clumsy service which seems to rely on service providers doing all the groundwork and providing additional hardware. It won't be ready at launch, and there's no guarantee that your service provider will even support it.
Normally, I'd just think of it as another service, and good on them for adding additional features. But the fact that they pinned their hopes to it so strongly at the original reveal is puzzling indeed.