Good article on voice commands and Kinect

Red ArrowRed Arrow Posts: 10,889
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http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-what-the-xbox-one-dash-means-for-gamers
What was novelty - if technically impressive - technology on the original Kinect forms a fundamental basis of interaction with Xbox One, and from what we saw at Gamescom, parallels with Xbox 360 hold little water. Voice control on Xbox One actually works and it seems to be genuinely useful. It should be faster than using the joypad for certain functions, but ideally you'd use both in concert.
It'll work with any TV, any amplifiers. It'll work with any AV equipment at home," says Xbox director of product planning Albert Penello. "When we say 'Xbox On' we can actually light up your whole entire system and control everything just with voice
But what is impressive is that every voice command registered by Kinect is flawlessly transmitted to the relevant kit in the room. It works so well because Kinect itself is the IR blaster. Microsoft has augmented the new Kinect sensor with an IR transmitter in order to see the environment even in pitch black conditions. The upshot of this is that the technology works by drenching the entire room in infra-red light.

A great article about the dashboard and how the Kinect works with it. The writer came away really impressed with how it's all integrated including how the Kinect can control everything in your room. The idea being you say "Xbox on" and it not only turns itself on, but your TV and amp. In fact they say the Xbox will load to the dashboard so quickly that the image on your TV will just be coming on.

If only MS highlighted this better during E3.......:rolleyes:

Comments

  • Red ArrowRed Arrow Posts: 10,889
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    Oh I also like how it can tell who turned the console on and the dashboard adjusts to their preferences.

    Really ideal in my household where my girlfriend doesn't play games, but would use it for Netflix and streaming videos off our media server so I can set it up so all of that appears quickly for her. But for me I want to get straight into my games so it will be setup for that.
  • brangdonbrangdon Posts: 14,092
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    Yes; I've been interested in this side for a while, and if I buy an XBox it will likely be because of this; the non-gaming side. Partly out of curiosity because I'm still not convinced that it will work well enough to be worth using. Is a snapped app better than an app that runs on a separate tablet or phone screen? I'm dubious. Is being able to lean by leaning better than using a lean button? It sounds like it might be, but then again when I'm playing a FPS part of the escapism comes from not having to worry about my posture. For fitness games you want to blur the line between game and reality (and I think fitness could turn out to be the killer niche for XBox), but not for more escapist games.
  • muntamunta Posts: 18,285
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    To be honest, I'm more interested in the voice control than the movement control. Not enough to make me buy an Xbox but interested nonetheless. What we have yet to see though is if the control in the UK allows you so say "Xbox Film Four" or "Xbox record The Big Bang Theory" for example. If it can do that rather than "Xbox channel up, Xbox channel up, Xbox channel up, Xbox next program, Xbox record" or "Xbox volume up, xbox volume up, xbox volume up, xbox volume up..." then I might be interested once the price comes down.

    What would be quite neat would be if I could control my ambient lighting like "Xbox, Film lighting" or "Xbox, seduction lighting" ;)
  • Red ArrowRed Arrow Posts: 10,889
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    I don't think even in the US you will be able to tell the X1 to record a show. The idea from what I understand is you connect your cable box to the X1 and then it overlays it's own UI.

    What advantage this offers is yet to be really shown besides being able to use the apps on the same screen while watching TV or bring up your friends list and quickly jump into a game.

    I'm liking the idea of just saying "Xbox on" and it sets up all my devices in the room. As often I sit down on the sofa and then notice my amp isn't on so have to get up again :p
  • muntamunta Posts: 18,285
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    Red Arrow wrote: »
    I don't think even in the US you will be able to tell the X1 to record a show. The idea from what I understand is you connect your cable box to the X1 and then it overlays it's own UI.

    What advantage this offers is yet to be really shown besides being able to use the apps on the same screen while watching TV or bring up your friends list and quickly jump into a game.

    I'm liking the idea of just saying "Xbox on" and it sets up all my devices in the room. As often I sit down on the sofa and then notice my amp isn't on so have to get up again :p

    I was thinking getting the Xbox to record a program on your Sky+ or TiVo rather than the Xbox recording it. The point is, it really needs to be able to understand a reasonably natural language "such as "Xbox find me a program about science" rather than "Xbox guide, xbox up, xbox select"

    If it cant recognise and act upon natural language then its not ever going to replace a hand held remote.
  • He4rtHe4rt Posts: 5,379
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    I would love to turn my Xbox One into 'Jarvis' from Iron man.:o
  • Anime_FanAnime_Fan Posts: 373
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    Still not interested in Kinect & Kinect will still never be plugged into my XB1.

    I'm perfectly happy controlling my console with a control pad, Don't want to wave my arms around using motion controls & don't want to talk to my system to get it to do things.


    Maybve this is why they have made such an awful Ui, To force people to need to use kinect to find things.
  • HotbirdHotbird Posts: 10,009
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    He4rt wrote: »
    I would love to turn my Xbox One into 'Jarvis' from Iron man.:o

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOSxR2oTeuU

    :D:D
  • He4rtHe4rt Posts: 5,379
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    Not bad, but it doesn't talk back. :(

    I was thinking more along the lines of---

    Me: "Xbox on"

    Xbox: "Good morning heart"

    Me: "Morning Jarvis, what have you got for me today?"

    Xbox(Jarvis): " Let me see, while you were gone you had 3 lap times beaten on Forza 5, 2 people have overtaken you on Call of Dutys leaderboards and there are 2 new updates installed on both Dead Rising 3 and Fifa 13,you also have 2 private messages and there is a 65 percent chance of rain today, would you like me to read your messages?"

    Me: "No thanks Jarvis, just load Forza 5 and set my status to offline, i don't want anyone bothering me today"

    Xbox (Jarvis): "May i suggest some music while you play? ( turns on iPod docking station and plays a song)

    Me: "No thanks"

    Xbox(Jarvis): "As you wish"

    :o
  • IzakIzak Posts: 3,452
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    I don't think voice commands are quicker than using a controller. Just been trying out the voice control in Internet Explorer on my 360 and while it is a novelty, it certainly wasn't quicker than using my controller.

    Doubt I'd use voice control to turn on the Xbox One either as I always switch off my consoles at the mains when not using them (especially as the Xbox has such a huge transformer).
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