Internet TV for Xbox
We all know that Internet TV is quickly gaining momentum, but things may be moving a bit faster than we think. A few days ago Microsoft had announced that it has reached an agreement with around 40 entertainment providers, which will bring content, mostly movies and television, to its video gaming console Xbox 360. The move is not surprising, considering that Sony has already set up its own entertainment network, but it sure is a major one, considering the big names of the video content providers.
TV Channels
Xbox 360 gamers in the United States will be able to access content from big names such as Verizon, HBO, and Bravo; UK gamers get BBC, Lovefil, and Channel 4; German and Australian console-owners are also in a for a treat, as they get ZDF and ABC respectively. These new additions come on top of existing Xbox 360 providers like Hulu+ and ESPN in the United States and Sky in the United Kingdom. The new services will be available starting late December, and the launch may represent one of the milestones in the development of Internet TV.
Voice-search Feature
But there is more good news for Xbox fans. It has been confirmed last month during the Microsoft developer conference that the company's search engine Bing will be used with the Kinect controller so that gamers will be able to use motion and voice commands to search for video content, eliminating the need for using remote controls or menus to find videos. This mixing of technologies will make it possible to search for an episode of your favorite TV show much easier. Through this upcoming feature, it seems to me, Microsoft will try to gain an edge over competitors that stream online TV content, like Sony. It will remain to be seen how well this feature will be implemented, and whether it will be intuitive and fun to use. There are quite a few voice-based command systems currently available, which are frankly a pain to use.
Better Internet TV?
So basically Xbox 360 will soon feature Internet TV content from a variety of providers, as well as ambitious voice-search features through Bing. If implementation goes well, Xbox 360 users will get access to a TV service that's more personal and fun to use than conventional television. And this can only be good news for Internet TV fans. It will be interesting to see whether Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 will be the better console for Internet TV. For its part, PlayStation 3 comes with Video Unlimited, which makes available about 40,000 TV episodes and full-length movies.
The Future
This rivalry can only be good for the development of Internet TV. Built-in Wi-Fi is making Internet TV more accessible, and encourages worldwide adoption. But there are other hardware makers like satellite providers manufactures and Bluray players manufacturers that also make Internet TV more accessible. It will be curious to see whether any one of the hardware acting as receivers will come out on top, or whether people will widely adopt Internet TV services without regard for the hardware through which it's made available.
posted by Ahsan Baig
source http://galido.net/
We all know that Internet TV is quickly gaining momentum, but things may be moving a bit faster than we think. A few days ago Microsoft had announced that it has reached an agreement with around 40 entertainment providers, which will bring content, mostly movies and television, to its video gaming console Xbox 360. The move is not surprising, considering that Sony has already set up its own entertainment network, but it sure is a major one, considering the big names of the video content providers.
TV Channels
Xbox 360 gamers in the United States will be able to access content from big names such as Verizon, HBO, and Bravo; UK gamers get BBC, Lovefil, and Channel 4; German and Australian console-owners are also in a for a treat, as they get ZDF and ABC respectively. These new additions come on top of existing Xbox 360 providers like Hulu+ and ESPN in the United States and Sky in the United Kingdom. The new services will be available starting late December, and the launch may represent one of the milestones in the development of Internet TV.
Voice-search Feature
But there is more good news for Xbox fans. It has been confirmed last month during the Microsoft developer conference that the company's search engine Bing will be used with the Kinect controller so that gamers will be able to use motion and voice commands to search for video content, eliminating the need for using remote controls or menus to find videos. This mixing of technologies will make it possible to search for an episode of your favorite TV show much easier. Through this upcoming feature, it seems to me, Microsoft will try to gain an edge over competitors that stream online TV content, like Sony. It will remain to be seen how well this feature will be implemented, and whether it will be intuitive and fun to use. There are quite a few voice-based command systems currently available, which are frankly a pain to use.
Better Internet TV?
So basically Xbox 360 will soon feature Internet TV content from a variety of providers, as well as ambitious voice-search features through Bing. If implementation goes well, Xbox 360 users will get access to a TV service that's more personal and fun to use than conventional television. And this can only be good news for Internet TV fans. It will be interesting to see whether Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 will be the better console for Internet TV. For its part, PlayStation 3 comes with Video Unlimited, which makes available about 40,000 TV episodes and full-length movies.
The Future
This rivalry can only be good for the development of Internet TV. Built-in Wi-Fi is making Internet TV more accessible, and encourages worldwide adoption. But there are other hardware makers like satellite providers manufactures and Bluray players manufacturers that also make Internet TV more accessible. It will be curious to see whether any one of the hardware acting as receivers will come out on top, or whether people will widely adopt Internet TV services without regard for the hardware through which it's made available.
posted by Ahsan Baig
source http://galido.net/
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