“Microsoft (MSFT) says its Xbox One console will revolutionize home entertainment,” Patrick Seitz reports for Investor’s Business Daily. “Wall Street and industry analysts aren’t buying that claim.”
“The Verge managing editor Nilay Patel called B.S. on Microsoft’s claim of simplifying the living room. He said the Xbox One will run into the same problems that Google’s (GOOG) Google TV and other products have experienced,” Seitz reports. “‘The Xbox One’s TV integration is the same familiar nightmare we’ve known for nearly 20 years now,’ he wrote. ‘Instead of actually integrating with your TV service, the One sits on top of it: you plug your cable box’s HDMI cable into the Xbox, which overlays the signal with its own interface.'”
Seitz reports, “Xbox One offers a ‘work-around solution’ of taking video channels through an HDMI pass-through instead of an IP feed, BTIG analyst Richard Greenfield wrote. He described the set-up as ‘ugly at best, with limited functionality that will prevent most consumers from using the Xbox One for linear TV.’ … Apple (AAPL) has been long rumored to be working on product to simplify the modern TV experience.”
Read more in the full article here.
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Why Apple TV has nothing to fear from Microsoft’s Xbox One – May 21, 2013
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Yes because this must be called TV intersection not integration.
The future Apple iTV will became the first real integration between TV, apps and more. Same way was iPhone (“…a phone, an Internet communicator and an iPod”)
All MS did was to slap some additional junk onto its Xbox 360 and call it “revolutionary”. We’ve heard this song and dance from MS for years, about how it was going to “revolutionize” the living room with everything from WebTV to Microsoft Media Centers to the Big Ass Table.
The cable companies won’t have anything to do with ceding any control to MS. This is just another frustration waiting to happen, and the Xbox One will be relegated to one thing: playing games.
The days of Microsoft doing whatever they felt like are OVER.
No soup for MS. 😎
I’m a HUGE Apple fan but this is nonsense.
Microsoft got both Xbox consoles right and I can’t see how this will be any different.
The Xbox One looks incredible and anyone with half a brain knows it. The fanboyism is getting WAY out of hand.
The only reason any of you are hating on it is because it’s a direct competitor to the rumored Apple TV. And this is a strong contender for that area.
I give Microsoft props. At least they’re TRYING new things. First with Windows 8 and now this.
Stop the dick riding already.
Is it because you have half a brain that you think it looks incredible? 😎
Why, when everybody else is getting thinner and lighter does MS create this massive unit? Even the Kinect is huge. Who has room for this boxcar? Maybe the cheap CPU needs a giant heat sink.
The excuse for the Kinect is that Microsoft merely bought it from its developer then shipped it as their own. Microsoft didn’t take time to do much of anything to it, which is probably why it actually works.
You wrote: “I give Microsoft flops. At least they’re f ucked by new Microsoft things. Fists with Windows 8 and now this. ”
: )
Not around the children Peter! 😉
There’s too many questions regarding xbox one’s gaming side its scary to think people are actually liking the machine.
– design is junk… Remembers fridge PS3.
– internet connection is dumb. Havent they seen diablo 3, or simcity?
– games sharing, renting, used games info is all out of whack.
– must have kinect connected.
– forget all your digitally bought games. I understand hard copy but digitally bought? Seriously!
No fanboyism here. But to say microsoft thrilled in that press conference is the most asinine thing to say. But i guess with them banking on call of duty and halo they’ll live with stupid decisions as well.
Incredible that any criticism and the rats come out of the dark to claim that old hoary claim of fanboyism is at play. When I saw this device I pretty much gasped and not with excitement it just looks so ancient and then saw the tech aspects and thought its whole concept is dated and regurgitated. The thought that came to mind is that this is the ultimate interpretation of the old rather than an indicator of the future. Of course nerds will love it but nerds are a small segment of the market and most grow up and become more sophisticated.
This thing is like the ultimate piston engined aircraft from the 40s superficially looked impressive but were old technology rapidly to be extinguished by the new jet age however underpowered the latter were initially.
I love my MacBook Pro. I love my iPhone.
I also love my XBox 360.
I also love my Roku Player.
Here’s my problem with the XBox One. The whole XBox brand has been geared towards hardcore gamers. When you hear “XBox,” you think games. What Microsoft did by trying to cram all these different TV watching features at the expense of gaming features is demonstrating that they don’t understand their target market. The kind of people that would play games on an XBox are the kind of people who are cutting the cord and who aren’t watching broadcast TV, so why would they want features on their XBox that have to do with broadcast TV? And the whole thing about making you pay a fee to be able to play used games is a huge minus.
This isn’t like what Apple does where it invents a new product and everyone looks at it and thinks it looks cool and then immediately wants one. This is taking an existing brand and turning it into something that won’t appeal to a new target market and turns its back on the old target market.
And no, this won’t compete with Apple TV. The true competition to the Apple TV is the Roku player, and, I’m sorry, with third party channels and third party content, Roku wins hands down.
Oh, and let’s not forget – no backwards compatibility.
I know the PS3 abandoned backwards compatibility, but let’s be honest – gamers would rather have backwards compatibility than have TV watching features.
XBox One will lose to the PS4.
Are you joking? Or are you on hallucinogens?
The Xbox One looks incredible and anyone with half a brain knows it.
I’m looking at it right now. So, should I be worried about you? Look at it again after the high wears off:
What I don’t understand is how a team of people were paid millions of dollars to come up with that design. Microsoft expects that hideous monstrosity to become the centerpiece of the living room?
xbox one has numerous issues.
1. Not backwards compatible.
2. Games are tied to a machine (can’t play at home then go to a friends house and play on their machine).
3. Have to install all hames ect on the HD with only a 500GB HD, and knowing MS if you need space they will sell you a proprietary new HD at 4x the going rate.
4. This goes with the xbox 360 as well, for split families, I have to have a paid account for each user \ family on each machine. not by machine or user but both (I pay $50 for an account for my son for his xbox at his mothers house and another $100 for a family account on the xbox at my house and he can’t have the same account on both machines). Like a CAL the cost that keeps on taking.
In some ways I get around #4 by pulling the HD from 1 360 and using it on another, not sure if this is posable with the xbox one.
The idea that this is the same old overly that Google and others have done is just not true. First of all, when overlays are done properly like what you see in many commercial applications, they’re awesome. Also, the overlay shouldn’t be pitched as a UI replacement (though it seems MS kind of did that), but as an additional control option to your cable/sat box and a more streamlined way of handling A/V switching.
Anyone who has an entertainment system with an A/V receiver, some sort of media streaming device (Xbox, Apple TV etc.), a Blu-Ray and a cable/sat box would notice that using an Xbox One coupled with your cable/sat box would be a much more elegant solution, just by simplifying A/V switching. Even if you’re not using the Kinect device but something like a Harmony Ultimate.
I have been integrating systems for 11 years and if this Xbox UI is as fast as the demo showed, it will be a major step forward in terms of streamlining the entertainment experience. The end user today has to choose between activities like, Watch TV, Watch a Blu-Ray or Watch Apple TV, they feel very separate. With the Xbox One an end user would have a “System On” activity and everything I mentioned above would be happening in one place.
IMO, this would be the most elegant entertainment system configuration available upon its release and I will certainly recommend it to my customers if it works the way it was demoed.
Read Nilay Patel’s piece. The thing’s a horrible kludge, using an IR blaster! If you want to access a feature that your cable/sat box has, such as shows you’ve recorded to your DVR, you have to use the cab/sat box’s controller and UI, because the Xbox can’t know what you’ve recorded. This makes Windows 8’s dual interfaces look like a great solution because with Xbox you’ve got it’s UI on top and underneath that your cab/sat box’s UI! Talk about confusing. What a mess.
All the TV stuff is fluff anyway. Games are gonna move units just like always.
I sure as hell wouldn’t want to over-ride the Time Warner DVR interface I use with one from any other company. Microsoft especially.
I’m not going to buy this.
I know I have said this millions of times, but I hope it flops hard. I can forgive Windows 8, Zune, and even Windows Phone (they were WAY too late) but I will NEVER in a MILLION years, support SEXbox 369! After what they did to Dreamcast a decade ago, I will never forgive them for that!
You blame Microsoft for SEGA failing?
SEGA put out an outdated pile of crap that was underpowered with no decent games? Running an OS that Microsoft was already abandoning ?
Then Sony, Nintendo and MS come out with better consoles and games?
Yeah, totally MSs fault.
You gotta let it go John buddy. Sega did it to themselves.
The dreamcast had decent sales. Sega destroyed their massive gains with the genesis when they released the Saturn and as a result they didn’t have enough capital to sustain “ok” dreamcast sales, they also failed to deliver in some key areas on the dreamcast.
Great console but not better than the competition when it was all said and done.
I really am sorry if I am starting to sound annoying about this. It’s just that the Dreamcast was my absolute favorite game system of that era. I remember getting it on Christmas 1999. I never really liked Microsoft because their Windows OS always seemed to break down (especially Windows 2000) but once I read about how the Dreamcast lost to Xbox and GameCube, I was devastated. I eventually went GameCube, and Nintendo in general. I really hope I was not bothering anyone with my comments.
“I’m a HUGE Apple fan.” No you’re not. However you are a HUGE Micro$oft $hill.
Oops. This was meant for JayJay. Sorry, messed up.
SEGA!!! Oh, sorry.
Yes big give away isn’t it. Critics are so immersed into this sort of language that they are too stupid to realise that a real fan would never use it, except as self parody.
Another toy for the ‘pimple brigade’ to play on for awhile.
Is it just me or are Microsoft’s Xbox butt ugly? Don’t they have designers in Redmond??
Not really all that ugly, but it does remind of the first CD player I bought a *long* time ago…
Designed by Ballmer for Ballmer.
With a face only a mother could love. 😛
I already have my over-the-air digital TV centralized on my Mac mini 2011. I use EYE-TV with two network dual-channel tuners as a DVR and Plex broadcasting out to Roku devices on the other TVs in the house. If I decide to upgrade my Xbox 360 it would only be for the games, and it would remain as a separate HDMI source managed by my Yamaha receiver. I have no interest in having it handle my live TV in any capacity — I’ve already got that covered.
Why not channel the Yamaha into this and to your TV and have some fun with it ? If you did buy one for games all you need is one more HDMI cable and you can have some fun. Don’t knock it until you try it 🙂
It does look like a great console, aside from its retro physical appearance that is 🙂
Those comments are BS ! The HDMI input switching lets THE MASSES use these cool live video features with their existing cable / satellite / DVR setup. The HDMI device can be any cable device, a set-top box, an Apple TV, a PS4. Maybe the fool doesn’t realize that the XBOX also has IR output. That means it CAN control any DVR or any “TV” device.
I’m betting we will be able to map voice commands to the commands on ANY cable box / DVR, TV, ATV remote control and it will send the commands out the IR output. NO need to have any deals with cable companies etc. It can control them all like any good universal remote. Its own IR sensor or Kinect camera could be used to “learn” new remotes.
How long before the all seeing all hearing Xboxone is cited in a divorce case for recording what it overhears.
Now you will have to throw a towel over the Kinect as well as the Parrot’s cage!
I can’t believe how Microsoft can make these products look so “pedestrian”. There is nothing about this console that makes me say “I must have that”.
It is like they use the cheapest plastics and other materials on purpose. Not an ounce of class.
I’m not a Microsoft hater but gee whiz, their products lack any trace of flair or completeness.
I hope one day they will actually make a version of Office for the Mac that doesn’t suck ass.
I don’t like consoles…