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Microsoft's Xbox To Have Streaming TV Service?
BogenDorpher writes "Microsoft is reportedly in talks with major TV networks about having its Xbox Live service stream TV channels in the United States. This would be an interesting move on the company's part as it would allow an Xbox 360 user to stream TV channels though their Xbox."
Wait, no shit, a streaming TV service would be an interesting move because it would allow users to stream TV? Never would have thought of that myself.
Ubi solitudinem faciunt, pacem appellant.
Good thing that second sentence was there to summarize the first sentence.
If only there was already a way to get cable channels onto my tv...
"Microsoft is reportedly in talks with major TV networks about having its Xbox Live service stream TV channels in the United States. This would be an interesting move on the company's part as it would allow an Xbox 360 user to stream TV channels though their Xbox."
Really? I had no idea that streaming TV channels to XBox Live would allow my XBox 360 to stream TV channels! Thank you, sir, for the excellent & informative summary! :)
</ ducks >
Using my Xbox 360, I can now use my TV to watch TV!
Been wondering when we would see something like this here in the states. The PS3 has had an add-on (Japan-only) since about March of last year called Torne that adds DVR capability.
I was half asleep when I posted that summary.... sorry guys lol
Am I the only one who feels uncomfortable watching streaming TV unless a multicast implementation is in place? It's such a waste of bandwidth.
Vodafone does that in Portugal.
You can download a software to your xbox that allows it to work as a TV Box for their IPTV service.
The download costs 10€.
If you can live with the noise the xbox makes, it's a pretty good deal.
Its ok they will screw it up and pirate bay will still be cheaper and easier.
They trying to change. That's a good sign at least.
It'll probably only be available to Xbox Gold members. I was pissed when I set up a DD-WRT box to find out that I couldn't even USE netflix, & I'm sure this'll piss off alot of people too.
...you've been able to stream Sky on the XBox in the UK for years. Why is this a big deal?
The whole point of streaming (well other than maybe to pay less than cable/satellite) is on demand. You watch what you want when you want. That the the reason Netflix's streaming is so damn popular. You get to choose what it is you want and it starts and stops at your pleasure.
Can't do that with multi-cast.
And if we can get everyone streaming TV, then the govt can sell off the rest of the broadcast tv spectrum for yet more $$$
http://www.xbox.com/en-AU/Live/Foxtel/
Another shitty US-only feature paid for by Gold subscribers from all over the world. I'm still not renewing my subscription. Try harder.
Slashdot is just trying to be more efficient by duplicating articles sooner.
Catching me jerking it to the Food Network a few times should cure them of their desire to invade my privacy.
We (in the UK) have had Sky Player on XBox for ages. I'm amazed America doesn't have anything similar already.
For which you have to already have a full monthly Sky subscription, meaning your TV already has a Sky box on it perfectly capable of showing these channels, and an Xbox Live Gold account. Hardly a great deal.
It's a Unix system - I know this.
Elektro-top - rating electrotechnical sites
If you have U-verse you can get this xbox thing that basically turns it into a u-verse receiver/dvr (using the xbox hard drive). Sadly they charge $99 for this, versus a monthly fee of like $5 for another unit. I guess it would pay for itself eventually. Or if you somehow had a TV with only one input it could be worth it. They advertise not having to use the source select button on your tv remote as a feature. Its not a $99 feature. Also you can stream a lot of ESPN content via Xbox Live... not their top ticket items, but it is a good way to see some of the less in demand sporting events... e.g., CONCACAF soccer, NCAA women's basketball, etc. You can usually see one of their current sportscenter shows as well..
"Waste not one watt!" - CZ
Maybe, but it requires a full Sky Player-eligibe Sky account, which means you either have to already be paying extra on your base package for Multiroom or one of the Sports packages. Again, this is in addition to the Xbox Live Gold account requirement. If it was a simple, reasonable monthly fee for access to Sky channels on the Xbox without a dish it'd be a worthwhile proposition for people who aren't already Sky customers. As it is, you already need to be a Sky customer paying in the £40-50 a month region for your packages to benefit.
What we need in the UK is a decent Netflix-style system with unlimited access to a film and television library in the £10-20 a month region, accessible on our existing consoles without any surplus requirements such as the Xbox Live membership or massively overpriced full Sky package.
It's a Unix system - I know this.
Apparently no one is RTFA before criticizing the summary. The summary isn't the problem. FTA: "Microsoft is reportedly in talks with major TV networks about having its Xbox Live service stream TV channels in the United States. This would be an interesting move on the company's part as it would allow an Xbox 360 user to not only play games on their console but also stream TV channels though their Xbox."
It's bad enough to have this kind of garbage in Slashdot summaries, but when it's coming from the actual articles...we're doomed.
Social Engineering Expert: Because there is no patch for stupidity.
None of those things are broadcast TV, which is what this article is about.
The US has lower multi room fees most then others.
SKY multi room is a rip off at 25 pounds + 10 pounds HD fee per box after box 1 and box 1 needs it own HD fee as well.
canada is the best buy the box pay no rent and no outlet on most systems some make you pay like $5 to have more then 3 boxes.
What's the point? I already have TV on my TV... and it doesn't eat up all of my bandwidth.
~Syberz
The point is that the parent poster is making refers to live TV stations. As in, watching a sports event live, or a 1,000 other things that people rather watch live, if for no other reason than to keep from reading spoilers before they get it from their DVR.
I agree, I really wish the Mbone actually connected to ISPs, but they don't use it. Even if Xbox and the TV station supported it, the ISPs won't simply because they can't figure out how to bill each other for 1 stream that goes to 100,000 endpoints.
Grammer Nazis - I mod you "troll" unless you actually add something on-topic. Yes, I know I have mispellings in my sig.
I use TVersity to stream DivX, jpgs and mp3s, Hulu, YouTube, Joost, etc to any TV in my house by using an XBox 360 attached to the TV. It works fantastically. Another streaming service would be welcome as well, but to be honest, I already have over 2 TB of content on my local server for my family to watch including just about every kid's movie ever made along with every good kids cartoon ever made.
I'm a big tall mofo.
If the Xbox Live network gets attacked like the Playstation Network, then all Internet services to the device will be just as useful as Netflix is on my PS3 at the moment. Sigh
They have Nigella on the food network now?
Implement this and in a flash you'll see throttling and bandwidth caps galore - bet on it! That said, I might actually use my 360 more often if this were deployed and it gave me more control than I have now with cable and my Tivo...
Build it, Drive it, Improve it! Hybridz.org
These future events will impact you in the future!
If 99% of the US internet is through a major telecorp or CABLE SYSTEM, and they already have a CABLE BOX which streams digital TV to my set, who is this market meant for again? I mean, why would I want a streaming TV cable box where it's hooked up to a system which already has such a device?
I'm not being facetious here but I see all of these comments about using the 360 as a Netflix streaming device and nearly all of them are complaining about fan noise. Am I the only one with an Xbox360 Elite that has competent fans that don't sound like 'jets taking off?' Granted, I'm on 360 #4, so I'm not saying the 360 is a magnificient piece of hardware by any means, but when I use it to watch Netflix (my HTPC is having a stuttering problem with Netflix, cant figure it out. Might need more RAM) it makes little to no noise what-so-ever.
Nope, you can subscribe to Sky Player separately - you don't need a Sky box or a dish or whatever. There's a link on the front page: http://skyplayer.sky.com/vod/page/online-tv.html
That's for a very limited subset of channels though compared to the dish packages.
It's a Unix system - I know this.
Not a single mention of the National Association of Broadcasters, who represent the people who own the broadcast television stations throughout the US? Do you really think CBS is going to abandon its hundreds of affiliate stations, not to mention its owned-and-operated stations in major markets, to funnel TV programming to XBox users? The broadcasters have fought many battles with cable television operators over, first, the "must-carry" rules, then later "retransmission consent."
Slashdot commentators continue their tradition of ignoring the decades of industrial relationships that govern the television and other entertainment industries and focus only on the, often irrelevant, technological details.
MS's dumb insistence on not letting the awesome BBC iPlayer on Xbox in the UK shows how late and asshat backwards the company is here. Plus, after the Sony hack/outage (http://t.co/GRQ1QIk) are these walled gardens really to be trusted anymore? Why would I risk my entertainment in one zone that can be crippled for a week or longer?
If he's the Walrus then can I be a penguin please?
You can bet this is going to be rife with unskippable commercials.
Throttling and Port Blocking...to improve your user experience of course.
Why not give people an internet browser so they can freely surf the net for various options rather than forcing them into a gold membership for free services like facebook and twitter?