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Microsoft Isn't Adding a TV DVR Feature To Xbox One Anymore (theverge.com)

Posted by msmash on from the bad-news-guys dept.

The much-anticipated TV DVR feature isn't coming to Xbox One ... at least not in the immediate future. The company has confirmed to The Verge that it has put the plans to add this functionality to its current generation gaming console on hold. From the report: Microsoft had originally planned to let Xbox One users schedule recordings on the go, and stream or download shows to mobile devices and other Windows 10 PCs. The DVR feature would have only been limited to free-to-air TV, and Microsoft had released digital TV tuners in Europe and the US that would have supported it. After Microsoft killed off Windows Media Center in Windows 10, the company still doesn't have a viable alternative.

76 comments

  1. I got a box for that... by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 1

    Why would I want to save TV video on a video game console?

    1. Re:I got a box for that... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      it was originally part of the plan for xbox to 'rule the living room' but microsoft is too fucking cheap to continue media center, which requires paying for codecs, program listings and royalties to cable labs for cable card tuner support. they saw tivo give up on the dvr space when they sold out to a patent-holding drm company with no interest in set top boxes or consumer markets, and so they've pretty much given up themselves too, letting the cable/satellite companies own the dvr market.

    2. Re:I got a box for that... by Aqualung812 · · Score: 2

      Why would I want to save TV video on a video game console?

      Because I don't have a box for that. I *had* a TV with various pay-tv providers, and I already have an Xbox One.

      So, a sub-$100 USB ATSC tuner combined with the 5TB drive I already have for my console would have made a great DVR.

      Many cord-cutters don't have their own DVR yet. Building one into a major console would have been great.

      --
      Grammer Nazis - I mod you "troll" unless you actually add something on-topic. Yes, I know I have mispellings in my sig.
    3. Re:I got a box for that... by Aqualung812 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I *had* a TV

      *had* a **DVR**, not a TV.
      Read before hitting submit next time, dumbass.

      --
      Grammer Nazis - I mod you "troll" unless you actually add something on-topic. Yes, I know I have mispellings in my sig.
    4. Re:I got a box for that... by wonkey_monkey · · Score: 2

      Why would I want to save TV video on a video game console?

      Why does it matter what you do or don't want?

      Plenty of people in the world aren't you.

      --
      systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
    5. Re:I got a box for that... by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 0

      Plenty of people in the world aren't you.

      Plenty of people on Slashdot don't understand a rhetorical question.

      Woosh!

    6. Re:I got a box for that... by Yvan256 · · Score: 0

      What's a rhetorical question?

    7. Re:I got a box for that... by karnal · · Score: 1

      I'm going to let you two fight amongst.... yourself?

      --
      Karnal
    8. Re:I got a box for that... by Aqualung812 · · Score: 1

      It wouldn't be the first time, nor will it be the last.

      (Ok. Think, type, read, then hit submit. Not type, submit, read, think. Got it.)

      --
      Grammer Nazis - I mod you "troll" unless you actually add something on-topic. Yes, I know I have mispellings in my sig.
    9. Re:I got a box for that... by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 1

      A rhetorical question is a common rhetorical device where a question is asked by a speaker, but no answer is expected from the audience. This distinguishes it from explicit verbal audience interaction where a speaker asks a question, and then waits for a response or calls on someone to answer it.

      http://sixminutes.dlugan.com/rhetorical-questions/

    10. Re:I got a box for that... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What's a woosh?

    11. Re:I got a box for that... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why would I want to save TV video on a video game console?

      Some years ago, mid 90s maybe, Microsoft did a survey and found that most people had their computer in the same room as their TV. Bill Gates concluded that the reason for this was that they wanted both to be together and so got MS to come up with the "PC-TV".

      The actual reason was that most people, unlike Bill, did not live in 22 room mansions.

    12. Re:I got a box for that... by wonkey_monkey · · Score: 2

      Rhetorical questions usually serve to make some kind of a point.

      All yours did was alert us to the uninteresting fact that you don't need this thing.

      --
      systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
    13. Re:I got a box for that... by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 1

      All yours did was alert us to the uninteresting fact that you don't need this thing.

      Otherwise known as a stupid question to provoke a discussion. Never be afraid to ask a stupid question, as others may want to ask the same stupid question but are afraid of what people may think of them. Thank you for your participation. ;)

    14. Re:I got a box for that... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oh great, we found the market. How many billions can I put you down for (annually)?

    15. Re:I got a box for that... by jedidiah · · Score: 1

      The Brady Bunch had a den. This is basically a spare bedroom that Mr Brady employed as a home office. He had his drafting setup in there and everything. Same thing was true for the Stevens family in Bewitched. The husband had a home office.

      Unless you are barely scraping by in some overcrowded and overpriced coastal city, you probably have enough room to put your PC some place other than next to your TV.

      H*LL, even when I was "poor" we had enough space for that. My computer stayed in my bedroom. The family TV was in the living room.

      You don't have to live in a mansion to have distance between your TV and computer.

      I would imagine most people using a PC don't want to disturb people watching TV and vice versa.

      Most places in America are not like Tokyo.

      --
      A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
    16. Re: I got a box for that... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Is that a rhetorical question?

    17. Re: I got a box for that... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Stupid question. I bought my xbox for the media center. I lost gestures with Kinect. Now I can't have a feature promised at launch. How long do I have to wait to get my money back?

    18. Re:I got a box for that... by demonlapin · · Score: 1

      Well, you could always run Windows 7 on a dedicated box. Inconvenient, but useful.

    19. Re:I got a box for that... by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 1

      You don't have to live in a mansion to have distance between your TV and computer.

      If you have children, having the TV and computer in the living room is a good place to monitor their activities.

    20. Re:I got a box for that... by Streetlight · · Score: 1

      IIRC, Mr. Ed's owner, Wilbur, played by the late Alan Young, had an office in a barn with a talking horse as company. To each his or her own.

      --
      In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act. George Orwell
    21. Re:I got a box for that... by jewens · · Score: 1

      So you could record shows and never watch them? Its the electronic monk all over again. It watches TV for me so I don't have to.

      --
      That group of bovine standing over there appears quite portentous. That's right it's an ominous cow herd.
    22. Re:I got a box for that... by Coren22 · · Score: 1

      they saw tivo give up on the dvr space when they sold out to a patent-holding drm company with no interest in set top boxes or consumer markets

      What?

      http://www.theverge.com/2014/1...

      Tivo isn't going away anywhere I look, what is your source for them giving up on DVRs?

      --
      APK likes to ask for responses to the same things over and over. Maybe he just likes the responses?
    23. Re:I got a box for that... by Shirley+Marquez · · Score: 1

      Where are those mod points when I need them? This comment deserves a "funny".

    24. Re:I got a box for that... by AK+Marc · · Score: 1

      Because not everyone has a box for that. PS3 had playTV, which was a full featured DVR (by full-featured, that was the specs, in practice, development ended a few weeks after it was released, and most of the features ended up not working right, and were never fixed). X-Box targeted that feature, but since the PS4 doesn't support the PlayTV, someone with a PlayTV can use it on their PC (just a 2-tuner USB tuner), but not the PS4. So, since PS4 didn't do DVR, MS abandoned it in the Xbox.

      --
      Learn to love Alaska
  2. Microsoft: Less utility is a FEATURE! by Chas · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Man. Can Microsoft actually deliver on anything anyone REALLY wants or needs from their OS?

    --


    Chas - The one, the only.
    THANK GOD!!!
    1. Re:Microsoft: Less utility is a FEATURE! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Most people already have a DVR built into their satellite or cable box, or still have a Tivo. The market for these features is small.

      M$ usually waits for the product to fail. In this case, they're ahead of the game.

    2. Re:Microsoft: Less utility is a FEATURE! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's the beauty of the market economy! The sellers get to decide what you need and want. (Compare to the command economy where the government dictates what you need and want. Good luck finding an -ism where consumers are allowed to get what they themselves need and want.)

    3. Re:Microsoft: Less utility is a FEATURE! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But they are now focusing on gaming experiences. One can only wonder what it means. Is it about microphone spying experience? Or adding more DRM and a mandatory console UI and controller on Windows10 PCs?

    4. Re:Microsoft: Less utility is a FEATURE! by Penguinisto · · Score: 1

      [tinfoil]

      Actually, the announcement did exactly what they wanted it to... it got people to buy an XBox in anticipation of said feature, resulting in better quarterly figures.

      Oh, wait, you thought they said that stuff about a DVR as if they were actually going to add one?

      [/tinfoil]

      --
      Quo usque tandem abutere, Nimbus, patientia nostra?
    5. Re:Microsoft: Less utility is a FEATURE! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Man. Can Microsoft actually deliver on anything anyone REALLY wants or needs from their OS?

      With Mr Gates down to his last $80 Billion dollars of course you can see he is starved for computer science experts willing to suck spy dick.

      Windows and XBox are merely spyware masquerading as game platforms now. Pieces of shit. Linux and PS4 are better than each, respectively.

    6. Re:Microsoft: Less utility is a FEATURE! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're obviously mentally-ill, and can't even function in public. You'll fit in well here.

    7. Re:Microsoft: Less utility is a FEATURE! by wierd_w · · Score: 2

      Adding the support would be trivial: The hardware already has an HDMI input, and you (presumably) tell the xbox to change the channel for you. The hardware to process and manage a video stream is there. The system already has a filesystem on it that is both proprietary and digital signature enforced, meaning any files written on it will be difficult to read and then put somewhere else, and even if you did, another xbox wont play them because of the signature checking.

      The console already can record video from games being played.

      The hardware is ready and capable. The kernel has all the codecs needed to do this.

      What is lacking, is permissions to do this from broadcasters. Until that permission is given, MS cant legally let you record live TV. If the XboxOne ever gets jailbroken, it will make an excellent KODI (XBMC) or mythtv box.

      All MS needs to do is release an app on the market place, and the thing will work.

      That they went through all that trouble to design, implement, and test all the other bits of hardware and software in the system needed for this to work, but are now abandoning the feature, tells me that you have "rights holders" afraid of modern VCRs. We just need some more "Jack the ripper" hyperbole, and its a dead ringer. It also tells me that MS was actually serious about wanting to deploy the feature.

      The problem is not MS in this case. It is the dinosaur buggywhip salesmen.

  3. What happened to Microsoft? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It seems that after Windows 8 Microsoft has been making bad business decisions. Perhaps Bill Gates should consider returning...

    1. Re:What happened to Microsoft? by ausekilis · · Score: 1

      Pretty sure we can blame Ballmer for Windows 8 (and Vista if I remember correctly). Now it's Nadella's fault Windows 10 is one big malware operation, positioning it as the PC version of Android instead of, you know, listening to his customers.

  4. Another stumble in a long persuite. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Seriously Microsoft has had this weird, misguided ambition to be a content provider/gateway/whatever for DECADES. Seriously they've teased as set tops and appliances and being the computer of the living room literally since the early 90s. There are dozens and dozens of initiatives and products and prototypes that have never paned out.

    Why? Why to they try to break in to this space when all they do is fail?

    1. Re:Another stumble in a long persuite. by jedidiah · · Score: 1

      They don't so much fail as not really try. They act like they're not interested, and that's when they bother to have a product available.

      --
      A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
    2. Re:Another stumble in a long persuite. by Darinbob · · Score: 1

      They try, but are incompetent. Their ego says that they're the best company in the world and can do anything, but their skill set is not up to the challenge. They don't innovate and haven't for a very long time, instead they copy other people after a new technology has been around awhile, showing up late to the game, and their ego says "we're Microsoft, we totally are going to own this market!" and then stumble.

      The one thing they do know to do is to tie everything together. Every product must assist revenues in other Microsoft products (what's the point of having a a few monopolies if you can't leverage them?). Windows drives sales of phones, which drive sales on the app store, which generates advertising revenue, which helps sell Xbox, which helps sell Xbox subscriptions, which helps sell Windows, which drives sales of Office, which drives sales of certification classes, which drives sales of Windows. Microsoft does not make standalone products. Or at least that's the plan even if it breaks down a lot of places.

  5. We'll push you Ads instead by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    So, a feature that their customers may 'reasonably want' they have 0 time for but pushing out Ads is something they have a whole team developing...yeah, we know who the OS is designed for and its NOT the end-user.

  6. I dont blame them. by nimbius · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Microsoft over the past 15 years has evolved from an OS that runs applications to a rats nest of "do everything forever." its a web browser, an app store, a media center, an XBOX, some kind of amorphous social platform, and occasionally an office and development workstation. But it all comes from Microsoft, a company thats historically maintained an ethos of crippling software like email clients and spreadsheets that run on its OS. Its a rock and a hard place for sure because if you insist on doing everything, you rarely do anything.

    Looking at BSD and Linux, these projects are just OS, period. GNU offers some very stable tools to manage the OS, but you're by no means required to use them (some distros dont include them.) If you want a media center, MPD has an entire team of people working on making that a thing you can do. some might work on netbsd, but netBSD isnt about to attempt the backflips necessary to show up ready-to-go as a media server for everyone. BSD and Linux are more centric to a users specific needs not because they try to be the wal-mart of personal computing tasks, but because they foster a productive and well-running sandbox in which creative teams can come up with applications that solve problems and do things people are trying to do on their terms.

    --
    Good people go to bed earlier.
    1. Re:I dont blame them. by thegarbz · · Score: 2

      Looking at BSD and Linux, these projects are just OS, period.

      To the technical eye yes most definitely. To much of the world quite the opposite. Stick in a Linux CD and you have a fully working computer with everything including office suite, browser, chat clients, and a method of getting new software with a click of a button. Buy a Mac and you have a fully working computer with everything including ..... blah blah blah.

      Microsoft is only doing what their competitors are perceived to be doing. The distinction between programs and an OS is lost on people who buy a brand new computer without anything additional.

      Though I think the biggest WTF is the 3D printing program in Windows 10. That just smells of "We need to do something different so to claim we were the first!"

    2. Re:I dont blame them. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In my experience, MPD is a total joke. It doesn't pass near enough information, and doesn't properly support enough formats and tagging formats.

      You complain MS does everything, but you are crazy if you think that those MPD developers have dedicated their lives to MPD(media server), many of them have also made contributions to apache(web server), firefox (web browser), mysql(database), etc. Some of those people literally do everything. You know what they say about that right?

      The opensource developers are doing it in their free time here and there with no pressure. Microsoft employees at a bare minimum have 40 hours a week where they MUST work or their families will starve and die. 1000 Microsoft employees can do what 100,000 open source users can do in the same time frame.

      Not bashing open source, I use it, it's my job, and I'm typing with it, as well as every single process running on my machine is opensource.

      I also like windows, it's a good system. As is MS office, and exchange server is probably the best email server in the universe.

    3. Re:I dont blame them. by jedidiah · · Score: 1

      Much of Free Software is developed by people who's day job it is to contribute to the Free Software project in question. The idea that it's all just "hobbyware" was outdated even in the last century.

      On the other hand, some projects that really are "hobbyware" from top to bottom get more attention than some things at Microsoft. Some of Microsoft's projects are even dependent on such hobbyware in order to reach their full potential.

      The variants of MCE are a good example of that.

      --
      A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
    4. Re:I dont blame them. by mdkathon · · Score: 1

      Too bad we do not have a DVR that can record protected content as Windows Media Center does. I'd love to move away from Windows 7 and 8, but it appears that I'll be keeping these little boxes running for quite some time. There isn't a viable alternative for use in any other OS that I am aware of that offers the same feature set a WMC (CableCARD support, namely). SiliconDust might have something cooking with their DVR software but that's still not out. If it works I'll be paying $60/year for it and would be happy to do so. Heck, I'd be happy to pay M$ $60/year for a native WMC on Windows 10. It's too bad they're not able to cut WMC away from their OS and sell it to a software/services/hardware company with an interest in building a DVR. Maybe there isn't enough money in it. It's sweet what Linux and BSD has to offer in terms of "just working" over the last 10 years. We've come a long way since installing Slackware felt a journey to another dimension. I play around with alternatives to WMC on Linux and Windows every couple of years and have yet to find an adequate replacement.

  7. KODI does just fine.... by Jonah+Hex · · Score: 3, Informative

    These days I can do just about anything I need with KODI (formerly XBMC aka XBox Media Center) including record from tuners. No thanks to using a console for my media consumption.

    --
    Horror & SciFi Erotic Nudes
    1. Re:KODI does just fine.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      KODI cannot record encrypted cable tv which includes regular channels like FX, in addition to premium channels like HBO.

    2. Re:KODI does just fine.... by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      I agree. But there is one important niche that Microsoft used to fill: Cablecard. People who lost Windows Media Centre were banking on Cablecard support in the Xbone as there are zero current programs out there which can record that content except for the now defunct Windows Media Centre.

    3. Re:KODI does just fine.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      http://kodi.wiki/view/PVR_reco... NextPVR Via Silicondust HDHomeRun Prime, the Hauppauge WinTV DCR-2650, or the Ceton InfiniTV 4.

    4. Re:KODI does just fine.... by HornWumpus · · Score: 2

      It can only record it at 720 over the component connectors. Assuming you have a device that will capture component video and a cable box with component out.

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
    5. Re:KODI does just fine.... by DRJlaw · · Score: 2

      NextPVR only works with content flagged as Copy Freely. It's not even remotely equivalent to WMC, which works with all Cablecard-delivered content.

    6. Re:KODI does just fine.... by mdkathon · · Score: 1

      It's listed as supported, but isn't nearly as easy to setup as WMC. I've been working on moving to NextPVR on-and-off for a year. WMC is dead simple to setup and ALWAYS works. This may come as a shock but I have a Windows 8.1 box, which was upgraded from Windows 7 that has never missed a beat. Only reboots required are when I want to reboot or power down for hardware activity.

    7. Re:KODI does just fine.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Kodi has a great front end for MythTV.

      I run MythBackend as the PVR on a VM, and have Kodi boxes(Rapi Pi2's) on every TV as the front end. Work great including LIVETV.

    8. Re:KODI does just fine.... by bloodhawk · · Score: 1

      I took the plunge on Kodi late last year after friends telling me how great it was. Have regretted it ever since, they constantly make up excuses for the abysmal quality of it. Fucking buggy addons that take down Kodi not just themselves, shit that doesn't work consistently between versions and a litany of other bugs. At the time I thought nothing could be worse than windows media centre...I was wrong. Currently bought a chromecast and have been working on setting up plex to get rid of the turd that is Kodi,. I am sure I will get modded to hell for this but I would not recommend Kodi to anyone.

    9. Re:KODI does just fine.... by Gojira+Shipi-Taro · · Score: 1

      That's funny. Kodi works great for me, and Plex refused to index any of my media files at all. I didn't install every Kodi plugin I could find though...

      Streaming over wireless to a Chromecast has GOT to be a shitty experience compared to a wired connection.

      I regret spending the money I spent on Plex clients, since they're utterly useless to me when the media server just ignores 95% of my content.

      --
      "Oh my God. This is terrible. This is the end of my Presidency. I'm fucked."; ~ Donald J. Trump
    10. Re:KODI does just fine.... by bloodhawk · · Score: 1

      As opposed to Kodi which won't play a whole range of content, no Netflix, buggy DVD and Blu ray menuing, buggy addins, unreliable. hmmmm, maybe plex sucks too but it would have to be nigh unusuable to be worse than Kodi.

  8. The backlash was deafening by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Back when the Xbone was announced as a TV box first, gaming console second fans and the press absolutely lambasted Microsoft so it should come as no surprise they are nixing the feature. This pretty much sums it up: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlkZNNaYBro

    1. Re:The backlash was deafening by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      bah got distracted and posted the wrong link. Here's the correct one:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOxdMQhDMIU (they're both hilarious tho so enjoy)

  9. 3rd party apps? by Dusthead+Jr. · · Score: 1

    Couldn't a 3rd party create a DVR app that does that? Is such a thing even allowed on the xbone or can only MS do it?

    1. Re:3rd party apps? by jedidiah · · Score: 1

      Cable Card presents an odious barrier to doing that. There are also patents from Tivo Corp to consider. MS has the benefit of being another 800lb gorilla with a patent portfolio of it's own to bludgeon trolls with.

      The Mac's main software based PVR doesn't have proper CC support.

      --
      A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
  10. Wii U by sanf780 · · Score: 1
    Did not the Wii U also want to control your TV? Nintendo also scrapped most if not all of the TV related stuff.

    I am still waiting for a correct EPG listing. Without it, no DVR can be exact.

    1. Re:Wii U by Narcocide · · Score: 1

      Nintendo adopted support for a 3rd party mobile app called TVii that was little more than a glorified universal remote app with a built-in semi-accurate TV-guide style channel listing and ratings & commenting system, but then eventually scrapped it due to the 3rd party vendor being completely incapable of addressing very very poor service quality. I'm not sure but TVii may still be in business though and available for smart phones.

  11. They Just Don't Get It by WheezyJoe · · Score: 2

    Operating Systems, as much as they are supposed to just bootstrap your PC, are nonetheless expected to be like Santa Claus, bringing all kinds of goodies along for the ride. Apple has Garage Band, iLife (photos, messaging, facetime, a dictionary, etc.), and now iWord, all gratis. Linux distros come with billions of stuff... arcade-style games, office-like apps, math apps, astronomy apps, card games, puzzle games, wacky screensavers, and a lot of them actually work! There's hours of fun going through a new Linux distro, before you realize you're missing a proprietary 3-D driver.

    But Microsoft has forgotten all this. Everything in Windows 10 is for THEIR benefit, not ours. They have Skype to Apple's facetime, but Skype is a tease to upgrade to a paid account. Same for Office. Instead, they've TAKEN AWAY the stuff people liked about Windows 7. Media Center. Solitaire. Plus! Minesweeper. TweakUI. Cool screensavers. Aero. Gadgets (ok, maybe they were a security mess - get rainmeter). The Start menu (ok, they put that one back). Even 3-D Pinball has been binned. Sure, go to our Store, they say. But that's just a tease for us to buy stuff. Hello? Santy Clause doesn't charge subscription fees, ask you for your credit card number, or force you to take lessons in touch-interfaces so you can jones for a tablet that nobody wants.

    So, how bout it, Micro$osft, are you willing to throw in some candy in some near-future release? Or are you so stuck in this monetizing-everything shtick that you're determined to suck all the fun out of having a computer?

    --
    Take it easy, Charlie, I've got an Angle...
    1. Re:They Just Don't Get It by jedidiah · · Score: 1

      > There's hours of fun going through a new Linux distro, before you realize you're missing a proprietary 3-D driver.

      That's much like sorting out the same detail in a Windows install. If you're lucky, you won't have to do that with your NIC. Sorting out a Windows box is a little more difficult without any network access.

      If it took you hours to figure out that you are using a libre driver, then that's a testament to the libre driver really.

      --
      A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
    2. Re:They Just Don't Get It by subk · · Score: 1

      You're going to spend time setting up any operating system. The subtractive approach (Windows, most Linux distros) is always a waste of time. I prefer the additive approach.. Start from a kernel and a shell and add only what YOU want the system to have. Arch Linux is therefore the obvious choice for me.

      --
      Now, if you'll excuse me, I have backups to corrupt.
  12. Come on Microsoft by bravecanadian · · Score: 1

    This should have been in there from day one.

    I want fewer devices to buy / install / maintain and there is no reason why the Xbox one can't be the one box I need for all my TV-related entertainment. It has the horsepower and it is basically a PC anyways.

    You should have been on the ball getting the broadcasters, streamers like Netflix/HBO/Amazon, TV tuner, DVR, Windows Store for movie rentals etc. all together in a one stop shop on the Xbox.

    For now I'll just settle for a UI that isn't clunky and slow like it is running in 1980.. seriously the Xbox one interface is terrible.

  13. Wake Up Microsoft Shareholders by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Time to oust the skipper before Microsoft becomes a replay of the Titanic.

  14. They are delivering what the crime bosses want by HannethCom · · Score: 1

    Yes, Microsoft is delivering on exactly what the MPAA and RIAA want!
    I call them crime bosses because their counterparts in Canada, CRIA & MPA-C, have both been found breaking the law on multiple occasions.

    --
    Microsoft, Apple, Google, Amazon what's the difference? All steal money from devs and control with walled gardens.
  15. Redesign WMC for Windows 10 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I currently have a HTPC running windows 7 with a 6 tuner card and a cable card. I currently have 18TB of storage on it and it works great. MS should get their shit together and release a new version of WMC for Windows 10, and let Xbone/360 as well as any windows PC be a media extender. That whole architecture worked pretty damn well. All the content I could ever want to record and I could watch it on any PC that is connected to an Xbox. The only real problem that WMC needs to fix is tying the recordings to the hardware. If your hardware dies, you lose all of your recordings that are copy protected. The easy fix is to switch and tie this to your Xbox Live account instead, which is portable and they can just limit the active logged in users watching WMC content to something reasonable like 3 or 5.

    1. Re:Redesign WMC for Windows 10 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sorry, meant to say "any Xbox connected to my HTPC".

  16. Clutching pearls instead of grabbing balls by Overzeetop · · Score: 1

    MS has always rolled over where entertainment IP was involved. They're so absolutely frightened of the MPAA/RIAA's shadow they'll do just about anything to avoid conflict.

    --
    Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
  17. TiVo's time shift patent is still active by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ... for another year or two. TiVo's new owner, Rovi, might be more rigid about third parties using the IP or require paying more for the privilege until the patent finally expires.

  18. I doubt many will miss it by essbase_nerd · · Score: 1

    I absolutely love Windows Media Center on Windows 7.

    I have a quad tuner Win7 Media Center machine with a dedicated remote, and it's difficult to beat the DVR experience. I'd take it over DirectTV and FiOS's DVRs any day. But as great as it was (and still is), it was a flop with consumers. The dedicated media center extender hardware products were killed off, and the MCE laptops from Dell and HP disappeared (built-in tuners, remotes, dedicated button for "TV"), and they eventually just killed WMC altogether. Too bad, I think it really worked well.

    The XBOX has one thing going for it.. it's already located in family rumpas room and connected to a big display, but I don't think was going to be enough for it to get traction. In my experience trying to use an XBOX 360 to watch TV, the menus are a mess, and it's difficult to fight past the ads, the tiles, the recommendations, the apps, settings, required XBOX account sign-in, forced software updates and restarts that take 5 minutes.

    Average consumers need a dedicated DVR, and I salute MS for recognizing that.

  19. XBOX One DVR by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Nuts, was looking forward to this update. Was going to dump my TiVo after the update. :-(

  20. Sad to hear this... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'm sorry to hear that DVR functionality will not make the December update. Was looking forward consolidating devices & discontinuing my TiVo service. Such a shame. Would love to hear there reasoning behind decision.