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Xbox 360 As IPTV Cable Box
Microsoft's grand strategy reveals itself
While there has been quite a number of broadband video services launched, it's the Xbox 360 video service that has surprised analysts by doing well. At CES, Microsoft unveiled plans to expand the unit's role in the video market. Gizmodo has details, and apparently the 360 IPTV functionality will be available to any of Microsoft's IPTV partners (a long list, which includes AT&T), who will be able to use the 360 as an IPTV set-top. Vanilla 360 users will see an expansion of video content as well. All of this content will require larger hard drives, though Microsoft remains mum on the price and size of future drives. Kotaku has additional hands-on impressions.
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inteller
Sociopaths always win.
join:2003-12-08
Tulsa, OK

1 recommendation

inteller

Member

Holy shit.....

This means more than a stupid iPhone announcement.

Microsoft just laid down major 0wnage on Wii and PS3.

Maxo
Your tax dollars at work.
Premium Member
join:2002-11-04
Tallahassee, FL

Maxo

Premium Member

Re: Holy shit.....

said by inteller:

Microsoft just laid down major 0wnage on Wii and PS3.
I don' think so. I think the all-in-one multimedia center design of the 360 will be a selling point for the 360. There are still going to be lots of people out there who aren't interested in an all-in-one media center, and won't be interested in spending $300+ on a game console.
There will be others who will still by the PS3 because they don't mind spending the extra dough, and aren't interested in the all-in-one media center either.
In all, this is good for the 360, but won't be the sticking point for most consumers when choosing a next-gen console.

watashi no ni dolares desu.
chemaupr
join:2005-06-06
Alexandria, VA

chemaupr

Member

Re: Holy shit.....

What you fail to see here is that the IPTV operator will be offering DIRECTLY the XBOX box. That is almost free marketing for the 360 in that market. Also, they could (they wont more likely) lease it as they do with the STB, that will be a better option as you can upgrade every other year instead of buying a new xbox.

I use the 360 with my media center pc and I loved all the options it gives me, and since my pc is the dvr right know i have a 400gb hard drive for that. Anyhow, a 360 stand alone media center will be great. And as I said, since the iptv provider will be offering it directly, it will sell(or lease) even more.

Fluker
join:2005-04-07
West Lafayette, IN

Fluker

Member

Re: Holy shit.....

I'd love a 360 just for the mce capability. Though cheaper extenders are available... It's an xbox too! haha yeah I know I'm lame.

Maxo
Your tax dollars at work.
Premium Member
join:2002-11-04
Tallahassee, FL

Maxo to chemaupr

Premium Member

to chemaupr
I agree it's both a great media center and a great game console. I don't think the IPTV is going to be the tipping point that puts Wii and PS3 in the ground.
shoan
join:2006-02-27
Benton, AR

shoan

Member

Re: Holy shit.....

I can not believe that you think this wil put the WII into the ground. The thing is track to out sale the 360 in no time flat. The sales numbers have been insane. by using the 360 as iptv set top box is in no way going to stop the Wii. Take a moment to look at the numbers that nintendo is selling and then you will realize that the only console hurting right now is the ps3 due to lack of software.

Maxo
Your tax dollars at work.
Premium Member
join:2002-11-04
Tallahassee, FL

Maxo

Premium Member

Re: Holy shit.....

Was that intended to be replied to me? I was saying the exact opposite of "this wil put the WII into the ground."
shoan
join:2006-02-27
Benton, AR

shoan

Member

Re: Holy shit.....

I am so sorry I missed the "don't" just the way i read and the text wrap around lead to the exact opposite of what you said being conveyed so sorry about that mistake on my part.

Maxo
Your tax dollars at work.
Premium Member
join:2002-11-04
Tallahassee, FL

Maxo

Premium Member

Re: Holy shit.....

It's cool. We've all done that at least once.

TBC1
join:2002-05-31
Florence, KY
·Cincinnati Bell
·Charter

TBC1 to shoan

Member

to shoan
Actually, if you go by total numbers since the Wiis release, the 360 out sold it through the end of 2006 by over 200,000 units.

The Wii is simply a fad right now, and will go the way the N64 did when people get burned out on the wand remote and the typical Nintendo fare of games. They would have made a much bigger splash, had they built a console that could support at least 720p graphics, and made games for that.

Maxo
Your tax dollars at work.
Premium Member
join:2002-11-04
Tallahassee, FL

Maxo

Premium Member

Re: Holy shit.....

said by TBC1:

Actually, if you go by total numbers since the Wiis release, the 360 out sold it through the end of 2006 by over 200,000 units.
I am curious if this is more of a limitation of availability of Wiis, or interest from the public.

tiger72
SexaT duorP
Premium Member
join:2001-03-28
Saint Louis, MO

tiger72

Premium Member

Re: Holy shit.....

availability. It's sold out everywhere.

Maxo
Your tax dollars at work.
Premium Member
join:2002-11-04
Tallahassee, FL

Maxo

Premium Member

Re: Holy shit.....

said by tiger72:

availability. It's sold out everywhere.
This must be the thread for me being misunderstood.
That's what I was saying. It probably couldn't outsell the 360 as there weren't enough sets available to purchase to outsell it.

tiger72
SexaT duorP
Premium Member
join:2001-03-28
Saint Louis, MO

tiger72

Premium Member

Re: Holy shit.....

said by Maxo:
said by tiger72:

availability. It's sold out everywhere.
This must be the thread for me being misunderstood.
That's what I was saying. It probably couldn't outsell the 360 as there weren't enough sets available to purchase to outsell it.
I think it's because there weren't enough Wii's produced to meet demand.

Captain Obvious to the rescue!!!!

TechieZero
Tools Are Using Me
Premium Member
join:2002-01-25
Lithia, FL

TechieZero to chemaupr

Premium Member

to chemaupr
said by chemaupr:

What you fail to see here is that the IPTV operator will be offering DIRECTLY the XBOX box. That is almost free marketing for the 360 in that market. Also, they could (they wont more likely) lease it as they do with the STB, that will be a better option as you can upgrade every other year instead of buying a new xbox.

I use the 360 with my media center pc and I loved all the options it gives me, and since my pc is the dvr right know i have a 400gb hard drive for that. Anyhow, a 360 stand alone media center will be great. And as I said, since the iptv provider will be offering it directly, it will sell(or lease) even more.
MS wanted to do this kind of thing YEARS ago. But when they approached other companies like Disney for example --- Disney took the attitude of "How much are *YOU* going to pay *US* for the *PRIVILEGE* of showing our content on your system?"

Competition is always good.

wifi4milez
Big Russ, 1918 to 2008. Rest in Peace
join:2004-08-07
New York, NY

wifi4milez to Maxo

Member

to Maxo
said by Maxo:
said by inteller:

Microsoft just laid down major 0wnage on Wii and PS3.
I don' think so. I think the all-in-one multimedia center design of the 360 will be a selling point for the 360. There are still going to be lots of people out there who aren't interested in an all-in-one media center, and won't be interested in spending $300+ on a game console.
There will be others who will still by the PS3 because they don't mind spending the extra dough, and aren't interested in the all-in-one media center either.
In all, this is good for the 360, but won't be the sticking point for most consumers when choosing a next-gen console.

watashi no ni dolares desu.
I disagree. I can tell you right now that if I knew that purchasing an Xbox 360 would 1) enable me to get IPTV, and 2) allow me to actually own my cable box I would go buy one right now. I would be willing to bet that many other people will feel the same way.
sat2
join:2001-01-25
WA

sat2 to Maxo

Member

to Maxo
I bought a XBOX 360 (premium bundle) just for connecting my TV (bedroom) with my Vista MCE PC - geez, I dont even play games that much (anymore), and I think this was a good investment still.

phattieg
join:2001-04-29
Winter Park, FL

phattieg to inteller

Member

to inteller

Re: Holy s....

The sad part is now that everyone has the hardware capable of IPTV (if you own a 360), someone will soon find a hack to get you all the stations for free...

TechieZero
Tools Are Using Me
Premium Member
join:2002-01-25
Lithia, FL

2 edits

TechieZero

Premium Member

Proprietary Needs To Go

What annoys me is the $100 for a 20 gig drive and almost 1/2 of that is used by system/game crap.

$100 for a 20 gig drive?!?!?!

We need some 3rd party action here.

inteller
Sociopaths always win.
join:2003-12-08
Tulsa, OK

1 edit

2 recommendations

inteller

Member

Re: Proprietary Needs To Go

this will most likely only be available on the v2 360 coming out later this year with a 120Gb HD and HDMI.

this makes Apple TV DoA.....except to the 'me too' buyers who will get anything that Steve Jobs shits out.

TechieZero
Tools Are Using Me
Premium Member
join:2002-01-25
Lithia, FL

1 edit

TechieZero

Premium Member

Re: Proprietary Needs To Go

said by inteller:

this will most likely only be available on the v2 360 coming out later this year with a 120Gb HD and HDMI.

this makes Apple TV DoA.....except to the 'me too' buyers who will get anything that Steve Jobs shits out.

Naw...they aren't going to piss off the 13 million XBOX 360 users already out there. I am sure they are just going to sell a bigger HDD at a larger cost of course.

It just irks me that I can get a 300 gig drive for $200 elsewhere.

inteller
Sociopaths always win.
join:2003-12-08
Tulsa, OK

1 recommendation

inteller

Member

Re: Proprietary Needs To Go

said by TechieZero:

Naw...they aren't going to piss off the 13 million XBOX 360 users already out there.
uh, yeah they will. they may offer a bigger HD for expansion, but the service may only be available if you are detected as using one of those IPTV providers.

KAD Imaging
Just Shoot It
Premium Member
join:2002-09-21
Hialeah, FL

KAD Imaging to inteller

Premium Member

to inteller
said by inteller:

this will most likely only be available on the v2 360 coming out later this year with a 120Gb HD and HDMI.

this makes Apple TV DoA.....except to the 'me too' buyers who will get anything that Steve Jobs shits out.

LMAO!! inteller See Profile FTW!!

kfsutops
Premium Member
join:2002-08-19
Lutz, FL

kfsutops to inteller

Premium Member

to inteller
said by inteller:

t

this makes Apple TV DoA.....except to the 'me too' buyers who will get anything that Steve Jobs shits out.

You are kidding right? The streaming feature from another computer on the XBOX 360 only allows for WMV, unless you jump through hoops and tap on your head three times.

hayabusa3303
Over 200 mph
Premium Member
join:2005-06-29
Florence, SC

hayabusa3303 to TechieZero

Premium Member

to TechieZero
Excatly

You can already put a 200g hd in the ps3 now.

For the 360 i wander if the bios is locked to 20gigs or not.

ReVeLaTeD
Premium Member
join:2001-11-10
San Diego, CA

ReVeLaTeD

Premium Member

Re: Proprietary Needs To Go

said by hayabusa3303:

Excatly

You can already put a 200g hd in the ps3 now.

200GB...for what?

I mean, if you think about it, the 360 is better poised to make use of bigger space. Plus you're not forced to download or get on Live - even though Silver is free - but the 360 is in a much better position to take advantage of greater space. The PS3 has its online deal and it has downloads, but I've seen the Store and it can't hold a candle to the Marketplace. I mean hell..when I can download high definition episodes of TV shows or movies you know it's a winner. I would like to see a better organization method to the Marketplace; there's just way too much content now and scrolling takes way too long. C'mon MS, search box please.

I know the X360 supports "Removable Storage". IT supports my Blackberry Pearl with memory stick, but does not support my USB HDDs. I imagine the price of the 20GB HDD going down significantly - probably to about $40 - and release of a 100GB version for $149.

Swingerhead
Premium Member
join:2004-04-06
Richmond, VA

Swingerhead

Premium Member

Re: Proprietary Needs To Go

So is it blocking the use of other USB hard drives? It sure makes me glad I am sticking with my PC. Never will any motherboard maker block you from installing x brand of hard drives because they want you to buy Seagate only.

cableties
Premium Member
join:2005-01-27

cableties to ReVeLaTeD

Premium Member

to ReVeLaTeD
The Dev version of the 360 has a 100G drive so I imagine some update/upgrade will be released.
There are already two USB ports on back of the HD-DVD drive (one for wifi adaptor as the HD-DVD takes up the original) so there is still one port for external drive.

All I care about is if they make a 360.2, it better damn well be quieter.

And in black!

hayabusa3303
Over 200 mph
Premium Member
join:2005-06-29
Florence, SC

hayabusa3303

Premium Member

Re: Proprietary Needs To Go

said by cableties:

And in black!
Wishful thinking on that part..
Chosen13
join:2001-08-05
Orange Park, FL

Chosen13

Member

Re: Proprietary Needs To Go

You can purchase a black case for them now. I can't post any links (damn work firewall), but google "black knight 360 case" and you'll find it. Runs about $50, I think. Comes with all the tools you need to do the swap.

As for mass storage, I've hooked up a hard drive through a usb-to-ide adapter and yes, I could play media from it (mp3, wav, jpg, wmv). But I was not able to select it as an option for saving games or storing downloads. It's not even an option for moving files around. Kind of disappointing. Would love to see a hard/soft hack for allowing any size HDD in lieu of the 20Gb.

-Chosen1™

hayabusa3303
Over 200 mph
Premium Member
join:2005-06-29
Florence, SC

hayabusa3303

Premium Member

Re: Proprietary Needs To Go

If you do that you will Void the warranty on the unit. He is talking about a factory one that doesnt void it out.

AmnChode
Premium Member
join:2001-03-27
San Antonio, TX

AmnChode to ReVeLaTeD

Premium Member

to ReVeLaTeD
said by ReVeLaTeD:

I know the X360 supports "Removable Storage". IT supports my Blackberry Pearl with memory stick, but does not support my USB HDDs. I imagine the price of the 20GB HDD going down significantly - probably to about $40 - and release of a 100GB version for $149.
You sure about that. I have a little 40gig Seagate USB drive and was able to hook it up via the front ports a read from it. Or are you talking about saving movies and such to it? (didn't try that)

Might have to get froggy tonight...hehehe

ReVeLaTeD
Premium Member
join:2001-11-10
San Diego, CA

ReVeLaTeD

Premium Member

Re: Proprietary Needs To Go

Then maybe it's a BIOS issue. My lowest drive is 60. I didn't try that, nor my 120. But I did try my 300 and it didn't work. Didn't even acknowledge it, not to read, not to save to, nothing. I would love to be able to use one of my drives as I have 4 of them.

I'll try my 60 and 120 when I get home.
ReVeLaTeD

ReVeLaTeD to TechieZero

Premium Member

to TechieZero
Gig. Not Meg.

TechieZero
Tools Are Using Me
Premium Member
join:2002-01-25
Lithia, FL

TechieZero

Premium Member

Re: Proprietary Needs To Go

said by ReVeLaTeD:

Gig. Not Meg.
yeah I fixed it. Thanks

tc1uscg
join:2005-03-09
Gulfport, MS

tc1uscg to TechieZero

Member

to TechieZero
NO, we just don't need a bunch of morons standing in line 3 days before it's release to make MS think it's a "must have at any cost" product. If there is no demand (rather created by MS or those nimrods skipping school to spend a summers worth of yard mowing cash on said product, the price will drop and become realistic.

As far as all this Wii vs XX vs XX.. give me a break. For kids, NOTHING holds a candle to Nintendo and that's the Wii included. We had the SNES, N64, Cube.. all replaced by the Wii. We also have a 360, ps2 and sega saturn (hey.. it's great for the RV). Of all those systems, the Nintendo systems are geared more for family diversity.

hayabusa3303
Over 200 mph
Premium Member
join:2005-06-29
Florence, SC

hayabusa3303

Premium Member

Re: Proprietary Needs To Go

said by tc1uscg:

Of all those systems, the Nintendo systems are geared more for family diversity.
IM sure Nintendo thought of something else for family too
»The Wii: A Bastion Of Smut

tc1uscg
join:2005-03-09
Gulfport, MS

tc1uscg

Member

Re: Proprietary Needs To Go

said by hayabusa3303:

said by tc1uscg:

Of all those systems, the Nintendo systems are geared more for family diversity.
IM sure Nintendo thought of something else for family too
»The Wii: A Bastion Of Smut
Could it be because parents want little johnny to have the latest system, goes out, buys it, hooks it up and doesn't realize it can browse the net just like a PC? The open is not plug and play therefore, Nintendo doesn't deserve all or part of the blame. Most routers have the abilities to have parental control. I have 2 that does and ones a belkin and other a USRobotics. If a parent hands over the system, sets it up for online access or better yet, has there own wifi system wide open with no security,not requiring any setup, then they DESERVE to get a little shock and awe and while they sit on the couch and watch little johnny make Mii's that look like hooter girls,,, they can gasp after they remark how cute... "How about a nice game of chess?" (War Games).

tiger72
SexaT duorP
Premium Member
join:2001-03-28
Saint Louis, MO

tiger72

Premium Member

why tie it to a cable/phone operator?

I don't know how this setup would work, but assuming the IPTV would go over ones internet connection, would those with 20mbps+ connections be able to view HD video from 3rd party providers?

So let's say I have an xbox 360 with the TV capabilites.
I have Verizon's FIOS internet.
There's a 3rd party IPTV broadcaster on the internet (not VZ) which i'd rather have as my IPTV provider...

Would there be a way to do that, or does IPTV not work that way?
disc
join:2005-12-31
Raleigh, NC

disc

Member

Re: why tie it to a cable/phone operator?

said by tiger72:

So let's say I have an xbox 360 with the TV capabilites.
I have Verizon's FIOS internet.
There's a 3rd party IPTV broadcaster on the internet (not VZ) which i'd rather have as my IPTV provider...

Would there be a way to do that, or does IPTV not work that way?
You're talking about video over the net instead of IPTV. The easiest way to tell the difference is by looking at who the subscriber pays. With IPTV, the subscriber pays their local telco/carrier for service. With video over the net, the subscriber pays a web site.

My understanding is that microsoft is targetting the xbox at supporting video for both markets. In the case of video over the net, the subscriber accesses content using xbox live marketplace, and I imagine they use microsoft points to pay for the content, and microsoft pays the content owners. I can dig up the URLs for some of this if needed.

RadioDoc

join:2000-05-11
La Grange, IL

RadioDoc to tiger72

to tiger72
That's the beauty of IPTV. It can come from anyone, anywhere on the 'net, to anything connected with a "player". It's also one primary reason for the net neutrality screeching.

It's also got some cable folks crapping their pants.
JerryTongue
join:2003-04-01
Auburn, WA

JerryTongue

Member

Server+2 360's+2 PC's

Watching the CES show and my house being a big gaming center for both PC and XBox I see the Server being the center of it all. I do like the fact I can do it all from my XBox. You also dont need a big HD for the 360. I store game saves and such on my PC right now the way I'm set up, plus I watch all my media on my 360 through my PC. People dont relise that if you dont have a HD TV with AGP or DVI hookups on the TV the other choice you have is S-video which we know is junk to do things on a TV from your PC, with the 360 you dont need s-video, AGP, or DVI and it will look good with the cables that come with the 360. Now with Vista? it all comes together sweet.
You watch, the 360 will take the lead because when people see what it all does on a network and for the price it's hands down.

•••
tthnow
join:2006-06-07
Oakland, CA

tthnow

Member

Cancel My Cable Serivce?

Does this mean I can cancel my cable service and use iptv instead? or is it in conjunction with my cable service? confused.
chemaupr
join:2005-06-06
Alexandria, VA

chemaupr

Member

Re: Cancel My Cable Serivce?

first, you have to be on a area that is iptv is offered. (ATT or VZ for example) Then, ATT or VZ will offered you this option. I believe ATT will be the first one to try it out.
tthnow
join:2006-06-07
Oakland, CA

tthnow

Member

Xbox-scene Info

Got this from the site above. It sucks already!

>> From thunor.spaces.live.com:
quote:
In talking to Microsoft today at their booth I discovered that the Podcasts speculation that this really won't be all that different from current cable TV is correct:
* The service will be offered in the US thorugh AT&T's lightspeed, which provides 35Mbps in bandwidth to the home. So AT&T would replace your local cable company and ISP.
* This bandwidth should be enough for 2 HD channels and 2 SD channels to be viewed simultaneously. The service will be comparable to existing cable offerings, only the provider will be AT&T.
* Availablity will be determined by AT&T's buildout of infratructure up to the last mile (The last mile will remain copper.).
* The service will be available with a regular set top box that is not an Xbox 360. However, with an Xbox 360 you get some nice features like the ability to access Xbox live (e.g. chat, accept game invitations) while wathing TV.
* For homes with an existing home network, your router will need to be replaced with a router that has special QOS (qulaity of service) features that enable the system to work well.

vinnie97
Premium Member
join:2003-12-05
US

vinnie97

Premium Member

Re: Xbox-scene Info

35MB? I think that's a typo....Uverse ("AT&T's Lightspeed") is currently being offered at 25MB total. Perhaps by the time this launches they will offer more (one can only hope).
bmn
? ? ?

join:2001-03-15
hiatus

bmn

Sounds like the Microsoft fan boys are getting there day...

From all of the comments slanted against Apple, it must be Microsoft fan boy day.

•••••••••

clickwir
join:2001-06-21
Dickson City, PA

clickwir

Member

not new

More like "MS finally thinks broadband will be upto speed for this release of the Xbox, for IPTV"

MS had full intentions of the original XBOX to be an IPTV box, but broadband was too slow then. It's now getting to the point where it might be feesable within the next year or two that there will be enough bandwidth at peoples home to make it a reality.

This isn't a "grand strategy", MS created the XBOX to be a media center in the first place. Gaming is just what they knew would get it sold and into peoples homes. To get a foot hold.

To be a media center box was their plain out in the open plan ever since the original xbox.

Oh, and Wii and PS3 are right there waiting for broadband to catch up too. It's not like MS is doing something new.

wwdubbia
join:2002-06-03
Clinton, NY

wwdubbia

Member

better late than never

this story is like 3 or 4 days old and it's just hitting here now?