More Sources Confirm Xbox, Comcast, FiOS Hook Up Though Just How Disruptive This Will be Remains to be Seen.... Earlier this month rumblings that Microsoft would soon be making their Xbox 360 TV play got a little louder, with reports the company was planning to not only launch live television services, but that they were planning a partnership with Comcast and Verizon to use the 360 as a set top box. Additional anonymous sources confirm these plans to Bloomberg, noting that Microsoft's in talks with "dozens or hundreds of additional video content suppliers" to grow the content choices available on the Xbox. It remains unclear just how disruptive Microsoft's willing to be, since earlier reports suggested Microsoft isn't interested in rocking the boat with a serious Internet video service, and will make most of this content available only if you have an existing cable TV subscription.
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  vpokoPremium
join:2003-07-03
Boston, MA | So... Is this content that one would already get by having Comcast? I don't see any benefit to accessing the same content from an Xbox. | |
|  | | | Re: So... The only real benefit could be in interactive and on demand video. | |
| |  cdruGo ColtsPremium,MVM
join:2003-05-14
Fort Wayne, IN
kudos:7 | said by vpoko:I don't see any benefit to accessing the same content from an Xbox. I don't have a STB for my bedroom TV, but I do have a 360 that I stream movies too currently. I have guarded optimism for what this might offer for me. Besides, any type of interface has got to be better then the POS interface my Motorola DVR has now. | |
| | |  GbcueP.E.Premium
join:2001-09-30
Santa Rosa, CA
kudos:8 | Re: So... Maybe it means you can use the 360 as a STB without monthly "rental" fee.
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My Blog 2.2 | |
| | | | cdruGo ColtsPremium,MVM
join:2003-05-14
Fort Wayne, IN
kudos:7 | Re: So... said by Gbcue:Maybe it means you can use the 360 as a STB without monthly "rental" fee.
FTFY | |
| | | |  BF69Premium
join:2004-07-28
Camden, TN | said by Gbcue:Maybe it means you can use the 360 as a STB without monthly "rental" fee.
A) there will be a fee
B) I'm pretty sure a XBL gold account will be required. For those that normally don't have one that in of itself is a fee. | |
| | | | | | well they you will get hit with the outlet fee. | |
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| | BF69Premium
join:2004-07-28
Camden, TN | said by cdru:said by vpoko:I don't see any benefit to accessing the same content from an Xbox. I don't have a STB for my bedroom TV, but I do have a 360 that I stream movies too currently. I have guarded optimism for what this might offer for me. Besides, any type of interface has got to be better then the POS interface my Motorola DVR has now. Don't forget any useage will count against any caps your ISP has. | |
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|  r81984Fair and BalancedPremium
join:2001-11-14
Katy, TX | The only benefit would be if your cable company does not find a reason to make you rent the own xbox you already own.
If this actually saves you a rental fee then it is great.
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...brought to you by Carl's Jr. | |
| | |  dvd536as Mr. Pink as they comePremium
join:2001-04-27
Phoenix, AZ
kudos:4 | Re: So... said by r81984:The only benefit would be if your cable company does not find a reason to make you rent the own xbox you already own.
If this actually saves you a rental fee then it is great.
There will still be a cablecard rental fee!
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Oh YES! let me drop everything i'm doing regardless of who it affects to deal with your petty little problem! | |
| | | | cdruGo ColtsPremium,MVM
join:2003-05-14
Fort Wayne, IN
kudos:7 | Re: So... said by dvd536:There will still be a cablecard rental fee!
Where are you going to plug in the cablecard at? If it's streaming to the XBOX, it could be considered a protected video path in the same way that the XBOX can already stream cable card content from a HDHomeRun Prime or Ceton card. | |
| | | | r81984Fair and BalancedPremium
join:2001-11-14
Katy, TX Reviews:
 ·row44
 ·AT&T U-Verse
 ·AT&T DSL Service
| said by dvd536:said by r81984:The only benefit would be if your cable company does not find a reason to make you rent the own xbox you already own.
If this actually saves you a rental fee then it is great.
There will still be a cablecard rental fee! Xbox cannot use a cable card so I imagine they will make you rent the xbox you already own.
Cable companies are not happy with chargin $80+ a month for just extended basic so they make a killing of rental fees. They are not going to give a solution to the customer that gets around paying an extra $5 to $15 per TV.
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...brought to you by Carl's Jr. | |
| | | | | JPLPremium
join:2007-04-04
Downingtown, PA
kudos:2
1 edit | Re: So... Where is all the talk about the cable companies making you rent your 360 coming from? There is actually precedent here - Microsoft has had such a deal with U-Verse for a year now. They charge you for an adapter... one time... and that's it. The whole point of this set up is to give you the ability to stream TV programming without the need for a STB... which means: no cable cards (why you need a cable card to stream IP... don't understand that one), and no STB rental fees. That's the point.
Will the gaming console fully replace the need for all STBs? Of course not. I can't imagine using my Wii as a full time STB. But if you have a TV somewhere in the house that gets limited use (say in a spare bedroom), I think this is a great solution. Would I go out and buy an Xbox JUST to have this? No. but if I had an Xbox, and was already paying for their live service, this would be a great benefit to me.
Plus - to address those who believe this is some cabal between MS and these cable companies - Verizon and Comcast both showcased an IP solution using OTHER systems. For example, Verizon showcased a streaming service at last year's CES using a Samsung BD player. That's where all this is headed. Hell, Verizon is even talking about opening up FiOS TV service to everyone - even if they're nowhere near a Verizon footprint, and there's no fiber for miles (imagine running a FiOS TV streaming ap over your Comcast HSI connection, e.g.).
This is a step - a small one - toward that kind of reality. Will we ever get to the point where you're running FiOS over Comcast HSI? Who knows. But I DO know that at least for Verizon the notion of true IP streaming, at least throughout your house, is one of their stated goals (e.g. they're putting out an iPad ap that allows you to stream to your iPad without the need for an STB - authentication is handled by your NIM/router, and there is no rental fee for the ap on your iPad).
As for losing rental fees... that's small potatoes in the grand scheme of things. One of the benefits that cable companies used to use over DBS was what? You don't need a box on every TV! You don't need to pay for all those nasty rental fees! Well, now that cable is pretty much all digital, and encryption has done a great job of keeping cable piracy at bay, cable companies have since stopped with that advertizing, since it's no longer true. Imagine the benefit of being able to stream would give you as a cable company in attracting customers.
Again it's not a full-up solution. If you JUST had IP streaming for all your TV service... that could be a problem with hitting caps (for Comcast... FiOS currently has no caps), and with the number of concurrent streams you can access - but again, as part of a full-house solution, the ability to stream on some random screen somewhere is a great benefit (e.g. I would LOVE it if I could stream to my laptop - I use my laptop now to watch Netflix when the other TVs are currently being used... it would be really nice to be able to stream live TV that way - btw, if anyone doubts that content providers don't see the benefit - explain why Netflix offers Straz streaming - live streaming of their base Starz channel... or why FiOS now offers live streaming of the suite of ESPN channels). | |
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| | | said by vpoko:Is this content that one would already get by having Comcast? I don't see any benefit to accessing the same content from an Xbox.
are you serious? STB's are retardedly slow, quirky, and awkward to use. Using a remote to interface with multiple columns and rows is idiotic. having the power (speed), interface, and inputs of an xbox+gamepad and especially a wireless mouse/keyboard would be the biggest TV experience improvement since TiVo launched. plus, combining traditional TV with the xbox's network connection into one box could allow you to download apps that can display additional information alongside the TV programming. Imagine having your fantasy football app running in PiP or scrolling across the bottom of your screen as you're watching a game...
I'm not sure what MS has planned, but the potential to be PHENOMENAL is easily recognizable. | |
| | | JPLPremium
join:2007-04-04
Downingtown, PA
kudos:2 | Re: So... said by Somnambul33t:said by vpoko:Is this content that one would already get by having Comcast? I don't see any benefit to accessing the same content from an Xbox.
are you serious? STB's are retardedly slow, quirky, and awkward to use. Using a remote to interface with multiple columns and rows is idiotic. having the power (speed), interface, and inputs of an xbox+gamepad and especially a wireless mouse/keyboard would be the biggest TV experience improvement since TiVo launched. plus, combining traditional TV with the xbox's network connection into one box could allow you to download apps that can display additional information alongside the TV programming. Imagine having your fantasy football app running in PiP or scrolling across the bottom of your screen as you're watching a game... I'm not sure what MS has planned, but the potential to be PHENOMENAL is easily recognizable. I have to agree with you on this. Why people are getting torqued up over having another choice for distributing video in your home... I just don't get that. If going this route doesn't appeal to someone, then don't use it! It's not like STBs are going away. I'm struggling to see how having yet another choice is a bad thing. | |
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| | That is the problem No one is willing to rock the boat. The minute content owners decide to get rid of middle man you will see an explosion of consolidation in order to get content under same roof as those providing date connection.. | |
| | | No Cable TV Here.. ..and thank the heavens for that! Having to have my TV watching at the tender mercies of Microsoft I think would make me give it up permanently.
*shudder*
This is good, tho. I hope they move forward with it. There've been a few times we've come close to caving in. That'll be one more reason for me to shoot it down 
Jim | |
| | GbcueP.E.Premium
join:2001-09-30
Santa Rosa, CA
kudos:8 | Re: No Cable TV Here.. Microsoft's STB software is pretty good. It's used by U-Verse's STBs. I like it. Much better than Charter's or Dish's.
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My Blog 2.2 | |
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 newviewEx .. Ex .. ExactlyPremium
join:2001-10-01
Parsonsburg, MD
kudos:1 | Well, let's see ... Comcast, Verizon & Microsoft ... you can pretty well tell it's gonna be expensive. | |
| |  Samus82Radly
join:2002-01-29
Alsip, IL | Re: Well, let's see ... already used by att uverse, you can use your xbox instead of a set to box. No monthly fees. It has been like this for about a year. | |
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 60127178K.U. Sweet 16Premium
join:2001-02-15
Wichita, KS
kudos:1 | Google I wonder how much this push has to do with Motorola selling their STB business to Google. | |
| | KearnstdElf WizardPremium
join:2002-01-22
Mullica Hill, NJ | Re: Google could be some of it. Google is about Data everywhere when the user wants it to be there. Content owners are about Data when they say you can have it and with ball aching restrictions applying.
Content owners also fear a Googlerola STB because if it runs Android they likely fear it being rooted and things like locking out ports on the back would be bypassed by a rooted STB allowing someone to do something horrid like oh... back up the recordings stored on their DVR or even more horrid to a content owner... stream the video over the LAN port without paying an extra fee.
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[65 Arcanist]Filan(High Elf) Zone: Broadband Reports | |
| | fiberguyMy views are my own.Premium
join:2005-05-20
kudos:3 | Microsoft has been pushing to either back, or get into the cable industry as early as 1995 as I can remember when the invested a very large sum of money into Comcast. They've clearly wanted to integrate themselves somehow for a very long time. There has been little bits of involvement with M/S for years now.. but as of late, and with the quickly changing landscape out there, the pushes are getting larger and much more predominant is all. | |
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BF69Premium
join:2004-07-28
Camden, TN | Just as stupid as HBO-Go Can't get HBO-Go unless you have HBO. Can't get Comcast content unless you already have Comcast. Is there a point? | |
|  IowaCowboyWant to go back to IowaPremium
join:2010-10-16
Springfield, MA
 ·Comcast
·Verizon Broadban..
| CableCards, anyone? I wonder if they are going to cough up a console with a digital cable tuner and CableCard slots.
Usually gear with digital cable capabilities is outright expensive. I paid upwards of $299 for my TiVo boxes in July of 2010. I also bought the lifetime subscriptions for them as well.
They would sell many more consoles if they put CableCard slots in them because FiOS and Comcast are not the only two cable companies in the United States. There are others like Time Warner, Mediacom, and independent companies like I'mON (formerly McLeod USA, located in Cedar Rapids, IA). And the new FCC CableCard rules would make it less of a hassle. | |
| | BF69Premium
join:2004-07-28
Camden, TN | Re: CableCards, anyone? said by IowaCowboy:I wonder if they are going to cough up a console with a digital cable tuner and CableCard slots. Nope. heck I haven't seen a TV with a cable card slot in a long time. | |
| | | IowaCowboyWant to go back to IowaPremium
join:2010-10-16
Springfield, MA Reviews:
·Comcast
·Verizon Broadban..
| Re: CableCards, anyone? said by BF69:said by IowaCowboy:I wonder if they are going to cough up a console with a digital cable tuner and CableCard slots. Nope. heck I haven't seen a TV with a cable card slot in a long time. Maybe CableCards will make a comeback with the new FCC rules. The reason CableCards did not take off like they could have is the cable companies intentionally made them a nightmare by requiring tech installs and deliberately sending tech without them. The tech that did mine was a dedicated tech and went to other techs and hunted down a couple down as opposed to closing the job and setting up another appointment. I ordered two, he had one, went and got another. One was bad so he went out and got another. Cable companies hate CableCards as they don't want to lose their cash cow, aka the equipment rentals. They charge me $6.45 per month on my second cable card. The cable cards are the only Comcast owned equipment in my house. I bought my own EMTA when Comcast started selling them at Best Buy. | |
| | | | | | Re: CableCards, anyone? cablecards are already out-dated. Xbox as a STB and IPTV, even if streaming via a console, are already here and quickly picking up steam. i sold TVs for about 4 months in the heyday of CCs about 4 years ago and i never had a single customer ask me about CC compatibility. not a single one.
We're already passed the need for CCs. bring on android-powered STBs and streaming over existing devices/connections so we can finally have content delivered how and when we want it. | |
| | | | fiberguyMy views are my own.Premium
join:2005-05-20
kudos:3 | said by IowaCowboy:said by BF69:said by IowaCowboy:I wonder if they are going to cough up a console with a digital cable tuner and CableCard slots. Nope. heck I haven't seen a TV with a cable card slot in a long time. Maybe CableCards will make a comeback with the new FCC rules. The reason CableCards did not take off like they could have is the cable companies intentionally made them a nightmare by requiring tech installs and deliberately sending tech without them. The tech that did mine was a dedicated tech and went to other techs and hunted down a couple down as opposed to closing the job and setting up another appointment. I ordered two, he had one, went and got another. One was bad so he went out and got another. Cable companies hate CableCards as they don't want to lose their cash cow, aka the equipment rentals. They charge me $6.45 per month on my second cable card. The cable cards are the only Comcast owned equipment in my house. I bought my own EMTA when Comcast started selling them at Best Buy. You are 1000% absolutely and completely incorrect in your assesment there. "deliberately" sending techs with out cards huh? for the hundred or so orders that I ever got in my time I was never once sent in the field with a note from the boss to deliberately go with out a card. And, you ordered two and he only had one? That's your reasoning too? I can't even count the number of times it's happened where someone "ordered" 2 DVRs and I didn't have enough due to stocking reasons alone.. or that another customer decided to add another outlet and the next sub's box went to that customer, you know in order to improve customer service and make an unprepared customer happy. There's also the instance where a customer says he ordered more than 1 and didn't.. or there's the times where a customer DID in fact order more than 1 but the brain dead CSR only entered 1, not 2. There is just some equipment that a tech is only allowed to carry 1 of and must show the work order to the warehouse in order to get said equipment often due to low inventory. And yes, cable cards were never in big supply... wonder why? because they were never popular due to the fact that 1) there wasn't a flood of people running out to buy the crappy overpriced, under quality TV sets that took them, or 2) that most techs would tell the customer the difference between a cablecard and non cablecard TV and the customer said "screw that, give me a box"..
A lot of times a sales goon at best buy would sell a DCRTV to a customer and not tell the customer the limitations... guess how many times a customer would be furious when they were told no on demand, and in many/most cases, no guide. (The salesman of course never told them that - they must have been too busy selling those over priced monster cables and power conditioners.) I WILL say that it was funny when Best Buy came IN to the operation center meetings and pretty much asked us to stop telling the customers they didn't need the cables sold to them and to stop telling them "it was a waste of money since we supply them".. yup! They did!
What made cable card much of a failure for the most part is not just one thing.. and it CERTAINLY wasn't the cable company to blame. Cable card works.. it does what it's supposed to. However, like any new technology there is always going to be bugs and there was. But, let's not forget the 6 page bulletins, WEEKLY that came out which had a list of ALL THE TV MAKER'S KNOWN FIRMWARE ISSUES and the ANTICIPATED UPDATE release dates. Yup! The TV makers themselves had no f'ing idea how to make a device that worked correctly.
So while you sit here thinking you have all the answers and that it was some sort of cable company conspiracy, try actually getting all the facts together first. Your entire post was based on your own experience and yet you somehow apply it to the entire cable industry, and no doubt strongly influenced by the rantings of Karl here who is also largely biased and clueless, at many topics he discusses. | |
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