back to article Microsoft whips Apple with global Xbox TV deals

If the Xbox Live network was a cable operator it would be the largest such operator in the world, with 35 million customers, which is why Microsoft is turning the Xbox into an over-the-top TV delivery device – something it has dreamed of ever since it first made the Xbox one of its IPTV Mediaroom set-tops. Redmond announced …

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  1. Tom 38
    Thumb Up

    """Apple and others have tried to do is work with content creators, but against existing content operators"""

    Precisely, and its an utter fail. The kind of person who would buy an AppleTV (or a gTV for that matter) is going to want it instead of a STB, not as an additional one. Imagine a Sky box/AppleTV combo - or for that matter a 'Freeview' version.

    I've been predicting the homebrew PVR to go mainstream for several years, perhaps this year will be when this actually happens.

    1. Zy7ygy

      I would buy an Apple TV because of everything else it can do - act has a Wireless Bridge for my speakers, hub for connectivity, Media Centre and all for £99.

      Xbox? You are looking at £150 minimum for a DVD player.

      The best combination at the moment is Apple & PS3 - you have the games you want, Blu Ray and quality which just works.

      Fact.

      1. Ru
        Trollface

        "quality which just works"

        Obvious troll is obvious.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Hooray!

    I'm looking forward to tuning into cable and seeing a blue screen of death!

    1. Alexandre Strube

      I have a picture of a Xbox experiencing a BSOD at the latest gamescom in Germany.

    2. kain preacher

      Pssst

      I hate to break it to you but if you are using U-verse TV then you are using MS.

  3. guvna
    Thumb Up

    BBC - UK?

    Well, if Iplayer is finally coming to xbox, then I for one will be one happy customer.

    On the Wii, the quality is awful. I'd certainly be interested to know if they plan on using the HD streaming that you currently get with the pc version.

    I couldn't give two hoots about weather it's for gold or silver members or not. I'm a gold subscriber, and plan on doing so for the lifetime that I use my xbox, so any news of BBC coming to xbox is welcomed by me.

  4. James 51

    I wonder if it will be possible to watch tv from other countries this way i.e. watch canel+ in the uk. Even for a monthly fee this would be interesting. If they put english subtitles on even more so.

    1. TeeCee Gold badge
      Flame

      Fat bloody chance! It'll be IP geolocation locked like every other bloody thing.

      Already the deal that MS has with the Beeb for its back catalogue is IP restricted to the UK......who can get the Beeb services anyway(!)

      Now, you'd have thought that the "killer app" for TV delivery over the internet would be serving markets outside the usual availability of the programming in question. After all, if you are in the UK and want to see UK telly, you can bung an aerial on the roof, take a cable or put up a sat dish. No need for Xboxes, Apple wossanames or any other overly complex idiocies.

      Apparently not and those elsewhere are restricted to dodgy usage of Sky, fannying around with proxies and the providers in a game of whack-a-mole, or trying to understand what it is that's so important about Chris Waddle........

  5. str8g8
    Thumb Up

    PlayTV?

    I've been able to use my ps3 as a freeview PVR for ages now, with no subscription after the initial outlay for the playTV box (£35 on amazon) and no ugly set top box cluttering up my front room

    ... plus access to iplayer and other on demand services - for free

    ... and if you really want to pay for stuff there is pay per view from lovefilm

    however, this is on the uk, not sure how much of this is available worldwide

  6. miknik
    Happy

    Its a sensible evolution

    The console is becoming the media hub. They are low cost and its already hooked up to your tv, has dvd and/or bluray functionality so streaming media is the next sensible thing. When you already have millions out there then its a captive market.

    Why am I going to spend anything on Apple tv or whatever when my console does the same thing just as well?

    As an aside I'd love to know how well Kinect gesture control works, anyone tried it? Can you flick channels like a demon or do you just end up punching the missis by mistake?

  7. Chris Beach

    Worldwide

    It would be even better if MS could leverage it's size and size of xbox live to make some of these multi-national.

    Would love to use the US ESPN, but no for some reason we don't have a world wide network...oh wait...

    1. The BigYin

      And that is the problem

      You want to watch US ESPN (for me, sometimes I'd like Hulu).

      You are willing to pay.

      Can you get it? No.

      But, oh look, there's this other place that seems to meet your demand.

      Curious. Isn't that simply another example for the Free Market in effect?

  8. bobbles31

    Frankly here in the uk anything that loosens Murdochs grip on distribution is a good thing.

    Though considering what actually gets broadcast these days i probably wont be tuning in anyway.

    1. The BigYin

      Why can't the providers...

      ...simply host the content themselves and let any connected device consume?

      Sure, they may need a deal with a CDN or two and they may charge you, but I have no issue with that.

      I know it's all about licensing, and that is kinda my point. The old world model is dead.

  9. The BigYin
    Mushroom

    Walled Gardens...

    ...can piss right off.

    This this kind of shit that pushes people towards the "pirate" sites because it becomes so hard to get at the content, even content one has paid to view.

    It is cretinous in the extreme that various "pirate" sites provide a better service than the official ones. Hey, distributors/content-producers! There is ONE world, ONE Internet, ONE world-wide web so there should be ONE license. By all means do deals with different providers but let them, without restriction, distribute to who the hell they like for a fee (if any) they like. Different "stations" will still exist based on quality, price, language etc. and you will kill "piracy" almost overnight by giving the people what they want and are often quite willing to pay for.

    I pay my TV license, my cable is all paid for, I pay for my movies. Friggin' let me watch them you bastards! Let me stream the content I have bought and paid for over my network, I only have one set of eyes but am often not in the same room as the goggle-box; you utter, utter cock-heads!

    (Sorry for swears, but it is so frustrating I think it is justified)

  10. Christopher Rogers
    Gimp

    Will it do babestation?

  11. Matthew 17

    Xbox is hopeless for media

    It's just too damn loud, the constant sound of hoovering is beyond a joke, you have to keep it out in the open too to stop it overheating which just makes it louder.

    Be nice if they brought out a proper DVD-looking device (sort of like the Amiga CDTV) that could stack with the rest of your AV gear, that had silent fans in, that looked like a proper bit of kit rather than the Fisher Price toy that it does now, also sack off that hideously awful GUI, might be something worth having then as a device for media rather than just video games.

    1. J Thompson

      Power consuption

      I have the newer slim XBox360, and it's silent in comparison to the older models (especially with no DVD in the tray). I still get the impression that its power consumption is fairly reckless though, and that an Apple TV, Mac Mini or dedicated STB make for a more responsible choice when it comes to consuming video.

    2. Alex Connor

      My glossy xbox360 slim doesn't look like a fisher price toy, it doesn't look out of place at all next to my sky HD box and dvd/surround sound box.

      Also, it's quiet as hell when not using the dvd drive, and as i only use the dvd drive to install games to it's hard drive, then it's pretty quiet all the time. Sucks if you have the old style, which i used to have, but upgrading was totally worth it.

      I heard that 4OD is also coming to the xbox, so if they both stream HD then total win win for me, huzzah!

  12. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    That will teach you

    For buying an Xbox and expecting FOSS liberties.

    When you sup with the devil use a long spoon.

  13. skuba*steve
    Unhappy

    That would be exciting if.....

    My Xbox wasn't connected to my HDTV which....

    Is connected to my Sky+ HD box thus giving me all my Sky channels

    Is Connected to my PS3 thus giving me access to my Blu-Ray HD Content

    Has DNLA capability, which when coupled with my PC and PS3 Media Server gives me access to everything in the world ever

    Has Internet TV, including the BBC iPlayer HD content

    So, nothing here making me all that excited I'm afraid. If this has come 18 months ago,or even 12 months ago, I might have gotten excited over the BBC content, but its just too little too late I'm afraid.

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