Xbox To Get Live TV and Massive VOD Update 124
CNETNate writes "It's a global first for Microsoft, and massive news for Xbox owners. Redmond and the largest pay TV service in the UK — Sky, owned in part by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp — has tied a deal that brings simulcast TV, sports, entertainment shows, pay-per-view movies and back catalogue television to the Xbox 360. It's an entirely streamed service, offering no download-to-own content, and partly rivals the BBC iPlayer, which is available on UK PlayStation consoles and the Nintendo Wii. The service will go live later in the year at no cost to existing subscribers, and screenshots show it fits in seamlessly with the Xbox Live interface."
Also getting live TV (Score:2, Funny)
Launching soon, live goatse [goatse.fr] TV channel, and goatse on "demand".
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I hate the commercials on goatse TV
Availability? (Score:2)
Re:Availability? (Score:5, Informative)
Sky currently only operate in the UK - you can't buy SKY tv overseas - unless you have a UK based bank account - so I wonder if this means sky are becoming more global - or if this really is just content for the UK market only...and will Sony respond by cutting a deal with Viacom?
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sky is part of fox and they did own direct tv at o (Score:2)
sky is part of fox and they did own direct tv at one time also sky does not have real vod on there boxes at this this time and direct tv does.
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Since when is Rep of Ireland in the UK?
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Since when is Rep of Ireland in the UK?
OK my appologies - being Welsh myself I'm not exactly pro-uk either...
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OK my appologies - being Welsh myself I'm not exactly pro-uk either...
But like the rest of your countrymen, you're more than happy to accept money from Westminster to keep your country running.
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hmm, looks around, movies might be right
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http://wiki.answers.com/Q/In_what_year_did_England_take_over_Ireland
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"Millions of Xbox 360 owners in Britain and Ireland" Pretty sure this means it's just us in the UK
A bit of news for ya buddy... Ireland became independant in 1922!
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UK is "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland" in full.
So at a guess, "Britain and Ireland" can either mean "UK and Eire" (interpreting Ireland as "the whole of Ireland, Northern & Republic") or UK (interpreting "Ireland" as "Northern Ireland"); Perhaps we should ask Reuters.
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Sky provides Satellite Tv to the Republic of Ireland as well as the UK. It's largely the same service with the addition of RTE1 and RTE2 (broadcast encrypted) into the bundle (these are terrestrial channels in Eire) There was a Sky News Ireland but thats now a few minutes of news each day.
It's a bit tricky to guess which channels would be available to both UK and the Republic of Ireland, because some channels belong to Sky and some are only carried by the same satellites. I would guess bbc, itv channel4 and
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Looks like we all need to check the Euler Diagram of the UK
http://qntm.org/?uk [qntm.org]
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Is this UK only? Seems that way from the articles, but the summary doesn't mention anything. If it is, that's good news for them, but kinda useless for the rest of us.
I don't believe this thing will cross the Channel any time soon. Beyond the strange idea of "connect your XBox to your TV to watch TV" (huh ?), all French ISPs already offer this as part as their standard plan. And you need Internet access to use the XBox thing. So it's kind of pointless (unless you're *really* fond of the XBox interface). Especially since it'll presumably be streaming from outside the ISP's network instead of (currently) from its own servers.
For the record, Sky is evil (Score:1, Insightful)
If you take all the evil US megacorps and add them together, that's the kind of evil we have in Sky.
Nothing good can come from this. Xbox owners beware. :-(
Wow! (Score:1)
Re:Wow! (Score:5, Funny)
Oh, better cancel this then guys. Microsoft? Sky? Hi. Turns out that this isn't necessary. viyh's computer can do it already.
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Xbox v.s. Xbox360 (Score:1)
Xbox is a gaming console first announced 2000, discontinued 2005-2006... Why does everybody call Xbox360 for Xbox?
It's a heck to find information about the regular xbox theese days... Everything called just "xbox" is the new one...
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Because most people aren't as pedantic as the typical Slashdot reader.
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In this case, it matters, though. When a distinction is vitally important to the very subject at hand (watching video) I don't think it's pedantry.
You can run a MythTV frontend on an Xbox. (Though it's a bit underpowered so you need to stay low-res.) The Xbox 360 is not yet as functional.
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Wholeheartedly agreed. we pedants should make an organized drive to tag all stories about the Xbox 360 with "!Xbox Xbox360". I'm dismayed but not surprised that the public at large will do this; I'm saddened by the fact that the Slashdot community will, because it suggests to me that lots of the people commenting in games aren't nerds, they're just gamers. That doesn't make them better or worse people in any way, but it's Slashdot's nerdliness that makes it special.
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I remember back in the day it was worse. Anything videogame related back in the day was called "Nintendo," by the uncool adults in my life.
Mom:"You've been playing too much nintendo dear, it's time for bed"
Me: "I'm not playing any nintendo, this is a sega genesis. I haven't touched the NES at all today."
Mom:" I can SEE you playing nintendo RIGHT NOW!"
Me: "Gosh darnit mom! You're so unfair! You don't know anything! I wish I was dead!"
I think she may have referred to the PS1 as nintendo as well. Parents
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Whatever, Will Smith.
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Global or just UK only? (Score:4, Insightful)
From TFA: "Millions of Xbox 360 owners in Britain and Ireland will be able to watch live programing such as Premier League soccer and movies following a deal with pay-TV group BSkyB"
That's not very "global" to me - what about the millions of Xbox users outside UK who'd also want to pay and see Premier League and other stuff on their Xbox? And yeah, that was rhetorical question, I know we're hosed until the "global" train arrives on our little local station.
Re:Global or just UK only? (Score:5, Interesting)
In short - the reason you can't have the Sky content is the same reason we can't have Hulu content, and that is that Sky doesn't have the distribution license outside of its particular viewership area. Premier League TV rights are a huge huge business...
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Sure, I understand that.
I'm just tired of all these "global" announcements that really affect a tiny fraction of global users. Also very tired of all the arcane old licensing deals...
The Premier League offering in my country is very crappy and very limited - and the commentators are even crappier, the packaging sucks and it's really freaking expensive channel to get for the value you're getting - just for once, it would be so cool to be able to get the freedom to choose whatever value proposition you like,
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How about the Trillions of US people that want to watch the netflix they PAY FOR without paying a "fee" to microsoft as well?
Jeebus, the Xbox live system is the largest scam I have ever seen. they snag $60.00 a year out of every owner because they cripple the boxes online capabilities if you dont.
Yes I love my Xbox360, no I dont think that having to have a "gold" account is fair for netflix or basic online play. Make me pay for ranked and the big events as well as some value added stuff.
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There's a reason we Playstation users have always said the PS3 is cheaper in the long term.
Most of these features already exist on the PS3 as well, although admittedly not Netflix.
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When is someone going to figure this out? Suppose Media Company X has some recorded shows and live sports coverage they'd like to put online, and make a profit from it. They want to make it available globally, but advertisers are only interested in targeting specific regions.
The solution is to allow any website or company to broadcast this content to any end user for a fee, on a per-minute or per-segment basis. The content will have programmed commercial breaks which the broadcasting website can use any way
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When is someone going to figure this out? Suppose Media Company X has some recorded shows and live sports coverage they'd like to put online, and make a profit from it. They want to make it available globally, but advertisers are only interested in targeting specific regions.
The solution is to .... *snip*.
Your solution does not take into account that that Media company may not own the rights to distribute outside its own territory, especially when it comes to sporting events. Distribution rights are hot potatoes, and change hands for huge amounts of money.
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Skys content - particularly the sport is bound up with a ton of licensing restrictions - Sports tv rights are still bound by licensing deals that arose in the 1980s - and don't seem to be changing anytime soon. I currently live in Sweden - if you wanna watch a game of rugby in Sweden on TV - you basically have 3 choices:
1) Buy a big satellite dish and put it in your back yard... (not an option for me - I live in an appartment that frowns on big dishes...
2) Find a dodgy internet stream - quality is pretty c
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I can't imagine the various broadcasters around the globe that licence the Premier League from Sky being too happy with them allowing the deal with Microsoft to expand globally...Would have thought there would some fairly detailed contract terms around certain broadcasters having exclusivity on the Premier League rights in their country.
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Actually Apple are the only ones offering a decent service to us Canadians. We have music, TV shows and movies available to us. I really like their 99 cents movie rentals of the week [apple.com].
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Just when we had solved the "getting first run of some great new BBC show years before everyone else" problem with good old Pirate Bay, now we have a new reason to be jealous of the Brits.
You guys had better be careful. You keep getting stuff like this and people will begin to resent you as much as the Americans.
So, in other words (Score:4, Insightful)
You can now use an Xbox 360 as a really expensive, loud, and fragile cable box? Woohoo!
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Umm most HD cable boxes run for at least $200 dollars, the XBox is not much more expensive. I know this is anecdotal, but I've had to replace my DirectTV box once (and had to restart my contract), and never had any problems with my XBox.
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Indeed most of the motorola boxes Comcast uses are in fact pricey, fragile pieces of crap with a garbage in house OS Comcast uses to replace the Moto OS.
So the comparison is really around volume, and yeah the 360 is louder, but I'll take that given the chance to watch Sky or other things my cable box doesn't give me.
Most cable companies subsidize the cable boxes, renting them to customers as a fee. If I could own one and buy one of better quality than the ones the cable companies provide I'd do that in a s
mod -1k for defending MS (Score:1, Insightful)
I have to admit, even thought I am not a fan of microsoft corporation, they did get it right with the 360. It's a fantastic console. Even though I hate Windows and other microsoft software, I have to commend them for the 360.
And although not related to the 360, I find their mice and keyboards fantastic also. The intellimouse 1.1 I think is the best mouse I have ever had...
Maybe they should just quit software and move to hardware only because that seems to be a strength of theirs (except the Zune...)
cue tro
Whats the catch? (Score:1, Insightful)
I'm waiting for more details before I start even considering this a good idea; my monies on it requiring a Sky Broadband ADSL connection...
Another Layer of DRM! Hoorah! (Score:2, Insightful)
So for all the folks who can't watch the TV because the XBox is plugged into it, now have a slution. They can watch the TV through the XBox, with an added layer of DRM, customer profiling and what have you added in, I have no doubt.
Can't really see this one changing the world, somehow...
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Typical Sky and Xbox customers probably dont care or dont understand the issues.
They will lap this up in droves till they realise they are now spending 100quid/month on the combined Sky/MS Live/Broadband services, and still have no more functionality than a freeview PVR.
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Can't really see this one changing the world, somehow...
Then wake up because more IP streaming means less power in the hands of traditional broadcasters.
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Only if people use the service - and I have difficulty imagining that happening in this particular case, Drinky.
Let's face it, most XBox owners who want Sky probably already get it. I can't see many folks subscribing to this service just so they can get Sky over their XBox instead of direct from cable or satellite.
And for that matter, we're only talking about streaming Sky, so the only broadcaster I can se
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I can see how, in general, the trend to streamed video on demand is going to shake things up, but I really don't see what either side hopes to achieve with this specific exercise.
Microsoft hopes to extend their reach and gain experience. Sky hopes to maintain relevance and gain experience.
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mmm... I rather suspect they're going to be disappointed in this instance.
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Microsoft doesn't care if it behaves efficiently so long as its plans eventually come to fruition. On the other hand, getting boned is pretty much par for the course when you "partner" with Microsoft, so...
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Sounds good. (Score:1)
There's no way that "at no cost to existing subscribers" means this is going to be free to use; why would Sky undercut themselves?
I think it means that you won't have to pay anything to access the service (unlike, say, PlayTV which requires an outlay for the kit). Same as the downloadable films; any Live user can browse the service without having to pay, but it costs to actually download them.
I suppose it's too much to ask that MS sort out the constant.......... pauses........... when......... trying......
Simulcast? (Score:1, Troll)
Simulcast? Really? I'm a person that believes that speech evolves and there's a natural progression in language... but that doesn't excuse terrible marketing words. This neither flows off the tongue nor is intuitive. I mean, how do you even say it? Sim you'll cast? Sy mule cast? Sim ool cast? And what does it mean? Simulated broadcasting?
I know this is listed in some online dictionaries (I just checked), but really, words really ought to be meaningful before being accepted as "language."
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Simultaneous broadcast? Seemed pretty intuitive to me...
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See, now you even know who to blame.
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Price (Score:2)
Why do the likes of Sky, Virgin and the other online providers think I'll spend a fiver on a streamed, low quality DVD, when I can get the same content in the bargin bin in Tescos? The same content that I can lend, resell, rip,
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It says in the article that usage will be covered by the cost of a regular Live Membership. So $50/year or whatever, but the vast majority of 360 users pay that already.
Really! You have to admire their optimism! (Score:5, Interesting)
"It's an entirely streamed service, offering no download-to-own content"
Anyone remember the first series of The IT Crowd, streamed online only to the UK, WMV DRMed up one side and down the other. And on The Pirate Bay as a .avi file within minutes after each streamed episode was over?
Good times, good times!
Really, why do they bother? The stream will be intercepted somewhere inside the XBox, or fed from the XBox into a digital recorder or computer, converted to .avi and upped to TPB. all automatically.
Assuming, of course, the programming is worth it and is unavailable elsewhere.
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Definitely. The media companies just don't seem to understand one crucial fact: if we can see or hear it, we can record it.
That's it. There's absolutely no way around that fact. Even if the "solution" ultimately turns out to be an HD camera with a feed from the output of the sound system, that quality will be good enough for people to pirate it if they want to. If there is no piracy of the content, no one cares.
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Assuming, of course, the programming is worth it and is unavailable elsewhere.
Your comment made me think of today's Daily Mash :)
http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/arts-%2 [thedailymash.co.uk]
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Really! It's like pirating the Saturday night SciFi Original Movies.
<ComicBookGuy>"Check it out! First generation TV rip of 'Mansquito'. NO COMMERCIALS!"</ComicBookGuy>
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Because most Xbox's still have the craptastic 20GB HD. Rolling out saving support is additional legal/engineering work and would be a nightmare on a system that probably has less than 3gb free anyways. They'd rather have their customers downloading demos and buying games than watching streaming TV.
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Price..? (Score:4, Interesting)
Any mention of the price anywhere? Because if I need to sign up to Sky to use this service, then it's not really solving anything. Personally I want access to a massive library of films and TV shows to watch on a pay-per-play basis, without any ties.
The thing that is still stunning me is that you'd think Sony, being the huge entertainment conglomerate that it is, would've been offering this already with the PS3. Yes; I know that you can rent movies from the Playstation Network, but there are two major flaws with that service,
1) It's not available outside of the US (I mean, why? Seriously, why? Is it European law or something?!)
2) It's too expensive.
I'm sure they'll do it eventually, but to be honest you'd be hard pressed to believe we're living in the 21st century sometimes...
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The thing that is still stunning me is that you'd think Sony, being the huge entertainment conglomerate that it is, would've been offering this already with the PS3.
RTFS much?
...rivals the BBC iPlayer, which is available on UK PlayStation consoles...
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Price guide for SkyPlayer, which the service will be based upon:
http://corporate.sky.com/documents/pdf/press_releases/SkyPlayerTV [sky.com]
If you want sport (particularly football) you'd need the £26 package I guess
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E3 this year, my prediction is that one of them will offer something like this service in the U.S. it may just be DVR/ATSC tuner, it may be something more full-blown like this... but one of the big two will do it and it will be the sales generator.
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People ignore the facts about the PS3 around here, get used to it :-)
The built-in browser with full Flash support lets me watch Youtube videos on my TV and stereo system as well, but that hardly ever gets mention.
PS we don't pay fees for online service.
Hopes and dreams (Score:1, Troll)
I just hope there'll be some way to get setanta sports on this.
How can man live without old Celtic matches and the few bits of GAA they show?
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Wait, this isn't a troll! I really do love watching old Celtic matches and the GAA!
I went up to Ruislip last weekend just to watch Galway destroy London.
UK and Ireland first? (Score:1, Funny)
Wow, something is actually coming to Europe before the US? *Admires the winged swine passing by the window*
Seriously though, I find it extremely amusing that every USian commenting on this thread is up in arms about that. If you had any idea how many cool services don't make it past your borders because of stupid licensing agreements... Hulu, Pandora, Rhapsody, Amazon MP3 (some of them did make it to the UK, but not Ireland or the rest of Europe)
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And of course, you can get Netflix streaming on the Xbox in the US.
Far more content than Sky will be providing, for a fraction of the price..
waiting for falling shoes to impact earth. (Score:2, Insightful)
based on Microsoft Mediaroom middleware? (Score:2, Insightful)
Really? (Score:2, Funny)
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I can't believe that this has not been tagged as skynet yet.
That's because the first thing an X-Box would do if it became self-aware is commit suicide.
How about a US release for AT&T UVerse? (Score:2)
Canvas (Score:2)
I was watching Channel4 news just a moment ago and they mentioned the BBC's Canvas platform [bbc.co.uk] that rivals this setup. The interesting thing though - they mentioned open source. On the tele! Wow.
Ahem, it might not be open source, but it is an open standard, they specifically mentioned it being used for BC and ITV programmes, but also for any content provider - like newspapers or, well anyone. This is not the same as the Project Kangaroo that would broadcast programmes from the 3 main UK broadcasters, this is a
How about support for subtexts? (Score:1)