It's Not Just a Gaming Console
Even though the Xbox brand is completely tied to Microsoft and gaming, we've heard it said that Xbox One is a digital hub. Apart from the chaotic world of smartphones and tablets, no other device tries so hard to be so many things at once.
Microsoft took heavy criticism from the hardcore gaming community when it unveiled Xbox One because a majority of its new features weren't explicitly gaming-related. That's not to say the console's biggest selling point isn't its role as a next-generation gaming platform. But there's so much more to Xbox One than just games. This is where Microsoft's strategy differs from Sony's, since the PS4 is a more purpose-built gaming machine.
At some point, Microsoft took a look at how Xbox 360 owners were using their consoles and determined that gaming was just one puzzle piece. In fact, almost two years ago, Xbox marketing and strategy head Yusuf Mehdi revealed that Xbox 360 owners were spending more than half of their time on Xbox Live watching videos and listening to music. Surely, Netflix and Hulu apps on the console make a huge difference, but those usage stats were what influenced the Xbox One's direction.
The Xbox One will launch with the following apps available:
· Netflix
· NFL
· ESPN
· Amazon Instant Video
· Machinima
· Hulu Plus
· FOX NOW
· FXNOW
· Vudu
· Crackle
· Redbox Instant by Verizon
· TED
· Xbox Video
· Xbox Music
· SkyDrive
Xbox, Watch TV
There's an HDMI input in the back of the Xbox One specifically included to take a signal from a digital cable box. Without switching inputs, you can hit the home screen's TV tile, or say "Xbox, watch TV," and the console switches over to a full-screen feed from the cable box.
You can continue to use that appliance's remote control and reference the channel guide from your cable provider. But for U.S. users, Microsoft also has its own TV guide app called OneGuide that updates once you give it information about your location and cable service.
One neat (but less advertised feature) is the IR blaster built into Kinect that can control your TV set. Programmed with the right remote code, voice commands like "Xbox, volume up" or "Xbox, mute" do what you'd expect them to. With OneGuide properly configured, you can even use commands like "Xbox, watch HBO" and jump straight to that channel.
Even for users who aren't in the U.S., the TV pass-through feature still works. I tested my review unit on Rogers cable. There is no built-in TV guide for the Canadian market (it's supposedly in-progress), but swapping between content sources on the Xbox One was easy.
With the TV feed up and active, the Xbox One continues working in the background. It'll still respond to voice commands, and I found that the best application of this awareness was switching between live TV and a game by simply telling Kinect to make it so.
For the roughly all of us who hate sitting through commercials, simply say "Xbox, go to Dead Rising 3," or "Xbox, go to Netflix," (or any other app name), spend a few minutes there, and then say "Xbox, watch TV," to get back to your program. You don't even need to pause your game before switching back; it will automatically suspend. This also works very well for keeping an eye on sports scores without sitting through the full game. Or, using a feature called Snap, you can both watch/play a game on one side of the screen with the TV feed running in a small window off to the right.
- Xbox One: The Exterior Design
- Power, Internal Storage, And Game Installations
- The Xbox One CPU: Complements Of AMD's Jaguar µArch
- The Xbox One GPU: GCN-Based
- The Xbox One's Controller: Vastly Improved
- A New Kinect Camera: The Xbox One's Other Controller
- Kinect, Your Privacy, And The Future
- Watching TV Through The Xbox One
- More Software: Snap, IE, Bing, And Smartglass
- Is The Xbox One Convergence Done Right?


At the time being,IMO PS4 is a better gaming machine;whereas,X1 is a better entertainment system.
PS4 has a more powerful GPU so it should perform better in games and is $100 cheaper too;whereas,X1 tries to do more than just gaming and costs more.
For me,PS4 is a better machine because I only tend to play games on a console but X1 is also a great machine
some of the ps4 reviews i read had info on gaming as well as media/entertainment. i mean info like how the games look and feel to a player, resolution and user perception, joystick (and other input devices) performance in gaming etc.
I'm pretty sure MS went over the usage stats of the 360 and found that more and more people were using the media/TV/movie aspects. After all thats where the money is.
MS could sell half as many Xbox Ones as Sony but it will still be making far more per console in subscriptions and services. The money going forward isn't in games.
However, I don't think this generation will be as long lived as the 360/PS4. I see One.5 or PS4.5 models or total replacement within 5 years.
I might be getting both, but to be honest I might not get any, as I've become more of a PC gamer
One day Tom's will move into the 21st century. Apologies folks.
It is not a bad thing when done right, yes, but then you'll have a "jack of all trades" instead of a "gaming machine". I'm not an advocate of putting too many specific functions into one device until the technology is up to par with the individual ones. Smartphone cameras is a fine example for that: today we find "good" picture quality compared to a Point and Shoot and it will get even better down the road thanks to tech advancements. In the case of consoles, I expect SteamBox to trash everything else in the living room gaming wise first and other-stuff second, including the recent-out consoles. There's a world of horsepower of difference between the custom APUs and using an Intel + nVidia/AMD video card with an optimized OS (SteamOS, remember?).
I'll need a first hand experience with the XB1 and the PS4, but as "consoles", they must not disappoint. Kinnect is a feature you should/can put in a PC/HTPC with little effort if you want one (we're in a tech site, so this phrase is valid). Same for the EyeToy. Hell, even speech recognition used in the XB1, I'm sure is a derivative from the one in Windows that anyone can actually tune and use.
Cheers!
At the time being,IMO PS4 is a better gaming machine;whereas,X1 is a better entertainment system.
PS4 has a more powerful GPU so it should perform better in games and is $100 cheaper too;whereas,X1 tries to do more than just gaming and costs more.
For me,PS4 is a better machine because I only tend to play games on a console but X1 is also a great machine
We'll have more stories on both consoles.
some of the ps4 reviews i read had info on gaming as well as media/entertainment. i mean info like how the games look and feel to a player, resolution and user perception, joystick (and other input devices) performance in gaming etc.
The problem is a lot of the functionality is limited until the day one update, which the press samples did not have yet. We will have follow ups in the coming weeks. I'll be out camping for mine Thursday night
*Edit I hope this doesn't double post -_-
The Xbox One may be an astounding piece of technology but it looks fat and ugly.