Xbox LIVE gets 1080p Zune Video store, Twitter, Facebook and more on November 17th (video)
By Darren Murph 
posted November 12th 2009 4:22PM
posted November 12th 2009 4:22PM
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Next Week the TV Transforms when Social Networking, Music and Movies Come Alive on Xbox 360
Facebook, Twitter, Last.fm and Zune video Launch Nov. 17 on Xbox LIVE
The topic du jour was all about TV, but this morning at NewTeeVee Live – an industry conference that explores the future of television – Xbox LIVE general manager Marc Whitten confirmed the next wave of social entertainment is coming to Xbox LIVE on November 17. Starting next week, Facebook, Twitter, Last.fm and instant on HD video from Zune will be available on Xbox 360 consoles, transforming Xbox LIVE into the largest social network connected to the TV with exclusive features custom-designed for the living room.
"We're delivering some truly exciting social entertainment experiences to our members," said Whitten. "Xbox LIVE's differentiator has always been our community, and we've already seen a tremendous response to these features in our public preview. It's the community that drives us forward and allows us to pioneer new ways of connecting people through the entertainment they love."
· Facebook*– Update your status to share what movie, game or entertainment you're enjoying, connect with friends and view their Facebook stream, status updates and photos on the big screen – all seamlessly integrated and custom-built for Xbox 360. You can even compare your Xbox LIVE and Facebook friends lists to see which of your friends are on LIVE.
· Zune – Zune video on Xbox LIVE offers a full fidelity experience with instant on HD in 1080p and 5.1 channel surround sound. No waiting for downloads or buffering, it's there at the press of a button. You can also share the experience with up to seven friends through voice chat and Avatar integration on the TV screen – it puts a whole new spin on "movie night."
· Twitter*– Stay in the know by discovering, posting and replying to Tweets right on your Xbox 360. You can even view friend profiles, trends and conversations, or search to see who's tweeting about your favorite game.
· Last.fm* – Discover more music and explore endless personalized radio stations with Last.fm on Xbox 360. Skip, "ban" or "love" tracks to create your perfect mix-we've even built in "Gamer Stations" with game-related types of music selected specifically for the gaming community (Available in the U.S. and UK)
In addition to these social features, Xbox LIVE will also be debuting "News and More," a new section of the "Inside Xbox" channel, transforming Xbox LIVE into a full-fledged media portal. With a regularly-updated stream of content from MSNBC, The New Yorker and Dilbert, "News and More" brings the latest in current events, arts and entertainment right to your fingertips.
All of these features build on the wild success of Netflix on Xbox LIVE, which quickly established Xbox 360 as the most-used living room device for streaming Netflix content to the home1. Only on Xbox 360 can you find the best in movies, music, games and social networking all in one place, tailor-made for the TV and connected to more than 20 million people around the globe.
"From the launch of Xbox LIVE nearly seven years ago, to milestones like Video Marketplace, Netflix and the New Xbox Experience, we've continued working toward our vision of connected entertainment for everyone," continued Whitten. "I'm proud to say that next week marks another great stride in fulfilling that promise, and we're already imagining what the future has in store."
So what are you waiting for? On November 17, turn on your Xbox 360, log onto Xbox LIVE and enjoy the world of social entertainment at your fingertips. Not an Xbox LIVE Gold member? Starting November 20 (12 pm ET / 9 am PT) until November 23 (12 pm ET / 9 am PT) Xbox LIVE Silver members can enjoy the latest Gold features for FREE – including Facebook, Twitter and Last.fm! There's tons more to experience with Gold as well. Play the latest game titles like "Halo 3: ODST" online multiplayer, participate in "1 vs. 100," host an Xbox LIVE Party or even video chat with friends. All of these Gold-only features will be available all weekend long for anyone to try.
* Xbox LIVE Gold adult account required to access these features. Xbox LIVE Gold memberships are just over $4 (U.S.) per month
** Xbox LIVE members under the age of 18 will not be able to access Facebook and Twitter as part of the Free Gold Weekend
1 Source: One Touch Intelligence (www.onetouchintelligence.com), from October 2009 survey conducted in association with The Praxi Group, Inc.
Facebook, Twitter, Last.fm and Zune video Launch Nov. 17 on Xbox LIVE
The topic du jour was all about TV, but this morning at NewTeeVee Live – an industry conference that explores the future of television – Xbox LIVE general manager Marc Whitten confirmed the next wave of social entertainment is coming to Xbox LIVE on November 17. Starting next week, Facebook, Twitter, Last.fm and instant on HD video from Zune will be available on Xbox 360 consoles, transforming Xbox LIVE into the largest social network connected to the TV with exclusive features custom-designed for the living room.
"We're delivering some truly exciting social entertainment experiences to our members," said Whitten. "Xbox LIVE's differentiator has always been our community, and we've already seen a tremendous response to these features in our public preview. It's the community that drives us forward and allows us to pioneer new ways of connecting people through the entertainment they love."
· Facebook*– Update your status to share what movie, game or entertainment you're enjoying, connect with friends and view their Facebook stream, status updates and photos on the big screen – all seamlessly integrated and custom-built for Xbox 360. You can even compare your Xbox LIVE and Facebook friends lists to see which of your friends are on LIVE.
· Zune – Zune video on Xbox LIVE offers a full fidelity experience with instant on HD in 1080p and 5.1 channel surround sound. No waiting for downloads or buffering, it's there at the press of a button. You can also share the experience with up to seven friends through voice chat and Avatar integration on the TV screen – it puts a whole new spin on "movie night."
· Twitter*– Stay in the know by discovering, posting and replying to Tweets right on your Xbox 360. You can even view friend profiles, trends and conversations, or search to see who's tweeting about your favorite game.
· Last.fm* – Discover more music and explore endless personalized radio stations with Last.fm on Xbox 360. Skip, "ban" or "love" tracks to create your perfect mix-we've even built in "Gamer Stations" with game-related types of music selected specifically for the gaming community (Available in the U.S. and UK)
In addition to these social features, Xbox LIVE will also be debuting "News and More," a new section of the "Inside Xbox" channel, transforming Xbox LIVE into a full-fledged media portal. With a regularly-updated stream of content from MSNBC, The New Yorker and Dilbert, "News and More" brings the latest in current events, arts and entertainment right to your fingertips.
All of these features build on the wild success of Netflix on Xbox LIVE, which quickly established Xbox 360 as the most-used living room device for streaming Netflix content to the home1. Only on Xbox 360 can you find the best in movies, music, games and social networking all in one place, tailor-made for the TV and connected to more than 20 million people around the globe.
"From the launch of Xbox LIVE nearly seven years ago, to milestones like Video Marketplace, Netflix and the New Xbox Experience, we've continued working toward our vision of connected entertainment for everyone," continued Whitten. "I'm proud to say that next week marks another great stride in fulfilling that promise, and we're already imagining what the future has in store."
So what are you waiting for? On November 17, turn on your Xbox 360, log onto Xbox LIVE and enjoy the world of social entertainment at your fingertips. Not an Xbox LIVE Gold member? Starting November 20 (12 pm ET / 9 am PT) until November 23 (12 pm ET / 9 am PT) Xbox LIVE Silver members can enjoy the latest Gold features for FREE – including Facebook, Twitter and Last.fm! There's tons more to experience with Gold as well. Play the latest game titles like "Halo 3: ODST" online multiplayer, participate in "1 vs. 100," host an Xbox LIVE Party or even video chat with friends. All of these Gold-only features will be available all weekend long for anyone to try.
* Xbox LIVE Gold adult account required to access these features. Xbox LIVE Gold memberships are just over $4 (U.S.) per month
** Xbox LIVE members under the age of 18 will not be able to access Facebook and Twitter as part of the Free Gold Weekend
1 Source: One Touch Intelligence (www.onetouchintelligence.com), from October 2009 survey conducted in association with The Praxi Group, Inc.
They'll probably be more heavily compressed, so I doubt the quality will be the same as Blu-ray. That said, if it's close enough, who cares?
I've decided to no longer reply to word. I suggest everyone else do the same. Just report, refresh, downrank, and move on whenever he posts(unless he actually decides to start posting intelligent comments)
@mark
Why are you still replying then?
@daytripper: Damn... in editing that comment, I must have removed the sentence "This is the last time I'm replying to him". Ok, well now: this is the last time I'm replying to him. ;)
Yeah the 1080P streaming is mighty suspect. Correct me if I'm wrong but full 1080P streams at like 54MBPS. I'm sure with a decent connection (6-15MB) it'll be pretty good quality HD (for streaming) it wont be near Blu Ray quality. But then again, I guess that's all people really want, except for the videophiles like myself.
Either way yo can't complain on a company improving their services.
This is going to be awesome, can't wait!
Yah almost as awesome as having all this stuff at release due to having an actual web browser. Imagine being able to do all this stuff say...in 2006! It would be just like having a Wii or a PS3 (both of which have full featured, flash capable browsers and have had them from day one). I've used things like pandora, hulu, youtube, twitter, facebook and all the rest from day one on the PS3. Ditto for watching MSNBC news clips.
Its funny how every little thing gets play on the 360, any tiny little thing MS opens up on their box is an OMG revelation. I could even, if so inclined, run Linux again on my PS3 and literally do anything a normal computer can do (albeit a computer with limited RAM).
Oh as a bonus the PS3 has one really really awesome feature. It's called not having to pay 50 dollars a year for basic internet functionality and not having to pay 99 bucks for wireless.
blah blah blah. no one is forcing you to use the 360.
Wow! A bunch of stuff I love and use -- but don't want in my Xbox because I know I won't use them in that setting.
@impulsivity:
It seems like the only people who bitch about the XBL Gold price ($4 a month, how steep!) are bitter PS3 fans that don't understand why a service you have to pay for (and still see ads) is better than the Playstation Network.
You get what you paid for -- PSN is free because IT HAS TO BE.
Jesus.
Oh yeah because browsing a web site with a game controller on a TV screen is such a great experience. C'mon, this thing is designed to be viewed 10 feet from the screen with a controller or remote and integrated into the console dashboard. How can you compare it to browsing a web page?
I'm more a bitter former 360 owner then anything. I had one from launch and had problems with it dying, paid through the nose for accessories (99 dollar wireless adapter ftl), had a tiny 20GB hard drive that was taken up by system software almost entirely without any real way to upgrade without paying for a 1st party HD that cost almost as much as a new console.
Then yes, on top of the 30 I pay already for high speed internet it seems ridiculous to have to pay another 4 bucks as a toll to MS to use my own internet connection to connect to other 360s for online play when the PC, PS2, Wii, Mac, Iphone, Ipod touch, PSP, PS3 and much much more let me do it for free. I paid for gold for a bit but once PSN came out and was the same (and sometimes better) functionality for free I started to get rather annoyed at the idea of having to pay for the "privilege" of using my console and my internet. I mean seriously, 4 dollars a month to twitter? Seriously?
Go ahead and look up my gamertag "Impulsivity" I played for a good while, got 11k gamerpoints or so and then just switched out because I was sick of being nickel and dimed for a sub par experience. I don't know why more of you owners aren't annoyed with MS by now with all the overpriced gimmicks. I mean do more of you launch purchasers really appreciate 100 dollar accessories, 250+ dollars in gold fees (from launch in 2005 to renewing again now for a 5th year) or being denied a basic browser or any of the rest of it? Why does appreciating quality make me angry, bitter or foolish?
I made a mistake buying a 360, I fixed that by buying almost everything for PS3 or PC instead now, lesson learned.
@Impulsivity
Three words counters every argument you made:
Netflix on PS3.
So after buying everything for the 360, you decided to fix it by buying everything again for another platform?
WOW a bunch of shit that I will never use thank you MS. Why can't twitter die already I'm sick of it being put on all my shit without me wanting on there. How about they give me nude backgrounds instead now we are talking.
Complain about a purchase that I shouldn't have made if I were properly informed prior, and could have been if I had just RTFM? Rage against a service I have no problem paying for? Demand a feature that I could just as easily do on, say, a laptop or desktop computer? Throw a fit because I feel entitled to things that have nothing to do what-so-ever with the gaming experience?
Impulsivity, I beseech you, get a vasectomy.
Maybe you shouldn't have been so impulsive with your purchase. It's not like all the things you were bitching about are state secrets.
@ Impulsivity
How's cross-game chat on the PS3?
Oh wait, Sony sucks at putting useful features into firmware updates. I had forgotten.
Ive been using it since the first preview batch and id have to say the 1080p streaming is really awesome. It compliments netflix very well since 9/10 of those movies are crap and the ones on the preview are big name movies. It costs around $6 to 24 hour rent a movie in HD and $4 in SD. You have the option to purchase them but id rather buy them on my PC and access them over the network to the xbox.
I dont use last.fm at all, facebook is fun to use but more of a gimmick, and i dont tweet so.. the 1080p is the meat of this upgrade.
Obviously we're all tech fans here, and we all obviously have very strong opinions, but some of the arguments being made are stupid! Why can't people just accept that some like one and some like the other? I have a PS3 at home (which I love to bits) and my flatmate / friend at Uni has a 360 (which I love to bits). When it comes down to the main things that I actually want a games console to do, they both do them perfectly.
1. Sure, a browser is nice to have, but trying to browse on a 1080p TV when you're sat 12ft away on a sofa with two analog sticks is NOT a good experience.
2. @Rob (Work): Xbox Live is really nice, and it feels like a properly integral part of the system, but don't give anyone bullshit about how PSN NEEDS to be free; I reckon (but no, I have no proof) that most PSN users would feel the same about paying for the service as Gold members do: it would be nice if it were free, but if it cost money then they'd be willing to pay for it.
3. @Tmacfan4321: How's cross-game chat on the PS3? Fine.
4. @Impulsivity: What the hell are you talking about? I can understand you are upset about feeling ripped off by a console, but don't start spreading lies about the PS3! "Full-featured" browser? Hardly! Using Facebook, Hulu, etc? Yeah, because trying to navigate Facebook on a PS3 is great fun...
Just for a few more points, and I have made more in a previous post, but there are some things that one console does better than the other. The arguing is pointless because for one thing that the 360 does better, the PS3 does better at something else, and vice versa - it would go on forever!
I know that I seem like a troll by trying to intervene and sound like I'm right. But I kind of am; right, I mean. I like my PS3 a little bit more than the 360 (mainly because of the wireless (used a LOT) and the Blu-ray drive (used a teensy bit)), however I can see how people might prefer the 360. For example, I absolutely adore the fact that you can switch gamer profiles whilst still in the game, so if somebody else wants to play then it's easy. I love the way that the 360 handles user-stored music in-game.
Bottom line: if people are like me and appreciate the fun of PLAYING video games and not just ripping into flaws then, like me, you think both consoles are great and are good at what they are supposed to do.
P.S. If anybody wants to change this text slightly to apply to such popular disputes as 'Mac vs PC', 'Android vs iPhone' and the ever interesting 'Curtain vs Blinds' scenario, then feel free :)
Math Class:
Internet + PSN = $30
Internet + XBL = $34
And again we arrive at the four dollar difference -- thanks for making it sound even more miniscule... $34 is way more comparable to $30 than $4 to $0.
@pee
So if 1080p is useless on anything lower than a 50 inch HDTV for streaming on a 360, then that also mean that Blu-Ray 1080p available on a PS3 is useless on anything less than a 50 inch HDTV?
Awesomefulness all around.
except for whats not mentioned. That all this basic stuff (like twitter which is free on every other device ever, even a lot of TVs now) costs 50 bucks for the gold membership. No gold membership? No even basic internet functionality for you!
*headexplodes* x.x
On a related note: God, why do you hate me?
"Because I'm sponsored by Microsoft"
;.;
MSNBC? Oh wonderful...what a joke those losers are.
Just in time for Assassin's Creed II!
too bad i can't get on xbl anymore for some strange reason....
Try paying for games like the rest of us mortals.
Well did you read this article:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33866696/ns/technology_and_science-games/
Microsoft has banned 1 million users from using XBOX LIVE because their machines are modified to play pirated games.
Maybe your machine was not modified, but something was changed and same issue.
Sorry, you may have to buy another XBOX 360.
Yay, now if only they dropped the 1080p movie rental price, I might not turn my Xbox 360 off at all!
Cool now I can get Twitter updates for Engadget, CNN and ESPN while I play Modern Warfare 2. One reason less to have a laptop next to me while console gaming...
negative. it's a launchable app like netflix.
what i meant by that is you can't get twitter *while* you're in a game. you have to bail out and launch the twitter app. which is why i've used it a total of two times and i've been in the preview since it opened.
I'm assuming you need a gold account to access all this?
I was wondering the same thing.
Zune is just replacing the old video store so anyone, gold or silver can use it.
Twitface.fm is gold only
Yes its gold only. Check out the previous links in the story. They offer a "trial" to silver members after which you have to pony up the cash to use the services. Better to just stick with Twitter on the 10 million other devices that have it and don't charge you X dollars per month to use it.
It's not even in game, its a launchable App outside of games which makes it even less worth the premium. If you want to tweet while playing you're still stuck using a mobile or a computer.
Yes, but will I be able to fast forward or rewind music?
This is great news for the 3 people who are still able to use XBL.
I kid, I kid. My 360 isn't hacked. Can't complain about new functionality for free!
No, you can't, since it's not free.
Well, It's free for the people that are already paying for a gold membership.
what about add Blu-ray drive.
what about it?
I predict a run on Xbox 360 Text Messaging kits.
Pretty much goes with out saying
i'm already planning got buy one
this kinda sucks, the new features are cool and stuff, but its stupid, xbox was suppose to be for hardcore gamers, now its for emo idiots all over the place, and for those social networking losers that has to post everything they are doing down to the minute, bunch of sh*t. what happened to the good old, gaming system only days? back when stuff was simple and not so social garbage.
You know...you don't have to use these features. They're just available for people who want them.
the xbox is still for hardcore gamers. these are just A D D I T I O N S.
I've had the update for a few weeks now and it is pretty sweet. I didn't know it was going to have the Dilbert and MSNNBC items and I've found myself using those items more than anything else.