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Avatar Kinect hits Xbox Live, your own virtual talk show starts today
Microsoft has been touting Avatar Kinect, since CES way back in January, and you can now finally it try out for yourself. The Kinect Fun Labs Gadget is available as a free download for all Xbox Live Gold members starting today, and even non-paying Live members can try it out during a limited trial that runs until September 8th. So just what is it? Partly a tech demo showing off things like new facial expression capabilities, but mostly another way for you to hangout with a few friends online -- up to seven in this case, in your choice of 24 virtual environments. Those looking to try something else a little different with Kinect will also be able to download the Kinect Sparkler 3D finger painting application this Thursday, although it'll cost you 240 Microsoft Points.
Joystiq's video tour of Avatar Kinect
After it launched earlier today, we couldn't help but take Avatar Kinect for a spin. Using two clips recorded within Avatar Kinect and a little movie editing magic (on a Mac, somewhat ironically), we managed to create a simple talk show explaining the ins and outs of the app. Check out our talk show, featuring Joystiq's own Richard Mitchell and Chris Grant, in the video above.
Avatar Kinect sits down with Kinect Fun Labs today, Kinect Sparkler on Thursday
As Joystiq first reported at E3, Avatar Kinect – the make-your-own-talk show feature first revealed at CES earlier this year – is now a Kinect Fun Labs Gadget and is making its debut ... today! One-half technology trinket, showcasing some impressive new facial expression tech, and one-half talk show, Avatar Kinect offers the opportunity to invite up to seven friends to digi-kick it in a virtual e-nvironment. Finally, a platform to relive your glory days of being on the high school TV news team! While the free Avatar Kinect will ultimately be limited to Xbox Live Gold subscribers only, Microsoft is making the service available to all members from now until September 8. Also launching this week on Kinect is Kinect Sparkler, available this Thursday for 240 Microsoft Points ($3). This Gadget "transforms simple finger painting into an aerial light show, using brand new Kinect tech such as background removal and detailed finger tracking." As with most Kinect-based gewgaws, you can upload your creations to KinectShare.com and, from there, put them someplace people actually go, like YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter.%Gallery-129075%
Rumor: Avatar Kinect launches July 27
WinRumors is reporting that Avatar Kinect will be released on July 27. According to the site, "company insiders familiar with Microsoft's plans" have revealed that the Avatar-filled, Kinect-enabled virtual chat room will become part of Kinect Fun Labs next Wednesday. The rumor jives with information Microsoft gave us at E3 last month, that indicated that Avatar Kinect was slated for July. There isn't much July left at this point, so next week seems like a reasonable bet. We've contacted Microsoft for confirmation.
Avatar Kinect coming to Kinect Fun Labs in July
One of the conspicuous absences from the Microsoft press briefing was Avatar Kinect, especially considering how hard the company hit the odd pseudo talk show service during its CES briefing in January. Tonight we managed to learn what's up with the feature (because we know how anxious you've been about the whole thing). Look for Avatar Kinect in July as a part of the recently released Kinect Fun Labs -- that's according to a representative we chatted up during an event to celebrate the service. If you're unfamiliar, Fun Labs is a sort of test bed available through Xbox Live where developers can show off experiences for the device that don't fit inside the standard game mold. It seems like a smart move too. As a marquee feature, Avatar Kinect is pretty forgettable, but it makes perfect sense as a "gadget" in the quirky Fun Labs lineup.
Xbox 360 spring update coming May 19?
If you've run out of beef jerky and had your free Hulu Plus trial go bust, you're certainly not alone. Don't get bored: more bits of new hotness are coming to your console, and they're coming soon. An internal document leaked to our good friends over at Joystiq looks to confirm that the big Xbox 360 spring update will hit on May 19th. However, it'll come in six "separate groups" to "ensure a high quality deployment," so you might not get it until the end of the month, and everyone will have to wait until May 27th to get Avatar Kinect. What else is new? Well, there'll be the slightly larger disc format and support for PayPal, opening the door to a bold new world of personal finance information able to be hacked from your console.
Source: Xbox 360 Spring 2011 update launches May 19, adds PayPal
Even before that new app smell has worn off from Hulu Plus, Microsoft will launch its annual spring update for the Xbox 360 Dashboard. Images sent to Joystiq by a Microsoft tech support employee reveal that the next Dashboard update will begin rolling out on May 19. According to the documents, the update will be distributed in six separate waves between May 19 and May 30 "to ensure a high quality deployment." Additionally, while not technically part of the automatic update, Avatar Kinect is listed for a May 27 arrival as a separate download. Aside from offering support for the new Microsoft disc format -- which will "be used in future game titles releasing later in 2011" -- the spring system update will enable PayPal support on the console, extending the payment option "to new international markets." PayPal will be "the only user facing feature" of the update. Update: Microsoft tells us, "We have nothing to announce." Update 2: May 27 has come and gone, and alas, Avatar Kinect has yet to launch. PayPal was added, however, on May 19.%Gallery-123154%
Hulu Plus, Kinect updates for Xbox 360 caught on camera (update: video!)
Our friends at Joystiq have obtained screenshots showing off Hulu Plus in action on the console, as well as a shot of the Kinect Hub with Hulu and Netflix apps included. According to their tipster the Hulu (which looks similar to Zune Video as predicted) and Avatar Kinect apps are "fully functional," with good tracking of their movements similar to existing uses for the peripheral. there's no word on whether or not members of the larger public preview will get an early peek at these features, but you can still hit the source link below for a better look. Update: The folks over at OmniTechNews have a hands-on video of Hulu Plus. Check it out after the break.
Source: Take a look at Hulu Plus on Xbox and the new Kinect sub-Dash
Sure, Hulu Plus may not be part of the public beta preview of this spring's Xbox 360 Dashboard update -- at least that's what Microsoft's saying -- but that doesn't mean we can't see what it may look like when it does launch, as scheduled, sometime in the next few months. Images sent to us by a trusted tipster show the Hulu Plus app in action (and being controlled by Kinect), as well as the revamped Kinect Dashboard. Like the Netflix app, the Hulu interface resembles the Xbox Dashboard itself, offering a rotating layer of categories with selectable content. As for the updated Kinect Hub, it looks fairly similar to what is currently available on the Xbox, only it adds access to both Netflix and Hulu Plus. Though our tipster doesn't know whether Hulu Plus will be added to the current public beta test of the next Dashboard update, our source did note that the application seems fully functional, as does Avatar Kinect (also not currently part of the preview). Our tipster said the Kinect-controlled Avatar showcase app wasn't especially exciting, but that "it was good at tracking my movements and the response time was pretty fast like everything else with the Kinect." Hopefully we'll find out for ourselves soon enough!%Gallery-121264%
Microsoft shows off prototype avatar that will haunt your dreams
Microsoft's chief research and strategy officer Craig Mundie wants to show you the haunting bridge his team has built over the uncanny valley. Employing Kinect hardware and custom PC software, the research team at Microsoft has created an unnervingly realistic new avatar that can handle text-to-speech when combined with a script and can recognize the words in any order. "This is a way to create a synthetic model of people that will be acceptable to them when they would look at them on a television or in an Avatar Kinect kind of scenario," Mundie told USA Today in a video interview. "There's no reason that we couldn't do that in real time by feeding the information that we get from a Kinect sensor, including its audio input and its 3D modeling, spacial representation, and couple that to the body and the gesture recognition in order to create a full body avatar, that has photo realistic features and full facial animation," he added. This impressive (if not somewhat terrifying) demo is still very much in the prototype phase, however, and Mundie said it would be "some time before we see it show up in products." We're just hoping those first "products" aren't T-1000s.
Avatar Kinect video tour shows off full functionality
We've seen how the face-mapping works in Avatar Kinect, but we haven't seen how the, uh, everything else works -- until now. Win Rumors posted a Microsoft-guided video tour of the upcoming Dashboard app, which you can see for yourself just past the break.
Avatar Kinect's magic mapping tech demystified
Wanna learn how to deliver a keynote like Ballmer ... with your Avatar? This video explains the face and body mapping technology behind the upcoming Avatar Kinect app for Xbox Live.
Avatar Kinect in action: prepare to be mildly diverted
So, Microsoft doesn't have a press-ready demo of its new Avatar Kinect, but we at least got to see it in action today. To keep the unwashed masses lining up to try Kinect at the booth entertained, Microsoft has a comedian (dubbed "Mr. Kinect") controlling an Avatar with Kinect, heckling the queued-up folks with his digital puppetry. The good news is that he's working it from a seated position, the great dream of folks tired of standing up to get their motion gaming on. The bad news is that you only get control of your arms, face, and head -- you won't be walking around and punching your friends in the face, sadly. We saw a couple of settings -- sadly, not the AA-style setup we witnessed during the keynote -- which are pleasant but a little generic (like most of Microsoft's Kinect titles right now). The actual facial tracking and body tracking worked, but the motions seemed a little minimal. Kinect is obviously completely capable of great skeletal tracking, so we're hoping for a bit more expressiveness, but we're still early on, so things could always be tweaked a bit before launch. We did confirm that Steve Ballmer's Avatar appearance last night was a canned recording, so we are looking at software that isn't ready for prime time. Overall we think Avatar Kinect is a great idea, and an excellent way to show off Kinect's exclusive motion control prowess, we just look forward to a future where we have even more control over our Avatars -- isn't that the whole point of Kinect, after all? Let us free, Microsoft. We just want to be free. Check out some video of the setup after the break. %Gallery-113102%
Avatar Kinect bringing Avatar control, facial expressions to Xbox Live Gold members this Spring [Update: Now with video!]
As expected, "Avatar Kinect" was unveiled during Microsoft's annual CES keynote. It's "a new way to socialize on Xbox Live" allowing direct Avatar control using Kinect, enabling the obligatory gesture control and adding impressive facial expression support. The service takes the form of "stages" which give users talk show-like sets to interact with their friends. Ever wanted to spend time with friends after the latest episode of your favorite show, assembled in a virtual roundtable, and then post the video to Facebook for friends to see? Yeah, neither have we ... Ballmer says that Avatar Kinect will be available for Xbox Live Gold members only this Spring and comes with fifteen stages. We're working on getting the video of the demo up – hold tight! [Update: Now with video demonstration and trailer after the break!]
Avatar Kinect for Xbox 360 is official, smile like you mean it
Turns out the rumor was true, Avatar Kinect is coming to the Xbox 360 this spring (for Xbox Live Gold members, at least). Details are sparse -- a place where you can virtually hang out with your "friends" -- but Kinect is shown to now be able to detect facial gestures like eyebrows, smiles, and laughs. Impressive, but after all we've seen with the Kinect hacks, can't say we're too surprised the camera's capable of such detection. %Gallery-112846%
Microsoft to announce 'Avatar Kinect' at CES?
There isn't much to go on here, but a supposed snapshot from Microsoft's CES keynote has surfaced with the name Avatar Kinect displayed front and center. So, what is that, exactly? Chances are it's not the Avatar Kinect we were dreaming of earlier this week, but if we had to guess from the picture and the name alone, you'll probably be awkwardly moving your body to see just how well your on-screen representation can mimic the motion. Winrumors goes a step further, claiming (without citing any sources, though) that there'll be a separate channel for the Avatar coming via an Xbox Live software update. Nothing's confirmed here, but given Microsoft's CES keynote is tomorrow, this rumor's shelf life is thankfully pretty short.
Rumor: 'Avatar Kinect' Xbox feature to be unveiled at CES
Glimpse Dog received what it purports to be a snapshot of a leaked slide from Microsoft's CES keynote (seen above) showing off something called "Avatar Kinect." This by itself isn't all that exciting, but Winrumors believes that Avatar Kinect will be part of a forthcoming software update -- one that "will allow Kinect owners to interact with each other using their avatars" much like Sony's Home. Furthermore, the site believes that "the Avatars will have a separate area, much like the Nintendo's Mii Channel, that will allow for users to control them using Kinect and interact to watch content or play games." Does this mean Kinect-based A World of Keflings wrestling matches? 'Cause if so, we're totally on board -- just as long as we don't have to queue for them. We'll presumably find out more when Microsoft's CES keynote is broadcast live this Wednesday from Las Vegas. [Image credit: Glimpse Dog]
