FallDashboardUpdate
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Xbox 360 Dashboard update review (fall 2011)
Kiss that old "New Xbox Experience" goodbye -- the Xbox Dashboard just went full Metro. Microsoft teased the console's latest overhaul back at E3, promising to "change living room entertainment forever." The following months saw leaks, previews and betas, all leading up to today, the eve of the Xbox 360's Fall Dashboard update. Is the new dash the game-changer it hopes to be? Hit the break, and we'll find out together.%Gallery-141009%
Xbox 360's new video services won't all launch right away; Comcast, Verizon, and HBO Go delayed
Microsoft's new dashboard for the Xbox 360 is close at hand (read our full review for the details) but not all of the video partners that were announced for the new Kinect-centric experience will be launching alongside it. As of launch December 6th the list will look basically the same as it does now, with Lovefilm and Epix joining options like Netflix, Hulu Plus, and Sky Go. Later on in the month more new providers like Crackle, Dailymotion, Rogers On Demand, Vudu, and Verizon FiOS TV will filter in, while the UFC app is timed to launch December 20th. Finally, a few highly anticipated additions including MLB.tv, HBO Go and Comcast's Xfinity On Demand are among those slated for arrival in "early 2012". Check after the break for the complete list (update: and a video trailer), we'll let you know about more specific launch dates as they become available. %Gallery-141022%
Microsoft opens up latest Xbox Live dashboard preview program
Microsoft is prepping another update to the Xbox 360 dashboard and, as usual, that means some folks will be able to get an early peek courtesy of the company's preview program. While there's still no date set for a roll-out, those interested in participating this time around can now put their name in for consideration in the program, which is said to be a more automated process than before. As for the dashboard update itself, it boasts a new design for "integrated Kinect and controller navigation," new "Beacons" for playing online with friends, deeper Facebook integration, and cloud storage for your saved games and Xbox Live profile. According to Microsoft's Major Nelson, "other features and entertainment partner apps" may also become available during the program period. Hit the source link below for the complete details.
U-verse on Xbox 360 is getting upgraded in November, but will require XBL Gold
The good news for everyone anyone using their Xbox 360 as a AT&T U-verse set-top box, is that it will be upgraded as a part of the new dashboard update coming this fall. that means support for the integrated search, new UI and control via voice or gestures with Kinect. The bad news? After the update, it will only work if you're also a subscriber to Xbox Live Gold. No problem if you were already shelling out in order to get your Gears 3 co-op on, but not so awesome if you weren't planning on buying the gaming package just to watch some TV. Giant Bomb has talked to Microsoft and of the new services, some, like the BBC, may be accessible without a paid-up Gold pass, but for HBO Go, Dailymotion and others you'll need to toss some cash Redmond's way. To ease the pain, AT&T is tossing a one-time $60 credit towards its users with the package -- still no word on whether or not you'll need to pay that installation fee for a new setup after the upgrade goes through.
Microsoft reveals new TV providers including Verizon and Comcast coming to Xbox 360 (video)
Just as the rumors indicated, Microsoft is bringing video from a number of providers beyond the ones it initially announced to the Xbox 360 in its fall update, including big guns like Verizon and Comcast. While Verizon is promising "a selection" of its live TV channels on the Xbox 360 as expected, Comcast is only bringing its Xfinity TV video on-demand offerings (no AnyPlay powered live TV -- yet) to subscribers when it launches "in the coming months." Other notable providers include Lovefilm (UK, Germany), BBC TV (UK), HBO Go, and Syfy. As promised during E3, the services integrated with Xbox will offer support for search across all available video, as well as support for Kinect voice and gesture controls. The universal search is looking good since it pulls together various services into one UI (as we discussed on our podcast yesterday), but the reality is content providers and geographical limits on what services you can pick from are still throwing up walls between users and content. Check after the break for PR detailing what you'll be able to access and where, as well as a video intro to all the tasty new TV services. %Gallery-135845%
Microsoft reportedly adding video from Comcast, Verizon, HBO Go and others to Xbox Live
Microsoft announced new integration with live TV as a part of the Xbox 360's fall update during E3 earlier this year, but didn't name any US pay-TV partners at the time. Now, anonymous rumors recently posted on Digiday suggested the folks at Redmond were looking to work with Verizon and Comcast, followed by Bloomberg hearing similar talk from its own "people with knowledge of the situation." Today's rumors finger Verizon (which showed off live TV on a variety of devices at CES), Comcast, HBO, Crackle, Bravo, Syfy and UK service Lovefilm as likely partners. Missing from the list is AT&T's U-verse, which already offers an Xbox 360 tie-in and distributes its IPTV on the Mediaroom platform, just like some of the international partners previously announced. If these services launch it will be interesting to see how the integration works and if it's VOD like the existing Xfinity TV and Flex View mobile apps, or if providers cross the IPTV bridge with in-home devices like the Televation / AnyPlay box.
Xbox Live Fall 2011 Dashboard update preview: Bing search, voice control, and a Metro overhaul
Autumn is fast approaching -- and you know what that means: it's round about time for an Xbox Dashboard update. Sure, we got a peek of Microsoft's upcoming harvest back at E3, but the good folks from Redmond invited us to take a closer look at what they're calling the "most significant update to the Dashboard since NXE." Senior project Manager Terry Ferrell was on-site to walk us through an early engineering beta and show us how an updated Metro UI, Bing search and deeper Kinect integration is going to change the way folks manage their entertainment content.
Xbox 360 Fall 2007 Dashboard update hands-on
What, you didn't wait up all night to play around with Microsoft's Xbox 360 Fall 2007 Dashboard update? Ok, fine, we're just that geeky, but we feel vindicated: this is hands down our favorite 360 update thus far. And not just because we can finally watch DivX and Xvid on our 360. The best new bits (and other notes): Um, did we mention DivX / XviD support? For free? Oh, we did. Well, we're still reeling. (Yep, we successfully tested both codecs using .divx and .avi files.) Enhanced profiles is really exciting; you have to opt out of everyone being able to view your friends list, but given the permissions system Live is based on, that's not such a big deal. Browsing friends' friends lists adds a whole new layer. Microsoft, care to bump us up past 100 Live friends now? IPTV support is included! Unfortunately, you are still dependent on your service provider to flip the switch, so don't expect to be able to just start watching / recording shows to your 360. (Interface shots here, from way back when.) Family timers lets you specify the number of playable hours daily and weekly. For instance, you can enable between 15 minutes and 24 hours of daily play time (in 15 minute increments). We're not sure how this works if you're watching IPTV, though, although we presume the system is smart enough to know the difference between gaming and playing back media. Microsoft added its increasingly pervasive twist interface all over the place, including Xbox Live downloads, the media interface, etc. Browsing just about everything on the 360 just got way easier. Inside Xbox newsletter / feed is now available from the home blade, helping highlight new content and features. We kind of wish this wasn't so front and center though -- really, how often are you going to use this? %Gallery-11291%
Update brick your 360? Speak up [update 1]
Since yesterday's update, there are numerous reports about 360s being bricked. Some people suspect that this is being done by Microsoft intentionally to stop modders and hackers. Xbox Scene thinks it has more to do with certain combinations of hardware and firmware. That would explain why some people are reporting problems even with new, unmodded 360s. Other readers have informed X360F that they are unable to even complete the update download itself. Since the update can't complete, the 360 won't even allow users to play offline games for "security" reasons. It's worth noting that Microsoft is definitely aware of these issues.Having heard about these problems, we tested our own 2005 360 with a few levels of Lego Star Wars II -- purely for research, of course. So far, we haven't encountered any problems since the update. How about the rest of you? Any bricked or otherwise nonfunctional 360s out there since yesterday? Leave a comment here and let your voice be heard.Update: Microsoft has released a new version of the update that should behave with all console configurations now. If you've been afraid to update, it should be safe now. Those whose consoles have already been wrecked are advised to call customer support. Click here for more details.
Fanboy explores the fall dash update
So, we finally got our greasy hands on the Halloween dash update this morning. Unfortunately, our LCD TV here at Fanboy Towers doesn't support 1080p, so we are currently unable to utilize it. We can confirm that the resolution is selectable, though. Marketplace is, um, different, but we're not sure we'd call it an improvement just yet. We have to admit, the images on the buttons are pretty slick. Live Arcade, on the other hand, has definitely improved. The list populates instantly, so you don't have to wait for your game of choice to pop up. You can now also sort your games by category, alphabetically, or by most recently played.In the end though, the real meat of the update -- in our eyes anyway -- is streaming video from XP. We spotted this feature in Media Player 11 last month and lamented that it didn't work. We're happy to say that it does now. All you have to do is set up media sharing in WMP 11 and you're done, instant video streaming. You know all those hi def trailers that look like crap on your little monitor? Well, now you can watch them on your HDTV. We can also confirm that you cannot stream video from an iPod, at least not the tiny videos that are formatted for the device -- and really, why would you want to anyway? We're pretty sure the Zune will work just fine, though. The video marketplace feature that has been bandied about the rumor mill is there as well. It is, however, not as exciting as many thought it would be. It isn't a video store or anything; it's just the video section of Marketplace.All in all, it's pretty good stuff. So now that the update is here, are you satisfied? What features would you like to see implemented in the next update?
Halloween Fall Dash Update: Trick or treat?
Unlike OXM, which reports the Fall Dashboard Update is already in your possession (don't bother looking), Famitsu says (via German site GameFront.de) that the hotly anticipated upgrade will be a worldwide treat on Halloween:Microsoft will release its "Fall 2006 System Update" on 31.10.06 in Japan, according to a Famitsu report. The update is free and available to all Xbox Live members. The update, among other things, improves Xbox Live Arcade and Marketplace functions, provides 1080p support, adds a start menu for XNA-developed games, adds HD-DVD player support and over 80 additional functions. Microsoft is holding a press conference in Japan at which additional information will be provided. It's widely believed that MS will roll the update out everyhwere at the same time, so that's good news for folks in the US and EU as well. Better yet, Japanese site WatchImpress has pics from the press conference confirming WMV streaming via Windows Media Connect, CD-R/DVD-R and USB thumbdrive. Hey 1080p, HD-DVD support and more sure beats Smarty Smarts and stale Nestle Crunch bars. Plus you don't need a costume.[Via Xboxic]
