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Xbox One will soon capture your epic plays in full HD
Along with its other upgrades, the souped-up Xbox One X will come with 4K recording from the get go. Meanwhile, owners of Microsoft's standard console are still dealing with 720p resolution at 30 FPS. Not to mention the added insult of seeing their beloved gaming machine get discontinued. That's enough to make even the most loyal of gamers feel left out. But, there is some good news. The standard Xbox One's Game DVR is getting a bump in resolution to 1080p. Plus, you'll be able to save your recordings directly to an external hard drive. That way, you can save precious storage on your console (which is especially useful if you have the 500GB version). For now, the upgrade is limited to Alpha Insiders. Everyone else can expect to get a taste later this year.
Microsoft opens Xbox-to-Windows game streaming up to everyone
Microsoft's removed the Xbox-to-PC game-streaming restrictions and now anyone with Redmond's latest console and Windows 10 can play Sunset Overdrive or attempt to jump into a few online Halo: The Master Chief Collection matches on their device. More than that, some pretty big new features are hitting the Windows 10 Xbox app including party chat and tweaks to how screenshots and video clips are shared via the Game DVR.
The Xbox One's built-in video editor just got a lot more powerful
Microsoft has been touting its Upload Studio since before the Xbox One launched, but until now, the video editing suite only offered a few options for gamers. Now its first major update is bringing a ton of new features -- it can splice together recordings to run for up to 30 minutes, drop in text overlays and toss in tons of new effects and transitions including many styled for games like Forza Horizon, Halo and Call of Duty. The biggest change, however, may be the ability for players use the Kinect camera to drop themselves into the video, using green screen effects without the need for an actual green screen backdrop. According to Major Nelson, the system can see your body and pick it out of the background, but we've seen enough camera glitches and voice commands missed to be skeptical until more people have tried it out. There's a demo video laying out the new Upload Studio experience embedded after the break (plus a clip I tossed together with the new tools), and if you have an Xbox One the update should be live right now for you to try out.
The April Xbox One update is here, finally lets it notify you when friends come online
Ready for more new features on your Xbox One? Major Nelson just announced that the April software update Microsoft has been beta testing will start rolling out to all systems tonight. The big new feature is the return of notifications for when people on your favorites or friends lists come online, like it did on the Xbox 360. Other fixes are supposed to make Kinect's voice and gesture recognition better, and there are new UI tweaks to make sure you know the status of game saves as well as updates for your games and apps. GameDVR clips should be better looking, 50Hz Blu-ray discs will play at their native rate and yes, there is another update for controllers that addresses audio quality with third-party headsets using the adaptor. Finally, for any updates after this one the Xbox One will be able to reboot to standby silently instead of just turning off, and you'll be able to check manually for updates. That doesn't apply for this update though, so Xbox One owners can watch for a reboot while they keep an eye on tonight's eclipse, or wait for it to download over the next few days.
Xbox One now shares gameplay footage direct to YouTube
We can all agree that sharing gameplay footage on Xbox One via SkyDrive OneDrive isn't really the best social solution. Okay, so there's Twitch, too, but the holy grail of video sharing lies with YouTube. And, as of tomorrow, Xbox One owners will get just that as an app update will bring the much desired ability to share Game DVR footage directly to a user's YouTube channel. It's really as simple as that. Once the update hits, you'll need to dive into the console's settings menu and enable the social sharing feature first, but that's about as deep as it gets.
Xbox One can't Twitch, but it can DVR
Microsoft hopes to dry the tears of those Xbox One fans saddened by the loss of at-launch Twitch streaming options by highlighting what the new console can do: specifically, digital video recording. Dubbed "Game DVR," the feature is exactly what its name suggests. Players can choose to capture either the last 30 seconds of play, the last five minutes or the next five. Once a clip has been created, players can move it to the system's Upload Studio, which offers editing tools including the ability to record voiceovers for your footage and picture-in-picture functionality. After you've completed your cinematic masterpiece, the Upload Studio can save the video or you can choose to upload it, either to only your Xbox Live friends or to the public. According to Microsoft, if you opt to save your footage, the clip will be stored as a 720p MP4 file in your cloud-based SkyDrive folder. Though not explicitly stated, the involvement of SkyDrive means that GameDVR will require an Xbox Live Gold account. Update: Earlier this post stated that the Game DVR feature would record the last thirty seconds of gameplay or the next five minutes, when it's actually the last 30 seconds, last five minutes or next five minutes. We apologize for any confusion.
Xbox One's Game DVR, TV guide and NFL streaming inoperable without Xbox Live Gold
Microsoft's Xbox One won't allow users without Xbox Live Gold subscriptions to access its Game DVR, touted as one of the game console's most important features. The console also won't allow access to services like Skype, One Guide (the TV guide-esque software built in) and a variety of other internet-based services should its owner not pay the requisite $60 per year for Xbox Live Gold membership. An Xbox.com page lists the features (seen above), while OneHitPixel reportedly got confirmation from Microsoft on the Game DVR not working without XBL Gold. Of course, the Xbox 360 version of Xbox Live Gold membership enables basic internet-based functionality like streaming Netflix / Hulu / etc., and multiplayer gaming. By contrast, Sony's PlayStation Plus membership on PlayStation Vita and PlayStation 3 offers free games each month (Microsoft started doing something similar recently as well), though non-members on both consoles can use various online services (including online play and content streaming); that's changing on the PlayStation 4, where PS Plus membership is required for most online games. Update: A Microsoft rep tells Engadget, "The features listed will need an Xbox Live Gold membership."
Microsoft: Xbox One will capture game footage at 720p even if source is higher res
One of the many uses for Microsoft's vaunted 300,000 Xbox Live servers for the Xbox One is to power the Game DVR, which lets you record, edit and re-visit your many exploits. Platform chief Marc Whitten told a panel that the resolution will be limited to 720/30p video, even if the game itself is higher resolution (Forza Motorsport 5 is 1080/60p, for instance). The console will automatically record the last five minutes of your gameplay, and can even save the last 30 seconds of action on command without interrupting play. Whitten added that all of that footage would be stored in the cloud, letting you edit and share content via Upload Studio. Games will create "magic moment" videos from such footage, which you can view from the Xbox OneGuide, your personal DVR collection and the gamer cards of other players. That sounds like a lot of footage, even for 300k servers -- which may explain why Microsoft limited the resolution to 720p.
Xbox One SmartGlass hands-on (video)
SmartGlass is nothing new -- it's the second screen solution Microsoft introduced for its Xbox legions. But for the release of the Xbox One console, the company decided to update the experience and extend the functionality. Culling feedback from the many developers and gamers that have downloaded the app since its initial release, Microsoft came to some near unanimous conclusions: gamers use it as an Xbox Live controller and devs love its use of HTML and Javascript. So where to go from there? If you've been paying attention to any of the company's E3 announcements, you'll know that the newly updated SmartGlass app now includes support for in-game DLC purchases, gameplay assists and a DVR-like replay feature. We spent a little time sifting through the new app on the showfloor, so follow along for our initial thoughts.
