UPDATE: As folks have pointed out, one way this did manifest itself is through the AT&T U-Verse program.
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It may not be long before Comcast and Verizon are both available in some form through Xbox Live, according to a new report from Bloomberg.
It's possible these and other details may be announed as soon as next week. Bloomberg sources claim Microsoft is in talks with "almost two dozen providers of music, sports, movies and TV shows in the US and Europe," and may include HBO, Crackle, Bravo, Syfy and others.
Microsoft has been talking about the idea of incorporating television into Xbox 360 for years. It's not a new concept, it's just taken the company longer than expected to close the deals making it possible.
iPTV (Internet Protocol television) was actually debuted at CES back in 2007. Making the technology work hasn't been the issue, it's been getting content providers on-board to make the access happen.
Maybe we're finally getting there.
No Time Warner Cable!!! Ahh!!! This will be no good to me:(
Sounds nice that a project and vision they have been having for the xbox for so long, might finally come to fruition.
Quit watching TV 4 years ago, but hey great
Isn't Crackle owned by Sony?
cool
This is exactly what I was afraid of. It sounds like All the XBOX Live TV thing is going to do is be a replacement for your cable tuner/box. Big deal. What I want is a replacement for my cable PROVIDER.
i have never understood how Microsoft wants the 360 to be the media center device when it can never truly be that until they get blu ray.
@DarthOrange: Including Blu-Ray feels like a step back in a future that is so rapidly moving towards digital only distribution.
@DarthOrange said:
Blue username.
Is it just me or do we hear stuff about this around the time of every dashboard update or E3. Will be interesting if it actually happens. Won't mean anything to those outside of the US.
If I can get channels a la carte, then bring it on. Or even a package deal at some sort of reasonable, netflix/hulu level price. If it's just viewing TV that requires a regular cable subscription, then no thanks.
I just watch everything online. Cable tv is shit when i watch only 4-5 shows.
great, because if there's one thing our cable boxes didn't do yet, it's constantly overheating / dying.
now with the 360, that old dream has come true.
Streaming HD is so far below Blu-Ray quality...
@White_Silhouette said:
Could potentially do.
For example, Sky already has Sky Player access on its service. If this takes off in America, Sky may extend it to do proper service stuff. Heck, could get into a bidding war with Virgin for it.
This would be great if you could get FiOS or Comcast separate from TV. My guess is the pricing model will follow the bundling (ie $100 a month for good internet and whatever TV) :(
if it uses the media center interface I'm sold.
@Xer0Signal said:
Blue username.
If the cost ends up being less then what my local provider is asking for premium channels, then I'll go for it. So far Gold, netflix and hulu are all still cheaper then a basic cable plan + internet where I live.
One thing that I would love to see come with Microsoft setting up a deal to deliver this kind of content to the 360 is giving me the choice of channels I want, and adjusting the price accordingly. I would rater pay X dollar/mo for channels that I want to watch, then x dollars/mo for 60 channels, 55 of which I don't watch.