XBox 360 MTV Wrap Up
Well it's official. XBox 360, formerly known as Xenon, will in fact stream HDTV as an extender unit. Although we will probably have to wait until later to hear the "official" word that the MCE 2005 Update will include cable HDTV support, it would appear that all of the pieces are finally coming together for Media Center.
With a high def Media Center and high def XBox Extenders, the digital home is almost a reality.
XBox 360 Unveiling
Although tonight's MTV XBox 360 unveiling focused primarily on gaming, the XBox is far more exciting as an Extender and this is where I believe Microsoft's hidden larger picture strategy is to be found. The gaming is just a bonus, and a nice bonus from the eye candy that we saw tonight.
Some of the primary objections to Media Center in the past have been 1. It doesn't do cable or satellite HDTV (ok, so it's my biased thinking that's putting this one first. 2. It's form factor is, well, (with a few minor exceptional exceptions) an ugly PC. And who wants an ugly PC in their living room. 3. PCs make noise. People don't want noise when they watch TV and 4. PCs are complicated and scary to the vast majority of mom and pop consumers.
Microsoft's new strategy will be to sell you a Media Center PC in your home office or den with an XBox Extender in your living room (and your bedroom, and your guest bedroom, and... well you get the idea). People will be perfectly fine with having an XBox in their living room. It's a stylish, uncomplicated, instant on, quiet device (complete with a DVD player) that is perfect for the living room. Meanwhile, not only will it play your DVDs and gaming in your living room, but it will encourage you to buy a Media Center PC in order to get the rest of the bells and whistles, including that great new HDTV content to play on your fancy new 50" HDTV plasma that you brought home from Costco last weekend. As people are much more accepting of PCs in their home office or den many of the past objections will be overcome. Brilliant. This time they just might pull it off.
For a complete breakdown on the new XBox 360 check out the XBox 360 fact sheet.
Most significant from the fact sheet is that an XBox 360 will allow you to, "amplify your music, photos, video, and TV. Watch progressive-scan DVD movies right out of the box. Rip music to the XBox 360 hard drive and share your latest digital pictures with friends. Make the connection, and XBox 360 instantly streams the digital media stored on your MP3 player, digital camera, Media Center PC, or any Microsoft® Windows® XP-based PC."
And like Matt pointed out. It streams high def. Giggle.
Oh, and congratulations Peter and the team at Engadget on getting the early scoop.
So below are some screen shots (taken from my Media Center PC I might add) of tonight's MTV XBox 360 kick off. It was very fancy, very glitzy, very Hollywood, but don't all of this fool you. This is Microsoft's Trojan horse (as in good strategy not bad virus) into your living room. Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain, yes that's right, it's Bill Gates pulling all those levers making all that noise and smoke and didn't the Killers sound great tonight.
The Killers
A pimped out XBox from the Pimp My Ride guys
Tony Hawk (no relation!)
Tony Hawk's American Wasteland
Microsoft's Project Gotham Racing 3
Madden's NFL 2006
Microsoft XBox Executive J Allard
Jonathan Hayes, XBox 360 Lead Designer
Elijah Wood, hey isn't that Sean Alexander in the background? Just kidding.
Additional coverage:
The Official Microsoft XBox Site
MTV's Site
Engadget's Live Coverage
Microsoft's Official Press Pass story
The San Jose Mercury News
San Jose Mercury News: Xbox's Leap into the 'HD Era'
USA Today
Slashdot
The New York Times
The Washington Post
CNET
BusinessWeek
CNN
Associated Press
Bloomberg
More photos of the XBox 360 special tonight
Kotaku
Inside Microsoft
Lockergnome
Tom's Hardware
Gamespot
Scoble says the special left him wanting more
Seattle Times
Chicago Sun Times
San Diego Union Tribune
Detroit Free Press
IGNIQ
Digital Lifestyles Magazine
The Los Angeles Times
BBC News
Seattle Post Intelligencer: 'Backward compatible'? Company still hasn't said
Good Morning Silicon Valley
Alexoid
Subzero Blue
Joygasm
Paid Content.org
Anandtech
Gamespy
Team Xbox
Voodoo Extreme
etoychest
The Videogame Ombudsman
Update: And it didn't take long for the BitTorrent of the show to poke it's sleepy little head (in case you missed it). You've got to love it when your half hour infomercial is shooting around the peer to peer network. The MTV special may have blurred the the distinction between advertising and content and may have sacrificed technical details for glitz, but it was a very smart marketing move.
posted by Thomas Hawk at 8:59 PM
6 Comments:
In the UK we get to see Elijah Wood do his thing tonight @ 8pm - any indications that;
- this thing does 16:9?
- the box will be launched worldwide with the MCX capability?
I'll be watching closely!
Paul
Yes on 16:9.
Thomas,
Great write up. First of all, it is still amazing to me that with Apple chrning out such spectacular hardware (that clearly has something significant to do with its success) Microsoft introduces a device that looks like a cross between a Braun toaster and a Dell tower. It's simply and breathtakingly stupid.
That being said, I think MSFT has done just about everything else right here. As you said, this is the Trojan Horse into bypassing the cab/sat set-top box to provide an alternate an open delivery platform. Comcast et al should be very worried.
I just setup a Pluto Home system (smarthome + media server, plutohome.com, free open source). It’s really cool. It has a streaming movie server, music server, pvr. Plus it does home automation and controls a/v equipment too. There’s only 1 problem…
You designate 1 PC to be the server; they call it the core. It exposes a network boot image for any other PC in the house, so your PC becomes dual purpose—normal pc, or net boot and it’s a set top box. You control it with Bluetooth mobile phones or web pads. And all the set top boxes in the house work together. Your media even follows you as you move from room to room if you keep the phone on. The problem is I don’t have enough media pc’s for all the rooms in my house, and buying a full PC for each room is too expensive. Plus there’s no video cards for the PC that have component video output—which is the only way I can get HDTV into my tv.
The X-Box seems perfect as a media director. It’s a PC inside, right? So why couldn’t it boot like normal as an Xbox, or net boot as a pluto media director? Then it would be part of a whole house solution that did everything. I could even use the Xbox to turn on my sprinklers if I wanted, and do all sorts of stuff with it. Plus, since Pluto gives it a network boot image, space is no longer an issue—all the software could be stored on the main server. And the XBox has component video and it’s quiet and cheap.
Does anybody have an idea if it would be possible to use the XBox as a media director like that, doing a network boot? Then I could just buy a few of the XBox’s rather than having to buy regular PC’s.
@walter_3_d_3:
I'm also very interested in learning the answer to your XBox question.
心中一阵不安升降机，因为我忽然又想起了那道剑光升降平台，可怕的剑光升降台，美丽的剑光登车桥。为什么那一剑是那么的美丽货架，却又那么的可怕呢集装袋？在我倒下之前我说地磅，好美的剑塑料托盘，好恨的剑塑料托盘。我倒下了仓储笼。在我失去知觉之前仓储笼，我听到他说北京货架，这叫艺术超市货架，剑的艺术北京货架。
我并没有死广州货架，原来我的心是在右边仓储货架，而是不是左边货架厂。所以在那穿胸一剑之下我并没有死南京货架。
是一阵暴雨把我冲醒了货架公司。听说雨是上天的眼泪深圳货架，也许这天又有人死在那美丽的剑光之下吧服装货架！我张开嘴巴托盘，任雨水打进我的嘴托盘，直冲我的胃塑料托盘。我的伤口又开始流血塑料托盘，但已经不痛了木托盘。试问：仓储笼一个心已经死了的人仓储笼，肉体上的疼痛又算得了什么呢仓储笼？我知道我的刀再练一百年也无法那么美丽仓储笼，那么恨托盘，而且永远别想杀了他托盘。
我退出江湖了手推车，我没有通知江湖上的朋友们静音手推车，并来一个什么金盆洗手静音手推车，因为我的朋友们差不多都被他杀了置物架。我悄悄的走了置物架，隐进了山林之中堆垛架。俨然一个世外高人的样子堆垛架，每天一壶绿茶登高车，放在身边的几上登高车，然后或盯着一朵白云超市手推车，或盯着一片树叶物流手推车，或双目紧闭物流台车。我的刀在玉盆中泡了七七四十九天角钢货架，已经没有血腥味了角钢货架。然后我把它放在我的屋顶轻型货架，任它风吹雨打轻型货架。
十年就这年过去了中型货架。为何今天天忽然想起那柄剑中型货架，那道剑光重型货架？而且内心为什么如此不安重型货架？不应该是这样的仓库货架，对于一个喝了十年绿茶的人来说服装货架，面对死上海货架，也已不再惧怕精品货架，不再不安苏州货架，但今天又为何如此呢托盘货架？
莫非是他青岛货架，和他的剑库房货架，加上他的剑光沈阳货架。我已不问江湖之事天津货架，想他十年前也应该坐上武林盟主的位子了杭州货架，一个武林中人做了武林盟主山东货架，这一生还有什么要求的呢文件柜？
我不停的喝着绿茶工具柜。绿茶静心工具柜。但此时怎么也静不下来零件柜。茶已尽工作台。平时茶尽之时工作台，正也是日落之时工作桌。
一定快有什么事情发生了工作桌。
剑还是那美丽的剑Google左侧排名，如果再加上一道剑光吹塑机，就会形成剑的艺术色带，武学的艺术电源插座。
我问反光背心：为何还来找我滚针轴承，我已在十年之前就退出江湖了夜光粉。
他说文化石：因为你没死缎带，因为我没有对手风火轮。
我说激光打标机：十年前已不是你的对手平衡机，何况现在十年未动刀大功率led。
他说磁力泵：放眼天下梯子，只有你一个人是我的对手网眼袋，也只你一个人对我的威胁无尘布。
我不再说话手摇手电筒，因为我不知道说什么手板，我知道我十年前就开始找我毛巾布，发现我没有死就开始找我磁钢。我不死促销台，他心不安模具钢材。
他说时尚配饰：拿出你的刀筛网。
我说齿轮泵：我已无刀天使花房，命托辊，亦可有可无色丁。
他盯着我广告衫，握剑的手越来越紧钢坯，我知道那道美丽的剑光可能随时发出过滤网。在那美丽过后疏水阀，我的生命将画上句号胸章。
阳光照在了刀上发热管，反射到他的脸上手机耳机。他发现了那把刀螺杆，我的刀插销，宝刀蝴蝶，没有鞘的刀工具包。
刀已在我手中点钞机，刀还是那把刀配电箱，人却已不是那个人流苏，因为心不是那颗心沙滩巾。
他为了杀我竟找了我十年氯化镁，而为了和我比武竟帮我从屋顶拿下我的刀来双面胶带，并放在我的手中碳纤维。我忽然发现排线，他也变了汽车座垫，他在后悔十年前将所有高手都杀绝珍珠奶茶。
高手的悲哀太阳伞。
我握紧了刀桥架，我看着他的眼tpr，已经不再像十年前那样明亮了钢丝。
他的剑划出柴油发电机组，划出一道美丽的剑光护栏。我想围栏，这十年他大概在不停地使自己的剑光更美围栏。
我的刀也出了隔离网。简单的动作隔离网，一刀刺进了他的胸网片。那道美丽的光忽然停止网片，停在我的衣服上南京货架。
他说北京货架：这也是艺术北京货架，杀人的艺术北京货架，想不到你十年不动刀还懂这个艺术仓储货架。
我说仓储货架：因为我不想再让你痛苦了广州货架。
他说广州货架：谢谢货架厂。
我走了货架公司。我头也不回的走了塑料托盘。没有取回我的刀塑料托盘，因为我觉得它在我身边已经没用塑料托盘，我后悔我十年前为什么不扔了它塑料托盘？我听到了尸体倒下的声音塑料托盘。我流泪了塑料托盘，我真的不想杀他仓储笼，十年前不想仓储笼，十年后也不想仓储笼，因为我下山时答应过师父仓储笼，一切让着他仓储笼。
我叹了一口气仓储笼。远去仓储笼。
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