Comments on: Remember Back in November When Thomas Hawk Said the XBox 360 Would Be How Microsoft Would Own Your Living Room?

By: jodyp

jodyp — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 08:41:00 +0000

Um, maybe MS has the PVR advantage in the States, but cablecards are not going to work everywhere else. They're not mandated, so the cable-cos won't support them.

That means no way to record high-def, except using their proprietary boxes. (note: even if I didn't have high def, I wouldn't switch off of the cable-co box, I don't want to use analog tuners, ir-blasters, or give up dual tuner support).

So there you go, media center won't work well everywhere else (or I'd buy it in a second).

By: Christopher Bermingham

Christopher Bermingham — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 07:11:00 +0000

In addition to acting as a media hub, the 360′s ability to download HD movies and tv shows provides yet another advantage as well. While the 360s online media gui doesn’t equal Vista’s MCE interface, I have no doubt it will eventually get there.

By: Greg Smith

Greg Smith — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 19:33:00 +0000

“Apple’s picture quality looks like crap.” I may be a Apple Fan boy but I would say this is a little harsh. 720 looks pretty awesome on my TV, so does 1080. SD TV looks like crap.

By: AMG55NJ

AMG55NJ — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 18:34:00 +0000

I completely agree with you on this. I have a cable subscription and I use MCE to record all my favorite shows. From here I can put them on my Toshiba Gigabeat and take it with me or watch it in my living room through my XBOX 360 or in my bedroom through another XBOX 360.

I think this is a much better solution than purchasing an Apple TV and then buying shows on top of that. I get the best gaming platform as a huge benefit.

Apple just has great marketing. Now if they added CableCard and I could record my own shows plus added movie rentals as well as RSS feeds, then that's more of a competitor. But I don't see them doing this, ever as it will take away from people purchasing shows.

Guess it all comes down to how much tv you watch and if you want a gaming platform as part of the deal. MS should definitely come out with Version 2 Extenders soon and also a software extender like Beyond TV Link.

Just my 2 cents.