Xbox update reveals ambitious TV on demand strategy

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

Microsoft is dead set on making an impact on the home entertainment market with the latest XBox 360 update which is coming tomorrow November 6, that brings enhanced Kinect motion and voice control as well as a variety of streaming apps.

What is most interesting about the new Xbox Dashboard, aside from unifiying the look and feel of Xbox with the rest of Microsoft's user interfaces, is that it Xbox is now running apps in order to enable access to streaming content from 3rd party publishers. Seems like Microsoft made the transition from streaming device to app enabled set top box ahead of Apple which many believe will eventually run iOS apps.

News isn't too good for Canadian XBox TV  owners as we're missing out on most of the initial offerings coming to the US. This will hopefully change moving forward.  Still, there's something to look forward to if you're a fan of Rogers on Demand, Astral Media Disney, Crackle, MSN, Real Sports, UFC and TMZ which represent the rich cross section of content making its wat to Canadian Xbox devices by 2012.

Press release from Microsoft is below.

“A new era in entertainment begins where all your entertainment is together in one place — your games, movies, TV shows, music and sports,” said Don Mattrick, president of the Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft. “With this update, Xbox 360 system owners will experience Kinect voice control integrated with Bing search, making your TV and entertainment experiences more social and personal than ever.”

“Microsoft has just built and delivered it: A single box that ties together all the content you want, made easily accessible through a universal, natural, voice-directed search. This is now the benchmark against which all other living room initiatives should be compared,” said James McQuivey of Forrester Research in “Engaged TV: Xbox 360 Leads The Way To A New Video Product Experience,”^* Sunday, Dec. 4. “…with more than 57 million people worldwide already sitting on a box that’s about to be upgraded for free, Microsoft has not only built the right experience, it has ensured that it will spread quickly and with devastating effect.”

 You Say It, Xbox Finds It

How long does it take you to search and find your favourite movie or TV show? Do you find yourself searching hundreds of channels and multiple services and TV inputs? What if the entertainment you craved was simple, discoverable and exactly what you wanted at that particular moment?

Now, finding your favourite entertainment is easier than ever. Last year, Kinect for Xbox 360 revolutionized controller-free entertainment by letting you use your body and voice to play your favourite games and entertainment, turning you into the controller. The power of Kinect combined with the intelligence of Bing search is turning your voice into the ultimate remote control. With Bing on Xbox, you can use your voice to effortlessly find the games, movies, TV shows and music you want and discover the best offerings on Xbox LIVE, by simply saying what you’re searching for. You say it, Xbox finds it. Beginning tomorrow and over the coming weeks, Bing on Xbox voice search will initially be available in English in the U.S., Canada and the U.K. for Zune video, Xbox LIVE Marketplace and select content partners. For those who do not have a Kinect for Xbox 360, text search will be available in Xbox LIVE markets.

All Your Entertainment, All in One Box

This holiday, in addition to offering the best blockbuster and Kinect games, Xbox 360 consoles are set to deliver live and on-demand TV shows, movies, videos, sports, music and news, becoming the best device to experience all your entertainment. TV and movie fans can instantly stream their favourite episodes of current television shows all season long, as well as past favourites and new-release movies.

Xbox 360 is building on its expansive catalog of movies,television and music available through Netflix, Zune music, Crackle and Rogers On Demand as well as on its existing lineup of great TV providers, such as AT&T U-verse^® TV in the U.S., TELUS in Canada, BSkyB in the U.K., CANAL+ in France, Vodafone Portugal, VimpelCom in Russia and FOXTEL in Australia, by also now rolling out the following new entertainment partners and apps^**:

Later in December:

• 4 on Demand (C4). United Kingdom
• ABC iView (Australian Broadcasting Corp.). Australia
• AlloCiné. France (AlloCiné), Germany (Filmstarts), Spain (Sensacine), United Kingdom (Screenrush)
• Astral Media’s Disney XD (Astral Media). Canada
• blinkbox (Blinkbox). United Kingdom
• Crackle (Sony Pictures). Australia, Canada, United Kingdom, United States
• Dailymotion. Available in 32 countries globally
• Demand 5 (Five). United Kingdom
• DIGI+ (CANAL+). Spain
• GolTV (Mediapro). Spain
• iHeartRadio (Clear Channel). United States
• Mediathek/ZDF (ZDF). Germany
• MSN. Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, United Kingdom
• MSNBC.com. United States
• MUZU.TV. Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom
• ninemsn. Australia
• Real Sports (Maple Leaf Sports). Canada
• Rogers On Demand Online (Rogers Media). Canada
• SBS ON DEMAND. Australia
• TMZ (Warner Bros.). Canada, United States
• TVE (RTVE.es). Spain
• UFC on Xbox LIVE (UFC). Canada, United States
• Verizon FiOS TV. United States
• VEVO. Canada, Ireland, United Kingdom, United States
• Vudu (Wal-Mart). United States
• YouTube. Available in 24 countries globally

Early 2012:

• Antena 3 (Antena 3 de Televisión). Spain
• BBC (BBC). United Kingdom
• CinemaNow (Best Buy). United States
• HBO GO (HBO). United States
• MLB.TV (MLB Advanced Media). Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Columbia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, United Kingdom, United States
• Telenovelas/Sports (Televisa). Brazil, Chile, Colombia, France, Italy, Mexico, Spain, United Kingdom
• Xfinity On Demand (Comcast). United States

In October, nearly 40 leading TV and entertainment providers around the world announced they would bring customized, voice-controlled experiences to Xbox 360 systems. Today, MLB Advanced Media (MLBAM), the interactive media and Internet company of Major League Baseball, and VUDU became the latest leading entertainment providers to announce they are bringing their experiences to Xbox 360 consoles. MLB.TV subscribers will be able to access every regular season game, live and on-demand, in HD picture quality with an array of interactive functionalities. VUDU offers more than 45,000 blockbusters, Hollywood classics, independent films and TV shows, including the largest library of HD content available anywhere, with the highest quality streaming and Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 and 7.1 surround sound. With VUDU, movies are available the same day they are released on DVD and Blu-ray. More information is available at http://www.VUDU.com.

Update on Tuesday, December 6, 2011 at 4:00PM by Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

4:00 PM Thursday afternoon and the XBox Dashboard update is not yet available for download.

Xbox spokesman Major Nelson tweeted the news just 29 minutes before the Xbox 360 update was due.

"FYI: The timing for Xbox 360 dashboard update has been slightly delayed," he wrote. "I'll have a status update later today."

"Thanks again for your patience. I won't have additional details until later today. The moment I have new information, I'll share it w/ you," says the Major.

Bummer.