MS on WP8: "a few surprises still up our sleeves."

[justop26]

All this talk about Xbox made me finally ask... Is it worth getting an Xbox to use as a media center? Much less emphasis on gaming, I'm looking for a media hub that plays along W8 and WP.

 

[addman]

All this talk about Xbox made me finally ask... Is it worth getting an Xbox to use as a media center? Much less emphasis on gaming, I'm looking for a media hub that plays along W8 and WP.

I'd say Smartglass is looking mighty interesting. I already own an Xbox, gonna buy a new Lumia when it comes out and Windows 8 for my desktop PC. That way I'll finally have a coherent media/sharing system in my home instead of many more or less disconnected devices. Oh! and it's already available for all major mobile platforms I think. So yeah, it looks like MS is going the Apple route to try and merge all Windows devices in to one. Fact of the matter is that MS have consistently mutated the Xbox from an almost gaming exclusive device to a media hub so that they can expand it's gaming platform to whole new market groups. All the major stuff is there.

I couldn't say if it's the best option for a media hub but I think we all can agree on that Xbox, WP8 and W8 will be very well integrated and supported for some time to come in terms of added functionality and updates. So it would be a logical choice if you're gonna get a Windows phone and Windows 8 too. Plus, the 360 is quite cheap these days.

 

[PG2G]

There isn't a streaming service with decent content and I don't expect to see Microsoft change that

 

[vp710]

There isn't a streaming service with decent content and I don't expect to see Microsoft change that

Netflix, Amazon Prime & Hulu Plus aren't enough?

Sent from my Lumia 710 using Board Express

 

[smoledman]

I think XBox Music & Video should be multi-platform. Video should be accessible from any browser like Amazon & Netflix. Why limit to MSFT devices only? Expand the user-base!

 

[anon(5335877)]

Netflix, Amazon Prime & Hulu Plus aren't enough?

Sent from my Lumia 710 using Board Express

That's three subscriptions though.

I have two out of the three though.

 

[PG2G]

Netflix, Amazon Prime & Hulu Plus aren't enough?

Sent from my Lumia 710 using Board Express

My usage of online video streaming is more "I'm bored, let me find something on Netflix" as opposed to "I really want to watch XXX, let me hop on Netflix and watch it." I'm not talking about new stuff either. Recently I had a desire to watch Jurassic Park and Aliens, neither series is available. And these are like classic series...

They serve a purpose, just not the right one IMO. The services are pretty good for TV shows though, just not movies

 

[1jaxstate1]

You should look at Crakle. To my surprise, they have some decent movies for those "I'm bored" moments. I watched Ghostbusters and The Fifth Element last week. Perfect.

My usage of online video streaming is more "I'm bored, let me find something on Netflix" as opposed to "I really want to watch XXX, let me hop on Netflix and watch it." I'm not talking about new stuff either. Recently I had a desire to watch Jurassic Park and Aliens, neither series is available. And these are like classic series...

They serve a purpose, just not the right one IMO. The services are pretty good for TV shows though, just not movies

It's 100% free.

 

[brmiller1976]

For Goddess's sake, stop being coy and talking it up and just ship the damn thing! ARGH!

 

[blehblehbleh]

All this talk about Xbox made me finally ask... Is it worth getting an Xbox to use as a media center? Much less emphasis on gaming, I'm looking for a media hub that plays along W8 and WP.

I might suggest looking into a PS3, you have a Bluray drive in there, the slight edge on media codec support, and the slight edge on the UI in terms of looking at media (e.g. search a video from 1min-5min intervals,viewing photos ). Also, you can configure your ps3 to interface with a windows server to stream movies files from there like 360 too.

Though yeah you'd probably lose out on WP interoperability.

Otherwise wait til the next gen xbox.

 

[snowmutt]

Okay MS:

-Jellybean is shipping.
-iPhone is at 2 million pre-orders.
-HTC, Samsung, Nokia, and other manufacturers are rolling out device announcements.

Enough. Come out, announce your OS, and give the general public a reason to pick it. It is time.

 

[1jaxstate1]

It's RTM, so I don't know what they are waiting for. Maybe they need another 'event' to show it off. I hate everything need a event.

 

[Simon Tupper]

Anybody else notice that this year Microsoft has done better at this whole "secret surprise" thing than Apple has? Tim Cook said they were doubling down on secrecy-- what a laugh.

Not one single announcement from Apple that wasn't leaked, but Microsoft keeps releasing tidbits as they see fit, and holding back on lots of things. Lots of speculation, lots of "maybe this could happen", but nothing 100% until they decide it's 100%. Just tidbits to whet our appetites and keep us waiting.

I love it... and I hate it, because I want more!


My predictions:
1. Instagram integration to People/Picture hubs to complement Lenses.
2. Additional account integration with People hub (Google+, for example).
3. Xbox Music AND Videos subscription options going head to head with Amazon Prime, Netflix, and Hulu.
4. SkyDrive related items (I'm hoping for Favorites sync) in addition to confirmation of SkyDrive music/video streaming.
5. Stronger business features through the Office hub and Mail/Calendar apps.
6. Stronger Skype/Lync integration (though maybe not fully... yet).

Honestly, I only want one thing... release dates..If I want an iPhone, I can get one by the end of next week, but I don't want an iPhone...

 

[ImmortalWarrior]

I think XBox Music & Video should be multi-platform. Video should be accessible from any browser like Amazon & Netflix. Why limit to MSFT devices only? Expand the user-base!

The biggest negative nelly on the forums. SmartGlass is supposed to allow this and support for SmartGlass was already announced for Android and iOS devices.

And let me rephrase your question in a way that makes way more sense;

"Why limit to Apple devices only? Expand the user-base!"

 

[sconrad308]

The biggest negative nelly on the forums. SmartGlass is supposed to allow this and support for SmartGlass was already announced for Android and iOS devices.

And let me rephrase your question in a way that makes way more sense;

"Why limit to Apple devices only? Expand the user-base!"

smoledman is just an Apple fan. He will be leaving soon, to go back to being cool and hip with his iPhone 5. He complains about everything WP8 has but he doesn't even have it to mess with. He just wants to complain and compare to his iOS. He'll go away soon enough I figure.

 

[Old_Cus]

Netflix, Amazon Prime & Hulu Plus aren't enough?

Sent from my Lumia 710 using Board Express

And which one of those can I watch on my windows phone? If I am correct the answer is none of them.

I'm an Amazon Prime customer but I can only watch their video content via my computer or an xbox or Kindle, neither which I have.

 

[Laura Knotek]

And which one of those can I watch on my windows phone? If I am correct the answer is none of them.



I'm an Amazon Prime customer but I can only watch their video content via my computer or an xbox or Kindle, neither which I have.

Netflix has a Windows Phone app. I use it frequently.

 

[power5]

I will assume with wp8 and w8 you will have the ability to use those subscriptions since porting from w8 to wp8 is supposedly easy for developers.

 

[Big Supes]

I think XBox Music & Video should be multi-platform. Video should be accessible from any browser like Amazon & Netflix. Why limit to MSFT devices only? Expand the user-base!

I think you're mistaking MSFT with Apple...

 

[AngryNil]

I'd be more interested in fixing issues with the current Windows Phone rather than shooting for the moon. Things like allowing auto-download of images in email and persistent WiFi.