XBOX One S as dedicated Skype machine?

[tkuhe]

I am looking to set up a dedicated skype machine at our small office to be shared by a handful of people and was thinking about using an xbox one s, webcam and a tv that we already have. Seems to me like it could be a cheap solution for what i'm looking for.
Can anyone point out any reasons why this would be a bad idea? I know that at first microsoft didnt support the mic on the webcams but I believe that has changed. Can anyone confirm?
Thanks in advance for the help.

 

[spicypadthai]

Should be fine, check out this WC article from last September.

 

[tkuhe]

Thanks for the reply. I have read that article.
For those that use Skype on XBOX, how does it perform compared to using a pc?

 

[spyderzWPC]

I am looking to set up a dedicated skype machine at our small office to be shared by a handful of people and was thinking about using an xbox one s, webcam and a tv that we already have. Seems to me like it could be a cheap solution for what i'm looking for.
Can anyone point out any reasons why this would be a bad idea? I know that at first microsoft didnt support the mic on the webcams but I believe that has changed. Can anyone confirm?
Thanks in advance for the help.

honestly it is currently running like crap, audio for some reason just stopped working and trouble shooting does nothing, voice recognition works with Crotona, but audio is not picked up nor is audio played when calling from another device, tested from xbox to xbox and tested from phone to xbox. skype is dying bad I hope they fix it. I am using a Kinect so this should just work.

also you would need to create MS accounts for everyone or have a generic account. it could/should work but currently I am having a lot of troubles.

 

[michael rau]

Absolutely not! If the apps didn't suck so bad maybe. Tried this exact use case and skype would crash on Xbox, phones, ipads. The client is total garbage.

 

[tkuhe]

Yikes! Well I already bought it and and have it all set up and running. So far so good but I'll let everyone know.

 

[Dusteater]

I am looking to set up a dedicated skype machine at our small office to be shared by a handful of people and was thinking about using an xbox one s, webcam and a tv that we already have. Seems to me like it could be a cheap solution for what i'm looking for.
Can anyone point out any reasons why this would be a bad idea? I know that at first microsoft didnt support the mic on the webcams but I believe that has changed. Can anyone confirm?
Thanks in advance for the help.

I tried using it for this purpose, but it hasn't worked out. The other end complains they cannot hear well enough. It may just be my choice of webcam, and if anyone has found one that works well at 6ft or so, I'd love to know. I purchased a Logitech C930e.

 

[ryanlrobinson]

We've only done it about 10 times but we have used our Xbox One with the Kinect for Skype calls. It's especially good when both of us are on the call, much more comfortable than crowding at the computer. Plus you get to see the other person on the big screen. I also love that the Kinect would automatically zoom and follow us around, and its microphone was plenty powerful enough. Some of those benefits wouldn't apply to other webcams, but in general, using the Xbox for Skype works well.

 

[tkuhe]

I bought the Logitech C920 and so far my tests are showing that the mic is works very well.
Cant understand why Microsoft stopped the Kinect. Such a cool technology.

 

[MullenWP]

I would say it's great if you use it at home if you have Kinect, but think again if you want to use it at office. The issue is reliability. You don't know when it stops work (happened before). If it's used at home it would be just fine, you can use your phone, PC or whatever as backup; but if it's in office, maybe not.

 

[alanSJ]

I am looking to set up a dedicated skype machine at our small office to be shared by a handful of people and was thinking about using an xbox one s, webcam and a tv that we already have. Seems to me like it could be a cheap solution for what i'm looking for.
Can anyone point out any reasons why this would be a bad idea? I know that at first microsoft didnt support the mic on the webcams but I believe that has changed. Can anyone confirm?
Thanks in advance for the help.

I use my Xbox One with Kinect to Skype all the time without any glitch. I understand MS has discontinued the Kinect, but if you can find a webcam with mic support you should be able to Skype using your Xbox too.

 

[SvenJ]

I wouldn't. I use an Xbox One S with Kinect at home for Skype, but it doesn't seem to work as well as the dedicated PC at the office. At the Office too, that PC is the conference room PC, which supports meetings with PowerPoint (and the rest of Office) now Whiteboard, and other functions. An Xbox at work doesn't really have a work conducive interface. The PC's interface is ready for a wireless keyboard and mouse, to be used with the chat window in Skype. Our setup has two monitors hooked to the same PC, so you can spread Skype windows across them or bring up things you want to present via Skype more easily.

 

[MatsuDano]

If you already have it, run it for cheap as free. Just remember that Skype on Xbox was meant to be a consumer level platform. QoS, features, and O365 integrations are completely out of the question.

If I were in your position, I'd get a cheap compute stick and load Win10 on it. You can still run the webcam but you can also run Teams, Skype for Business, WebEx, or whatever else. The Xbox solution might be cheap, but you will be getting exactly what you paid for.