Poll: How accurate is XB1 voice control?

[Deleted member 11852]

Why is it surprising? It's easy to like something that makes your life easier even if it's not 100% accurate. It's that 75-90% of the time when it works that it makes it feel all magical & makes you feel all goodie inside. There's never that feeling when you use a remote, mouse or keyboard when it works. You always expect it to work.

So you feel good and magical because it actually worked?

There are lots of situation where slightly less accurate means more than twice as fast to accomplish. .. Look for remote. Walk over to it and pick it up. Find the mute button. Press button.

If you're somebody who's constantly losing the remote, sure. But my point wasn't about time saving just acceptable of things over being sold. I didn't see Apple or Microsoft, when demonstrating their voice control systems, mention - even in passing - "oh yeah, it's not 100% accurate, you get that right?" I.e. set some realistic expectations.

 

[Jogi]

Of course, the gold standard really is "Is using my voice faster than using the controller?" For most actions, it absolutely is, especially if your controller is currently off from watching a movie (and I think it takes 3-5 seconds from turning on the controller before it will respond to button presses). So for tasks like switching back and forth between apps, snapping apps to the side, searching and using the game DVR, a controller will often be slower, even if the Kinect fails picking up your voice once.

In most cases IMO voice commands are faster because "controller UI" is just badly designed, it is not designed for speed, it is designed for "mouse use", tablet & smartphone UI. If speed and swapping apps have been set top priority for controller UI, voice commands would have been slower input method for most tasks.

 

[AlphaWolf]

In most cases IMO voice commands are faster because "controller UI" is just badly designed, it is not designed for speed, it is designed for "mouse use", tablet & smartphone UI. If speed and swapping apps have been set top priority for controller UI, voice commands would have been slower input method for most tasks.

No. There's a number of situations where there is just no way to make controller input as fast. There needs to be pages or at least lists for you to select with the controller. If you have 100 games and apps on your device you just won't be able to switch and select as fast as you can say it especially if you are switching from a TV or browser already displayed. That's not to say the default UI has no room for improvement.

If you're somebody who's constantly losing the remote, sure.

How about if you're someone who doesn't walk around with the remote glued to their hand? It doesn't need to be lost for it to be inconvenient, it just needs to be elsewhere at the moment of need.

 

[dobwal]

In most cases IMO voice commands are faster because "controller UI" is just badly designed, it is not designed for speed, it is designed for "mouse use", tablet & smartphone UI. If speed and swapping apps have been set top priority for controller UI, voice commands would have been slower input method for most tasks.

How is it badly designed? And how is it slow? Maneuvering through the XB1 UI with a controller is fast. Which isn't hard because it's a pretty straight forward and simple design. Outside of the apps and store there is an app list and settings page. But it's just a game console not a PC which offers far greater utility, requires a more complex design and is a more difficult enviroment to pull off a highly useable and fast UI.

By nature voice control is a more efficient way to control a UI. Going from point A to B is just a matter of a command. And for humans, language is the most efficient form of communication that exists.

Good UI is a matter of efficiency and useability. You could get anywhere quick in a UI if you just threw everything right on the screen but you end up with a convoluted mess of an eye sore. But voice control isn't a quest through a visual design with a simple pointer mechanic.

And exactly what's faster and not based on a mouse or a touch based UI but is just as complex? I don't think most people like the ideal of the console or remote looking like a cockpit of a space shuttle with a bunch of knobs and buttons just to get to things quickly.

 

[brasnial]

For me they work 95 percent of the time .
The real trick that Microsoft has pulled off in my book for me is this ..
I now can't imagine not using voice commands on dashboard or in games .
Such a small thing as voice commands has add in my opinion so much more to the feeling of immersion on the dashboard and in game .
Yes it takes time to learn the commands but again in my opinion its no different that learning a set of button pushes .
What it does have over a set of button pushes is the sense of being one with the machine and the wonder factor that has on all who see it and try it out for themselves .

 

[DrJay24]

And for humans, language is the most efficient form of communication that exists.

Or course you are not really communicating with a console. I don't sit at my desk talking to my computer all day, despite speech-to-text being around for decades.

 

[AlphaWolf]

Predictive text and auto-correct are not great but you can turn them off. I use the basic iPhone keyboard and before that the BlackBerry and never had problems with either unless, of course, I hit the wrong key. That's a user failure rather than the technology, i.e. I don't hit a 'W' and get an 'E'. Generally I want technology to be predictable, if given any input you know what the device will do, the user is less likely to get frustrated. But that could just be me. I never 'feel lucky' with Google ;-)

You can turn off kinect too if you'd rather walk around with a controller holster and get where you want slower.

 

[dobwal]

Or course you are not really communicating with a console. I don't sit at my desk talking to my computer all day, despite speech-to-text being around for decades.

Robust voice solutions that general consumers find acceptable aren't readily available and thats a limitation of the hardware and software. The presence of speech to text for years doesn't change that fact. Smartphones have been around far longer than iOS and Android doesn't change the fact that general users had no attraction to the devices until after iOS and Android was released.

If people had to talk to other people the way you typically have to speak to most voice recognition software, we wouldn't bother speaking to each other either.

And thats what exactly you are doing when you interacting with a UI of a computer. You are practically communicating with it and giving it instructions. Its all touches, mouse clicks and keystrokes but its a form of communication none the less.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Or course you are not really communicating with a console. I don't sit at my desk talking to my computer all day, despite speech-to-text being around for decades.

That means you're just using your computer and taking it for granted. Don't be surprised if one day your PC walks out on you to find a more considerate user who respects it.

 

[Scott_Arm]

Voice control on X1 is simple and fast. That's all there is to it. You can get from one app to the next with a voice command, and spend little to no time on your home screen at all. I'm not sure how much faster and easier you can get than that. And you don't even need to have your controller. You can tuck it away in a drawer until you want to play a game. It's not a computer. With a computer, it wouldn't make a lot of sense to use voice control, because there will be a lot of things you'll want to do that require a mouse and keyboard anyway. You'll probably want to do a lot of typing, which is a skill most of us have, that is superior than text to speech. For X1, voice control covers almost everything you'd want to do, and the gesture control covers the rest of the interface quite well. I like to use gesturing for scrolling rather than doing "next" over and over to see pages of content. Don't use IE, so I"m not sure how good it really is. I did try it, and the controls seemed to work. Not sure how practical it is.

As much as anyone wants to say it's easier to use a controller, I really don't think they'd feel the same way if they spent any time with the box. It's just a lot more convenient to use the voice commands. I can eat while watching movies and not have to wipe my hands every five seconds so I don't get food on the controller. Controllers are only convenient for games.

Now, my situation is ideal. I have a very quiet apartment. I don't have a barking dog, or screaming kids. Other people may have a noisier environment that could impact how well the voice command works, so I can't speak to that. All I can say is that when you have it set up so it works well, there really is no reason to touch your controller unless you are playing a game, and it's better that way.

 

[Deleted member 11852]

How about if you're someone who doesn't walk around with the remote glued to their hand? It doesn't need to be lost for it to be inconvenient, it just needs to be elsewhere at the moment of need.

I must admit I've never needed to control my TV so urgently that it couldn't wait a couple of seconds while I get to the side table next to my sofa. That's where the remote usually is.

 

[DrJay24]

Voice control on X1 is simple and fast. That's all there is to it.

These kind of proclamations require context. Fast and simple relative to the somewhat messy and disorganized base OS?

You can get from one app to the next with a voice command, and spend little to no time on your home screen at all.

Awesome, but that is very little of the time that is spent interfacing with a gaming console.

I'm not sure how much faster and easier you can get than that. And you don't even need to have your controller. You can tuck it away in a drawer until you want to play a game.

Really? I can't imagine doing some stuff with voice. when presented with a page full of options, you say "xbox down, down, select, back, up, right, select"? I doubt it.

I need a controller for these simple tasks.

For X1, voice control covers almost everything you'd want to do, and the gesture control covers the rest of the interface quite well. I like to use gesturing for scrolling rather than doing "next" over and over to see pages of content. Don't use IE, so I"m not sure how good it really is. I did try it, and the controls seemed to work. Not sure how practical it is.

Now we are talking about gesture and not voice control. So waving your hand around is much easier than a D-pad? My recommendation is don't put your controller in the drawer, you can save yourself the headache of switching back and forth from voice to handwaving all with one simple device.

As much as anyone wants to say it's easier to use a controller, I really don't think they'd feel the same way if they spent any time with the box. It's just a lot more convenient to use the voice commands.

that says more about the XB1 OS than anything. A simple and intuitive UI designed around a controller is going to be much faster and easier that a messy UI that is complex when using the controller and uses voice to band-aid the problem.

I can eat while watching movies and not have to wipe my hands every five seconds so I don't get food on the controller.

Cool, I agree.

Controllers are only convenient for games.

I don't agree, see above.

Now, my situation is ideal. I have a very quiet apartment. I don't have a barking dog, or screaming kids. Other people may have a noisier environment that could impact how well the voice command works, so I can't speak to that. All I can say is that when you have it set up so it works well, there really is no reason to touch your controller unless you are playing a game, and it's better that way.

I play games on my game console. I play them at night near the kids rooms. I don't want to talk out loud, especially for simple UI navigation. What you are selling sounds like a huge pain in my ass. The Ps4 has some voice commands to get to app fast and shut down, but I don't use them. I want 100% control along with being fast and quite. I don't want to talk to my devices, I don't use it on my phone either unless I am using natural language recognition for a long sentence. So using Kinect for Bing searches sounds like a natural fit.

 

[function]

I must admit I've never needed to control my TV so urgently that it couldn't wait a couple of seconds while I get to the side table next to my sofa. That's where the remote usually is.

I've never needed a tv remote so urgently I couldn't just get up off my lazy arse and do the two second walk to the tv.

And yet for many years now, even for channel selection and volume control ...

 

[function]

Really? I can't imagine doing some stuff with voice. when presented with a page full of options, you say "xbox down, down, select, back, up, right, select"? I doubt it.

I need a controller for these simple tasks.

That's not how you use Kinect, and those types of operations would make up only a fraction of a percent of overall usage.

Now we are talking about gesture and not voice control. So waving your hand around is much easier than a D-pad? My recommendation is don't put your controller in the drawer, you can save yourself the headache of switching back and forth from voice to handwaving all with one simple device.

Not everyone is comfortable with a controller; everyone is comfortable moving their hand. Voice shits all over a pad for text entry and deep search. It's not even a contest.

Pad isn't suitable for what MS are trying to do. If you don't like what MS are trying to do that's fine. But pad is not suitable for it.

that says more about the XB1 OS than anything. A simple and intuitive UI designed around a controller is going to be much faster and easier that a messy UI that is complex when using the controller and uses voice to band-aid the problem.

Nonsense. A "simple and intuitive UI" optimised for a pad can't do what MS are trying to do.

Again, if you don't like what MS are trying to do that's fine. But pad is not suitable for it.

 

[dobwal]

Really? I can't imagine doing some stuff with voice. when presented with a page full of options, you say "xbox down, down, select, back, up, right, select"? I doubt it.

I need a controller for these simple tasks.

Those are conventions rooted in the need to navigate through a UI with a controller or a remote. Thats not necessary for voice as that not even necessary for touch or KMB based devices.

I play games on my game console. I play them at night near the kids rooms. I don't want to talk out loud, especially for simple UI navigation. What you are selling sounds like a huge pain in my ass. The Ps4 has some voice commands to get to app fast and shut down, but I don't use them. I want 100% control along with being fast and quite. I don't want to talk to my devices.

Since you playing games you don't need to use Kinect to navigate. The XB1 doesn't force you to use Kinect as its an alternative not a replacement device. If you were a keystroke shortcut exclusive user would you rail against mice?

I don't want to talk to my devices.

And what does personal preference have to do with the accuracy of Kinect?

messy UI

And whats messy about the XB1 GUI?

Voice doesn't have to influence GUI design in the least because voice doesn't require GUI accommodation.

 

[dobwal]

I've never needed a tv remote so urgently I couldn't just get up off my lazy arse and do the two second walk to the tv.

And yet for many years now, even for channel selection and volume control ...

You are not the only one. If the remote isn't readily visible, I don't even bother to look for it. I go straight to the TV and simply navigate from the TV itself. With a six year old, remote hunting can be an exercise in futility. But it doesn't mean I don't find utility of a remote valuable especially when I can find one. LOL.

 

[dobwal]

I must admit I've never needed to control my TV so urgently that it couldn't wait a couple of seconds while I get to the side table next to my sofa. That's where the remote usually is.

And what solution did you have in place just in case that wait was ever too long?

 

[Scott_Arm]

DrJay should probably watch some videos on how the UI actually works. Up, down, select, left, right? No. You say, "Xbox Select" and then all menu options on the screen are highlighted in text, and then you say the one you want. You don't have to move a cursor or highlight around on the screen with voice control. If you are navigated to a new screen, you don't have to say, "Xbox Select" again. The text keeps popping up until it stops listening. If you happen to be on a screen that can be scrolled, there are voice commands to see the content in pages, but you can also scroll using a gesture by hand.

 

[RobertR1]

DrJay should probably watch some videos on how the UI actually works. Up, down, select, left, right? No. You say, "Xbox Select" and then all menu options on the screen are highlighted in text, and then you say the one you want. You don't have to move a cursor or highlight around on the screen with voice control. If you are navigated to a new screen, you don't have to say, "Xbox Select" again. The text keeps popping up until it stops listening. If you happen to be on a screen that can be scrolled, there are voice commands to see the content in pages, but you can also scroll using a gesture by hand.

It's more fun to argue aimlessly. Even more to watch you rebuttal! Don't you dare let DrJay become educated.

 

[joker454]

DrJay should probably watch some videos on how the UI actually works. Up, down, select, left, right? No. You say, "Xbox Select" and then all menu options on the screen are highlighted in text, and then you say the one you want. You don't have to move a cursor or highlight around on the screen with voice control. If you are navigated to a new screen, you don't have to say, "Xbox Select" again. The text keeps popping up until it stops listening. If you happen to be on a screen that can be scrolled, there are voice commands to see the content in pages, but you can also scroll using a gesture by hand.

That highlights the fundamental problem of discussing things with people who have never actually used them, they are often completely misinformed or have no idea how things actually work. They just read "it sucks" on other forums and parrot that everywhere else presuming it to be fact leaving behind mass confusion and misinformation in their wake.