News & Rumors: Xbox One (codename Durango)

[warb]

http://youtu.be/rDXm8ja8ArU

We can upload recorded game videos straight to SkyDrive (MP4).

 

[dagamer]

The Verge says no HDMI-CEC

https://twitter.com/reckless/status/398823592487837696




For PAL DVDs they do change the refresh rate. Pretty jarring if they have to do that everytime you go from game to tv and back

There's no HDMI control of boxes because for some odd reason, no cable box supports it, even though there are plenty of functions in the HDMI-CEC spec that would get rid of this IR business with cable boxes.

HDMI-CEC is still in the Xbox One, that's how it can turn your TV on. It would be silly to rip that out, it's just using pin 13 to send commands to devices in the chain.

 

[SlimJim]

...

Sorry for your misfortune, but that was actually a great read.

I am sure to never touch a 'smart' remote now

(There should be some EU regulations that remotes have to be compatible or something)

 

[Arwin]

http://youtu.be/rDXm8ja8ArU

We can upload recorded game videos straight to SkyDrive (MP4).

That's a nice feature.

 

[Bagel seed]

Live gameplay streaming delayed until first part of 2014

Just days ahead of the Xbox One's Friday North American launch, Microsoft has announced that the ability to stream live Xbox One gameplay through gaming-focused site Twitch.tv will not be available until early 2014.

"We know the ability to instantly broadcast gameplay is something the gaming community is excited about, and we are too," the company said in a blog post this morning. "We are working to ensure the initial Twitch on Xbox One broadcasting experience meets the expectations of the Twitch community, so while this feature won’t be available right away, we’ll let you know as soon as it is ready. Our goal is to deliver it during the first part of 2014."

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2013/11/live-gameplay-streaming-on-xbox-one-delayed-until-2014/

Hope it's not delayed too long for you owners. Live streaming and observing is so nice when it's built in.

 

[RobertR1]

Live gameplay streaming delayed until first part of 2014



http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2013/11/live-gameplay-streaming-on-xbox-one-delayed-until-2014/

Hope it's not delayed too long for you owners. Live streaming and observing is so nice when it's built in.

I mainly want it to watch past broadcasts so if it takes a few more months to do right, cool.

 

[Scott_Arm]

I mainly want it to watch past broadcasts so if it takes a few more months to do right, cool.

Twtich tv app is out at launch (I think) if you want to watch your DOTA garbage You can watch, but you can't stream.

 

[Phil]

Sorry for your misfortune, but that was actually a great read.

I am sure to never touch a 'smart' remote now

(There should be some EU regulations that remotes have to be compatible or something)

While typing that down, I actually felt the entire frustration of that evening materialize in front of me.

I actually don't know if I ever will have the nerves to look at one of these remotes again without wanting to scorch down one of these companies.


To be fair though; if the remote has a learning ability and enough memory to save/clone a signal for every button times the number of virtual remotes, it's great. My Rotel supplied remote that came with my audio processor is pure awesomeness. I pretty much learned every function from the remotes I wanted to get rid of and it's worked flawless. The net result being; I only have one remote at my place - and my XBMC box has every button mapped. So, my advice, take care when getting cheap remotes with learning ability.

So, having that all said, I really hope the Xbox doesn't rely on IR codes and have some basic learning ability for the functions that might not work as expected. If it does, even if the IR code is missing, it's a problem solved and something less people will get fed up about.

And if not - I'll be happy to read this topic with some popcorn as other people fight through issues like these (well assuming I'm not the only one outthere). One things for certain though - as the launch draws near, I for one am highly anticipating the first impressions as people get theirs.

 

[RudeCurve]

http://youtu.be/rDXm8ja8ArU

We can upload recorded game videos straight to SkyDrive (MP4).

Sweet, now I can make full use of that massive 25GB that MS gave me for free....

There's no HDMI control of boxes because for some odd reason, no cable box supports it, even though there are plenty of functions in the HDMI-CEC spec that would get rid of this IR business with cable boxes.

HDMI-CEC is still in the Xbox One, that's how it can turn your TV on. It would be silly to rip that out, it's just using pin 13 to send commands to devices in the chain.

That's good news as my Toshiba TV supports that function.

 

[ERP]

Sorry for your misfortune, but that was actually a great read.

I am sure to never touch a 'smart' remote now

(There should be some EU regulations that remotes have to be compatible or something)

Off topic, but the new logitech harmony remotes with the separate base station IR transmitter are really good, I hated my logitech 880, but the new one is really nice. Better button feel and no longer any need to hold the remote pointed at the TV for 5+seconds. Doesn't resolve the unsupported device issue though.

FWIW none of the other "universal remotes" I own will control all of my devices, older receivers tend to cause the most issues IME.

 

[Dave Baumann]

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-11-19-microsoft-releases-xbox-one-smartglass-app

XBOX One specific Smartglass app is available for Windows Phone and Windows 8 users right now.

 

[Cyan]

You might be surprised. The "Spears" of Spears and Munsil (The definitive HD calibration disc) works at Microsoft, on the XBox team. He was my manager, in fact.

This can potentially mean that the console will have a decent calibrator built-in.

Taking into account how obsessive I am with those things I can't wait to try it.

As of currently I am using the settings djkribbles helped me to create and a natural setting with very little but functional calibration for 3D content because the extra brightness helps with passive glasses.

I have been searching for Stacey Spears on, hoping to find an online tutorial for calibration on youtube or something and I came across this.

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/stacey-spears/9/a24/611

He has registered quite a few patents, didn't he?

 

[bkilian]

There's no HDMI control of boxes because for some odd reason, no cable box supports it, even though there are plenty of functions in the HDMI-CEC spec that would get rid of this IR business with cable boxes.

HDMI-CEC is still in the Xbox One, that's how it can turn your TV on. It would be silly to rip that out, it's just using pin 13 to send commands to devices in the chain.

It's not in the cable provider's interests to support HDMI-CEC. They want you to use their cable box as primary, that's how they get their ancillary revenue (video on demand)

 

[bkilian]

This can potentially mean that the console will have a decent calibrator built-in.

Taking into account how obsessive I am with those things I can't wait to try it.

As of currently I am using the settings djkribbles helped me to create and a natural setting with very little but functional calibration for 3D content because the extra brightness helps with passive glasses.

I have been searching for Stacey Spears on, hoping to find an online tutorial for calibration on youtube or something and I came across this.

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/stacey-spears/9/a24/611

He has registered quite a few patents, didn't he?

Stacey is a smart guy, and he not only loves video and audio stuff, he _lives_ it.

 

[Cyan]

http://youtu.be/rDXm8ja8ArU

We can upload recorded game videos straight to SkyDrive (MP4).

Unlimited Skydrive space and the fact that your friends can see when you uploaded a video is a good thing.

Just imagine the potential in a game like Skyrim where fun things can happen all the time!

Some really interesting tidbits from the webpage about calibration which bkillian has shared:

http://www.spearsandmunsil.com/?portfolio=getting-started-with-the-high-definition-benchmark-2

Preparation
Perform the calibration under the same lighting conditions you generally use to watch quality material like movies. In general, video looks best when the room is as dark as possible, but it’s most important to duplicate the real lighting conditions you will be watching under. If there are windows in the room that let in sunlight and you tend to watch movies at night, then the calibration should also be performed at night.

When you’re ready to perform the calibration, first turn on your display and Blu-ray player and let the system warm up for 15 minutes or so, preferably playing some real material.

Video mode settings

Once the system has warmed up, it’s time to start adjusting. Most modern displays have an overall “Picture Mode” setting, and several advanced picture settings. It’s important to get these set correctly first.

Picture Mode

There are no standards for what these modes do, and the names vary considerably. Generally if there is a “Movie” or “Cinema” setting, that is the one to use. On some displays, the “Movie” or “Cinema” mode is preset and locks out all the other picture controls. In that case, or if there is no “Movie” or “Cinema” mode, try using “Custom,” “Normal” or “Standard.” Avoid anything that sound like it makes the picture extra-bold, like “Vivid” or “Dynamic”, or modes that sound like they’re optimized for a single purpose like “Sports” or “Game”.

Advanced Video Modes

For the most part, we recommend turning special picture “enhancement” modes off. They are usually optimized for low-quality video and bright environments, and actually will harm the picture quality of high-quality video like Blu-ray Discs when watching in a low-light environment.

Set these to Off or 0 (write down the original setting first):

• Noise Reduction/Noise Filter
• Black Tone
• Dynamic Contrast
• Shadow Detail
• Flesh Tone
• Edge Enhancement
• Black Corrector
• Contrast Enhancer
• Live Color
• Smart Dimming
• Color Enhancement
• Ambient Light Sensor
• Motion Plus/Cinema Motion/Smooth Motion/Real Cinema
• Auto Iris

If you encounter a mode with a similar name to one of the above settings, or a mode that is described in the owner’s manual as a video enhancement or improvement, it’s best to turn it off.

Special cases:

• Color Temperature/Color Tone. Setting this perfectly requires test equipment, but usually if there is a “Cinema”, or “Neutral” option, that is often close to correct and is a good choice. If that is not offered, “Computer” or “Normal” are other good choices. “Cool” is not generally a good choice, as commonly it sacrifices color accuracy to get higher light output. It is worthwhile putting up the 11-Step Crossed Gray Scale pattern and trying the different color temperature settings. Any setting that makes any of the gray steps seem to have a colored tint are probably bad choices. It’s not uncommon to have more than one setting that looks essentially white. Unless you have the test equipment necessary to check color temperature, just select one that looks as neutral as possible.

• Backlight. If this setting is offered, a good starting point is to turn it to the middle value. Later on, when you are performing the rough Contrast adjustment (further down in this guide), if the screen seems uncomfortably bright when viewing the Contrast pattern on the Spears and Munsil HD Benchmark, 2nd Edition, turn the backlight down until the light output is comfortable to view. Then check it again when you are performing the Brightness adjustment (further down in this guide). If the screen seems notably dim while viewing the Brightness pattern, such that the right-hand bars on the Brightness pattern are very hard to see once the Brightness control is set correctly, then turn the backlight up.

• Black Level or HDMI Black Level. This should be set to “Low”, “Video”, or “Standard”. It should not be set to “Normal”, “PC”, or “Extended”.

This last one related to the RGB -I guess?- is very interesting. :smile2: Should I set the console to Standard RGB instead of Full RGB? I am all for it if need be!

 

[Cyan]

Stacey is a smart guy, and he not only loves video and audio stuff, he _lives_ it.

: -) I think passionate people about what they really like or love has a better chance to succeed, provided they can sell their ideas well, of course.

This has happened a handful times, and not many people achieve both things. I think this one is a case where the person succeeds.

I am also living something, basically the hype. Today I couldn't sleep well over the fact that I wanted to see a phone message or receiving an email telling me that I can pay the console and the shipment would be due soon.

Needless to say that I didn't receive any of them.

I've never been this hyped in my entire life. Yes, I had bought the Xbox 360 on launch date, but then I had purchased the original Xbox less than a year ago, during Christmas 2004.

This time around though, it has been 8 years!... And this is the most anticipated device of my life!! I think.

 

[-tkf-]

Live gameplay streaming delayed until first part of 2014



http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2013/11/live-gameplay-streaming-on-xbox-one-delayed-until-2014/

Hope it's not delayed too long for you owners. Live streaming and observing is so nice when it's built in.

Weird, the late announcement and that it isn't ready when Sony was able to get theirs done.

 

[blakjedi]

Weird, the late announcement and that it isn't ready when Sony was able to get theirs done.

I agree. One can NEVER be sure what MS is up to.

 

[iceberg187]

This is supposedly from Heavy.com

Broke embargo but pulled it back

Pros
- Much better streamlined dashboard/UI
- Great selection and variety of launch games
- The controller is a lot better (THANK THE GAMING GODS FOR THAT NEW D-PAD!)
- The Kinect 2.0's body capture technology comes vastly improved
- Multitasking is a breeze thanks to the Snap feature
- Online gaming is a much better experience with Smart Match
- The apps all perform well
- Watching TV on your Xbox One just feels right
- Following your friends feels a lot easier to navigate than before
- The addition of media achievements and challenges is awesome

Cons
- The Kinect 2.0 voice recognition technology works...most of the time
- The SmartGlass app doesn't have a lot of readily compatible games/movies...yet
- Crimson Dragon and LocoCycle are letdowns

 

[Bagel seed]

Weird, the late announcement and that it isn't ready when Sony was able to get theirs done.

Not really weird anymore I think. As Albert said DRM cancellation fckd things up somewhat. Something has to take a hit to get the rest of it up and running in time.