Let Me Use My Game Console as a Cable Box
I fear I’m losing my technology passion. I’m not excited about phones, upgrades are incremental at this point. I feel the same way about tablets. I couldn’t tell you what’s new with the iPad Air, other than it’s arier I suppose. And now I’m not excited about the new game consoles. Here’s where the big difference is though, I can tell you exactly what would get me interested in game consoles. If I could use one as a DVR and/or cable box.
I love my Xbox. In fact, if it wasn’t for the Xbox I would have never picked up a Windows Phone. I liked it precisely because the tile layout reminded me of the Xbox. I’m not even that big of a gamer. Sure I’ll spend anywhere between 5-10 hours a week gaming, more if I get sucked into a game (Mass Effect, I’m looking at you). But I use my Xbox as a streaming device more than anything.
It’s not for lack of other options either. I have entirely too many streaming devices I could use. I have a Boxee Box, a Smart TV, Chromecast, and Roku. It should be easiest to use my Smart TV for things like Netflix, the remote even has a Netflix button. But I still find myself reaching for my controller. It’s just easier to scroll through titles with a controller. Not to mention I can use SmartGlass to search.
If I could use my Xbox as an all-in-one entertainment center I’d be sold. I realize they’re moving this way with the Xbox One. That Microsoft wants to be the only box in your living room. And while you can plug the cable box into the Xbox One, you can’t DVR that way (or at least the articles I’ve read say you can’t). Two, I still have to pay to rent that cable box from the cable company. Lastly, I must have the cable box cluttering up my TV stand.
I have no doubt it’s the cable/satellite companies holding up this innovation. DirectTV, Dish, Comcast, Uverse, I want all of you to listen to me very closely. If you want me to switch to your service, let the technology grow. Because the instant one of you allows my console to do what it’s technically capable of, is the instant I start giving you my money.
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Nicole is a Software Quality Engineer, music collector, and chronic project starter. In her free time she enjoys reading trashy romance novels, catching up on her game backlog, and bourbon.
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I have never been keen on the whole “Jam-Everything-Into-One-Device” mode of thinking on electronics. For one I do not have Cable and have not since 2000. I stream or buy the shows I want… no commercials or waiting to watch a show when it is on. I do my TV viewing when I have time or desire for it. What makes me nervous is say… XBox cuts a deal with Comcast forcing people to use them for cable or Brighthouse, etc. I read something about Microsoft working on their own cable provider options too.
You bring up a good point. I guess I envisioned this in addition to all the services that are available on console. It’d all be integrated. Like if I wanted to watch “New Girl” I could search for it and it’d show me the results across services including my local TV.
But I’m making the assumption that cable companies want what’s best for consumers. And I know better than that….
ROFLMAO… yeah, the Cable Companies really care about us. 😉 Cable keeps screwing us all little by little each year. One of the main reasons I ditched cable back in 2000. Yes, I still have to pay them for my broadband but I don’t need them for anything else anymore.
Overseas, most Cable is much much less and offered as a la carte, or you pay ONLY for the channels you want. We will NEVER see that option in Merica, as Big Cable will never allow that.
Xbox 360 does work as a U-Verse box – http://www.att.com/esupport/article.jsp?sid=KB408692&cv=813#fbid=lg75q7s7oE7
I can see how you’d think that, seeing as how AT&T says that it’s possible. But that feature hasn’t been available since 2012. When I finally got my Xbox last year, I was excited to get to use it as receiver. I went to order the kit and “out of stock.” I can’t even find the kit page anymore. Uverse also supported WP7, but never created an app for WP8. So they kind of abandoned Microsoft as a platform.
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/14/att-suspends-u-verse-xbox-360/
LOL I can’t say I’m surprised.
Most cable companies disable the usb ports built into their own boxes (why bother putting them there in the first place if they’re unusable?). I can’t see them taking this step to let you use your console as a dvr or even cable box, because it means they are willingly giving up control, which they unfortunately will never do.