Streaming TV?

[Nala]

Is it true that Xbox Live is going to have the capabilities of streaming TV soon? Apparently this morning Microsoft announced that it was going to happen this holiday season.

[SiA360]

I haven't heard this. It will be like shows that are actually on at the same time, or something like Hulu? I watch live sports on ESPN on the Xbox because of Comcast. Do you know what the service will be called and if it will be free? Maybe you have a link to where you heard this.

[zanyweb]

If you're an XBox Live Gold member with a subscription to the FiOS service, Verizon is saying that you won't have to buy any new hardware. I haven't read the whole article yet, though, so I'm not sure if there's a monthly charge. Comcast will deliver video through Xfinity On Demand.

Here's a link to the article at PCWorld: Comcast, Verizon to Start Streaming TV to Xbox 360 | PCWorld

[SiA360]

Thank you for the link. I'm a little confused by it though. I don't use Verizon's internet service, but I do use Comcast. If you have to be subscribed to FIOS with Verizon, then how does a Comcast customer get access? I hope it will be free. The 40 channels would be awesome! Technology just keeps getting better and better!

[Pamalala]

I have Comcast! I hope that means I'll be able to stream TV through my Xbox. Or something? I don't entirely understand how it works, either.

[zanyweb]

After reading through the article, I didn't see any mention of an extra cost. It sounds to me like it's going to be included in Comcast's Xfinity service and Verizon's FiOS service. It doesn't sound like they have a whole lot of content to offer so far. They mentioned HBO, Bravo, the science fiction channel, and a couple of others in addition to the international programming.

[Pamalala]

After reading through the article, I didn't see any mention of an extra cost. It sounds to me like it's going to be included in Comcast's Xfinity service and Verizon's FiOS service. It doesn't sound like they have a whole lot of content to offer so far. They mentioned HBO, Bravo, the science fiction channel, and a couple of others in addition to the international programming.

So you'd have to have the Xfinity service if you want to stream stuff through your Xbox? Ugh, why is this so confusing. They need to explain stuff more clearly!

[SiA360]

Hopefully it is just the internet Xfinity service, because there would be no point in requiring cable, because you would just watch it through your cable box and not your Xbox. Sounds like it will be a sweet deal. I wonder if it will save programs so you can watch them at anytime as well.

[Pamalala]

A Tivo-type thing would be really neat! I'm thinking it'll be more like Comcast's On Demand thing, though, where you can pick shows/movies you want to watch from a list. That seems like it'd be the easiest for them to do.

[zanyweb]

I have a feeling the information is meant to be confusing because they don't have it all worked out. From what I can tell, you can only get a fraction of the content through Xbox that you can get with conventional cable. That will probably change as they reach agreements, but right now I'm not sure that it's much of an alternative to cable.