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Microsoft: "Xbox One isn't a native media center extender."

SenjutsuSage

SenjutsuSage

Banned
http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/08/05/ask-microsoft-anything-about-xbox-one

Will Xbox One work as a Windows Media Center Extender? For those that use a PC with TV tuner to record and watch TV, we use the 360 as an extender to stream this content to TVs. Will this continue with Xbox One?


WHITTEN: Xbox One isn’t a native Media Center Extender. We’ll continue to work to enable more ways for everyone to get the television they want over the life of the program.
Click to expand...

Seriously, I really need to know what is meant by this. It would be awesome if IGN even bothered to do some kind of follow up on this answer, because this is a pretty damn big deal if they're saying what I think they are.

Using my Xbox 360 to stream stuff from my computer to watch on my HDTV is one of the things I use my Xbox 360 for the most, perhaps rivaling even gaming itself. Does this statement somehow mean they're not including this capability on the Xbox One in any form? And is it because they somehow want us to pay to use some of the other services on the system? Or is it because of some type of deal with cable and satellite providers? If the worst case scenario that I'm considering right now is even remotely close to true, then this would mean that a $500 videogame console that talks about being an all in one entertainment device can't even do what a $100 apple tv can do, or even what an Xbox 360 can do. Am I simply misinterpreting what was actually said here?

Because as badly as I want an Xbox One at launch, if this is actually the case, I'll be canceling my pre-order today, and just wait for a major price drop before I even consider picking it up. This is beyond frustrating if true.
 
M

mcfrank

Member
IGN follow up...


gandalf-laugh.gif
 
E

eastmen

Banned
I posted in the other thread but this means I'm canceling my xbox one preorder. I use media center on 5 xbox 360s in my house and was hoping to replace them with xbox ones. But now that's out of the question.
 
F

Felix Lighter

Member
The Xbox 360 was a Media Center Extender. That's not the PC streaming functionality, it basically let you access Windows Media Center from the Xbox 360 but the basic music and video streaming is separate.
 
B

Bsigg12

Member
What's so hard to understand? They are beginning to drop support of Windows Media Center. It's not included in Windows 8 without purchasing it separately. The Xbox One will still have a bunch of difference apps to do the same thing Media Center does.
 
SenjutsuSage

SenjutsuSage

Banned
Kyon said:
So does that mean you can't use media server or stream stuff from PC? lol if true
Click to expand...

I use to use Windows Media Center to do all my streaming, till I actually found out on here that the default system video player actually supports 6 channel AC3 audio. Plus the system video player's fast forwarding and rewinding actually works properly, compared to how absolutely broken those features are in Windows Media Center on the Xbox 360.

That's what it sounds like they're saying, like you can't stream from your PC at all. And I'm definitely not buying this at launch if that's true.

Bsigg12 said:
What's so hard to understand? They are beginning to drop support of Windows Media Center. It's not included in Windows 8 without purchasing it separately. The Xbox One will still have a bunch of difference apps to do the same thing Media Center does.
Click to expand...

I'm hoping that's the case, but that's not what I'm getting from the statement. I'm really not willing to take what essentially amounts to a $500 gamble on this being properly supported. This obviously isn't the only reason that I want an Xbox One, but I consider support for this extremely important to have, and if it isn't there, then that significantly decreases the value of an Xbox One in my book. I honestly never considered this before now, because I thought that out of the box support for this type of thing was a given on the next xbox. At this point, I would either need to get some clarification, or, better yet, see an actual video of streaming from the pc in action on the xbox one before I believe it's actually there after this.
 
B

Bam Bam Baklava

Member
Bsigg12 said:
What's so hard to understand? They are beginning to drop support of Windows Media Center. It's not included in Windows 8 without purchasing it separately. The Xbox One will still have a bunch of difference apps to do the same thing Media Center does.
Click to expand...

What are these apps?
 
U

Uno Venova

Banned
I've always wondered if they will either keep media features like PC streaming and USB copying the same or restrict it for whatever reason. I guess that's something we'll never get concrete info on until launch.
 
S

Synth

Member
I'm not going to miss the Media Center Extender really. Whichever console gets a functioning Plex app becomes my media box.
 
B

blurredvision

Member
PG2G said:
You don't need media center to stream stuff from your PC on Xbox 360.
Click to expand...

This. Media Center Extender is what the 360 does now, basically provides you a Windows Media Center interface on your TV via the 360 from Media Center on your PC. I think Microsoft is moving away from Media Center as a whole, as evidenced by taking Media Center out of the core Windows 8 package and offering it as a paid add-on.

This honestly isn't as big of a deal as some of you will make it out to be.
 
J

jond76

Banned
Bsigg12 said:
What's so hard to understand? They are beginning to drop support of Windows Media Center. It's not included in Windows 8 without purchasing it separately. The Xbox One will still have a bunch of difference apps to do the same thing Media Center does.
Click to expand...

Nope nope nope. Cue the apocalypse!
 
D

dhonk

Member
TRANSLATION: We dont want people to have access to media that they arent paying US for. We want people paying for our services, speaking of which... Have you joined Xbox Live Gold yet?
 
H

hawk2025

Member
Whoa.

I really, really hope the scenario you described is NOT what this means, and it only means that it won't have the Media Center "interface". Hopefully clarification comes out soon.

Regardless, the answer pretty much dodged the second part of the question... hoping for the best.
 
N

Nif

Member
Windows Media Center extender was a failed initiative to stream Windows Media Center (the windows application) to tvs from a windows PC. There were a handful of them available around the time the xbox launched, and they included an application to make the 360 work as an extender. Early on, it was a good way to watch Arrested Development or stream Netflix before Microsoft included a native Netflix app.

It doesn't have much to do with serving media content directly to the xbox.
 
B

Bsigg12

Member
Style Fox said:
What are these apps?
Click to expand...

I don't know, but people are acting like this is the end of the world because Microsoft is phasing out one of their programs. I get that people use it, but they are making far more money with Xbox Video and Xbox Music than they would with Media Center hence why they are making people pay for it on Windows 8.
 
S

Synth

Member
hawk2025 said:
Whoa.

I really, really hope the scenario you described is NOT what this means, and it only means that it won't have the Media Center "interface". Hopefully clarification comes out soon.

Regardless, the answer pretty much dodged the second part of the question... hoping for the best.
Click to expand...

That's exactly what this means. There seems to be a lot of confusion here already.

This does not mean you won't be able to stream your media people.
 
J

jayu26

Member
SenjutsuSage said:
http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/08/05/ask-microsoft-anything-about-xbox-one



Seriously, I really need to know what is meant by this. It would be awesome if IGN even bothered to do some kind of follow up on this answer, because this is a pretty damn big deal if they're saying what I think they are.

Using my Xbox 360 to stream stuff from my computer to watch on my HDTV is one of the things I use my Xbox 360 for the most, perhaps rivaling even gaming itself. Does this statement somehow mean they're not including this capability on the Xbox One in any form? And is it because they somehow want us to pay to use some of the other services on the system? Or is it because of some type of deal with cable and satellite providers? If the worst case scenario that I'm considering right now is even remotely close to true, then this would mean that a $500 videogame console that talks about being an all in one entertainment device can't even do what a $100 apple tv can do, or even what an Xbox 360 can do. Am I simply misinterpreting what was actually said here?

Because as badly as I want an Xbox One at launch, if this is actually the case, I'll be canceling my pre-order today, and just wait for a major price drop before I even consider picking it up. This is beyond frustrating if true.
Click to expand...

If this is true...

1: There probably will be work around some how (third party)
2: Will probably come after launch. It is proably on the to do list (like most things with Xbone)

They are probably figuring which formats they are going to support, or if they are going to require for us to download something proprietary (like itunes use to be).

But it probably means this...
hawk2025 said:
Whoa.

I really, really hope the scenario you described is NOT what this means, and it only means that it won't have the Media Center "interface". Hopefully clarification comes out soon.

Regardless, the answer pretty much dodged the second part of the question... hoping for the best.
Click to expand...
 
T

ThoughtsOfSpeaking

Banned
Wait what? You mean I cant stream my own stuff to the xbox one? Surely they must have some other solution via wifi direct?

And to be fair, this is a big question for Sony as well. I haven't heard anything in the way of media support from them either outside of apps.
 
W

watership

Member
Kyon said:
So does that mean you can't use media server or stream stuff from PC? lol if true
Click to expand...

SenjutsuSage took out a key word in the title. "Xbox One isn't a native "WINDOWS MEDIA CENTER" extender." Since windows media centre is on the outs with MS for a few years now, that's understandable. It's going to be a streaming box, don't worry. But since that word is missing from the title, let the FUD spread far and wide!
 
B

BigPapaGlueHands

Banned
Bsigg12 said:
I don't know, but people are acting like this is the end of the world because Microsoft is phasing out one of their programs. I get that people use it, but they are making far more money with Xbox Video and Xbox Music than they would with Media Center hence why they are making people pay for it on Windows 8.
Click to expand...
MS gonna MS.
 
P

PG2G

Member
You guys really need to read about what a Media Center Extender is before you take this the wrong way. Besides, if you don't know what it is you sure as hell aren't using the capabilities now (as it requires a fair amount of setup on your PC side)
 
S

Sojgat

Member
Bsigg12 said:
I don't know, but people are acting like this is the end of the world because Microsoft is phasing out one of their programs. I get that people use it, but they are making far more money with Xbox Video and Xbox Music than they would with Media Center hence why they are making people pay for it on Windows 8.
Click to expand...

Because it's taking more value away from the customer, giving them even less reason to upgrade to this PR disaster box.
 
K

Krakn3Dfx

Member
They're not going to support extending Windows Media Center now?

The Windows Media Center that they now charge extra for in Windows 8?

That's...interesting.
 
S

Skeff

Member
Nif said:
Windows Media Center extender was a failed initiative to stream Windows Media Center (the windows application) to tvs from a windows PC. There were a handful of them available around the time the xbox launched, and they included an application to make the 360 work as an extender. Early on, it was a good way to watch Arrested Development or stream Netflix before Microsoft included a native Netflix app.

It doesn't have much to do with serving media content directly to the xbox.
Click to expand...

I don't know, as I don't use it, but some people in the AMA thread we;re pointing out that you could watch TV channels in Media center on your x360, and this is the feature which will be missed. As long as it's still DLNA capable it should be fine.
 
K

Kyon

Banned
SenjutsuSage said:
I use to use Windows Media Center to do all my streaming, till I actually found out on here that the default system video player actually supports 6 channel AC3 audio. Plus the system video player's fast forwarding and rewinding actually works properly, compared to how absolutely broken those features are in Windows Media Center on the Xbox 360.

That's what it sounds like they're saying, like you can't stream from your PC at all. And I'm definitely not buying this at launch if that's true.
Click to expand...

WTF? That should be standard by now that's horrible ;_;
 
P

PG2G

Member
Krakn3Dfx said:
They're not going to support extending Windows Media Center now?

The Windows Media Center that they now charge extra for in Windows 8?

That's...interesting.
Click to expand...

Yes, the same one that hasn't been updated in like 5 years. It is a dead product and it is only being sold standalone because there is a small community of people that rely on it.
 
J

JaggedSac

Member
Synth said:
I'm not going to miss the Media Center Extender really. Whichever console gets a functioning Plex app becomes my media box.
Click to expand...

Yeah media center sucks on 360. MS hadn't even updated the thing in years either. It was the reason I got a Roku and created a Plex server. I would imagine the Bone will get a Plex client on the 3rd party marketplace. Looking forward to it.
 
E

eastmen

Banned
Bsigg12 said:
I don't know, but people are acting like this is the end of the world because Microsoft is phasing out one of their programs. I get that people use it, but they are making far more money with Xbox Video and Xbox Music than they would with Media Center hence why they are making people pay for it on Windows 8.
Click to expand...

well without media center support half of the functions I was looking forward to wont work on my xbox one. No more switching from live tv to game instantly.

I guess unless I keep my xbox 360 and plug it into my xbox one. But its just increasing the amount of components I need instead of decreasing.

I will just skip out this gen and get a new video card.
 
F

Felix Lighter

Member
Skeff said:
I don't know, as I don't use it, but some people in the AMA thread we;re pointing out that you could watch TV channels in Media center on your x360, and this is the feature which will be missed. As long as it's still DLNA capable it should be fine.
Click to expand...

If your PC had a cable input you could watch tv in Window Media Center.
 
T

thepg12

Neo Member
They tried phasing out Windows Media Center with Windows 8 but eventually left it in as a pay for option. This looks like they're not supporting the Extender functionality of Windows Media Center. They will most definitely support playing media off of DLNA devices or media hosted on PCs
 
K

Krakn3Dfx

Member
PG2G said:
Yes, the same one that hasn't been updated in like 5 years. It is a dead product and it is only being sold standalone because there is a small community of people that rely on it.
Click to expand...

I use it on the 360 quite a bit to stream recorded TV from WMC on my HTPC.

Unfortunate that they're dropping support on their next platform, I guess I had just assumed that would. Big deal to people who use it I think.
 
N

Nif

Member
Skeff said:
I don't know, as I don't use it, but some people in the AMA thread we;re pointing out that you could watch TV channels in Media center on your x360, and this is the feature which will be missed. As long as it's still DLNA capable it should be fine.
Click to expand...

It required a TV tuner on your PC, which 99% of PC owners didn't have. These days with digital/encrypted cable subscriptions, they're pretty much useless anyway unless you get a cable card. Since the Xbone will have its own DVR, they don't have much reason to support a dead technology that barely anyone would ever use.
 
E

eastmen

Banned
blurredvision said:
That's what the HDMI pass-through and multiple operating systems are for.
Click to expand...

But I don't have anything to pass through the hdmi . I use media center extender and I wasn't planning on keeping an xbox 360 to use a feature that should be built into the xbox one.
 
P

PG2G

Member
Krakn3Dfx said:
I use it on the 360 quite a bit to stream recorded TV from WMC on my HTPC.

Unfortunate that they're dropping support on their next platform, I guess I had just assumed that would. Big deal to people who use it I think.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I know there are people that use it. There are people here (including OP) that don't really understand what this means though
 
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