Patent?
I want to patent inserting a plug into a socket - oh yes I have a lot of money so other people can't to it without paying me.
I wish I was joking.
The Xbox 720 rumour mill has picked up again this year after patents surfaced which suggest Microsoft's next console may also operate as a digital video recorder, fusing telly, film and gaming into a single entertainment hub. Though the patent was filed in 2007, it wasn't approved until 27 December 2011. The US Patent & …
I assume it would work in a similar way to how Windows Media Centre works with Freeview, which is actually very well. .
In fact, I already have this functionality through my XBox (in a round about way) as the XBox functions as an extender for Media Centre, although I rarely use it as I have a Freeview+ box which takes less faffing about.
One would wonder huh? Would be funny to see MS sue an HTPC company using Windows as the "interface" that integrates a DVR viewer (Windows Media Player) with a gaming console (think having Steam open in another window would count?).
The miracle would be if they make the nextbox power-efficient enough in "off"-but-DVR-mode to keep your front room ambient temp lower than the 80*F the XBox360 makes it....
There was an argument about having integrated non-core functionality a while back in the early days of Blu-ray and Freeview. But the problem now is Smart TVs. They have so much built in functionality that you can end up with three devices all providing similar features.
Samsungs Smart TVs and DVR/Bluray combos both provide identical smart TV functionality. So you're paying for it twice.
Of course games consoles tend to get regular firmware updates and expanded functionality, but I do wonder what the answer is to duplication.
Perhaps games consoles can be re-branded as entertainment hubs with games just one facility they offer. The smart part of a smart TV could be a module so you don't have to buy it if you don't want it.
I'm not even sure the writer who produced the article read the patent or uses an Xbox for that matter!
The patent states that users "users can record media content while playing games. Alternatively, users can record content when the gaming console is turned off" this implies that the recording is not being made on your hard drive but - probably - in the cloud (elements of which were added to the Xbox on the last update). I'd hazard a guess that this would then mean you would stream the recorded content to your Xbox in the same way as 4oD, 5oD do on the current Xbox.
So this: "it could potentially put off content providers, who might be unhappy about their programmes being recorded to a hard drive." won't happen.
I just hope MS sort the media interface out, the music player is very frustrating when trying to navigate through lots of albums\tracks\artists stored on my NAS.
It's not going to be the Xbox 720. Where on earth did anyone get this daft idea from? The iPhone 4 will not be replaced by the iPhone 8. The PS2 was not replaced by the PS4. Star Trek 2 was not followed by Star Trek 4 (although many wish it had been, and they'd skipped 3 altogether).
Depending on who you speak to, it was called the 360 to either a) discourage any assumption it was equivalent to a PS2 or b) imply that it put the gamer "at the centre" of the experience (spot the joss sticks at work).
It'll probably have some poncey name like "Xbox Ascension" or "Xbox Revelation". I doubt they'll be able to call it the "Xbox that actually works and doesn't break down", though.
Sony's launch of PS Vita rather than PSP2 suggests a similar approach for the next Playstation (although that'd really be daft)...
With my £300 Media Center PC, with its £75 twin tuner Freeview HD card, connected to my xbox via media center i already have a truly brilliant dvr. I've never seen one yet that comes close to the slickness of the interface - even though its not been updated for years! I previously used a hard disk recorder and it was a lot of hassle. The fact that the PC is also useful for general purpose work, and the xbox is also useful for games and other things, is a bonus!
Video on Demand clients, like the iPlayer in Britain and Verizon's recently announced XBox Live service in the US are probably much more likely to be used on consoles than full on DVR functionality. (Except for the fact that Microsoft won't allow the iPlayer on the XBox, because they don't want any any useful add-ons to be available unless the end user pays for a subscription).