Hands-on with IPTV on Xbox 360

by Christopher Grant { Jan 11th 2007 at 11:30AM }

We had a chance to check out Microsoft's IPTV offering for Xbox 360, announced earlier this week during Bill Gates' CES keynote, and get answers to some of the questions that have been nagging at us since first hearing about the service. Though Microsoft hasn't announced any providers for the service yet, both AT&T and Verizon -- as well as fourteen other telcos around the world -- use Microsoft's IPTV middleware platform to provide television over fiber, so they seem like likely candidates when the service debuts holiday season '07.Of course, if you're considering the DVR functionality, the Xbox 360's anemic 20GB hard drive won't get you very far. A Microsoft rep said the file sizes are dependent not only on the resolution of the feed, but the compression used by the provider; however, one could probably assume that the Xbox Live Video Marketplace's videos would be roughly analogous in size. Regardless, we'd expect an update to the drive before IPTV launches. Because IPTV uses software, not a hardware tuner, to decode the signal, the number of streams that can be simultaneously recorded is limited solely by internet and hard drive bandwidth. In addition, IPTV is capable of offering more HD channels than other platforms, like cable or satellite. Because the service shares the same connection as your phone and internet connection, it can provide telco caller-ID and features like teleconferencing have "been discussed." Perhaps the biggest question we have is whether or not any of this functionality would (or could) be made available to gamers who don't (or can't) get IPTV service in their area. Microsoft isn't saying anything but, considering the small amount of consumers with fiber service to the home, we certainly hope so.

Tags: convergence, IPTV, Microsoft, multimedia, television

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

droptop GP @ Jan 11th 2007 11:42AM

So is this service exclusive to the US only??

Just like the current 360 TV/Movie downloads....??

copa @ Jan 11th 2007 11:56AM

Well, since you were able to hands-on the IPTV service, why not tell us how it was?

Was the interface responsive? Is fast-forward and rewind fluid like my Tivo, or jerky like my Scientific Atlanta box?

How intuitive was the interface for scheduling recordings / season passes? Can I control scheduling from a remote computer?

Intentless @ Jan 11th 2007 12:01PM

you don't need fiber connection do you... that would blow...

Brian @ Jan 11th 2007 12:09PM

How much is this going to cost? Don't forget the hard hitting questions.

Brogan @ Jan 11th 2007 12:15PM

. So is this service exclusive to the US only??

no there going to partner with bt in the uk and a bunch of other companies all over the world (well 14 countries at least)

cubbiechris @ Jan 11th 2007 12:24PM

Do mind telling us what you think of the it?

Scott @ Jan 11th 2007 12:45PM

#4 - That's likely to depend on the local carrier's service charges.

AT&T's U-verse charges between $80 and $140 for both internet and IPTV.

adeadguy @ Jan 11th 2007 12:51PM

the reason that IPTV can have "more HD channels" is how it streams the channels to you. Essentially, instead of streaming all of the channels to you and having you pick the one you want to watch, IPTV streams one channel, and if you want to change the channel you send you channel changing command back to the server, which then changes the channel for you.

This means that even if you are trying to use the DVR functionality of the IPTV that you can't watch one show while you record another and that changing channels will not be as fast as you'd like.

IPTV channels also require fiber optic to the home to get the necessary bandwidth for the show. That service is not cheap and not available in a lot of areas.

Cable could offer the same number of HD channels as IPTV if they started broadcasting just a single channel at a time to their digital cable boxes and switching it the same way IPTV does. In fact, cable companies would like to do it this way but there are currently regulations (having to do with cable card I believe) that prevent them from doing this.

Either way, it has serious implications about how many sets you can have watching channels and multi-tuner devices and the bandwidth required.

todd @ Jan 11th 2007 1:03PM

Question, they talked about 35 mb downloads, according to this https://uverse1.att.com/OmsNavigateMenuAction.do you add on a dsl package, standard, pro or elite. So I'm guessing that you don't need a super high speed connection for the service since the elite maxes at 6.0 down, or maybe just the TV uses the optic? If it's only the Tv that uses the optic seems like a waste of good bandwidth. Plus the pricing now isn't even that great, I haven't had cable in 10 years, after hearing about IPTV I thought hm I might give it a try since Lightspeed will be in my area by fall... not for that cost. I'll stick with my ATT elite and download via torrents the shows I want to watch.

C. Grant @ Jan 11th 2007 1:10PM

adeadguy: not true. Like I wrote in the post "the number of streams that can be simultaneously recorded is limited solely by internet and hard drive bandwidth."

MS said you'd be able to record multiple HD streams, as well as several SD shows at once.

Steve @ Jan 11th 2007 1:11PM

"IPTV channels also require fiber optic to the home to get the necessary bandwidth for the show."

Better not tell BT that eh! Their IPTV service runs over copper cables!

C. Grant @ Jan 11th 2007 1:13PM

"How much is this going to cost?"

It's a middleware package. Those decisions are entirely up to the content provider.

"Was the interface responsive? Is fast-forward and rewind fluid like my Tivo, or jerky like my Scientific Atlanta box?"

It was very responsive. The channel changing was instantaneous, the PIP functions were almost instant, the DVR functionality was quick.

wildcardd @ Jan 11th 2007 1:16PM

#1 Are you retarded or do you just not read the entire article before blasting off at the mouth like that.

"as well as fourteen other telcos around the world -- use Microsoft's IPTV middleware platform to provide television over fiber, so they seem like likely candidates when the service debuts holiday season '07."

sweethavok @ Jan 11th 2007 2:23PM

The one thing that would help kill Sony, or at least shut them up about their bigger hard drive, is if MS dicides to let us use third party external hard drives connected via usb. this would sove the whole storage limitaion problem for MS.

With that being said I know the likelyhood of it happening is slim to none but hey you never know.

TeddyJO @ Jan 11th 2007 3:20PM

Please dont tell me Im the only one not excited about this. It seems stupid and pointless, i dont want my 360 on while im watching TV and im not paying extra for IPTV. When FIOS does come to my area and if i do switch i still probably will never use this feature.

VampireHunter Z @ Jan 11th 2007 3:41PM

Come on TeddyJO.

Are you trying to tell me that checking your friend's list while watching TV isn't priceless?

IPTV seems cool but there is so much that I still don't know about it. Can you really choose exactly what channels you want instead of stupid cable packages? If it's streaming why do you need a HDD? Can't you just go to your guide and just watch anything that's live or previously aired? All the previously aired video has to be stored somewhere. Can't you just access any video anytime?

Systemi @ Jan 11th 2007 6:19PM

There is a video blog from Major Nelson on this here:

http://www.xbox.com/NR/rdonlyres/BF491CFF-8B54-4314-9553-FD16F8F8E7B5/0/vidIPTV_InterviewHi.asx

Invader Phlegm @ Jan 12th 2007 5:51AM

Hopefully, I can shed a little light on these proceedings.

While I have not used IPTV on Xbox 360, I have used IPTV over Verizon's FiOS service, while staying in Wobrun, MA (just outside of Boston).

What I can tell you about thier service. Pricing was more than fair. The FiOS internet package that I was using I only cost me $50/mo and my bandwidth was 15Mb down/2Mb up. The FiOS TV service (their branding for their IPTV), we only got the standard package, which was 180 channels and that only cost $40/mo. And then we got a $10 off discount for bundling the internet and TV services. So we were paying $80/month and getting both the fiber optic broadband and IPTV.

We had three FiOS TV boxes in our place, two SD and one HD. There was the one SD box which rented for $4/mo, the HD box for $10/mo and finally the multi-room DVR box (SD) for $20/mo. The basic package came with about a dozen HD channels, so having the one HD box for that was worth it, especially if you are into sports. Mine stayed mostly on Discovery and National Geo.

As for quality of service, I have been using cable forever (who hasn't) and IPTV completely blows it out of the water. First off, when I was talking to the tech that came out to our house to run the fiber from the street and rewire our whole place up, I was asking him about any number of stuff like outages and stuff (wanna make sure I was getting my monies worth). He went on to inform me that the nature of their network, allowed them to detect 95% of all problems in the network from their tech center (no need for customers to call problems in like you do when the cable goes out), and actually fix them from the computer in their center without ever sending a service agent out. This is very nice to know, as I have had my share or outage problems with cable in the past. I used to get Comcast when I lived down South, and those guy are total ass when it comes to service. I had this one problem with them that last almost six months, and they kept sending guys out, to look at my setup and to climb up the pole, and they never found out what was causing the problem. It was only after a tornado came through and wiped out half of my hood, before they fixed the problem by having to rewire the whole area of the city.

Anyway, moving on. The FiOS, IP television service is emaculate. Pretty much everything that Microsoft said at CES about how it will function, is how it did function. Channel changing was instant - never once did we experience any lag there. PiP channel surfing is the stuff and performs the way it is supposed to. The DVR box was really sweet. It was a combo DVR and media server. First off you can record up to two different shows simultaneously while you were watching another pre-recorded show. And then, you could use the DVR to record a show, and watch it on any other FiOS TV in the house - they all networked together once you had this one box. Heck, it even networked to your PC to do slide shows and play mp3s.

I think the best thing about IPTV was the overall quality of the signal vs. digital cable. I do not know whether it has to do with the compression or what, but the video was much cleaner than I was used to with digital cable - even on the SD boxes. Just a nice, clean picture quality and even the audio came out clearer. I guess the advantages of delivering the signal using WM9 vs. mpg2. Cleaner all around end product. The biggest surprise coming the first time I sat down to watch a few on-demand movies. Anyone with digital cable and a quality TV has probably noticed, there is a significant quality drop when viewing on-demand compared to their regular channels. On digital cable (with three companies now, Cox, Comcast and RCN), in the on-demand video, the colors tend to be more washed out and there is a lot of color banding on screen. On my CRT HD set, I can clearly see color banding whenever I watch on-demand. With FiOS IPTV service, there was no such thing. The image quality was of the same quality as the rest of their television offerings.

After having experienced that for over a year, going back to digital cable (when I moved to another area with my job) was such a pain, that a month after I had them connect the cable TV, I took the box back and canceled the service only keeping the broadband.

I can succintly say this. If Microsoft and their partners start offering IPTV in your area this fall, then take it. It is well worth the price of admission. More than likely, like with FiOS, the pricing should be fair. Afterall, these guys are trying to compete directly with well establish cable and satellite companies, they are not going to jack up the price when they know they have plenty of competition wherever they go. I like the fact that a Xbox 360 will be able to do just about everything that the hi-end IPTV settop boxes can do - it can output in hi-def, it can be used as a DVR, and I will not be surprised if you can use it to stream your DVRed content to other Xbox 360s/IPTV settop boxes in the house. But the system goes far beyond that. There is Video Marketplace and then there is the Windows Media Connect (for those with XP) and Windows Media Center Extender (for those with WinMCE or Vista). I've been using MCE since I got my 360, and this feature rocks. Add to all that, Xbox Live connectivity and I just do not have words. But the best part is, you will not have to pay a monthly rental fee on the box if you already have a Xbox 360. This is too awesome, and I have got to find a way to transfer my job back into an area that offers IPTV when this service rolls out.

Anyway, I hope that helps to answer some of your unanswered questions and to put aside some of your fears about this upcoming service.

And for all the international readers, here is a list that I found online of about a dozen IPTV partners with Microsoft: AT&T/SBC, BT, Deutsche Telekom, Swisscom, T-Online France, TDC, Telecom Italia, Verizon, Ya.com, Bell South, Bell Canada, Reliance Infocomm and Telkom South Africa

This list is good as of February 2006, so I can only assume that even more partners have been added on since then and will be added before the end of the year and this service rolls out. Just keep an eye out in your area for whatever telco has been either laying out a lot of fiber, or has openly planning to offer some sort of IPTV over their existing network.

Jack @ Jan 12th 2007 9:55PM

It seems to me that "recording" of tv streams on the actual Xbox 360 20gb hard disk is so old-school. If I was the service provider here I would offer to store your favorite tv shows on my servers in the datacenter and charge for different "packages." The datacenter would then only need to store this ONE stream and allow your account access to it anytime you want, as long as you're paying for your service that is. The service provider would only record programs that people requested and not the shopping channels that nobody wants.

Local storage is SO OLD SCHOOL! HA!