Joystiq

AT&T offering credit to Uverse subscribers for Xbox Live Gold

Richard Mitchell — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 11:32:00 EST

We already knew that some of the new services coming to Microsoft's Xbox 360 TV service would require an Xbox Live Gold subscription but, according to a Giant Bomb tipster, it looks like some previously Silver services will soon be turning Gold as well. One company apparently making the alchemical leap is AT&T U-verse, which will require Xbox Live Gold starting this November.

The company is apparently sending notice of the change to its customers and offering a one-time $60 bill credit in order to soften the blow. In theory, the $60 saved on your AT&T bill can be applied towards an Xbox Live Gold subscription. Of course, if you already have Gold - a likely possibility given the effort required to get U-verse on the ol' Xbox - it sounds like you'll have an extra sixty bucks to play with next month.

[Image: Giant Bomb]

AT&T offering credit to Uverse subscribers for Xbox Live Gold originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 07 Oct 2011 11:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: watch how you'll watch TV on Xbox 360 U-verse

JC Fletcher — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 18:40:00 EST

Filed under: Weird But True, Opinions, New In Pop Culture

AT&T's demonstration video for the Xbox 360 U-Verse service (after the break) gives us a better idea of how the service works -- and what's in the mysterious hardware kit (a remote and some kind of receiver device). The presenter also describes the installation process, wherein the U-verse software is installed on the 360 via a CD, a process described as "super-easy." ProTip, AT&T: don't tell us that the installation we have to pay $55 for is "super-easy."

The interface shown in the video looks exactly like the UI for a normal U-verse receiver. The only perceptible difference, of course, is the appearance of Xbox Live notifications.

[Thanks, cool8man]

Continue reading Video: watch how you'll watch TV on Xbox 360 U-verse

Video: watch how you'll watch TV on Xbox 360 U-verse originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 12 Oct 2010 18:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AT&T finally dates U-verse on Xbox 360, coming Friday

Christopher Grant — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 12:15:00 EST

Filed under: Weird But True, Opinions, New In Pop Culture

Nearly four years after announcing that the Xbox 360 would support Microsoft's IPTV Mediaroom platform, and nine months after demoing AT&T's U-verse service running on the gaming console, AT&T has just announced "the Oct. 15 launch of U-verse TV on Xbox 360 for U-verse customers." Want to watch the U-verse service in your gaming dungeon, but don't have an extra receiver? Since the service requires an existing TV box in the household, that's about the only scenario (bedroom maybe?) we can imagine this being useful. If you do sign up, you get the undeniably cool benefit of being able to "receive chat and game invitations from friends through Xbox Live while watching live TV." Or you could wait until early next year and snag Hulu Plus.

Not so fast! In order to get U-verse on your Xbox 360, you'll need to first figure out what kind of customer you are. New customers will need to order the $99 Xbox kit (which doesn't include an Xbox ... in fact, we're not sure what it includes) when subscribing to the service. A U-verse "technician" will load the software onto your Xbox during installation of the service. If you're already a subscriber, Engadget reports that you'll need to buy the $99 kit and shell out $55 for "installation." Again, that installation is loading software on your internet-connected game console.

So it's not as impressive as it sounded in 2007, sure. But who knew we'd have streaming Netflix and Hulu in the future?

AT&T finally dates U-verse on Xbox 360, coming Friday originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 11 Oct 2010 12:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: AT&T streaming TV finally comes to Xbox in November

JC Fletcher — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Weird But True, Opinions, New In Pop Culture

Remember three years ago, when IPTV for Xbox 360 was first announced? According to leaked memos obtained by Engadget, Americans with AT&T U-verse service will soon be able to enjoy it: The memo reveals that the wait for the Mediaroom service will finally, finally be over on November 7.

That's when, the documents say, an Xbox 360 Dashboard app will become available to allow the console to be used as a U-verse set-top box (provided you already have another AT&T-leased receiver or DVR-equipped box in the house). In addition, Engadget received slides like the one pictured above, specifying that only consoles with hard drives will work for the service.

Report: AT&T streaming TV finally comes to Xbox in November originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 08 Oct 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Details, limitations of Xbox 360 Mediaroom 2.0 IPTV support

Christopher Grant — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 23:00:00 EST

Three years after being unveiled at CES, Microsoft's Mediaroom software is finally coming to Xbox 360 (in the form of Mediaroom 2.0) "later this year" thanks to AT&T's U-verse service. But, that's all the details we had. Until today, when we spoke with Xbox's Aaron Greenberg as well as a Mediacenter spokesperson on the show floor who, between the two of them, managed to answer most of our questions.

First, we asked Greenberg to explain the three-year delay between the technology's 2007 debut and this announcement. "Well, the technology that we showed [in 2007] was brand new and showing that it worked," Greenberg said. "What we then did was we went out to the IPTV content providers and said, 'Hey, now this is an option for you.'" And that option was, of course, to use the Xbox 360 to deliver IPTV content. Greenberg said, "So the technology works ... the Xbox 360 can serve as a set-top box, be a DVR, and run Mediaroom." But not so fast! We got a tour of the service and found a few disappointing shortcomings to that nominally appealing feature-set.

Continue reading Details, limitations of Xbox 360 Mediaroom 2.0 IPTV support

Details, limitations of Xbox 360 Mediaroom 2.0 IPTV support originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 08 Jan 2010 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Xbox 360 getting Mediaroom IPTV 'later this year' via AT&T U-verse ... just three years late

Christopher Grant — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 00:02:00 EST

Just three short years after the CES 2007 announcement that Microsoft's Mediaroom software would turn your Xbox 360 into an IPTV set-top box, Microsoft is finally ready to deliver on that promise (and no, the 2008 BT rollout doesn't count). "I'm happy to announce that later this year AT&T will also enable subscribers to U-verse to enjoy [the new Mediaroom 2.0] service on their Xbox 360 consoles," Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer told his keynote audience. This was in addition to U-verse support for Windows 7 and Windows Mobile, though the details on all three platforms end there.

We'll be digging for more details at CES this week, but this is certainly promising news for the country's 2 million U-verse subscribers (and the "more than 20 million living units" that the service is purportedly available in).

Xbox 360 getting Mediaroom IPTV 'later this year' via AT&T U-verse ... just three years late originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 07 Jan 2010 00:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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