Why didn't Microsoft include a tv tuner?

ZombiesRUCrazy

ZombiesRUCrazy

Alcohol, cause of and solution to life's problems.
Sep 11, 2013
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This has been kind of bothering me as of late. I personally feel like the hdmi-in pass through overylay stuff is actually a step backwards and detracts from the box being called all-in-one.

Personally, I think it would have been a much better prospect to include a tv tuner and then sell a micro xbox extender(like psp vita tv or whatever) that you could setup in other rooms and stream live/recorded tv/games from the xbox to other rooms making the xb1 the center of not just your living room for media, but your entire home.

It's kind of like the setup my brother and I setup for the family back home where we have a 4-channel tv tuner card in a pc upstairs and stream live tv/recorded tv using the xbox 360 media center extender capabilities, but truly all in one and would truly make the xbox the one box you need for the living room. Of course unless you have a satellite, then you are SOL lol.
 
I agree, it definitely should have had one. I can't get excited about the TV features regardless though. Half of the box is useless if you're like me and don't have cable. -_-
 
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Different regions have different tuners so it would have to be changed for every where you ship the title. Plus, the future of at least cable is moving toward IP based tuners so they would be shipping something that could be obsolete halfway through the console life cycle.

There are already ip based tuner apps on the 360 now. Why would they not go forward with that?
 
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The whole TV feature is ridiculous. How can you beat a remote for searching the guide? What do you say page up, page up, page up, page up, page up, page up. It will be nice to not have to find the remote but if you have the remote close by why wouldn't you use it? People don't just flip to a channel unless they know a show is on. They hit the guide button, go to their first favorite channel, and page up from there. It's quick and can't be beat with voice. How lazy are people they that can't even use a remote? MS got it way wrong!
 
B S said:
The whole TV feature is ridiculous. How can you beat a remote for searching the guide? What do you say page up, page up, page up, page up, page up, page up. It will be nice to not have to find the remote but if you have the remote close by why wouldn't you use it? People don't just flip to a channel unless they know a show is on. They hit the guide button, go to their first favorite channel, and page up from there. It's quick and can't be beat with voice. How lazy are people they that can't even use a remote? MS got it way wrong!
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From what ive read once they get it fully up and running, you can say either the channel you'd want or tv show and it would find it. Which sounds much simpler to me than remembering the hundreds of chanel numbers you get on tv now days....
 
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B S said:
The whole TV feature is ridiculous. How can you beat a remote for searching the guide? What do you say page up, page up, page up, page up, page up, page up. It will be nice to not have to find the remote but if you have the remote close by why wouldn't you use it? People don't just flip to a channel unless they know a show is on. They hit the guide button, go to their first favorite channel, and page up from there. It's quick and can't be beat with voice. How lazy are people they that can't even use a remote? MS got it way wrong!
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Voice commands are all the rage on new cable and satellite DVRs. Microsoft is just follwing that trend. As for being lazy, that's what people said about remotes after they came into fashion. *LOL*
 
B S said:
The whole TV feature is ridiculous. How can you beat a remote for searching the guide? What do you say page up, page up, page up, page up, page up, page up. It will be nice to not have to find the remote but if you have the remote close by why wouldn't you use it? People don't just flip to a channel unless they know a show is on. They hit the guide button, go to their first favorite channel, and page up from there. It's quick and can't be beat with voice. How lazy are people they that can't even use a remote? MS got it way wrong!
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I already use Kinect for pausing and rewinding movies because it is easier than the remote...
 
There are too many variables to include a cable tuner. You can't get anything that requires accessing the data center, no on demand, no network DVR, no purchasing rentals, no league passes, no DVR. What I hope we see happen is that cable companies make apps for the X1 like how optimum had the Optimum app for iOS and Android. The only thing it didn't have is DVR playback.
 
B S said:
The whole TV feature is ridiculous. How can you beat a remote for searching the guide? What do you say page up, page up, page up, page up, page up, page up. It will be nice to not have to find the remote but if you have the remote close by why wouldn't you use it? People don't just flip to a channel unless they know a show is on. They hit the guide button, go to their first favorite channel, and page up from there. It's quick and can't be beat with voice. How lazy are people they that can't even use a remote? MS got it way wrong!
Click to expand...

I see what you are saying with the ones you listed, but there are features that are much faster with voice.

First of all, just saying "Xbox, watch T.V." is faster than getting your remote and changing the input. Secondly, some channels can specifically be accessed by voice, "Xbox, watch CBS", "Xbox, watch ESPN", etc. , without having to look for the channel.

So I can definitely see the benefits of voice control. But I will probably still use my T.V. remote control to access the guide, and receiver features like DVR. You can still do that even when connected to the Xbox.
 
Reason = $$$.

Think how much money cable companies would lose if you used your one instead of one of their boxes. All I really want out of my One for TV is it to be a DVR. Then again that will also cost a bunch but only time will tell if we get it.
 
Plainview said:
There are too many variables to include a cable tuner. You can't get anything that requires accessing the data center, no on demand, no network DVR, no purchasing rentals, no league passes, no DVR. What I hope we see happen is that cable companies make apps for the X1 like how optimum had the Optimum app for iOS and Android. The only thing it didn't have is DVR playback.
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This.
 
Ape Still Rules said:
Reason = $$$.

Think how much money cable companies would lose if you used your one instead of one of their boxes. All I really want out of my One for TV is it to be a DVR. Then again that will also cost a bunch but only time will tell if we get it.
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Well...not quite. Cable card system COULD be used...but its proven through the years that people don't want cable cards and they cable companies never played nice with them. From what it was rumored it sounds like MS was talking to cable companies to subsidize the X1 as a cable box but that talk must've fallen through or simply not ready for launch.

A cable company would froth at the mouth to charge more than the $10 monthly rental if they could.
 
If you really think deep about it you can still see Microsoft's vision for the Xbox is still coming together.

Cable companies are very powerful, and there's lots of them and they all use different systems. I think the HDMI in was the best MS could come up with to get that foot just a bit more in the door of being in every living room running everything everyone wants.

I'm not sure why I would want to run my cable DVR box through the XB1, it's neat that I could do that, but for what purpose I don't know.

To be a fly on the wall though when they come up with this stuff.
 
Thug541 said:
Well...not quite. Cable card system COULD be used...but its proven through the years that people don't want cable cards and they cable companies never played nice with them. From what it was rumored it sounds like MS was talking to cable companies to subsidize the X1 as a cable box but that talk must've fallen through or simply not ready for launch.

A cable company would froth at the mouth to charge more than the $10 monthly rental if they could.
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So the One has a card slot? And I'm sure they were or still are talking to cable providers. Not sure it will ever happen as a full box but would love for the DVR thing to come. Would save me some on my bill by not needed a DVR from the cable company anymore.
 
Plainview said:
There are too many variables to include a cable tuner. You can't get anything that requires accessing the data center, no on demand, no network DVR, no purchasing rentals, no league passes, no DVR. What I hope we see happen is that cable companies make apps for the X1 like how optimum had the Optimum app for iOS and Android. The only thing it didn't have is DVR playback.
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also here in the states they are some cable comapnies have a blackout for those who dont have those cable to see a sport game in their city, also exclusive channels.

Just like phones.
 
I noticed this weekend that Time Warner Cable, TWC, is available as an App on my Xbox 360. I downloaded and logged in, but it cameback as not ready for prime time. As soon as my Xbox One comes in I will see if it works!!
 
Ape Still Rules said:
So the One has a card slot? And I'm sure they were or still are talking to cable providers. Not sure it will ever happen as a full box but would love for the DVR thing to come. Would save me some on my bill by not needed a DVR from the cable company anymore.
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No sorry...a bit confusing. I meant there COULD be a way to act as a box if they included a cable card slot...but i think cable companies killed the cable card.
 
Many of us brought this up back when it was announced. Would have been far better to replace the set top box rather than being slaved to it. It is what it is though, but for me it certainly detracts from the feature.
 
Thug541 said:
No sorry...a bit confusing. I meant there COULD be a way to act as a box if they included a cable card slot...but i think cable companies killed the cable card.
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Sup whoreface! :D

And sadly, companies are bringing back the cable card.
 
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It just seems like if you can't do it fully then why do it at all. Money could have been better spent else where.
 
I just see no harm in not having a tuner. The way it's going to work seems perfect in my opinion.
 
Hissatsu said:
It just seems like if you can't do it fully then why do it at all. Money could have been better spent else where.
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I dont know how it works elsewhere in the world but here in the uk you need the cable box, there is no option to have cable tv without it. So from that standpoint how is this a bad idea?
 
Hissatsu said:
Can you use it as a dvr at least?
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The two main cable companies both offer a basic cable box or DVR built in ones. Stand alone dvr's never really took off here. i remember them trying to launch tivo (seems like it would of been around 2002ish?) and they just didnt sell well at all. So my cable box also records tv directly through it.
 
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For several reasons:
  1. Xbone supports cable AND satellite connections through HDMI (and a number of "other" possibilities). If they would have gone with a ATSC or CableCard compatible tuner system, satellite users would be fuxed.
  2. Tuner hardware ain't cheap. Most "modern" cable/satellite DVRs have 2-4 tuners for recording. Putting that in the X1 would just be cost prohibitive really.
Most people have a DVR of some kind but the UI generally sux (the exception really only being Tivo and I quite like WMC...IMO). Microsoft wants the Xbone to be always on and in the center of your entertainment regardless of what TV "system" you have in the background. Whether they succeed or not is to be determined. I'm dubious as to how it's going to "control" my DVR (which will actually be a 360 in MCE mode). In all likelihood, most will probably have to grab the remote when watching TV but still being able to bounce from TV to Game to Netflix to HBO Go, etc. seamlessly is going to be boss. That and the improved federated search I'm hoping will be my holy grail of integrated TV.
 
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Are there any tv tuners that are universal and work with all providers? Serious question.
 
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