Everything Movie and TV Fans Need to Know About Xbox One
The Xbox One has just been announced, along with a slew of its shiny new features. But what does that mean for the fan who likes their home entertainment to also include the very best in movies, TV, and music?
For starters, it means that all of your entertainment needs will be handled by Microsoft’s handy little box. Using the Kinect’s voice-recognition and motion-sensing capabilities, the Xbox One allows you to control every facet of your home entertainment system with a simple voice command or gesture, as easy as it’d be for you to do so with a remote control.
Let’s explore the different ways Xbox One will seek to improve your home entertainment experience. And don’t forget that you’ll be able to shout at your TV to obey your will and waggle your hands at it like you were some sort of entertainment wizard casting spells!
- 1
Blu-ray on Xbox!
That’s right! Now you’ll no longer be beholden to standalone Blu-ray players and the PlayStation 3, as the Xbox One will be able to play the beefy 50GB discs.
- 2
Xbox Live Original Series
Like Netflix, Xbox is looking to expand its market with original content. Up first? Steven Spielberg is producing a live-action TV show based on the mega-popular 'Halo' series that will be exclusive to Xbox One. Expect more series to be announced before the console launches this fall.
- 3
No More Switching Inputs
Because the Xbox One plugs directly into your cable or satellite box, there's no need to switch inputs from the TV to your video games or to your movies. All your favorite games, shows and movies are all available through the Xbox One dashboard.
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Change the Channel Using Voice Commands
You’ll be able to use the Kinect’s voice recognition to say short commands such as “Xbox, TV. Go to Movie. Go to Music” in order to switch between different mediums, channels, and services seamlessly.
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Create Your Own Favorite Channel
Why flip back and forth between channels finding something to watch when you can just create your own channel? With Xbox One, you can create your own channel by pinning the shows you watch the most.
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Quick Access to Your Favorite Movies and Shows
If you don’t want to be audible, you can use the motion-sensors on the Kinect to “grab” the screen and “close” it, letting you get back to the Home screen in the middle of a game, movie, TV show, or even some music. Reverse the gesture to go back to whatever you were doing.
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Multitask While You're Watching
Use the voice commands to “snap” different apps to the side, allowing you to run multiple services at once. For example, you can watch a movie and then say “Snap Internet Explorer” in order to bring up the web browser to search for info on IMDB or purchase tickets for a theatrical showing for a film.
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Sports Fans Will Never Miss a Play
The Snap function will also allow sports fans who play fantasy games to bring up their fantasy roster, letting them check out their team’s stats in real-time without having to miss anything from the game.
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