Zune HD getting Xvid, Smart DJ, ever more appealing
January 12, 2010
We know you were put off by the whole Twitter censorship debacle last month, but Microsoft and the Zune HD have moved past that (honest) and they want you to come along as well. They’re enticing everyone to forget about that bone-headed move by, well, throwing everyone a bone and adding in Xvid support, part of full compatablity with MPEG-4 part 2 Advanced Simple Profile. DivX will not be coming out to play, but Smart DJ will be, a feature that isn’t so much new but is newly portable, providing a counterpoint to the iPod’s Genius and, since you can use it to stream content from the Zune Marketplace (when connected via WiFi) it begins to approach the functionality of apps like Pandora or Slacker Radio. Tasty, indeed, though at this point we’re not sure when Microsoft will be throwing us this juicy firmware update.
Zune HD getting Xvid, Smart DJ, ever more appealing originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 Jan 2010 09:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Xbox 360 Dashboard Update… updates: Preview program reopened, Sky TV due Oct. 27
October 14, 2009
Just as it did earlier this year, Microsoft has opened the preview program to let the most hardcore of Xbox 360 owners poke around the updated dashboard — presumably with access to all the 1080p instant-on streaming, Twitter, Facebook and Last.fm add-ons we’ve been expecting — ahead of its official release in order to shake out any remaining bugs. While worldwide console owners should scrape together console IDs, make & model of your TV, router and more in hopes of receiving an invite next week, a little more concrete news is in order for the UK, with the console launch of Sky TV nailed down for October 27. You’ll have to wait until then to find out exact pricing and channel line up availability, ’til then it’s a matter of finding out who on your friends list is most suited for the inevitable football viewing party.
Read – Xbox Live update Preview Program
Read – Xbox.com – Set a date for Sky Player!
Xbox 360 Dashboard Update… updates: Preview program reopened, Sky TV due Oct. 27 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Oct 2009 19:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Xbox 360’s new Zune, Last.fm, Facebook and Twitter features detailed on video
October 7, 2009
We just got a pretty detailed look at Microsoft’s upcoming Dashboard update for the Xbox, which brings with it the Zune Video Marketplace and Last.fm music streaming, along with Facebook and Twitter social functionality. We were most impressed with Facebook, which includes a feature for spotting which of your Facebook friends have Xbox Live — a great way to grow that friends list and bring a bit of “synergy” to your life. Last.fm was a bit of a downer, since you can’t do anything else while listening to the music, but otherwise there weren’t many minuses to the presentation other than the lack of a firm release date. Check out Joystiq’s full impressions at the read link before, or watch the whole demo on mind-blowing video after the break.
Continue reading Xbox 360’s new Zune, Last.fm, Facebook and Twitter features detailed on video
Filed under: Gaming
Xbox 360’s new Zune, Last.fm, Facebook and Twitter features detailed on video originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 07 Oct 2009 14:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Microsoft to launch music streaming service "imminently," could tie-in with Xbox / Zune
July 14, 2009
While even bigwigs can fudge release numbers from time to time, the word “imminently” just carries a certain aura. Speaking with The Telegraph, executive producer of MSN Peter Bale confessed that Microsoft was “looking at launching a music streaming service imminently.” As in, maybe before the dawn of August. Bale added that it would be “a similar principle to Spotify,” but the outfit is still examining exactly how the business model would work. It’s expected that the service would let users stream tunes for free so long as they listen to ads every half hour or so, but for those with too little time and too many jams, there could be a paid option that strips the plugs. What’s unclear now, however, is exactly how this initiative will tie-in with the company’s Xbox 360 and Zune. There’s no doubt that Microsoft is aiming to make the former an all-encompassing multimedia box, but we’re sure it’d rather not convolute things with Zune Pass all the same.
[Via Joystiq]
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Portable Audio
Microsoft to launch music streaming service “imminently,” could tie-in with Xbox / Zune originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Jul 2009 12:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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