The Xbox 360, Now A True Cable Box Killer

[ctdonath]

Live sports are the key for many people.

Of note: those of us who care little for sports save for the occasional definitive headliner. I'm looking for a source of top-tier Olympics 2012 coverage without having to get cable TV installed (haven't had it for the 6+ years we've been in the house, don't want to open that can of ad-filled worms, don't want to try closing that can afterwards). Any ideas/insights? An Apple TV "app/channel" would be ideal, but per Apple's norm I assume we won't know until near-too-late.

[zavulon]

Get a regular antenna, most Olympics should be on NBC, and NBC (and NBC HD) are freely available over the air.

Also, and this I'm not sure if works for all cable providers - worked for me for 2 of them - if you only get internet, but put in the splitter and plug in the cable into the TV, you'll get the free over-the-air channels too, without having to worry about the antenna placement.

[mitchellhislop]

Looks like NBC is going to stream it all: http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/

[peterb]

OTA HD (with a decent antenna) with a Homerun HD from Silicon Dust for distributing the content to your network.

[throwaway1979]

I'm very impressed by the XBox 360 top-level UI. It is now the primary channel for me to consume Netflix. That honor belonged to my Mac Mini controlled via iPad until recently. That said, there are some deep problems:

1) Charging for XBox live Gold is annoying from a customer's perspectively. I only got XBOX live Gold recently because they were giving away 5 free games. I doubt the better UX of netflix is sufficient to get me to pay for this service.

2) Content pricing The cost of movies/tv shows on Xbox live is pretty steep. I'd rather drive to my local redbox to get the latest movies. If they charged 2-3 dollars for 24 hour rental (a 100-200% higher cost than redbox, I'd use them for sure).

[akanster]

RE: point #2. To be fair you should also factor in the time, effort and gas it takes to go to Redbox, wait in line to rent and return discs. All the while hoping that new release is available and not scratched up. For most of us, that extra $2 to get it from Xbox is money well spent.

[jawngee]

Except for how loud it is. I prefer the Netflix UI on the xbox, but use it on AppleTV anyways just because I don't want to have to crank the volume to cover up the sound.

[kevingadd]

How old is your XBox 360? The modern ones don't really have any noise issues, and I've got an elite that's a few years old and isn't particularly noisy either. Are you sure yours doesn't have ventilation issues?

[PhrosTT]

Yeah... still rocking my old white form factor. jet engines make movies suspenseful!

I generally love netflix but they broke the UI trying to jam kinect down my throat. I can't tell you how many times I accidentally press 'B' to make the menu go away and OOPS... full exit to the menu!

[chokolad]

Get a Slim version, noise level is pretty much imperceptible compared to old one.

[joejohnson]

A true cable box killer? Maybe, but this poorly written article fails to supply any supporting details to the stated argument in the title. How are "a whole lot of new media apps" for the Xbox going to kill cable? I'd like to believe this is true, but the article lacks all of the details.

[reginaldo]

There's also the problem that, at least here in Brazil, cable companies are in many instances the only choice when it comes to broadband internet connection. The only way to get a decent connection at reasonable price is if you get an internet/cable/phone bundle.

This means there's no way to cut the cord.

[eswangren]

It's TechCrunch, what did you expect? They're not exactly the pinnacle of journalism...

[martingordon]

I wish the 360 had a sleep mode. I don't want to leave my console running all day, but I hate how long it takes to get it booted up and Netflix launched. OTOH, I don't mind leaving my Apple TV on all the time and time-to-video is probably under a minute.

My other big gripe is a strange HDCP issue (at least I think it's HDCP) that came with the latest Dashboard update. About 85% of the time, I'll launch a Netflix video and my screen will go blank. Prior to the latest update, I could work around it by turning my 2007 LG TV off and back on (at which point the Xbox would tell me that the secure HDCP link was restored).

[arrakeen]

my 360 slim has a sleep mode, so either this is a feature they've added in the slim update, or your console is misconfigured

[_hiss]

On a tangentially related note, why can't Turner Classic Movies (TCM) do a proper app? They're the closest to an a la carte offering on cable. It wouldn't even have to allow full Netflix-style access to an entire library - I'd be happy to stream their curated schedule to a mobile or desktop device, as my subscription is one of the few reasons I keep a cable television account.

[clarky07]

While I know everyone hates techcrunch and link-bait headlines, I've used my xbox as a cable replacement for a long time, and the recent addition of Amazon prime streaming and the other things mentioned here just make it that much better.

If it could get rid of the cable reqs for ESPN and add NFL it would be perfect for me. As is it is only a slight compromise for me.

[charlieflowers]

Yaaaaawn.

I've heard the claim MS was going to take over the living room at least 5 times before. It's never even come close to happening yet. Is there really anything meaty here that should make us think it will now?

[nitrogen]

Look where they were the first time that claim was made -- the Xbox didn't exist, and people were doubting they could possibly compete with Sony and Nintendo. Look where they are now.

[macspoofing]

>Ironically though, in order to receive the ESPN offering, a subscription to cable is required, which sort of dimisses the appeal.

Get a car with the purchase of a horse and buggy.

[cooldeal]

Typical Techcrunch knee jerk cookiecutter article written in great hurry to capture Google News traffic with a grandiose title.

Many of the media apps like ESPN, HBO, etc. require a Cable TV subscription to work. Microsoft is working with the Cable TV companies since getting access to content otherwise is turning into a huge mess with fragmentation.

True, it can be a Cable Box killer to some extent and the new Metro update last year was really great, even for the apps. But it's certainly not a Cable Subscription killer just yet unless you can live on just Netlix, Amazon Instant Video, VEVO, Youtube and a few others.

[krschultz]

I think you nailed it with both of your first two points. This article is crap, and getting anything live online seems to be difficult.

I can't navigate ESPN's apps/online offerings.

Some content requires a certain cable/satellite providers. Other content requires a certain ISP.

I recently dropped my TV (DirecTV) and switched to a local ISP, and I seemingly can't get anything from ESPN with this combination.

But if I switch to Comcast internet, I seemingly will be able to get much more.

The best experience I've had so far was TNT's NBA website.

[lloeki]

In France, anlthough we don't have a Netflix app on the XBox, we have Canal+/CanalSat/CanalPlay apps which really brings the XBox as a cablebox contender. Added to that, there are also TF1 and M6 apps, and I expect more coming in the future. The general feeling here is that whatever Apple wants to make with the Apple TV, they will have to make it happen soon enough, else the XBox will capture a sizable part of that market.

[creativityland]

Caught my attention eh... but agreed, it's not a real threat yet but for those on a budget, it will be a better option especially if IE also supports Flash and can stream from sites like Ustream etc..