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Tag: SmartGlass

  • Xbox One TV, SmartGlass Updates Previewed

    Last year’s Xbox One unveiling was widely ridiculed in gaming circles. The announcement focused on the Xbox One as an all-in-one entertainment platform rather than a gaming machine. The presentation focused heavily on the console’s TV capabilities, as shown in the now-infamous video that collect’s all of the presentation’s mentions of the passive medium.

    Since that time, Microsoft has listened to consumers, ditching its always-on DRM plans for the console and doubling down on the Xbox One as a video game console. As part of this effort, Microsoft has been very forthcoming about its Xbox One updates over the past few months. The company has released two large updates in the past few weeks bringing everything from friends list improvements to party chat fixes to the console just in time for Microsoft’s big Titanfall launch.

    That doesn’t mean, however, that Microsoft is abandoning the all-in-one motto that the Xbox One was designed around. The company today previewed yet another update, this one bringing more TV capabilities to the console.

    The first big feature is coming to all Xbox and Windows platforms. Consumers will soon be able to rent or buy movies via Xbox Video and watch it over any screen that can use the service. Movie playback will be synched across Xbox One, Xbox 360, Windows 8, XboxVideo.com, and Windows Phone 8 platforms.

    The Xbox One platform itself will soon be getting an update that brings updates to the console’s OneGuide TV listings. The new software will also enable users to control their DVR more fully through the Xbox One interface, including the ability to set and watch recordings. Users in Europe and Canada will also soon see TV listings added to their OneGuide.

    Also coming to the Xbox One is updated support for the SmartGlass platform. The update will allow users to use a mobile device as a universal remote or to control the OneGuide through SmartGlass software.

    Some of these Xbox One features will be available today to users who signed up for Microsoft’s Xbox One software beta testing initiative announced in February. The updates will roll out to the wider Xbox One market shortly thereafter.

  • Can SmartGlass Make Xbox One Games Better?

    Can SmartGlass Make Xbox One Games Better?

    In 2012, Microsoft introduced SmartGlass for Xbox 360 to the world. It was Microsoft’s foray into the second screen gaming experience that Nintendo kicked off with the Wii U a year prior. Unlike Nintendo’s console, however, Microsoft would let you use any tablet or phone to get additional information about a game or movie.

    With the launch of the Xbox One, Microsoft has promised us a much better SmartGlass experience. While the second screen experience would be beneficial in scenarios like Battlefield 4’s commander mode, the benefits are less apparent in a game like Ryse: Son of Rome. The action game does have SmartGlass support, though, and Microsoft wants you to know how it improves the gameplay experience.

    In a new video from Major Nelson, he walks us through the SmartGlass app for Ryse. As you would expect, the companion app lets you track your progress as well as that of your friends. In what you might not expect, the app also tracks your progress through a level in real time and lets you know where secret collectables are located. It’s like a mini-strategy guide on your tablet.

    Not every game is going to take full advantage of SmartGlass, but Microsoft-published games certainly will. Both Microsoft and Sony have already acknowledged that the second-screen experience is going to be a pretty big deal going forward. While Sony’s PlayStation app can’t do everything that SmartGlass does yet, you can bet that Sony will be working with developers to offer its own unique take on the second-screen experience in the coming months and years.

    [Image: xbox/YouTube]

  • Microsoft Details SmartGlass For Xbox One

    Microsoft Details SmartGlass For Xbox One

    At E3 2012, Microsoft announced SmartGlass for the Xbox 360. The technology provided a second-screen experience on Xbox 360 games and apps that allowed users to access certain information about said games and apps from a tablet or smartphone. It showed a lot of promise, but not a lot of games used it. Now Microsoft is hoping an upgraded version of the tech for the Xbox One will encourage more developers to utilize it.

    In a dedicated Q&A from Microsoft this week, the Xbox team detailed all of the enhancements coming to SmartGlass for the Xbox One. The team notes that the biggest change is that SmartGlass for Xbox One is much faster than its predecessor. This is achieved through your tablet or smartphone being able to directly talk to the Xbox One instead of having to go through a datacenter first.

    The Xbox team notes that SmartGlass can be used for matchmaking outside of the game you’re currently playing. Let’s say that you’re playing Dead Rising 3, but want to look for games in Call of Duty: Ghosts. You can start searching for games in the latter while you continue to play the former.

    For local multiplayer games, the Xbox One can support up to 16 mobile devices at once. It may seem a little unnecessary, but the Xbox team already has a good example in place. You could play a Poker game on the Xbox One with each player using their own tablet to select cards with the TV display showing the final results to everybody.

    SmartGlass can also provide assistance to players through a new feature called Game Help. At any time during gameplay, you can tap a Help button in SmartGlass that will deliver contextually aware tips to the player. Microsoft doesn’t have any examples of how this might work, but I can see it being used to help a player along in a particularly difficult portion of a game.

    Finally, SmartGlass can kind of do what Sony’s doing with the PS4 and Remote Play. While you can’t outright play Xbox One games on your tablet, you can access most Xbox Live features on the go. Here’s all the stuff you can look forward to:

    SmartGlass is your Xbox One dashboard when you’re away from your console and keeps you in touch with your Xbox One games and community. In addition to staying connected to your friends, sending and receiving messages, and checking all your Achievements, SmartGlass will show your friends’ activity and let you look at the games they’re playing. From there, you can pin those games in SmartGlass and those pins will appear on your Xbox One the next time you’re connected to Xbox Live. We’re making it easier to find new games by adding the ability to search the entire Xbox Games Store within SmartGlass. And we’re adding a promoted games section that delivers titles specific to your tastes based on your gaming history.

    The Wii U may have spearheaded the second-screen craze in the current generation of consoles, but Microsoft and Sony are doing some really cool stuff with their own interpretations of the technology. SmartGlass already showed incredible promise on the Xbox 360, and it looks like Microsoft has really hit its stride with the technology on the Xbox One.

    SmartGlass for Xbox One will be available to download on Windows 8, Windows Phone 8, iOS and Android devices this holiday season. If it’s anything like last year, SmartGlass will probably hit Windows 8 first and force iOS and Android users to wait a bit for their respective apps.

    [Image: Xbox Wire]

  • Xbox SmartGlass Finally Shows Up On iOS

    Xbox SmartGlass Finally Shows Up On iOS

    Microsoft’s answer to the Wii U, Xbox SmartGlass, was one of the more impressive things we saw from the company at E3. It turned out to be pretty neat when it launched on Windows 8 and Android devices last month. iOS users, however, were left without a SmartGlass app of their very own.

    The Xbox team is finally delivering the second screen experience to iOS users who happen to own an Xbox 360. The app is pretty much the same as the apps that were released on Windows 8 and Android devices last month. It should be noted that iPad users will get a SmartGlass app built specifically for the device to take advantage of the increased real estate. The Verge notes that SmartGlass does not yet take advantage of the iPhone 5’s increased screen size though.

    For those new to SmartGlass, here’s all the features included in the second screen experience:

  • Navigate your Xbox 360 with swipe and tap
  • Use your phone’s keyboard to type to your Xbox 360
  • Browse the Internet on your Xbox 360 with full keyboard and zooming
  • Play, pause, fast forward, rewind, and stop videos and music on your Xbox 360
  • Search the full Xbox catalog of music, video, and games
  • Enjoy rich, interactive experiences from select game and entertainment content creators
  • Track and compare your achievements with your Xbox friends
  • Change up your 3D avatar
  • Message your Xbox friends
  • Edit your Xbox profile

    • Xbox SmartGlass is now on all three major mobile platforms. It will be interesting to see the adoption rates among Windows 8, Android and iOS users. Microsoft would obviously love for people to use Windows 8 tablets, but the company was smart to get the Android and iOS apps out before the end of the year.

  • Xbox Entertainment Launching On Windows 8 PCs This Friday

    Xbox is no longer associated with just gaming. Microsoft is uniting all of its entertainment choices under the same brand. Those entertainment choices are launching in earnest later this week as Windows 8 is made available to the general public on Friday.

    Xbox Entertainment has already rolled out to some users in the form of a dashboard update on the Xbox 360. That update is now coming to the remainder of Xbox Live members on October 23. To recap, the big updates include the addition of Internet Explorer and Xbox Video. For more details on the update, check out our previous coverage.

    Going beyond the Xbox 360, Windows 8 PCs will get Xbox Entertainment choices starting day one on Friday. Here’s what Windows 8 PC users can expect going in:

  • Xbox Games. Xbox Games for Windows 8 will bring many of the games you already know and love, like Angry Birds Starwars, Jetpack Joyride, Fruit Ninja and more. These games will be playable on any Windows 8 PC, laptop or tablet. All Xbox games for Windows 8 will allow you to earn the Achievements that you we know you love; and many will also take advantage of other Xbox features, including leaderboards, multiplayer modes, and connecting with friends.
  • Xbox Music. Xbox Music is a brand-new service, built from the ground up, to meet all your music needs across your tablet, PC, Phone and TV. Xbox Music is the ultimate all-in-one music service, featuring free music streaming on Windows 8 tablets and PCs, download to own, subscription, artist-based radio, plus comprehensive discovery from one of the world’s largest music catalogs.
  • Xbox Video. Xbox Video is a first run video service offering tens of thousands of movies and TV shows for buying or renting in HD.

    • Perhaps the most important announcement is that Xbox SmartGlass will be launching on Friday as well. Announced at E3, Xbox SmartGlass is Microsoft’s attempt to bridge the divide between mobile devices and game consoles. With SmartGlass, users can control specific in-game functions from their Windows 8 tablets and PCs, Windows Phone 8, iOS and Android. Users can also use SmartGlass for Xbox Video and Music controls.

    Here’s the list of compatible games, sports and entertainment apps that will have SmartGlass support on Friday:

    Games:

  • Ascend
  • Dance Central 3
  • Forza Horizon
  • Halo Waypoint
  • Home Run Stars
  • Karaoke
  • Kinect Sesame Street TV
  • Prima Games

    • Sports:

  • ESPN
  • NBA Game Time
  • UFC

    • Entertainment Apps:

  • Elections 2012
  • HBO GO
  • MSN
  • NBC News
  • NOW TV
  • Slacker Radio
  • TODAY
  • Univision

    • As time goes on, Microsoft will undoubtedly make more services compatible with SmartGlass. It’s the best competition the Wii U faces at the moment. Now we just have to wait and see if Nintendo’s TVii service can one up SmartGlass. Let the second screen wars begin.

  • Microsoft Developers Can Now Access the SmartGlass SDK

    Microsoft’s new SmartGlass technology was met with a collective “meh” at the company’s big E3 press conference. The technology is what Microsoft hopes will make the Xbox the heart of customers’ media center. It works to display relevant information on smartphones and tablets about what is on the TV screen. The best use of the technology that has been shown so far is a nifty map of Westeros that shows where the characters in HBO’s Game of Thrones series are located.

    While neat, Microsoft’s demonstrations of SmartGlass are not the revolutionary interactive experiences the company is touting them as. To get truly creative apps and content, third-party developers are going to have to come to the rescue. Microsoft knows this, and today has released the Xbox SmartGlass Software Development Kit (SDK). The SDK is available for free to developers who have agreements with Microsoft for Xbox 360 development. The Kit contains the Xbox SmartGlass JavaScript library that includes device APIs, a bit of sample code, and the Xbox SmartGlass Studio, where developers can build their SmartGlass “Activities.” Developers can log into the SDK through developer.xboxlive.com.

    Microsoft is hoping to release SmartGlass to Xbox 360s this fall, alongside Windows 8, its Surface tablets, and Windows Phone 8 (all of which will, presumably, be able to interact through SmartGlass). Hopefully that will be enough time for developers to create some truly innovative applications for the SmartGlass technology. If Microsoft can manage to pull all of its new devices and software together successfully using SmartGlass, this holiday season just might be remembered as the moment Microsoft made its big comeback.