I watch a lot of Twitch on the One at current and do agree. I think it works OK most of the time, but has some weird hiccups. I mostly associate those hiccups with the growing popularity of Twitch, though, as well.
Interesting tidbit on the XBox One’s Twitch streaming quality: http://www.usgamer.net/articles/xbox-ones-twitch-app-beats-ps4s-in-video-quality
… Some tech heads on Reddit analyzed the stream and determined that the Xbox One Twitch client was streaming in 1280x720 at 30 FPS, with a bandwidth of 2.5 Mbps. In comparison, the PlayStation 4 Twitch app streams are in 960x540 at 30 FPS, with a bandwidth of 1.7 Mbps.
…
Microsoft’s app also has a few other additional features over its competitor. The Xbox One Twitch app allows for stream archiving, something currently not available on PS4. Streamers can see chat and viewer statistics without broadcasting them to viewers, which has been an annoying part of some PS4 streams. The app will not broadcast Party Chat audio, which is great since Microsoft has finally fixed Party Chat itself. The Kinect, which is packed-in with every Xbox One, also means every Xbox One owner can stream a video of their smiling, shining faces for all to see.
Sounds like a nice streaming solution they developed with Twitch. Not that anyone would want to watch me being bad at games. :)
Wendelius
JD
4931
And one more “'we’re not going to lower the price, but we’ll add stuff” thing for the US market…
Starting at select retailers next week in the U.S., a digital copy of Forza Motorsport 5 will be included with purchases of Xbox One for the retail price of $499.99 for a limited time. Hailed by critics and consumers alike as the best-looking and most realistic racing game of this, or any other generation, Forza Motorsport 5 has been embraced by Xbox One fans worldwide, becoming the best-selling racing game by console attach over the past decade.
IGN demoes Twitch streaming on the XBox One: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4q5q2WUVBEM
Looks like a neat implementation.
Wendelius
ARogan
4933
So has anybody picked up the new xbox one stereo headset/adapter? Any impressions?
They should add 2 games then to make up for the unjustified price difference.
Editer
4935
Yep, picked one up yesterday.
The headset comes with the same adapter that’s sold separately. I used the adapter with my Astro A30s as well. The only difference between the sold-separately adapter and the one that comes with the headphones is that the solo adapter also includes a 2.5mm-3.5mm converter cable. (The connector on the adapter is 3.5mm.)
I like the design of the adapter itself. There’s a light on the mute button, and digital volume and voice/game audio balance adjustments.
The headphone audio quality is actually much better than I expected. Comparing a few songs (which are better/more predictable for isolating different tonal ranges than game audio) on both the Xbox One Stereo Headset and the Astro A30s, here’s what I concluded:
[ul]
[li]The Xbox One Headset actually has significantly better bass than the Astros.[/li][li]Vocal clarity is ever so slightly better on the Astros, but the difference is slight enough that I mostly noticed because I was going back and forth.[/li][li]They’re both closed headphone designs, but the large cups on the Xbox headset fit around your ears, while the A30s rest on your ears, so the Xbox headset does a better job of isolating outside audio, and is a bit more comfortable.[/li][li]The A30s have a removable microphone boom. The Xbox headset has a swing-out boom that is flush with the inner part of the headband when retracted, so it’s most unnoticeable if you’re using the headphones for non-geeky listening.[/li][li]The Xbox headset gives you stereo audio when connected directly to the adapter. The A30s are stereo if you use the single-wire cord to connect directly to the headset adapter, but you can use the split-wire adapter to connect to the Mixamp for 3D game audio and the controller for microphone/communications. I like thinking I’m getting 3D (though not sure how noticeable it is with headphones), but the single wire to the controller vs. the second wire to the Mixamp is nice.[/li][/ul]
Overall, I’m impressed with the Xbox One Stereo headset, particularly for the price. And it works well with a phone, etc. for music too. It’s big, but I like the better isolation the cans provide.
These don’t compare to my $250 Sennheiser audio headphones, but for the price and what they’re for, I’m quite pleased.
I’ve got a pair of turtle beach X41s. My hope is that I can use them for surround sound and connect the mic through the new adapter. It sounds like that would work but I haven’t been able to confirm on any of the official websites. I also haven’t been able to find the adapter in the wild. Amazon doesn’t have them in stock and neither does my local GameStop. Where did you get yours Denny?
This leaves a horrible taste in my mouth: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2014/03/07/microsoft-is-using-your-data-to-target-political-ads-on-xbox-live/
I already abhor all political advertising, but to have it intrude even more into my gaming really irritates me… Especially that tech companies and station operators are making such ridiculous amounts of extra money during campaign season. I was sickened by Mitt Romney’s stupid toothy grin on my Xbox 360 last election cycle and if this is what Microsoft intends to do with every election, I think I’m out.
We need to cap and regulate all campaign dollars and their resulting ad-time not expand it :(
The article you linked claims the exact opposite of your complaint is what happened:
In 2012, President Obama agreed to advertise on Xbox Live for his reelection campaign. The effort sparked some complaints among Xbox users who disliked the ad appearing on their dashboards. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, meanwhile, opted not to participate.
Regardless I’ve heard it’s possible to block the Xbox ad server at a router level, but I don’t have one anymore to test.
I didn’t have an xbox 360 so the idea of ads of any type on my desktop offends me.
I find ads of any type anywhere offensive, personally. I only tolerate them when they pay for a free service. The xbone is not free and xbox live gold is not free, so F that noise.
That’s not why I didn’t buy one; I didn’t get a PS4 either. Neither one has an exclusive I want. But I do feel strongly about it.
Razgon
4941
Move to Denmark - We don’t have ads on Xbox.
Teiman
4942
I have a idea for a new business model. The government can create a certificate, compliants with this certificate can produce Apps that can be used to vote the president or the congress. So a app to vote for the president can be made for the Xbox, sponsored by the GOP. Apple will make his own voting app, also Google. You will vote with your smartphone or favorite console.
And do you get a cheese pizza?
Haha, I had a box quote on RB2! It was the height of my game reviewing career.
Alstein
4946
It’s crazy, they expect you to pay a $50-60 junk fee for a service that’s free on other platforms, and they expect you to take ads on top of it?
That is the reason I got rid of my 360 (though I regretted it due to Culdcept Saga)- and why I’m pretty much done with consoles unless Nintendo steps their game up.
It costs on the PS4 as well, although there’s no “dashboard” advertising on there at the moment. And it’s one (usually small square) external ad per screen on the 360, with at least one other panel advertising internal content (new games on Live Arcade, new games on the 360, expansions, new rentals available on Xbox Video, whatever). No idea what it’s like on the One though.
They have to make money for their Azure Cloud somehow!
