New Media Features Coming to Xbox One

April 1, 2014 by Samantha Lienhard - Leave a comment

If you’re enjoying the media options available on your Xbox One, you’ll be pleased to know that Microsoft plans to expand its capabilities in the near future.

First, all Xbox media content will be available for you to view on any Microsoft device. That means that if you buy or rent a movie on your Xbox One, you’ll be able to watch part of it and then finish it on your Xbox 360 (or on your Windows 8 PC, Windows Phone, or at Xbox Video). This feature will become available this week.

SmartGlass already has some new features. You can use it to:

• Navigate through menus to reach the list of achievements, challenges, etc. more easily
• See users you recently played online with
• See which of your friends are online
• See your Activity Feed as if you were on your Xbox One
• Snap and unsnap apps from your mobile device
• Get Xbox Live message notifications

More features are planned for later this year, but lucky players will get a chance to preview them before they become official. Microsoft is selecting users from the US, Europe, and Canada to check out new features, such as using SmartGlass to control your DVR. Players in Europe and Canada will also get to preview features already available in the US, such as the TV listings on OneGuide and new Kinect commands.

Check out the official announcement and let us know what you think.

Amazon Price Drop on Xbox One Media Remote

March 3, 2014 by Cheats.co Staff - Leave a comment

If you’ve been interested in the Xbox One Media Remote, we’re pleased to tell you that Amazon has just cut the price from $24.99 to $19.96. Since it doesn’t release until March 7, you still have a few days to get in your preorder. Additionally, thanks to Amazon’s preorder guarantee, if you already ordered it, your order will automatically be reduced to the lower price.

You’ll be able to use the Media Remote to navigate through all of your entertainment options, whether you’re watching Blu-ray movies and streamed videos on your Xbox One or watching TV. This remote control is another part of Microsoft’s goal for the Xbox One to become the central device of players’ living rooms.

Click here to check out the remote on Amazon.

Xbox One Media Remote Officially Launches in March

February 20, 2014 by Cheats.co Staff - Leave a comment

The rumored Xbox One Media Remote we told you about is now official—Microsoft revealed it today. It has a simple interface, with standard media and television controls along with Back and OneGuide buttons, so that you can use the Xbox program guide to quickly access your favorite movies and shows. Best of all, the buttons glow in the dark.

You’ll be able to use the media remote with Blu-ray movies, streamed videos, and your television/receiver. If you’re interested in getting one, you’ll be able to pick it up in March for $24.99.

The Xbox One has a strong media focus, and fans have generally reacted positively to this announcement. If you live where it’s too noisy to use the Kinect’s voice recognition, or if you just would prefer a remote, check it out.

PS4 BluRay Remote Available for Pre-order

February 17, 2014 by Cheats.co Staff - Leave a comment

It wasn’t too long ago that we learned about an upcoming Media Remote for the Xbox One, and now a DreamGear PS4 BluRay Remote has appeared on EB Games.

The item is listed with a release date of April 22, and it costs $19.99. According to the product details, it is battery-powered and allows users to navigate menus across various media applications, as well as on the DVDs/Blu-ray discs themselves. While its layout contains more buttons than the previously mentioned Media Remote, it still looks like an easy interface to work with.

EB Games and Gamestop both also have a listing for a Nyko PS4 Media Remote Control, which is priced the same as the remote at EB Games, but has a release date of April 15, and has a somewhat simpler design.

We haven’t seen any sign yet of an official Sony remote for the PS4, but if you’re interested in getting one, you’ll at least have a couple of options to choose from.

Yoshida: MP3 and DLNA server support coming to PS4

November 12, 2013 by Cheats.co Staff - Leave a comment

You might have seen the recent news that the Playstation 4 will not play your MP3 collection or any of your other media either (no DNLA server functionality). This initially caused quite an uproar with many pinging SCE president Shuhei Yoshida via Twitter to ask why Sony had seemingly dropped the ball on this one.

Fast forward a few days and Yoshida has said that MP3, music CD and DLNA server support will all “eventually” be added to the Playstation 4. He also said that Sony was “caught off guard” by the initial backlash, although how that was we can’t imagine, these are very basic features that we’re talking about!

We didn’t really think about MP3 or DLNA. We always thought that we’re going to do that eventually – we’ve been doing it with all the [Playstation] products. So it caught us off guard. People don’t really talk about these features but when we say we don’t have it some people get really mad and [say], ‘I cancelled the pre-order’.

It’s nice to know that the gaming community was able to extract such a quick response and policy turnaround from Sony – the key take-out from all this being that we should expect a future PS4 firmware update to enable these basic media playback features. Now we can go back to looking forward to the US launch of the PS4 in just a few days!

Ultimate PS4 FAQ – no media server functionality or MP3 playback

October 30, 2013 by Cheats.co Staff - Leave a comment

Today Sony released both US and EU versions of an “Ultimate FAQ” for the Playstation 4. The FAQs cover mostly hardware issues such as media playback, game installation and other console features. Following is a couple of high level points that we picked out.

• Background downloads of game updates don’t require a PS+ subscription.
• Firmware update discs can be ordered directly from Sony.
• Playstation Plus save storage capacity is limited to 1GB.
• The ability to help a friend out in a game remotely is a delayed feature.
• There is no media server client functionality.
• There is no MP3 support leaving Music Unlimited as the only potential source of background music.
• Trophies still don’t sync instantly.
• Voice commands do not require the PS4 eye camera.
• Voice message are limited to 15 seconds maximum.

For us the lack of media server client functionality and the inability to play MP3s are the biggest issues by far. Why Sony would include them in the Playstation 3 and then drop them from the Playstation 4, in the year 2013, is beyond us. Perhaps such functions will be introduced in a future update.

Major Nelson on Xbox One: Digital pricing, codes, personal media & IE

September 22, 2013 by Cheats.co Staff - Leave a comment

Major Nelson recently spoke during an Xbox One event in Boston and answered a few questions that Reddit users had submitted to him. Here’s a quick run down of the main points:

Personal Media

Major Nelson couldn’t confirm if we’ll be able to play personal media files via local network or from a USB hard-drive on the Xbox One, but did say that the idea is that the console is a total media device. It would therefore be surprising if they did not implement this functionality.

Internet Explorer on Xbox One

IE on Xbox One will definitely support HTML5, but he couldn’t confirm the extent of flash support.

Digital Games and Price Matching

Both digital and disc versions of games will have the same MSRP. It it also possible that you’ll be able to buy digital download codes from games retailers, although this won’t be implemented by launch in November.

Why Buy an Xbox One?

Major also had some words on why you should buy an Xbox One:

It’s the device for everyone, it has the features to please the hardcore gamer and even media fans. No features were created at another’s expense. It’s as much about games as the Xbox 360 and has the added abilities that make it the best in TV, Movies, and Sports.

So no major announcements/information breakthroughs, but we’re getting there. It was a shame that Major couldn’t confirm personal media will be supported. Given the spin Microsoft have put on the Xbox One’s functions to date, you’d think it would be all the way at the top of their list!