Sky dishes up iPlayer-style service for Xbox 360
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Microsoft has signed a deal with Sky that’ll see the broadcaster’s programmes available on your Xbox 360.
Sky Player brings the broadcaster's TV shows, movies and sports coverage to your Xbox 360
Described as the world’s first service enabling “premium live television to be watched through a games console”, the deal will deliver a selection of Sky channels, individual programmes, films and sports events through Xbox Live.
Although specific details about which shows and channels you’ll have access to haven’t yet been announced, Register Hardware tried the service – called Sky Player – at a recent unveiling in central London.
Sky Player retains Xbox Live’s familiar floating panel structure, as shown above, and is accessed through the Video Marketplace menu. From here you can choose from among a number of programme genres - including Sports, Movies, Entertainment and News – which are streamed to you live or on demand.
Stream live TV (shown above) or watch films on demand
Sky has used Xbox Live’s avatars to bring interactivity to sporting events. Your avatar will be able to invite up to seven other Xbox chums to watch a football match together.
Avatars add interactivity to Sky's football coverage
You'll be able to don a headset and hold voice chats with friends, or vent your anger about Rooney’s missed goal using a range of emoticons.
The avatar feature will initially be restricted to football games. But a Sky spokesperson told us that it’ll be rolled out over time to other sports, including cricket.
All live content will be streamed in standard definition, while on-demand content will be sent over in "DVD quality", Sky said.
Sky's EPG has been replicated on Xbox Live
Existing Sky subscribers need a Multiroom package to simultaneously watch, say, Sky One on a bedroom telly and a film through their Xbox 360 in the lounge.
Sky Player will be launched in the UK this autumn. More concrete details about content availability and pricing will be available closer to the launch. ®
COMMENTS
re: The end is near....
LOL, what an idiot. PS3 is outselling the 360...
22m PS3's in 30 months in US (26 in Europe) = 900,000 a month globally on average (calculated by spliting the release dates)
28m 360's in 42 months = 660,000 a month globally on average.
Both sales numbers were from end-of-year reports back in April. Since then, Microsoft have sold another 2m globally, and the PS3 will be around the same.
As for this "news"/PR spin, It's not like you can't already get these services on PS3 (and more like iPlayer and CatchupTV for free), or the much superior PlayTV which can actually record whilst you are playing a game.
Rights Issues
Just wondering how Sky have managed to get the rights to play football live over broadband?
Thought BT Vision had the broadband rights for near live coverage of the premier league games.
Not sure how they can claim to be able to show this on the XBOX when this is clearly delivered via broadband.
Unless they are fudging the rights issue by offering this only to Sky Customers and pretending this is a multiroom proposition - in which case all you people who can't get cable or have a dish won't be able to watch it anyway.
One more word
Sopcast (then you can get Setanta as well for free)
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