Last year Microsoft added a feature to European Xbox Ones that brought broadcast TV directly to the box, and now it's starting to roll out the same thing in the US and Canada. Currently available for users in the Preview Program, it combines with a TV tuner from Hauppauge (and an antenna -- the tuner retails for $80 but is currently $61 on Amazon) to cut out the cable middleman, and let owners watch the TV signals that are floating about freely. Soon, there will be a special Xbox One version of the tuner available that costs just $50. While it doesn't turn the console's hard-drive into a full fledged DVR, it does have a few DVR-like features, with the ability to pause live TV for up to 30 minutes, and it can stream TV to a phone or tablet running the SmartGlass app.
We've seen a couple of major TV providers launch apps for Xbox One (in addition to Verizon and Charter, AT&T has a U-verse app currently available), but they mostly have not helped the game system in its effort to meld with daily TV watching. As the Xbox News post points out, with a combination of the antenna and the recently-released Sling TV app, owners can get most of the big TV channels without needing cable or satellite at all.
Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, HD
Source: Xbox Wire
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