Skip to content
Home » Site-Sections » Gadget News » E3 2012: Microsoft Reveals Xbox Video – Movies On the Go for Windows Phone

E3 2012: Microsoft Reveals Xbox Video – Movies On the Go for Windows Phone

  • by

[tab name=’News’]

 

The Electronic Entertainment Expo runs between the 5th and 7th of June and Gadget Helpline will be following all the major hardware and software announcements from big industry names such as Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony – as well as offering a Daily Recap on many areas of this year’s show!

Microsoft’s appearances at the E3 convention has cemented an idea that has been bandied around for some time now: there could be an Xbox 360 that doesn’t play games.

The software giant revealed Xbox Music, a streaming service that was previously rumoured and known as ‘Woodstock’. Alongside that, they revealed a new video on-demand service called Xbox Video, and in the process they’ve transformed the Xbox into a true media centre for your living room.

While Xbox Music was revealed with much fanfare, the details of Xbox Video were seemingly hidden within a letter to customers that was published on Major Nelson’s blog. Entitled “Xbox on Windows 8 and Windows Phone”, the letter reads:

“Xbox is the premium entertainment experience for video, music, and games on your Xbox 360, on Windows 8 and on Windows Phone. And of course our LIVE service makes it even easier to share, discover, play and more with all of your content.”

Despite not officially being announced by Microsoft at E3, Xbox Video is detailed further in the letter:

“Xbox Video provides you access to the video marketplace, making it easy to browse and search for TV episodes and movies. You can see your videos in your personal collection and even cue the TV show or movie up on your Xbox 360.”

So it’s looking likely that Windows Phone and Windows 8 users will soon be able to download and stream both music and video content via the two new Xbox services. This will tie-in with the new SmartGlass app that Microsoft revealed earlier in the week, which will allow users to watch content on a Windows Phone and then beam it to an Xbox 360 console, or vice versa. The latter will come in very handy for when you need to leave the room or the house, but still want to continue watching your movie or TV show.

Xbox Music and Xbox Video are likely to replace Microsoft’s existing Zune service, and coupled with the ever-expanding app catalogue, could make way for a media centre Xbox that doesn’t play games.

Let us know your thoughts on our comments below or via our @Gadget_Helpline Twitter page or Official Facebook group.

[/tab]
[end_tabset]

Tags: