Microsoft Shelves Xbox One DVR

To deflect the bad news, ahead of what sounds like a number of interesting reveals next week, after crunching the numbers Microsoft has announced their intention to pass on the messy, potentially limited but free Xbox One DVR functionality:

After careful consideration, we’ve decided to put development of DVR for Over-the-Air TV on hold to focus our attention on launching new, higher fan-requested gaming experiences across Xbox One and Windows 10. We’re always listening to fan feedback and we look forward to bringing more requested experiences on Xbox One, Windows 10 and Xbox Live this year.

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So, where does that leave us? Presumably, Xbox One live antenna television, via USB tuner, will carry on – including a 30-minute buffer and in-home streaming to iOS and Android devices. But those alluring recording capabilities, from multiple tuners will remain out of reach to this refocused gaming console. Fortunately, a pair of solid DVR alternatives exist in the headless Tablo and a resurrected TiVo Roamio OTA. HDHomeRun network tuners will soon also provide DVR options, in the form of software from manufacturer Silicon Dust and the developer behind Channels — although you’ll need a computer or NAS in the mix. Lastly, I wonder if Amazon might surprise us with something?

16 thoughts on “Microsoft Shelves Xbox One DVR”

  1. That pretty well covers the OTA DVR options on the horizon, with the noteworthy exceptions of Android TV (paired with either USB tuner or a Silicon Dust network tuner), a few different models of Magnavox OTA DVRs coming this fall (meh), and of course the Channel Master DVR+.

    If we see a “skinny” Xbox/Windows 10-based box from Microsoft next week focused on streaming apps and casual games, I’d love to see them include a single ATSC tuner built into the box, along with the same free program guide and the 30-minute buffer feature already available on Xbox One. My guess, though, is that they’d forego the extra cost of the tuner and simply allow folks who want it to fork over an extra $60 for their exclusive Hauppauge USB tuner (which, at that price, must carry a really fat profit margin). Which raises the question — without the ability to record from that external tuner, how many Xbox users does Microsoft believe will cough up an extra $60 simply to incorporate live OTA TV into the same TV input/UI as their gaming and streaming? I *might* do that but I think I’m outlier in the degree to which I care about a “single box” solution.

  2. I gave up on Microsoft producing any sort of DVR functionality when they quite developing Windows Media Center..

  3. “Unless Google pulls a Microsoft with Android?”

    The funny thing is that unless Rovi destroys the product, (which they may well do!) we’ll all still be using TiVo’s in 10 years…

  4. William, MJR, this was announced well after Media Center was retired and to pull the plug this late in development… is interesting. What are the odds we’ll hear of Xfinity Cloud DVR coming to Xbox in the next few months?

  5. It wouldn’t surprise me if Comcast rolled out an X1 app for the Xbox as it’s doing for Roku. That app, I think, gives you access to cloud DVR, on-demand, basically everything that Comcast’s own X1 box does.

    It would surprise me if Comcast rolled out a special cloud DVR feature just for Xbox that integrates into Microsoft’s native UI.

  6. Well… they had specced all that out with their Mediaroom division for AT&T (U-verse). But then sold that unit to Ericsson. Would be ironic to see them do it again. However, given the contents of their note, I think they’re probably done with TV – beyond third party apps and what they currently provide.

  7. Nothing exciting at today’s E3 Xbox event from a TV perspective, other than UHD-capable streaming apps on the slightly updated version of the Xbox console. So much for those rumors about Microsoft going up against Roku et al in the streaming STB wars…

  8. That said, AppleTV has some intriguing changes afoot, including the long-discussed and rumored Siri support for 3rd party apps. A little behind the times on that front, but with real potential for a true unified voice search. The presentation was impressive, but will be interesting to see how that advances when TV OS updates hit later.

  9. Lets clear something up. Microsoft never announced that they were adding DVR functions to the Xbox One. The fact that they were thinking about making it only came from the tech writer Paul Thurrott. Of course every other tech blog took that info and claimed it as theirs. The only official statement from Microsoft is that they are not making a DVR. Tough to get angry with a company for not following through on a product they never said was coming.

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