Free Xbox Live Gold Weekend

Microsoft’s offering a free weekend of Xbox Live Gold service to entice new subscribers. While an Xbox 360 ($200 and up) nets you a solid gaming platform, to enable the most compelling online features, such as collaborative gameplay and Netflix streaming, one must subscribe to “Gold” — which retails for $60/year. As regular reader James (jcm) says, the Xbox 360 currently offers arguably the most complete video streaming experience in terms of quantity/quality of apps, polished interface, and integrated search. Yet, the annual subscription irks me and I’ve allowed my service to lapse. Heck, for the same money, one could buy a fee-free Roku LT streamer ($50).

But I went ahead and dug my Xbox 360 out of the closet to partake in the Free Gold Weekend (6/1 – 6/3) to check out the new Amazon Instant video streaming app. As an Amazon Prime member ($80/year), I’m entitled to all sorts of “free” content. Although, I have to say my primary motivation was to check out Amazon’s new Watchlist — overcoming their most significant technical shortcoming compared to say Netflix or Hulu Plus, as recently pointed out by Engadget HD’s Richard Lawler: No queue is a bizarre way to live.

Coincidentally, while I was drafting this post, I discovered Roku’s Amazon app received an update today… that also enables the new Watchlist. And, so it appears, I’ll be packing up the 360 until a time when they rethink this annual fee or I pick up a Kinect.

17 thoughts on “Free Xbox Live Gold Weekend”

  1. I debated if I was going to renew my live membership this year, but in the end I did. I like having ESPN3 to available to watch games not broadcast in my area. I agree the fee is steep when compared to Roku and even the PS3 allowing access Netflix (which I dropped when they started to charge an extra fee) and Amazon. The overall quality of movies has improved with Amazon and they keep increasing the movies and even adding HD streaming. For the price I don’t think Amazon can be beat, plus the upgraded shipping and at least for me great customer service.

  2. “(given the abandonment of Windows Media Center)”

    Maintenance mode is not abandonment…

  3. How about “abandonment of WMC development” ? But imagine if we could hang a Ceton CableCARD tuner off an Xbox that DVR-ed shows onto the internal drive? That would be sweet indeed. And way more of a “One Box” than TiVo ever was. Interestingly, I have a TiVo with Hulu Plus and I have a Roku with Hulu Plus. On the same TV. Yet, I go for the more sprightly Roku each time as we catch up on Community.

  4. “But imagine if we could hang a Ceton CableCARD tuner off an Xbox that DVR-ed shows onto the internal drive? That would be sweet indeed.”

    How ’bout a pony too?

    Do you really think it even remotely likely for Microsoft to introduce CableCARD into the Xbox?

    As noted in the last thread, TiVo’s ‘good enough’ solution will retire the undisputed CableCARD champ simply because no one ever wanted to invest the money to beat them.

  5. No, I don’t think they’d build a tuner into the Xbox. But I’d hope they’d consider repurposing the technology they’ve already developed to allow us to buy a Ceton CableCARD accessory. Again, why I begged and pleaded at every MediaRoom CES briefing to merge these three products/groups. Will it come to pass? That’s hard to say. Microsoft licensed Media Center to LG for a DVR that never took off and is now licensing the platform the likes of Ceton for the Q – that’s pretty low risk. But also low reward. And I don’t expect it to go anywhere.

    Sony’s in a better place to experiment I’d think given the 2008 PlayTV product which brought dual-tuning HD and DVR to the PS3 in Europe. The engineering work has been done, they just need US tuners. Obviously, this is OTA only. But I’d think it’d be worth floating as an online-only purchase to gauge response. The PS3 is way more mainstream than say Boxee, who’s experimenting with OTA tuning (but not recording…).

  6. Dave, Dave, Dave —

    Again with the complaints about $60/year ($5/month). Really, for the price of a cup of Starbucks coffee ONCE a month, people will chose to go with far inferior choices?

    Taking the $60 off the table for a moment, what is so compelling about the Roku players? Maybe I am missing something where they are concerned. As you are aware, I am pretty familiar with them having used them since they were Netflix players and having owned at least one box from each generation. Given the choice between the two – based on available content, UI, and search capabilities – it isn’t even close. The Xbox provides a much richer, more complete experience.

    James

  7. I agree the Xbox is a better experience on nearly all counts. Yet most people who aren’t gamers will not care to spend $200 upfront plus $60 a year when they can get their entire solution for that same $60. Plus, to those non-gamers or non-techies, the Xbox is more intimidating than the svelte, compact Apple TV and Roku devices (that ship with actual remotes). Most online video streaming is Netflix. And most folks would be content with a cheaper product, even if it isn’t as polished or well rounded.

    For another random data point – I just picked up a refurb Sony Blu-ray player for a mere $40. It’s too slow and wired-only, but the capabilities are solid and the interface isn’t so bad. It offers Netflix, Amazon, Vudu, Hulu Plus, YouTube, Slacker, Pandora, and a bunch of other stuff I don’t care about.

    The point being is that “good enough” will generally suffice for the less savvy or budget-conscious consumer when you can buy 1 box for 1/4th – 1/3rd the cost of a single Xbox with a year of service.

  8. Hate to bust anyone’s bubble, but I have it on good authority that the Xbox apps don’t support 1080i, which means even if Ceton ET el wanted to they couldn’t build a DVR app for the Xbox. This of course assuming the apps can even access the hard drives.

    Of course Microsoft could remedy that with an update, but I’m not sure they feel motivated.

  9. Dave writes, regarding CableCARD coming in some form to the Xbox:

    “Will it come to pass? That’s hard to say.”

    And I respond: What Ben Drawbaugh just said.

    Alternately: It’s about as likely as CableCARD support coming to OS X.

    Snarkily: No, it’s not hard to say at all.

    Again, TiVo shall retire the undefeated champ of CableCARD since no one wants to bother.

    —–

    It’s kinda weird. Everyone decided to ignore the present and get in on the future, even though the present has remained the present, and will continue to do so for a while. No one wants to deal with CableCARD, even though everyone’s got a CableCARD box under their lean-back. Netflix doesn’t want to ship you discs, even though they make a profit doing so. Weird.

  10. For a time, I thought it was likely that we’d see (indirect) CableCARD support on OS X… given the HDHomeRun Prime app created by ElGato… the same folks who put out EyeTV. The safe bet, of course, is for everyone to pass. It’s a bit of a chicken and egg conundrum and the cablecos haven’t exactly made it easy.

  11. I agree with you Chucky. For example while the PSP can act as a tuner/DVR using the Nasne device in Europe and Japan, I don’t expect they’ll ever bring it here given the consumer electronics hostile environment (cable cards that don’t work in satellite or U-Verse, and are in general a giant PITA).

  12. The problem with CableCARD isn’t what is used to be thanks to Ceton and SiliconDust. But the problem with DRM remains. It is trivial to create an app that works with either CableCARD tuner, but with PlayReady being the only certified DRM, the usefulness is very limited — I believe Helix support is no longer required. So far only Microsoft has implemented the version of PlayReady certified by CableLabs.

    But I think the real reason we don’t see CableCARD tuner isn’t because it is too costly/difficult to implement PlayReady, I think it is because no one wants to legitimize Cable Labs’ solution. I think that the tech giants and the content distribution giants can’t see eye to eye, so they both take their ball home. Microsoft has tried harder than anyone to work with CableLabs and look where it got them.

    I hate to say it, but our only hope is that cord cutting is real and that the cable co’s give up on their home grown walled gardens and finally realize they should open things up to prosper. But sadly, I feel like they’d sooner go out of business than do this.

  13. “I think it is because no one wants to legitimize Cable Labs’ solution … I hate to say it, but our only hope is that cord cutting is real and that the cable co’s give up on their home grown walled gardens and finally realize they should open things up to prosper.”

    Meh. I see CableCARD as a win for consumers.

    Investment money has stayed away because they’d rather try to achieve first-mover position in some potential future 10 years down the line, and thus achieve monopoly profits. It’s the same basic reason Netflix doesn’t want to ship you discs, even though it’s a profitable business line for them.

    But in the long present, I see my TiVo fed by FIOS as excellent value. Viva CableCARD! Viva! Viva!

    It’s too bad for consumers that no one ever wanted to invest to provide viable competition to TiVo, but things could be a lot worse.

    (And the actual solution you’re looking for isn’t cord cutting. You still need a wire coming into your home. The actual solution would be either the Feds forcing the cableco’s to divest from content, stopping the evil vertical integration most consumers live under, or the Feds forcing creation of virtual MSO’s, replicating the ILEC/CLEC competition in phone lines for consumers back in the ’90’s.)

  14. The problem with CableCARD is now and has forever been the lack of support by cable operators and even more important is the lack of VOD. Many geeks don’t realize it but cable’s VOD streams like 10x more than any OTT provider. VOD is the immediate future and cable keeps it to themselves by locking it off other devices.

    Bottom line is that most won’t choose a better UI if it means worse support and limited access to the content their provider bundles together.

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