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Tag: hdtv-households

  • Microsoft Unveils Motion Control Technology – Project Natal


    Microsoft has just unveiled what it describes as a revolutionary new way to play Xbox 360 video games on HDTVs without the need for a controller.

    Called Project Natal, the sensor, which combines an RGB camera, depth sensor, multi-array microphone and custom processor in one device, could have uses far beyond just gaming.

    One analyst, Michael Pachter of Wedbush Morgan, said he thought Project Natal is intended less as a game control scheme than it is as an easy-to-use dashboard control scheme.

    He also sees it as a means for Microsoft to dampen the launch of an expected high definition upgrade to Nintendo’s Wii console.

    Unlike 2-D cameras and controllers, Project Natal tracks a user’s full body movement in 3-D, while responding to commands, directions and even a shift of emotion in the voice.

    The idea that the device could have an impact far beyond gaming was echoed by filmmaker Steven Spielberg.

    Introducing the device at the recent the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), he said it was a "pivotal moment that will carry with it a wave of change, the ripples of which will reach far beyond video games".

    Microsoft says that what sets the Project Natal sensor apart is the fact it’s not light-dependent. It can recognize users just by looking at their face, and it doesn’t just react to key words but understands what is being said.

    So, for example, if a user calls a play in a football game, players will actually respond.

    Spielberg said the next step in interactive entertainment is to make the controller disappear.

    "With Project Natal, we’ll see games that bring everyone together through technology that actually recognizes us," he said.

    During its briefing, signalled its strategy of turning the Xbox 360 into an internet and media hub for the living room by opening the Xbox Live dashboard up to the internet.

    It announced new Xbox LIVE services, including instant on 1080p HD streaming movies and television to Facebook and Last.fm tailor-made for a user’s TV.

    Starting this fall, a selection of movies and TV shows from Zune video on Xbox 360 will be available to start and stream instantly.

    Microsoft also announced it will more than double the number of markets where Xbox LIVE offers its TV shows and movies, growing from eight to 18, by adding Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland.

    Xbox LIVE members in these markets will have access to instant on 1080p video.

    New Xbox LIVE Video Marketplace advancements also came for the US,UK and Ireland.

    Microsoft also announced a new lineup of Xbox 360 games, including Forza Motorsport 3, Alan Wake, Halo 3: ODST and The Beatles: Rock Band.

    Below is a promotional video for Project Natal:

  • 43% of US HDTV Owners Don't Watch HD Content


    More than 39 million US households have an HDTV set – and the figure keeps on rising.

    Yet a sizeable proportion – 43 per cent or 17 million – either don’t have or don’t watch HD content.

    A report from In-Stat has highlighted a "significant gap" between HDTV ownership and HD programming usage among US households.

    It shows that the number of US HDTV households – defined as households having both an installed HD-capable TV set and also receiving and watching HD programming – increased by almost 40 per cent in 2008.

    However, Mike Paxton, an In-Stat analyst, said the growth rate could have been much larger.

    "In the US, there are more than 39 million households with an installed HDTV set," he said.

    "However, only 22 million of those are HDTV households, meaning that 17 million US households with an installed HDTV set are not watching HD programming."

    The In-Stat report comes as the number of households with an installed high-definition television continues to grow worldwide.

    However, this installed base of households is decidedly biased to two countries: the US and Japan.

    And while there are many in the US not taking full advantage of their HDTV sets, the US has 61 per cent of the global total of 36 million HDTV households.

    Recent research by In-Stat also found the following:

    • On a global basis, HDTV service remains limited to a relatively small number of countries, primarily the US and Japan.
    • At year-end 2008, there were over 36 million HDTV households worldwide, up from 29 million at year-end 2007.
    • Even though the number of European HDTV households is rising, it will be 2011 before the number of HDTV households in that region reaches the 10 million mark.
    • Cable and satellite TV service providers provide HD programming to almost 80% of all HDTV households. Telco TV service providers and terrestrial broadcast TV service providers provide service to the remaining HDTV households.