Xbox 720 getting PVR functionality? Patent suggests so…
While the current Xbox 360 generation of Microsoft’s console is busy repositioning itself as just as much a catch-up TV and entertainment hub as it is a videogames machine, a new patent relating to a possible Xbox 720 follow-up suggests that the next-gen machine may also have PVR/DVR functionality.
Microsoft have been granted a patent described as “a digital video recorder (DVR) application running alongside a television client component [that] allows users to record media content on the gaming console”.
“The DVR application also integrates itself with the console menu,” explained the patent.
“Once integrated, users can record media content while playing games. Alternatively, users can record content when the gaming console is turned off. The recorded content can include television programming, gaming experience (whether local or online), music, DVDs, and so on.
“When in the recording state, users can also switch between various other media modes, whether gaming, television, and so on.”
It’s not the first time PVR functionality has hit a games console. The PS3 had Play TV, which will slightly more successful in Asian territories, was viewed as little more than an overpriced Freeview recorder in the UK.
Combined with Microsoft’s Sky streaming deal and catch-up services, an embedded PVR option with Kinect motion and voice control could make for very interesting competition for Sky themselves and the likes of Virgin.
Via: Cnet
