CES 2010 brought many interesting announcements that centered on products and services that used the Internet in some way, but one of the more intriguing announcements was that of the planned AT&T U-verse support for Microsoft’s Xbox 360 gaming console. What made this announcement particularly interesting was the questions it left unanswered. The obvious questions such as availability and whether or not the demonstration was actually using U-verse still remain unanswered, and thus are the subject of much speculation to this date. There is, however, a single question that has been answered, but seems rather simple to answer: Will the Xbox 360 be able to replace an AT&T U-verse set top box (STB)?
The answer to that last question is a subject of debate no longer, as it the answer is both yes and no.
The Answer Could be Yes Because…
AT&T U-verse systems can use more than one STB, but only one of those STBs is designated as the main STB. Additional U-verse STBs are essentially satellite STBs, and the Xbox 360 can act as a satellite STB only if there is a main STB to pair with. In other words, an Xbox 360 can be used to enable U-verse functionality on additional television sets, but not on the main television with its U-verse STB that coordinates all of the transfers and DVR functionality.
Or the Answer Could be No If…
If consumers want to use their Xbox 360 in lieu of any and all AT&T U-verse STBs in their home, then they are presently out of luck. Microsoft has officially weighed in on the subject, and given a perfectly logical explanation for this particular limitation: the Xbox 360 is a high-performance gaming console, even if it is a few years old, and it is not designed for 24/7 operation over extended periods of time. In other words, Microsoft does not necessarily want consumers running their gaming consoles non-stop and then expecting replacements when they fail from the stress of operating non-stop, something that the high-end gaming consoles were not initially designed to do. On the other hand, AT&T U-verse STBs are specifically designed for 24/7 operation over extended durations, which gives them a major advantage. This advantage does come at the price of performance, but STBs do not need the high-performance characteristics that gaming consoles depend on to be competitive; nobody expects their STB to render realistic 3D worlds on the fly, or to be capable of playing the latest high-paced games over the Internet. Of course, STBs are now starting to run applications which shows that they are starting to cross this bridge in a direction that may eventually bring them into competition with gaming consoles, but they are orders of magnitude less powerful when it comes to computational and graphics horsepower. Still, the connection between gaming consoles and STBs is not tenuous, and it is not a coincidence that both types of devices rely heavily on broadband access.
As a result, it would seem unlikely that a modern gaming console would ever completely replace the main U-verse STB or in any other similar IPTV (Internet Protocol TV) network. Competition in the gaming sector has simply been too fierce for designers to add long-term 24/7 operation to their alter their design specifications. The problem facing electronic engineers and developers of gaming consoles is simple: long-term stability comes at prices that can be measured monetarily, thermally, and electrically. Customers are likely to complain and vote with their dollar whenever one of these characteristics is out of balance in a negative way.
The Future of Convergence
As a result of the cost of designing gaming consoles with always-on operation in mind, it would seem that a few possibilities exist. First, designers of game consoles may opt to make more robust IPTV-compatible devices for a premium price. With consumers looking at the bottom line as much as they are looking at the carbon footprint of their entertainment, there is an argument that such a solution could gain a following.
In favor of the IPTV-based gaming console that can serve as a STB is the fact that numerous mobile operating systems (OS) are serving double duty as STB/console OSes. Android, WebOS, Windows Mobile, and even a mobile variation of Apple’s OS X are all quite capable of providing 3D gaming functionality that consoles require while featuring libraries that would enable support for industry standards such as Microsoft’s Mediaroom. Mediaroom is the standard that the Xbox 360 and Windows 7 will use to connect with the U-Verse system, so the idea is not particularly far fetched.
What is the End Game?
At this point in time, the first company that can bring a reasonable level of gaming performance along with media streaming and purchasing to the table while combining IPTV functionality is likely to be the clear winner. Nintendo has proven that high-end hardware is not a pre-requisite to sales, and the Xbox 360 U-verse support is certainly encouraging if all it does is light the way to a single STB/gaming console device, allowing the simplification of home theater systems.
By the time that such a convergence finally takes place, it would seem to be a given that disc formats such as Blu-ray will have officially yielded to the convenience of ultra-fast broadband.
