I love you Xbox, but don't cancel things on your fans

To be clear; personally it's not something I was interested in. I have cable TV and two DVRs in my home already, so this isn't a rant about something I was excited for myself.

But Microsoft announcing, then pulling the plug, isn't a road to travel down. Xbox fans are passionate. Lots of them were excited about this feature coming to their console.

But above all that, it's about promising something and then going back on it. That's never going to go down well, regardless of the product in question.

Xbox TV Tuner

At gamescom in August 2015, Microsoft announced the upcoming DVR feature. I was sat in the audience and the reaction from the crowd suggested plenty were happy to hear it. At the same event I saw the feature working in a closed-door session. We had all the details: an external USB 2.0 hard drive and the OTA TV tuner were required, and there would be substantial mobile integration.

While not something for me, I wrote about it with a smile on my face because it was both impressive and likely to make a difference to a lot of Xbox One owners.

When it was announced and first demonstrated to the press, the Windows 10 powered Xbox One Experience was still in development, but clearly the DVR feature had been an integral part of the early works. Sure, it was a staged demo, but it seemed impressive. Another box to tick over Sony's competing PS4.

So fast forward to June 2016 and Microsoft's statement on halting the project:

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.

It doesn't actually say cancel, but that Microsoft felt it necessary to put out a statement tells me that the Xbox One TV DVR isn't happening for a long time, if it ever happens at all. It's no secret that Microsoft has a lot going on in the Xbox division, with the same event in 2015 clearly showing that its a more a platform now than just a gaming box under your TV.

Phil Spencer

Microsoft's Phil Spencer has also openly pushed the idea of Xbox being about the games and the gamers. And that's exactly where it should be going — like it or not, the Xbox One has become a center of many entertainment systems. The pre-Spencer days weren't exactly a high point, but the Xbox One is packed with features for the home entertainment fan.

More than that though, it's TV DVR for Xbox One was a high profile feature that was announced at a major event, hyped up and then taken away. And looking at the uservoice page right now paints a picture: of displeased users

I bought an Xbox One, TV tuner and 2TB external hard drive last year after MS announced DVR capabilities were coming. All told, I have over $500 into this hardware. The DVR functionality was a major feature that I based my decision on.

I've been patiently waiting for something you told Xbox One Owners was coming. I installed an antenna, picked up the xbox tuner, a larger external drive, and we get a sorry we changed our mind.

This is ridiculous. It wasn't a highly requested feature because it has been touted as an inevitable update since the Xbox One was released! Loyal customers are being burned over this.

Extremely disappointed the DVR capability was canceled. This was one of the features that defined my choice of the Xbox One over a PS4. Apparently wasted money on the tv tuner and 2TB Seagate expansion drive. Please rethink this one!!!

That's just a few; there are many, many more. Along with background music playing, which has been pushed back to this summer's Anniversary Update, it seems TV DVR was hotly anticipated. It doesn't exactly shine a great light on Xbox to suddenly decide to pull it.

Xbox E3

And just a few days before what's sure to be an incredible show at E3, too.

That Microsoft felt they had to put out a statement tells me that the Xbox One TV DVR isn't happening for a long time, if ever.

I love Xbox, and personally I'm happy still that it became my number one purchase for the new generation of consoles. I've owned both previous consoles as well as every PlayStation bar the current one. Overall I still think the Xbox One has the best experience as both a games console and an entertainment unit.

But I don't like to see fans disappointed like this. It doesn't really matter what the product, feature or company it is, promising something with much fanfare and then quietly sweeping it under the rug nearly a year later is a dangerous thing to do. It disillusions those most loyal to the brand, and no-one wants that.

Either deliver, or don't say you're going to do something. That's how it has to be.

Richard Devine
Managing Editor - Tech, Reviews

Richard Devine is a Managing Editor at Windows Central with over a decade of experience. A former Project Manager and long-term tech addict, he joined Mobile Nations in 2011 and has been found on Android Central and iMore as well as Windows Central. Currently, you'll find him steering the site's coverage of all manner of PC hardware and reviews. Find him on Mastodon at mstdn.social/@richdevine

222 Comments
  • I am mad!
  • If you are MS, making a big deal about something and then going back on it is standard operating procedure.
  • Lol! Isn't that the truth! Richard must have missed all the other promises MS made and then retracted.
  • This....and I'm a big KINECT fan too who wishes just once single game would make it to the XBOX One...Kinect Party.
  • Let them know! Show them you care about this, tagged them on Twitter and Facebook with #SaveTheDVR  Include them in your Tweets @XboxP3 @MajorNelson @Xbox Spread the word as much as possible. You see we've already made an impact when there is an article about us being upset. Don't stop here, keep the momentum going! And last but not least....VOTE :) https://xbox.uservoice.com/forums/251610-oneguide-live-tv/suggestions/6029911-xbox-one-dvr-functionality-with-digital-tv-tuner
  • Don't worry. Microsoft will change their minds once again. They do this all the time. They say they're not going to do something. Get the masses all riled up and say we were just kidding. We're going to really give you this great product. It's their way to see if there's real interest. Cue the change of heart in a few months. :)
  • What is the next evolution of oneguide? Will it live out the rest of its life as a boring tv and media guide without dvr integration? how sad
  • to me this isn't a big deal im over 1.5 hrs from a major city. i would be surprised if there is any ota signals in my town. when we cant even get fm from the city cause we are in a low river vally.  i doubt tv would make it. i had shaw direct with a pvr but put that on hold so im not useing it at the moment. no biggy to me that they no longer wish to do the dvr. maybe the total amount of people useing the ota is a small group? maybe just maybe they could invest time into something that makes  a profit?  keep satynadella in mind if it isn't makeing money hes axeing it. how much money will ota bring...
  • For some i can see this no big deal. We just cut the cord a few weeks ago and decided to go with XB1 tuner and even bought an external drive for this very feature. We get 95 channels locally.  We had other options for an OTA tuner, yet chose this. Blatant lies and deceit. I wonder how sales would have been for the Tuner if this was announced last year. Makes ya wonder!
  • so many things have been announced over the years that eventually change. I have lost trust with xbox going back 2 years ago when they shut down the xbox entertainment division. at this point i don't believe it until its official. i would hope others would be the same.
  • Lol guess they could offload the responsibility to the manufacturer or make a deal to provide wintv extend at no cost the customer
  • I was able to pull in alot of stations that the tuner on my TV couldn't, it seems to be a much better tuner.
  • User Voice blew up after this. Votes climbed from 2000-2100 up to 2450+ within 24 hours. The comments filled up 6 pages and then climbed to 20. We can only hope that they bring this more sooner than later.
  • DVR doesn't add revenue. Getting UWP on Xbox adds revenue. More UWP apps means more apps for Win10M. I'm not sad about no DVR.
  • It could sell more consoles, which in turn could sell more accessories, games, services ect. That adds revenue as well.
  • Exactly, I have held out on buying for this feature... Still looking for MSFT to offer a replacement to the DVR system on the planet Windows Media Center
  • What?  If it sells an Xbone (in the best case, instead of a PS4), it sure as heck does add revenue.
  • Okay? You're making it sound like it's only one or the other, which isn't the case.
  • 2,600 votes, and 23 pages of comments now. In under 48 hours it went up 500-600 votes. I told everyone I knew that has an Xbox One. Thanks everyone who has voted! I'm glad I wasn't the only one who was anticipating this and based their decision on purchasing an Xbox One because of this feature.
  • I went thru the uservoice and it stands about 108 on the list. This doesn't include the backwards compatibility list I only counted what's ahead of it. I didn't look at the content of what's ahead of it.
  • Whew, as a long-time cord cutter, I'm so glad I hadn't bought the tv tuner and an external hdd for this yet.  I feel bad for those who did, though. As much as I love Microsoft's directional change in recent years, they sure make it tough to be a fan sometimes.
  • I purchased it and I'm still glad I did. It has still become my main source of entertainment and gaming. The wife and I had twins 10 months ago, and with the Kinect, it has become easier to use the Xbox (except when there is too much other noise in the house). I was just hoping that this would come and I could stop my Hulu+ subscription. Everything could then be recorded and commercials could be skipped.
  • It's not bad it even shines on xb1 rs1 as it now is able to handle preamp beasts like cm-777 without overdrive. Even then for an additional $10usd you can get the extend version of wintv which would work inside edge
  • They're too busy building iOS/Android exclusives. They just launched two more of those, while they cut this feature for XBox. Watching Microsoft's self-mutilation is fascinating.
  • I am not happy about them cancelling this as I was going to use it. I am a cord cutter and love it. Just hate not being able to record the 1 or 2 things I want. With that said. It is hard to blame them too. The uproar they got due to all the TV/media stuff they wanted was crazy. It was made clear to them that gaming is THE priority. Vocal few or vocal many I am not sure. But they sure as heck were vocal.
  • That uproar was ridiculous. What the xbox one was initially going to be, was going to change the landscape. I'm convinced it was mostly the Playstation-fanboys who did the loudest shouting; they had no intentions on getting xbox anyway
  • It was ridiculous and I agree. What Xbox could have been absolutely had the potential to change the landscape. But, just like the reselling of games, the babies got what they wanted. Man, oh, man, what could (should) have been.
  • Yep, I agree the Xbox did change the landscape 3 years ago when they announced it and EVERYONE bitched to no end about how it was not a GAMING machine.  So, they pulled all the "Entertainment" stuff out of it and ruined what could have been a great device today.  ​I personally was pissed at the outcry because their vision at that time was grand, people are just dumb and blind to change and not forward thinking.  
  • So.... all 3 of us agree. haha
  • You're basically saying what he's saying
  • What alternate reality are you living in? They didn't take out any of the entertainment stuff, they removed the anti-consumer DRM stuff.
  • Not people, kids with a modern voice
  • What would this great vision look like at the expense of used games and a required internet connection?
  • They had loads of features that disappeared as a result of the outcry. I'm too lazy right now to look them all up. That's how much I care. The used game bit and required internet connection things you're mentioning did not affect me. I understand it affected others. But I'm willing to bet that some who complaind probably had consistent internet connections anyway. Just my thought
  • So, you can't even come up with one landscape changing feature off the top of your head? I think that says it all.
  • So you wouldn't want to be able to re-sell games?
  • "I'm convinced it was mostly the Playstation-fanboys" It's so adorable that after three years you're all still telling yourselves that to feel better.
  • Well sir, who do you propose were the group that made Microsoft completely turn their ambitious plans around?
  • Consumers. And they changed plans after preordered started and they were getting slaughtered. But just stay in your echo chambers and pretend it was all "playstation fanboys" that somehow got it changed. I really don't care what helps you sleep at night.
  • "Consumers" couldn't see past their noses. Xbox was always a gaming machine. These features were on top of what was already going to be offered
  • Yep, everyone else is stupid, blah, blah, blah. Whatever man. Whats done is done.
  • This is true. Hopefully with the next iteration they're able to make a real change. Btw not rly sure what your gripe is
  • @Jf.Vigor: Don't worry, you're not the first to think that. He's usually here to trash Microsoft whether they are right or wrong.
  • What's done can be undone. Microsoft should do less listening to 140 character responses from people on the internet, and more planning for future products that consumers may not understand just yet.
  • Yeah, no. What vision are you talking about exactly? All of the positive features they announced could have still been implemented. Not being able to play used game and the console requiring the internet to function was never a good idea.
  • Technically the console does require the internet to function as it is impossible to get past the initial set up without connecting to the Net and downloading updates. This means when it comes to us displaying running consoles at work (second hand dealer) we only ever set up PS4's as why would we want to wait umpteen hours for a download when we could have another console up and running much faster.
  • For me, it is 75% entertainment and 25% games. They got killed at launch because it was underpowered compared to the PS3, so they had to focus on gamers. I get it. Maybe there should be a couple versions, OS and hardware, for the different audiences. And, maybe that's coming next week, who knows. I also wish that team of twenty or so developers that built Sprightly for iOS/Android were doing something for the people that bought Microsoft products.
  • I actually have spoke with 2 friends that haven't bought a console because the play on PC but were planning on buying a PS. This new has made them reconsider the XB1; how? why? it is beyond my comprehension but they feel pretty proud of being hardcore gamers and to them XB1 isn't for gamers (they hate Kinect too).
  • Huh, interesting. Right on I guess....
  • Good for them but not for me. I still want that my XB1 is more than a gaming console.
  • You and me both!
  • Agree!
  • You are very stupid.
  • Are you really dumb enough to think that the Xbox division has anything to do with the iOS/Android App division? Seriously...
  • I wonder if this feature will be reserved for Scorpio or whatever next gen Xbox will be called. We still get 7 new ways to initiate a Xbox party.
  • SiliconDust will probably port their Windows 10 app to the Xbox as well as Emby and others.  The beauty of UWP.  Now, granted I liked the MS channel guide and hopefully or maybe that guide is open where someone like SiliconDust can extend it to add this feature.  Now, that would be the smarter move for MS.
  • You're assuming those apps will proceed to work on the Xbox as they would on a regular PC and for all Microsoft's hyping the Xbox doesnt come close to being as accessible as a PC so its unclear if those apps will successfully fill the gap and shouldnt be seen as a solution or you end up with another scenario where people are expecting features that dont materialize.
  • I too bought the tuner and a large external drive ready for this feature. What happens now? Are Microsoft going to make a gesture to those that have invested in this, or are they going to keep pushing users towards competing products?
  • Sometimes it seems to me that nadella is a man put there by apple or google to destroy ms or to turn ms into an isp only
  • I'm sorry, but if you buy hardware to support a feature that doesn't exist yet, you don't really have anyone to blame but yourself if that feature doesn't work out... Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
  • This is why you don't buy hardware for a future promised hardware feature. Buy the device that has the features you need at the moment you purchase it.
  • Excellent words of wisdom, my friend!
  • oh well, that is MSFT for you....everything is Coming Soon TM while they continue to over promise and under deliver since...2006
  • But exclusives app for counterparts (apple and google) come today...
    Ms is self-destroying their own brand
  •   Unless you want to cancel Cortana on XB1. I'd praise them to the heavens for that. I just got the install for the Preview, and I don't even want to use my Kinect anymore. So stupid of them to have a single command trigger your Xbox, phone, and PC at once. Disaster. As for this, I kind of find it funny that after MS got ripped for focusing on non-gaming features, we've now arrived at an article where we're complaining that they are backing off a non-gaming feature. I also do agree that it's bothersome for MS to constantly do this, where they overpromise and are way off on timing estimates. Redstone got split into 2 updates, like, 9 months apart, and the FIRST one is about 3 months later than we expected. This is delayed indefinitely. Astoria got delayed, then canceled. We still aren't seeing Islandwood or Centennial at the forefront. Hardware's been pushed back 6 months or so (though I actually like that). It's all a bad habit. Apple manages to be a well-oiled machine that you can 100% expect a release from at certain times. Microsoft, it's staggered and delayed and a mess. They need to get realistic with their timelines for a change.
  • Interesting. I was wondering about how they'd differentiate between phone, pc and xbox for the "cortana" command smh. I have it OFF on my phone because it offers piss poor performance. And my PC doesn't have the functions I'd prefer (I'd like to say hey cortana, pause the movie). So I'd only rly use it on xbox anyway
  • I have it off on my phone. I actually just turned on Cortana on my phone for the first time a couple of nights ago. It is positiviely awful. Basica searches are slower, and the whole talk of context-intelligent search is a major dud. Couldn't get it to throw me the weather or game times for the Cubs (though they'd give me it for the NBA Finals). After holding off for a couple of years becuase I conceptually dislike the idea of feeding all of my searches to the data mining services at Microsoft, finally stepping in was such a disappointment. I mean, this is the wonderful cortana Microsoft puts out there? It's not especially smart about searching. As for the interference, just repeating what another user in here (who commented to me on another article) stated. He said his phone and Xbox were both set off by the "Hey, Cortana" command. I haven't even tested that on my Xbox because I irrationally hate its presence so much. I tried an "Xbox" command last night, to see if it still worked. It doesn't. I didn't even try the Cortana version because I want no part of it. I might just start unplugging my Kinect because it's basically useless to me for voice commands now.
  • Dman that's a shame. I make great use of my kinect. My gf does as well. I'll use Cortana on Xbox if it's good. I'm just not a fan of it on PC or phone. Inconsistent. Hell when I have it set a reminder, half the time it searches on Bing. And this is on release preview... not sure if it matters
  • Thing is, it runs from the same back end, I'm sure. So, what you get from phone and PC is the same, but on a console that's a less-powerful device.
  • So, what the hell are you complaining about? You said you're not going to use it on Xbox because of the "Hey Cortana" command, but then continue on saying that you don't even use it on your other devices. I guess whiny people just like to complain
  • The issue is I don't want to use Cortana. It is slower than basic search, that is why I don't use it on my phone. Putting it on my Xbox doesn't make that any better, especially if it means I'm essentially not allowed to use it on my PC or phone because the devices would interfere. I'm not mad, I'm baffled that MS is so bad at planning this stuff.
  • Make sure to send that feedback to then as that is a really good point that I can't believe they didn't run into in development... Maybe no one at MS uses more than one MS device.
  • Nobody is complaining. Well I'm not at least. I was curious how Microsoft was gonna deal with the "'hey cortana'" command lighting up every Microsoft device you have problem"   It won't affect me since I dont use it on phone or PC, but it surely will affect others. Ignoring potential issues is not how you deal with them lol
  • I agree, I think there should be an option to keep the "Xbox" command or to change it to whatever you want. His reasonings were just nonsensical.
  • Not so much that it's a non-gaming feature. They stood up on stage, talked it up at one of the world's biggest gaming shows, then decided almost a year later that they're not bothered anymore. That's not cool. Doesn't matter what the feature is. That offends your most loyal fans.
  • Agreed. Just a statement that in 2013, if MS backed off, people would have been happy that non-gaming stuff got pushed aside. Now, it's the opposite. Like I said, MS has been doing this junk for years now, whether it's needlessly tossing out Zune, then gutting Xbox Music, then leaving us with a lesser piece of software than we had 5 years ago, or if it's having this feature dumped.
  • The ZUNE desktop software is still a free download and still works, but Microsoft recently removed a few more features from the desktop ZUNE software.
    .
    I guess all the comments hoping that someday "Xbox Music/Groove" would have all the features of ZUNE were heard. Microsoft is working to make ZUNE less feature rich, and more like Groove. The ZUNE software was (and still is, but less) amazing, but Microsoft keeps putting work into it to remove features? Going backwards!
    .
  • I agree, and unfortunately, this overpromise and underdeliver situation isn't just at Xbox.   The backpedalling on OneDrive storage (no unlimited and the free storage cut from 15GB to 5GB) and the way the Window Phone 8.1 to W10M upgrade situation evolved for the bulk of their installed base are two very notable recent examples.  Why should anyone believe Microsoft will follow through on their stated offerings? (BTW, I listen to an AV podcast ("AV Rant") and the main host was just recently mentioning how he was looking forward to the DVR feature coming to the Xbox One he has in his home theater.  Maybe there'll be a rant about this coming up.)  
  • The OneDrive thing was a change, not the same as underdelivering. They actually delivered that 15 GB for plenty of time.
  • Well, that's only partially true. While they had been offering the 15GB for a while, the unlimited bundle with Office 365 was in a sort of nebulous rollout phase when the hammer came down on both. Obviously some people were using it, but others saw that their storage was listed as being still 1TB. So a couple of points here. One, the 15GB was set after it had already been reduced to 7GB from its initial 25GB free space back in the Win 7 days. So there's a little bit of an expectation that if Microsoft was raising the amount of free storage again that this was an economically viable move and given tends in storage and bandwidth it would likely continue if not improve. Second, Microsoft themselves tied these two changes together by announcing both at the same time and then only discussing the abuse of the unlimited plan. So you can interpret the relation between abuse of the unlimited tier as it rolled out and the corresponding change to the base free storage as a straw that broke the camel's back situation or maybe more of a strawman. Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
  • This is true. They do keep doing this crap. As far as I know Google has kept their Google drive at 15GB since the beginning. Maybe I should provide them with my data to mine. After all, you never know if Microsoft may go back on their word once again on keeping those 15 GB. 
  • Let them know how you feel! Show them you care about this, tagged them on Twitter and Facebook with #SaveTheDVR  Include them in your Tweets @XboxP3 @MajorNelson @Xbox Spread the word as much as possible. You see we've already made an impact when there is an article about us being upset. Don't stop here, keep the momentum going! And last but not least....VOTE :) https://xbox.uservoice.com/forums/251610-oneguide-live-tv/suggestions/6029911-xbox-one-dvr-functionality-with-digital-tv-tuner
  • To be honest, I don't care one bit about the DVR stuff. I care about the philosophy at MS, where they constantly fail to live up to their promises and expectations. I don't mind not working on the DVR thing, I don't find it to be something relevant to my interests.
  • Actually, I don't care about that either, really, but I agree about the philosophy obviously.  Practically, I'm a cord-cutter;  I've still got my Win7 Media Center serving as a whole house OTA DVR with Xbox 360 extenders, but that's obviously a deprecated solution now.  Can't really see having a game console serving as a single tuner DVR as a primary solution to replace that, though I suppose it might be nice to have as a backup.  (I picked up a refurb 4 tuner Tablo to experiment with as a DVR replacement and so far I've been happy with it;  it's been working well using our Rokus as "extenders". Maybe they'll even come up with a UWP app for the Xbox One...) You know I was just thinking of something.  Remember when Satya was talking about Microsoft needing a "challenger mindset".  Well, to be a challenger requires some combination of working harder, smarter, faster, better, etc. than the competition.  Maybe even doing something crazy like working to support both promised DVR functionality and great features for fans/gamers.  Unfortunately, I don't think I've heard Satya mention that lately.....  
  • I'm not bothering with this whole "cord cutting" thing. It seems to be for three camps, primarily: 1. People who don't watch much current content (meaning you don't need to pay for stuf you arne't going to watch). 2. People who get themselves into a bunch of other subscriptions (Netflix, Hulu, HBO Go, Spotify, etc.). 3. Pirates. I don't do it because there's very little I actually watch. I want to see a couple of ESPN shows, the MLB Network, and live sports. Blackout restrictions keep me from being able to use MLB.TV well, as I can't watch locally aired games. If ESPN were to offer its own service, where I could just watch the 2 shows they have I watch daily, and I could get rid of blacked out sporting events, I'd be gone from cable. I don't do all the obnoxious, politically stunted trash that makes up most modern TV shows. No recollection of what you're saying about Nadella. I don't pay him much mind, given he's done almost nothing of note since taking over, save cutting jobs. I don't think he's done anything to "make his mark," just mostly carry on previous projects and let things flop. What I can say, though, is based on what you are describing, he's an abject failure. MS acts like it's playing catchup, not challenging. Never feels like a MS product, other than Surface, is a leader in its field (and Surface basically does that because other PC OEMs have been bums, not necessarily because Surface is THAT amazing).
  • I think it's good to be flexible in terms of platform.  That's true of any company.  Google has been consistent on their Drive offerings, and have the nice feature of unlimited (reduced quality) photo storage.  But even they may choose to change things at some point.  Best to sleep with one eye open and a mouse or smartphone under the pillow to be ready for surprises
  • There's a reason I refuse to switch to a heavily cloud-based existence. It's pricey and too compromising, when you think of things like having storage taken away and photo quality cut. If I weren't handed 2 years of Office 365 for free, plus another 40-ish GB from MS for OneDrive, I wouldn't waste my time. Once that stuff expires in 2 years, I won't be paying to keep the ability to pay for MS to hold data I can set up just fine at home.
  • Completely agree that it's not okay for a company to promise features and then renege on them--or even worse, actually deliver them and then remove them later. Sadly, this seems to be the new normal at Microsoft. Other things they've killed: Kinect gesture navigation Infrared controller recognition SmartGlass real-time game integration Minecraft on Windows Phone (bringing new features to iOS and Android only) Xbox gaming on Windows Phone Developers: Press Play, Lionhead, and Twisted Pixel Games: Kinect games, Project Spark, and Phantom Dust I could go on and on. It's completely unacceptable how they treat their most loyal fans.
  • You dont have to say "hey cortana" if you own the chat pad as you can designate one of the x1 or x2 buttons to bring here up then say what you want.
  • nice to know
  • I don't, no use for it, and $30 or whatever to skip that command isn't exactly a good alternative.
  • You seen overly emotionally invested. I just bought a used Kinect on Monday in preparation for the new preview update. I use Cortana on my 1520 and have been using it on my Xbox One since installing the update and have not had any issues with both of my devices responding at the same time. When I raise my voice and say "Hey Cortana" only my Xbox One responds. I mean unless your phone is hanging from your neck you shouldn't have any problems with this. I never really liked the strict Xbox" commands. I've borrowed friend's Kinects in the past. The more natural context ability of Cortana makes using voice commands so much better. The only issue I have dealt with is learning not to bark a command at her and instead speak normally like you would to another person. At its simplest all you have to do is replaced the word "Xbox" with "Hey Cortana" and continue with the same commands you knew before. As far as benching ota TV DVR, I think it sucks but I guarantee they have not canceled it and will release the feature later. Maybe sooner than later now that lots of people are drowning in lakes of their own tears over the matter. Oh and btw I am a long time cord cutter and already own a nice ota antenna. With that said I would never buy stuff for a feature that isn't even available yet. Those people are just dumb. Sorry. But if you bought gear for a feature before it has been released, you're an idiot and only deserve to be mad at yourself.
  • Please point me to which device I bought before it was released, I'd love to see that. You call me emoetionally invested, but take to name-calling and petty. Nothing hypocritical there, I suppose having a reasoned discussion is just too hard for some people. Instead, borrow some sense from a friend or neightbor, and try again when you can present a reasonable comment that makes sense. My Kinect was never sold as a "future Cortana device." They changed its function 2+ years after I bought it. That's not buying the device before it's released, are you kidding me with that junk? Unbelievable people actually have minds that connect dots like that. The modern education system is clearly failing its students.
  • The "overpromising" is the price they pay for being such an open company. Apple probably has all of the same delays, cancelations, and jacked-up timetables as Microsoft, but because they're so tight-lipped on everything, they only look like a company that wakes up one day and says "I'm gonna create this" and the next day it's perfect and released. MS would probably save themselves a bunch of headaches if they'd just shut up about their plans now and then. Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
  • They don't have to shut up about their planning, they just have to stop speaking in best-case scenario terms. It seems the things MS talks about always operate under this belief that nothing could go wrong to cause issues. I mean, they won't do jack to give us real information on adding background music. Yet, somehow, they just HAD to go off about this DVR thing. They had to get Cortana to mine personal information ASAP. Microsoft's planning people are basically inept and need dumped, that's what this amounts to. Their PR and leadership is a mess.
  • This is wrong. A promise, OTA tuner and external drive purchased for this very feature now gone. There has to be trust and a bond to be loyal and both are diminishing.
  • That's why you don't buy hardware for a feature that doesn't exist... Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
  • I am mad too. I"m a cutcutter, and I specifically wanted this feature to complete my non-cable setup: leaf antenna, xbox one tuner dongle, large external hard drive, plus some streaming services including Netflix and HBO. recording OTA programming thru my xbox one was the final piece i needed to complete my setup, and now it's ruined!
  • **cordcutter not cutcutter lol
  • Wasn't this already an option? I thought when they updated the USB for tv they did something...
  • We bought an Xbox One on launch day to be our media centre. Games were a bonus, but the main concern was the promise of one box that handles all of our media which they heavily publicized early on. The DVR wasn't announced at that point, but for me, this was a reminder that they're backpedalling from that all-in-one media centre box. Miracast is still only in preview, and doesn't work particularly well - that's another one that I did really want and bought an Xbox One thinking it would be at launch or soon after, not years later. The OneGuide doesn't integrate my most important media apps, and in my opinion got worse with the NXOE - can't have app channels and OTA channels on the same favourites list. I don't ultimately regret it because I got back to playing games for the first time in several years and do enjoy that, but I do feel like they've still only delivered 80% of that all-in-one box promise.
  • Even better... STOP ANNOUNCING THINGS THAT ARE MONTHS, TO YEARS, AWAY FROM LAUNCHING.  >.<
  • I feel this is part Microsoft's fault but, if you went out and purchased items for a function that hadn't been released yet, let alone knowing how well the function worked, it's your fault as well and shouldn't be all that mad at them. For example people who bought the HD Drive for the 360, or even before that the memory cards for the original Xbox. Sometimes tech just doesn't work out. Wait and see before you buy it or if you rush out trying to be the first person to have it don't be mad if it flops.
  • The HD-DVD drive was actually released and had movies released for it. There was no broken promises from Microsoft. They did what they could do, the format died anyway.
  • If it wasn't for sony sinking close to 10 billion (9.8 or 8.9 I recall) into bribes, I mean development and advertising 'grants' to the major studios to drop HDD-VD then we'd probably have HD-DVD today over the (at the time) vastly more expensive and yet technically inferior bluray.  The VC1 quality was better than BD's MPEG2, it cost next to nothing to transition current DVD production lines to HD, and even the name made it instantly understandable to the unwashed masses what the product actually was. Sony did what they did and it got them control of the entire platform (thats where the money is) and good for them.  I got a nice HD DVD player that takes 2 minutes to turn on and a heap of movies, some of which are STILL not on BD after close to 10 years.
  • "The VC1 quality was better than BD's MPEG2" Which is why virtually all Blu-ray releases use MPEG4/H264. Only very early Blu-ray releases used MPEG2, usually on 25GB single layer discs as well.
  • I have no use for the OTA TV DVR, but I agree 100%.  Don't promise then take back.  You lose integrity and you look like a major ******* in the process.
  • Or better in long period you destroy the brand
  • Nadella after killing lumia devices want to kill also Xbox?
  • Nadella hates hardware. High costs and low margins when executed poorly and Nadella knows he knows nothing about running successful hardware operation.
  • Not the first time they don't keep their promises.. nor the last :) It's very fundamental to Microsoft not to respect their loyal customers :)
  • It wasn't cancelled it was put on hold, lighten up.
  • Keep on telling yourself that if it makes you happy.
  • It does, because I don't really care about DVR and I bought the tv tuner and user it daily.
  • Coming Soon....
  • and the other famous Microsoft move....REMOVING SOON>>>NOW!
  • I dont see why the Xbox cant be both an entertainment system and a gaming system. There's no rush to develop the features all at once so add this feature later rather than cancelling it altogether. After all isnt the Xbox running the mighty and magical Windows 10? Why cant it handle a task that older versions of Windows took in their stride?
  • Because "the industry" doesn't want people watching recorded OTA shows or local media files. If you want to watch anything, you use a subscription streaming service. Someone watching a video on a HDD or playing back a TV show that they recorded themselves means they can watch things without continuously paying a monthly subscription. Its @CURRENT_YEAR, we can't have that.
  • The new MS, same as the old MS, no clue, no direction.  It's amazing they are even in business still.
  • Normally, I'm the eternal pessimist.  But maybe they're putting the Xbox verison on hold while they revamp Media Center for PC.  As a UWP it could be for XBone, too, after they test and work out bugs on PC.  (Incidentally, lack of WMC is the main (frustrating) reason I haven't upgraded the HTPC to Windows 10, yet, as much as I want to.)
  • And the likeliness of that happening..........?
  • Um, you guys do know that the statement did not say the feature was cancelled or not coming. In fact the statement points out that, based on feedback, there are gaming related features that require a higher priority. That meant they had to delay work on the dvr feature. Again, nothing about cancelling or never coming, just not the top priority right now. This feature made it to beta testing, it was on its way, so until they actually say it's not coming at all, then I expect to hear a new timeframe for dvr after E3 or the Anniversary update. I think they wanted to make sure gaming related features got done in time for E3 and the anniversary update.
  • Face it, its canceled! Their development team is seemingly incapable of doing what a 3 person team in china can do and release a USB tuner with software that lets you record and timeshift for $15 on a near infinite number of configurations both hardware and software.  They'd rather sink time and effort into making apps for iOS and android over supporting their own platforms.
  • At this stage I do think MS has around 20 people. 10 working on Windows 10, 5 on hololens, 3 on Xbox and 1 on WM and 1 for cleaning....In the past year it is just ridiculous the number of times that MS failed on their userbase. Please simply do not announce things that you are not capable to achieve.
  • was realy looking forward to this feature....i have a petition here if anyone wants to sign it and hopefully MS will bring it back.....ipetitions.com/petition/xbox-one-please-dont-cancel-the-dvr-feature
  • Microsoft has been bad on marketing. That's a shame. The launch of xbox was terribe. Also the aggresive push of Windows 10, the privacy debacle, Windows Phone failure. Just some examples  
  • So basically, the XB1 getting less like an all in one entertainment device, and more like a PS4, but with less powerful hardware... Great move... Way to distinguish yourself from the competition.
  • If it gets enough upvotes they will put it at the front of the line again.  They respond to things on the uservoice page.
  • Haha, you realy believe that?  Its the equivalent to the 'comments' box at McDonalds.  Lets ppl blow off some steam and changes nothing.
  • I do, you should add your vote to the uservoice, then that is one more vote they will ignore if you are right. Can't hurt.  
  • Show them you care about this, tag them on Twitter and Facebook with #SaveTheDVR Include them in your Tweets @XboxP3 @MajorNelson @Xbox Spread the word as much as possible. You see we've already made an impact when there is an article about us being upset. Don't stop here, keep the momentum going!  
  • Not true. Microsoft almost humorously only listen to what's on their uservoice page. They have no direction for themselves without it -Vigor
  • Did you read the announcement? They cancelled it because nobody wanted it.
  • Someone needs to read the comments to understand the outrage. I just don't think it needs to be explained once again.
  • Bull!
  • Welcome to Windows Mobile world.
  • Not that I disagree with the anger, but why spend hundreds of dollars on a system that doesn't have your desired feature yet? Why not buy all that hardware after the feature actually rolls out?
  • Thank you for writing this article.  I couldn't agree more.  Microsoft needs to hear about this as much as possible.
  • Show them you care about this, tag them on Twitter and Facebook with #SaveTheDVR Include them in your Tweets @XboxP3 @MajorNelson @Xbox Spread the word as much as possible. You see we've already made an impact when there is an article about us being upset. Don't stop here, keep the momentum going!  
  • Presumably it's being built as a UWA now so it can be used across the platform. As any WP8.1 user knows, this is how MSsoft rolls. Get used to feeling unloved for a bit.
  • That's what you get when your target market is teenagers and youngsters who don't know any better than to yell "I want my Xbox to be better at Battlefield 1 than PS4!!!" Again, it is justification to what I keep stating, Satya Nadella is RUINING Microsoft as we know it by approving boneheaded stuff like this, NOT COOL.
  • Agreed, think these decisions through and execute. Microsoft is now developing a dangerous pattern with Xbox development and for some this will put them over the edge by saying, screw me once shame on you, twice, no thank-you, I'm done, go find someone else to screw over.
  • Stupid. I literally bought a tuner a week ago for this feature.
  • So did I.  Shame on you Microsoft! - Loyalty is a Two Way Street.
  • Why do people like you buy products for features that don't exist? You must see some value in the current features if you bought it early.
  • I bought mine when it was on sale and 2 months later bought the external HD when it was on sale. There has to be trust in every relationship even if it is only as a consumer.
  • Revive WMC as a refreshed UWP platform and PC, XBox and Mobile users will all get something.
  • Great idea! Then I would buy an Xbox One and upgrade my Windows Media Center computer to Windows 10.
  • Just imagine ("Hey Cortana, I'm running late - Record Game of Thrones for me") ... Ohhh Microsoft... If only you'd ever promoted WMC you would have so many users (of it).
  • Amen.
  • I requested this on the Feedback app, we will never see this as Microsoft 'listen to their customer' Pfft
  • I feel sorry for the ones who actually liked the media center capabilities of the original Xbox One, but remember a lot more were outraged about the Xbox One being only about "TV". Sadly, this is democracy and people have decided they don't want those features.
  • Don't like it, blame all the trolling feedback since before the console even launched. Nobody did a thing about it other than add to the fire with the memes, errored reporting, etc, and watched the page hits come in. So anybody complaining now, enjoy a tune from the world's smallest violin. Long term consequences... one day people will learn.
  • The elite having community has contributed to what... 70M users across PS and Xbox? Now how many are using any form of TV services and would love to have a single device powering those multiple experiences? I know I care more about media than games. The point is, there is a much larger market for Microsoft to target than just whiny elite snobs complaining about games.
  • First they killed Windows Media Center and now this. My windows machine in the living room used to be the hub of the house used daily. Now with W10 and no WMC that computer gets turned on a couple of times a month. I guess Microsoft doesn't want me using its products at home as much as it used to. My TiVo with lifetime subscription from Amazon has filled in nicely and the OnePass feature is cool so I don't have to worry about another Microsoft product left to wither on the vine or get cancelled outright.
  • Our "whole house" Windows Media Center is running great. We just set up a new one too.
  • WMC on W10 runs fine on ours, though not officially supported. Else, I'd be sticking with W7/8.1 as there is no suitable replacement for WMC available. (Before commenters start: No! Kodi/XBMC/MediaPortal/etc./etc. are NOT suitable replacements)
  • i have no plans for Win10 as i use Win8.1 for WMC a feature i use 365 days a year 24/7. How did u get WMC on 10 though?  
  • Ditto - WMC serves our whole house. As I say WMC is officially unsupported, but there are some guides (incl. on here) that show you how to add it to W10. I was skeptical, but runs fine if not better than on 8.1.
  • I was one of the ones that cut the cable and purchased the Xbox tuner and couldn't wait for the dvr function....
  • I did the same thing last summer when they announced it.
  • You learned something.   NEVER trust Microsoft when they ANNOUNCE something....actually NEVER trust microsoft when they release something.  They will just toss it in the trash a week later.
  • A gaming console should be focused to gaming and games. That's the main goal. Maybe thats why the 360 and ps3/4 better choice for a game focused person. Clearly a lot of people need this feature and its fine thats your opinion. I respect that. (but maybe you guys dont need to spend money just because of announcement.)
  • Yeah this is major BS. They had plenty of time to get this thing done by now and move on to other things they want to focus on. They dragged their feet from the start with this. I'm not surprised to see this happen because Microsoft never fails to disappoint me in some way, but this is very disappointing. I've been telling my wife for months that this feature was coming and we were both really looking forward to it.
  • In Australia here.. I've got the TV tuner and a external HDD, not because of DVR but would of been a nice addition. The Xbox is a media device not just a gaming console, and needs to continue to add features for playing media. It's incredible that a background music has still not been made available, Microsoft is a massive company and surely could make resources available to get this done.
  • Been watching the user voice on this.... its rising quickly.  Yet I notice a trend that most say along these lines. "I have not requested this because you already said it was coming. What would be the point in me requesting something when you already announced at a big event last year." I would have to agree.  I never voted this up either, it was a promised feature.  I don't know about your world, but when someone promises something to me I expect it to happen. I shouldn't have to remind you of what you said.   This entire scenario is just sad to say the least.  I would encourage everyone to vote up this feature (Yes, even if it was already promised) to hopefully get this back on track.  Right now with a new console on its way, this right now feels like something so far in the rear view we wont ever see it. Step up and honor your promises MS, what is happening here is wrong.  Our voices are the strongest tool we have.
  • I had been looking forward to this. All I have is OTA. I don't have cable or satellite since I decided to cut the cord over five years ago. I would love to have the Xbox be able to record live TV so I could dump my TiVo box and the subscription that goes along with it. That being said, there are really only a couple shows that I actually record and honestly, I could probably do without and just stream them when the show up on Netflix or Amazon. Still, if they wanted the Xbox to be the heart of your entertainment system, this feature is a must.
  • people still watch tv?
  • Live? Yes, but I'd bet that more people watch from their DVR or streaming service.
  • I wish the Windows Central app for WP 8.1 would allow me to block comments from certain commenters that I pick. The trolls comments are a waste of time.
  • Bring back WIndows Media Center....Update it for Windows 10....The ultimate DVR on your PC come on Microsoft DO IT !
  • Gutted by this, didn't bother replacing my PVR when it died, but instead bought the USB tuner and a big external drive telling the wife that she would thank me later, but told her that in the short term couldn't record anything. Thanks Microsoft. What actually is there now that differentiates the XB1 from the PS4, apart from the XB1 being less powerful? If it's just about the games, then surely the PS4 is the obvious choice.
  • Just get a VCR for $30-$40
  • I don't think they make an HD VCR or a VCR that can get HD channels and make them SD to record. You would need an HD to SD converter too.
  • The PS4 has been getting some decent apps the past few months, it is just as capable as they Xbox when it comes to media.
  • OMG!!! Why did I buy all the tv accessories! Why even bother putting a HDMI passthrough! I thought Xbox one was always ahead on tech with more functionality?! I guess it will never replace my PS3 with PlayTV. Very disappointed.
  • The Xbox one has been nothing by retractions and cancellations... the original idea was beautiful.. then people complained so Microsoft butchered up the disc/download game feature... I have to physically load a disc I dont need?! Then digital games are never cost effective to buy, this makes no sense... you are punished for forward thinking. I liked the kinect motion to TV stuff... now it is gone.. yet the Xbox interaction is not much better... they kill this DVR off, which I did not use... bit still... I can see where people would be mad. I originally bout the Xbox one for media, not games... that is a fact. So did my girlfriend. It was worse than 360/ps3. I bout a 360 after I bought the one and played it more... Oy thing the one did great was backwards compatibility so I can play 360 games... If this is not the last game console made, it will be likely be my last purchased... I have not time for new games... I would rather wait till they are all in the bargain bin. I think I am just tired of Microsoft flip flopping ... I am tired of beta testing. I like their products, I do... but this constant MSFT- ADD (no offense to anyone with ADD) is making my turn away. Already I am using Android as my primary... I liked my windows phone the way it was... now we are in yet another change... I loved all the surface devices I had, but dang are they buggy. Im a PC... I thought Microsoft was too... but they are not comfortable their shoes, always trying to be and do something else... Sorry to rant... just losing interest. Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
  • This current generation has been one mess after another with most stuff, I love my Xbox one but if Microsoft keep this up its gonna be hard to ever trust them on there promises in the future Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
  • If you wanna record tv get a vhs/dvd recorder like I got .
    You can keep whatever you record. DVR you can't keep once the hard drive is filled, something gotta get deleted.
  • Ugh, standard definition. Just no.  
  • Why the heck would I want to keep something on physical DVD media? Poor quality and just noo thanks. I threw all my DVD's in the bin many moons ago.
  • I got a ton of them DVD & VHS I can watch anything I want anytime . None of them would fit on any dvr
  • I was just thinking the other day how good it would be to buy another Xbox for the bedroom for me and the wife to watch tv. Guess that decision just got made.
  • Same here. $300 AUD gone from Microsoft coffers unless they surpise us all at e3
  • Microsoft giveth, and Microsoft taketh away...then punches you in the Nads for good measure. Kinda getting a reputation for broken, along with some ill advised bait and switch routines. I would have bought an Xbox if it had an elegant DVR solution. Seems they don't want peoples money, or in their ecosystem.
  • AHHHHH Satya Nutella at work!  gotta love it.
  • Yeah I am so disappointed by this news. Here in Australia the majority of people don't have cable, in fact only 30% of households have it, OTA is the most popular form of viewing with the highest rating programs. I bought a MS tuner and 2TB HD only a month ago as after the announcement last year, the launch was imminent. I even held off on buying a DVR because I didn't want to double up. I actually don't use my xbox for gaming, I use it purely for entertainment. What a waste of money!
  • You mean Nadella lol
  • No,  I mean Nutella,  as he has the same mentality as a jar of nutella.  He is clueless to what the entire microsoft ecosystem should be.  All he wants is "cloud first".  He is terrible for microsoft.  yeah yeah,  the stock prices are up....but guess what,  give it a while and they will fall.   The false stock increase is because so many people use windows.  so microsoft cares not about mobile, xbox etc.  all about desktop and enterprise. 
  • Do we expect anything less from Microsoft,they seem to have a bit of a habbit of announcing a feature then turning round and saying no it won't be offered after all. I don't see any plausible reason to cut the feature as i'm sure they Xbox dev team are big enough to work on more than a few project at any given time. One thing that still annoys me is the removal of Media Center from Windows 10, recently i counted over 5314 up votes requesting that this feature be returned at all tweets go ignored. Microsoft have stated for a while that they listen to their customers but evidence of this lately is non-existant.     
  • This would be because Microsoft sold Media Room....The tech behind Media Center. Therefore, they'd have to shell out millions to license it for their OS.   https://www.ericsson.com/thecompany/company_facts/businesses/acquisitions/mediaroom
  • Let them know how you feel! Show them you care about this, tagged them on Twitter and Facebook with #SaveTheDVR  Include them in your Tweets @XboxP3 @MajorNelson @Xbox Spread the word as much as possible. You see we've already made an impact when there is an article about us being upset. Don't stop here, keep the momentum going! And last but not least....VOTE :) https://xbox.uservoice.com/forums/251610-oneguide-live-tv/suggestions/6029911-xbox-one-dvr-functionality-with-digital-tv-tuner
  • Did you make this stink about background music
  • Announced features should be completed Microsoft
  • @historypsi thank you for direct linking the user voice page. I wish the author would have done that. I'm off to vote for DVR!
  • Just voted!
  • Either a legal issue with Comcast and others. Or Microsoft thinks that Xbox users want new Party chat features over DVR.
  • I bought 2 tuners & 2 Seagate external hard drives for myself and my son, we were really looking forward to the DVR feature. It seems like MS can't really focus on anything for very long anymore.
  • @Richard. That is so true. Microsoft has promised many things even when it comes to Phones. And they did not deliver. This is news for you Microsoft. All the die hard Windows Pone fans in India are Shifting to Adnroid or iOS. With sadness and regret. But after you announed that you will be withdrawiing from the Indian and Brazilian Markets, this has already begun. The sad thing is, I hardly got Lumia 950XL and apart from the camera I am deeply dissapointed in the device. Companies are supposed to make better phones as they move forward not go the other way. I was using the Lumia 720 before this. And the Build for that Phone was simply beautiful. I still look that and regret spening 50K Hard earned money on a Phone that is badly designed. Apart from the Camera, which is still not better than the Lumia 1020, I regret buying the Lumia 950XL. I wanna move to Android now, but I cant just yet. :( 
  • Microsoft is really going downhill man. So sad to see what was such a great company start to fall. At least that's how I'm starting to see it. Posted via the Windows Central App for Symbian
  • I know... no more lumias, no good xbox one exclusives, no software exclusives (office, cortana... and so on) MS is falling because of that ugly indian bald man in the front of the company #DieNaellaDie
  • Agreed!  You hit the nail on the head there!
  • Microsoft has a history of half ass doing things. I bought the tuner and looked forward to dvr and being able to download my media to my xbox. Hell you can't even download movies you buy from the store to your Xbox one. You need constant data. I hate it.
  • I'm glad they've cancelled this. A single tuner DVR is next to useless, and many folks have multi tuner ones already. Xbox is a gaming brand, and Microsoft should have spent their budget on keeping the likes of Lionhead open rather than this nonsense.
  • Really!!!  To be happy that MS has cancelled something just because you don't want it is rather short sighted. MS have lost my support. They just cannot deliver anything of worth these days.
  • Still no background music? Something even the playstation 1 could do with certain games? Something that every game could do on the Xbox 360 ...10 years ago? Poor greedy Microsoft. They're only keeping it from us because they think it adds to their Xbox music revenue. Another reason I will be switching to PS4K/PS5 after 12 years of loyalty to MS. Not even beginning to mention the disaster and disappointment that is windows phone.
  • Microsoft has become too anti-consumer for my tastes. They lost me around the time of the OneDrive fiasco.
  • I can only hope they reverse their decision at e3, like they did for OneDrive.
  • I almost gave up when they cancelled the zune players.   Then I thought,  ok,  my phone is still zune'ish.  then they cancelled the zune software....then I thought ok,  xbox music is pretty cool way to go...then they cancelled that for groove  which is going to make way for microsoft apple music.  soon.  Just as everything with microsoft.....they get it half way there then bail.  Its like they have technological ADD!    Hey we are going to put all these great features into our products....hey look a butterfly!    I forgot about the onedrive thing because it never directly affected me.  I have 1 tb with office.....I am guessing thats getting throttled back soon....Yeah that was another kick in the nuts/box to their loyal users as well.  Just another nail in the consumer coffin.
  • Thanks for the article. It helps a little. 
  • Don't forget the FCC in all of this. Their attempts to open up what is not CableCard capability changes where this DVR capability could go. Over the air is almost pointless now, but opening up the processing of cable signals, and potential IPTV options changes the whole plan. 
  • OTA isn't pointless for those of us who don't have cable or satellite.
  • Wow, this really pisses me off. They first send my broken phone to a third party vendor to "fix" which comes back more broken then when I first sent it in, then I cancelled cable specifically for this feature as I have Hulu and just want to be able to record sporting games (like NBA finals and nfl football) and they cancel this feature. ******* ******* me off. Might go to Ps and android very soon
  • Yeah, I was waiting for this feature. I need to buy my kids a new console this Christmas so they can play the next gen games and I liked the idea of a DVR for my OTA HD antenna. Sony will get my money this Christmas. Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
  • I think only americans use this kind of stuff... in most countries you are not so obssesed your your paid TV... and if you wanna watch an episode of your favorite series you always have netflix or internet (illegal way of course, but with good quality)
  • Never did they say cancel or pulled the plug. They just focus on what the majority wants, and now they are being critizised for that as well. I am one of those who eagerly awaits the DVR functionality, but it's not something I am going apeshit about cause of a push to later date. I would expect an article like this from The Verge or Engadget.. but not WC.    
  • This is Microsofts "politically correct" way of cancelling things Skie77.  They will never grow a spine and stay we cancelled it....this is how this company does business. 
  • Like I have repeatedly said,  Microsoft wants to be enterprise only and thats where nutella is taking it.   consumers/fans mean nothing to him.
  • I did think this was a good idea when it was announced and would rather have it than not, but I'm not riled up about it. Maybe they can improve the experience of just watching TV on the Xbox first. It's better than on the old OS but still clunky and unintuitive to new users. I watch hardly any live TV but do own the TV Tuner, the way the trends are going OTA TV is dying over time, especially with the youngest generations who hate not being able to just control what they want to watch. I thought PS4 already did this through an add-on accesssory but I'm probably mistaken as I've never looked into it in detail and only own an Xbox and PC for gaming needs.
  • If Microsoft won't add DVR features to XBox, then bring it back to Windows as Media Center.  Or, have an answer to Apple TV.
  • I have a more novel Idea....how about stop announcing ****,  then taking it back....seems to be microsofts MO.  Let's see how long if ever it takes wallet 2.0 to get offically launched...
  • not mentioning background music, another promised and not delivered request