Xbox Live TV on track for "Christmas"
Steve Ballmer demos new technology.
Microsoft top-dog Steve Ballmer has restated that Xbox Live TV will be launched this Christmas.
The last time we heard anything was at E3, three months ago, when Microsoft forecast an autumn arrival.
Ballmer demoed the technology at a Microsoft event this week on campus in Anaheim, California.
The presentation was light on detail about content partners, pricing and what films and TV series will be available, reported CNN.
But Ballmer said Microsoft would be working with "dozens or hundreds of additional video content suppliers".
Live television on Xbox Live TV will encompass "news, sport and your favourite channels" said Ballmer.
Ballmer hinted that this will work in a similar way to Sky works on Xbox 360 here in the UK.
Another stand-apart feature of Xbox Live TV will be Bing search combined with Kinect's voice recognition. "You say it, Xbox finds it," said Ballmer.
A demonstration was given where a Microsoft employee said, "Xbox, Bing, The Office," and the telly promptly displayed the available seasons of comedy show The Office (US version). A demonstration to search within the seasons of the show themselves didn't work.
"It's a good thing that's shipping for Christmas," Ballmer quipped.