Microsoft announced at the Gamescom show in Cologne a range of new social and TV features available to preview on its Xbox One games console. In addition to the recently announced digital tuner, the Xbox One will get an app to support playback of media files from an attached USB device or from a network-connected home media server that supports DLNA protocols. The preview version of the Media Player app will initially only support USB devices, with DLNA support coming later. Xbox One will support more formats than Xbox 360, including new file formats like Mpeg 2 TS, animated gifs and mkv.
In addition, Xbox One owners will be able to stream their TV across their home network to their smartphones and tablets using the Xbox SmartGlass app. They can also pause, play and rewind as well as change channels, without interrupting game play on the Xbox One. The streaming feature for SmartGlass apps will launch first in markets receiving the Xbox digital TV tuner.
For markets where OneGuide is available, a new mini guide on the bottom of the screen will display details about the TV content that is currently playing. Users can change channels quickly and see what’s on other channels, while still watching TV.
On the social front, the new 'Friends' section is now available to users enrolled in the Preview programme. This enables users to see at a glance what's going on with their friends. They can stay up-to-date with their current activities, the most popular games their friends are playing, and check a Gamerscore leaderboard. The new Snap Center will also provide an overview of messages, friends, parties and achievements, without having to leave a game.
