Xbox LIVE Spring Update coming soon, May 7

Although we can’t tell for sure if the update includes the rather controversial Live Dashboard update we covered recently, we’re definitely sure that an update is coming. According to the announcement on Xbox.com, we can expect the update within the week of May 7, which will expand the reach of social networking over to users of Windows Live Messenger.

Jerry Johnson, product unit manager of Xbox LIVE at Microsoft, said, “Bringing the largest IM community in the world, Windows Live Messenger, to Xbox 360 makes sense, as Xbox LIVE has really become the largest social network on television.” Microsoft will be creating a more social experience for Windows Live and Xbox Live users with the new update.

In addition, Windows Live users will be treated to features that would entice them to grab an Xbox 360, while connecting them to an online community of over six million. Expect the QWERTY input device to make a debut this summer to streamline the IM experience.

Click on Full Article to view a list of features to come with the update.

Although we can’t tell for sure if the update includes the rather controversial Live Dashboard update we covered recently, we’re definitely sure that an update is coming. According to the announcement on Xbox.com, we can expect the update within the week of May 7, which will expand the reach of social networking over to users of Windows Live Messenger.

Jerry Johnson, product unit manager of Xbox LIVE at Microsoft, said, “Bringing the largest IM community in the world, Windows Live Messenger, to Xbox 360 makes sense, as Xbox LIVE has really become the largest social network on television.” Microsoft will be creating a more social experience for Windows Live and Xbox Live users with the new update.

In addition, Windows Live users will be treated to features that would entice them to grab an Xbox 360, while connecting them to an online community of over six million. Expect the QWERTY input device to make a debut this summer to streamline the IM experience. In addition to the preview of features and fixes we covered before, the update will also sport the following:

• The name of game in tray is now displayed in the dashboard.
• When the user is in the dashboard and an Xbox 360 game is in the console then the name of the game is displayed in the tray icon of the dashboard. If the user highlights the tray icon then achievements and gamer score are displayed for that game based on the signed in user. Xbox1 games show the name and image of the game.
• Integrated support for the new Xbox 360 text input device. Note that this device includes a new wired headset.
• Playback progress bar indicates download completion.
• Switchable aspect ratio now available during video playback (Auto to Letterbox, Zoom, Stretch, Native).
• Player and friends lists now quickly show session presence information for quick identification of users that are joinable.
• Added H.264 video support: Up to 10 Mbps peak, Baseline, Main, and High profiles with 2 channel AAC LC.
• Added MPEG-4 Part 2 video support: Up to 5 Mbps peak, Simple Profile with 2 channel AAC LC.
• Show folder hierarchy for video content played from all devices.
• Bookmarks are stored for each video that the user plays remembering the users last location in the file as well as the aspect ratio that the user choose for that file.
• Video trick modes (fast forward, rewind, chapter skip) can now be used while downloading Video Marketplace content.
• Skip forward and backward functionality has been improved to skip to the next or previous chapter. Each video is divided into 10 “chapters” allowing you to quickly skip around video content.
• The information bar that is turned on via the On Screen Display (OSD) now shows you exactly where you are in the playback of the video file.  In addition it will also show for Video Marketplace content how much of the file has been downloaded and where the “chapters” exist in the file.
• Windows Media protected content (WM-DRM) can now be streamed from the PC to the console. If the WM-DRM license is missing or corrupted then a specific error message is displayed to the user. Bookmarking is also stored for protected content.
• When a user selects an item for download from Marketplace then the system will determine if there is sufficient disk space for the item and, if not, will ask the user to delete content on the HDD. The system provides a sorted by size list of videos, game trailers, demos and arcade content to aid the user in the deletion process. The same list of items are also available from within memory so that users can quickly see which items are consuming the most disk space.
• The console will block the user who attempts to download content onto a storage device that will never have the capacity to store the item without deducting any points associated with the content item.
• The screensaver is disabled when playing photos from any source

Via Xbox.com