DStv-Xbox One integration in the works, says Microsoft South Africa

So in other words, and e-mail was sent from Microsoft to DStv and no reply has yet been received.
 
What kind of benefit could this possibly have for me? And no, voice commands aren't something that appeals to me (in this context)!
 
Ninja'd said:
Talk about an unholy alliance.
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This! Getting worked through the ears - from both sides!

lcbxx said:
So in other words, and e-mail was sent from Microsoft to DStv and no reply has yet been received.
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:D

YingYang said:
What kind of benefit could this possibly have for me? And no, voice commands aren't something that appeals to me (in this context)!
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It could improve your fake American accent? Otherwise I have nothing.

The only reason I am interested in this is that M$ is willing to adapt their hardware to collaborate with a SA company.
 
Depending on HOW they do the integration, it could be quite nice....
 
Ninja'd said:
Talk about an unholy alliance.
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Why is this an "unholy alliance"?
One of the worlds biggest tech companies collaborating with one of SA's biggest media companies to provide a service for SA customers so that they can get the same features offered to their US counterparts. Seems like a pretty great alliance to me.
 
This sounds more like marketing Hype than actually anything. If there is no local Azure network then there is no point of XbOne......
 
BBotha said:
This sounds more like marketing Hype than actually anything. If there is no local Azure network then there is no point of XbOne......
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Aren't the Azure servers only relevant if you do the online gameplay stuff? And even so, apparently those games like Titanfall are still good locally
 
Has anyone seen the full-page M-Net ads in the papers attempting to explain the "Digital Switchover" and the "Fight over STB"? (the weird bullet-lists comparing "encryption" with "no encryption" made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up).

Looking deeper, I couldn't fathom the discussion surrounding the encryption issue, since I have no clue about the domains or separation of concerns in the television realm, but I have to ask - how will this X-box integration be affected by the choice of encryption (or lack thereof) in the "STB"?

I ask because if there is no TV->Server encryption, and the X-box makes use of these channels, then a lot of peoples "private" X-box OS chats and tons of other metadata will end up insecurely transmitted surely?
The more TV takes over as a general internet access device and/or life-management appliance, the more problematic the lack of encryption becomes (if indeed the STB encryption is what I think it is).

ELI5?
 
RazedInBlack said:
What do you mean exactly?
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JStrike said:
I imagine it would be exactly the same as it is in the USA for DirectTV etc
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This is Multichoice you're talking about, they're not known for being all that great with software development or systems design.

If they do a full hog integration, then we could be talking.. if its a basic integration then its just a waste of time.
 
Fingolfin said:
Has anyone seen the full-page M-Net ads in the papers attempting to explain the "Digital Switchover" and the "Fight over STB"? (the weird bullet-lists comparing "encryption" with "no encryption" made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up).

Looking deeper, I couldn't fathom the discussion surrounding the encryption issue, since I have no clue about the domains or separation of concerns in the television realm, but I have to ask - how will this X-box integration be affected by the choice of encryption (or lack thereof) in the "STB"?

I ask because if there is no TV->Server encryption, and the X-box makes use of these channels, then a lot of peoples "private" X-box OS chats and tons of other metadata will end up insecurely transmitted surely?
The more TV takes over as a general internet access device and/or life-management appliance, the more problematic the lack of encryption becomes (if indeed the STB encryption is what I think it is).

ELI5?
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The STB integration is purely to display the picture and interact with the channels.. there is no "insecure" back channel on the STB itself....
 
ToxicBunny said:
The STB integration is purely to display the picture and interact with the channels.. there is no "insecure" back channel on the STB itself....
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Ok, thanks.
So what does "deep X-box integration" actually mean for DSTV - since the X-box OS already manages to talk happily to it's own networks, and is quite capable of rendering images (local and remote) on your TV.
Does selecting a different channel on DSTV trigger any kind of client -> server transaction, or are all the channels continually streamed and up to the client to filter? The full-page ad I described shows little "energy waves" coming out of the TV icons, ostensible representing return transmissions (even in the "old analog" example), but maybe these are simply badly rendered "receptions"?

Sorry, I don't have a TV or any kind of TV subscription, and have never investigated the complexities of the TV system, new or old.
 
Fingolfin said:
Ok, thanks.
So what does "deep X-box integration" actually mean for DSTV - since the X-box OS already manages to talk happily to it's own networks, and is quite capable of rendering images (local and remote) on your TV.
Does selecting a different channel on DSTV trigger any kind of client -> server transaction, or are all the channels continually streamed and up to the client to filter? The full-page ad I described shows little "energy waves" coming out of the TV icons, ostensible representing return transmissions (even in the "old analog" example), but maybe these are simply badly rendered "receptions"?

Sorry, I don't have a TV or any kind of TV subscription, and have never investigated the complexities of the TV system, new or old.
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It just means that the Xbox-One will be able to interact with the DSTV satellite decoder...
All the channels are constantly pumped down to the decoder... depending on what channel you're on, it will decrypt that specific channels data, there is absolutely NO communication back to Multichoice from the decoder, its not physically possible with the way it is currently setup.
 
ToxicBunny said:
This is Multichoice you're talking about, they're not known for being all that great with software development or systems design.

If they do a full hog integration, then we could be talking.. if its a basic integration then its just a waste of time.
Click to expand...

Well, they don't really have to do much. MS is doing the work, MC is helping
 
ToxicBunny said:
It just means that the Xbox-One will be able to interact with the DSTV satellite decoder...
All the channels are constantly pumped down to the decoder... depending on what channel you're on, it will decrypt that specific channels data, there is absolutely NO communication back to Multichoice from the decoder, its not physically possible with the way it is currently setup.
Click to expand...

Hmmm, its seems not unless one has the DSTV-i <o> installed: http://mybroadband.co.za/news/broadcasting/13868-dstv-i-officially-launched.html

"Three years ago, Oracle Airtime Sales (OATS) and M-Net, SuperSport and MultiChoice started funding and developing the country’s first return path audience measurement system to address the global issues of fragmentation in the media [ psshh -ed ]. Today DStv-i is being formally introduced to the industry, following completion of the test phase."

"DStv-i utilises Return Path Data (RPD), meaning that decoders are used to capture viewing habits, instead of the previously used people meters."

"Every click of the remote control is recorded, and the data recovered from the DStv digital set-top boxes provides accurate tracking of the channels that audiences are watching and the services they use."

“For the first time DStv will have ratings that are robust enough at an individual channel level to allow us to explore new sales policies and models and move us towards some form of guaranteed audience delivery. This promises to revolutionise the whole business of buying commercial airtime and introduce a host of efficiencies into the process."

http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthr...cially-launched-with-latest-World-Cup-figures

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Not for me thanks.
 
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