The next generation of Microsoft’s video game console could potentially be used as a Digital Video Recorder or DVR as well if what its patent suggests is to believed.
Microsoft have remained tight lipped about anything related to their third generation of video game consoles. This has led to a flurry of rumours making their way around the industry and the internet as to what consumers might expect come the announcement
of the, thus far, mysterious Xbox 720.
However, the eagle eyed gaming community and internet site Kotaku, seemed to have spotted a hint as to what everyone can expect. A patent which was filed in 2007 and approved in December 2011, in th US Patent and Trademark Office, seems to suggest that the
Xbox 720 can be used as DVR as well.
It falls in line with what Microsoft were promising as a “new era in television”, with the patent describing a device that could record content while the console was being used for video games and even when it was turned off as well.
Patent # 8,083,593 gives a fair bit away if and seems to be shouting Xbox 720. It reads: “A digital video recorder (DVR) application running alongside a television client component allows users to record media content on the gaming console.”
Another interesting feature that could be derived is that users could use the Kinect, or the next generation of the motion controlled peripheral, to navigate the system. “The DVR application also integrates itself with the console menu.”
Seeing how the console menu in the current generation of Microsoft’s Xbox consoles are moving towards making use of the Kinect to navigate it only seems the next logical step.
The 720 will also be very able at multitasking if the patent is to be believed, “When in the recording state, users can also switch between various other media modes, whether gaming, television, and so on.”
It could make gaming when living with parents and having to share the main TV with the family easier seeing the DVR feature and could be a shrewd investment also, as it seems that the Xbox 720 is more of a home entertainment system rather than just a gaming
console.
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