A dashboard update to the Xbox 360 is promised for sometime this fall and it should bring with it a slew of improvements to the user interface. The current information indicates that the dashboard update is coming November 25th which would be Black Friday in the U.S.
This next dashboard update is bringing with it a bunch of sought after features including Kinect voice and gesture support, as well as content from the new lineup of video and TV providers recently announced by Microsoft. Gigaom has gotten some more details about the update from trusted sources. Apparently this dashboard is built on a modified version of Microsoft's Silverlight, code-named Lakeview.
Seeing Microsoft leverage their Silverlight technology for the Xbox 360 isn't particularly surprising. What is a bit shocking is the information Gigaom has gotten about the technology being used for video delivery. It seems that Microsoft is opting to use H.264-encoded video with Apple's HTTP Live Streaming technology to provide streaming video content from providers like Comcast and Verizon FiOS. I would have expected to see Microsoft use their own Smooth Streaming technology to stream video to the console.
Sources are indicating that Microsoft has been making a great deal of changes to the Lakeview suite of capabilities over the last few weeks. This constant stream of updates is forcing content providers and app developers into a constant cycle of application update and retesting. If sources are to be believed and the launch of this update is November 25th, that leaves Microsoft very little time to get a stable release of Lakeview to developers so they can lock down their apps.
If Microsoft can manage to get this update out by November 25 it could be very beneficial to their holiday sales figures. The combination of TV content and Kinect integration could push up numbers of both the console and the Kinect accessory just in time for Christmas.
Are you interested in the new feature Microsoft is trying to pack into this dashboard update? Let us know what you think in the comments.
