A Look at the Microsoft Set-Top Box Rumors

by Nate Wooley | May 10, 2013 9:23 am

[1]With streaming video growing in popularity, Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT[2]) is experimenting with ways of getting into the market.

The new device — which the company has completed several prototypes for — is still questionable for wider release, The Wall Street Journal reports[3].

At issue is how a streaming device could work with the upcoming next generation of the company’s wildly successful Xbox game console. Both could bring users to the company’s Xbox Live entertainment system, but having two devices that provide streaming video may hurt overall sales of both. Microsoft will announce the new Xbox on May 21.

If the company does come out with a streaming video device, it will benefit from recent technological developments. Prototypes for the device have taken advantage of the popularity of the hand-held Kinect system that allows users to operate Microsoft devices by waving their hands. In addition, the recent release of an overall Microsoft coding standard that applies to all devices and software will ease the development of games and apps for new systems.

More stories about streaming:

• Adobe’s Primetime Makes It A Promising Play[4]
• Netflix Loses Nearly 1,800 Streaming Movies[5]
• Can Streaming Cure Your Cable Habit?[6]

Source URL: https://investorplace.com/2013/05/a-look-at-the-microsoft-set-top-box-rumors/

---