Last week during the Xbox Briefing at Gamescom 2015, Microsoft announced that sometime in 2016 the Xbox One will be upgraded to support full DVR capabilities for over-the-air (OTA) TV broadcasts. This will include the ability to schedule recordings, stream recordings to other devices in your home, even the ability to download recordings so you can watch them later offline.
Since the announcement Microsoft has been revealing more information about how the new service will work. Last week we found out that to enable the feature you will need an external hard drive for your Xbox One in order to “keep paths optimized between playing games and watching TV.” And today, as spotted by Windows Central, VG 24/7 reported that Microsoft has confirmed Xbox One’s DVR will launch initially only in the US, Canada and the UK.
Microsoft said at Gamescom that release dates for other European countries would be made available at a later date. VG 24/7 notes that Xbox One’s Digital TV Tuner was released across Europe, including in France, Germany, Italy, and Spain.
However there is still no confirmation on specific dates, other than the feature being released sometime in 2016.
Does giving the Xbox One OTA DVR capabilities in addition to the many streaming apps make it a strong enough platform for cord-cutters? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
Further reading: Microsoft, OTA TV, Xbox One, Xbox One OTA DVR
