We'll have reaction to the gaming and hardware announcements from Microsoft in due course (including an ODST vs Halo 3 tech feature we've been planning for some time), but in the meantime, the focus turns to the 1080p streaming technology revealed for Xbox 360 last night.
The idea here is that 'Smooth Streaming' allows for an instant start to watching your video with no perceivable buffering, with the picture quality dynamically changing according to the bandwidth conditions. Should you have access to a sustained five megabits of bandwidth between you and the server, Microsoft promises a full 1080p video stream with 5.1 surround sound. If those conditions change for the worse, the stream dynamically switches to a lower quality, lower bandwidth version without skipping a beat.
Initial reports from the E3 conference suggested that this technology would be a US only affair for users of the NetFlix video streaming service, but PR blurb from Microsoft this morning suggests that Smooth Streaming is set to be rolled out on the new, improved Zune video service that sees the Xbox Live video marketplace expand from coverage in eight territories to eighteen.
So, just how good is it? Will it stand up to real life internet conditions? Is it all just PR hype or has Microsoft actually delivered something here? Well, this is where things get seriously cool. Not only can you see the technology in action now, you also get to test it out on your PC in the comfort of your own god-forsaken hovel. Smooth Streaming is a part of Microsoft's Flash competitor, Silverlight, and was actually introduced a few months ago. There's a very cool online showcase you can view right here, right now. And here's a pic of the player. Graphs, frame rates, bandwidth meters... it's the stuff of dreams!
Check Out 360's 1080p Smooth Streaming Tech Now
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it was only yesterday i read that nvidia is partnering with flash to enable hardware acceleration on tegra, coming to a mobile device near you 