Foxtel adds voice control via Xbox

Foxtel viewers watching through Xbox 360 can now ditch their remote control and select shows with a hand gesture or voice command.

Voice and gesture control via Kinect brings a new dimension to home entertainment and how people control commands like pause, play, fast forward and stop, as well as browsing through menu items.

Foxtel is the first broadcaster in Australian to offer voice and gesture control to viewers.

Jim Rudder, Foxtel Executive Director of Product said, “Foxtel on Xbox 360 has a fantastic new look which works seamlessly with Kinect for Xbox 360. We’re excited to offer this new Foxtel experience combining voice and gesture technology with our latest user-interface to find and watch TV shows and movies exclusive to Foxtel.”

Kimberley Francis, Head of Xbox, Microsoft, Australia said: “By making technology invisible we make it even easier for people to interact with their entertainment and we are thrilled to now bring this to a live television experience with Foxtel.

“People have been communicating with voice and gestures for thousands of years and now we are connecting people to their digital entertainment in much the same instinctive way. It won’t matter if you lose the remote control or run out of batteries because you won’t need them.”

Updates will be automatically sent to the Xbox 360 console from May 16, 2012. Users will be asked to accept the updates using the console. Once the updates have been accepted, users will need to sign back in to start watching Foxtel on Xbox 360.

Foxtel on Xbox 360 lets subscribers view premium Foxtel content without lock-in contracts or installation. People can tailor their service with more than 30 world-leading Foxtel channels on the live streaming television service including AFL with Footy Play, six BigPond TV channels, Catch Up TV, and hundreds of blockbuster films, library movies and TV episodes from On Demand.

Telstra BigPond broadband customers are not charged for any data when watching video content Foxtel on Xbox 360. Foxtel on Xbox 360 is only available to Xbox 360 owners who live in Foxtel metropolitan areas of Australia and who subscribe to both the Xbox Live service and the Foxtel on Xbox 360 service. Xbox Live Gold subscription required for all live TV packages. Kinect required to use voice or hand gesture functionality.