Xbox One won't include a headset. Use Kinect instead

[red.]

Cool. Was just wondering, because it seems like using Kinect in various different ways means you have to take into account different scenarios. :)

[George P Global Moderator]

I'm a little skeptical about this, I assume it will be command driven to mute? "Xbox, Mute"

I often will mute my headset multiple times when playing online with friends so that I can talk to the misses or even simple things like having a drink, No-one wants to hear me slurping away!!

Also, if its "clever" enough to detect Im actually giving it a command then surely that means there is a delay in speech? so when I say xbox there has to be a half second before it sends the voice or uses it as a command. I know that doesnt sound a lot and maybe there is a delay already but this just seems like it would add to anything which I would imagine could completely change how some people game.

As much as I hate to admit it, I am totally pro Xbox (i like to think i can justify this by owning all 3 last gen consoles so my opinions tend to be based on my experiences), but the one does keep just giving me reasons to wish i wasn't! Looking forward to E3 to see more on the Xbox and PS and hopefully restore my faith in the xbox.

It doesn't check after you say Xbox to see if it's a command or not, it's still watching you when it's on so if the moment it sees you staring at the TV and that you have a controller in your hand it is waiting to hear a command. If for example you turn away from the screen and try to issue a command it won't work. It might not also work if you don't have a controller in your hand if a game is playing at the time.

The delay is there, true, but if it's minor enough it shouldn't be a issue.

[HawkMan]

And they'll keep coming if that is genuinely what is annoying people. You know, if it's not misdirected rage at MS getting panned off at me :rofl:, because that is funny to keep seeing over and over.

These are things gamers want to know, it was posted about Sony including a headset in the PS4, why not MS not including one after they did with the 360?

Because the Xbox one doesn't need you to wear an uncomfortable headset, the array kids can hear you just fine across the whole room.

So does Kinect have the ability to somehow not pick up the background sound and only pick up ones voice? Because if not, welcome to worse sound than what is on the PSN!!

Yes, the array mice can separate background noise from voice very well.

[Skiver Veteran]

It doesn't check after you say Xbox to see if it's a command or not, it's still watching you when it's on so if the moment it sees you staring at the TV and that you have a controller in your hand it is waiting to hear a command. If for example you turn away from the screen and try to issue a command it won't work. It might not also work if you don't have a controller in your hand if a game is playing at the time.

The delay is there, true, but if it's minor enough it shouldn't be a issue.

Ok, but if I am playing a MP game then I'm going to be looking at the TV, if I'm chatting to friends online i am looking at the tv, if i then want to mute then i need to say Xbox, Mute (guessing)... I'm still looking at the tv the whole time. So do the people I'm playing with here me say Xbox Mute? I could be about to say something like Xbox is bla bla to my friends so it cant just mute when it hears Xbox.

I guess this is all just pure speculation at the moment so doesn't really mean anything but it just sounds like its something waiting to go wrong.

[George P Global Moderator]

Ok, but if I am playing a MP game then I'm going to be looking at the TV, if I'm chatting to friends online i am looking at the tv, if i then want to mute then i need to say Xbox, Mute (guessing)... I'm still looking at the tv the whole time. So do the people I'm playing with here me say Xbox Mute? I could be about to say something like Xbox is bla bla to my friends so it cant just mute when it hears Xbox.

I guess this is all just pure speculation at the moment so doesn't really mean anything but it just sounds like its something waiting to go wrong.

It could be different while in a game and playing and in a app or movie or on the dashboard? It's hard to say, heh, until we get it or see more demos of it in action, probably at E3.

[Skiver Veteran]

Yeah, I do like the idea of being headset free. However I know the Mic on my current Kinect couldnt really hear me that well in terms of voice chat in game but I think they will struggle to get some of the features right. Might make balancing voice over game music/sound something that gets tweaked per game.

[+Audioboxer Subscriber²]

Because the Xbox one doesn't need you to wear an uncomfortable headset, the array kids can hear you just fine across the whole room.

Because every headset is uncomfortable?

Don't know how those PC gamers do it!

[joemailey]

Before I jumped back to Sony, I owned a xBox 360 for a while.

One of the best things about the 360, was the headset. Seemed everyone was online and hooked up. When I went back to Sony and got PS3.

It was one of the only things I missed. PS3 really lacked in that department, with no headset and hardly anyone speaking in game and that included mates too.

The 360, being bundled with a headset, kinda made it the going thing to have your headset connected and working. Just seemed like the natural way to use the 360. Leaving a headset out this time round seems a bit strange. I think the headset helped make the 360's online experience much much better than Sony's.

Strange decision to leave it out this time round.

[shakey]

Before I jumped back to Sony, I owned a xBox 360 for a while.

One of the best things about the 360, was the headset. Seemed everyone was online and hooked up. When I went back to Sony and got PS3.

It was one of the only things I missed. PS3 really lacked in that department, with no headset and hardly anyone speaking in game and that included mates too.

The 360, being bundled with a headset, kinda made it the going thing to have your headset connected and working. Just seemed like the natural way to use the 360. Leaving a headset out this time round seems a bit strange. I think the headset helped make the 360's online experience much much better than Sony's.

Strange decision to leave it out this time round.

I think most PS3 users have headsets, but they just choose not to really use them. That's how it is with me. I don't care to talk to people I don't really know. So if a friend isn't in the actual game, I normally don't use my mic. I think it really has to do with the type of audience each console really has. ( I know I'll get flak for saying this ) PS3 seems to have a more mature/older audience, where as xbox seems to have more teens and a younger base. I know there are mature and grown up people on each, and there are immature and young on each, but in general, one does seem to have more of one type. And when you reach a certain age it seems, you really don't care for talking to people you don't know while playing. You just want to play a little lol. ( I know certain games also tend to draw certain maturity and age groups more towards them as well, since both consoles with CoD have horrible player bases :p )

[Razorwing]

I wonder if my Tritton Headset will work with the one.

[jerzdawg]

I wonder if my Tritton Headset will work with the one.

as long as its digital audio (optical) you should be ok, only thing i remember reading was lack of analog audio

[HawkMan]

Because every headset is uncomfortable?

Don't know how those PC gamers do it!

I have a very comfortable G930 on my computer, I still prefer playing with proper surround sound without the headset on, better sound, better awareness, not headset.

Before I jumped back to Sony, I owned a xBox 360 for a while.

One of the best things about the 360, was the headset. Seemed everyone was online and hooked up. When I went back to Sony and got PS3.

It was one of the only things I missed. PS3 really lacked in that department, with no headset and hardly anyone speaking in game and that included mates too.

The 360, being bundled with a headset, kinda made it the going thing to have your headset connected and working. Just seemed like the natural way to use the 360. Leaving a headset out this time round seems a bit strange. I think the headset helped make the 360's online experience much much better than Sony's.

Strange decision to leave it out this time round.

When I play rainbow six and such I had to make up al kinds of reasons for not talking. I don't really care to.

[spacer]

I think it was a really bonehead move on Mircosoft's part to not include a headset and to rely on Kinect for voice chat. As others have said, including the headset with the 360 was one of the defining advantages that the Xbox had over the PS3, and now Microsoft shot themselves in the foot the same way Sony did 8 years ago.

Also, relying on Kinect for voice is incredibly stupid. There are many potential problems with Kinect commands interfering with regular chat, muting, etc. Not to mention that Kinects will most likely be near or literally on top of center channel speakers. How do they expect it to hear normal voice over that? One of the many reasons why having a Kinect be mandatory was a terrible idea.

[0sit0]

well as long as we can use third party ones I'm fine with that. At the end of the day those headphones always broke and you had to get new ones anyway.

[BajiRav]

Is this actually confirmed? The transcript in OP goes both ways(Microsoft really needs to get their PR **** in line). I can't be bothered to watch the video but Major Nelson mentioned in the Yahoo news Q&A that they will have details about accessories at E3.

[spacer]

No doubt they will have an official headset "accessory". But it will most likely cost a retarded amount of money when it should be included by default just like the last time. The other scary thing about this is the logic they're using to conclude that the Kinect is an appropriate alternative. All of it is just comes across as a big middle finger to gamers.

[George P Global Moderator]

Are there any wifi direct headsets? I'm thinking they could release something that uses that.

[HawkMan]

No doubt they will have an official headset "accessory". But it will most likely cost a retarded amount of money when it should be included by default just like the last time. The other scary thing about this is the logic they're using to conclude that the Kinect is an appropriate alternative. All of it is just comes across as a big middle finger to gamers.

How is the Kinect 2 an appropriate alternative ? have you tried it ?

[BajiRav]

No doubt they will have an official headset "accessory". But it will most likely cost a retarded amount of money when it should be included by default just like the last time. The other scary thing about this is the logic they're using to conclude that the Kinect is an appropriate alternative. All of it is just comes across as a big middle finger to gamers.

Uh you mean Sony has been giving "gamers" a middle finger for all these years?

[spaceelf]

The other scary thing about this is the logic they're using to conclude that the Kinect is an appropriate alternative.

Since it is, that's perfectly ok then.

[spacer]

Since it is, that's perfectly ok then.

I guess you've been ignoring all of the posts, including my original one, that detailed why the Kinect is NOT a (good) alternative to a headset for voice chat.

[spaceelf]

I guess you've been ignoring all of the posts, including my original one, that detailed why the Kinect is NOT a (good) alternative to a headset for voice chat.

Spoken truly like someone who's never used it. Just to reiterate:

It's a directional array with much higher quality than pretty much every mic out there and acoustic echo cancellation that actually works right.

Every headset I've ever used (including the one MS included in the 360) has been garbage in comparison.

[spacer]

Spoken truly like someone who's never used it. Just to reiterate:

It's a directional array with much higher quality than pretty much every mic out there and acoustic echo cancellation that actually works right.

Every headset I've ever used (including the one MS included in the 360) has been garbage in comparison.

Directional or not, there is no way it's going to work well with multi-speaker setups. And besides, the voice detection is only a few of the problems with using a kinect for voice chat. True, I have never used it. But I find it hard to believe it will work better than a headset.

[BajiRav]

Are there any wifi direct headsets? I'm thinking they could release something that uses that.

Wifi Direct is one of the bullet points for X1 so might be. That reminds me - there is no visible Kinect port on the box or a cable on Kinect itself. Wireless or just photochopped marketing snaps?

Directional or not, there is no way it's going to work well with multi-speaker setups. And besides, the voice detection is only a few of the problems with using a kinect for voice chat. True, I have never used it. But I find it hard to believe it will work better than a headset.

Well I have used the Kinect 1.0 couple of times for less than 30secs and while the other end could hear me just fine, I found it difficult to hear them over game sounds on my system. Headsets are more practical (for me, IMO etc. etc. applies).

[HawkMan]

Directional or not, there is no way it's going to work well with multi-speaker setups. And besides, the voice detection is only a few of the problems with using a kinect for voice chat. True, I have never used it. But I find it hard to believe it will work better than a headset.

Spoken as someone who doesn't know how sound waves work.

again, maybe you should try it first before you say it won't work. but they can filter out the sound form single to multi speaker setups just fine, even when right on top of the center, though optimally you place the kinect on top of the tv, and optimally for sound the center should be under.

To put it into perspective, this is an advanced array mic, a generation separated from the array in the Kinect 1. the major carrier in Norway just launched HD voice, on supported phones with two mics(regular mics, not a proper array), it is able to separate your voice from the enviroment, giving you a crystal clear voice no matter what the environment your'e in. To prove this, they recorded a single with the singer singing into a phone in the middle of an old firestation that was being torn down, and another phone receiving in front of a mic at the recording studio, they had another pair of phones for his guitar. In the recording you can't hear the machines that's all around him at all, the pro mics on scene when filming him, can barely pick him out among the noise from the wrecking machines.

If you can ignore the Norwegian voices and swedish singing, you can see the ad here http://www.telenor.no/privat/mobil/hdvoice.jsp?icid=p-130508-privatforside-mellomkomp-hd-voice

Now, imagine what a proper high quality array mic can do.

Wifi Direct is one of the bullet points for X1 so might be. That reminds me - there is no visible Kinect port on the box or a cable on Kinect itself. Wireless or just photochopped marketing snaps?

Well I have used the Kinect 1.0 couple of times for less than 30secs and while the other end could hear me just fine, I found it difficult to hear them over game sounds on my system. Headsets are more practical (for me, IMO etc. etc. applies).

the 360 had issues where voices on the same audio output as the gamesounds(ie speakers) would be very low compared to the game sounds, even with games sounds set to lowest and voice to max. With kinect being a key part of the One, and being THE voice com system, chances are they have fixed that properly.