Last week Sony detailed some specifics regarding the PlayStation 4, including the somewhat depressing news that it wouldn’t support audio CD’s or feature DLNA and media server support. Though it doesn’t yet have a South African release date, Microsoft’s Xbox One may have better luck in South Africa thanks to what it does do.
A report from Penny Arcade’s Ben Kuchera claims that Microsoft’s new console will feature DLNA support and will also play audio discs. Whether players can use the console to rip their own music onto the Xbox One’s hard drive, as is now possible with the Xbox 360, isn’t known but it will be able to stream MP3 audio from Windows 7, 8 or 8.1 devices. Yes, Windows Phone devices are included in that list.
It’s not that strange a route for Microsoft to take and it probably should be standard for game consoles to have streaming support but it looks as though the Xbox One is the race leader for media features at the moment. Perhaps Sony will opt to add some home media network functionality at a later stage in the face of this opposition from its direct competitor. At the moment however, it looks like we will have two very different consoles on our hands.
Source: Penny Arcade