17.11.2014

Updated** November 2015___________________________________________________________________________________________________________You should know that since the new Next Xbox One Experience dashboard update for the Xbox One, Kinect has been sidelined in favour of the standard controller. The console launch furore had Microsoft about-turn on their content strategy, and so the much-lamented user interface that was designed for multimedia viewing first, gaming second, has been redesigned to facilitate gaming-first, content-consumption second. What does this mean for Kinect? Well, for a start, you can no longer be automatically signed in when you swap controllers,as Microsoft disabled the IR function in their controllers with the update. Probably not a feature most people would notice, but significant in that they are removing features that take up resources.Not only that, but they have removed gesture control from the new dashboard, too. This means that you can no longer control the interface via waving your hands around at the TV. Microsoft claimed hardly anyone used that feature and that it took away valuable resources that would help speed up the operating system. But speed it up for whom? Not Kinect users, that's for sure - voice commands still take as long as they always did to process. And Cortana, that saviour of voice control and all-round Xbox Heroine is still nowhere to be seen - slated for a 2016 entry, where the competition may just have the killer peripheral available in the form of a virtual reality headset. Can Kinect compete with that?At any rate, I've since updated this review to reflect my two years with the Kinect, below._____________________________________________________________________________________________________________I own a Kinect bundled from the Day One edition consoles, and have been using it since launch day.Back when it was first unboxed, the Kinect didn't have much going for it, PR-wise. I'd avoided the original out of displeasure at the latency and tracking issues it had. I was assured that the bundled Kinect 2.0 would be an improvement. It is now, but at release, the whole system, from games to apps to dashboard was technically still in beta and its software was far from optimised for general purpose use. Nowadays however, there is the Voice Studio app that thousands of people use worldwide to help Microsoft fine tune voice commands for regions and dialects. So how good is it?1. Voice recognition is 'OK'. Easily better than the last one. It's not OK if your Xbox room is constantly loud or prone to significant background noise; the Kinect, even when it's calibrated to max volume will have difficulty identifying your commands over the voices and noises of kids and relatives. By 'OK', I mean having to repeat yourself if you don't say a command loud enough. Imagine Kinect 2.0 to be a dog that has to be generally told twice to do anything, and you'll raise/project your voice to address it first-time, accordingly. Another point to mention here is navigation: via the TV app, you get a TV guide called 'OneGuide', and another called 'Miniguide', which basically lets you say 'Xbox, watch BBC2', inside the TV app. You can switch between apps without a controller, and then switch TV channels, pause live TV, fast forward or rewind TV without hunting down the remote. It's a couch potato's dream.2. 1080p camera. I had lofty intentions of Skyping relatives from afar when I'd set this up (it came with a year's free Skype premium account), and tested it out last new year where my friends and I all linked up our disparate living room parties. It worked quite well (apart from the voice-raising issue, obviously), when it knew who was signed in, and managed to track me from a different number of people by zooming in and out across the room. Of course, the main applications for this are the games, but to be fair, the software implementations for tracking vary in quality from title to title, so buyer beware. In terms of gesture control it can be a bit hit and miss depending on how far you are from the sensor. Generally, if you are within 8 feet and sitting up, practicing with the hand gestures can be quite rewarding, but for general tasks such as browsing mobile sites and navigating the UI - the Kinect has been utterly ditched by Microsoft and this function has been revoked. Also, if you have a Skype subscription, you can get video. That costs money now.3. Latency and response times. The latency is caused by Kinect 2.0 computing the visual signal it receives and putting it through a HDMI cable and your TV displaying it. At last check, it was beneath half a second, which isn't bad, but not ground-breaking. Some implementations of games can improve this, as the processing used to compute skeletal tracking and body heat are quite intensive. Nevertheless, in some implementations, such as Xbox Fitness, you barely notice it, as you are actively focussed on the screen rather than your silhouette.4. Apps/Games. I used to pay £45 a month to go to the gym. Now I've saved that over the past year by using Xbox Fitness (for free for the first year), and there are other fitness apps such as Shape Up (sort of like Wii Fit) but proper fitness tracking integration with the Microsoft Band hasn't really arrived (though you can now plug in the new fitness tracker app account into Kinect Fitness), and your runs are tracked in the cloud and can be integrated into the fitness report - but this isn't converted into points as far as I'm aware. However, there are more lifestyle apps on the way and there are no shortage of games for Kinect that encourage vigorous physical activity. The best hardcore game that uses Kinect 2.0 would have to be D4. The best casual game would have to be Disney's Fantasia: Music Evolved, where you mix and match tracks like a mental, magical Mickey Mouse.5. Value. Is it worth £120? No. You should be thinking about this peripheral if you have kids and they like dancing games; it's probably worth it because you'll get good use out of it. However, if you think the idea of treating your TV control like a belligerent dog is no fun and that you're still comfortable with the idea of changing channels with your XB1 controller or your old remote, then perhaps it's best to wait or this comes down in price a bit.Personally, I'm finding I use the phone app, Smartglass more and more for a TV control, as I use my phone a lot anyway and the TV remote function is in-built. The problem with the new NXOE however, is that this hasn't really worked since it came out. Yet, With a baby, Kinect makes life a little bit easier when your hands are full and you have neither the time nor the inclination to hunt down the remote. As for games, there are enough applications that make good use out of it but it has effectively been sidelined by Microsoft, meaning that it's no longer worth third party developers' while to develop new games for it. Which is a shame.

10.12.2014

An non-essential part of Xbox One's infrastructure that has been dumped to give the console a more attractive price point verses the PS4. But it has also been booted because it is an alienating feature for the non-techie amongst our families. I have been inclined to teach and encourage the device to recognise my voice and gesture - but my partner chuckles at my attempts and reaches for the remote more often than not - and in some respects, I almost have to agree with her. Ignoring the vast distance between you and the device it recommends (by now everybody is familiar with the vast, uncluttered white room that Microsoft expects us to entertain this product in) to say it struggles to find your waving hand,

27.11.2015

I purchased an xbox one last year without the Kinect sensor as I wasn't sure I would use it enough to justify the extra value.I have now purchased one used, but in 'very good' condition which looked brand new for less than £50 - I would highly recommend doing this if the seller is 'fulfilled by Amazon' for no fuss returns. This is a bit of a bargain as it still retails new for over £120 online and £150 in the shops.You don't need to play games with Kinect to get the value out of it. The voice control for general tasks is very good and makes many task much faster. I love being able to turn my xbox on/off by voice as I enter the room and once set up,

8.12.2016

The Kinect gets a bad rap but I thought I would give it a go as I used to like the Wii so I'm used to those type of games .This was easy to set up just a case of plug it into the back of your Xbox one but if you have the Xbox one S which I do you do need to buy the separate adapter unfortunately.it all looks neat and you can't see any of the wires.so one is plugged in you need to synchronize it with your movements and then you are ready to go I only have one game at the moment and it works really well the movements all precise to your actions.But the icing on the cake is Cortana because she can control everything when I walk in the room I can tell her to turn on my Xbox and because I have sky

22.11.2015

Nice little addition to Xbox set up - use it regularly (faster than picking up the remote / and/or controller). Don't use it for games, just mainly for jumping between apps and snapping features/making calls and controlling the v (off on - volume control - mute - pause - quickly switching to different channels etc). Only downside is my panasonic needs a longer turn on signal to turn the tv on - I still have to do this manually which is a bit annoying - still, it does turn my entire set up off on voice command which is nice. Wouldn't say its worth the full £150 asking price, but for the £40 I paid for it its an absolute steal for such an advanced piece of tech. More a media feature than a gaming eccessory though,

29.1.2015

Great product, super fast delivery and 1 very happy son! Santa delivered an Xbox one for my son and he bought this himself with the money out of his coin sorter when it was on offer........simply because he wanted to turn his console on and off with voice control! It's been a great added extra and comes in handy for other things too, such as Skype! It's a great way (like the wii etc) for the younger kids to still be active when playing which means they're exercising without even knowing it! It came with a dance game (code only) which gave us 10 songs free (you can purchase more) and it has a tutorial and exercise mode. It is great and a 10 minute cardio session a day is a fun way to shed some pounds!

3.11.2015

This is amazing! I use it together with an animation product called iClone. A motion capture software program allows me to animate characters, human or animal, imaginary or real, by using this sensor to put the bones of the character in automatically based on what the sensor sees. Now all I have to do is spend hours doing the making of a cartoon film. But then that is really enjoyable, and something that people or any age and sex can do.If you want to transfer your animating life, this is a must have. I expect it may also be used with an Xbox, but I can't comment on that as I don't have one, yet :)

2.1.2015

Even better than the XBOX360 Kinect. If you loved the 360 Kinect, then you will love this. The face recognition has improved with instant sign-in (you just stand up and it instantly recognisors you). No more waving! Voice regonition is much better too and with its HD camera it take much clearer photos. You don't need to stand as far back either, a great improvement from the first Kinect. There are few Kinect games at the moment, but Kinect Sports Rivals and Rabbids Invasion are great games and I can see a great potential for more great Kinect games. A great addition to the great XBOX ONE. 5 stars.

9.7.2017

Had this for seven months now and it hasn't put a foot wrong. Very simple set up and it worked straight away. The unit itself is not as large as I was expecting and is quite easy to either attach to the TV itself or - as we have - affix to the TV mount so that it moves as the TV does. The cable link to the Xbox itself is very secure. Overall, this shows how Microsoft can get things right (unlike their Xbox wireless controllers which are a complete load of bollocks and last 3 months at best before giving up the ghost)

9.8.2015

A huge improvement over the original Kinect, which was impressive in it's own right. Simple to set up and a fantastically easy to use technology., The built in voice recognition works really well too. It's a bit bulky, but invest in a cheap Flat-screen TV mount and it sits neatly out of the way and gets a better viewing angle on your lounge as well.Just a shame that it seems to have fallen out of favour with the games developers as there's not much that makes use of it's full potential.

11.11.2017

Am happy with my purchase(It is part of my little boy Christmas present) But only down side is that there is nowhere a note that tells you that you also need to buy separately adapter and it's not cheap ( £45 )There was even question about it, that dose they need anything else as well and answer was that only a Xbox , but you do need a adapter.You can't buy it from shops, you need to order it from onlineThat why I give it only a 4stars

9.5.2017

I have been with Xbox One since Day One & obviously had the Kinect 2.0 in the box. I will say it's a must have accessory for any Xbox One owner. It's so much easier to navigate around the dashboard via voice command rather than controller. It's a back up mic when online & a good quality camera for Skype. I use mine daily for screen shots & clips. Almost four years with the device now & it's been a pleasure!

1.8.2015

This is brilliant. Dont listen to the haters saying it doesnt work its great.Say volume up = it turns up the volume x3 notchessay snap to tv and it switches instantly to tv, same with music and internet and everything elseplaying Battefield and shout medic and a medic comes running.....love it!!recognises you when u come in the room and u can just say xbox off and on and it works.....great bit of tech

29.12.2014

Arrived in good time for Christmas. Sons delighted. Clever piece of kit as has voice recognition & voice command, so you can tell it what to do without touching controller. Probably does an awful lot of other things as well,but have left my 9 & 14 yr old to set up etc ,which they found very easy,along with Xbox one!

23.9.2016

I only use this for the voice commands so perhaps in that respect it wasn't really worth the money, but then that's my fault for buying it and then not taking advantage of all of its features. The voice commands do work well most of the time, although I think my Scottish accent does occasionally cause confusion.

Microsoft Xbox One Kinect - Reviews

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