by Steven Hopper

This Tuesday marks the official launch of the new Xbox 360 Dashboard, which will bring with it a bevy of new features, including improved Kinect support, a slick new UI, and a ton of new content from myriad providers. We were given a look at the new changes coming on December 6, and were pretty impressed with what we saw.

Kinect users will definitely get the most out of the changes introduced in the update. Nearly every panel, option and menu selection is navigable with using Kinect, either through hand motions or voice commands. It's great that you can now navigate full menus with a wave of your hand instead of only the limited-use Kinect Hub, but the voice commands are the really impressive addition. Kinect's voice sensor really shines here, letting you pull up Bing searches, applications, and start programs only through simple voice commands.

BERJAYA
The added Bing functionality makes it easier to find content on your Xbox or on LIVE.
Bing navigation pulls from various sources to give you as complete a rundown of everything you're looking for. Saying "Batman" for example will pull up a list of available Batman movies available through the Zune Marketplace and available for streaming on Netflix, as well as the game page for any Batman games like Batman: Arkham City and so on. You can be as broad or as specific as you want with your search, narrowing the results to only include things like map packs. The Bing search function works surprisingly well, and is just one of the intuitive new ways that you'll be able to find your content in the upcoming pack.

In our demo, we were also given a look at the some of the changes coming to the dedicated Netflix app. One of the sore spots that many people had with the Netflix app was the limited Kinect functionality; as you could only navigate a list of suggestions and not your actual queue while navigating with Kinect. However, now you have the ability to navigate your full queue using Kinect, either with hand motions or simply saying what you want to see and starting the stream. The look of the menus has also been changed to give you more on-screen options at any time, with streaming previews available right from the menu. The whole layout is done a lot better, giving you access to more information while maintaining a clean look.

BERJAYA
The 360's Netflix app is getting a brand new look.
Additionally, we took a look at the new Verizon FiOS TV app that will be available for FiOS subscribers later this month. Through the app, you can navigate supported channels, pause live events, and preview TV shows. You will have to be a Verizon FiOS customer to take advantage of the new app, so it might seem superfluous since you'll already have a means to watch your content, but the navigation is slick and the look is clean overall.

The new Metro UI is pretty slick and uncluttered, but there are still some issues to be found in its design. The cleaner look tucks a lot of apps and programs away from the main home screen, so you might have to dig a little deeper than before to find what you're looking for. However, the added functionality and new content should make the tradeoff worth it.

As we've mentioned before, the update will bring a host of new services and television providers to the platform. Some of these services will be available on Tuesday, while others are planned for release later in the month and beyond. Check out the full rollout schedule below:

Dec. 6:
  • EPIX. United States
  • ESPN on Xbox LIVE (ESPN). United States
  • Hulu. Japan
  • Hulu Plus. United States
  • LOVEFiLM. United Kingdom
  • Netflix. Canada, United States
  • Premium Play by (MediaSet). Italy
  • Sky Go (SkyDE). Austria, Germany
  • Telefonica Espana – Movistar Imagenio. Spain
  • TODAY (MSNBC). United States
Later in December:
  • 4 on Demand (C4). United Kingdom
  • ABC iView (Australian Broadcasting Corp.). Australia
  • AlloCin�. France (AlloCin�), Germany (Filmstarts), Spain (Sensacine), United Kingdom (Screenrush)
  • Astral Media's Disney XD (Astral Media). Canada
  • blinkbox (Blinkbox). United Kingdom
  • Crackle (Sony Pictures). Australia, Canada, United Kingdom, United States
  • Dailymotion. Available in 32 countries globally
  • Demand 5 (Five). United Kingdom
  • DIGI+ (CANAL+). Spain
  • GolTV (Mediapro). Spain
  • iHeartRadio (Clear Channel). United States
  • Mediathek/ZDF (ZDF). Germany
  • MSN. Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, United Kingdom
  • MSNBC.com. United States
  • MUZU.TV. Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom
  • ninemsn. Australia
  • Real Sports (Maple Leaf Sports). Canada
  • Rogers On Demand Online (Rogers Media). Canada
  • SBS ON DEMAND. Australia
  • TMZ (Warner Bros.). Canada, United States
  • TVE (RTVE.es). Spain
  • UFC on Xbox LIVE (UFC). Canada, United States
  • Verizon FiOS TV. United States
  • VEVO. Canada, Ireland, United Kingdom, United States
  • Vudu (Wal-Mart). United States
  • YouTube. Available in 24 countries globally
Early 2012:
  • Antena 3 (Antena 3 de Televisi�n). Spain
  • BBC (BBC). United Kingdom
  • CinemaNow (Best Buy). United States
  • HBO GO (HBO). United States
  • MLB.TV (MLB Advanced Media). Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Columbia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, United Kingdom, United States
  • Telenovelas/Sports (Televisa). Brazil, Chile, Colombia, France, Italy, Mexico, Spain, United Kingdom
  • Xfinity On Demand (Comcast). United States


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