Puzzling details about Microsoft's partnership with UK telecom company BT Group have begun to trickle down. According to BBC, when used as a set-top box to deliver BT's television service, Xbox 360 "will not be able to receive or record live TV." Say what?
The report describes the subscription-based service (with 12-month contract) as a library of on-demand content – yeah, like this one – that includes "near-live" Premier League soccer matches. "The reason for streaming-only on the Xbox is because currently the console does not have the capability for live TV or enough hard drive [space] for practical downloading of content," a BT spokesman told BBC, seemingly hinting that a firmware update could be in the works to enable live streaming. [Update: BT's current service only offers over-the-air live broadcasts (and not via IPTV); without a tuner, Xbox 360 is not capable of receiving the company's live programming.]