Day: May 6, 2015

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Xbox One Getting TV DVR Functionality – Report

Currently, Microsoft’s Xbox One allows users to watch live TV, but the system itself does not support recording functionality. Instead, that process is handled by your existing cable box. But that’s going to change–and maybe soon–according to Microsoft blogger Paul Thurrott.

Sources told Thurrott recently that the Xbox One will receive an update–likely this year–to include TV DVR functionality. Thurrott didn’t have anything more to say on the matter, but we’ve followed up with Microsoft asking for more details.

Thurrott’s report comes after Microsoft confirmed that Windows Media Center will not be included with Windows 10 due to "decreased usage."

"Of course, many Media Center fans actually use the product to record and watch TV shows via Media Center PCs in the living room," he explained. "Microsoft’s solution for this need will apparently be the Xbox One."

Windows 10 launches this summer as a free upgrade for existing Windows users. It will arrive first on PC, followed by other platforms–including Xbox One later down the road.

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DirectX 12 Unlocks More PC Power From Integrated GPUs

Microsoft has detailed a new DirectX 12 API feature that can provide an increase in game performance by using integrated GPUs alongside dedicated graphics cards.

The feature, called Multiadapter, provides the option to draw resources from a motherboard’s integrated GPU as well as the standalone graphics card at the same time.

"Before Windows 10 and DirectX 12, all the performance potential from the second GPU goes unused," Microsoft’s Andrew Yeung explained on the DirectX Developer Blog. "[Now] application developers can use every GPU on the system simultaneously."

"We recognized that most mixed GPU systems in the world were not making the most out of the hardware they had," it continued. "We set out to enable separable and contiguous workloads to be executed in parallel on separate GPUs."

Microsoft explained the advantage Multiadapter provided by using postprocessing as an example: "Virtually every game out there makes use of postprocessing to make your favourite game visually impressive; but that postprocessing work doesn’t come free," the company said.

"By offloading some of the postprocessing work to a second GPU, the first GPU is freed up to start on the next frame before it would have otherwise been able to, improving overall framerate."

The announcement comes weeks after speculation suggesting that DirectX 12 could allow PC users to harness the power of multiple GPUs from different companies, such as AMD and Nvidia. While the Multiadapter feature is similar in principal, it appears that it only applies to mixing an integrated GPU with a graphics card. It is not clear whether DirectX 12 will allow users to mix graphics cards.

Nvidia recently announced it is bundling The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and Batman: Arkham Knight for free with its GTX 970 and GTX 980 graphics cards.

In the market for a new PC? Read our handy guide to building a good gaming PC on a budget.

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