Microsoft preps Kinect-based TV voice control

Microsoft is set to roll out voice control for TV sets connected to an Xbox 360 gaming console and Kinect controller.

A free update for the Xbox 360 will be made available on Tuesday, bringing not only voice-controlled search but also new apps from various Microsoft partners. Microsoft says more than 57 million consoles will get the upgrade.

"With this update, Xbox 360 system owners will experience Kinect voice control integrated with Bing search, making your TV and entertainment experiences more social and personal than ever," Microsoft Interactive Entertainment Business chief Don Mattrick said in a statement on Sunday.

Kinect is best known as a motion sensor that lets people play Xbox 360 games without a handheld controller. However, it also has a microphone array. Following the success of the original Kinect, Microsoft is now also working on a version for PCs.

With the new Xbox 360 update, the Kinect controller will be able to pick up the user's voice commands and search for games, movies, TV shows and music. This voice search, powered by Microsoft's Bing search engine, will initially be available in English in the UK, US and Canada. Text search will also be "available in Xbox Live markets", Microsoft said.

Meanwhile, the update will also introduce a Lovefilm app for UK users — coincidentally, this will happen just days after Lovefilm announced it was dropping Flash as its streaming technology in favour of Microsoft's Silverlight.

Microsoft's voice-controlled TV system may beat a major rival to the punch. Apple founder Steve Jobs reportedly said shortly before his death that he and his company had "finally cracked" the user interface to an integrated Apple TV, and some have subsequently theorised that this interface would be based on the Siri voice-control system found in the iPhone 4S.