Review: Xbox Music

One of the biggest and best companions to the release of Windows 8 was Microsoft's streaming music service called Xbox Music, and yes, we've had the opportunity to test it for a few days so Here we bring you their analysis.

Xbox Music, first look and interface

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One of the first positive points we found in Xbox Music even before trying it, is that Windows 8 already has it included Those who we tested previous versions of the operating system we had the application called Music on a tile in the Modern UI of the operating system, but now with the official launch of this, this application kept the name but everything inside was replaced by the Xbox Music service."

After going through the verification process and choosing whether to try the service or pay for Xbox Music Pass for full access to all system features, we find an interface where once again the checkered rectangles and that gradient background make their appearance.

Like most of the applications integrated into Windows 8, these tiles are grouped into several sections, where we will see our music, the current playback, the most outstanding artists, and the main section where all the music is stored. service catalogue.

If we do not want to search for anything, just press the secondary click or slide your finger from the bottom of the screen and the playback controls will be discovered, they appear no matter what window or section we are in.

In this control bar we can access our current reproduction, the one that shows as main: updateable images of the artist plus his biography on the left side , we also see the respective controls and access to other albums by the same artist.

The music catalogue

For me the most important reason to select a multimedia service, be it movies, series or music, is in the catalog offered, and in this case and in a very general way, Xbox Music does have a considerable variety of artists.

A more personal comment that I add to this aspect is: since the music I listen to is limited towards some genres, I have liked to find many of the artists that in iTunes or Spotify have been omitted for me , hence the rest of the catalog separating me from my tastes I find it good and with most common artists that would be essential for an average user.

Of course, to search for our artists we have to use the integrated search in Windwos 8, it works very well, it gives us the quickest and most precise results possibleOnce the artist is found, we access what would be a profile page.

As in the playback page, on the profile page we have the biography, some images and the button to access the artist's album list, when selecting the album we want to listen to we are not It will take you to another section, but it will jump to a window in which we will find the list of songs and the respective buttons to start playback.

Just below the main playback button we find the Smart DJ, a function that creates a playlist with artists related to the What we currently have on screen, this function works fine, but from time to time it shows us something a little out of place according to what we were hearing.

These failures of Smart DJ are perhaps due to the little classification by genre that the service has, since it encompasses in a single category genres that have a big gap between their similarities, and yes, that would be something Microsoft would have to change as soon as possible, since auto-created mixes are kind of weird.

The quality of service

As Microsoft proposed from the beginning with Windows 8, Xbox Music enjoys full synchronization between devices, either through a Xbox 360, a laptop, tablet, or phone (only with Windows Phone 8 at first), the service syncs our purchases, playlists, or songs we've downloaded for offline playback.

But this synchronization would only be better used with the paid service Xbox Music Pass, since in the free version our playlists they are affected by the limited time of them or by the one that allows the execution of this.

The free service is somewhat cumbersome and annoying, nothing compared to the small commercials that Spotify offers, and if it does our somewhat less pleasant experience and willing to stay with the paid service.

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Hence the performance and audio quality is good, of course depending on the connection of each one and the hardware capabilities that one has, but tested on low connections playback speed never has cuts and just by clicking on the icon play>"

I define the audio quality as fair and necessary, I like how it does with good headphones but in laptop speakers if I feel a little low power , clearly compared to some of its competition.

Xbox Music, conclusions

At first glance Xbox Music is very friendly with those of us who have already tried another service and with those who are just entering the world of streaming music, the catalog is casual and the performance is the just.

But without a doubt to make the most of it and take advantage of all the devices on which it will be available, we have to choose to purchase the paid service , unlike Spotify, we can have Xbox Music in various countries without having to use a VPN application.

Xbox Music still has a lot to mature for, and the promised clients for some other operating system still need to arrive as well as the increase in the catalog Let's wait a while and possibly this will become a jewel for Microsoft in the future. My final recommendation is: Give it a chance.

In Genbeta | Xbox Music: First Impressions