Microsoft's been incredibly upfront about the hardware housed inside of the Xbox Series X as well as the technical specs, but as we noted the other day, the system has also removed a few (mostly minor) features that were previously included on the Xbox One.
An eagle-eyed observer recently spotted an S/PDIF optical audio input above the console's storage expansion port during Microsoft's Game Stack Live broadcast. However, the final retail model had already been confirmed not to have this port, and later last night, IGN also followed this up with a company spokesperson at Microsoft. This was the full response:
No. Xbox Series X will include ports for Networking (Ethernet), HDMI out, Seagate Storage Expansion Card and three USB 3.1 ports.
No optical input suggests audio will only be available through the system's HDMI 2.1 port. As a result of this, certain speaker systems and headsets might not be compatible with Xbox Series X, although this has yet to be determined. One example is the Astro A50 wireless dock.
It was also confirmed recently that the Xbox Series X will not feature an IR Blaster, which some accessories – such as the Xbox Media Remote – use to send commands to compatible television sets. Microsoft has instead opted to go with HDMI-CEC controls.
How do you feel about these changes? Let us know in the comments.
[source windowscentral.com]
Comments 2
HDMI-CEC is a no brainer - should have been there with the Xbox One and most certainly the Xbox One X.
As far as optical audio, the whole connection method should just die anyways. Sucks for people with headsets and old receivers, but it's just not relevant anymore for high-quality audio.
I understand that optical audio is an old standard- but I’ve always loved it and using it in my setup. Not a huge deal tho, this console is getting me more hyped every day. This and the ps5, really. Makes me wonder if we will get a switch pro within a couple years.
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