Foxtel on Xbox 360 now offers voice, gesture control

Subscribers to Foxtel on Xbox 360 can now control the service via voice and gesture controls, in addition to using their Xbox controller.

To use the new feature, users will have to agree to update their software, while a Microsoft Kinect device is required to do all the grunt work behind the voice recognition and recognising gestures.

This CNET Australia writer feels a bit daft talking to inanimate objects, but this feature might come in handy for those who regularly lose their Xbox controller in between sofa cushions.

A less touted aspect of this software update is that the parental controls for Foxtel on Xbox can now be viewed and set directly on the Xbox itself — previously, users have had to use a laptop or tablet's web browser to fiddle with these settings.