Xbox One stuck on game DVR resolution, frames per second settings

Xbox One Halo Master Chief
May be disparity between games and gameplay recording

The Xbox One can record gameplay much like a DVR, but Marc Whitten, Microsoft's chief Xbox One platform architect, revealed yesterday that it has some limits.

We already knew that the Xbox One's DVR can lock down the last five minutes of gameplay (10 less than the PS4) and can record on the fly in 30-second bursts.

But Whitten revealed to IGN that the console's recordings are stuck at 720p and 30 frames per second.

Of course the Xbox One can play games at much higher speeds, like 60fps, and resolutions (including 4K!) but don't expect your recorded clips to look that good.

Instant replay

"Game DVR captures beautiful clips at 720p 30fps," Whitten responded in IGN's Q&A. He added that these clips are stored in the cloud, which may account in part for why quality is limited.

"Also, you'll see games making 'magic moment' videos of your gameplay based on the game DVR functionality - all seamlessly integrated," he added.

"You'll be able to see these clips in the Xbox One Guide, in your own game DVR collection, and when you are looking at gamercards on the system. You'll also see games take advantage of this platform capability and do interesting things to integrate captured game footage into the game experience itself."

Sounds like some games will feature spontaneous instant replays, no?

Whitten also clarified in the Q&A that Xbox users' avatars will transfer over to the Xbox One, that smaller digital games will no longer be categorized as "Xbox Live Arcade" titles, and that if the same game is released on both Xbox 360 and Xbox One, the disparate versions will have separate sets of achievements.

Michael Rougeau

Michael Rougeau is a former freelance news writer for TechRadar. Studying at Goldsmiths, University of London, and Northeastern University, Michael has bylines at Kotaku, 1UP, G4, Complex Magazine, Digital Trends, GamesRadar, GameSpot, IFC, Animal New York, @Gamer, Inside the Magic, Comic Book Resources, Zap2It, TabTimes, GameZone, Cheat Code Central, Gameshark, Gameranx, The Industry, Debonair Mag, Kombo, and others.

Micheal also spent time as the Games Editor for Playboy.com, and was the managing editor at GameSpot before becoming an Animal Care Manager for Wags and Walks.

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