Skype's greatest hope in the living room so far has been Microsoft's Kinect, but it looks like your cable box could get involved soon. A Xfinity-branded webcam from Comcast and Skype just passed through the FCC, and a tipster gave Engadget additional images and details. While Skype is the primary purpose, this thing is far from a dumb camera. There's a whole breakout box that powers it, including an SD card slot, HDMI passthrough, and a full-on remote for the thing, which includes a QWERTY keyboard on the back. It might seem a little overwrought for just making Skype calls, but the exciting part is that you can video chat with your Skype buddies while watching TV — theoretically while watching the same TV show simultaneously, if you both have the full Comcast setup. It's not quite virtual cuddling on a virtual couch, but it's a start.
Comcast Xfinity ‘Astro’ Skype webcam leaked, lets you video chat on top of live TV
A Xfinity-branded webcam from Comcast and Skype just passed through the FCC.
A Xfinity-branded webcam from Comcast and Skype just passed through the FCC.
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