We had a chance to go eyes-on with a live demonstration of Microsoft's recently announced Xbox TV service, which will add live and on-demand video content from dozens of channels and providers. Three of our editors got together afterwards to discuss what they saw.

RYAN McCAFFREY, SENIOR EDITOR AND DIRECTV SUBSCRIBER: Microsoft has long admitted to wanting to take over the living room. Their next step in that attempt is Xbox TV, which will add a mix of on-demand and live TV programming through your 360, depending on which service provider you have. On paper, is this compelling to you guys?

KEVIN SMITH, FEATURES EDITOR AND NETFLIX INSTANT & HULU PLUS SUBSCRIBER: It'd be more compelling if I could just order the On Demand stuff straight through Xbox Live without having to have a proper cable subscription. I already don't subscribe to cable because I don't want to subscribe to cable. Right now I'm working with Hulu Plus and Netflix Instant and it's getting me by, but I had a lot higher hopes for the Xbox TV deals than what I've seen from the Verizon FiOS plans.

RYAN: But can you even get Verizon FiOS at your residence? We all live in a major, tech-happy city (San Francisco), and my last two addresses have not had FiOS available...

KEVIN: I don't believe so, but Microsoft also has a deal with Comcast, though that's going to be on-demand content only. No live TV.

DAVE RUDDEN, WEB EDITOR AND NETFLIX INSTANT SUBSCRIBER: I'm in the same boat as Kevin. In order for the new cable services to be appealing to me, they need to offer lower prices and nix the cable box concept. Paying a cable company to rent a piece of machinery just doesn't jibe with me. The Xbox has the power, and can present the programming in a pretty unique way, so the cable companies should be working to get new "Xbox-only" customers.

RYAN: Right. So you guys both get all your TV content online, and thus to use Xbox TV you'd have to go out and get a TV provider — complete with the monthly fee and the cable box you mention. Me? I have DirecTV, which isn't ever going to be a part of this service because it isn't IP-based. The point being: this is pretty useless to all of us, isn't it? With not much chance of it winning over any of us as it's currently structured?

DAVE: I'm actually of the mindset that right now is the best time to snare a customer like myself. You're only offering 25 or so channels at the outset (some of the most popular, mind you, but still), but you can use that to lure people in at a lower price. If Comcast could sell me that 25-channel package, through my Xbox, for $20 a month, I'd strongly consider it. Ninety dollars a month for some overwrought "Triple Play" package that includes a landline home phone (why are companies still pimping that?) is out of my range, especially considering that's a temporary price that'll probably jump $30-40 after the introductory period.

KEVIN: I'd do that too — I'd probably drop Hulu Plus then, which I'm paying like $8 a month for right now.

RYAN: You make an interesting proposition. Kevin, $20-ish per month is probably what you're paying now for your two services, right?

KEVIN: Yeah, basically for Hulu Plus and Netflix Instant it's in that ballpark...Did they mention anything like being able to just subscribe to certain channel apps, or is it all for current cable subscribers?

RYAN: It's all for current cable subscribers. So correct me if I'm wrong, but it sounds like we're all saying that the onus is on the cable companies to get with the times — that it's not so much Microsoft that's to blame for offering a limited product here?

KEVIN: Yeah, and that pisses me off, because it's not anything new, really, at all.

DAVE: I'm guessing some of the reason we're only getting 25 Verizon channels and none of Comcast's (in lieu of their On-Demand service) has to be that the Xbox isn't a dedicated cable box, so there's going to some trial and error in getting the cable content on a videogame console. Like I said before, it's actually a blessing in disguise if the companies want to offer attractive extended trial rates.

RYAN: Bottom line it for me then, guys: you're both going to stick to piece-mealing your TV content online, then? I know I'm going to stick with DirecTV for the time being, though if HBO and Microsoft could let me subscribe JUST to HBO Go for $4.99 per month, I'd jump at the chance.

KEVIN: Me too on HBO, but yeah, this thing just sounds like an incredible missed opportunity to me on Microsoft's part, honestly. If I wanted to subscribe to cable, I'd just get a box with a DVR.

DAVE: My plan is to continue piece-mealing it. I've got Netflix, I'll probably re-subscribe to Hulu soon (now that they've added Community to the console-based streaming service), and I'll be buying a UFC PPV or two during the year. If SyFy can offer a really cheap price to have access to their campy movie library (say, $25 a year), I could be in to that too. That's honestly the way I see cable channels working in the future, in a much more a la carte fashion. The Xbox can still be a part of that, but right now it's in a weird purgatory.