This Xbox Kinect review looks at the different components that make it such a fun piece of technology.

Black Box Hardware: Xbox Kinect Review Part I

The hardware is a combination of several distinctive technologies including an infrared sensor, a CMOS sensor, and an RGB camera. The infrared sensor floods the gaming space with invisible light and enables depth perception in conjunction with the CMOS sensor. The sensor detects how infrared light reflects off the scene and transfers these grayscale images to the console. This also enables motion detection in 3D space.

The RGB camera is used for facial recognition as well as in-game snapshots and video chat. These cameras are paired with four capsule microphones that have the ability to detect where your voice is coming from, as well as remove background noise. The console is also equipped with a motorized sensor that adjusts based on the users height and distance from the console.

When we took the unit out of the box for our Xbox Kinect review, the first thing we noticed was how light it was. The heaviest part of the console is the base, which is trivial because it needs to support the entire system. The overall size of the unit makes it difficult to mount on most flat screen TVs. However, a bracket can be purchased separately to make mounting easier. The drive is glossy black, a perfect match for its counterpart, the Xbox 360 S, with which it was designed to work. You simply need to plug the drive into the Xbox 360 S expansion port and you’re almost ready to go. So far we have covered the hardware components in our Xbox Kinect review, next is the setup.

Booting the System: Xbox Kinect Review Part II

To carry out Xbox Kinect review, we need to configure our system. As mentioned above, all you need to do is unpack the drive and plug it into the expansion port. The software will take care of the rest of the setup. The first time you turn on the unit, after connecting it to the Xbox, a welcome screen will appear to serve as a starting point for the guided setup. There are several steps that are performed on each screen. Most of them are used to calibrate the system, remove background noise, and create an acoustic map of the room you are using.

The next stage of setup was the Kinect ID. It is a method to recognize the user and log in automatically. The process is done by posing in front of the sensor and copying the avatar’s poses on the screen. This process depends on the size of the work and may require you to pose in several different areas. This process in the Xbox Kinect review takes a few minutes and it took the tester more than 20 minutes to complete all the steps. It turned out that it was necessary to remove the glasses to make a better facial match. Overall, the entire experience exceeded our standards for the Xbox Kinect review.