1) The Kinect controller should be placed in line with the centre of your TV as close to the bottom or top of the TV as possible.
Okay, that’s fine. I play the Xbox 360 on the same monitor as my PC, which is too thin to place the sensor on the top, so I can place it underneath. That's a good start.
2) Put as much distance between you and the sensor as possible. The ideal space is about 6 feet away from sensor. You may need 3-4 feet either side to play some games.
I have about 4ft of space behind me in my office/games room. Either side of my large desk I have approximately 4 foot of space one side (ideal) and 1 foot of space the other. So I can leap around in one direction and not the other, which sounds like it's going to be a problem.
3) The Sensor on Kinect tilts down looking for the floor and uses it as a point of reference so you need to have a clear floor space.
Looks like I'm going to have to find somewhere else to store the games that I have in boxes on the floor. Also, Kinect would be sitting on my desk underneath my monitor so I'm not entirely sure how it will be able to tilt down to see the floor because there's a foot of desk space blocking it. If I place it at the end of my desk it's not underneath the monitor anymore and it means I have even less space in my room to stay back the appropriate distance.
4) You should have even lighting in your room.
Not a problem. I play the Xbox 360 in a small room which is well lit.
5) You need a quiet environment for voice recognition.Should be near your Xbox 360 or by your speakers.
The only place I can place Kinect would be near to where my speakers are. I'm also concerned that the girl next door, who likes to play her music loud in the evening and whose bedroom wall is also my office wall, may interfere with the Kinect microphone.
I really do want to experience Kinect but it looks like I'm going to have to relocate to a new room for it to work properly. But even then, if I bring it into my living room I've got the problem of having to move the sofa back to make space, make sure my 2 year old remains quiet while I'm talking, and have to spend time clearing her toys away from the floor so everything is tidy. I haven't had this problem with Wii or PlayStation Move.
Okay, so my issues may be quite extreme but the limitations of my gaming set-up do look like they'll alienate me from being able to enjoy Kinect to its full potential. The Kinect developers, however, have said that the conditions stated in the video are needed for optimal performance. Perhaps Kinect will still perform fine with my set-up, I'll just have to wait and see.
Check out the video...
