Halo Channel

"This is your home for Halo."

- Halo Channel tagline

The Halo Channel is a Halo multimedia hub available exclusively to Xbox One and Windows 8.1 users that was released on November 11, 2014. A spiritual successor to the Halo Waypoint app on the Xbox 360, the Halo Channel contains original content, interactive features, and unlockable content for its users. Original programming and entertainment, such as Halo: Nightfall, are available to all users. The Halo Channel also provides the latest Halo-related news and live events, such as eSports broadcasts. Additionally, players can access any Halo game that they own through the Halo Channel. A version for the Windows Phone 8.1 is in development. It was first introduced at Gamescom 2014.

Overview
The Halo Channel allows its users to watch Halo content, including original programs such as Halo Legends, Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn, Halo: Nightfall, or the upcoming television series by Stephen Spielberg. It also hosts the Halo 2: Anniversary Terminals. Before watching an episode, the Halo Channel provides episode summaries, scenes from the episode, or access to the Halo Encyclopedia for its users. The Halo Channel gives viewers behind the scene looks and videos relating to the creation or bloopers of original Halo programming. Users can create playlists of their favorite scenes or episodes from original Halo programming. Users also have the ability to rate or share scenes from Nightfall or Forward Unto Dawn.

Beginning with Halo: The Master Chief Collection, all Halo Channel users can launch any Halo games from the program or begin any level they choose. Users can seamlessly join friends in any Halo game for the Xbox One. The "Halo Encyclopedia" offers information and content relating to the games or videos the user is watching. Featured videos are also shown on the Halo Channel. Users are given statuses and alerts of events, premieres, and news relating to Halo events, to which they have the option to view or ignore it. Users also have the option to pre-order upcoming Halo games or download Halo media from the Xbox One store, such as the Halo 5: Guardians Multiplayer Beta. The Halo Channel can be accessed from The Master Chief Collection by the "Extras" tab in the main menu.

Community
The Halo Channel allows its users to connect with other Halo players and the community with ease. Users can connect with friends through social media, and share their favorite Halo moments or content. With 343 Industries' new partnership with Twitch, the Halo Channel allows its viewers to watch Halo matches, competitions, broadcasts, or follow other players. Twitch integration allows players to stream competitive multiplayer matches, speedruns, or simple playthroughs of the campaign. Viewers can monitor players in real-time while the Halo Channel displays statistics and data relating to ongoing matches. Users can also participate in interactive community polls and trivia challenges relating to the Halo universe. With the Halo Channel, users can access Twitter or Halo Waypoint. Twitter integration gives the users of the Halo Channel the ability to tweet during ongoing games or favorite the tweets of friends.

The Bulletin
The Bulletin was a community news feature connected to the Halo Channel that replaced the Halo Bulletin. It featured news articles, community spotlights, consumer products, and updates relating to Halo games. Members of the community were able to vote for which weapon they wish to be featured in a weapon breakdown in upcoming episodes of The Bulletin. Episodes of The Bulletin aired weekly. Videos and machinima created by Rooster Teeth, such as Red vs. Blue, were also shown on The Bulletin. 24 episodes, running from November 6, 2014 to September 11, 2015, were produced before it was unexpectedly replaced by the Halo Community Update.

Halo Encyclopedia
The Halo Encyclopedia integration feature allows users to learn about additional information about the scene they are currently watching. In addition, it contains information on the characters, locations, weapons, vehicles, and technology relating to the Halo programming or the Halo game the user is currently watching or playing. The Halo Encyclopedia was created to allow Halo Channel users to accessibly explore the Halo universe. For characters, the Halo Encyclopedia provides a character summary, their biography, and facts such as date of birth or homeworld.

Unlockable content
Halo Channel users can unlock rewards through unknown means from Halo live-action programming. Rewards can also be unlocked by participating in community interactive polls or trivia games relating to the Halo universe. Some of the unlocks can be used to upcoming Halo games, including Halo 5: Guardians.

Each scene has a certain amount of unlockable awards. Some rewards are unlocked through the completion of challenges. Some of these rewards can be used in Halo games. For example, after completing five challenges relating to Halo: Nightfall, a skull for Halo: The Master Chief Collection is unlocked for use in the game's campaign. The skull, Swarm, causes Hunters to do double damage and have triple health. After progressing in a original Halo program, a "Second Story" is unlocked. The Second Story gives viewers canon videos that were not included with the original series. For example, a Second Story entitled "SV-03: Confronting His Loss" features Thomas Lasky struggling to confront the death of his brother, Cadmon. The third episode of Halo: Nightfall contains two out of eight rewards and four Second Stories.