Microsoft's new Xbox One S and Sony's PlayStation 4 'Slim' have bucked the generational gaming console trend. While one is a slimmer version of an already great console, the other is a massive. Xbox One HDD Upgrade or Repair: Build a 2TB, 1TB, or 500GB drive that works on any Xbox One Console This article is best used if your Xbox One doesn't have a working hard drive. However, if you are just looking to upgrade your internal hard drive use the tutorial link above. WHAT THIS IS.
Microsoft has downplayed the Xbox One’s TV features since its launch, but the Xbox One still offers useful TV integration. It’s even been enhanced: You no longer need a cable or satellite subscription to watch TV. You can watch TV for free with an antenna.
If you have an Xbox One, you should seriously consider setting up the TV integration. Microsoft clearly spent a lot of time on this stuff.
What You’ll Need
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You can watch traditional TV on your Xbox One in one of two ways:
- With a Cable or Satellite Subscription: If you have cable or satellite TV service, you can connect your Xbox One to your cable box. You hook everything up so that the Xbox One can control your cable box by sending infrared signals, and you can watch TV directly on your Xbox One.
- With an Antenna: If you don’t pay for TV, you can now use an antenna to watch free, over-the-air (OTA) TV on your Xbox One. You just need an adapter. The only officially supported adapter for this in the USA and Canada is the Hauppauge Digital TV Tuner for Xbox One. It comes with a basic antenna, but you may need a better antenna to receive a stronger signal, depending on how far you are from your local broadcasting towers (see this guide for more info). For other countries, Microsoft makes its own “Xbox One Digital TV Tuner“. Don’t ask us why Microsoft doesn’t make its own tuner for the USA and Canada.
Of course, there are other ways to watch videos on your Xbox One. You could use apps from services like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, and HBO. There’s also Sling TV, which streams TV channels to you over the Internet. These apps no longer require an Xbox Live Gold subscription, as they did when the Xbox One was released. However, you will have to pay for a subscription for each service you want to watch.
How to Set Up TV Integration on an Xbox One
To set everything up, open the OneGuide app on your Xbox One. The Xbox One’s TV features are located here and can be accessed from this app.
OneGuide may point you towards apps for service like YouTube and Netflix, but you can press the menu button and select “Set Up Live TV” if you aren’t prompted to.
You’ll be prompted to set up a cable or satellite box, or a USB TV tuner. If you have a cable or satellite box, you’ll need to plug the HDMI cable from your cable or satellite box into the back of your Xbox One instead of directly into your TV. If you have a USB TV tuner, you’ll need to connect the USB tuner to one of the USB ports on your Xbox One–either one of the two on the front of the one on the side–and connect the antenna to that USB tuner.
After you do, you’ll select the “Set up your cable or satellite box” or “Set up your USB TV tuner” options.
If you’re setting up a cable or satellite box, your Xbox One will attempt to find the HDMI input and prompt you to confirm it recognizes the correct device.
However, you’re setting up over-the-air TV, you’ll be prompted to enter your ZIP code. OneGuide will then be able to find a local channel guide for your area, so it knows what’s playing on your nearby channels. Then it will scan for nearby channels you can receive with a clear signal.
Next, you can choose to enable pausing live TV. This allows you to pause, rewind, and fast forward up to 30 minutes of live TV. It appears to work automatically, but your Xbox One is really just recording the TV in the background so you can seamlessly watch it. This takes 4GB of hard disk space, but it’s a useful feature you should leave enabled unless you desperately need the space. You can always change this option later in the OneGuide app’s settings.
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If you have a Kinect, you’ll then be prompted to set up TV integration. Your Xbox One can turn on your TV when you say “Xbox, On” and you can control your TV’s volume with Kinect voice commands. This does require a Kinect, as the Kinect itself will send infrared (IR) signals to your TV to power it on and control its volume. Your Kinect sends the same TV signals your TV remote does.
To do this, you’ll need to go through the wizard and provide the brand of your TV. It will then attempt to send mute, volume up, and volume down commands to your TV. You’ll need to tell the Xbox One whether the signals it sent was successful, as it has no way of knowing.
If the Kinect can’t communicate with your home theater equipment, you may need an IR extension cable.
When it’s done, you’ll be asked if you want to let your Xbox One track the TV shows you watch so it can provide you with personalized recommendations in the Xbox OneGuide app. That’s up to you.
You can then choose your “start setting”–you can have your Xbox One start up watching TV or go to the home dashboard by default. The TV integration will then be set up.
How to Watch TV on Your Xbox One
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To watch TV, just open the OneGuide app. You can then use your Xbox One controller or Kinect voice commands to control TV playback and switch between channels. You can also open the OneGuide menu and select “TV Listings” to view a full TV guide.
TV can be snapped alongside a game you’re playing, so you can watch TV and play a game at the same time. Just use the Xbox One’s Snap feature to snap the OneGuide app.
Microsoft is reportedly working on a DVR feature that will allow you to record shows and play them later. This feature will apparently only work with OTA TV via an antenna, too.
(Update: Microsoft announced that the DVR feature is now “on hold” for the foreseeable feature shortly after we published this article. Unless Microsoft announces another change of plans, we wouldn’t be surprised if the DVR feature is never released.)
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Xbox One X vs PS4 Pro – Which is the 4K Winner?
PS4 Pro and Xbox One X mark a huge shift in console gaming. Console generations have been moved aside in favour of an iterative hardware mode. At least, that’s what the picture is like right now before the PS5 and Xbox Two finally show their cards.
Both machines will support all existing PS4 and Xbox One titles respectively while adding plenty of new features and hardware improvements such as increased performance, resolution and graphical features.
Let’s be very clear: these consoles are very different offerings that aren’t exact side-by-side rivals. While they both offer 4K gaming, they fill different parts of the market due to their different pricing. Still, a side-by-side look at specs never did anybody any harm, did it?
Xbox One X vs PS4 Pro – Price and release date
PS4 Pro launched in November 2016, retailing at £349.99. Sony’s upgraded console is pretty good value considering its specs.
The Xbox One X, launched on 7 November, 2017 for £449/$499. That’s not a massive leap up from the PS4 Pro, but it is still a jump that some people might not be willing to make.
Xbox One X vs PS4 Pro – Processor
Xbox One X: 8-core, 2.3GHz processor
PS4 Pro: 8-core, 2.13GHz processor
PS4 Pro is using an improved version of the original model’s chip with a slightly boosted clock speed. The Pro now runs at an impressive 2.13GHz, while the vanilla console lags behind at 1.6.
The One X meanwhile, has stolen a bit of a march on the Pro and has a slightly faster processor, but the real meat comparison lies in the graphics comparison.
Xbox One X vs PS4 Pro – Graphics
Xbox One X: 6 TFLOPS, 326GB/s, 12GB GDDR5
PS4 Pro: 4.12 TFLOPS, 218 GB/s, 8GB GDDR5
First, some jargon-busting: TFLOPs stands for trillion floating point operations per second, the simplest way of measuring graphical horsepower. GB/s is the bandwidth of that memory, which tells you how quickly the GPU can move frames through the memory and out to your display. The more memory, the more high-resolution textures the GPU can quickly access at any one time, increasing performance.
Related: Best PS4 Games
The PS4 Pro possesses 8GB of GDDR5 with an additional 1GB of RAM set aside for handling background processes. The Xbox One X nets a full 12GB of GDDR5. Both consoles will share their memory between the GPU and CPU, although how much each gets is unknown.
How will this affect gaming?
Technical jargon aside, this difference in graphics power will make a difference when it comes to both consoles’ 4K chops. Microsoft is aiming for full, native 4K at 60fps, while not all PS4 Pro games meet that specification. Some games run at 30fps in 4K, while others manage full 60fps performance at full, native 4K. The rest are a combination of games that only run at 30fps/4K, or render at sub-4K and use clever upscaling techniques to appear 4K.
Technical jargon aside, this difference in graphics power will make a difference when it comes to both consoles’ 4K chops. Microsoft is aiming for full, native 4K at 60fps, while not all PS4 Pro games meet that specification. Some games run at 30fps in 4K, while others manage full 60fps performance at full, native 4K. The rest are a combination of games that only run at 30fps/4K, or render at sub-4K and use clever upscaling techniques to appear 4K.
All Xbox One games will run better on One X, whether or not they’ve been specifically updated to do so. You’ll be able to play One X games at Full HD, too, with the choice as to whether you want to downscale from Ultra HD resolution for ultra-sharp graphics, or run games at 1080p for better performance.
This is notably different to the PS4 Pro, which has a habit of hiding these settings from you unless you’ve specifically opted to run their console at Full HD only.
Related: Best Xbox One Games
Xbox One X vs PS4 Pro – Games and content
Microsoft has also confirmed Xbox One backwards compatibility will roll over to the One X. The service currently has more than 300 titles, which is nothing to sniff at.
There will be no One X-exclusive titles with the exception of experiences that support certain virtual reality peripherals – support for which still remains unconfirmed.
Like UHD Blu-rays? Xbox One X will support ’em, along with Dolby Atmos. PS4 Pro only supports HD Blu-rays and there’s no Dolby Atmos support. But both consoles will support the HDR 10 standard on both.
Xbox One X vs PS4 Pro – Conclusion
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Since launch, the PS4 Pro has come into its own with an assortment of improved specs and the newly implemented Boost Mode. Introduced in PS4 update 4.50, this new feature amps up the performance of all PS4 games to varying degrees, enhancing some titles by almost 40%. It’s the best PS4 iteration on the market today, although it’s not entirely worth it for those without a 4K display.
However, the Xbox One X is just a better performer. It’s pricier, and launched at £450/$499, and it doesn’t have quite the library that you get with the PlayStation Pro, but it has more bells and whistles (the 4K Blu-Ray player is an incredible get), better performance and with Microsoft’s seemingly never-ending quest to add every game from the Xbox’s past to the back compatibility catalogue, it’s getting a fearsome collection of classics on the platform too.
There’s no clear winner here, but if you like cracking single player exclusives, the PS4 Pro is a solid buy. If you’re in this solely for the pixels, or you want to share your games between PC and Xbox with just a single purchase, the Xbox One X is a better performer and benefits from a shared game library with the PC on many of its new releases.
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