Watch Over The Air TV on an Xbox One
Did you know that your Xbox One can be used for more than just playing games? If you have an Xbox One it can be used to watch over the air television channels. OTA TV is a great way to cut the cable bill and receive free broadcast television. The Xbox One also allows you to watch online content using many popular streaming apps. This would allow you to make your gaming console into a powerful media center. Let’s take a look at how this is achieved.
Xbox One Over The Air TV
The Xbox One is a powerful system that has a fast central and graphics processor. This allows it to handle multiple tasks, including processing OTA TV signals. It also has a channel guide to see what is on TV and you can pause and rewind live television. There is no DVR functionality built-in and Microsoft does not plan on adding any capabilities at this time. There are other alternatives for recording OTA shows that will be discussed later. To watch OTA channels the Xbox One will need an external tuner. It can be added by plugging the OTA tuner into the Xbox USB port. The setup is simple.
Adding a USB Tuner
Adding a USB tuner is as easy as plugging it into one of the Xbox One’s USB ports and following the setup guide. The only OTA tuner that is compatible is the Hauppauge Digital TV Tuner for Xbox One.
Where to Buy:
Hauppauge Digital TV Tuner for Xbox One is available at these retailers:
eBay:
Hauppauge Digital TV Tuner for Xbox One
Hauppauge:
Hauppauge Digital TV Tuner for Xbox One
Amazon:
Hauppauge Digital TV Tuner for Xbox One
Optional Media Remote
You can also add a media remote. This can be used in place of your game controller. The media remote can change channels, pause live TV and turn your console on and off. It’s a nice added feature that will give your game console a more functional feel.
This method is great if you just want to watch OTA TV from your Xbox. In some cases, you may have a monitor or TV that does not have a built-in tuner. This could work well in those situations.
DVR Options
If you are looking to add DVR functionality then you will need a different setup which would involve using a specific type of tuner that does not plug into the Xbox One. The tuner would be an external box that you plug in an OTA antenna. This box is connected to your wireless network and then you would stream the OTA content to the Xbox. Here are some options.
SiliconDust HDHomeRun
The SiliconDust HDHomeRun has 4 tuners to record OTA content. You can stream to multiple devices through your home. Stream recorded or live OTA shows to a laptop, tablet, smartphone, or Xbox One. It comes with a channel guide to schedule your recordings and view TV show descriptions. You can also pause and rewind live and recorded TV. Just download and install the HDHomeRun app to your device of choice and start watching.
Tablo Dual LITE OTA DVR
The Tablo Dual LITE OTA DVR can record up to 8 TB of OTA content to an external hard drive. It also allows you to stream content to multiple devices including an Xbox One. The Tablo DVR has a channel guide to schedule and view recordings. It connects to your wireless network so you can stream content to wireless devices throughout the home.
Conclusion
As you can see, the Xbox One can be used for more than just playing video games. Free OTA television is not just limited to a television with a tuner. There are many ways in which one can watch OTA TV on many devices. To find out more ways to achieve this please explore some of our articles on this website.
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