Xbox one things you should know before buying.

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suade907

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Ok so I have my new xbox one all setup and have played with it for a few hours. Here are a few things you might want to know before buying.

1. The hdmi from your directv or cable will not pass through if the xbox one is off. I was surprised no reviews I had read mentioned this. I find this very alarming for me. Why? Because my wife hates technology and couldn't figure out how to turn on this setup to save her life. Your probably thinking, why? All you have to say is "xbox on" and it turns on everything, but for me that's not exactly the case. My setup turns on the directv fine but my tv does not always turn on or off and even so she still would have to say "xbox go to tv" and with the voice recognition being so spotty she will want to kill me if it didn't work. Suffice it to say I was a little disappointed by that. In the end I setup a input on my tv using component cables for her and named it her name so she could remember which one was for her.

Also some sd channels on my setup have a line of static across the top of the screen that are not present normally. Somehow the passthru has added that. I calibrated my tv but it still has it.

2. The xbox one cannot play recorded dvd+r's this is something the ps4 can do with no problems for those who care.

3. Forza 5 looks and plays incredible but has slow last gen loading times. Not a big deal but annoying nonetheless. The rumble triggers are very nice.

4. The operating system looks amazing but seems very cumbersome.

Thats all I got for now I thought the hdmi pass thru and dvd playback might be important to some people.
 
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Audio Copying Cds is a minus or Media Server Sharing is a bust that supposably is changing soon but can recognize cps and play them. only 2 demos.

 
The HDMI passthrough that people are complaining about is just plain common sense.  Any device that does pass throughs has to be turned on use.  Biggest example is an audio receiver.  I didn't hook my Xbox One up to my cable box because I didn't want it run it on standby all day long. 

I couldn't disagree with more about your comment on the UI.  It is very easy to use.  The only learning curve is the voice commands for Kinect. 

 
The voice commands for the kinect are part of the ui. Hence being so cumbersome. They are very spotty and you really have to talk much louder than a normal conversational tone. Google tv did not need to be on to pass thru if I remember correctly.

On the flip side I found that the xbox one will play dvd+r's but you need the bluray app installed for it to work.
 
Not sure what the complaints are for the voice recognition for commands.  I have a very southern accent that a lot of speech programs have issues with, including the speech to text programs on phones, and the new connect does wonderfully for me.

 
lordopus99 said:
The HDMI passthrough that people are complaining about is just plain common sense. Any device that does pass throughs has to be turned on use. Biggest example is an audio receiver. I didn't hook my Xbox One up to my cable box because I didn't want it run it on standby all day long.

I couldn't disagree with more about your comment on the UI. It is very easy to use. The only learning curve is the voice commands for Kinect.
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Wrong, most audio receivers don't need to be on for pass through. They only need to be on to power the speakers. My 3 year old mid range Onkyo(an RC270) and a 1 year old Yamaha( a 401BL, which is a mid/high end speaker bar with AirSurround and a receiver unit that has a built in sub) both due this, if your TV is semi smart it switch to it's own speakers when the AV unit is off.
 
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6er said:
Wrong, most audio receivers don't need to be on for pass through. They only need to be on to power the speakers. My 3 year old mid range Onkyo(an RC270) and a 1 year old Yamaha( a 401BL, which is a mid/high end speaker bar with AirSurround and a receiver unit that has a built in sub) both due this, if your TV is semi smart it switch to it's own speakers when the AV unit is off.
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This. I have an Onkyo also and it can remain off. In fact, most receivers do this. I'm not sure where the hell lordopus99 got that information at.

 
I have a Denon Receiver and it does not need to be on for pass through, only to power the speakers. If i turn the TV on and not the AVR, it will switch to TV speakers.

 
jthiel said:
I have a Denon Receiver and it does not need to be on for pass through, only to power the speakers. If i turn the TV on and not the AVR, it will switch to TV speakers.
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Kind of a reasonable expectation then for a $500 device from a company that has had a history of reliability issues to employ this feature then. I'm not in the market for a next gen system for at least a year, but I do think that's a fair point for people to be aware of.

It would definitely cause me to just not make use of the pass through feature (which was obviously one selling point for Microsoft). Being required to turn on your Xbox One every time you want to watch TV is pretty wasteful...not only in terms of electricity usage...but the console's lifespan as well.

 
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I'm surprised anyone is surprised it needs to be powered on for pass-through. It wants you controlling it with Kinect or at least their controls. They have a guide, it's designed to be used this way.

You can get an HDMI splitter for 8 bucks on Amazon if you want to plug your cable box into the Xbox One and plug it in to your existing way if watching it.
 
Agree on that.  They're pushing the Kinect voice commands, their guide etc. for the TV experience, so it doesn't make since to allow passthrough with the console off.  They want people to use it, like it and further their goal of taking over the home theater experience.

If one doesn't want to use that stuff, why bother hooking the cable/sat box up to the X1 in the first place?  I guess some have issues with not having enough HDMI ports in their set up.  Other than that, I'd say just try the TV features, and if you don't like them just go back to hooking your cable/sat box back up to your receiver/tv directly.

 
That's all well and good. But there's still nothing wrong with giving people options. Requiring you to turn the unit on any time you (or another household member) wants to watch TV is a poor design choice and could easily jeopardize the reliability of the system.. Arguing otherwise starts to verge on fanboyism.

That doesn't make the Xbox One a terrible console. It just makes that feature less appealing. Sure, the idea is to use the voice commands and whatnot...but not every single person needs to do that every single time they watch TV. That's just how I feel about it.
 
n8rockerasu said:
That's all well and good. But there's still nothing wrong with giving people options. Requiring you to turn the unit on any time you (or another household member) wants to watch TV is a poor design choice and could easily jeopardize the reliability of the system.. Arguing otherwise starts to verge on fanboyism.

That doesn't make the Xbox One a terrible console. It just makes that feature less appealing. Sure, the idea is to use the voice commands and whatnot...but not every single person needs to do that every single time they watch TV. That's just how I feel about it.
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Definitely not a fanboy. Pretty sure I'll never buy an X1 as I hate pretty much everything they've done with it.

Just saying they care more about getting people using it for TV, movies etc. while connected to the net so they can track things and target ads to users as advertisers pay a lot more for targeted ads, than they do giving users options. That's where they think they can get a big revenue stream and maybe get the Xbox division making big profits.

So of course they're not going to allow pass-through with it off as it kills their ability to track what people are watching etc. I think it's lame, but nothing owners can do other than live with it or just not hook their cable/sat boxes up to it if they don't think the voice commands, guide etc. are worth having to have the console on to watch TV.

 
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My HD channels look far less HD when they pass through my Xbox One.  It's pretty noticeable on my 55" TV.  Anyone else experiencing this?

 
bgame2 said:
My HD channels look far less HD when they pass through my Xbox One. It's pretty noticeable on my 55" TV. Anyone else experiencing this?
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Some people seem to be, mine looks exactly the same for most channels but like NBC looks a little off. I think the picture quality problems with the pass through are a cable provider/cable box/network problem with individual cases being different. I'm almost certain it's not your actual Xbox One.

People who want to check picture quality to make sure it's the actual cable box, etc and not the machine, put a blu ray player into the HDMI in and see if the quality suffers. It shouldn't.
 
Also is there a way to tell it to watch a specific directv channel such as channel 705 - NFLHD (one of several)?   Sure it's easy to say watch HBO but I can't figure out the specific non-big name channels. 

Thanks.

 
dmaul1114 said:
Definitely not a fanboy. Pretty sure I'll never buy an X1 as I hate pretty much everything they've done with it.

Just saying they care more about getting people using it for TV, movies etc. while connected to the net so they can track things and target ads to users as advertisers pay a lot more for targeted ads, than they do giving users options. That's where they think they can get a big revenue stream and maybe get the Xbox division making big profits.

So of course they're not going to allow pass-through with it off as it kills their ability to track what people are watching etc. I think it's lame, but nothing owners can do other than live with it or just not hook their cable/sat boxes up to it if they don't think the voice commands, guide etc. are worth having to have the console on to watch TV.
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Be that as it may, it's short-sighted. When I put PBS on for my daughter, I have no need to boot up a gaming console. When my wife gets home from work and wants to watch something on the DVR, she has no need to turn on a gaming console. Sooo...Microsoft's "plan" for it can be whatever they want. That doesn't mean it fits the needs and lifestyles of different people.

So...the end result would be me not using it AT ALL, when in fact, I may have had some use or even enjoyed using it some of the time. The insistence on a 100% on component is getting in their own way in my example. Obviously, that's not going to be the case for everyone. But I don't think it's unreasonable to think that people might want to use the TV who don't need/want to use the Xbox One. You can say "Microsoft doesn't care about those people"...and that's fine. But the consumer will be judging them on those merits.

 
n8rockerasu said:
. You can say "Microsoft doesn't care about those people"...and that's fine. But the consumer will be judging them on those merits.
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That's exactly what I was saying. I think MS is taking a gamble on losing people like you not using the TV features at all for the reasons you list, and people like me never buying the console at all, because they think they'll make more in targeted ad revenue from people who use it for 100% of their home theater usage (games, TV, Blurays etc.).

I think that's why they wanted the always online, 24 hour check in stuff more than DRM. They want people using the X1 for all their media stuff, and they want them doing it will connected to the Net so they can gather info and deliver targeted ads. Companies have seen how much Google has made from targeting ads based on search histories and are trying to find ways to jump on that cash wagon.

 
Blaster man said:
My setup isn't even expensive and it does passthrough with the receiver powered off.

http://www.amazon.com/Onkyo-HT-S3500-5-1-Channel-Theater-Receiver/dp/B0077V88V8/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1385353907&sr=8-3&keywords=onkyo
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The receiver is not off, it is on standby. If you don't believe me, pull the plug and let me know if it works.

That said, the X1 not being able to run HDMI passthrough when turned off/standby is inexcusable. Then again as Dmaul stated above, I'm not sure why you would run your cable through X1 unless you were planning on using the Kinect features.

 
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an important thing you should know if you have an older TV;

you're looking at $1000 at least to go next gen now.. you need an HDTV. there's no composite input (for either new console)

bit of a kick in the nuts for this frugal gamer.. my old tv works fine, so i've no need to spend $600 on a new one.. but now if i want net gen i need a new tv first. :whistle2:(

almost thinking a new pc may be my next gen  ;)

and bgame; though nobody mentioned sales, don't nkow why you brought it up.. but it's had to compare as sony isn't worldwide.

really, who cares though.. be nice if we culled fanboyism this gen

 
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That does suck money wise for sure.

But honestly, I'd advise anyone who doesn't have a decent HDTV to skip the next gen consoles for a while and upgrade that first.

Having a big HDTV is a HUGE improvement for gaming, tv, movies and sports.  An old TV just can't compare with a decent sized, 1080p wide screen set.  You're missing a huge part of the experience if you're gaming (other than retro gaming of course), watching movies etc. on an old 4:3 SDTV IMO.

Part of why I decided to wait a while on a next gen machine (other than Wii U anyway) is I opted to upgrade from my old 720p rear projection set to a 1080p 3D set this spring.  Also upgraded my receiver and speakers a few months prior to that. Along with a bunch of other expenses this fall/winter (trips, engagement ring, furniture for new place, moving costs etc.).

Anyway, I guess it kind of sucks for people without HDTVs.  But given that all these consoles really offer over their predecessors is better HD graphics, I'm not sure I really see a point in upgrading if one couldn't take advantage of that and was just going to use composite anyway.  Just enjoy games on older consoles for a bit while pinching pennies to take the HDTV plunge and upgrade all your media experiences.

Or just grab a cheap one during a black friday sale this week.  If you're still on an old SDTV, you obviously don't care about having a huge screen.  So you should be able to grab a decent 32-42" set for well under the cost of these new consoles.  And can then buy one down the road when more games are out, and can enjoy playing your current consoles in HD finally.

 
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Yeah...I don't get the TV argument anymore. Maybe 5 years ago, I could understand. But when you can get this 50" Sharp TV for $399, I can't consider it a reasonable argument anymore.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/sharp-50-class-49-1-2-diag--led-1080p-120hz-hdtv/8976104.p?id=1218960138258&skuId=8976104

If you have any interest at all in digital entertainment, movies, games, whatever...this is a no brainer. 27" CRT TVs used to cost this much. $400 for a TV is nothing. If that's out of your price range, talking about next-gen gaming is silly.

 
With all the hours of gaming and TV I do in a week, I'm not too keen on keeping the console on during TV sessions.  With how huge the box is you'd figure it's meant to be on 24/7 but I don't see the need to turn on an electrical unit for the sake of voice commands.  Given the marginal benefit, it just seems redundant to me.  But to be fair, I've yet to really try it out myself since this next gen has a really weak lineup.  I'll make the jump next year. 
 
I had the box on for 15 straight hours this weekend and when I put my hand on it to check the temperature it wasn't even warm.
 
DestroVega said:
I had the box on for 15 straight hours this weekend and when I put my hand on it to check the temperature it wasn't even warm.
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I'm trying to remember, didn't somebody open one up a while back to show that it has like 2 giant ass fans in it? I'm pretty sure that's why the box is so big. Now, they just have to make sure the fans stay working and aren't prone to the problem that cgarb experienced.

 
I wont be getting one for a while anyways. I just don't have the money for it anyways so I'd rather wait a year or two years before purchasing one, and I figure by that time the big problems will be fixed. 

 
n8rockerasu said:
Yeah...I don't get the TV argument anymore. Maybe 5 years ago, I could understand. But when you can get this 50" Sharp TV for $399, I can't consider it a reasonable argument anymore.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/sharp-50-class-49-1-2-diag--led-1080p-120hz-hdtv/8976104.p?id=1218960138258&skuId=8976104

If you have any interest at all in digital entertainment, movies, games, whatever...this is a no brainer. 27" CRT TVs used to cost this much. $400 for a TV is nothing. If that's out of your price range, talking about next-gen gaming is silly.
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I have a HDTV, bought in 2006, and it's a CRT. It's one of the last tube TV's ever made, it has no HDMI input, and it weighs about 100 pounds or more. It works perfectly with my 360/ps3/dvd player, and it cost about 300 dollars when I bought it (I bought it because the 360 had just released and stores were sold out). To replace a perfectly good tv just to play the one/ps4 is a HUGE expense just to be able to hook up a new system. If $400 is nothing to you then you can buy me a new TV and not blink at the expense. I can afford a PS4 IF I sell off my entire Transformers toy collection, to afford a $400 tv on top of that is impossible.

 
With all due respect, if you have to sell off stuff to buy a console, you shouldn't be considering buying a console or tv anyway.  Those are luxury purchases one should only make once they have a rainy day fund saved up etc.

And as I said above, I'd 100% save up and buy a decent TV before getting a new console in any case.  One can't really be any kind of a true enthusiast of gaming (or movies, tv, sports etc.) without a decent 16x9 TV to display content on.

 
dmaul1114 said:
With all due respect, if you have to sell off stuff to buy a console, you shouldn't be considering buying a console or tv anyway. Those are luxury purchases one should only make once they have a rainy day fund saved up etc.

And as I said above, I'd 100% save up and buy a decent TV before getting a new console in any case. One can't really be any kind of a true enthusiast of gaming (or movies, tv, sports etc.) without a decent 16x9 TV to display content on.
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I find that funny, poor people want entertainment too you know (I should try getting on welfare so I can buy both consoles AND a new tv). And what the hell is a True Enthusiast? I just want to play games, I don't give a rats ass if it's in super HD or on my old HDTV from 2006 without HDMI. As long as it doesn't look like I'm playing a NES game I don't care about super HD quality. And my old TV is widescreen, 1080i, 720p. There's no reason I should have to buy a new tv to play a new console.

 
Dude009 said:
an important thing you should know if you have an older TV;

you're looking at $1000 at least to go next gen now.. you need an HDTV. there's no composite input (for either new console)

bit of a kick in the nuts for this frugal gamer.. my old tv works fine, so i've no need to spend $600 on a new one.. but now if i want net gen i need a new tv first. :whistle2:(

almost thinking a new pc may be my next gen ;)

and bgame; though nobody mentioned sales, don't nkow why you brought it up.. but it's had to compare as sony isn't worldwide.

really, who cares though.. be nice if we culled fanboyism this gen
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If you watch any sports you would be crazy to not get an HDTV. Also without an HDTV you would not be able to see the next gen graphics. 640x480 resolution is a major step back in time. Upgrading to HDTV made the 360 graphics so much better I would have thought everyone had upgraded if they played PS3 or 360.

 
It's never wise to buy any system at launch that isn't a Nintendo to be honest.

Lots of launch issues, usually hardware will rear It's ugly head. While I haven't heard of any recent busted blu-ray drives (probably will hear more around Christmas when it comes to gifts) I've had a lot of OS issues - Usually the system will crash to dashboard randomly, sometimes games won't even start. I've tried everything and the only thing that seems to work is having the system unplugged and/or re-downloading my profile. I'm pretty sure It's not the hardware itself since I can run a game for 8 straight hours, have it randomly happen then go play a game for a few more hours before I go to sleep.

Also people are having failing Kinects and systems that sound lounder then normal (like mine). The right side of the system sounds like a overly loud fan and the hard drive is always "ticking". The system runs fine AFAIK but It's a annoyance when others have dead quiet systems. The power brick noises seem 50/50, some have that annoying ticking sound while some don't. It's still the quietest system I own however.

I'm probably one of the biggest 360 fans on this site with over 300 digital arcade and retail titles combined and I would tell all my friends to wait till at least April before buying this thing. Why April? Well Titanfall will be out for a good month so all It's bugs should be worked out and MS should get most of the kinks with the hardware and OS fixed, one would hope anyways. The system should also be readily available by then so you can exchange your hardware in store without any issues rather then waiting on MS for a few days for replacement.

Dead Rising 3, KI and even Ryse (Yes, Ryse) are all fantastic games but are not worth $500 to play IMHO. Forza is a downgrade in terms of content.

You shouldn't buy this system unless you can live with some possible hardware/OS issues and are willing to fork over $560+ (because of course your going to buy at least one game) .

I love my X1, but that's just my two cents from a major MS fanboy.

 
Yeah for now I've decided to wait it out and see which one is really going to appeal to me down the road. I do have a gaming PC and my last gen consoles to tide me over for now. 

On the other hand the Xbox One was generally appealing to me due to the "center of your home entertainment".
Also when running your cable box through the console I'm assuming the switch between XBX1 UI and actual live tv was pretty instant? That's one thing that's bothered me about most tvs out there today. The delay when switching between inputs can be annoying, especially when the tv does not hide inputs that are not connected to a device.

In some ways I'd love to make my home entertainment easier to use, the thing I'm worried about is if you have to leave the console on to watch tv, how will this affect the lifespan of my console? I used to work at a big retailer and we'd have people come in to buy their 2nd or sometimes 5th Xbox 360 (luckily I was not that unfortunate, I'm on my 2nd.)

I am realistic however and as long as the console were to last at least 4 years I wouldn't have a problem buying another.

 
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