Does the Xbox One still hold up for video and music content?

[Matt Brown]

Hey guys!

I’ve noticed a couple of people discussing their Xbox One’s media capabilities recently, and how viable the console is nowadays as an entertainment device. When the Xbox One was revealed, Microsoft really drove home video content in pursuit of being a “universal” console, but with the shift back toward games, does the Xbox One still hold up as a central media device in your opinion?

Between recent additions to the Xbox app offerings, such as Spotify, we now seem to have a majority of music and video services on the console. Are there any you feel are missing? Or more so, are there any OS-level features you still think the console needs going forward? As someone who mostly uses their Xbox for gaming, I would be interested to hear your opinions!

 

[newEDB]

I use it for video and audio way more than for gaming.

 

[chsoriano]

I use it almost exclusively for living room entertainment (4k blu-ray, streaming media, cable TV, music and of course video games). But I must admit the music experience is lacking compared to other devices in the home (Echo, Home, etc.). I use Groove and Amazon Music but only have Groove on the Xbox, but I can't control it with my phone which is a glaring omission given that I can control Netflix and YouTube easily while it is playing on the Xbox.

Lastly, some of the features we were promised such as small mode overlay for TV is unfortunate because that would improve use when gaming and keeping an eye on TV.

 

[ryanlrobinson]

We do still use it as our primary entertainment box, but I definitely feel like it fell way short of the vision.

OneGuide never really went anywhere for app channels, which was a big selling point. Somebody eventually has to come up with a way to see all of your streaming services at a glance in one place, and it looked like Xbox was going to do it, but then didn't. How great would it be to see your Netflix My List, your HBO watchlist, your Plex recently added, your recent TED Talks, current NBA games and what's live on NBA TV, your YouTube subscriptions... all by scrolling down the same app like a cable guide.

Similar for universal search. I would like to say to Cortana or type "I want to watch movie [x]" and it show me which services offer it: Netflix, Plex, HBO, Film & TV, Vudu, whatever. I know Roku at least sort of does this, although I haven't tried it myself. That is enough of a feature that we have considered buying a Roku.

The big issue facing streaming services, imo, is that they are way too fragmented. None of the platforms really support every streaming service, and none of them do a good job combining them all together in a user-friendly way. Bottom line is cable is still so much easier: one bill, one guide, one set top box, one remote, one consistent interface. Streaming will need to be not just a little bit cheaper; it also needs to bring a lot of services together to be something friendly like that.

That vision - which was maybe half what they said and half my imagination admittedly - was the kind of thing that sold me on the Xbox One.

After getting our One, I got back into gaming a little bit so I don't regret the purchase, but I am still looking for that true all-in-one media device.

 

[kodos78]

I use it as a media center in the home, mostly for playing movies and Netflix, etc. It rarely gets used as a game console in my home.

That said, if you are only going to use it for media consumption there are other devices which are better suited, smaller, and cheaper than an Xbox, like a Roku. The advantage the Xbox has is that it has a Blu-Ray player which those other devices do not. And it can (on the S and X variants anyhow) play 4K UHD discs.

 

[LeopardSeal]

Our Xbox One has been the center of our family entertainment since the device was first released. We don't get cable TV anymore so we watch HBO and Showtime in their respective on-demand apps. For movies we either stream them from Microsoft or Amazon or rent them from RedBox and play them with the Xbox One. For stuff that the Xbox does not cover we have a Roku plugged into the HDMI port, which becomes the source for the One Guide app.

We don't listen to a whole lot of music on the Xbox, but when we do we use the SomaFM app - free streaming with lots of genres to choose from.

 

[OnlyOneNormie]

Yes and no.

Overall, the XB1 still has a pretty solid entertainment core. The major apps are there and work well. I've also found that channels and services that don't have apps usually work in Edge on the device as well. Where it fell apart is in music, only having Groove until a few weeks ago and Pandora which I hate.

Last year we got a Roku as a wedding present and a lot of times we just default to that now since its easier and faster and has apps for most services.

I guess one of my biggest gripes is Cortana through Kinect has gone to ****. It worked just about impeccably when it was Xbox commands, when it switched to Cortana it worked ok, but somewhere between then and the last six months its become almost unusable and inaccurate. The promised integration with Netflix and Hulu never materialized and half the time I tell Cortana to turn off my TV it takes three tries, it was never like that.

 

[bbennett40]

I use mine more for OTA television, videos (Netflix, Hulu), and music (Groove, iHeart) almost more than gaming. Works great. I'm a bit disappointed that the dropped the whole DVR functionality. Had been really looking forward to it.

 

[ScubaDog]

We bought ours exclusively for media. We don't do console gaming at all. We absolutely loved being able to control everything via gestures. We use OneDrive and Groove, as well as Netflix, Hulu and the TV app. That's pretty much it. We don't have a 4K TV (and see no value in getting one yet), so the standard Blueray player is perfectly fine. However, if we eventually do get a 4K TV, it will likely already have most of the apps we use, so rather than waste money on a new console just to get a 4K player capability (with everything else on the box being redundant to the smart apps on the TV) we'll likely just buy a dedicated 4K Blueray device.

 

[Shobiz]

No, not anymore

When they took away snap mode, they killed the experience for me. Netflix and Hulu are on smart TV's now so there isn't really a need anymore.

 

[Bobvfr]

We have three Xbox One's in our flat. my boy uses his exclusively for gaming but for the ones in the living room and our bedroom they are entertainment first and foremost, my wife has control of the one in the bedroom and it's mainly TV, BBC iPlayer, Groove music and the odd bit of Netflix.

The one in the living room (Mine) again is TV, BBC iPlayer, Groove, Netflix and I do make the odd sortie into Victorian London and the Aussie outback via Assassins Creed and Forsa Horizon 3 and on very rare occasion's surfing the web and Skype if I can't be bothered to move to my desktop or Surface pro 4.

My one is hooked up to a receiver and speakers and a 65 inch 4k TV so it will probably get replaced by an Xbox One X in the new year as long as it is still a mixed device for both games and entertainment.

At the moment if I want to watch 4k I have to use the TV bypassing the Xbox and then the 4k options show up, I hope when the X hits the streets I will have the Netflix 4k options via the Xbox.

 

[Jody Simkins]

We bought the Xbox One with Kinect for a media center and some light gaming. 90% of the time we default to the Roku for simplicity and usability. The Xbox interface is not very good for casual use. Lots of features, but try handing the remote to someone who hasn't used it before and look at their face trying to figure out what they should do. Watching someone wrestle with Kinect/Cortana is even more hilarious. It is our only blue ray player, so it does see use for that and the fact that it automatically plays is nice. I bought into the idea of the Xbox at the center of my home and it has not lived up to that vision.

 

[hellodav7]

I use my Xbox one more often for movies and iheart radio.

 

[n m]

My number one "Go to" device for movies/TV shows.
Straight to the store, rent and buy the latest movies and TV shows, so simple, so fast, so good.
Can never see myself buying/renting any other way now.

 

[Mark Stansfield1]

Hey guys!

I’ve noticed a couple of people discussing their Xbox One’s media capabilities recently, and how viable the console is nowadays as an entertainment device. When the Xbox One was revealed, Microsoft really drove home video content in pursuit of being a “universal” console, but with the shift back toward games, does the Xbox One still hold up as a central media device in your opinion?

Between recent additions to the Xbox app offerings, such as Spotify, we now seem to have a majority of music and video services on the console. Are there any you feel are missing? Or more so, are there any OS-level features you still think the console needs going forward? As someone who mostly uses their Xbox for gaming, I would be interested to hear your opinions!

It does but it is missing the promised dvr recorder that never materialised - as a uk user i use it for live tv, streaming video, music (hallaluyah for Spotify!). The box really is a great media center - if they add the dvr for live tv (so i can record Match of the Day and watch at my leisure on Sunday) then it would be perfect.

 

[MoeJ]

Yes and no.
We use it almost exclusively for OTA TV, YouTube, Hulu+, Amazon Video, Netflix, Movies & TV App, Groove Music and iHeart Radio.

Missing:
Apps (Disney mostly, TNT, etc)
OTA DVR (not that MS listens, but please go vote) https://xbox.uservoice.com/forums/2...x-one-dvr-functionality-with-digital-tv-tuner
Would like Snap mode back and it run smoother.
Game streaming to external device while watching TV (and vice versa).

 

[MoeJ]

Yes and no.
We use it almost exclusively for OTA TV, YouTube, Hulu+, Amazon Video, Netflix, Movies & TV App, Groove Music and iHeart Radio.

Missing:
Apps (Disney mostly, TNT, etc)
OTA DVR (not that MS listens, but please go vote) https://xbox.uservoice.com/forums/2...x-one-dvr-functionality-with-digital-tv-tuner
Would like Snap mode back and it run smoother.
Game streaming to external device while watching TV (and vice versa).

 

[Ejay Lozano]

B4 we had smart phones it was, but everything is changing, we want things on the go, not just on our tv

 

[jgschwandtner]

Still waiting for an app that allows me to put music on the hard drive and let anyone play it. My wife ripped all sorts of our music and it's on her OneDrive but unless she logs in, nobody can play it. I suppose there are alternatives, but I've got the hard drive space on the console, so I'd really like to use it, too.

 

[design4life]

Never used it for TV viewing. Microsoft's inability to create IP drivers (Control4, RTI, Crestron) forced me to place my Xbox below my TV instead of in my equipment rack where I have my video sources. IR control is soooo 10yrs ago. I always felt that they should have never attempted the TV integration. Leave that that to the big boys who know what they're doing.

We watch HBO Go, Stars, Vudu and Xbox Video through our Xboxes. I use my Tivo Bolt for TV/DVR and all 4k content until the Xbox X is released.