How to fully utilize Xbox One: Do I need Cable? What kind of TV should I get?

[coip]

I've got the Xbox One preordered because I am really excited about how it is going to unify the entire living room: gaming, Skyping, TV watching, Netflix streaming, etc. But, I don't know much about buying TVs and I want to make sure I get the right equipment in preparation to fully utilize the Xbox One's capabilities.

1. TV
Things like HDMI, 1080p or 720p, LCD or LED don't really make sense to me. What kind of TV should I get?

2. Cable vs. no cable
One of the coolest things about the Xbox One is the ability to use the Kinect's voice-controls to say: "play Titanfall", or "Skype mom", or "Go to CBS." Do I need a cable TV subscription to use the TV integration feature, or will it work with straight up, free digital TV?

 

[Duvi]

1 - Get a monitor. I got one and it's the best I've done... for gaming. I also have a 42 inch plasma that I let my son use when playing the Xbox. I also use it for watching movies and doing non-gaming Xbox tasks.

2 - You'll need a subscription... you just won't need a cable box. It'll hook up directly to the Xbox.

 

[Flagz]

1) Casual or Competitive? More competitive gamers prefer to use a sub 23inch 1080p gaming monitor with a low refresh rate. Just use a home TV if your just a casual player.

2) You need a cable subscription obviously. Needs to be a supported company as well to get the FULL guide integration.

 

[Robert Carpenter]

1) Size is all up to you. You'll want to make sure it's 1080P and make sure it has HDMI inputs, as they are the only form of output on the Xbox One. 3D is not really necessary (haven't even heard if it supports 3D) and 120HZ or 240HZ is not needed either. I personally prefer to use a smaller screen and sit at a desk like I would when using a computer.

2) Already answered.

 

[Keith Wallace]

1 - Get a monitor. I got one and it's the best I've done... for gaming. I also have a 42 inch plasma that I let my son use when playing the Xbox. I also use it for watching movies and doing non-gaming Xbox tasks.

2 - You'll need a subscription... you just won't need a cable box. It'll hook up directly to the Xbox.

Aren't monitors above maybe 27" or so tough to get? If he wants something like a 50" TV, a monitor might not be a feasible solution.

 

[penetronn]

Is it confirmed that the tv provider will need to be a "supported" company? I don't see why it wouldn't work any differently than the Media Center Guide did - which basically meant all pay providers and OTA networks were supported when you input the zip code you live in.

 

[martinmc78]

Aren't monitors above maybe 27" or so tough to get? If he wants something like a 50" TV, a monitor might not be a feasible solution.

I would agree with Keith here - ive recently upgraded my 37" plasma TV to a 50" plasma in preparation for the xbox one. As its going to be used for more than just gaming I want to make the most out of everything its got.

 

[MerlotC]

I just bought a new 60" Vizio M series that looks great with my 360 and cant wait to play the One on it. If in the market for a new tv, I'd suggest browsing the AVS forums. I always spend a lot of time there before any tv purchase. Look for something that meets your needs, price, and has low input lag for gaming.

 

[Robert Carpenter]

I would agree with Keith here - ive recently upgraded my 37" plasma TV to a 50" plasma in preparation for the xbox one. As its going to be used for more than just gaming I want to make the most out of everything its got.

Not to rain on your parade, but plasma TV's are the worst for gaming. Plasma TV's usually use 1080i and not 1080p and they introduce a huge amount of input lag. Meaning when you press a button on a controller, there is a noticeable delay as to when the screen actually accepts the input and updates.

If you have ever played a game like Guitar Hero, this is when the input lag makes a game unplayable. FPS game are affected by this too, and it will lower your skill level an enormous amount.

 

[martinmc78]

Yeah i did my research before making my purchase on my plasma. Its a pretty decent one from Panasonic with all there new tech in. So its got full 1080p. Its even got a dedicated gaming mode which im quite impressed with. Its smart enough to distinguish between when im playing games or watching movies even when the feed for both is through the 360. Refresh rate is pretty good to so don't have any issues with lag. KDR and BPR has gone up on both BF3 and Halo4 since getting the TV so i cant co.plain
Sent from my Windows Phone 8X by HTC using Board Express

 

[Robert Carpenter]

Yeah i did my research before making my purchase on my plasma. Its a pretty decent one from Panasonic with all there new tech in. So its got full 1080p. Its even got a dedicated gaming mode which im quite impressed with. Its smart enough to distinguish between when im playing games or watching movies even when the feed for both is through the 360. Refresh rate is pretty good to so don't have any issues with lag. KDR and BPR has gone up on both BF3 and Halo4 since getting the TV so i cant co.plain
Sent from my Windows Phone 8X by HTC using Board Express

Ahh then you're fine. Game modes are usually specifically designed to combat this problem. Game mode usually mean low latency

 

[berty6294]

Side note, has anybody considered hooking up a PC to the HDMI input of the Xbox One? I have 3 monitors in a row on my desk and I switch the center one back and forth from Xbox to PC and keep the side 2 on PC always. This will probably make it much easier to switch back and forth, not to mention join Xbox live parties and still use the same screen to play PC games.

Any thoughts?

 

[Robert Carpenter]

Side note, has anybody considered hooking up a PC to the HDMI input of the Xbox One? I have 3 monitors in a row on my desk and I switch the center one back and forth from Xbox to PC and keep the side 2 on PC always. This will probably make it much easier to switch back and forth, not to mention join Xbox live parties and still use the same screen to play PC games.

Any thoughts?

The bigger question: If Xbox One supports Miracast, will there be any need to do this?

 

[MobileVortex]

I prefer to run my games at 720P, but that is personal preference at least on the 360 we will see how the ONE holds up.

I will never pay for TV, i find it asinine to pay $1000 a year to watch TV when i can get 20+ channels for free OTA, and stream anything else i want to watch. Sports is the only reason i see MAYBE paying for cable or satellite, but for me OTA games are enough.

 

[Keith Wallace]

I prefer to run my games at 720P, but that is personal preference at least on the 360 we will see how the ONE holds up.

I will never pay for TV, i find it asinine to pay $1000 a year to watch TV when i can get 20+ channels for free OTA, and stream anything else i want to watch. Sports is the only reason i see MAYBE paying for cable or satellite, but for me OTA games are enough.

If sports are what interest you, isn't an option like MLB.TV, which gives you every game in HD for $150 or so per year, good enough? I know that the NBA lags behind on that service, and the NFL's can be more costly than baseball's (not sure which sports you mean), but you'd be talking $300-500 per year (depending on the number of subscriptions you want), and it would cover all of that.

 

[Polychrome]

Plasma TV's usually use 1080i and not 1080p and they introduce a huge amount of input lag.

Shouldn't be an issue. There are 1080p models. As for lag, I used to have a CRT HD set, and the only game in which anyone would notice lag was DDR. (That being my musician husband. And the game has a place to adjust that.)

 

[coip]

Side note, has anybody considered hooking up a PC to the HDMI input of the Xbox One? I have 3 monitors in a row on my desk and I switch the center one back and forth from Xbox to PC and keep the side 2 on PC always. This will probably make it much easier to switch back and forth, not to mention join Xbox live parties and still use the same screen to play PC games.

Any thoughts?

What exactly are you using all those things for? I'm curious about your setup. You hook up your PC to the Xbox (rather than to a TV)? For what purpose? You have 3 monitors and you switch the center one back and forth from Xbox to PC--that means you are displaying your Xbox games on the monitor not on a TV, right?

 

[coip]

Just an update as I bought a TV: 1080p 120hz HDTV LED. Not a "smart" TV because the smart ones were much more expensive and the dude at the store said it was superfluous to get one if I am getting an Xbox One, which will make my TV "smarter than a smart one".

 

[rider2040]

Just an update as I bought a TV: 1080p 120hz HDTV LED. Not a "smart" TV because the smart ones were much more expensive and the dude at the store said it was superfluous to get one if I am getting an Xbox One, which will make my TV "smarter than a smart one".

That's a smart move. Smart TVs have weak hardware and poor software and they rarely get any meaningful updates. You'll have your TV for a long time, so you want to plan on getting your content from a device that is has room to grow or is easily replaced as technology changes.

I'm looking at getting an Xbox On for that exact reason. The hardware has room to grow and MS has shown that they will continue to improve the user experience and add new content providers through software updates.

 

[Duvi]

Aren't monitors above maybe 27" or so tough to get? If he wants something like a 50" TV, a monitor might not be a feasible solution.

I would agree with Keith here - ive recently upgraded my 37" plasma TV to a 50" plasma in preparation for the xbox one. As its going to be used for more than just gaming I want to make the most out of everything its got.

I actually meant getting a small monitor (24 inch) for gaming. These are the best. The official MLG monitor has 1ms response time.

I use my monitor for my CoD (serious stuff) and my plasma tv for all the movies and media. My K/D ratio honestly went from 1.40 to probably 2.50/3.0 since getting the monitor. When I say this, I don't mean my overall, but from when I started using my monitor, the ratio has been that. My overall is 1.76.