xbox one – Kapil's Take

Before I begin I would like to state a disclaimer. I’m not suggesting going out and buying all the things that I have mentioned below. This is more of a very basic guide of different components that you can use if you are thinking of centralizing your media and have some old hardware lying around or you plan to make some purchases in the near future.

Media Server

If you have an old PC that you are not using because it is too slow or just doesn’t function the way it used to, you can reformat the hard drive and install Xubuntu.

Xubuntu is an officially recognized flavour of the popular Ubuntu operating system. Since it is a Linux based operating system it is very secure. It is very easy to use compared to some of the other Linux distributions and can run very smoothly even on old hardware. I’m using a 9 year old PC that has seen better days.

So we have the Operating System that our server is going to use, as for the actual media server software we are going to be using Plex. Plex is awesome because it is very simple to install, has a very clean user interface, keeps track of where you stopped watching a movie on multiple devices, it provides movie trailers and extras, and a whole lot more. You will need to get the premium service if you want to watch your movies on Xbox or Playstation. At little under $5 a month, it is a worthwhile investment.

Xbox

If you missed it, here are some reasons to pick Xbox as your gaming console. You can control your Xbox with the Xbox One SmartGlass app (Android, IOS, Windows, Windows Phone). You can also download apps on your Xbox which will make it easier to consume media: Youtube, Netflix, TED etc… Then you can pair the Youtube app on your phone/laptop/tablet with your Xbox One, you can cast all the above apps and others from your phone/table to your Xbox. Leave a comment below if you need a detailed step by step guide and I’ll write up another post for you.

Set-top Box[optional]

If you want you can add a set-top box like Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV to the mix, but that really just makes it redundant.I chose not to add any of these because Xbox One meets all my requirements.

If you really need to have cable TV you can add that to the mix too. Bell Fibe TV is pretty amazing. It has a very clean and fluid user interface and I have grown accustomed to the “Restart” feature which lets you restart a program if you tune in late. The only thing that bugs me is that you cannot fast forward a program that you have “restarted”. Bell Fibe TV has a very useful mobile app which you can use to control the box.

Sound Bar

Sound bars are great because they are mostly compact and a lot of them can act as a style statement. Of course they won’t sound as great as a full fledged home theatre system with a receiver and surround sound speakers but with recent improvements in technology sound bars have come a long way. I personally wanted something that was compact, had a decent sound output, fitted well under my TV, blended well with all my other devices and took in multiple HDMI inputs. The Sony HT-CT370 2.1 Channel 300W Sound Bar with Wireless Subwoofer, Bluetooth, and NFC is just the sound bar that I was looking for. I plug my Bell FIbe TV set-top box, Xbox One and sometimes my laptop to it. It has 3 HDMI inputs, something which is not too common in sound bars. I don’t have to go to the back of the cabinet to fiddle with wires. And everything gets neatly tucked behind the sound bar. Another thing that I later came to appreciate about the sound bar is its NFC capability. A lot of the times I simply place my Android phone on top of the sound bar and connection is established automatically.

Apps

These are some of the must have apps to make your home entertainment experience even better:

Xbox Smart Glass remote
Fibe Remote for Bell Fibe TV subscribers
Rogers Anyplace TV – for Rogers subscribers
Samsung Link – for Samsung devices
SongPal from Sony
SoundCloud
Crackle
Youtube
Netflix

Songza

Songza deserves a spot of its own because this app is simply amazing. You can listen to this on your phone, on the web, cast it on your chrome device or simply stream it to your bluetooth speakers which is something that I usually do. Songza is a free music streaming and recommendation service for Internet users in the United States and Canada. Stating that its playlists are made by music experts, the service recommends various playlists based on time of day and mood or activity.(Source: Wikipedia) It’s best feature is concierge mode. Just chilling with friends at home on a Friday night, relaxing at home on a Saturday afternoon, need to recover from last night – no problem just make those selections on the concierge mode and let Songza provide a playlist and do its thing.

Extras

Wireless Keyboard

If you decide to hookup your PC or if you have an Xbox without Kinect a wireless keyboard certainly comes in handy. The Logitech K400 Wireless Touch Keyboard with TouchPad is the best wireless keyboard under $50.

TV Cabinet

It’s important to choose a cabinet which hides all the wires and is functions. Ikea usually has pretty sleek looking, compact and functional cabinets.

Take for example the cabinet above. It contains the following devices:

Xbox One with two controllers
Bell Fibe TV set-top box
Nintendo Wii
A wireless keyboard
TV
Sound bar
Subwoofer
DVD player
Bluray player

It is a simple design, there are a lot of wires behind the cabinet but they’re all very neatly tucked away. Of course you don’t have to go out there and buy a new cabinet, but if you’re in the market for a new one, these are some of the things that you might want to think about. There are also many ways you can organize your wires to keep look neat.

That’s my take on a simple home media center setup. If you have suggestions please leave a comment below.

If you are thinking of purchasing a new game console or upgrading from a previous generation console to a new generation console you have 3 options:

download images

Xbox One
Playstation 4
Nintendo Wii U

If you are buying for kids, I would say you can stop reading this article and just buy the Wii U, it has tones of kid-friendly games and PS4 and X1 don’t even come close to the Wii U in that department. Playstation 4 and Xbox One is more for serious gamers and for people who are looking to setup a central home entertainment system. So in this post I am going to be mostly comparing Xbox One with Playstation 4.

One thing to keep in mind is whichever game console you chose, know that your old games from previous generation consoles will NOT work on the new generation – at least that is true for X1 and PS4.

Price

Xbox One generally has cheaper deals to start you off with your gaming. You can usually get an Xbox for around $350 (CAD) with one or two games included in the bundle, where as a Playstation 4 will usually cost a $100 more.

Kinect

To be honest, there isn’t much game development that really fully utilizes the Kinect, but if you know anything about the Kinect from Xbox 360, you know that the experience of playing a Kinect dance game was just pure fun. Kinect for Xbox One is supposedly better at tracking multiple players and has sensors with a wider field of view making it easier to track gesture for even tight spaces. I’m including the Kinect for its future potential here.

Games

The games department can go either way since most games are multi-platform anyway, so it basically comes down to the exclusive game collection. If you are a Hallo fan, or even just want to play a Halo Game then Xbox One is your console. The Master Chief Collection is the one thing that made my purchase of the Xbox One over Christmas a worthwhile investment. Then there is Forza Horizon 2 and Forza Motorsport 5 – both amazing racing games. Sunset Overdrive is also one of my favourites. These games will keep you entertained. Another noteworthy mention is TitanFall. When I first played Titanfall it blew me away – I think it is the best multiplayer first person shooter game I have ever played.

Of course Playstaion has inFamous, Uncharted and The Last of Us, so we can call this a tie. But a game console is no longer just for gaming and here’s why:

Live TV

You can connect your TV Cable Box to Xbox One and be able to access the TV Guide directly on your Xbox One. You can also play games while you are watching TV, if you are into that sort of thing.

Home Media Server and Cloud – Plex and One Drive

Here is where I think the Xbox One really shines. Plex was one of the reasons which pushed me towards getting an Xbox. Now however, Playstation also has Plex. But Micrsoft One Drive still only works with Xbox One(not surprising to see why). This is really useful since you can have your phone automatically backup your photos and videos to your One Drive while you are out and about say on vacation or a trip to the each or a birthday party, you can then come home and simply turn on your Xbox One and start viewing and sharing you photos and videos.