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I covered some PlayStation 4 tips that will help you get the most out of your console back in January. To be fair, I wanted to follow the same path with the Xbox One, as it also has the same potential. If you are looking to improve some things here and there, or just curious to see how you can buy a game on Xbox One and play it on PC too, then these Xbox One tips might just be what you are looking for.
Record more than 5 minutes of gameplay
As reviewers we love sharing gameplay videos when we put reviews up of a game. While the PS4 has an awesome built-in Digital Video Recorder (DVR) feature, the Xbox One lacks this feature, and it is a major drawback for us. The Windows 10 integration with Xbox One brought a way to stream games to your PC, and in doing so lets you DVR that content to your PC's hard drive, allowing you to bypass the Xbox One's ridiculous 5-minute video recording limit.
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In order to get this running, you will need your Xbox One connected to the same network as your up-to-date Windows 10 PC. Sign into both with the same Xbox One account in the Xbox One app on your PC, and on your Xbox One. Now connect to your console through the app on your PC, and stream a game. You might want to toggle a few settings here and there to optimize the quality and buffer speed. Once the game is up and running on your PC, and your are playing it through your PC, but from your Xbox One, press the Windows+G button on your keyboard to bring up the Game Bar. From this menu you can then start a recording of whatever you are doing on your screen.
Play the game and do your thing, knowing that your gameplay is now being recorded from your Xbox One, but instead of it being limited to 5-minutes, it is recording to your PC HDD, and therefore it will be unlimited. Once this is done, press the Windows+G button again to stop the recording. You will now find your video clip in Videos>Captures
Make use of Play Anywhere
The Xbox One has a major advantage over PS4 with the Play Anywhere feature, where some of the games you buy on Xbox One, can be downloaded and played on Windows 10 too. It is an awesome feature that lets you carry your progress over across the two platforms, and even play against or with friends on either platform. If your friend wants to play on your Xbox One, you can boot up your PC, and play with him at the same time. Games like Halo Wars 2, Gears of War 4, Forza Horizon 3 and more support this cool feature.
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Always lookout for these games, as you probably bought them already, and had no idea that you actually own two copies of the game in the first place. To double check what games you might already own, head into your Windows Store app on your Windows 10 PC, click on your profile image>My Library. It is here where you will see all your content in one place. As you can see from the image above, Halo Wars 2 appears on my Windows 10 Store, as I own it on Xbox One too.
Remap your Xbox One Controller
While the Xbox One Elite Controller has a cool remapping feature, it is not only limited to that specific hardware. You can remap your entire Xbox One controller if you feel like it.
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Head over to the Xbox Accessories App, and from here you can adjust your controller's buttons, and map them to another layout. Although the feature does not let you adjust the hair triggers, or even the sensitivity of the analogues, I am sure the available customization options will make a difference to those who need a button in a different place.
Monitor your Xbox One Internet usage
The Xbox One is a data guzzler, and I know this as it often downloads system updates, apps updates, and game downloads without me even asking for it. While the PS4 has a much smaller range of apps to keep updated, the Xbox One is different. If you are on a limited connection and need to make sure that your console is not guzzling your data away without you noticing, then best keep an eye on the Bandwidth Usage page found in the Network Settings. Below you will see just what the Xbox One has been downloading, and how much data it has been consuming over a set amount of time.
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If you feel that your Xbox One is using way too much data, then chances are it is updating all your games and apps while it is in its instant-on power mode. The mode lets the console download and install game, app and console updates whenever there is one to download. These updates can be pretty large especially the console updates which can come in at 4GB at times. To prevent this from happening, head into Settings>Power Mode & Startup, and uncheck the box that says “Keep my console, games & apps up to date”
Refresh your Dashboard if its acting up
While the Dashboard has come a long way since the original UI the console launched with, it still has a few moments where it feels sluggish. You could have just closed a game, and now you want to navigate into the Xbox Store for the latest games to buy, but the tiles and movements feel slow and laggy. Well there is an easy way to refresh the home screen so that it clears the background memory, and speeds up your navigation.
Simply hold down both the RT and LT button, while holding down Y at the same time. Hold all three of these buttons for about three seconds, and let go. You will then see the Dashboard reset, and it will be running faster than ever.
Did you know about these tips and tricks and do you have anything else to add? Let us know in the comments below.
More about Xbox One:
- $10 Xbox Game Pass will give you over 100 games a month
- Xbox One S pre-orders open in South Africa
- Six more games join Xbox One Backwards Compatibility Program
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