Digital TV coming to Xbox One

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Microsoft is releasing a digital TV tuner for the Xbox One in October that will allow users to receive over-the-air digital TV channels through the console rather than a separate set-top box.

The tuner will plug in to a USB socket on the Xbox and will support DVB-T, DVB-T2 and DVB-C television standards. Previously, users wishing to view TV through the console would have to switch inputs to HDMI. Now with the new tuner, TV channels can be accessed through the Xbox itself.

MORE: Xbox One review

A Snap Mode allows you to view HD quality TV on one side of the screen, while an Xbox game can be played on the other - Skype and other applications can also be accessed instead of a game.

OneGuide will pull together all the TV listings on to one screen, and the Kinect sensor can be used to navigate as well. For example, say "Xbox show guide, what's on BBC One?" and the Xbox will navigate to BBC One listings for the current time. That's the theory, anyway.

Users will also be able to pause live TV and save favourite channels in the OneGuide and access listings through the Xbox SmartGlass smartphone app.

The Xbox One Digital TV Tuner will be available from October in the UK for £25 and France, Germany, Italy and Spain for €30.

The TV tuner add-on for the Xbox could help it gain a greater market share after it emerged that the PS4 is currently outselling the Xbox One by a factor of 2:1.

MORE: PlayStation 4 review

Max Langridge

Max is a staff writer for What Hi-Fi?'s sister site, TechRadar, in Australia. But being the wonderful English guy he is, he helps out with content across a number of Future sites, including What Hi-Fi?. It wouldn't be his first exposure to the world of all things hi-fi and home cinema, as his first role in technology journalism was with What Hi-Fi? in the UK. Clearly he pined to return after making the move to Australia and the team have welcomed him back with arms wide open.