Tag: games console setup

Article

How you can set up the XBox One or newer consoles so you have better control over your gaming sound

How to mute Xbox TV audio when using a headset | Windows Central

My Comments

You may need to know how to mute the game audio from your TV speakers, soundbar or home-theatre setup when you are using a headset.

Why

There is a risk of an audio-feedback or echo loop being created when you play an online game and are engaging in voice chat during that game.

As well, you may be wanting to be considerate of others by keeping the game’s sound effects and music to yourself but not lose the audible feedback that these sounds give you through the game, such as knowing how close the enemy is in the game. This is more so when others are likely to be resting or sleeping and you want to have that late gaming session.

With the latter situation, the TV, soundbar or home-theatre setup may not support headphones operation properly, if not at all. As well, the default behaviour with headsets for the XBox is to run the game soundtrack via the TV or audio peripheral but have online audio chat via the headset.

Here, when I am talking of an audio peripheral, I am talking of a soundbar, stereo amplifier or home-theatre AV receiver that is connected to your TV to improve its sound. These would be typically connected via HDMI-ARC or via an optical-digital-audio connection on the TV.

Enable automatic TV / audio-peripheral muting when headset is connected

1. Select the Settings option (Settings button on XBox Dashboard or Profile and System tab in XBox Guide)
2. Select General
3. Navigate to and select “Volume and Audio Output” page
4. Select “Additional Options” in Advanced Category
5. Select and enable “Mute speaker audio when headset attached”

This affects the TV audio including audio from soundbars and other audio peripherals connected to the TV or from the HDMI connection when you are using a headset connected to the XBox console.

Adjust TV volume from console and enable simplified operation

This procedure works with XBox Series X or S consoles which support HDMI-CEC. As well, TVs and audio peripherals like soundbars and AV receivers have to be connected by HDMI and support and be enabled for HDMI-CEC control. This feature may be known as Simplink, Anynet+ or one of many other trade names.

Most likely, all recent TVs at least will support HDMI-CEC operation, most likely if they also support HDMI-ARC connectivity to audio peripherals. It may be so that the major brands will have supported HDMI-CEC for flat-screen TVs designed since the mid 2000s with this under manufacturer-specific names like Simplink, EasyLink, Aquos Link, Anynet+ , VIERA Link or Bravia Sync. As well audio peripherals that are connected to the TV using HDMI-ARC are likely to support HDMI-CEC operation like you using the TV remote control to regulate the volume or them coming alive and selecting the HDMI input when you turn on the TV.

To set up

1. Go to your TV’s and audio peripheral’s setup menus and enable HDMI-CEC if it isn’t already enabled
2. On the XBox’s Settings menu, select TV and Display Options in General tab
3. Select Device Control
4. Enable HDMI-CEC. This setting will also allow “one-touch start” for your console so that when you turn it on or press the large Xbox button on a controller, the TV and audio peripheral will come on and the correct inputs are selected for the XBox. As well, turning off the console also turns off the TV and audio peripheral.
5. Enable “Console sends Volume Commands”

Thiss means that the XBox console effectively provides a fixed-level audio signal via HDMI. As you select the “Volume Up”, “Volume Down” or “Mute” options that now appear on the Audio and Music Page, these “system volume” commands are transmitted to the TV or audio peripheral via the HDMI cables to adjust the sound level appropriately. You still can use the TV’s remote or audio peripheral’s remote to adjust the volume and this can come in handy if you have to instantly drop the volume during gameplay.

The limitation here is that you have to bring up the Audio and Music Page by pressing the XBox button then selecting that option to adjust the sound. This is also where you may want to, for example, turn down the game’s music volume but keep the effects volume up so that you don’t get tired of the in-play music loop during the game.

Conclusion

Here, the XBox One’s menu options can yield ways to have the sound work properly for your gaming session, whether that be to allow a headset to work properly or for you to use the console’s user interface to adjust the sound volume.

Article

You can use the XBox One to play PC games hosted on your computer through the big screen

Microsoft’s Wireless Display app streams PC games to your Xbox | Engadget

Microsoft now lets you stream PC games to an Xbox One and use a controller | The Verge

My Comments

Microsoft is now making it feasible to stream your Windows 10 computer’s video output via your XBox One games console. It is being pitched at people who play Windows-based games on their computer, whether from a CD or an online games resource like Steam, GOG or the Windows Store.

This is based on the same Miracast technology used to stream PowerPoint presentations, video clips and the like from a laptop to the Surface Hub large-screen conference-room computer. There is also the ability to use the XBox One’s controllers attached to the XBox to provide player input to the PC game.

You have to have your Windows computer and your XBox One on the same logical network and have the latest version of the Wireless Display app on both devices. It can stream video and audio from most apps and games on the computer to the XBox. The only exception would be protected video content like iTunes or Netflix.

You could play a game that exists on this Dell G Series gaming laptop through your XBox One

As well, your XBox’s game controllers can become the player input for your Windows-based computer game, something that may be of benefit in those games where the keyboard may not be ideal. The software has variable latency configurations so you can set your controller input and display output’s behaviour in an optimum manner for the game you are playing.

At the moment, a keyboard or mouse connected to the XBox cannot serve as an input device for your regular computer, which may be of a limitation to game players who deal with “point-and-click” user interfaces or for combining remote-desktop / remote-assistance software with  the biggest screen in the house. You can get around this situation by using a keyboard and pointing device connected to or integrated in your computer.

Another question that will be worth raising with the evolution of this software is whether you are limited to stereo soundmixes when it comes to the sound that passes through this setup. This may be of concern with Windows games that are being offered with surround-sound mixes rather than just stereo mixes.

Here, I would see the new step towards linking your Windows PC to your XBox One as being beneficial for gamers who spend their gaming time between console and PC games. This is more so if they want to use the same large screen for both activities.

Article

Play To | Play to on Xbox | Streaming media on Xbox – Xbox.com

My Comments

Now you can have your XBox 360 games console working as a DLNA-controlled media player, responding to TwonkyMedia Manager, Windows 7 or 8’s “Play To”, AllShare or other DLNA media control points. Previously, this console, like the PlayStation 3 was able just to “pull up” content from DLNA Media Server like a Windows PC running Windows Media Player 10 or newer; or most network-attached storage devices, then have this content coming on your TV screen.

But how do I get this games console set up for DLNA? You would firstly need to update the XBox 360 to the latest software. This is something you may have to do when you purchase a new XBox 360 or are dealing with a console that hasn’t been regularly updated.

Enabling Play To

Then you would have to enable the “Play To” functionality in the XBox 360 so it can be managed by software like TwonkyMedia Manager; or the Windows Play To function. Here, you go to the XBox Home menu on the Dashboard, then select “Settings”, then select “System”. In that menu, you select “Console Settings”, then highlight “Connected Devices”. When you select this option, select “Play To” and make sure it shows “On”.

Changing your console’s name

If you have two or more XBox 360s existing on the same home network, you may have to change your console’s name so it is easier to select a particular console from your UPnP AV / DLNA control point software.

While you are in the abovementioned “Console Settings” menu, highlight and select the “Console Name” option to name your console.

You have a choice of preset names that you can use or I would prefer you to use the “Custom” option to make a unique name for your machine. This may be particular to who owns it or which room it is in for example.

Here, you enter the name using whatever method you use to enter text on your console such as “picking and choosing” the characters with the buttons on your controller or using the Text Input Device keyboard. Select “Done” when you have finished to save your settings.

What can I play

Hiere, you can play most of the popular music, video and image file types through your XBox 360. This is similar to what the console has been able to do if you used it to find the content on a UPnP AV / DLNA media server or viewed the material from an optical disc.

Conclusion

This is another example of what these games consoles can do beyond playing video games; and who knows when Sony would update the PS3 to bring this same DLNA “push-to” media playback to that console.

Today, I had seen some excellent YouTube videos posted by Netgear on how to integrate your games console in to your home network. They make references to the networks being based on their own hardware, but these instructions apply to any and all home networks no matter what router is at the edge.

Also, when they discussed how to connect the XBox360, PlayStation 3 and Wii to the home network, they mentioned that you can use a HomePlug-based power-line network setup using their PowerLine AV network kit to build the HomePlug segment. The main theme was to connect the HomePlug adaptor to the console via its Ethernet port and select the “wired” connection option as appropriate.

The reason I have liked the videos was because they gave a visual walkthrough of the setup user interaction needed to be performed at each console. They also pointed out if a console needed extra hardware to be part of the home network depending on the connection type. They are also worth having as a reference if you are likely to move your console(s) between locations such as for video-games parties.

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TV-connected consoles

Microsoft XBox360

Sony PlayStation 3 (PS3) – includes “PS3 Thin”

Nintendo Wii

Handhelds

All of these handheld have integrated WiFi as their sole connection means due to their portable nature.

Sony Playstation Portable (PSP)

Benefits: Online Gaming, Web Browsing, RSS Feeds and Podcasts

Nintendo DSi

Benefits: Online Gaming,Game download via DSi Store, Web browsing