Television on a console. Make sure you have the right equipment!

Not everyone realizes that using a console we can not only play a soccer match or take part in an F1 race, but also watch them. New generations of consoles are much more than just gaming equipment – they can also be used as live TV transmitters.

Everything you need to know about TV from your Xbox or PS

Almost all consoles that used to be used only for gaming are today something much more complex and provide much more diverse entertainment – we can use them to watch live broadcasts, play movies, TV on demand and even stream live TV via mobile apps. So if we own an Xbox or PlayStation, there’s nothing stopping us from turning them into a hub of home entertainment for everyone in a few simple steps.

TV on Xbox console

At the outset, it’s worth noting that such an expansion is only available to owners of the Xbox One X, Xbox One S or the original Xbox One consoles. However, none of them work directly with USB TV tuners and the only way to watch live TV is to use an app that acts as a transmitter. The simplest solution is to use the OneGuide app. But one step at a time

The first step is to find out if our local TV provider is available for the OneGuide app – without this, all our efforts would be in vain. Once we make sure that the services will be compatible, we can start. Connect the HDMI connector to the set-top box or cable TV to the console and connect to the Xbox Live service. Then the device is ready for configuration with OneGuide:

• from Settings, go through TV and Display Options, all the way to OneGuide;
• when the console detects an HDMI signal, select Next;
• in the last step, you can customize the TV control from the console.

TV on PlayStation

In the case of solutions from the second manufacturer of the most popular consoles in the world, the PS4 and PS5, we unfortunately do not have the option to connect them directly to live TV. However, this does not mean that Sony has not found another solution to this issue. PlayStation owners can choose from a number of numerous mobile apps to access the programming of our choice. Here are the most popular ones:

• Player: fans of TVN station programs are probably familiar with this platform. If you have a PS4 console, you can get the extended package and watch TVN and TVN24 live without ads;
• vOD services: rich applications that provide access to many programs. These include giants such as Netflix, HBO Go, Cda.pl, Kodi, and Apple TV;
• YouTube: although it is not a classic application that allows access to live TV, YouTube is a platform where we can find the vast majority of the most important content, including public television material. It is therefore a good alternative to other apps if we do not care about classic TV channels.

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