Are you tired of having to choose between watching TV and playing your favorite Xbox One game? Luckily, with the Xbox One’s multitasking capabilities, you don’t have to! In this tutorial by Travis Boak from In Connected Comm, we’ll show you how to watch TV and play Xbox One simultaneously.
The first step is to decide what input method you want to use. Xbox One uses Snap States, similar to Windows 8 and Windows 8.1. Snap States allow one app to go to the far right side of your screen in a smaller version than typical fullscreen. The Snap version of the app has most of the same functionalities as Microsoft’s TV app. You can use Snap States to watch television while you’re gaming or stream music while you’re gaming.
There are two ways to utilize Snap States. The first method is with the Kinect 2 sensor. If you have had an Xbox One for longer than six or seven months, you likely already have a Kinect 2 sensor. In this case, you can simply say “Xbox snap friend.” If you prefer to use a controller, you can do so by selecting the app you want to open and pressing the menu button on your controller, the button to the right of the glowing Xbox orb.
The second method of using Snap States is without a sensor. You’ll need to go to My Games and Apps, press the menu button on your controller, and select the app you want to open. However, not all apps can be pinned, so this method can be a bit more challenging.
It’s important to note that games cannot be snapped to the side of your screen, so you cannot watch TV and play a game simultaneously. Snap States also don’t work half and half, so you can’t split the screen and have an app running equally. When you snap an app, all of the audio goes to the larger part of your screen, with the smaller part having lower volume.
Overall, watching TV and playing Xbox One at the same time is easy with Snap States. Whether you’re using a Kinect 2 sensor or a controller, you can enjoy both activities simultaneously. And with the audio mixer inside the settings menu, you can adjust the audio based on your preferences. So what are you waiting for? Try multitasking on your Xbox One today!