Getting the Most Out of Your Xbox One and Microsoft Surface

If you’ve got an Xbox One, you probably already know that, in addition to playing great games, the console offers a wide range of built-in entertainment and media options. But did you know how nicely the Xbox One interacts with your Surface tablet? If you’re a fan of both, you owe it to yourself to take a closer look at the “Xbox One Tips and Tricks” video from Sean Ong.

Sean, a 28 year-old clean energy engineer, husband, and father of two from Seattle, Wash., has been making videos about Surface for a while now, including his “Why I Love My Surface 2” video that’s garnered over 225,000 views since it went up in November of 2013. However, it wasn’t until recently that he decided to take a stab at a video incorporating both his Xbox One and Surface. “Many of my viewers were most interested in the Xbox integration part of my Surface videos, so I decided to make a new video that was more Xbox-centric. I was blown away at the many possibilities of having the HDMI input on the Xbox One.”

As you’ll see in the video at the top of this article, Sean provides a number of tips and tricks that the average user might not have known were possible without a good deal of internet digging. While he discovered many of them on his own simply by experimenting (or “playing around,” as he puts it) with his Xbox One, he did have a bit of outside help. “I learned about the TV converter box from onlysublime – who I mention in my video and provide a link to in my video description. I also learned about the home button double-tap trick and keyboard trick from others on Reddit.”

While there are a ton of great tips in the video, the big question is which one is Sean’s favorite. “Hands down, it’s the ability to cast audio and video to my Xbox One (the “play to” functionality) from my Surface. I use that all the time!” Perhaps not surprisingly given his love of technology, he also really likes all of the built-in TV functionality the Xbox One offers. “Controlling over the air TV with my voice is pretty sweet, too. Right now, the bulk of my time on the Xbox One is actually spent on TV, movies, music, and apps – but I’m forecasting a dramatic shift to gaming as more titles become available in 2014 and beyond!”

It’s clear that Sean is a fan of both his Surface and his Xbox One, but we couldn’t help asking if we should expect a Windows Phone video in the near future to round out the device trifecta. “My wife just got a Nokia Windows Phone and I have to admit – it’s really tempting. I love to tinker with technology – so she’s wise to keep her phone away from me for now.”

Hopefully Sean’s video taught you a few new ways to get the most …read more