XBox One Now Accepts Rabbit Ears
Television’s most oldschool accessory is now compatible with its newest. While it’s been possible to pipe a cable feed into the XBox One since its launch, the machine has never accepted an antenna connection until now.
The XBox One, of course, has no antenna plug. What it does have, now, is compatibility with the Hauppauge WinTV, which plugs in via a USB port on one and has an antenna plug on its other end. Plug the antenna in and voila, local channels on your XBox One, with all the recording abilities it normally provides.
Before you jump at this, keep this in mind: I have a Hauppauge WinTV device, I’ve had it since 2011, and you don’t need an XBox One to record, pause or skip live TV with it. Any PC with a strong enough CPU will work just as well, and I’ve been using it to stockpile an HD archive of raw television with the ads and everything (someday, when this footage is historically valuable and hard to find, you all will thank me).
However, if you DO have an XBox One, there are advantages. One is that the Hauppauge WinTV model made for the One is $20 cheaper (though any model should work). Another is that the TV is more comfortable to watch than the PC monitor is. You can also play a game and have a show going on the same screen, if you choose. If you have a device in your home that accepts the SmartGlass app, you can stream the content you’re watching to that device, and have the same show going in two separate rooms (hey, there are scenarios where that would be handy). You can also select channels by voice, but who cares.
This all assumes you live in an area where OTA channels are plentiful. I live in Portland and get over 40. If you live in the middle of Kansas, the Hauppauge may not be for you.