It’s the holiday season so we’re all enjoying some brand new consoles and games – but best of all are the consoles, of course. Few things are more exciting than jumping onto a new system and enjoying a new library of games, and the Xbox Series S is the cheapest place to do it – Xbox Series X, meanwhile, is the premier place to play Xbox Game Pass titles.
If you came across a brand new Xbox this holiday season, then make sure to read through the tips in this guide for everything you need to get your console set up smoothly and quickly.
HDMI 2.1 and you
Obviously plugging a power cable and HDMI into your Xbox is the obvious way to start, but don’t ignore the cable that comes with your console. This extra-thicc piece of equipment is a HDMI 2.1 cable, and if you have a TV with HDMI 2.1 ports, you’ll want this. The cable grants access to 120hz at 4K resolution, with HDR and VRR support. This makes games look much smoother in motion, assuming you have a TV that supports all of the above. If you do, you don’t want to miss out on these features.
Xbox app for quick set up
When you boot up your console for the first time it will connect online and install various updates, which could take a while depending on your internet connection, and server load – which tends to be quite high on Christmas day, so maybe plan your updates in advance. While that happens, you can use the Xbox app on your mobile device to adjust various console settings in advance, making the process that much smoother and simpler.
Home menu customization
The Home menu should be a reflection of yourself – or as close to it as possible. Go into the View menu and you can change the order of apps, or hiding ones you never use. Themes are also a nice personal touch that you can play with, and there are more to download on the Microsoft store.
Energy efficiency
If you want to save as much power as possible when not using your console, you should disable the ‘Instant On’ feature. This feature allows you to add downloads, delete games, and even stream your console to your mobile device, even when you’re away from home. Very useful indeed, but it all takes power just for the system to wait for your inputs. As such, you should disable Instant On if you’re not making use of it regularly.
Display settings
If you really do have a HDMI 2.1 display, then you need to make sure you’re actually using those lovely features. Check the display and video option menus, and you can automatically scan for what your TV supports. You can also adjust HDR brightness, which is recommended before you play any games.
Digital assistant integration
Want to control everything with your voice? Well you almost can. Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa devices connect with your Xbox, and you can then use voice commands to turn on your Xbox, start a recording, pause a game, and more. It’s like Kinect never left us.
Share button
The Share button is fabulous, and works much like it does on other systems. You can tweak whether you want a single press to record a screenshot or a video, and what a long press or double tap should enable. You can also alter your share settings – by default, all of your recordings get uploading publicly to your Xbox Live profile. You can of course change that, as it fills up fast. But once they’re uploaded, they’re easy to manage, post, and download from the Xbox app.
Xbox Game Pass
The best part about the Xbox ecosystem right now is Xbox Game Pass. It includes all of Microsoft’s premium first-party games, including Halo Infinite, Forza Horizon 5, and more, but it also periodically switches in and out a variety of other games and franchises. It regularly adds new and exclusive games, and if you don’t regularly pay premium prices for games, then this is a great way to get access to hundreds. You might not ever need to pay a premium price for a game again.
Backwards compatibility
Xbox Series consoles are actually backwards compatible, and if you have an Xbox Series X – the only variant to include a disc drive – you can simply insert discs for old Xbox and Xbox 360 games to see if they work. The list of compatible games is pretty long, and in some cases is the best way to play the games. This includes Sonic Unleashed, Red Dead Redemption, and Final Fantasy XIII.
Written by Dave Aubrey and Ryan Woodrow on behalf of GLHF.
