Microsoft has finally released the Digital TV Tuner dongle for the Xbox One, letting console owners with Freeview in the UK join Sky, Virgin and YouView customers in watching live TV directly through their games console.
One of the Xbox One's most talked about features in the run-up to launch was its HDMI input, which would allow set-top boxes to connect to the console and act as a passthrough to the TV, letting you change channels using your voice and a connected Kinect camera and get onscreen programme information through OneGuide.
Unfortunately this wasn't possible for the millions of UK residents that use the integrated Freeview tuner built into their TV, rather than a set-top box. That changed today when the Digital TV Tuner accessory went on sale. The USB dongle connects directly to your aerial, so you can watch TV without having to plug an external box into the HDMI port.
The dongle receives free-to-air HD broadcasts, supports the OneGuide onscreen programme guide, and lets you set favourite channels for quick access.
You can pause and rewind live TV shows, even when playing a game, with around 30 minutes buffered to the Xbox One's hard disk. It will also let you Snap live TV to the side of the screen, letting you keep track of an important football match while playing a game of FIFA, or receive game invites and notifications from friends when watching TV in full screen.
It also adds second screen capabilities, streaming live TV to any SmartGlass-enabled device. iOS and Windows are already supported, but Android is coming further down the line. The console transcodes the signal on the fly, downgrading the quality if your Wi-Fi connection can't cope with the bandwidth.
The Xbox One Digital TV Tuner is available now, directly from the Microsoft store, as well as from online and bricks-and-mortar retailers, for £24.99. It will also be arriving in France, Italy, Spain and Germany today.
