Watching videos on Xbox One is a daily activity for some people. There are more features, more enhancements, and must-haves than casual entertainers know what to do with. For games with external hard drive support. For video lovers, it includes DLNA support and a new media player app separate from Groove Music and Microsoft Movies & TV.
Here’s how to watch your videos on your Xbox One with the help of the newly launched Media Player app.
Watching Video on Xbox One: Before You Begin
For purposes of how to do this, it’s important to break down all the variables that go into getting content on your Xbox One. When it’s your content and not someone else’s DRMed content, say Netflix, there are two methods. You can transfer your content to your PC or use USB storage. Each has its own advantages and requirements.
Streaming video to your Xbox One usually doesn’t require much, as long as you’re ready to go. The device you’re streaming content to must be connected to the same wireless network as your Xbox One. One trade-off is battery life. If you’re streaming from a laptop, tablet, or phone, you’ll need to plug in your device so there’s no danger of your device going dead first.
Using USB storage to get media to your Xbox One is pretty straightforward and doesn’t require you to worry about battery life. You will need a readily compatible USB hard drive or flash drive.
We will not cover how to import the video files themselves. For the purposes of this tutorial, we are using video recorded by Moto X 2014 as we have it. DVD copies and other video files should work just fine, provided they’re in a format the Xbox One can understand. We can say that you will have a hard time finding some videos that don’t work, as the Xbox One can play almost anything using the Media Player app.
One strange thing that Microsoft hasn’t fixed since launch is the dependencies of Xbox apps on internet connections. If Xbox Live isn’t running, your entertainment apps won’t open. You can try and fix this issue by turning on the console’s offline mode with the Settings app, but some are reporting mixed results with it.
Watching Video on Xbox One: Blu-ray Video
Your Xbox One console includes a Blu-ray drive, but you will need the Blu-ray player app before using this drive. Download the Blu-ray player by searching for it in the Store area. Note that the application also works on standard DVDs.
Download Media Player App
First, turn on your Xbox One. You will need to download the Media Player app from the Xbox Store as it is not available on the console out of the box. You’ll want to make sure you have an internet connection and are successfully signed into your Xbox Live account. If you have a Kinect to detect, say “Xbox, Bing..” then “Media Player”
After the application is downloaded, you can access the application from the field.
Watching Video on Xbox One: USB
Let’s shoot some video with USB flash drive. Upload to your USB flash drive containing video from your PC or Mac. Then plug it into the side-mounted USB port on the left side of your Xbox One console. If you have a Kinect 2 sensor, say “Xbox, go to Media Player” or open the My Games & Apps area to find Media Player.
You will immediately notice that your USB flash drive is listed under the different devices that the Xbox One Media Player app can see. You may also notice some Windows PCs or other devices that may have content on them. Select your USB flash drive.
Now select the video you want to play.
Watching Video on Xbox One: DLNA
DLNA streaming is not as simple as file transfer. Instead of storing the video on a flash drive and then going to the Xbox One and selecting it, you’ll usually want to start DLNA streaming from a device you already own. We are using Windows computers for this example. Windows phones and Android powered smartphones support DLNA streaming, but you need to start the video from these devices and the process differs depending on the app you choose. Use AllCast for Android. Use Play To for Windows Phone. Windows 10 supports streaming content using the Connect button in the Action Center.
Turn on your Xbox One and go to My Games & Apps. If you have a Kinect 2 sensor, say “Xbox, go to Media Player” or open the Media Player app. Your videos should be waiting for you.
