Xbox Series X/S consoles now have a feature that changes your TV’s input when you hit the Xbox button on the controller.
It’s a pretty common feature in modern consoles to be able to have your TV automatically switch to the right input when you interact with the controller, and it’s a convenience that’s easy to take for granted until you try playing on Xbox. Until now, the only way to switch the input while playing Xbox games is to find your TV remote, or failing that, wriggle your way free from the sedating comfort of your couch, trudge through to your TV, and slide your hands all along the sides and bottom looking for the input button.
But no longer. As Xbox engineering lead Eden Marie revealed on Twitter (opens in new tab), all you have to do to now is hit that round Xbox button in the center of your controller and your TV will switch to the console’s input, removing one potentially very annoying obstacle to playing some Halo Infinite or Sea of Thieves.
The feature was released in a hardware update today, and you’ll have to head to General TV & A/V power options on your Xbox to turn it on. Just make sure you tick the box next to HDMI-CEC (Consumer Electronics Control) and enable “switch TV input using controller.) Of course, if you’re a neat, organized person whose TV remote is always nearby and you don’t mind using it, you can opt out of this feature entirely.
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