Xbox consoles aren’t just for playing games: they can be great media centers and streaming boxes, too. Microsoft has been making some tweaks to reduce power usage for those use cases.
In a blog post mostly focused onnew repair options for Xbox consoles, Microsoft explained that it has been improving power management for media streaming and other non-gaming activities. The company said, “Through recent system updates to Xbox consoles, we have also made significant advancements in how Xbox Series S handles video content. So far, these improvements have led to an average reduction approaching 10% in power consumption across all media apps on Xbox Series S, contributing towards lowering Microsoft’s usage-based carbon footprint and potentially allowing players to save on their monthly electric bills.”
Xbox Series S
While not as powerful as the Series X, it’s incredible the Xbox Series S can still run the same library of next-gen titles. If you aren’t interested in running games at 4K, you’re able to save a lot opting for the Series S instead.
Many popular streaming apps and services are available on Xbox consoles, including YouTube, Netflix, Plex, VLC Media Player, and Disney+. The models with disc drives can also play Blu-ray discs (including 4K discs on the One X, One S, and Series X), DVDs, and CDs, though they do lack support for some features,like Dolby Vision in 4K Blu-ray discs. Some capabilities have been removed over time, such as theunified TV guide and TV tuner supportfrom the early Xbox One days, but Xbox consoles are still great for general media playback and streaming.
The problem is that Xbox consoles are built for graphically-demanding games, and have powerful CPUs and GPUs to achieve that, so they consume alotmore power while playing media than your typical Roku or Fire TV streaming stick. The Xbox Series X had areported power usage of 47Wwhile streaming video, buta typical streaming stick won’t go above 5W.
It’s great that Microsoft is working to reduce power usage when the full hardware power isn’t required. However, if you’re just watching a show on Disney+ or a YouTube playlist, shutting down the console and switching to a streaming stick (or your TV’s built-in software) is still the best option.
