Playing Xbox One games on a computer solves one of gaming's biggest problems

One of the worst things that can happen while you're deep in a video game is someone wanting to use the TV. Ugh.

But let's be honest: you've been hogging the TV for hours, and you really should let others use it. 

What if there was an easier solution? A solution, perhaps, that enabled everyone to be happy?

Back in November, Microsoft released an update for the Xbox One operating system that put Windows 10 on the Xbox One. And with this update came a new game streaming feature: the ability to stream Xbox One games directly to any computer on the same WiFi network running Windows 10. Laptops, Surface tablets, etc. - all, suddenly, able to play Xbox One games remotely, acting as stand-ins for your TV.

Xbox game streaming is one of the best "tech things" I tried this year.

Using a Surface Pro 3, I started streaming "Fallout 4" from my Xbox when I normally wouldn't be able to play, and it worked amazingly well. 

• I could keep playing even if someone else was watching TV. I could even multitask and play while I'm watching TV.
• It also meant I could play "Fallout 4" anywhere around the house away from the TV as long as the Surface Pro 3 I was using was connected to WiFi.
• Sun glare on the TV? Just take it to a room in the shade! Bed time? Bring the games with you!

I could continue feeding my (real, potentially worrying) addiction to "Fallout 4" in the comfort and warmth of my own bed. In fact, getting out of bed in the morning on weekends became unnecessary as long as I had the Surface Pro 3, its charger, an Xbox One controller, and a micro USB cable for the controller.

Here's how it works:

• Open the Xbox app in Windows 10.
• In the Xbox app, click the icon on the left that looks like an Xbox One (with the arrow pointing towards it, below).

• And that's it! If your Xbox One is already on, you'll see your Xbox's homescreen on your Windows 10 computer's screen after a brief "loading" period. It takes about a minute.
• If your Xbox One isn't on, you'll be prompted to remotely launch it. It's important to leave your console in "Always On" mode for the app to remotely turn on the console.

Some games even support cross-device multiplayer, where each player has their own screen in the same room or house. One player can use the TV and the other a Windows 10 computer. Few games thus far support this feature, but more will follow in the future.

What's happening here is your Windows 10 computer is streaming a video of what your Xbox is doing over your home's WiFi connection. It's almost like a live stream, but the stream is happening within your own WiFi network.

Since your computer is simply streaming video and sending back input signals (your gamepad movements and button presses), you can use a relatively low-powered computer; streaming requires minimal processing power. Your Xbox One and home WiFi network are doing the heavy-lifting here.

But if you're in a different room away from your Xbox where your controller is out of range, you'll have to connect a controller to your Windows 10 computer with pretty much any micro USB cable.

There's the tiniest bit of lag between your controller movements and the stream, but as you can see from the GIF above, it's almost imperceptible. It won't be good enough for some games, where twitch reactions and fast movements are key to success ("Call of Duty: Black Ops 3," for instance, or "Halo 5").

Still, the boundaries that once limited us to playing console games in one room of our homes are being broken down. Who knows, maybe one day we'll be streaming all our games from the internet and we won't even need to buy consoles. Given the way all other media is going, and how fantastically this works already, that future may be sooner than we expect.