While playing on a console, gamers often come across other players moving with reflexes that are too unrealistic. And the culprit here might be a better quality TV with a lower latency rate.
Modern-day top of the line gaming TVs offers latencies(lag) as low as 8.7 ms with ultra 4K/120 Hz visuals that can extract the best out of the gaming console.
One could argue that there’s no fun in buying the latest console when you don’t have a TV to see the full potential that it can deliver. Yet, with all the newest tech, the best gaming experience would require a 4K ultra HD TV.
Is such a TV worth it?
Pros of Gaming TVs
4K Resolution
The sweet 4K resolution is far more superior to the standard HD TV resolution. With the new technology, the built-in software can upscale the normal HD content into 4K, so the user gets the 4K experience not only on gaming but also on many other platforms.
The future is 4K! All of the next-gen consoles like Xbox One S and PlayStation 4 Pro can’t deliver the best results in a standard HD TV. And the next in line XBOX One X and PlayStation 5 would need 4K too.
High Dynamic Range (HDR)
HDR goes hand in hand with the 4k in producing the best possible result. The HDR technology can provide a much wider range of colors, the best one being the 10 Bit screen that can handle 1024 values of each RGB color. Even with the lower end HDR, the user can have pretty decent image quality. Furthermore, the consoles like Xbox One S and PS4 Pro can optimize the user screen to give the best output, tailored according to the specs of the given TV.
Low Input Lag
With a gaming TV, the user can enjoy a lower latency rate, meaning that they can play first-person shooters and react way quicker.
With some of the budget TVs, users can get latencies up to 9.8. It is not bad, compared to some of the higher-end versions that have higher latencies. Keep in mind that higher latency is not better. Gamers aim for lower latencies, i.e., lower lag. Now you know why the reaction time of some pros is better than the others.
And it’s not just hardware in use that matters. The use of a VPN, for example, tackles the bandwidth throttling. It can sometimes solve connection issues and reduce lag even better than quality TV.
Surround Sound
Modern-day ultra 4K HD TVs come equipped with the best surround sound quality that has never been experienced on home TVs before.
Hz/Refresh Rate/FPS
With the frame rate of 120, the smoothness of the video goes to another level. It is much better than what a user would usually get on a 60FPS or less.
Cons of Gaming TVs
Expensive
The first problem is the high cost of these ultra 4K HD TVs. The high end is super expensive, while the lower end is not very reliable. With the same amount of money, the user can buy a better performing HD TV compared to the cheaper 4K TV.
Lack of Native 4K Content
As 4K technology is less in use right now, there is not much content out there, especially in the film industry. Most of the native 4K content is in the gaming industry. The biggest reason for 4K content not being available is the vast storage and processing power required for it.
Broadband Speed
Another reason against 4k is the broadband speed. There are still many places in the world where it is not possible to have fast enough broadband to stream ultra 4K content.
WiFi Connectivity
Most of the electronic devices these days, including smart TVs, are connected to online accounts. All the data is synced, making it susceptible to the danger of being hacked. It is recommended to set up a VPN on the WiFi router to prevent some network hacks. It will hide the IP address (https://nordvpn.com/features/hide-ip/) and encrypt the traffic of all the connected devices.
HDMI Connectivity
The older models that do not offer the 2.0a HDMI socket are not worth buying as they can not show 4K resolution as it is meant to be. The newer 2.1 will be even better than the 2.0a.
[Written By External Partner]