Sony, LG ... Are televisions ready for next gen consoles?

What do you mean, I'm too close to the TV screen?

I don't know what you're talking about, I actually don't see anything -

• The PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series are monsters of power and technology, with the ability to deliver a 4K 120fps or 8K 60fps image.

• But are the televisions ready?

  Does the new HDMI 2.1 standard do it all?

• A quick tour of the manufacturers' proposals, in the middle of Black Friday.

Please note, this article is based on real facts.

With the recent release of next gen consoles, the question has inevitably arisen among gamers and in living rooms, especially during this period of Black Friday and soon Christmas: do I change my TV?

Indeed, the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series are monsters of power, embark the latest advances and connections, but what interest if your television can not exploit them?

What interest to play

and

on a small Full HD screen and therefore without 4K, HFR,

or the “wow effect”… Ah, are you lost?

We were also before playing adventurers in the world of televisions and switching to expert mode.

Follow the guide - no, not a buying guide.

HDMI 2.1, the sinews of war?

Home cinema fans - and readers of our high-tech journalist Christophe Sefrin - already know the television market, with its different technologies (LED, OLED, QLED) and its new image quality standards (HDR, HDR10, HDR 10+, Dolby Vision).

They also apply to video games, to which are added new barbaric terms such as VRR, ALLM and especially HDMI 2.1, the real nerve of war for next-gen consoles and future televisions.

Evolution of the now well-known HDMI, "this new protocol, still under construction and finalization, provides an optimal gaming experience", comments Frédéric Soares, head of Home Entertainment Training at the manufacturer LG France.

Everything for the comfort and control of the gamer

“HDMI 2.1 must meet several standards,” he explains.

Like the High Frame Rate (HFR) up to 120 frames per second in 4K, and 60 fps in 8K, the Variable Refresh Rate (VRR), synchronization of the display frequency of the screen with that of the card console graphics to avoid image "tearing", or Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM), a

principle

which means that the console is immediately recognized, the "game" mode activated, the

reduced

… ”

The

is one of the crazes of the players, it is about having the least possible delay in the display, between the moment when you press the joystick and when the action occurs at the screen.

The consensus is that below 25 milliseconds the player will be quiet, but hardcore gamers, online and / or on PC, always want to go lower, to maintain almost absolute control in shooting or racing games. .

LG announces an input lag of 13ms on these OLED TVs, against less than 10ms, or even 5ms, for PC monitors.

No, it's not a car seat in the living room, it's just my one-seater sofa - LG

"Current televisions can already run the majority of games"

For LG's Frédéric Soares, 2020 TVs aren't just ready for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, they're even ahead.

At least on games.

“A good part of the equipment can already support images at 4K 60 fps and HDR, and thus run the majority of games.

“Because HDMI 2.1 is especially valid for games in 4K 120 frames per second, but they are still few: 

… However, the Korean brand's 2020 OLED TVs all have HDMI 2.1 ports, their workhorse - the CX- series in the lead, and are “ready for the next 6-7 years”.

Or a generation of consoles.

Xbox and LG Electronics (@LG_France) are teaming up to bring you the ultimate gaming experience with #XboxSeriesX and LG OLED screens ⤵️https: //t.co/a0sUrMkE5h

- Xbox FR (@XboxFR) November 20, 2020

Sony ready for the PS5… or almost

PlayStation obliges, Sony is also ready… or almost.

The Japanese manufacturer has set up two labels this summer to support the player and potential buyer.

The first, “Perfect for PlayStation”, concerns all their Android screens, 4K, HDR, explains Patrick Moncet, TV product manager at Sony, “with an

revised downwards, and for example measured at 10ms by

for the entry of game XH80, a game mode optimized in collaboration with PlayStation, and some of the characteristics of the HDMI 2.1: detection of the console and automatic switching to game mode, the TV is switched on with the PlayStation, the remote control the console… ”So, no real HDMI 2.1?

“This is a new standard,” explains Patrick Moncet.

The components have been on the market for six months, and the first equipped televisions are the most upscale, intended for hardcore gamers.

"

From where a second label, “Ready for PlayStation 5”, which concerns for the moment only two models, the XH90 and the ZH8, both equipped with ports HDMI 2.1 and all that that implies.

Sony therefore chooses LED for its first “Ready for PS5”, where LG highlights its OLED TVs, for example through an exclusive partnership with Xbox.

I wonder if I did not take the size of the TV a bit too much 🤣

I am going to make the most of Next Gen👍 I will get back to you soon!

#SonyTV # XH90 # ReadyForPS5 pic.twitter.com/ZfspEx5EPp

- Kayane (@Kayane) November 20, 2020

LED or OLED, the eternal question

Samsung has long chosen LED, with its QLED technology, and offers gamers more HDMI 2.1 compatible models.

If the LED does not reach the image “perfection” of the OLED, its progress and new names (QLED at Samsung, NanoCell at LG) come close, at a lower cost.

From € 800 for a 55-inch screen, against € 1,500 for the OLED, during this Black Friday period.

The screen size, let's talk about it.

If the madness of grandeur still wins the market, and it is difficult to find televisions less than 55 '' diagonal (140 cm anyway), smaller but very comfortable models are starting to come out, like the LG 48CX or the Sony A9, good candidates for the family living room or the geek's room.

And I put the sound back on!

It seemed to have disappeared from the technical characteristics of televisions and from the tests of specialized sites, but it is there and it is important.

Who is that ?

The sound !

Indeed, with the switch to flat screens, sound was no longer a priority, or even a possibility, for manufacturers, with the development of sound bars and men's cinema kits as a consequence.

But it should be noted that in recent years, real efforts have been made, with different technologies: the sound screen at Sony, the Bowers & Wilkins sound bar integrated at Philips or the democratization of Dolby Atmos ... For gaming, this may be enough, or there will always be time to add extra Bluetooth speakers.

If Sony, LG and Samsung are considered the holy trinity of televisions, we should not forget the other brands, like Panasonic, often praised for its OLEDs, Philips and its Ambilight or Hisence and Xiaomi for the first prices.

While keeping an eye on HDMI 2.1 compatibility.

Choosing the console, between PS5 and Xbox Series, was ultimately a cinch compared to that of the TV, but now you have the guns.

We are facing the boss - and choice - final.

Culture

Xbox Series X | S: The new Xbox wants to enter the game (it came with its little sister)

Culture

PlayStation 5: Push yourself, the new Sony console arrives and wants to crush the game

What about video projectors?

While video projectors are primarily intended for the cinema experience, they can be used for video games.

But at what point?

For Gregory, from the Passion Home Cinema blog, if no video projector is specific to gaming, they manage: “the Optoma brand in classic focal length can grow at 60 images per second in 4k and 120 or even 240 in 1080p, with input lag less than 10 milliseconds ”.

For HDMI 2.1, only the LG Cinebeam seems equipped, with a single port.

Regarding ultra short throw projectors, very fashionable, "they do not push up to 120 fps, but can have a good input lag, like the Epson EH-LS500 and its 20ms".

• Samsung

• Sony

• Xbox

• Playstation

• Video games

• High Tech

• LG

• Connected TV