Xbox Series S/X: Thread 02

[CAPCOM]

https://www.wired.co.uk/article/xbox-series-x-hands-on-preview

Good article by Matt Kamen.

[QualityChimp]

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[hudson]

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Looks great, but the price of some of these are gulp inducing. There's a PS4 controller on their site that costs 170 Euros. Gulp.

[Lebowski]

Looks great, but the price of some of these are gulp inducing. There's a PS4 controller on their site that costs 170 Euros. Gulp.

Microsoft really opened up the pro controller market the last few years. I'm not a massive fan of Nacon though their build quality is pretty low, had two of there revolution unlimited controllers and the springs they use on the triggers are the thinnest things I've ever seen had two trigger breaks in under 12 months.

[nonny]

Yeah, that's why a test is a must really. Fully agree with the above 2 posts, but it also really depends on where you're coming from (i.e. what set you have now and therefore what you're used to), and also your sensitivity to picture quality generally. Some people just don't see some stuff. I have a mate that swears the horrible compressed 720p NowTV picture is completely fine and there's nothing wrong with it.

Yeah and look to make matters worse you've got new tech coming like micro-LED or mini-LED (or whatever they'll brand it as) where they're having thousands of smaller light sources for full array dimming for LCD. Essentially closing the gap as much as possible on OLED but without the burn-in issues.

That is still new but starting to roll out...

For me LG OLED is currently the one to beat in absolute picture quality and feature set (particularly for gaming) but that is still very much premium top-range stuff and price-wise it hasn't really budged in the past few years because LG have the market cornered and OLED is very expensive to manufacture.

That may change very soon with these new technologies so along with HDMI 2.1 just starting to come through the reality is either wait a while (if you can) and see how it develops or be prepared to invest in mid-high range if you want something gaming future-proofed for these consoles. Or, if you're happy enough with missing out on HDMI 2.1 (HDMI 2.0 can still do 4K, just not 120Hz) then you've got plenty of choice.

For me best TV all round for gaming: LG OLED CX (or C9 from last year), runner up the B model

Best LCD TV for gaming: Samsung Q90T (or 80T if want cheaper)

Best bargain TV for HDMI 2.1 gaming: Sony XH90 series

None of them are perfect but for these consoles they're the ones I am personally looking at so far.

[nonny]

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Looks massive. There is also the powerA XP7-X which looks very similar to this and may actually be wide enough to hold an 8-10" tablet.

[wakka]

Yeah and look to make matters worse you've got new tech coming like micro-LED or mini-LED (or whatever they'll brand it as) where they're having thousands of smaller light sources for full array dimming for LCD. Essentially closing the gap as much as possible on OLED but without the burn-in issues.

Yeah, from what I've read Micro LED sounds like it will probably supplant OLED eventually.

My advice to anyone looking at buying a new TV would be absolutely not to wait for that though. It's a ways off still.

I think your roundup of the best 120Hz TVs on the market currently is a good one!

[nonny]

Yeah, from what I've read Micro LED sounds like it will probably supplant OLED eventually.

My advice to anyone looking at buying a new TV would be absolutely not to wait for that though. It's a ways off still.

I think your roundup of the best 120Hz TVs on the market currently is a good one!

Cheers. I've been keeping an eye on this crap for over a year but I'm not in any position to buy yet but keeping tabs on it regardless. I've currently got an aging 2014 HU8550 65" Samsung model still going strong but while it can happily do 4K 60fps it has zero HDR support and it is something I really want for all the reasons mentioned above.

If you want the negatives:

LG OLED - You've got stellar everything spec-wise but it's expensive and I've heard some absolute horror stories on warranty with burn-in where LG doesn't honour what is considered "normal usage". Hard to tell if it's a widespread thing but the few stories I have heard are enough to raise a few eyebrows because a couple where gaming related.

Samsung QLED - Every panel in 2020 only has 1x HDMI 2.1 port which sucks and Samsung still don't (and won't) support Dolby Vision, that is probably the biggest negative across the board.

Sony XH90 - Comes with 2x HDMI 2.1 which is great but doesn't yet have the firmware for VRR (they did just release the first HDMI 2.1 firmware yesterday but the full features are delayed). This TV also has fairly poor HDR performance compared to the Samsung QLED line-up (80T and above) but is otherwise the best cheap option for gaming (IMO).

The most annoying thing is all 3 manufacturers have reduced their feature set on these models compared to last year. All have had some options taken away though for the most part the core features remain. I think the biggest one is LG reducing the CX models HDMI 2.1 bandwidth from the full 48Gbps down to I think 40Gbps? It won't mean much to many but it essentially means you won't be able to have full fat everything on at the same time without sacrificing something (VRR, 120fps, Full 10bit colour, eARC).

First world problems for sure but annoying for such an expensive TV when last years model had it.



Agree micro LED is a way off but manufacturers like TCL in the US are now using similar tech and you've got Hisense exploring it and also LG/Samsung grabbing a few patents of late. It's on the cards and it'll most likely be expensive as always but its coming...

[wakka]

Yeah, micro LED isn't a million miles off, but I believe the current technology being implemented by TCL and others in the US is mini LED. I think it's when that is reduced to micro that we will see the technology which will jump ahead of what OLED can achieve. Based on what I've read, anyway.

But if you are looking to buy in the near future, for my money you are better off buying into a very mature technology like OLED, rather than the very first generation of micro LED.

Personally I plumped for a Panasonic GZ950 earlier this year, which I managed to swing with a price match at Richer Sounds for £950. No HDMI 2.1, but I chose it based in part on its reputed improved colour accuracy and out-of-the-box calibration versus the LG C9, and in part because it was £450 cheaper.

[nonny]

Yeah, micro LED isn't a million miles off, but I believe the current technology being implemented by TCL and others in the US is mini LED. I think it's when that is reduced to micro that we will see the technology which will jump ahead of what OLED can achieve. Based on what I've read, anyway.

But if you are looking to buy in the near future, for my money you are better off buying into a very mature technology like OLED, rather than the very first generation of micro LED.

Personally I plumped for a Panasonic GZ950 earlier this year, which I managed to swing with a price match at Richer Sounds for £950. No HDMI 2.1, but I chose it based in part on its reputed improved colour accuracy and out-of-the-box calibration versus the LG C9, and in part because it was £450 cheaper.

Yeah thats a nice TV.

I think TCL mini-LED was looking really good at CES (from memory, that seems like a lifetime ago) and is basically the cheaper way of doing what micro-LED is with Samsung. Not quite as full-on but at a price point that seems like the best consumer option right now. I was getting all hyped for it and then TCL have yet again not given the European market anything worthy of what they sell in the US models.

Seriously I want TCL to enter the EU market with even 1-2 of their US models because it would be a disrupter.

I haven't really been wow'ed by any of the 2020 models but as with every year the closer you get to Black Friday the better the prices and then in February they start really discounting to make way for the next years models.

You don't need HDMI 2.1 for these new consoles but I think if you haven't bought anything right now and are seriously thinking about it then you're better off waiting and see how things pan out. 6 months isn't going to make too much difference but will probably give better perspective.

[hudson]

Can I play Halo Master Chief Collection on Series S via GamePass? I'm reading some confusing tidbits.

[nonny]

Can I play Halo Master Chief Collection on Series S via GamePass? I'm reading some confusing tidbits.

Yes you can play it on all Xbox consoles, and PC, Android via Game Pass (Ultimate*)

*Ultimate needed for cloud on android

[nonny]

Pretty much what I was saying earlier, except the first two TVs on this list are US only... (TCL and Hisense).

[arcnas]

I’m just about to replace my 2015 flagship Samsung model ,that does has a form of HDR , and 4K, so apart from hdmi 2.1 , I’m not sure what to do

i have chosen either the LG CX or Q90T. As the replacement , but reading this the burn in concerns moves me to the Samsung , it will be used for mainly gaming so is the q90t a better choice .

[teddymeow]

Burn in isn't really a concern on modern OLED. The sets have settings to refresh pixels to minimise issues.

My LG OLED did its first refresh on Tuesday after clicking 1000 hours since April.

I can't imagine going back to LCD to the point where I'm considering replacing the TV in my "man den" with an OLED even though it doesn't get much use at present.