Televisions for the next generation of consoles - Haha TV go VRR

[ThornGhost]

My 9 year old 1080p living room TV was starting to feel a bit creaky with the PS5 connected to it so I've been looking into televisions that can support the next generation of game and video content. Additionally, since Covid seems like it will continue to keep us from enjoying public activities for at least another six months, it seemed like a good time to invest a bit more into my primary source of in-home entertainment as well.

There is a lot more to consider than I was aware. Of course the PS5 can support 4k, but it also pretty prominently features 120Hz as well. Looking for a 4k/120Hz television already begins to knock a lot of the more affordable models out of the running. Once you start asking for things like full array back lighting, HDMI 2.1 support, low input lag and VRR, the choices shrink, the price goes up and honestly it all gets a bit confusing.

I don't know I can write a primer on it all, but I can at least share with you a few hints and the choice I made. From what I've seen, it seems like your main filter should be ensuring that the television has at least one HDMI 2.1 port. HDMI 2.0 does not officially support 4k/120Hz (though it may be able to support it in some cases) so in general, supporting HDMI 2.1 should ensure that you get a display that can handle the maximum video quality from the next gen of consoles. That said, I have seen some exceptions here and there, especially with TVs on the cheaper end of the spectrum. TCL's 6 series, a very popular mid-priced television, supports HDMI 2.1 input but some other component of the TV limits the display to 1440p/120Hz or 4k/60Hz.

That said, how many games will actually run at that maximum possible limit, I do not know. No doubt a lot will not and it will be up to the developer to ensure support. You may not miss very much with a less capable television.

Anyway, after all the research, I bought the Vizio PQ series. Rtings, Techradar and CNET all gave it solid scores across the board and I'm sure it will be a huge upgrade for me. I haven't actually received it yet, but it seems to hit all the specs I was looking for. Some of the user reviews are a bit hinkey, but Costco provides an extended 3 year warranty for free so I feel confident in the purchase.

I'll update the thread when I have some experience with the device.

Anybody else on the same hunt? What have you discovered or purchased?

 

[Peklo]

I got the LG CX a couple of weeks ago when the relevant sales were going on. Even with those in effect, it was too expensive, but 1) I've never bought a TV for myself before 2) the hand-me-down I'd had until now was 10 years old at a minimum and breaking down, so I figured I'd get exorbitant while I could. I don't have anything 4K-supporting yet but it's doing for me what you'd ideally want displays to do: making the media you consume through it more enjoyable to interact with. The colour space, depth of blacks, near-immaterial lag and colour uniformity are all things I notice in regular use without having to analyze them through enthusiast metrics. It's made the purchase worth it even if I'll eat the expense for a while.

 

[periodical]

We've adapted to projector life to maximize our 1bd/1bth apartment/office with this one and so I'm really stuck. The best option for 4k gaming seems to be around 1.5k, which ain't happening. I'm not too concerned at the moment, but I'm sure as the generation goes on I'll want to either get the higher refresh or resolution going. I do have a 4k monitor living at my partner's mom's house I may grab...

 

[4-So]

I have a Samsung 8 series from 2017 that's still doing a pretty good job. Having said that, my tech lust is strong and one of the few things I'll allow myself to splurge on, so I'm looking for an upgrade early next year and I'll likely give the 8 series to the oldest kid, which in turn means the middle kid will get OG Kid's TV, etc. The hand-me-down game we all know and love.

I'll be looking for something that does HDMI 2.1 Looking at a Samsung Q80 or Q90 (2020 models) or just waiting for the 2021 models. Truth be told, I've become a bit of an audio snob in my old age so I'm more concerned with soundbar options/compatibility than the TV's capabilities.

 

[ThornGhost]

Finally got my new Vizio mounted on the wall and womp womp the inputs are on the other side than my old set. I can't really move my AV shelving so I'm having to deal. This is fine for the HD devices I have running through a switcher because of the additional cable length that provides, but has necessitated purchasing a longer HDMI 2.1 cable for the PS5. Not sure what standard my HDMI switch is passing but when I try to run the PS5 through it I get no picture at all. Presumably there's enough communication to try and set the resolution, but that then fails.

 

[MCBanjoMike]

I was the first person I knew with a big flat-screen HDTV, which I bought shortly after starting my job in 2008. I held out to replace it until last year, when the LG C9 came out. In theory, it’s the first TV that had all HDMI 2.1 ports, so I’m hoping it will be able to handle everything I can throw at it. In practice, I don’t have any 4k 120Hz sources to test right now, but aside from that it’s a great TV. Looks great, fast response time and the deep blacks are wonderful for playing retro games that don’t fill the screen - the unused space basically vanishes from sight. I only recently played my first game that used HDR (Resident Evil 2 remake) and it was super impressive. I just hope that it will handle VRR and 120Hz stuff properly, I’d hate to think I bought my TV just one year too early.

 

[Sarge]

My brother bought a Samsung Q80T that is pretty darn impressive. He had a lot of store credit from buying his new phone, anyway. I'd like something with a 120 Hz refresh rate, because my 60 Hz 4K set definitely does some blurring and afterimages. (It's a JU6500, which I honestly can't complain about too much, but it's got a ton of quirks I had to fight through to get optimal performance.)

I had a chance to "upgrade" to a LG 65UN69, but it was more of a sideways jump than an actual upgrade. My brother, displaying the luck he always has, won it at his company's Christmas party. It's bigger than my 50", and much better input lag (10 ms vs like 25-ish), but it looks worse as a PC monitor, and also has a much more visible screen-door effect, which may be something to do with the BGR as opposed to RGB sub-pixel structure. (I know that's the big issue on Windows, anyway.) So the parents got it instead, and they're loving it.

 

[ThornGhost]

A bit of a roller coaster ride since my last update here.

Got the longer HDMI 2.1 cable and plugged it into my Vizio, still with no display for the PS5. Dug around a bit and ended up restarting my PS5 in safe mode. That pushed a minimal signal, which the TV displayed, and allowed me to change the settings of the full 4k/HDR signal that the PS5 would pass. Once that was set up, the PS5 displayed correctly.

THAT SAID, the gray uniformity on the Vizio is bad. Real bad. I assumed I would never notice it, but I definitely did. Unprompted, my wife did as well. Anytime there was a wide field of of a similar color in motion (which happens a lot in video games, one of the primary reasons I bought the set) the screen would have these distracting streaks through it. It was also very noticeable with sports and certain animation. I tried to deal with it but could not. I ended up returning the television and buying a different model.

This time I went with a Sony X900H, which is a very popular model at the moment for gaming. It was a couple of hundred dollars more than the Vizio, but boy the difference is clear. It's a very slick looking screen, the colors pop and the gray uniformity is spot on. It also features all the HDMI 2.1 features (though some are still scheduled for a future software update, more on that) though they do have to be activated on a per HDMI input basis.

For smart features, the TV runs Android TV, which pretty much has full access to any relevant app on the Google Play store. Once I logged in, I was even offered a selection of previous apps I had downloaded on my phone like SNES9x and Retroarch, which is a wild thought. Stadia is not available officially yet, but I think the assumption is that it will be soon, meaning with a decent enough internet pipe you wouldn't even need an additional device to play new games since the television can Bluetooth to controllers.

Now on to some of those missing HDMI 2.1 features. Notably there's been some scuttlebutt around VRR and ALLM (auto low latency mode) since in the US, the support site for the X900H was changed briefly to show it no longer being supported and some low level Sony support people reported the same. The change was never reflected in the full specs of the television nor was it changed in other territories, but it caused some confusion and anger. The features have now been replaced on the support site and it seems like all is well, but boy that was a kick in the teeth since I literally just bought this thing right before the original change was made.