Between Black Friday sales and new console launches, everyone is talking about buying a new TV this year. It seems everyone – including our own WIRED reviewers – is praising the virtues of modern panels in conjunction with the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. But do you really need a new TV, and if so, what about this new one? fencing is so special?
If you don’t have a 4K HDR TV, you will be missing out on a lot
TV technology has been in the midst of a major transition in recent years with two major improvements to picture quality: 4K and HDR. Without getting too technical, these can improve the sharpness, color and overall “pop” of the TV picture, and both the PS5 and Xbox Series X are ready to get the most out of these technologies. If you’re still running an older 1080p set, the new consoles will still have some improvements – see below – but they’ll feel more like incremental upgrades if you don’t have a relatively recent set.
Technically, the last-gen mid-cycle refreshes, the Xbox One X and PS4 Pro, also used 4K and HDR, although the Xbox Series X goes even further with its Auto HDR feature that adds those bright highlights to backward-compatible Xbox, Xbox 360 and Xbox One games. The disc-based versions of both consoles also include 4K Blu-ray players, which is nice value if you have a capable TV.
Smoother gameplay and fast loading times are beneficial for any TV
That’s not to say these new consoles are whole about new TV technology. The more powerful hardware in the PS5 and Xbox Series X can play a lot of games at higher frame rates, meaning you’ll get smoother motion and more responsiveness no matter which TV you’re using, even if it’s an older 1080p set. Some gamers won’t notice or care about the added smoothness, but I think 60 frames per second is a huge improvement over the previous generation’s 30fps gameplay. (Some next-gen games even have options to play at 120 frames per second, which may require a more recent TV.)
Additionally, both consoles have added features unrelated to your TV, such as the Xbox’s Quick Resume feature or the PS5’s enhanced haptics and 3D audio for headphones. Both consoles also have super fast SSDs, which means loading times will be blazing fast compared to the Xbox One and PS4. These features are nice to have, even on old or cheap TVs.
HDMI 2.1 features are nice, but no urgent upgrades
Finally, if you’ve seen TV buying guides this year, you’ll notice “HDMI 2.1” as a gaming feature to look for if you’re planning to buy a PS5 or Xbox Series X. HDMI 2.1, introduced in 2019, adds a few useful gaming features:
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Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) allows your TV to “sync” the number of times it refreshes per second with the number of frames being output by your console. This can reduce screen tearing and certain types of motion stuttering. Note that the Xbox Series X can use a less powerful version of VRR called FreeSync on select Samsung and LG TVs that don’t have HDMI 2.1.
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Auto-Low Latency Mode (ALLM) automatically puts your TV into game mode when it detects a game signal. This, in combination with HDMI 2.1’s Fast frame transport (QFT), can reduce input lag without having to manually turn on game mode every time you start up the old PlayStation.
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Enhanced Audio Return Channel (ARC) allows your TV to send higher quality audio to a receiver or soundbar. This isn’t a gaming-specific feature, but is useful if you want to pass Dolby Atmos through your TV (the PS5 only supports Atmos for Blu-ray discs, while the Xbox Series X supports it in some games).