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4K TVs help games to seem more lifelike. There are a few ways in which they achieve this, including better image quality, reduced lag, and more HDMI ports.
If you’re considering an upgrade to 4K for your gaming hobby, you can learn about whether it will really be worth your money here.
Improved Image
We all know how it feels to look back on old 420p televisions – outdated and a recipe for eyestrain – but it doesn’t have to be that way. Even a cheap 4K TV deal can be a huge upgrade from your current set, and once you make the change you won’t regret it.
A 4K TV has 3,840 horizontal pixels and 2,160 vertical pixels, which comes to a total of about 8.3 million. With such a high density of pixels, the picture quality of your games and TV is sure to be crisp.
If you have never had the joy of using a 4K TV before, you might find it hard to imagine a quality better than what you already have, but this is the same with every new TV upgrade. 4K images can look very lifelike and while there is still a bit of a shortage of television content being produced in 4K resolution, there are plenty of games that will look utterly stunning on our screens.
Here’s a short list of 4K games that you should consider upgrading your television for:
- Grand Theft Auto V
- Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
- Shadow of Mordor
- The Witcher 3
- Metal Gear Solid V
Upscaling Software
Upscaling was introduced to stop old content from looking a bit naff on 4K televisions. After all, anyone who upgrades their TV expects to see quick improvements. According to Deep Halder, Senior Product Manager for TV/AV, Samsung UK & Ireland, upscaling your image quality involved the following processes:
“Noise reduction, edges, textures and details are then analysed and sharpened accordingly. Finally, the signal is converted to 4K to match the native panel resolution.”
This requires a lot of processing power in your television and is one of the features that makes your television act more like a computer than your standard TV set.
Upscaling doesn’t only affect your TV viewing habits; it also applies to the games you play. If you’re a console gamer, you’ll quickly find that your graphics look far better on your new 4K TV.
Reduced Lag
Television production has come a long way for gamers. We’re now at the point where buying a television specifically based on its lag stats is a thing of the past for most people. If you’re a pro, however, there’s a slim chance that you might notice it.
There are some brilliant cheap Samsung TVs that offer miniscule input lag for the optimal gaming experience. The Q70 QLED from Samsung, for example, offers as little as 14ms of lag, which is amazing!
Console Generation – Extra Ports Are the Norm
One of the greatest benefits of structuring your gaming habits around your television is that it’s far more sociable. If you’re a console gamer, creating a set-up with a large display and lots of places to sit means that you’ll always be ready to host a great party.
If you have used a Nintendo Wii at some point, then you know the nuisances of having to swap around your consoles to play different games. Well, with 4K televisions, the days of fiddling around at the back of the TV to swap in your Game Cube is a thing of the past.
Most modern consoles use HDMI ports to display on your television, and the standard 4K television will have at least three. That’s enough room for the latest Xbox, PlayStation, and the Nintendo Switch. If you’re a retro gamer, then you might need to look for converters to channel SCART plugs into your display.
If you find the 4K TV of your dreams in our store, but then realise that it doesn’t have enough HDMI ports for your set-up then don’t worry; there are plenty of 4K HDMI splitters available online to cater to your needs.
If you’re considering buying a new 4K TV, we have a buyers’ guide to help you to understand what size cheap LED TV will best suit your room for your optimum viewing pleasure.
