Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5

[10spro]

This maybe the first time in a long while that I may pass on the release day for either console. Yeah, age is one reason and I just don’t have that MUST have feel in me these days. Not saying I won’t be getting either console but not necessarily on day one.

No matter how you place it on your living room, that machine will be in a sexier format by year 2?

[Diablo25]

This maybe the first time in a long while that I may pass on the release day for either console. Yeah, age is one reason and I just don’t have that MUST have feel in me these days. Not saying I won’t be getting either console but not necessarily on day one.

No matter how you place it on your living room, that machine will be in a sexier format by year 2?

I could definitely see myself not getting a PS5. With The Show being available on other consoles in 2021 there is no real draw for me to Sony’s new console. I will be getting an XBSX on day 1.

[J_Cauthen]

This maybe the first time in a long while that I may pass on the release day for either console. Yeah, age is one reason and I just don’t have that MUST have feel in me these days. Not saying I won’t be getting either console but not necessarily on day one.

No matter how you place it on your living room, that machine will be in a sexier format by year 2?

This possibly could happen with me, more because of the potential for not having a release-day/must-have game. The games I'm most into are Forza 7, The Golf Club 2019, F1 2019, and Frontier Elite Dangerous. The only one of those four that doesn't have 4K/60 FPS support is The Golf Club 2019. Of those four, the only one I'm sure will be available for the Series X on launch day is a new Forza game, but I can't see how it's going to be so much better than Forza 7, that I'll have to buy a new console just to experience it. Forza 7 continues to amaze me in both looks and performance on the XBox One X, so I'm not sure I'd feel plussed enough by it to shell out a minimum of $500 on a new console to experience it.

Something may change between now and release day to change my mind, and I'm really hoping it will. I love experimenting with new gaming hardware, but $500 is beyond where I draw the line to satisfy gaming curiosity from gaming fun.

[J_Cauthen]

I could definitely see myself not getting a PS5. With The Show being available on other consoles in 2021 there is no real draw for me to Sony’s new console. I will be getting an XBSX on day 1.

Yep, The Show news could potentially be what keeps me from buying a PS5. Then again, there could be a PS5 exclusive that slips in there at the last minute to change my mind about that. Right now I don't see that as a likely happening though.

[Rodster]

I'm definitely waiting for the mid cycle refresh. The only game that could break my will for a new console would be a release of Bloodbourne 2.

[MizzouRah]

Guess I need to save for the XBSX as well as a new 8k 65" TV.

Damn you technology!

[J_Cauthen]

Guess I need to save for the XBSX as well as a new 8k 65" TV.

Damn you technology!

I think I'm going to be good for quite a while with my 65" 4K I bought in 2018, as it still looks just as good as new and I'm still marveling over the image quality. Once I see an 8K screen in the flesh though, I might change my mind...

[Wilk5280]

I'd be lying to myself if I didn't just come out and say "day 1"

[pk500]

Guess I need to save for the XBSX as well as a new 8k 65" TV.

Damn you technology!

Why 8K? Broadcast and cable networks aren't even televising in 4K. You can only get that for selected Amazon and Netflix shows and gaming through an Xbox One X.

8K is one of those concepts that sounds cool but is impractical as f*ck and not worth the money right now, IMO. It reminds me of the guy who buys a Ferrari LaFerrari to drive it on the street. Pretty pointless.

[greggsand]

Guess I need to save for the XBSX as well as a new 8k 65" TV.

Damn you technology!

Why 8K? Broadcast and cable networks aren't even televising in 4K. You can only get that for selected Amazon and Netflix shows and gaming through an Xbox One X.

8K is one of those concepts that sounds cool but is impractical as f*ck and not worth the money right now, IMO. It reminds me of the guy who buys a Ferrari LaFerrari to drive it on the street. Pretty pointless.

Yes, 8k isn't really here yet, but many of the new TVs this year will simply be 8k ready with little or no price increase. Getting a tv to 8k over 4k doesn't require a major tech overhaul like SD to HD back in the day. In the next two years, they'll all be 8k ready (at least for the big boys, LG, Samsung, Sony, etc..).

[pk500]

In the next two years, they'll all be 8k ready (at least for the big boys, LG, Samsung, Sony, etc..).

Which doesn't mean jacksh*t if major networks and streaming services aren't producing a lot of 8K content.

Let's get real here: Most of us do, but there's very little reason to own a 4K TV unless you're a rabid consumer of Netflix or Amazon Prime or own an Xbox One X. No broadcast networks or cable channels broadcast in 4K, so they're sure as sh*t not rushing into 8K. Hell, ABC, FOX and the ESPN and FOX Sports networks still broadcast in 720p!

We'll see if Netflix and Amazon Prime run head-first into the additional expense of 8K equipment for production without major adoption by consumers.

I still think RobV is the smartest TV mofo here. He refuses to give up his 1080p plasma because its motion handling destroys any LED or LCD set. That's fact. I owned a 720p plasma, and all plasmas have a standard refresh rate of 600 mHZ. Meanwhile, OLED manufacturers cream their shorts while promoting a 240 mHZ refresh rate. I don't regret ditching my 720p plasma for a 4K set last year, but I probably would have followed Rob's lead if my plasma was 1080p. Plasmas are just SO much better for fast-motion sports than any other sets out there today.

Finally, I find it very hard to believe that electronics manufacturers aren't going to charge a premium for 8K. You mean to tell me Sony, Samsung, LG, Vizio, TCL and the like are just going to give away their newest technological feature? That would be stunning.

Plus we sure as hell know Netflix and Prime both will charge more for 8K content, just like Netflix does now to access 4K content. That's the only way it makes fiscal sense for their companies, especially in the early era of low adoption.

Owning an 8K set in 2020 is a lot like owning a CD player in 1985. Cool and cutting-edge, but not really that practical for the additional expense, either on the hardware or content side, or both.

[Rodster]

In the next two years, they'll all be 8k ready (at least for the big boys, LG, Samsung, Sony, etc..).

Which doesn't mean jacksh*t if major networks and streaming services aren't producing a lot of 8K content.

Let's get real here: Most of us do, but there's very little reason to own a 4K TV unless you're a rabid consumer of Netflix or Amazon Prime or own an Xbox One X. No broadcast networks or cable channels broadcast in 4K, so they're sure as sh*t not rushing into 8K. Hell, ABC, FOX and the ESPN and FOX Sports networks still broadcast in 720p!

We'll see if Netflix and Amazon Prime run head-first into the additional expense of 8K equipment for production without major adoption by consumers.

I still think RobV is the smartest TV mofo here. He refuses to give up his 1080p plasma because its motion handling destroys any LED or LCD set. That's fact. I owned a 720p plasma, and all plasmas have a standard refresh rate of 600 mHZ. Meanwhile, OLED manufacturers cream their shorts while promoting a 240 mHZ refresh rate. I don't regret ditching my 720p plasma for a 4K set last year, but I probably would have followed Rob's lead if my plasma was 1080p. Plasmas are just SO much better for fast-motion sports than any other sets out there today.

Finally, I find it very hard to believe that electronics manufacturers aren't going to charge a premium for 8K. You mean to tell me Sony, Samsung, LG, Vizio, TCL and the like are just going to give away their newest technological feature? That would be stunning.

Plus we sure as hell know Netflix and Prime both will charge more for 8K content, just like Netflix does now to access 4K content. That's the only way it makes fiscal sense for their companies, especially in the early era of low adoption.

Owning an 8K set in 2020 is a lot like owning a CD player in 1985. Cool and cutting-edge, but not really that practical for the additional expense, either on the hardware or content side, or both.

I tend to agree. What you can actually do right now even with a 4k set is pretty limited. It's best application is gaming on a console or PC.

[greggsand]

Edited. I don't think 8k will ever be a "thing" anytime soon outside of gaming rigs.

[wco81]

The only company pushing a consumer 8k format at this time is NHK, the Japanese national broadcaster, which plans to broadcast the Tokyo Olympics (if they actually hold it this year), in 8K.

If any American network decides to offer 4K broadcasts or streams of the Olympics, they would likely take the NHK 8K feed and downsample it to 4K.

Otherwise, the only other benefit for consumers might be that TVs which support 8k have to have high throughput, so faster embedded chips and IO, like HDMI 2.1 with all the higher bandwidth formats supported.

That would mean that these TVs would be able to support 4K120 and other high frame rate or HFR formats.

Not that American broadcasters are likely to broadcast HFR content any time soon. Fox served up 4K streams through apps. on some streaming devices. However, they used 1080p sources and then upscaled to 4K rather than film in 4k -- 4k cameras are not uncommon any more.

The reason is, their switching equipment would only handle a fraction of 4k feeds compared to 1080k feeds. So they moved around all that data in 1080p and then before sending the final stream out for viewers, they upscaled to 4k.

I guess at this time, they haven't invested in upgrading all their production equipment.

[MizzouRah]

Guess I need to save for the XBSX as well as a new 8k 65" TV.

Damn you technology!

Why 8K? Broadcast and cable networks aren't even televising in 4K. You can only get that for selected Amazon and Netflix shows and gaming through an Xbox One X.

8K is one of those concepts that sounds cool but is impractical as f*ck and not worth the money right now, IMO. It reminds me of the guy who buys a Ferrari LaFerrari to drive it on the street. Pretty pointless.

I have a 4k TV, but if I'm going to get the XBSX I might as well future proof my next TV as well. I love my LG 4k TV but it doesn't even have HDMI 2.1.

I would guess the new XBSX will have 8k games long before we see 8k programming. I don't know, maybe I'm over thinking it?

[pk500]

Interesting read about a double-blind survey trying to tell the difference between 8K and 4K:

https://www.techhive.com/article/352991 ... 0305215855

[Zeppo]

Interesting read about a double-blind survey trying to tell the difference between 8K and 4K:

https://www.techhive.com/article/352991 ... 0305215855

That is pretty interesting. I have no real evidence, but I’m willing to bet that the vast majority of people don’t sit anywhere nearly as close to their TVs as would be recommended to notice the difference in even 720p to 4K resolutions. I know for myself, I’m surprised how good “normal” 1080p content looks compared to 4K on my Sony TV. I do notice a bigger difference in terms of the HDR and it’s impact on visual quality, but I don’t think I would ever really be able to see the difference in resolution from where we sit (definitely too far). That said, I’m also convinced most HDR content isn’t really HDR. Some of it gives a real “WOW” while most of it just looks really good.

From the start of HD, I have always tried to recreate a cinema experience at home, and I can’t succeed with the TV sizes I could afford and the room. I’ve had to be happy with “Multiplex smaller screen” level screen size.

I’d say for all but the real home-theater folks, 8K will not be worth it for some time. Better to hold out hope that HDR content actually meets some standards that would earn that label, to start with. I wouldn’t go so far as to say 8K is just a gimmick, but I would say unless you have a huge screen or sit really close for normal viewing, it’s not something to covet. I mean, in that study, the front row was 7 feet from an 85” screen, and even that close the results were mostly inconclusive.

[Spooky]

Interesting read about a double-blind survey trying to tell the difference between 8K and 4K:

https://www.techhive.com/article/352991 ... 0305215855

That is pretty interesting. I have no real evidence, but I’m willing to bet that the vast majority of people don’t sit anywhere nearly as close to their TVs as would be recommended to notice the difference in even 720p to 4K resolutions. I know for myself, I’m surprised how good “normal” 1080p content looks compared to 4K on my Sony TV. I do notice a bigger difference in terms of the HDR and it’s impact on visual quality, but I don’t think I would ever really be able to see the difference in resolution from where we sit (definitely too far). That said, I’m also convinced most HDR content isn’t really HDR. Some of it gives a real “WOW” while most of it just looks really good.

From the start of HD, I have always tried to recreate a cinema experience at home, and I can’t succeed with the TV sizes I could afford and the room. I’ve had to be happy with “Multiplex smaller screen” level screen size.

I’d say for all but the real home-theater folks, 8K will not be worth it for some time. Better to hold out hope that HDR content actually meets some standards that would earn that label, to start with. I wouldn’t go so far as to say 8K is just a gimmick, but I would say unless you have a huge screen or sit really close for normal viewing, it’s not something to covet. I mean, in that study, the front row was 7 feet from an 85” screen, and even that close the results were mostly inconclusive.

Whoa - a Zeppo sighting...nice.

[Diablo25]

Interesting read about a double-blind survey trying to tell the difference between 8K and 4K:

https://www.techhive.com/article/352991 ... 0305215855

That is pretty interesting. I have no real evidence, but I’m willing to bet that the vast majority of people don’t sit anywhere nearly as close to their TVs as would be recommended to notice the difference in even 720p to 4K resolutions. I know for myself, I’m surprised how good “normal” 1080p content looks compared to 4K on my Sony TV. I do notice a bigger difference in terms of the HDR and it’s impact on visual quality, but I don’t think I would ever really be able to see the difference in resolution from where we sit (definitely too far). That said, I’m also convinced most HDR content isn’t really HDR. Some of it gives a real “WOW” while most of it just looks really good.

From the start of HD, I have always tried to recreate a cinema experience at home, and I can’t succeed with the TV sizes I could afford and the room. I’ve had to be happy with “Multiplex smaller screen” level screen size.

I’d say for all but the real home-theater folks, 8K will not be worth it for some time. Better to hold out hope that HDR content actually meets some standards that would earn that label, to start with. I wouldn’t go so far as to say 8K is just a gimmick, but I would say unless you have a huge screen or sit really close for normal viewing, it’s not something to covet. I mean, in that study, the front row was 7 feet from an 85” screen, and even that close the results were mostly inconclusive.

Whoa - a Zeppo sighting...nice.

[Pete1210]

Guess I need to save for the XBSX as well as a new 8k 65" TV.

Damn you technology!

Why 8K? Broadcast and cable networks aren't even televising in 4K. You can only get that for selected Amazon and Netflix shows and gaming through an Xbox One X.

8K is one of those concepts that sounds cool but is impractical as f*ck and not worth the money right now, IMO. It reminds me of the guy who buys a Ferrari LaFerrari to drive it on the street. Pretty pointless.

I have a 4k TV, but if I'm going to get the XBSX I might as well future proof my next TV as well. I love my LG 4k TV but it doesn't even have HDMI 2.1.

I would guess the new XBSX will have 8k games long before we see 8k programming. I don't know, maybe I'm over thinking it?

It's not 8K, it's HDMI 2.1 that will be on the new TV's that'll be needed to get the most out of the new consoles (like 120Hz refresh rates).

https://www.polygon.com/2020/3/4/211515 ... 8k-tv-hdmi

[Rodster]

Here are the dimensions for the new Series X including a picture of it laying flat on top of a X1X.

https://www.usgamer.net/articles/we-fin ... eries-x-is

[Diablo25]

Here are the dimensions for the new Series X including a picture of it laying flat on top of a X1X.

https://www.usgamer.net/articles/we-fin ... eries-x-is

Long video but definitely worth the watch if you are a nerd like me This thing is going to be a BEAST. They showed the XBSX take Gears Ultimate from 1080p to native 4K. There is an “auto HDR” feature that applies HDR to any game. They saw Fusion Frenzy (18 year old OG XB game) get the HDR treatment. They called it a “show stopping moment”. Huge deals for backwards compatibility. There are some seriously big things in that video. MS basically let Digital Foundry unveil the whole enchilada in the video. MS basically showed it’s hand to Sony and said whatcha got?

[Rodster]

MS basically showed it’s hand toSony and said whatcha got?

I don't think that matters anymore because of mid cycle releases. Sony came out with the PS4 Pro and MS countered with a more powerful console in 2017. So if the trend follows we should see both doing the same in a few years.

[Diablo25]

MS basically showed it’s hand toSony and said whatcha got?

I don't think that matters anymore because of mid cycle releases. Sony came out with the PS4 Pro and MS countered with a more powerful console in 2017. So if the trend follows we should see both doing the same in a few years.

I think it does matter. Sony came out of the gates with the PS4 and grabbed the lead from MS and never gave it back.

[pk500]

Any way these console launch dates can be accelerated by about eight months? We're all going to have a TON of home time coming up for the next two months. These new rigs would fly off the shelves as quickly as toilet paper.