The great gaming setup THE TROUBLE WITH HDMI

NOW’S THE TIME TO GET READY FOR THE NEXT-GEN CONSOLES

THE SOUNDBAR SAMSUNG HW-Q70T SOUNDBAR

The Q70T soundbar delivers outstandingly powerful Dolby Atmos or DTS:X sound from its 330W, six-channel soundbar/wireless subwoofer setup. The main reason it’s made our gaming system, though, is its Game Pro mode. This adds Atmos-like effects to non-Atmos game soundtracks, putting you at the heart of the gaming world and emphasising subtle details, making it easier to hear

enemies sneaking up on you.

$849, samsung.com

THE CONSOLE XBOX SERIES X

While both next-gen consoles are going to transform the gaming experience, Microsoft’s Xbox Series X looks slightly more technically powerful than its rival. This makes it the perfect partner for a screen as cutting edge as the LG OLED48CX. Especially as this set carries built-in Dolby Atmos sound and, unlike the PS5, the Series X will be supporting Dolby Atmos for some of its biggest games.

$749, xbox.com

THE TV LG CX

No TV is better equipped to meet the demands of today’s video gamers than LG’s 48-inch OLED48CX. This is still 4K despite its gaming-friendly size, and its contrast-rich OLED screen does a stunning job with today’s HDR games. All its HDMIs, too, support the 4K/120Hz and variable refresh rate features (including AMD Freesync and NVIDIA G-Sync)

being promised by the next-gen consoles.

$2,100, lg.com

THE LIGHT PHILIPS PLAY HDMI SYNC BOX AND HUE SMART LIGHT BARS

For the ultimate in gaming immersion, nothing beats a lighting system that tracks the colours of the images in your game. The Philips HDMI Sync box in conjunction with a Hue Bridge and two Hue Play Smart Light Bars delivers exactly this for a fraction of the cost of a Philips’ Ambilight TV. Do note, though, that the system’s HDMIs don’t support 4K at

120Hz or VRR.

$239, philips-hue.com

The PS5 and Xbox Series X have exposed serious complications with the humble HDMI port. For while on the one hand we have the next-gen consoles promising such goodies as 4K/120Hz graphics, variable refresh

rates and automatic low latency mode switching, the HDMIs sported by many of today’s TVs – even many 2020 models, including the majority of Sony sets – don’t have enough bandwidth to support all of these features. Or, in some cases, they only support these new features via one of their HDMIs – despite there being two next-gen consoles. The same issues apply to the latest AV

receivers, too.

The only ranges of TVs that support

pretty much all the big new nextgen gaming features across all their

HDMI inputs are LG’s 2019 and 2020 OLEDs. Let’s hope the other brands sort themselves out for

2021, at least.