A key selling point of the PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series X can't be used on the vast majority of TVs
- Microsoft and Sony recently launched their latest Xbox and PlayStation video game consoles.
- The PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series X are capable of producing more dazzling visuals than ever before with 4K resolution at 120 frames per second.
- Like previous console generations, that visual leap requires a new type of television that's capable of supporting such high-resolution gameplay, and those TVs are rare and expensive.
Microsoft's new Xbox and Sony's new PlayStation are officially available - the PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series X are the latest entries in the decades-long console wars.
With that new generation comes the next major leap in graphics technology: Both the PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series X are boasting 4K-resolution games at a stunningly high refresh rate of 120 hertz. What that means is crisp image quality paired with smooth motion. Games on both new consoles are promised to look better than ever.
Whether your television is actually capable of producing those visuals, however, is another question.
For a television to display 4K-resolution games running at such high frame rates, it needs to support those specs. The vast majority of TVs do not, including many new sets that support both 4K resolution and HDR visuals. That's because TVs with support for such high frame rates with 4K resolutions are still brand new, and most are still prohibitively expensive.
You're looking at $950 on the low end, and much higher if you want something larger than 55 inches, for TVs that support those specs. Beyond producing 4K-resolution visuals at 120 Hz, TVs that fully support the next-gen consoles also need a new type of HDMI port to handle all that data: HDMI 2.1.
The latest version of HDMI is available on only the newest TVs; many existing 4K and HDR TVs don't have it, and there's no way to upgrade a port.
In so many words: If you want to take full advantage of the power of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X consoles, you almost certainly need a new television.
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