We have proven in the last few months that TVs and gaming are vital for each other to succeed. We have seen Samsung going out of their way to make sure that their new range of QLED TVs includes the best gaming features as well as the best tech to push 4K HDR to the limit. CES has just ended and with it came a bunch of new TV announcements that paves the way for gaming for the next few years. While we are still a few generations away from using much of this new tech, especially 8K, it is nice to see where we are headed in the next few years. Take a look at the TVs of CES 2018.
OLED is still the expensive king
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The OLED technology is a step above the rest but as you might not know, it comes are a premium price tag too. OLED TVs are often double the price of a QLED for example with a model setting you back R70k for a 65-inch. It is not in many gamer’s budgets at all and although the displays deliver the best HDR 4K experiences on the market, the price outweighs its benefits for most. LG announced a brand new range of OLED displays called the “E” range. This new selection supports 120-frames-per-second video and new smart features. For gaming, this means nothing but a new range of OLED TVs you probably cannot afford.
Samsung’s “The Wall” TV and 8K gaming is still far away
Samsung is still trying to prove to the world that they can create a tech that is half the price of OLED and deliver the same quality. Their QLED range is almost there and I have to say I use one every day and it is the best TV I have ever bought. At CES this year Samsung announced a new technology called MicroLED which is said to be their version of OLED. This new tech allows each pixel to illuminate by itself creating the same effect that OLED has. The most concerning part of this, Samsung did not announce any actual TV with the tech built into it. Rather, the company unveiled a massive 146-inch display called “The Wall”. This 8K display will probably never make it into any household but Samsung says that these TVs can be custom made to any size you want so the possibilities are endless. Saying that 8K for gaming is just not happening anytime soon as we just moved to 4K and not even Netlifx offers 8K movies and content. TVs of CES 2018.
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The only positive side of this is that we at least know now that Samsung’s MicroLED tech is real and they will be making TVs with it in the years to come. Keep in mind that Samsung is still very dedicated to proving that quantum dots can beat OLED and their new range of QLED TVs due out this year is said to have even better Local Dimming on them to further deepen the blacks. This means that gaming with HDR 4K will be even better than ever. Samsung still leads the charge when it comes to their gaming features on their QLED displays and at CES 2018, the company announced new a new SmartThings app which is going to further enhance the TVs features for hardware plugged into it and even let you control your house’s automation directly from the TV.
TVs of CES 2018 4K TVs will get cheaper
If you are looking for a 4K TV but the prices are just out of this world then CES 2018 brought some good news with it. With all the new models releasing this year, last year’s displays will see a drop in price. I know we don’t get Sony TVs here (sad face), but even they announced a cheaper range of 4K displays that will act as entry-level consumer products. Samsung’s new range of QLEDs with improved local dimming will see last year’s models drop in price too. This is all normal as new tech comes out, older tech gets cheaper and so on. LG also announced a new Super UHD TV that makes use of Nano Cells. This is going to be a new cheaper range of LG displays that don’t make use of the OLED but still offers a full local dimming array.
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Nvidia Big Format Gaming Displays
Probably the only major step in gaming at CES 2018 was Nvidia’s new Big Format Gaming Displays. It is a TV which is a gaming monitor which is a TV. Right now there is really no right category for them as they come in 65-inches, boast HDR 4K as a TV does but at the same time, they come with G-Sync, super-low latency, and Nvidia Shield built into them. The screen can go up to 1,000 nits to deliver a fantastic HDR experience and thanks to its DCI-P3 gamut support, colours will be richer than ever, more than any PC monitor can deliver. 120Hz means 120FPS when playing games and that is a big deal for PC gaming especially when you are used to that experience on a monitor. It’s one of the TVs of CES 2018 we can’t wait to try.
While we have no prices yet for these displays we know that HP, Acer, and ASUS are all working on their own model that will include all the fancy features above. These will probably be out of many gamer’s price range as you cannot even pick up a 4K 65-inch TV for under R15k. PC monitors also cost a fortune as a 27-inch 4K 120Hz display is just under R20k. Imagine tripling that size and price.
What do you think about the TVs of CES 2018? Let us know in the comments below.
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