I am not all that excited to get a PS5 or Xbox Series S/X when they release in November. This isn’t new information; I’ve gone over these gripes before. And sure, now that we know the pricing and launch dates for the next-gen consoles, two of my biggest gripes have been answered. I acknowledge this. Yet the rest of my reasons still stand: the lack of compelling content, the lack of definite availability, and a gosh-darn pandemic to contend with.
But a new reason has surfaced that only adds to the list: My current TV does not have an HDMI 2.1 port, so it can’t make the most of all of those shiny new visual features that these consoles boast as major selling points. And since I don’t plan on replacing my TV any time soon (I just bought it back in April of this year with my stimulus check), it seems silly to drop a few hundred dollars to use a handicapped gaming machine.
That would be like driving a Ferrari in a major metropolitan area during rush hour.
Even the current “Ready for PS5” TVs might not have all of the features to utilize the new specs of the PS5. To quote an article from T3:
First, what does it mean to be ‘Ready for PS5’? The key things are 4K at 120fps support, and an ultra-low input lag (under 7.2ms), both of which are possible using the HDMI 2.1 standard (though the TV will still have to make sure it doesn’t add to the lag when processing the frames).
The article goes on to state:
Here’s the catch even for the features ‘Ready for PS5’ does include: the Sony XH90/X900H is called ‘Ready for PS5’ now, but it won’t actually get the key HDMI 2.1 features until an unspecified point in the future, when an update will add them…
I personally have never been a tech whiz, so even just a cursory glossing of these specs and terms is enough to make my head spin. I think I’ll just wait until after the new year, maybe in the spring when a few more next-gen titles have released. Perhaps then I’ll be in a better position to upgrade my TV if, by some random act of God or nature, I can afford to drop another $900 bucks on a TV that complements my new $500 console.
