STACK #193 Nov 2020

GAMING FEATURE

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Of course, the image onscreen is only half the gaming equation – and if you’ve ever played games on a TV with tiny speakers designed for dialogue, you’ll know how immersion-breaking it can be. While you can make good use of a home cinema audio setup if you have one, for many, the expense and space demands of getting set up with an AV receiver and multiple speakers can be too much hassle. That’s why soundbars have become hugely popular in recent years – they’re a terrific way to get full-range audio into the room and silence those tiny TV speakers. Soundbars are also an easy way to get set up for surround sound from games and movies alike. While many rely on some sonic cleverness and processing to give you a surround experience out of a single box, Samsung’s Q950T soundbar takes a much more realistic approach – by bundling a pair of wireless surround speakers that you can set up in seconds without having to deal with speaker cables. The soundbar boasts a startling 546 watts of total audio power from its 20-speaker array, with full support for Dolby Atmos and DTS:X, and fully supports 4K HDMI connections. It’s also got Alexa built in. SUPERSONIC!

What is HDR? One of the most visually noticeable

If you’re looking for a soundbar that’s a little more space friendly, the Sonos range is definitely worth a look – especially since their soundbars integrate with other Sonos speakers around your home, all controllable from the Sonos app or with your voice. The Sonos Beam is great for general-purpose audio, a compact unit with easy and fast setup that’s an instant upgrade for any TV’s audio. Meanwhile, if you’re after upgrades of the 4K (and 8K) generation, HDR (High Dynamic Range) greatly increases the range of brightness and colour seen on your TV – blacks are deeper, bright lights are brighter, shiny things are shinier and, when done well, it adds a sense of greater realism to both games and movies/ TV. The first time that you turn a corner in Forza Horizon 4 and see the sun glinting through the clouds, you'll be sold on HDR. Many – but not all – major games support HDR (and almost all 4K TVs do); if you're going to be gaming in 4K, it's well worth it.

surround audio for gaming, the Sonos Arc is the one to take a look at, with its Dolby Atmos support and an eight-woofer array for powerful bass. It can also tune itself to your room automatically. As we head into what’s looking to be a truly exciting new generation of gaming, we’re playing with more power than ever before. From next-gen game consoles more powerful than many PCs to huge 4K and 8K displays that have been tuned and optimised for the best possible gaming experience, the future of home entertainment is looking bright (and sounding great!)

Don’t forget the HDMI cables!

To ensure that your next-gen console and new big screen TV speak to each other as seamlessly as possible, the first thing to put on your shopping list is quality HDMI cables. This is

especially important if you’re using an 8K-capable TV, as you won’t get 8K at all without an Ultra-High-Speed HDMI cable. Poor-quality HDMI cables can be the cause of many picture problems, so treat your shiny new console and TV to good ones! You’ll want to make sure the cable is certified for 8K – Belkin make ones that’ll do the job perfectly.

32 NOVEMBER 2020

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