So the title may be misleading, but I am speaking more towards my usage case. On my computer desk I currently have my gaming monitor on the left which is a 32″ 1440p 144hz LG monitor which I use to play PC games with. I also have my PS4 Pro and my Xbox One X hooked into that same monitor. Now I know that Xbox One X got support for 120hz gaming over HDMI 2.0, but that refresh rate only applies to 1440p or 1080p. Not many games (if any) on the One X supported that with most manufacturers rather going for 4K/60hz instead.
The reason I am saying HDMI 2.1 is unnecessary is because I am looking at weighing the cost of waiting for a HDMI 2.1 monitor/TV to what you get for that tech. What I am seeing is this;
HDMI 2.1 Key features:
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ALLM (Auto low-latency mode): In the past (and currently) you would have to put your monitor in “game mode” manually to enable the minimal input latency… Well that to me is not a feature I care about because even on my 5+ year old Samsung the input for the console is automatically set to Game Mode so I only ever set it to ON once when I first plugged it in and forgot about it, so this feature is a non-issue.
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VRR (Variable refresh rate): This is the big one that people will care about the most. The reason I don’t think this is a huge deal let-alone a reason to buy a new TV because most next-gen games I predict won’t be regularly hitting 4k with more than 60fps. The games on Xbox One X with 4K/60hz were few and far between, and most games gave you an option to favor either “Performance” or “Resolution.” I imagine since all of us are going to be wanting “Resolution” since it is a “next-gen” game after-all it seems to me that the advantages of a 4K/120hz monitor/TV is entirely moot. If you look at the current list of games that we know of so far that support 4K/120hz then they are last-gen titles like Dirt5, Gears 5, Ori and the Will of the Wisps, and a handful of others. Now obviously I know that most of the titles playable on Series X don’t yet have an announced resolution/refresh rate however I really think that next gen that’s coming will be mostly 4K/60hz with the occasional game going over that, but not being the main focus. I think a stable 4K/60hz is the best scenario for all next-gen games. I think a lot of last-gen games will get patches that will likely give 120hz, but i’m not talking about last gen… I am talking about true next-gen titles. Just like the XSX can TECHNICALLY do 8K output… the goal is not 8K gaming… and I think the same holds true for the 120hz claim… yes the XSX can TECHNICALLY do 120hz but that is not going to be the goal for next-gen games. I don’t care about Ori and the Will of the Wisps and similar titles getting 120hz, because that refresh rate simply doesn’t matter for games like that. Developers are not going to sacrifice graphics for 120fps otherwise people will be pissed it doesn’t look “next-gen” enough… especially if they are trying to sell us on $70 games now instead of the historical $60.
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QFT (Quick frame transport) & QMS (quick media switching): QFT is another latency decreasing technology and QMS is irrelevant to me because I don’t care how quickly a display can change it’s refresh rate in milliseconds.
So I think in my case, a 4K monitor that matches my 1440p monitor in size (32″) with 60hz and good color representation would be perfectly fine. 4K @ 60hz is great and if it’s solid on the XSX then that is a great gaming experience, but I am just cautioning everyone to not immediately feel like you have to buy a new monitor/TV because I think while HDMI 2.1 is great and I am sure one day when I upgrade my actual TV it will likely have it and it’ll get utilized… I wouldn’t go out of my way to buy a new TV or monitor just with that feature.
