Electronics manufacturers don’t make it easy for the average consumer to keep up with technological advances without sacrificing other aspects of their lives. While some manage to meet consumer expectations better than others, the unfortunate truth is that the industry has a long way to go before it can fully commit to providing reasonably priced products that work as intended. Samsung’s latest effort to bring gamers one step closer to the ultimate game streaming experience may be one such example, as the quality difference between using Game Pass on a TV and an Xbox console remains a thorn in the side of many gamers. .
Promising that no additional hardware or downloads are required, Samsung first announced its Gaming Hub at CES 2022. The idea was to create an all-encompassing game streaming platform that would allow users to play games from partners such as Microsoft, Nvidia, Google to discover and play. , and others. The service rolled out about a month ago with a minor setback — it’s exclusive to Samsung’s 2022 TV lineup and Smart Monitor series. While the Gaming Hub seems to bridge the company’s expertise in hardware and software to create a unique gaming experience rooted in real-life, how’s it going in real-life?
Game Pass Ultimate subscribers are no strangers to cloud gaming and know the challenges it poses. Many gamers still consider it an experimental feature that doesn’t match current gaming standards, as the experience it provides is inferior to playing on a real home console. Samsung solves this problem by including hardware that enables faster decoding and optimized buffer control technology, which, both in theory and in practice, significantly reduces input lag. Still, the problem of broadband compatibility remains, and it’s not something first-party or third-party manufacturers can hope to predict or change.
For gamers who enjoy the benefits of a Game Pass subscription, but are also used to playing in 4K at high refresh and FPS rates, dedicated Xbox cloud gaming on the latest Samsung TV can come across as disappointing, especially considering the price tag of certain models. Instead of having access to over 300 streaming titles, Samsung’s Game Pass library currently supports just over a hundred games. Another major drawback is the 1080p resolution with a maximum of 60 fps. However, some options can be adjusted despite the picture mode being locked to game performance for obvious reasons.
By adjusting the color, brightness and sharpness of the picture through the TV’s Expert settings, gamers can improve the visual quality of compatible Game Pass titles. Another way to improve the graphics appeal comes at the cost of latency, which can be done by holding down the Xbox button on the controller and going to the Settings tab. From the inside, gamers can access the Game Performance option and set it to AI Upscaling instead of Low Latency. While these tweaks make some games seem less jarring, the quality of service is barely comparable to the performance achieved by a real Xbox console.
While Samsung brings an innovative concept to the table, the fact is that it isn’t advanced enough to be seen as a viable alternative to home console gaming. Using Game Pass on an Xbox console provides a healthy experience that doesn’t depend on the internet speed or compatibility of certain titles. It requires fewer tweaks and compromises, and while Samsung supports a variety of controllers and Bluetooth headsets, there’s plenty of room for improvement and expansion. Over time, these will certainly be addressed, but for now the idea of high-quality access to hundreds of games with nothing but a monthly subscription and a supported Bluetooth device is still too good to be true.
By all accounts, Game Pass subscribers have no reason to trade the experience of owning an Xbox console for Samsung’s Gaming Hub. However, it’s a great option for those who already own a Gaming Hub compatible device and want to explore Xbox’s offerings without buying the console. Fortunately for gamers on both ends of the spectrum, Samsung is determined to keep working on its newly introduced service to improve accessibility and performance.
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