The Xbox One X was designed with high-definition TVs in mind. There are improvements via 4K Ultra HD visuals, high dynamic range, and the Xbox One X Enhanced features, which take the fullest advantage of the performance capability of 4K TVs where lesser displays would get overrun.
Let’s look a little deeper into the various benefits of a 4K TV when using it with the Xbox One X games behemoth.
4K Ultra HD Standard
In case it wasn’t clear, the 4K TV is working to a 3,840 by 2,160-pixel resolution. This is double the size both in width and height, so it has four times the visual information of a Full HD TV or monitor display. If you’re still running back on 720p displays (or a 768p flat-panel on your budget laptop), then it’s roughly three times more pixels in width and height. A big leap forward.
With Xbox One X 4K games, they’re designed to display natively at the 4K resolution. Their gaming textured backgrounds aren’t designed for 1080p resolutions and then scaled up (meaning they lose definition as they blur when scaling up). This is a change from previous gaming titles that often were not designed for 4K resolutions, as too few people owned a 4K TV yet to make it worth the gaming development time.
TVs with a High Dynamic Range
A TV with a high dynamic range (HDR) is more common with 4K TVs than previous lower resolution models, but not every TV will have this feature. The idea is that there’s a wider range of colors shown from the darkest to the lightest, so the whites look whiter and the blacks are blacker and don’t appear gray. Why does this matter? Because when you’re walking through a dark tunnel, it looks better if it’s really dark and when there’s a spotlight being shone into your eyes, you want the light to be bright enough to be convincing when playing the game. If you’re thinking of buying a new TV, check out this 4K Ultra HD TV buying guide from Bestbuy.com to help you decide on whether or not you should invest in a TV with HDR.
Xbox One consoles use 10-bit ranges for their colors, so they are capable of producing dynamic color ranges on 4K TVs that can do the same. The HDR feature must be enabled to get it to work. The TV must support the HDR10 established standard too. Look for a brightness rating (cd/m2) over 500 and a contrast ratio of over half a million and preferably more, to get the fullest benefit.
Look Out for Xbox One X Enhanced Features
The Xbox One X Enhanced rating is applied to games that are designed to take maximum advantage of the 4K visuals. It’s expected that a powerful 4K HD TV will be powering the game. Improved graphical textures, new effects on screen and additional elements are all added to make the best use of TVs that can keep up. The display frame rate is supported at a higher level, so TVs that refresh the screen more often see animations that are smoother and more dynamic.
The Enhanced features for 4K gamers are one of the best reasons to upgrade to a 4K TV. You’re missing out when you don’t have the best visual experience because the Xbox One X is now ready for 4K Ultra HD. Are you?
