It's why I'm more interested in 4K monitors. You don't really need to sweat making content for them, they're just immediately useful, and I imagine for movie watching I'll have far more trouble than noticing the jump to HD. Not that there won't be a benefit, I'm just sure I'll see it more in computer and game use, and we're probably not seeing consoles that can reliably do that justice for at least another generation.
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Could 4K take PC Gamers out of the Desk Space Ghetto & into the Comfy Couch Suburbs?
- Thread starter onQ123
- Start date
I'd sooner get a 4K monitor than TV, I believe Intel is going to push for consumer adoption of them in 2013. Regardless I think Jeff Gerstmann explained it best, I've got a a high-end multi-moniter 'command station' where I can go from doing work to playing games in three mouse clicks, while having GAF or a strategy guide open as well. I much rather that flexibility and convenience over moving all of my gaming into the living-room and having to scheduled around other family members. Also I find it hard getting 'intimate' with games when I'm too distant, I think that's why I couldn't finish Amnesia but blasted through Silent Hill 2 back in the day.
For casual PC gaming, I've been gaming on my 47" HDTV for well over a year now, along with my dust collecting PS3. Wireless keyboard and mouse on the couch. When being more competitive I'm on my 24" PC monitor. No messy switching, single PC has 3 displays, 2 24"s and the 47" HDTV.
This 4k revolution is a generation away at least, I don't care what people say, this current gen can barely do proper 720p with claustrophobic FoVs , console games look like ass on my HDTV when compared to a proper PC game. The adoption rate for 4k tvs will be even slower than HDTVs which, took over a decade to become the norm.
My hope for next gen is at least proper 1080p which as a PC gamer primarily have been enjoying for quite some time.
This 4k revolution is a generation away at least, I don't care what people say, this current gen can barely do proper 720p with claustrophobic FoVs , console games look like ass on my HDTV when compared to a proper PC game. The adoption rate for 4k tvs will be even slower than HDTVs which, took over a decade to become the norm.
My hope for next gen is at least proper 1080p which as a PC gamer primarily have been enjoying for quite some time.
Killing_Joke
Member
Does playing on a small monitor make that much of a difference or is it just a comfort thing?
I like the movie theater type experience so i play all my PC/Console games on my 47" bravia in my living room.
And please no more 4k threads, all it does is sadden me that i'm poor and won't experience it anytime soon.
I like the movie theater type experience so i play all my PC/Console games on my 47" bravia in my living room.
And please no more 4k threads, all it does is sadden me that i'm poor and won't experience it anytime soon.
I didn't say anything about wanting to sit further away from the TV. in fact the higher DPI would bring you closer to the TV.
Eight Diagram Bat Fighter
Banned
How about what I have now, a 30" dell ultrasharp at 2560x1600. Which is more than enough for me, even when I'm editing 4K r3d files.
That's not why I don't play PC games from my couch.
The fact that you have a 30" 2560x1600 monitor over having a 27" 2560x1440 monitor tells me that you wanted the bigger monitor & a 30" 3840 × 2160 would let you edit that 4K video 1:1 at that same size. or it would let you use about a 33".
Then it seems pointless. You go to something modest like low 30-some inches you can just place that at your desk anyway, and if you go for something like like high 40-some inches like you mentioned you'll need to sit further away just to see the whole picture (though I guess if you could get something like Harmony of Dissonance to take full use of 4K there's the strange novelty of playing a Metroidvania where you actively track where your character is on map rather than having the camera naturally follow).
Basically I'd prefer to make it look like several iPhone 4s glued together, rather than four 1080p monitors glued together.
Almost exclusively PC gamer here, playing on my 52" big screen with my 7.1 surround for a couple years now as my primary way to play. While higher res would be nice, 1080p is less of a factor for me: I'm sitting at least 4 feet away first of all, then it's actual 1080p and with various levels of AA so it still looks far better than console versions not even counting better textures/effects/etc, and I'm running on an aging 5850 so I probably couldn't do much higher res on new games anyway. Really though between the "comfort" and the wider natural FoV and not having to wear headphones/jury-rig 5.1 speakers around a desk, unless you've ruined yourself on pixel counts or your TV has major input lag or you have problems with both of these because you're trying to "go pro", there's no excuse for a PC gamer not to play on their major home entertainment system if they'd ideally like to.
That said, as soon as 4k tech drops down to reasonable price ranges (~$2000 for a 50+" set, can get a single graphics card that supports it on the latest games for < $500) I'll be all over it.
That said, as soon as 4k tech drops down to reasonable price ranges (~$2000 for a 50+" set, can get a single graphics card that supports it on the latest games for < $500) I'll be all over it.
I swear, people on the internet (including myself), spend more time arguing about stuff that amounts to simple subjective preference. Yea, I know, it can be fun, I just don't understand why people actually get mad/offended/insulting when someone doesn't enjoy something for the exact same reason they do. Nothing says "get a life" quicker (uh oh... I just became insulting... that's alright, I'm a hypocrite from way back). I have actually switched to preferring "comfy couch" pc gaming 80% of the time. Just five years ago, I never would have. In my case, two young children leave me so tired, that desktop gaming started to feel like a chore, i.e. energy demanding. I have a nice chair and everything, but after trying "comfy couching" it, all of the sudden it was as fun as I remember. I don't even have an issue with the keyboard in my lap and the mouse beside me, long as I got a good lappad and a good mousepad. I do just use a gamepad unless its a FPS, or Diablo type game. However, the cons are definitely noticable. For competitive gaming, forget it, you got to be focused, with all mental energy devoted to the game... for me, at least, that ain't happening on the couch. I also use a true 120 hz monitor, because I'm a framerate freak, but the hdtv I use is limited to 60 hz. And the immersion is less, I do feel a large "disconnect" from the game when the monitor is not right in my face, but, suprisingly, only after about 10 minutes of playing, I do not notice this aspect AT ALL, and the immersion becomes the same (except for the added immersion that I get from using Nvidia 3D Vision on my desktop monitor, my brain never stops noticing that). One day I hope to get a large enough, true 120 hz screen that this is not an issue at all. And fortunately, for me, 1080p is plenty. It would have to be one large screen for the dot pitch to bother me. I've always chosen framerate over resolution, just my preference. Most of the time, the added comfort increases my fun so much that it overrides the annoyance at the decreased immersion. I concede, however, I can't imagine playing an intense 1 vs 1 round of Quake 1, map DM4, laid back on the couch. 
zephervack
Member
I honestly find Triple screen, Virtual Reality and 3D setups way more exciting than 4K to be honest.
The future is here but everyone is too busy thinking about more pixel density. Hopefully everything is starting to change with the Oculus Kickstarter.
The future is here but everyone is too busy thinking about more pixel density. Hopefully everything is starting to change with the Oculus Kickstarter.
The ace up 4k's sleeve is 120hz frame rate for sports broadcasts. Sports like Ice Hockey, European Football, American Football, and cage fighting the increased frame rate will help make it feel like your actually at the sporting event. Higher frame rate increases image fidelity.
Combining the higher resolution with doubling the frame rate is going to generate a noticeable improvement in visual quality. Screen sizes are going to continue to grow.
It certainly isn't going to happen overnight, but I think the move towards 4k is going to happen a bit faster than one might think. Sports is big money and the technology is starting to fall in place (4k cameras for instance).
CambriaRising
Member
My desk chair is really comfy, I roll it into my Tv room when I want to play on the big screen. I don't know what this "ghetto" thing is about.
4k Resolution is going to take some grand hardware to display, we just aren't there yet.
4k Resolution is going to take some grand hardware to display, we just aren't there yet.
s_mirage
Member
Is the material filmed at 120fps or will we be subjected to the same old framerates + motion interpolation?
Yep
Nope
Once you go living room, you never go... office... room. I'm at 46" sitting in my comfy couch and could never, ever, go back to a desk.
childplease
Banned
It will be a long long time before 4k even makes it to homes .
Even longer before consoles are powerful enough to render at those resolutions by that time PC gaming will be played on monitors with higher resolutions.
So no.
Even longer before consoles are powerful enough to render at those resolutions by that time PC gaming will be played on monitors with higher resolutions.
So no.
Probably still fill at the same old framerate, but given how sports broadcasts work versus movies I'm sure it'd be fine.
I seriously can't get how people could want this for movies, the ones I see on display at stores usually switch between unnaturally smooth, and verynoticeably "choppy" (playing at 24 FPS) when there isn't enough for it to smooth out. For sports I figure that fewer camera angle switches and a reliably overhead view guarantee they can always smooth it out to be accurate enough without switching back and forth erratically.
Palette Swap
Member
Yeah, the DPI is like the last thing that would come to my mind as a barrier to comfy couch gaming.
PC gamers aren't exactly gobbling up this 4K TV marketing bulletpoint because there's already a number of over 1080p displays out there.
PC gamers aren't exactly gobbling up this 4K TV marketing bulletpoint because there's already a number of over 1080p displays out there.
I'm waiting more to see them bring 4K equivalent monitors down to mainstream prices while producing a lot more of them. That's the biggest problem going above 1080p nowadays, it's just ridiculous expensive, and the choices are slim.
I'm in the minority though, but I do a lot of my PC gaming on the couch now that there's a proper interface for it (BPM), but I'll still do all the hardcore multiplayer stuff at my desk, nothing beats a M/KB for that. I think that's the primary reason PC gamers prefer the "office space" to the couch. A M/KB setup is a lot more comfortable that way.