Обзор Samsung Gaming Hub почти Xbox

Обзор Samsung Gaming Hub почти как Xbox!

The Samsung Gaming Hub, part of the company’s 2022 and 2023 smart TVs (it’s also found on select 2020 and 2021 TVs), gives you access to cloud-gaming services including Nvidia GeForce Now and Xbox Game Pass, no console necessary. But sometimes connected features like this fall short of their promises, so I wanted to find out whether the experience is good enough to replace an Xbox. 

Again, the Gaming Hub is for cloud-gaming services, so you aren’t downloading games onto the TV to play locally; the TV must be connected to the internet at all times. Samsung recommends a 5GHz Wi-Fi connection of 20 Mbps or higher, or a ENBLE Ethernet connection. Streaming games means you can jump right into playing them without waiting for lengthy installs or running out of storage space. With games getting larger all the time, downloading a game can take a while, even with a fast, steady connection. 

Xbox Game Pass has a large selection of games, new and old, that are ready to stream — a perfect fit for the Gaming Hub. However, in order to access the Xbox Game Pass game library, whether through an Xbox or a Samsung TV, you’ll need to subscribe. Specifically, you’ll need the $17 monthly Ultimate subscription to access the cloud section of games. 

Setting Up

In the Gaming Hub, you’ll find a list of available cloud-gaming services in addition to Xbox Game Pass, such as GeForce Now and Amazon Luna. If you have an Xbox controller with Bluetooth, you can connect it directly to the TV. If you aren’t sure which controllers will work, go to xbox.com/smart-tv-pair for a list. Surprisingly, you can even use a PlayStation 5 controller.

At any time, you can hold down the Play/Pause button on the TV remote to open a side menu that gives you access to popular games as well as Spotify (if you’d like to listen to music or a podcast while gaming). It also features gaming videos from YouTube and a settings menu. You can search for games, access controller and sound options, and adjust visual and game performance.

Game Performance

Streamed games don’t look anywhere near as nice as they would if you were playing locally. If you’ve ever used Netflix or Hulu, you’re familiar with visual artifacts and the buffering that occurs when internet strength dips, and it’s no different with cloud gaming. It’s especially noticeable whenever you’re looking at text. 

For example, with the racing game Dirt 5, there are artifacts and noise constantly throughout the race, and details in the mud are blurry. You’re going to notice this dip in visual quality the most in games with lots of fast movement. Games with a lot of static images, like a visual novel or an old-school Japanese-style RPG, will fare much better.

Loading times are pretty similar to what you’d find playing directly on an Xbox Series X. That’s because the network you’re playing over is connecting to Series X hardware on the other side. You’re basically remotely controlling an Xbox Series X in a Microsoft warehouse or basement somewhere. 

The audio and response time is very good. I experienced no issues with clipping or dropped sound. Even though the visual quality would rise and fall, it wasn’t joined by fluctuating input lag, and that’s important. The characters still moved smoothly, and controlling a racing vehicle wasn’t an issue. I was even able to play Lies of P, a game that relies heavily on precise button inputs for combat.

The Xbox ecosystem supports cloud saves, letting you start a Game Pass game on an Xbox and pick up from where you left off on another platform like a PC, phone or a Samsung smart TV. This means you’ll never have to worry about restarting a game or only playing specific titles in specific places. You can also connect a headset for chatting with your friends, and you have access to multiplayer (a feature that your Game Pass subscription includes) and every other social feature you’d expect on an Xbox console.

Использование Xbox Game Pass и игрового хаба Samsung – не самый лучший способ игры, но это не суть. Вместо покупки одной из этих телевизоров Samsung вы можете приобрести более дешевую модель и получить дополнительные $250 для покупки Xbox Series S.

Идеально подходит игровой хаб для дополнительных телевизоров, таких как в спальне. Это прекрасное решение для людей, у которых уже есть Xbox для основного экрана, но они все еще хотят играть, не перенося консоль в другую комнату. С небольшим задержкой и облачной синхронизацией сохраненных игр, играть на игровом хабе определенно возможно.

Эта функция также отлично подходит для тех, кто не имеет Xbox, но все же хочет пользоваться невероятной стоимостью Xbox Game Pass. Аналогично, поклонники PlayStation с поддержкой игрового хаба Samsung TV теперь получают доступ к совершенно другой библиотеке игр, и они могут играть в них с помощью контроллера PS5. Игровой хаб не заменит консоль, но это хорошая дополнительная функция для расширения вашего игрового опыта.

• Microsoft
• samsung