PS4 / TV / Monitor
 

Hoping someone can help me with this as I’m clueless when it comes to technology...

My son currently has his PS4 wired up to the TV in the dining room but today I’ve bought him a desk for his bedroom so that he can have the PS4 up there and I can have the dining room back!

I was going to buy him a smart TV for his room so he can connect his PS4 to it and also be able to watch Netflix but he says he wants a computer monitor even though we don’t have a desktop computer? He can’t really offer any explanation as to why he wants this (he’s 12!) and I don’t know enough about this kind of thing to make an informed decision so I’m hoping a kind Dibber can offer some advice please.

I should also add we don’t currently have an aerial in his room - will this be a problem?

Hmmm, the wonders of youth. I was intreaged by this, so did some research, and it brougt back some wonderfull memories of my gaming youth.

The benefit of the monitor (watch some youtube videos to explain it) is the very VERY slightest quicker repsonse time (lag) that you get with a normal tv, i remember years ago some serious gamers buying american tv systems as the screens would refresh slightly quicker than our uk systems, i was amazed by the theroy at a similar age.

My personal belief (as a 40 year old man now) is unless the monitors are as cheap as the tv's not to bother (i say that as im not the person having to explain it to a 12 year old!). I think its your top level competetive games who would only find a proper benefit to it.

As an arguing point, you could let him know that the speakers they come with (if at all, may need to buy external speakers too) will be rubbish. And i expect you can get a larger screen size with a normal tv.

As Martyn’s post above unless he has a very high end gaming PC he’s really not going to get much benefit. Your better off getting him a TV

Thanks for the responses, TV it is then! Will a smart TV work without an aerial if he’s just watching Netflix / playing PS4 games?

My boys do, they connect via wifi

Yes it will

Hmm, now I have 2 PC gamers here. Both have 2 monitors for their PCs. Neither would dream of using a TV for PC gaming. My 20yr old has been PC gaming for 10 years, mostly on League of Legends, and ‘Lag’ is a big issue when it comes to strategy gaming - he also types so fast it’s crazy, I could never keep up! He is currently asleep as he has to be up at 6am for work, but I am happy to ask him about monitor v tv tomorrow if it will help.

My PS4 & Xbox gamers use TVs for their consoles (I have 5 big kids). Although one of them has 2 PS4s due to storage and plays some games with a monitor and some with a TV.

if it's specific monitors they want, its probably because they have higher refresh rates than most TVs so are better for games where split-second timing is key (FPS are probably the main culprit in this)

but if its just any old monitor they want, there really is no major difference. a tv these days is just a monitor with some tv tuner hardware added on. most monitors can be turned into a smart tv by plugging in a fire stick or similar android device.

Agree that a monitor has a faster refresh rate but unless he has his PS4 hardwired into your router he won't really benefit. If he's playing via wi-fi then a smart tv will be fine.

Dave

Decent high end tv would be fine. I do use a Monitor on mine but I use my PC and PS4 on the monitor